Life Starts Now...: Last Day of Orientation

Just like that, we are approaching our last day of orientation/training here in Sanxia, New Taipei City. While it's hard to believe that I have been here for almost a week and our Orientation is coming to an end, in some sense, the last few days have felt so much longer, perhaps due to all the things we have done in such a short time frame and all the new experiences we have been introduced to. I feel like I have known the people in my group for much longer than merely 4 days. As they have told us, "the people around you now will soon become your family here in Taiwan for the year to come." I sure do hope so.

For the past 2 days, we have spent most of our time in the classroom, being introduced to Taiwan, teaching English, learning Chinese, as well as important teaching strategies for the classroom. Last night, a group of us took a short trip to a supermarket called Carrefour, where we got to open our eyes to the Taiwanese food culture. While there were many familiar snack brands such as Oreo, Lay's chips, Ritz, Coca-Cola, etc., there were also many adaptations of new flavors we have yet seen in the United States. We found most fascinating snacks such as ice cream flavored Oreo cookies, chicken and seaweed flavored Lay's chips, and a vast variations of local brand products, local fruits, as well as more exotic food such as pig's blood cakes, pig's stomachs, and cow's tongues. Who would have thought going to the supermarket could be such an adventure!

Pig's blood cake

Cow's tongues

This actually leaves a cooling sensation in your mouth even a while after you eat it.

Sold inside 7-Eleven store

We had another short day of class today to make room for our last excursion, also the one I have been looking forward to the most: visiting Sanxia Old Street. It's located not too far from our campus, so we ended up walking there. Due to the soon-to-come rain, the humidity pressed down on us as we walked. We were all drenched in sweat, but I soon forgot the discomfort, replaced by my excitement as we approached the Old Street district. Sanxia Old Street is a short segment of historic street, preserved in its early dated architecture. All along the two sides of the streets are gift shops, hand-craft shops, and snack stalls. The red brick buildings, arches, ancient wooden structures, all contribute to the nostalgic feel of the street. It definitely felt like going back in time strolling along that street.

We explored the street, tried different Taiwanese street food (even pig's blood cake), and I bought myself some cute handcrafted trinkets as souvenirs. We were then treated to a VERY elaborate dinner at a nearby restaurant by our program, where the food wouldn't stop coming until we were all stuffed. Now back in my room, it's time to pack up everything to get ready for our parting tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be meeting up with representatives from our schools and I will be going back to my designated location to see my apartment and the town for the first time, where I will be calling home for the next year. A bit sad to have to part with all the wonderful people I have met, but we will surely meet up again very soon. I will miss everyone and everything here a lot!