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Rotary District 6110 Youth Exchange |
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Annie
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Nickname | Annie |
| Age | 18 | |
| Foreign Languages | German, Spanish | |
| Interests | Photojournalism, sports photography, poetry, drama | |
| Host District | 3480 | |
| Departure | 8/23/02 | |
| Birthday | May 1 | |
Students: To add a message to your travelogue, email the entry to vicki; she will put all entries online.
Note: Most Recent Entries Appear At the Top
| Date | Travelogue Entry |
| Tuesday, April 08, 2003 7:27 | re: SARS I'm not too worried about it. We were all informed of the symptoms and told to be watchful. Alot of people in Taipei walk around with masks. The President said that they believe that all cases on the island have been contained. So I think it will be ok. Here's hoping. I'm not in any immediate danger. Things are well controlled here. They check everybody who come through the airport now. Besides, it's gonna take a lot more than that to make me leave now. Annie |
| Monday, April 07, 2003 8:04 Taiwan update |
Hey Everybody, Here's a new update. I just got back from my Taiwan tour. I got to make this big circle all the way around Taiwan for 5 days doing fun stuff along the way. We got to see some of the other cities in Taiwan but Taipei is my favorite. I really loved the more rural areas whch are so beautiful and much quiter than the the constant noise in Taipei. When we were on the bus I spent most of my time looking out the window, just staring at the ocean which I still think is one of the most beautiful things in the world. On the first day we learned how to make a special Hakka tea dessert by grinding a bunch of stuff. Hakka is the name of the aborigines of Taiwan. We made figurines out of flour and visited a really large night market. I love night markets here you can find anything you want and several things that you don't want. On the secand day we visited Kaoshiang which is the other major city of Taiwan. We had a BBQ but not quite the same kind of food we cook back home. Did you know tofu could be barbecued? We also had a great dance that night, all the outbound and inbound exchange students together. Taiwanese teenagers are fairly shy but with a little coaking they got over it fairly quickly. On the third day we went to the aquarium and to a special aborigine resort. We had a traditional Hakka dinner and were taught aborigine dances. On the fourth day we went white water rafting, we definitely had to use Chinese on that part because if we did not communicate well we micht have ended up in a fairly bad perdicament. On the last day we went to Taroko gorge which is this beautiful place high upo in the mountains of Taiwan. Those are the main details of the trip. i didn't get much sleep so now I'm going to bed. I had a lot of fun though and it was a trip I will never forget. Later, Annie |
| Wednesday,
March 05, 2003 10:48 AM Taiwan update
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Hey Everybody,
I haven't sent an update in a while so here you go. I've moved into my third host home which is great because I've been living in the same building in Taiwan for 6 months; my first and second host family only lived two floors apart. I like the change. The neighborhood I live in now is older than the one before so the buildings look cooler. There are four temples on my street alone. There are also lot's of street merchants selling all kinds of great snack food like fried chicken,sweet bread, and these really great rolls that are full of a number of unidentifiable ingriedients. My new host family is great. I don't have any brothers and sisters at the moment because my host family's two sons are both studying somewhere else. My host father has started teaching me how to play piano,yippie!! I may learn a talent after all. The whole chinese thing has gotten a lot easier, but there is still alot that I don't know. I'm working on it though. I just wish I had more time to do this all in. Sorry this is so short, but there isn't much to write about at the moment. I hope everyone is haveing fun wherever they are. Annie ·~ ¥§ |
| Sunday, December 15, 2002 9:01 PM |
Hi Everyone,
I know it has been awhile since my last update so here is what's going on now. I just got back from a weekend long exchange student trip to Eastern Taiwan yesterday. It was a lot of fun. After visiting a hot spring, we went to a temple high up in the mountains on Saturday and spent the night there. It was really cool. Buddhist monks don't eat meat so we had vegetarian breakfast and dinner and were not allowed to bring so much as beef jerkey into the temple. Men and women were not allowed to eat at the sam table so the women sat on one side of the room and the guys on the other. I don't care though because that place was beautiful. It was far away from everything, very peaceful. I don't think I would like to be there all the time, but it was a cool place to visit. On Sunday afternoon we stoped at the beach. The coastal regions of Taiwan are breathtaking. There are beaches in some places, but some parts of the cost are lined with high bluffs and cliffs. When we got there some people went bike riding. While the rest of us, most of whom are from land locked countries or live far from the ocean, went down to check out the water. No one had a bathing suit so we all rolled up our pants and waded out into the waves. Somehow though I guess I kind of, sort of, maybe fell in and before I knew it so did everyone else. That was very interesting especially since it is the middle of December. To look at Taiwan from a world map it just seems to be this tiny little dot beside China. Most people will never know what a fantastic place it is. It seems really beg wen you are standing by the ocean or trudging your way up one of the numerous mountains here.That is all for now. I am sorry if some of my grammer is bad but I find the more Chinese I learn the worse my English gets. Talk to yall later. Annie |
| Wednesday,
October 02, 2002 8:28 PM
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Da jia hoa (hi everyone)
Ok, here is the latest update. i am starting to get use to living in the city. I have figured out enough about the subway and bus system to get around on my own now which is good because there are lots of things I want to to do. The food here is great (with only a few minor exceptions). Since Taiwan is an island there are many kinds of seafood to eat. The barbecued squid on a stick is excellent. The weather here is so different. It's October and still 80 degrees. There is a lot of rain. The other day I did not bring an umbrella to school since it was so sunny that morning, but it started raining that afternoon and I had to walk home in the pouring rain. I was soaked but my host family got a good laugh and so did I once I was dry. School is going pretty well. Everyone is very helpful. I have 2 chinese classes and they make me take a second language to so I am continuing my German study. I've gotten use to the uniform but I still wish sometimes that I could wear my own clothes. At least the shirt is my favorite shade of emerald green; however, the skirt reminds me of a big black circus tent : ) There are many places to shop here and I am going to my favorite today after school. It is called Hsimen Ting, and it is like the Times Square of Taipei. That is all for now. Annie |
| Wednesday,
September 04, 2002 5:20 AM |
Hi everyone, O.K. this is what is going on in Taiwan. The city I live in is huge so it is a big change from my tiny little Arkansas town. There is always something to do here. I am just starting to learn enough about the city that I can at least find my way to the 7-11 alone. I started school monday. I don't understand anything that goes on in any class except English. I go to an all girl school but I can learn to deal with that if I try very hard. Students in Taiwan are very different. They are all really serious about their school work and are very respectful to teachers. We stay in the same room all day except for special classes like P.E., Art and Music. When ever a teachers come into the room to start class everyone stands up and bows while saying Loa shu hao, Which litterly means teacher good, but is really like welcome teacher. When class is over we stand up and shie shie lao shu, which means thank you teacher. This is really different for me. I have to wear a uniform. When I am walking to and from school evryone stares at me like I am some sort of Zoo exhibit, but I just smile and keep walking. The food here is really different, so far I have tried things like chiken feet and fishball soup. That is all for now. Annie |
| Sent:
Sunday, August 25, 2002 23:17 |
I arrived in Taiwan and everything is great. I really like this place and my host family is wonderful. I am learning more chinese everyday. Talk to you later. --- Annie |
 Annie in her school uniform |
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Annie at SCRYE-Tulsa, Feb 2002 |
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