Today was my first full day in Taiwan. It began at 5am [thanks to jet lag] when I woke up and was convinced that it must be nearly 9am. From my bed, I saw that there was a lot of light coming from the window. I was unable to check the time since my bed is lofted about 7ft. off the ground and my phone, which is the only way to tell time, was charging on my desk. When I got down and saw that it was only 5am I was very surprised. I can’t even remember the last time I woke up at 5am! After the shock wore off, I looked out the window and noticed the beautiful sunrise. I couldn’t pass up this photo opportunity so I went onto the balcony to take a picture.
Don’t worry. I went back to sleep for another 2 hours after taking a few pics 😉
At 7am my roommate Sophie went for a run and I went on a coffee run (that’s kind of the same thing, right?). On my way there I saw Heather, another girl in the study abroad program, and she decided to join me. We found a breakfast place on campus called Morning House with the help from a really tall white guy (thanks again David!). Unfortunately, there wasn’t any coffee at this place so instead I got my very first Milk Tea and an omelet. The total cost was 45 NT which is the equivalent of just a little over $1 USD.
We had orientation at 10am followed by a Pizza Hut lunch. This was a fun time as it gave us the opportunity to talk with the other students in the program. We got to know them a little better and learned that there are students from Spain, Canada, Oklahoma, as well as the Ashland Univeristy students participating in this 6-week summer program. Greta, the coordinator of the summer program at PU, says that the most common Pizza Hut orders include seafood pizza, Hawaiian pizza, and spicy pizza.
Seafood pizza has mini shrimp, crab, tofu, and peas as toppings.
After lunch, we were taken on a campus tour by our learning partners (Lucus and Viviana). They took us to the library, gymnasium, and then to a 7/11 around noon, and boy was it hot and humid outside. I don’t mind heat but I definitely do not like humidity!! In Taiwan, 7/11 stores are very popular and can be found at almost every street corner. It is at the 7/11 store that we loaded money onto our bus passes and used the ATM machine. It was cool to see the unique candy and snack foods they were selling.
At 2pm we took the MRT bus to downtown Taichung to go shopping at the Taiwan version of Wal-Mart. It is here that we picked up items such as hangers, waterbottles, soaps, and snacks. I am very thankful that I had my backpack on me because plastic bags are not free in Taiwan. While they are not expensive, 2NT per bag, I think it’s easier to carry things in a backpack rather than a plastic bag. When we got back to campus we had about 2 hours before we planned to meet for dinner. During this time I unpacked some clothes and organized my room. I was pretty tired at this point but I fought the urge to take a nap. I really wanted to sleep well during the night.
The group met at the front gate of the University to walk to dinner at 6:15pm. It was from there that we walked to a dumpling store. I got sweet and sour noodle soup and it was very delicious. The soup consisted of pieces of egg tofu, mushrooms, carrots, and thick spaghetti-like noodles all in a think beef broth. It wasn’t very flavorful so I added some dark brown soy sauce and a few scoops of hot red peppers [the same kind of peppers that I have added to my Chinese food at Tasty Garden at home, yummy!]. 
After dinner, we explored the area for awhile and got to see what Taichung looked like at night. One thing that I do not like about Taichung is that there are basically no sidewalks. You have to weave along all the scooters parked on the side of the road while the cars and scooters zoom past you, and at times they are literally less than a foot away from you! I was very impressed with the stray dogs walking down the streets. They knew exactly where to walk along the road and did not seem to be bothered by all the cars, lights, and people who were around them.
At one of the convenience stores, I got to try a dragon fruit. It had the consistency and color of a red beet and had a lightly sweet taste. I would also like to note that it turned our mouths a bright neon pink color!
To end the night we went to a bar called Mr. Jungle. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was completely empty and remained that way for a majority of the time we were there [probibly because it was a Tuesday night]. I had a Lemon Coke and it was delicious! It was the first drink in Taiwan that I’ve had that has had ice, which made it even better!
My first day in Taiwan felt very long. We saw downtown, got our bus cards, went shopping, ate at a local restaurant, and got our schedule for the next 6 weeks. I am very excited for what is to come, and I hope you are too! I will be posting hopefully day by day accounts of my journey in Taiwan right here. But for now, goodnight from Grace in Taiwan!
Green Tea and Pineapple Cake
Grace in Taiwan 