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Even after the colorful 4 hour flight to LA and the 14 hour flight to Taipei, I don’t think it really sunk in that I was in Taiwan.  Or that I would be here for the next entire year.  Yesterday, I finally had a chance to see Taipei in daylight. I visited the Fulbright Taiwan office and met some of the people that have been organizing the program for us and then some of the interns took me to Shida Night Market.

I think I was pretty overwhelmed by the entire experience.  First, looking around and realizing that pretty much everyone is Chinese. After living in Nashville for the past four years, this was quite a shock.  I forgot what it was like when I studied abroad in Beijing.  Also, I was sorely reminded of how little Mandarin I actually can speak and I revived my use of gestures and strange facial expressions as a new language.  I am always amazed at how much English Taiwanese people know because they learn it from a young age; it makes me extremely disappointed with the US foreign language public education program.

The night market was a lot of fun. Apparently these markets are the place to be at night; there are tons of clothes shops, eateries varying from sit-down restaurants to small stalls of frying food, bakeries, bubble tea stalls, etc.  I love the food here.  Definitely makes up for my lack of Mandarin skills and utter confusion I have most of the time when people speak to me.

A Few Phrases I’ve learned so far:

• “xiao(3) xiao(3) de” - small with a cute/funny connotation (as opposed to just one “xiao” which just means small)
• “tang(4)” - hot (temperature); which I unfortunately learned as I bit into a scalding hot “sheng jian bao”, a pan-fried version of “xiao long bao”, and proceeded to burn my tongue so badly I started tearing up, much to the amusement of one of my new Taiwanese friends that suggested it was not “tang” at all.
• “jiao(3) ta(4) che(1)” - bicycle, literally formed by “jiao” meaning foot and “ta” meaning ride/step on and “che” which is the general term used to mean some vehicle of transportation; at some point in august, I will need to learn how to ride a “jiao ta che” in order to learn how to ride a scooter. eek.

I leave for Bangkok tomorrow.

So, I’m officially definitely starting to feel the pressure of leaving in just a mere three days.  Saturday seems to be quickly approaching and I still have empty suitcases and an unchecked to-do list.  Things I have left to do before I leave:

1. Finish the reading assignment from Quest for Hope in the Slum Community
2. Start and finish packing for a year & for the trek
3. Finish volunteer application for the site I was placed at for Manila: Samaritana
4. Get traveler’s checks or some form of money
5. Obtain traveler’s insurance
6. Transfer files
7. Make a scrapbook for my mom that I promised I would finish for her
8. Get my mom a birthday present
9. Meet up with friends before I leave & say goodbye
10. Savor my last few days with my mom
11. Pray and get my head in the game!

I definitely can’t believe that it’s come so soon. Five weeks flew right past me and I feel like I haven’t accomplished much, even though it’s seemed so busy already! God has been faithful through it all though and has definitely revealed to me a small glimpse of what He has in store for me this year. Sunday at church was incredible for me. I knew that God was speaking so many truths to me about some of my misconceptions of myself. I know that I need to just trust in God this summer and give Him all the control.

I am really really looking forward to meeting the two other girls that I’ll be living with and serving with in Samaritana ministries.  I’m excited for the community that we’ll have from actually living communally and keeping each other accountable.  Please pray that God would help us to be open, vulnerable, and supportive with each other.

I saw the Hillsongs United concert last night which was incredible, of course.  The Merriweather Post Pavilion was packed, literally, with multitudes of people all gathered to worship God through music.  The entire outdoor pavilion was lined with people and even beyond, on the lawn, there were even more!

It was so encouraging to see the worship team use the musical gifts God has given them for His kingdom and glory.  And I think the one thing that stood out to me the most was just how large of a congregation was brought together last night all singing in unison.  It was great to hear and see shouts of joy and jumps of praise all for God’s glory and praise.

I can’t even describe how beautiful a sound it was to hear THOUSANDS of people singing the same song all in one voice, all in unison, all in praise of our mighty God.

Victor, Me, and Paul at the Hillsongs Concert