Sleepy but Happy

I am so tired, and could write at least another 10000 words, but will have to do that part later.

Despite the thin mattress, I slept like a rock last night.  Perhaps not surprising.

Today was very busy and exciting and fun!  We went out for breakfast, took a campus tour, went to some information/orientation sessions, had lunch, learned about the upcoming CIEE-run excursions (including one this weekend, which I am really excited about), visited Longshan Temple, visited the site where some movie was filmed, and then went to a sort of night market where we strolled around, tasted some interesting things, had dinner at an "authentic" italian-style restaurant, went window shopping, and did what feels like at least 100 other things before hiking back up the mountain to the dorm.  I was planning to elaborate on most of this stuff but I might be too tired to do so today.  But there are a few things I did want to say:

I have communicated with my mysterious roommate!  And I am so happy for two reasons: 1) she speaks English!  and 2) in my mind, the fact that she was never in the room and didn't (unless I slept through it) come back last night was indicative that she was too cool for me and was probably really mean.  But she is not.  She is wonderful.  But of course we haven't actually met yet.  I wrote her a note before leaving the room this morning.  I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was something along the lines of, "Ni hao!  I don't speak Chinese so I am hoping you speak some English.  I just moved in as your roommate, hope I get to meet you soon!"  When I returned to the room, I couldn't tell that she had been back except my note was gone and there was a response on my desk!!

If you can't read that, it says:
Antonia:
Hello!!
Oh~That is so amazing!  I was surprised when I entered the room.  I moved in a few days ago and went to my uncle's flower shop for Valentine's day.  It's nice to be your roommate; while now I'm going hoe so we'll meet each other when the semester starts.  Hope you have good days in Taiwan!!
Elaine

So, she's great!  And I am so happy.  And I can't overstate how relieved I am that she speaks English.

Also, while on the campus tour, I started to realize that not only is NCCU (National Chengchi University - the students all call it either "NCCU" or usually "Zhengda") a university, like Rice, but the two have eerily a ton in common.  In fact, they are just about interchangable.  For example, how Rice has the north and south colleges, NCCU has the top of the hill and bottom of the hill.  The schlep is about equal to the distance from Jones to Wiess, but uphill.  There is also a bus system, just like the inner loop shuttle, that runs until 11 pm or so, just like the inner loop shuttle.  Here it's not free, though - it costs a whopping $1NT, which is equal to three US cents.  During the campus tour the tour guides indicated a building that you enter on the fourth floor - Sewall Hall, anyone?  They even have weird coffee-cup-inspired art outside the campus coffee shop!

Coffeehouse's next installation?

And - I'm not even kidding here - on your birthday, they have a tradition of throwing you into the campus fountain!  It is like I never left!

Which brings me to: ways in which I can definitely tell that I left.  For one thing, the toilet paper here isn't on rolls!  I guess in the public toilets it is, but mostly we use sheets that come from basically an oversized pocket-pack of kleenex.  Also, there is a PA system that goes into all the dorm rooms, which is very unnerving to me for some reason.  One of the reasons they use it is to announce the presence of another one of the weird differences: the garbage truck.  I know we do have garbage trucks in the US, but this one comes twice a day and you have to run out and bring your dorm room trash, instead of leaving it out for the truck.  It also plays music and is easily confused with an ice cream truck... a mistake that I obviously didn't make because that would be really embarrassing.  Also, Lilla may be happy to hear, I did have my first (and second!) experience today with hole-in-the-ground squatter toilets.

I am not very good at this yet

Okay, I am too tired to say more, though there is much more to say.  Oh, one last thing.  Everyone here is obsessed with Jeremy Lin.  His family is from Taipei and actually one of the women associated with CIEE claims to be his cousin!  When I say I'm from New York, especially, people ask me about him.  One boy even knew the term "Linsanity".  Now.  Here are photos!

Breakfast!  That on the left is like an omelette in pastry, above that are fried dumplings, and below that is soy milk with black tea.  Everything was tasty!  We also had this fried mashed white carrot patty with peanut sauce... I don't know.  But it was really good. 

lol

This runs through the campus and is on the way up the mountain!

Campus - pretty!

Distant mountains in the fog!  This is more of the campus.

The hike up the mountain...

Beautiful room on campus for lectures and important speakers

Um, yeah.

The very tall building way in the fog is Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world!

The menu advertised "profitable set" - a pretty good translation that you would absolutely never see in the US

Surprise! this is me!  Outside Longshan Temple

The temple was amazing!  Lots was amazing!  And all the food is incredibly cheap - my dinner was just $80NT, less than $3!  I have a few more photos and more meals to describe, but so far everything has been good.  Everyone is really really nice and they are all enjoying trying to teach me Chinese phrases (with yi dian (a little) success).  I also am struck by how, despite cultural stereotypes and even a language barrier, the Taiwanese students have the same types of personalities as back home.  There are the same class clowns and smartasses, and I can tell who they are even when I don't know what they're saying.  I think tomorrow is going to be as crazy and busy as today and I need to get to sleep (10 am central time = midnight here).  I will keep taking pictures and hopefully one day will get enough down time to give them some context!  Goodnight world.