Kalie's Second Report

October 19, 2005

Its October 14th , the day after my birthday. I realized yesterday exactly what this opportunity is bringing to me. Amazing people that I will have as friends for the rest of my life , people that I would of never met , an opportunity to view life from another perspective, another culture, and in return making life alot easier for me because I understand alot more about how the world goes 'round. Also an appreciation for my country and my family. I could never wish to be anyone else other than an Agostini from America. Before I was tunnel visioned , I had never been outside the U.S. . But now I see how lucky I am , and I will never take anything for granted. Such as a hot shower , a car , a spacious home , clean streets, clean air , a big garbage can , cheese and most importantly a normal bed. ( If your wondering , I get none of these here).
Lately I have been experiencing the "rollercoaster" of exchange. Up and Down , up and down , .....et .  But the Ups overcome the downs. I just miss my family alot. However , I came up with a solution... one day while visiting the rocky northeast coast of Taiwan ( which is a beautiful place called Jeelong) , I found a small circular rock and decided to keep it. 2 days later in Chinese class , I took out my white out and wrote  home on the rock , so it became my home rock , whenever Im home sick I just hold my home rock and its all good. Sad right ? No really , it actually makes me feel better. Everyone thinks Im mental.
On another hand , my Chinese has improved alot. The other day I had my first full phone conversation in Chinese! May not sound like a big deal , but believe me Chinese sounds alot stranger through a phone. Other than that , I can communicate with my classmates and host family in mostly Chinese. Its much easier to understand them than to speak. I give myself 2 more months and I should be pretty fluent. Its so strange , I would of never thought I would be fluent in Chinese. And on top of that my friend Amy speaks German and she is teaching me , also a little Portugese from my Brazilian friend.
So far my favorite thing in Taipei is the walk from the subway to my home. Night or Day , I never get tired of staring up at the city. Some buildings are brand new , shining with neon or big screen advertisments, and others look over a 100 years old. Other than sight , smell is not so enjoyable. The pollution is pretty bad with all the mopeds and stuff , so my host mom bought me a mask to wear whenever Im walking outside. At first this was strange but now I dont leave the house without it. Its almost like a fashion trend , my mask is brown with autumn flowers on it.
Most of my time is filled with school and studying Chinese ( (Chinese isnt a language you just learn by listening , because it all just sounds like gibbergabber , so in order to learn you have to study , hard , and even harder to write )) , but when I have free time and my host mom actually lets me go out , there  is never  a dull moment. Normally free time is filled with hanging out with my classmates and YEP friends at Night Markets , pubs , parks , ect.  However , Night Markets are most popular. There are probably around 50 markets in Taipei , not all for clothes. Food market ( (one of my favorites , you just walk around and buy everything. So far my favorite night market food is the Oyster omlet, you have to like oysters to enjoy it because its pretty gewy , but yummy :) . Other popular foods are stinky tofu. Thats its real name , because its tofu , that smells like roadkill. When I first got here I always smelled this smell never knowing it was stinky tofu , I just thought Taipei smelled raunchy. But I tryed it for the first time last weekend and Im not going to lie , it was good, soo strange how something that smells that bad can taste that good. And another one of my favorites are the dumplings..mmmmm...))....Herbal Markets ( know these I love to go to just because the enviroment is like a slap in the face . I cant explain it , sometimes I just get used to things and forget that O wow Im in Taiwan , but at the Herbal market the smell is unbelievable , its smells like , well Herbs. But fresh and everything around you is green ..my favorite color... and the Herbal Market is right next to Longshan Temple (300 years old) . So you get a mixture of incense from the temple and herbs. And its not like a Herbal shopping mall inside , its outside in , out and around alleys , so it all looks very , well not American . Once I went  with my host mom and she gave me a herbal drink. It was something mint , very very strong. But it was so clensing! )) Electronic Markets ( camera , phone , computer blahblah...I went once , never go again. Electronics aren't my thing))... Flower Markets (( havent been to one yet , but I know were it is and I really want to go )) , and many many more.
On another note , school is actually starting to be alot of fun. Normally we have the option of going to class or to the library , because we just sit in our little wooden desk in the classroom and stare at the wall , so they let us do this. However the library got old , so Amy ( YEP from California , she goes to my school) and I bought 2 guitars that each cost $500 nt ( $15 US!!!) . Know we just bring them to school everyday and practice, which I have enjoyed alot!! We are in the process of writing a song about my Home Rock ;) .
Well thats about it for now , I change host families in less than a month ( Im excited ) , and that means more computer time ...more reports. For now , PEACE.
Miss You Florida !
p.s. to all of you guys in Europe ( especially you Suzie ) Im incredibly  jealous of your beautiful homes ,big rooms ,big beds , and wide open spaces.
p.s.s.  I've been in 4 earthquakes !¡@
ps.s.s. Love You