Test, Eric, and ZOMG IT CAME!

Thursday October 25, 2012

ARE YOU READY TO TAFFY?! :D This is gonna be a good one! ;D

Our day starts with University and the slightly intimidating Mid-term Exam. This was the biggest exam we’ve ever had to this date. I studied quite a bit from every angle I could think of when it comes to knowing Chinese characters, their tone, their pinyin, their grammar placement, etc. So, do you think I did well or not so hot? Come up with a score you think I got, a hundred being the highest. I’ll give you a minute/paragraph spacing to contemplate it.

Do you have an answer? Did anyone think dear Andrea failed? Any answers of barely passing? I see a few people went for an “A” or “B.” Would you like to see my score?

BOOMSHAKALAKA! TAKE THAT CHINESE EXAM! I WHOOPED YOUR BUTT TO KINGDOM COME! >:D AHAHAHAHA I AM HAPPY! In my opinion, I definitely needed to treat myself to something because of this feat! A 100, people! 100! A PERFECT SCORE! If you can’t tell already, I’m still really proud of this accomplishment! ^_^

Allow me to get side tracked for a paragraph. Where are my Sengoku Basara fans at? I saw this sign on my high school campus and couldn’t help but tack on “guys?!” Then my mind continued the exclamation with “Put your guns on!” Please tell me I’m not the only one who derives a squeal from the sign because of this. :P

Back to the main plot line! So remember how I just said I thought to treat myself for my Mid-Term Exam triumph? I didn’t have to go far at all! When I arrived at Tatung to sign in, I came across Redy who was smiling quite a bit. It made me suspicious as to what was going on. Her cheerful mood was derived from a surprise she had for me. It was a brown box behind her desk. A brown box with the words “Priority Mail” …and “Airmail” and… “United States Postal Service.” OH HOLY CRUD THE PACKAGE CAME ALREADY! OH MY GOSH! HAPPINESS! :D

My wonderful American family sent me a care package of things I needed that Taiwan doesn’t have. I don’t understand about mailing packages to Taiwan but it’s not as simple as in America. At my first host family’s apartment address there’s no place to receive packages, only letters. So Redy was kind enough to let me use her address to have the care package shipped to that could accept boxes. According to my father back in Texas, the package was supposed to arrive anywhere from October 24^th-30^th so I wasn’t expecting it for another week. But Redy said the box reached her house on the 24^th which allowed her to bring it to school on the 25^th. Wow! What fantastic shipping estimate time! Kudos to the postal service!

I made a trade-off with Redy that if she allowed me to use her address to have the box shipped to, my family would include some Aveeno lotion she liked so much. A friend of Redy’s that went abroad came back and gave her some Aveeno lotion that Redy loved. Unfortunately her bottle was running low and Taiwan doesn’t seem to have any Aveeno brand stuff. I’m guessing Aveeno is an American brand that’s only in America? Maybe? Not really sure. Regardless, my dear Texas family did indeed put some Aveeno in. Though the phrase “some Aveeno” should be changed to “A BOMBARDMENT OF AVEENO!” XD With a flood of tiny tubes and the ace of a full sized tube, Redy was very happy with the amount of lotion as you can tell by her lovely smile. A shout out to my Texas family, Redy says “THANK YOU!” :D

I’ll postpone my personal shout out until later because I actually didn’t dig through the entire care package until I got home. So hang on till then! ;D

Getting to Tatung was a bit of a dash because I needed to be there at 12:00 for a lunch with the exchange students and Redy. This was to be our last lunch together with Erik. It is very sad to think about it but it is best not to dwell on such thoughts. So instead we spent our time merrily laughing and chit-chatting about thing here and there. Photo time was involved as well!

Starting out our lunchtime together we had, well, lunch! I tried something different today but buying food at “Hi-Life” which is a convenient store on Tatung school campus. Convenient stores like “Hi-Life” and “7-Eleven” on school campuses will give out student discounts, which is very wonderful! Though, half of the things I buy are fruit and never end up having the discount. XD Oh well! Today I tried getting an appetizing looking sandwich and a beverage I’ve had my eye on for over a month.

The taste test? OH! I felt like I was in a “Subway” back in America for a spilt second! The sandwich had a delightful filling of lettuce, chicken, cucumber and a little sauce. So yummy! The drink of “Bubble Black Tea” was also very tasty but I think it’s a little too sugary. I couldn’t really taste the tea, only the sugar. I’m happy to have tried it and know it is at least a tasty beverage. ^_^

Moving away from food and onto people! That can only mean picture time! :D

The star of the lunchtime! Yes, this is the type of person Erik can be, playful and humorous!

Erik and Redy in a normal pose. Two beautiful, kind people! ^_^

The two paired up exchange students in the same classroom. Sweden and America unite! I’ll miss having is tall, blonde self, attracting Taiwanese student screams of “ERIKKKKKK!” in the hallway. XD He was a great classroom partner and shall be missed!

Funny pose time! We had to coax Erik to doing a cute Taiwanese style pose. It took a bit but it was a SUCCESS! :D

Taiwanese style comical pose part 2! Everyone imitate a blowfish now! XD

And last but not least, a final group photo! Unfortunately Mary Lou (from Mexico) wasn’t there today because she had a Rotary meeting. But thankfully everyone else could make the last lunch with Erik! In this picture, for some reason Erik thought something was wrong and began to stare and put down his peace signs. Rats! Even so, it is a great picture together! Buddies forever!

As the bell signaled the need to get back to class, we all exchanged our farewells. Hugs were bestowed upon Erik and well wishes with his flight this Friday. Let’s keep him in our prayers for a safe flight and adjustment back to Sweden! ^_^

School life continued as I battled fighting off urges to sleep in class. Missing naptime is always a blow to my ability to stay focused. It just goes to show how much I’ve adjusted to Taiwanese lifestyle, forming the need to nap like the other students! XD

A girl classmate came up to me today and expressed the want to cut my hair. Now for those who know me, I’ll let you imagine how wide my eyes got at this desire. And the girl spoke her desire as if she would seriously just come up behind me and chop off my hair. No joke, I thought she was being genuine. Even though I said “我不要” (I don’t want) she still kept on insisting. In fear that she would actually commit murder to my life long friend, I overcame the apparent language barrier and jokingly dragged my thumb across my throat making a “Hckkkk” sound. It seemed to work because she retreated back to her own desk. Of course I was joking with my mime but I can’t guarantee anyone’s safety if they erratically decide to sever my beloved hair without permission (which they shall never EVER have). ;P

MARTIAL ARTS CLUB TODAY! :D We did our usually warm-ups/exercises with a bit of learning some more of the routine we were previously taught a part of. But today at a surprise appearance of something fuzzy, sparkley and winks at you! Can you guess what traditional Chinese culture I’m referring to? It’s a dance…of an animal…the animal goes “RWAR!” Once last hint for the animal…Simba… YEP! It’s the lion dance everyone! :D HOW COOL IS THAT?! Not only do I learn some kung-fu but a bit of other Chinese culture is thrown in as well! AND IT WAS SO BRILLIANT! I thoroughly enjoyed the time being part of the lion costume our master brought! Both the front legs/head and the back legs were SO MUCH FUN! The lion head is kinda difficult to operate as you have to remain conscious of your feet, hands, lion head placement, control of the lion’s mouth and the eyes. It sure takes a lot of thought and exaggerated movements to make the lion more dynamic!

Since I was kid it seemed that the being the back legs was the un-fun part because you have to bend over so much in order to made the dragon’s back flat and not a hump. Was it un-fun? Heck no! IT WAS SUPER FUN! Sure the leg lifting gets hard when your bent over but swishing your behind around and making the lion look as if its tail was wagging was so cool! Gosh darn it, now I want to learn how to do lion dances! Anyone in Texas want to be my partner and find a lion costume somewhere over the rainbow when I return? :P

So after a quite pleasurable martial arts club (it’s always a pleasure!) twas off to the MTR! In my hands was bulging an excellent and substantial box of ‘I-can’t-wait-to-dive-into-its-contents!’ Therefore the usual looks I get from being a foreigner were amplified as I carried this great big package. XD So much so that three school guys physically pointed directly at me and my box through closed MTR doors. Honestly I don’t know what captured their interest more, the box or me. And no, you don’t often see people carrying around big mail packages on the subway so that’s why I was a sight to see!

CARE PACKAGE TIME! No I shall not show you every little thing inside (must you know everything? I think not :P) but I’ll give you some of the leading impressions! ;D

Opening the box, without even touching anything, the aura of America just whooshed over me and I staggered for a second. XD I felt the love and support of my Texas family instantly and was already merry enough from just that! And just because I’m paranoid and the Internet is scary, I edited out the two addresses present on the box cover. :P But it doesn’t at all take away from the happiness that is radiating off me!

HAND SANITIZER! This stuff is great for when using on the subway or bus! And it’s the wonderful sweet scented kind! LOVE! :D

Christian music surplus! I’ve been so looking forward for these wonderful CDs! Seriously, these things are lifesavers and such an unending joy to listen to!

Now I’ve had difficultly finding peanut bars in Taiwan much less peanuts in general that aren’t ridiculously expensive. I should also note that I always ate Nature Valley Peanut/Cashew bars for every school lunch and even in the summer. So it goes without saying, I really really reeeeeeeally love these things! So spending two months without a single morsel of its taste and then receiving my care package contents…this resulted!

TWENTY-FOUR OF THESE SCRUMPTIOUS BARS! OH MY GOSH! I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD! Look! You can just see my face turning red from excitement! How could I not be uber excited?! It’s a hail of yumminess!

I should be paid for this advertisement! XD The dress/apron/clothing of some sort of Nature Valley bars just makes me way too jolly! I couldn’t resist doing pictures with wearing these delicious healthy treats! Don’t we look like a tasty match made in heaven? XD

Of course, the twenty-four bars I had dwindled down to twenty-three, nearly twenty-two without me reining myself back like mad. XD It salty sweetness of the granola bar was oh so satisfying! The cashew butter coating made me fall into my chair and the sudden blast of cashews just created a mini paradise! You know those ‘Almond Joy’ commercials that’s along the lines of ‘open your paradise.’ It’s these nut bars here that do it for me. ^_^

Time for my shout out! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD! 謝謝你！I appreciate all your support and love! Thank you for your affectionate provision with sending me a care package of marvelous stuff! I virtually shower you in hugs and kisses from Taiwan. :D I love y’all!

In conclusion, today was a fantastic Taffy installment! Andrea is ecstatic she has physical proof of her Mandarin learning efforts. She wants to get a traditional Chinese lion costume and learn the dance with a partner. Aaaaaaand…* mimcs ‘Peanut Butter Jelly Time’ song * IT’S PEANUT AND CASHEW TIME! PEANUT AND CASHEW TIME! XD See y’all next time! Peace out! :D