When I booked my flights to and from Taiwan, the confirmation email told me to enjoy my trip of 213 nights and 214 days. My first thought was "Wow, that's more than half a year!" But I'm looking forward to spending 7 months in Taipei. My voyage begins soon- I leave this Friday morning (Jan 16th) to take a train to DC. I'll spend 6 days there with my friends, staying in the townhouse that I lived in this past fall and attending Obama's Inauguration! Then on Thursday Jan 22nd I'll spend 24 hours flying to Taipei, with a couple of layovers in the US. I'm trying to look forward to catching up on my movie-watching on the three flights but I'll probably land in Taipei exhausted and a little miserable. I arrive early Saturday morning the 24th, so I'll spend all of January 23rd traveling! My good friend Amanda who's already in Taiwan has graciously offered to meet me at the airport, so it'll be amazing to see a familiar (English-speaking) face!
My classes don't start til March 2nd but I wanted to get to Taipei early to experience Chinese New Year on January 26th. I'm also hoping to do some traveling, get acquainted with the city, and practice my Chinese. I'm thinking of this time as my summer vacation because this is the first summer I'll be away from home and taking classes. I'll be living with Amanda for the first week, then a friend from church in Boston, Likai, generously asked if I'd want to live with his mom in Taipei so I'll be staying with her for a month, and then I'll hopefully move into an apartment within walking distance of my school before classes start. It'll be easier to look for a place once I'm in Taipei so this is my main goal for February. I'll be taking two semesters of Mandarin Chinese classes at the Chinese Language Center of National Chengchi University (the first semester is March, April, May, then ten days of vacation and June, July, August is the second semester). My Chinese teachers at Georgetown recommended this university and Amanda says the classes are small and the teachers are great, so I'm really excited! I'm looking forward to focusing solely on Chinese after juggling 5 classes at Georgetown this past fall.
Well, I better stop writing this and get to packing! Thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My dear niece - We will be following your adventures with enthusiasm! I am so impressed with your adventurous spirit and am looking forward to experiencing this culture that seems SO exotic to me through your eyes. I think about you often and just marvel at the gumption that both you and Kara share that allows you to jump into the unknown and THRIVE. Wishing you all the best and anticipating a great year for you on that beautiful island! Love, Aunt Lisa
ReplyDelete