I'm in Taiwan!

For 6 days now I have been in Taipei, Taiwan and Kinmen, Taiwan. Both beautiful places have tremendously exceeded my expectations. When I first got to Taipei I met my host sister in the airport and we took the bus and the MRT to the downtown area. Walking around was unbelievable. I thought I would be completely jet lagged but I think the shock of actually being in Taipei kept me going all day. After meeting up with another exchange student from Germany, Naima, we made are way to the night market. The night market was hectic, noisy, but fun. There were scooters coming through the streets really quickly. They would just come up behind you and beep the horn for you to move. We tried tofu and bubble tea which was delicious. It was a very good first day in Taiwan. After waking up at the hotel I attempted to eat my first meal.... with chop sticks. I don't think I truly understood the importance of learning to eat with chop sticks while I was in America. I thought I could get by with stabbing food or subtly eating with my hands when no one was looking. I was wrong, so wrong. What I didn't understand was that when trying to fake your way with chopsticks it takes a long, long time. So long that when everyone else has finished eating, you are still attempting to cram noodles in your mouth before they drop off onto the floor. The food here is very good, different, but amazing. The next day Naima and I went to inbound orientation where we met all the other inbounds in our district. Everyone was so friendly, it was nice to have people to talk to that can relate to the situation I am in. We listened to rules, exchanged pins and contact information, introduced ourselves, then said, "See you in a month." The next day Naima and I left for Kinmen Island. The plane ride was extremely short, about 30 minutes and as we got closer we could see the entire island out the plane window. It is the most beautiful place. Kinmen is very green with clear water and blue skies.When we got to the airport we were welcomed by Rotary Club members, and my first host family and second host family. They were all so friendly and welcoming. We went out to lunch and than my host sister and I went to get my school uniform...... on a motor scooter. Even though I wasn't driving, I was terrified. Just for a few minutes, than it became so much fun! School Orientation was today so I woke up at 7:00am and walked to the school with my host sister. It was so weird being the one that stood out. Everyone was very friendly there, and after a while I could see myself going to school there. I tried to speak Chinese with them, and they tried to speak English with me. It was very hard. It was a bit discouraging when I was listening to the teacher's presentations because I could only understand a few words. Mostly for the first day we just sat there but getting to know my new classmates was a lot of fun. After school orientation was over at 5:00pm we went out to dinner with the Rotary Club of Kinmen and my first, second, and third host families. Tomorrow will be a new day in Kinmen!