Rachel says...

      The weather is getting colder and colder here in Taiwan, and the semester is disappearing faster than ever!  I cannot believe it is almost midterms here at Shih Hsin - it seems as if I just arrived last week.   The constant stream of activities and hanging out with friends has given me very little time to spare.  Not that I’m complaining, I’m having a lot of fun in Taiwan, helped by the many friendly students at SHU. 



      So far in Taiwan, I’ve notably been to Taipei 101, Danshui, Shida Night Market, Yilan, and Shun Kung – I’m planning on seeing Shilin Night Market soon and perhaps traveling outside of Taipei (Taichung anyone?).  There are many foods that become instant favorites, such as bubble tea, passion fruit juice, and dumplings.  Every time I eat or drink one of the above, I think of how much I am going to miss it when I go back to America.

      Last week at the corner we had our Halloween party, an event that ended up much bigger than any of us expected.  Many students turned up for apple bobbing and socializing; the atmosphere was energetic, with cheers for the apple bobbing contenders and general merriment throughout.  I had a lot of fun preparing my costume for the party; I went as a very bloody zombie.  I spent the night before the party tearing up a cheap sweatshirt to wear and soaking it in tea, to make it look dirty. (Who has ever heard of a clean zombie?)  The next day came the fake blood.  It was a mixture of fructose syrup and red food coloring, splattered and smeared strategically on both my costume and myself.  It looked cool, but I was definitely very sticky for the rest of the day – as it turns out, being covered in syrup is kind of uncomfortable. But, these are the kind of things one does for Halloween.

      The next holiday we’ll be celebrating in Thanksgiving and it looks like it’s shaping up to be an enormous food-eating celebration.  The American students at the corner have all been asked to prepare stuffing for seven different turkeys.  I know every year with my extended family at Thanksgiving, we just barely manage to finish one turkey.  Granted, my family is on the small side, but I cannot even imagine the sight of seven turkeys all lined up.  Needless to say, I’m excited and very much looking forward to the Thanksgiving staples of mashed potatoes, gravy, and apple cider.


      After Thanksgiving we’ll rush into Christmas and then New Year’s and, before we know it, the semester will be over.  I have big plans for my remaining months; hopefully my Chinese will improve, and hopefully I’ll have even more memories to bring back home with me when all is said and done.  I have no doubt that both of these things will happen, and for that, I’m excited.  I just don’t want everything to end so soon!  Can we postpone midterms for a few more weeks?  Please?




by Rachel Tobin.