Week Three Top Five
1. PX Mart is an awesome store
PX Mart is a supermarket chain here in Taiwan. There are two about a ten minute walk from my house. They have pretty much anything I might need in terms of food and toiletries. It was comforting to see Nutella, Cheetos, Snickers, and peanut butter as well as American style shampoo and stain remover. I now know where to go when I am craving some American snack food or in need of a staple toiletry!
2. The Wenzao library rocks
I learned how to use the dewy decimal system at the library this week so I can now both locate and check out books. Jenny helped me figure out how to log on to the computers at the library so I can work at school without needing to bring my laptop. I also learned from Katie's SOSA partner which floors of the library you can talk on. The silent floors truly are silent which makes them a perfect place to study. The floors where talking is aloud are still very peaceful making for an awesome environment. I think I will be spending a lot of time at the library!
3. The world is often smaller than I think
When we met the Fulbright Scholars who are teaching in Kaohsiung, I was shocked to find one of them grew up just a few blocks from me. The Dominican order was an important part of my childhood and high school career so I have also been amazed at how many Dominican priests and sisters I have met. FIRST robotics has been an integral part of my life for the last six years. This week, I had the chance to visit an FIRST team's workplace here in Kaohsiung. While Kaohsiung certainly is vastly different than the US, it is amazing to me how many connections I already have to this island even though I have only lived here for three weeks.
4. Planning works a little bit differently here
I'm still adjusting to the way plans are made here. We can be running over an hour late but no one is stressed or concerned. Although this does make creating and communicating plans more difficult, I like this more laid back lifestyle.
5. I need to adjust my expectations for my elective courses
My first day attending elective courses with Taiwanese students at Wenzao was overwhelming to say the least. It was a challenging experience to find myself in a class where I only understood about 10% of what was happening. I am learning that my goals for classes here need to be different than my goals for a normal class in the United States. Here it is not so much about the grade I receive or how much of the course material I understand but rather about how my Chinese is improving. I know this will be an adjustment for me but I am incredibly excited to have this opportunity to challenge myself to learn Chinese in a unique way.