One Week Down

Well this has been one of the longest weeks I have ever had. I feel like I have been in Taiwan for a month now, but it has only been a week. At least I can say that I have improved since the first day I got here. 

We found a place where you can get buffalo wings! Lloyd was in heaven. They were surprisingly some of the best we have ever had. Who knew they would have great wings here? They also had the best sweet potato fries that I have ever had. I think this will be one of our favorite places to eat. 

We found COSTCO! Best day of my life. It felt a little like home to me. Of course it is not going to be like in America, but we found a lot of the same things. They have their cheese, milk, chips and salsa, muffins, bagels, apple streusel, and more! I couldn't have been happier. There was a lot more seafood and different meats and many different kinds of foods, but I did find a lot that I love and that is going to save me. I think the strangest thing I found in Costco was the "black" chicken. I have no idea what it is or why it is black, but I definitely will never buy it. I thought it was very interesting and had to snap a picture. As soon as we move into our apartment (hopefully this weekend) then we are going on a big Costco spree. I am so excited to be able to buy the food I like and start making meals! Thank goodness for Costco.

I must say, for only being here a week, we have had a blast. It has rained so much and I have enjoyed it a lot. I love the rain and never felt like we had enough of it in Utah. Well for only being here a week, it has rained a ton. I believe it has rained every single day. We have sunshine in the morning, but it always seems to end up raining. I experienced my first typhoon. That was an adventure- I don't think it hit as hard as the other big cities, but it did rain harder than I have ever seen and it was crazy windy. Our hotel windows were shaking. It was fun to be in it and be safe! 

On Saturday night, we went bowling! It was so needed to go out and do something fun. The couples whose spot we are taking are so awesome. They have been so nice to show us around and take us to fun places and restaurants. It has been good for me to see that Taiwan is a normal place, just different than in America. I have already learned so much and am so excited to see more. I have to say that the Chinese culture seems to have an act for bowling. They all seemed to be amazing at bowling. I was so excited because I am pretty sure I bowled the best I ever have. I ended up with a 125 and usually I can't even get close to 100. Maybe it was those around me rubbing off on me! We will be back to that place for sure.

Mango Ice is the best creation. I thought shaved ice in Utah was the best until I tried this. The ice has milk in it so its really creamy and the mangos are amazing. They really are the best here. I have heard from Lloyd all these years that the fruit and mangos are the best in Taiwan and I now believe it. If you ever come to Taiwan, this is an absolute must to try. 

Last but not least, Hot Pot. This place was very interesting. Our branch president and wife invited a few of us newbies from the branch to try Hot Pot. You get to create your own meal. They have a bunch of frozen meat, fish, duck blood (yes this is really there), corn, noodles, vegetables and more on trays and you get to pick out what you want to put in your broth they give you. Then you boil it in front of you until you think it is done and you eat it. It was very interesting, I must say that night I enjoyed the company more than the food. :) A new family from Lehi just moved here about a month ago so we got to meet them that night. I am glad they are here, they will be good company! 

One Day At A Time

As a lot of people know, being in a different culture takes some time getting used to. I have had a hard time getting along with the food here so I was extremely grateful when one of the managers working here with Lloyd took us to an "Italian" restaurant last night. I ordered a pizza and it tasted so good. Lloyd ordered a pasta, I am not sure if we liked that one! It was very different and to be honest it didn't really look like pasta. We ordered a lot of food because both Lloyd and I were starving since I think we haven't eaten a whole lot since we got here. As for drinks, they have the most amazing fruit drinks here. They put lots of real, fresh fruit in the drinks and it is delightful. Lloyd ordered his usual "diet coke". He feels at home when he has one of those.      

                         

Last night was my first taxi cab ride. Not my first one in Taiwan, but my first one ever. I have never driven in a taxi before, so they had me sit up front with the driver. I was a little nervous because here, they drive in front of others all the time, they hardly ever wait for people to cross the street and it is just much crazier here than in Utah. I had to keep closing my eyes thinking we were going to crash. I have to say though, for my first time it was pretty good.

Lloyds office

Today, I was able to go into the office with Lloyd. They wanted me to meet everyone in the office and get to know them. First off I have to mention again that it is SO hot and humid here. We walked from our hotel to the office which is about a 25 minute walk and when we got there, I really felt like I just took a shower. My hair fluffed up and I was not looking so good! I felt embarrassed when I walked into the office because of how sweaty I was. People kept saying "Oh very hot here!" Everyone in this office is super nice and friendly. I felt welcomed immediately. I am so grateful for my husband who gets to work for a great company with great employees. I am excited to get to know them better. It is so weird for me to be in an atmosphere that there is only Chinese being spoken. I cannot understand a word. I have never been anywhere where it is ALL Chinese. I am now just getting used to hearing it, I just wish I knew it so I could communicate.  
                           

             

On our way into the office, we stopped by a Temple. It was so pretty and I can't wait to see more. Taiwan is so beautiful and has very nice looking Temples. They have these statue type things all over the place. It is really cool and fun to find them. I can't wait to go explore more.  


                                                               

The above building is the apartment we will be moving into. When we move into our apartment, we will be across the street from Lloyd's office. I am so happy about that. That will be so nice to be able to walk right across the street.

no ice :(

Today we ate at Outback steakhouse for lunch. It is on the first floor of Lloyds office building. Can I just say how amazing it was. They had salad with ranch! I love ranch and was so excited to eat it. I am not a fan of seafood or any fish, but for some reason, some strange reason I wanted to order fish and chips. Lloyd was confused because he took me to Outback to get something that I was used to eating. I absolutely loved the fish and chips. I am so glad I tried it because now I can order them and know I like it. They also never put ice in the drinks. That is hard for me because I love ice. So the water is always warm. The service here is so awesome. They are so fast and there is always someone checking up on you. I never had an empty drink. They are so nice and welcoming. 

Fish and Chips

                                                                                                                                                 

As for right now, I feel a little bit more comfortable being out and about.  I don't worry about people staring at us anymore :) I am looking forward to some more interesting things coming our way.

The Newest Adventure

Well, I must admit it has been awhile since I have blogged, but with our new adventure I will be much better at this!

Taiwan...Who would have ever thought we would be living in Taiwan? Especially me. Never in a million years. This is the craziest thing that I have ever done.

First picture after the long plane ride. Hint the tired look
                                          

We arrived in Taiwan on Saturday evening about 10 o clock (Taiwan time). The day was stressful, exciting, tiring, but most of all emotional. Saying goodbye to family is never easy, especially when you know you are not coming back next week. It was fun to have family at the airport to see us take off. I am extremely grateful for family today. We had a flight that was delayed which made the other flight hard to catch, but we finally made it on the plane to Taiwan. I was not able to sit by my husband due to problems we had with our flights. It was a long 13 hour flight by myself! I was so happy to be off the plane and finally be in Taiwan. Our luggage was lost so we didn't get it until Sunday afternoon. We were so excited to see our luggage :).

View from our hotel

The smells here are very different... But I know it takes time to get used to everything. My cute husband Lloyd took me out this beautiful Sunday morning for a walk. I have never felt so hot in my life! It is so humid here and I still don't know how I am going to do this! I never thought I could smell 10 different things in just a few seconds. It could take awhile to get used to these smells!
Anyways, we walked down our street for awhile and looked around. There are 7 elevens everywhere. It is nice to see them, but they are so different to me than in America. My main problem is I don't know what anything is. Everything is in Chinese characters. I hardly ever see any English. Uh oh... I guess it is time to learn some Chinese.
When we came back to our hotel, (we don't move into our apartment for another week or so, so hotel home it is) I never knew I could feel like I just jumped into a swimming pool after walking outside. I felt so drenched from being outside, it is so weird! I hope I get used to this humid hot weather. Good thing I brought lots of shorts.

 
We have already been to McDonalds- not shocking for those of you who know me well. I don't really do good at first with new foods. It is hard for me to adjust fast, so it will take some time to learn to love the food here because so far I have spit out everything Lloyd has had me try! Whoops!

Lloyd and all the scooters

The traffic here is pretty crazy. There are SO many scooters. I think most people drive scooters. When I have watched them drive, I am so tense because I feel like there are going to be so many accidents, but  I guess they know what they are doing because  I haven't seen an accident yet. I don't think we will buy a scooter because it is so crazy here, but I do think we will end up buying us some bikes. I will feel much safer on those.

I have never lived outside of the United States before, not even out of Utah, so this is so different to me. I have never been somewhere where I don't see other Americans. I know some are here, but I haven't seen them yet! It is so different walking down the street and everyone looks at you. I feel so off because I am a blonde American and I think I really stand out with the blonde hair. I wonder what everyone is thinking when they look at us. I can't believe I am living here. I feel like I will be coming home next week, but I am not. I am scared when my husband goes to work tomorrow because I am not mentally prepared to go out on my own yet. I mean we have only been here for 24 hours. So I am going to be really bored :).
I love when Lloyd speaks Chinese! Everyone is so shocked and they think it is so awesome. I love it because I know we will be okay and understand no matter what as long as I am with him. I am so grateful he learned Chinese and took the time to study it because it is making a huge difference to me. I am so grateful he served a mission and I know he was supposed to go to Taiwan- He has such a love for these people. I am excited to be here, even though I am nervous as can be. I am excited to learn new things and see the beauty here in Taiwan. This is a crazy exciting adventure and a good experience for me. I know it will strengthen me in my life. I am excited to get to know people and grow to love them too! I already think they are so wonderful. Everyone that we have talked to are so nice and genuine.
I look forward to doing new things and learning to love it here. I can't wait for the day I say I am sad to leave. I know it will all work out. I am so happy I have the gospel in my life. That is a main reason why I know I can do this. My Heavenly Father knows me and knows my concerns and I know he will help me. I am excited to go to our ward next week and meet everyone. For now, I am just happy that we are here safe and looking forward to this week. I am excited to blog so I can write the things down that I don't ever want to forget and tell of my experiences so that one day my kids will know that their parents are crazy, but hopefully fun :)! Heres to two years of new adventures!!

Walking down the street

Taiwan