Settling In

Hi Everybody,

So I'm still settling in to the climat, my dorm, new roommates and sleep schedule. I was up a craaaazy long time from my travels! I was up at 9:00ish am Cali time on Monday, August 30. We went to the airport that night and my flight left about 1:40 am. I didn't sleep barely at all on the plane because 1) A plane is not the most comfortable place 2) There was a baby crying/screaming almost the entire 13 blessed hours of our flight to HK. I did patch-work sleeping which probably lent me three or so hours of sleep if all of my cap naps were added up.

After arriving in HK, I had a three hour lay-over and talked with my family on the computer. The flight from HK to Taiwan was only about 1hr 20 min so that's awesome compared to the first one!! :)
I got through immigration, laggage claim and customs swiftly and my student volunteer was waiting for me right outside the gate. I was so thankful to lay down the responsibility of having to know where I was and where I was going. From that moment, I could relax a little. Once there, I met another school volunteer and an international student from the Phillipines. The four of us had to wait for about three more hours at the airport for two more students to arrive. After picking up the other two students and meeting a third student volunteer, we finally got on the bus and started the two hour drive to Taizhong. I talked with my family from the bus and it was midnight or so on Tuesday. I had almost been up for two days straight and was beginning to feel it.

That afternoon, I got into my room, got my door pass for the downstairs and my combination for the room. After that, I went out to tea with my student volunteer, some other Zhong Xing students and a few exchange students like myself. We stayed at the tea place long enough that they started getting hungry so we went to grab a bit to eat. I was a total zombie by the time the dumplings/potstickers I ordered arrived at the table. :)

After food, I needed to buy some bedding and cleaning things so we walked a ways to a store. I just happed to have the exact amount of NT in my possesion that my things rang up to. Thank God! I was so tired I wasn't adding up costs as I went through the store adding things to my cart and a feeling of slight panic came over me when I got in line and realized I didn't know how much this was all going to come to. But thankfully, I got out without embarrassasment and without having to remove anything from my cart.

We walked back to my building with all of my newly acquired things and I made my way upstairs, trying out my new door pass. I got in without a hitch. My two roommates had come in while I had been away. My roommates are two sweet girls from Thailand. The only problem is that neither of them speak very much English or Chinese so I'm reduced to one-word sentences, hand gestures and a dictionary. :) But dispite our language barrier, they are doing their best to include me. One of the girls asked me last night if I would like to join them in grabbing some breakfast this morning and going to orientation together.

So, back to my schedule story ... after arriving in my room, I started un-packing the stuff I bought and started cleaning. Long story short, after a lot of cleaning and a much-wanted shower, I finally went to bed sometime about 12:30am, which was 9:30am home time, for a grand total of 48.5 hours since beginning my Monday at home! Needless to say, I was beyond tired. However, I was awake at 5 am and didn't go back to sleep.

I went on a little adventure to find some breakfast and ended up at a 7. :) Can't beat a tuna fan-tuan and some milk tea. lol At 10:00am I met up with a student who helped a large group of us find the administration building so we could register. I finished with registration and walked out around 12:00 noon but it felt like 4 or 5 pm because I had been up since 5.

I was supposed to go pick up a mattress at 4:50 so I set an alarm to remind me to go pick it up. Meanwhile I messed with my computer and a cable, trying to connect to the internet, but to no avail. I decided I needed a nap since my eyes were heavy. I was just going to lay down for a few minutes because it was about 4:25pm ... I woke up to my mother's phone call at 11:00 something pm. I guess I was more tired than I thought!

After I had a very groggy conversation with my mama, I went back to sleep and slept until about 3:00am. I made myself not get up yet, but instead grabbed my ipod. I turned on the book of Judges and was awake for at least the first several chapters. :) lol I floated in an out of sleep after that, but was pretty much awake for good at 5 and was out of the shower and dressed by 6:30am ...

Today, I went with my roommates and a friend of theirs to get breakfast. I went to 7/11 again and bought tuna fan-tuan and an aloe drink. I love those things! However, I'm yearning for a mango slushie!!! I can't wait to find a place that sells them here. I'm sure they do but I need to do some more exploring.

Meanwhile, since I have most of my official documentation and such completed, I'm hoping to go back to Tainan and get some rest. It will be so good to see familiar faces and be in familiar places. I'm hoping to re-claim a slightly more normal sleep schedule.

Sorry there are no pictures on this blog ... Since I'm using a computer in the display section of the university bookstore, I can't really do that right now. haha But I am trying to take pictures along the way. And Nani, yes there are lots of food pictures! I think I've probably taken pictures of everything I've eaten or drank here so far.

Well, I need to run. I am supposed to go meet my advisor and see around my department this afternoon. Thanks for all your love, prayers and support!

~k