Ghost Month, Good Food and a Great Rap Song

I woke up a bit later today, ate breakfast and then walked to school. After saying morning prayer in the chapel, I went to class. Today we learned about ghost month in Taiwan. The lesson was incredibly interesting because I learned not only many new vocabulary words but also about the Taiwanese culture surrounding this month.

My Classmates and Me

For lunch, we ate at a restaurant near Wenzao. Here is what I ordered:

My Lunch

We then walked to 7-11 to add money to our bus cards. Outside of the store was a table of food for the ghosts. Since it is ghost month, this is a common sight in the city.

Food for the Ghosts

We then went to a shaved ice shop and ordered mango shaved ice. The owners were incredibly nice and the food was awesome so we are planning to go back often.

Mango Shaved Ice

Next, we stopped in a pastry store. I am so excited this store is so close to Wenzao because I absolutely love Asian pastries!

Pastry Store

We then went to another stationary store. This one was a bit more expensive but I liked their products better. We really enjoyed reading the often comical English translations on the merchandise. My favorite one read as follows:

The Simple Life Notebook

Cheerless is the day,

the light under frowning clouds is

like a punished child with trace

of tears on its pale cheeks,

and the cry of the wind

is like the cry of a wounded world.

But I know I am travelling to meet my Friend.

The Simple Life Notebook

I also found this notebook funny:

Help!

We then went back to Wenzao for our afternoon class. We learned about different famous foods and sights in Taiwan. After class, many of us went to a mall near our houses. Their were many famous American brands represented including Columbia, Gucci, Birkenstock and Clinique. I bought a pig-in-a-blanket and a doughnut at a pastery store for a total of 67 cents!

I returned home and ate some delicious dumplings for dinner. Then I had a very long conversation with my host parents comparing the college admissions process, home schooling, wages, work environment and health insurance in the USA and Taiwan. I had to look up many vocabulary words but was surprised at how easily I was able to sustain this conversation! I can tell I am improving already.

To conclude my post, I thought I'd share a video of my host brother's favorite song. He likes Leehom Wang's version, but I prefer this version: