Hey all, sorry it's taken so long since my last post. I try to do one every week but last week was the first week of classes, so yeah.

We've basically been studying a lot and meeting some of the late arrivals in our program-some really cool people. But the coolest discovery I've had has been away from the Americans and my new friends: traveling alone in a foreign country, let alone one where I stick out so much would be difficult. But all it took was one instance of struggling to ask for correct change in a convenience store. I was really struggling with a particular grammar construct and kept asking for change from the cashier incorrectly. I distinctly heard multiple people giggle and say "foreigner". I wasn't that offended, really I found it funny, but I think I am starting to grasp what it is to be an outsider. That experience coupled with the stares I get from small Taiwanese children as they call me "white person" has been strange.

It isn't these experiences that are making my stay in Taiwan so memorable, I've had this happen when I would go compete in Curacao or Ecuador for Karate. It's that plus the absolute warmth that everyone in this country has welcomed me with, including those kids (who love to wave hello) and that cashier. Plus I get some amazing photos of some breathtaking scenery from some long hikes, or if I'm just lazy I can just look out my window. I'll upload a few as soon as I can