Ni hao from Taiwan!!!!!!

OK, so after a looong flight I DON'T feel jet lagged although I do feel drunk (I didn't even drink anything but water and juice on the plane)...

I got a LOT of food on the plane and it was all surprisingly good!! 4 meals in total, not including the 5th one from Bangkok to Taipei...except when they had the instant ramen meal I asked for beef instead of seafood and the beef was...SPICY beef!! So I had to pick all the chilies out and they only gave me a tiny glass of water and my mouth was STILL burning a half an hour after eating it-hahahaha!!!

Then I had my layover in the new Bangkok airport and I have to say it may look nice on the outside, but the inside is nothing but GRAY, SILVER(like Ikea silver, not like expensive jewelry silver) and STERILE!!! The waiting seats were silver metal and my butt hurt so bad from sitting!!!! There were only a few pretty Thai inspired murals on the wall, but very faint....only one thing that was cool was the Thai gods etched in the glass doors...that was cool. BUT...now I can say I was in Bangkok!! Maybe one day I'll go back and see outside of the airport!!

I flew Eva Air and they were GREAT except for the fact that I brought two suitcases and they only allow you ONE!!!!!! That was a major issue at Schiphol and I almost lost my "mianzhi" (lost face) and was ready to punch someone out ;) But I didn't :)

So then I arrived at Taipei and went through customs and it was NOTHING like Schiphol!!!! No HUGE lines except a tiny one for the citizens and almost NO ONE in line for the non-citizens so I went right through!!!! I exchanged my €'s and then went to the lobby where it was also empty (Much UNLIKE Schiphol as well) and my driver was waiting for me!!!!! I was so worn out that I forgot to get a picture of him holding my name!!!!! So as soon as I stepped outside to wait for him to bring the car over, I felt the stickiness, sweatiness and all that that everyone describes about Taiwan, but you know what?? It is a welcome change from the crappy too cold for anything must wear a sweater and winter coat in the middle of August in Amsterdam weather!!!!!!

So my driver took me to the hotel and the sights were amazing to me!! I ACTUALLY LIVE IN APLACE WITH PALM TREES!!!!!!! I've never lived in a place with palm trees :)

In all honesty, Taipei isn't as gorgeous as say Paris or Berlin and it looks kinda beat-up but I actually felt good!!! I mean, I am scared to death right now and the culture shock has hit me BIG TIME and am afraid to go to a restaurant and order food...BUT I'm gonna go out there and do it!!! I NEED to do this!! And I will go and order food( NOT from McD's) because I have to get over my fears and anxiety!

This is my destiny!!!!!

But anyway, amid all of the factories and crappy looking buildings(well so far..I still need to venture out) there are beautiful green mountains and gorgeous greenery!! I also assume Taichung will be a little nicer than this...

The hotel is cool! They have been so helpful and My school has taken care of me so far!!! I've heard some negative things about them in the past (well you hear negative things about ALL English schools in Asia), but my driver was there for me, the hotel has been great so far, my hotel room is AWESOME!!!!! and my school has also given me a Mandarin Phrasebook (NOT Lonely Planet-their own actually) and a little booklet on Taiwan (once again NOT Lonely Planet-their own) plus a magazine about Taiwan(in English) and some other info!!!!

I start training on Monday and I am so excited!!! Well, I am going to go sort my stuff, talk to the front desk about my luggage being cargoed and then venture out in the streets-GASP!!!!

I will post pics when I come back!!!