I totally have neglected my blog for the past... year. But now that I have some time I need to do an update on life.
I finished my trip in Cambodia and then made my way towards Thailand. While in Thailand I visited Bangkok and traveled around there for a while, buying random street vendor goods and just bumming around. Thailand was my time to relax after running all over the jungles of Cambodia and visiting all the sites that I saw. I made my way towards Koh Tao an island of the coast of Thailand. I was trying to make my way towards the full moon party but I had some issues. I rented a scooter and drove around the island and went to a private beach where I was climbing on rocks. While I was on the rocks I cut my foot and hands open on the coral and was bleeding everywhere. Luckily there was a medical facility on the island and I went to them and they patched me up and gave me some medication.
The next day I decided it would be fun to go scuba diving. This was the first time I was in open water scuba diving. During my scuba diving trip I purchased two dives and the first dive was beautiful. I saw so many different types of fish and have never been so deep down in my life. After that dive we went on another dive and this time when I went down I could not regulate my ears properly and the pressure built up in my head so badly that I almost passed out underwater. Luckily my guide was experienced enough to help me up to the surface and I was able to try to get the water out of my ears. Try as I might, this never worked. The instructor told me to give it a day and see how I was in the morning, if I was in pain I should go to the medical facility. If I was in pain, was an understatement I was in incredible pain all night and into the next day. I was rolling around all night in so much pain that I couldn't even shed a tear. I went back to the medical facility and they gave me medication and I walked around the next couple days like I was drunk, I had no motor skills from the pain and my balance was nonexistent. I wasn't instructed to stay on the island but I figured it would be in my best interest so I would not get seasick. I was stuck there until I went back to Bangkok and waited for my flight.
Basically after Thailand, my life in Taiwan ended very abruptly in January. I rented out an apartment down the street from school where I lived next door to a Korean guy. We became good friends and we had fun trying to decipher many different characters around Taiwan (from the washing machine to the menus). My second semester included a Taiwanese wedding in the middle of Taiwan. The groom was a friend of Papas and I was his 'date.' The wedding was a ton of fun and it was a very interesting staying in a Taiwanese families home for a couple days. I stayed with Papa and his parents. Next door to them was his Aunts house, she had a fun story. She currently is reitired but makes 包子 for all the neighbors. She originally only was baking for a few friends and family, but then the whole neighborhood caught on to her amazing baking skills and she now makes hundreds per day, so much for being retired.
During the wedding I was eating a lot of great foods. So of the classiest Taiwanese foods I had ever seen. Papa asked me one question, what I wanted to drink. I had two choices, Gaoliang and whiskey. I wanted to try to impress the locals so I chose the Gaoliang. I was given a whole bottle of Gaoliang to myself. This was a long day, to say the least. Papa had me participate in the wedding by first singing a song to the group. I was accompanied because I had some stage fright, as this was my first official time singing to a group of people that were not in a KTV. I rocked the stage and everyone enjoyed my singing skills (even though they were poor). The next part that I participated in was the toast ceremony. I was taken with the bride and groom around to every table to toast each table of people that came. They were basically trying to see how much I could drink and how much I knew about refusing an older person in Taiwanese culture. I had a plan, I saw that the tea we had looked oddly similar to the whiskey. After drinking about 5-6 cups of whiskey I told Papa to get me a bottle of tea and pretend that I was drinking whiskey. Apparently this is a very Taiwanese move to do, sneaking fake alcohol to not disappoint people. I don't know if this is true but it made me laugh and is something unforgettable.
My second semester in Taiwan included another full-time Chinese course. This time I was with two Panamanians, a German, and a couple others. This was a fun, but very challenging class. Again I struggled to get the material into my brain but the teacher I had was the sweetest woman in the world. She required us to learn a song and sing it in a KTV. So one day after class we took a field trip to a KTV and sang out hearts out. She was accompanied by her husband who was just another typical Taiwanese man, extremely open and so nice to us. I had many low experiences in this class, just due to frustration, but I persevered and learned a lot of Chinese.
This semester also was the time that I said goodbye to foreign exchange students and hello to all Taiwanese friends. I did not want to use a lot of English so I made huge effort to become friends with Papa and his friends. This was one of the best ideas I have ever had. I learned a lot of Chinese and really learned how some Taiwanese students live in college.
Dana and myself had a nice Christmas dinner together. This was my first Christmas away from family so she opened her heart up to me. This was another huge experience that I was not ready for. In Taiwan we did not get Christmas off so I did get a little homesick during this time. Dana and I went to the grocery store and picked up a chicken. The chicken came as a surprise to both of us. When I looked closely at the chicken I saw a head inside. After looking closer, I saw two feet. Dana had already said that she would cut the head off (which was done with a pretty dull knife). So I was in charge of cutting the feet off.
During my last night in Taiwan, which I remember far to vividly. I returned the scooter that I purchased (and had a blast driving around Taipei) and then went to Hoydea with Papa and all my other friends. We had some drinks, stayed there until about 3 or 4 am and then went to a midnight snack breakfast stand where we waited until 5 and we left for the airport. When it was time to finally leave for the flight I said my goodbyes and felt horrible leaving. But I had to do it sometime.
So I came back from Taiwan and about a week or so later I returned to Illinois State University to finish my undergraduate degree. Speeding ahead a little bit, I took a class that taught me the most out of any class that I have taken at ISU. This class was called Political Science Professional Development. In this class I was taught basic resume writing skills and received information on graduate school. I still have hopes to maybe go back to Taiwan for graduate school but I need to take a bit of time to decide before I make my decision. This class also taught me about internships. I knew for a while that there are three things that are needed in order to get a good job: a degree, study abroad, and an internship. I have/am working towards two of the three of those. I did not yet complete an internship and this was on my list of things to do.
My professor told us about a few internship possibilities and said if we were a junior, that we should consider doing one. Like before going to Taiwan I did think about applying to some but never really thought I would follow through with it.
I ended up applying to do some political research in the middle of nowhere Montana. The organization is called Project VoteSmart. I finished the application, sent it off and a few weeks later I was being asked to do an interview for the position. I got the call and was told that the internship would be very testing on my patience and that it is located 6000 feet above sea level, 40 minuets down a dirt road to the nearest 'town.'
After finishing my first real interview I was told to get back to them if I wanted to take it. I decided that it would be another crazy experience, like Taiwan, so I took the opportunity to spend the summer in the middle of nowhere.
When school was finished I had one week to relax at home and then after my birthday, I was off to Philipburg, Montana.
