Birthday and Videos!

Well! Hello!

Sunday was my birthday!  I am now allowed to legally drink in the United States!  Of course, I am also allowed to legally drink in Taiwan, which has been true the whole time I've been here.  It makes the whole experience rather anticlimactic, but it was still a very good birthday.  I got Mexican food for lunch (including an early-afternoon birthday margarita) with a few good people.  Because Mexican restaurants are a little hard to find in this city, it took over an hour to get there, and with our slow eating, lounging around, and, of course, dessert, I didn't get back from this 1 o'clock lunch until after 5!  Soon after I had a delicious birthday dinner with a group of friends, and we went to a cozy cafe/bar for tasty cocktails and good conversation afterwards.  Many thanks to my generous family and friends for making my birthday great!  And actually, one of the things that made the day special wasn't given from any of them... there were blue skies all day!  Not a drop of rain!  But the really memorable part - I think for the first time since arriving, I saw stars at night!  I have been trying and wanting to see the stars but it's always so darn cloudy, and even when it doesn't rain, there is a mist that prevents any long-distance visibility.  But that night it was clear, and I finally got to see the stars.  It was a very special birthday gift.

Also, some exciting news: as a birthday gift to myself, last night I bought a very cheap, last-minute ticket to the Philippines for next week!  I'm going alone, and will be there from Wednesday night until Saturday morning.  I am so nervous! I have never traveled anywhere alone before.  I had this idea earlier in the semester - traveling alone - and I got all excited just because it's so scary that I feel like it's a challenge I want to conquer.  Will I talk to people and make new friends?  I have no idea!  Will I look within and discover deep truths about myself?  Maybe!  Most likely I'll just be a little lonely and a little bored.  But I don't know!  I feel like it's really pushing my comfort zone, in a good way.  I feel like, by doing this, I'm taking a step toward leading the kind of life I always thought I'd be too chicken to lead.  What a feeling!  But also... I have a lot of planning to do!

On Monday I went to wufenpu - a labyrinth of inexpensive clothing vendors - with Emily.  We wandered endlessly.  It really is a pretty remarkable place - I think it must be about the size of a small city, but with only extremely narrow paths, that scooters, for some reason, think they have a right to ride on.  Once we got back that night (because it really is an all-day trip), I did something also outside of my "comfort" zone... Worked out!  Yeah!  I even did sprints!  And then - did it again last night!  Grace has proven herself to be a reliable and demanding workout buddy, a trait I truly admire.  My legs are sore but my heart is proud.

Tonight I had dinner with an NCCU professor who happens to know my Aunt Virginia (and, apparently, half of CIEE!).  It was really great!  She was extremely nice and we had good vegetarian food followed by a thick, rich cup of orange hot chocolate!  Plus, we visited an antique store owned by a friend of hers, and I saw some 5000 year old oracle bones and - here's the best part - even got to touch them.  SO one-upped all my museum visits!

Anyway, this Thursday and Friday are actually university holidays to celebrate the university's birthday.  That's apparently what all the students have been preparing and practicing for.

Here are some things:

I love these flowers that grow on campus

... they also come in orange-red and pink-white!

Overuse of umbrellas: Exhibit A.  It was not even raining.

This looks weird

Now do you believe me that it rains? 

Not the beautiful view as usual, eh?

Orange hot chocolate!  Definitely coming back here to order everything they have to offer.

And some videos:

While jogging around the track, I took this video of the NCCU performers I mentioned... always practicing so hard!  Sorry that it's so jostled... don't watch if you get motion sickness easily.

Also, here is a video from the Tainan festival!  I like this one better than the following one, each of just different performance groups.  For some reason, the following video is the only one that would successfully upload.  So, enjoy that, too!

More adventures to come - you'd better believe it!