Happy birthday to me!

Because of the time difference, I get to have my birthday around half a day earlier than usual (I'm not sure about the exact time difference, and I'm too lazy to look it up).

I've been up to some fun stuff since I last posted, and not all of it is going on the Internet. If perchance you want the good stories, you're going to have to ask me yourself!

Anyway, here are some of the more remarkable foods I've had lately.

1. Remember when I was a shrimp-brain-eating zombie? Well now I am a pig's-blood-eating vampire. People get very creative with fried food here!

2. The other day my host sister and I were walking in the night market when she turns to me and says, and I quote: "Do you want some chicken ass?" As usual, I said yes with an expression of mock trepidation. I ate some, and it tasted pretty much like the rest of a chicken except a little more... tender. O.O As I am discovering, there is NO part of the chicken that cannot be eaten, except maybe the bones.

3. Shark. I felt superior, like I was defying the food chain.

4. Subway. At the Inbound Orientation I was surprised to discover that they opted to feed us normal food (normal for Westerners, anyway).

5. Pig intestines. My host sister very wisely did not tell me what they were until after I had eaten them and said they were tasty.

Besides new foods, I have also been discovering a lot of new words. Chinese is coming along rather nicely, if I do say so myself. I know I'm being assimilated because even when someone addresses me in English I respond in Chinese (then they excitedly start talking to me in Chinese, and I stare blankly, and that little voice in my head is like Nice job confusing people, moron). I also catch myself giving other Westerners the funny stares that Taiwanese people give me on the street. Caucasian people are rare, especially in Jaoxi where I live. I've probably seen less than ten other Caucasians since I got here, and I think all but two of those were in Taipei where it's not as unusual. And I haven't seen anyone who looks Mexican, Arabian, or African at all.

The other day I visited a Taoist temple with my host sister. It was very peaceful and very, very beautiful inside. I took a picture (just one, out of respect) but I'm too lazy to upload it right now. I have some pictures of other things too, and I guess I'll post them eventually....

I feel like a hobbit. Seriously, I am always eating because I am always being offered food. And usually it's something new, so I just can't say no. I am a female Bilbo Baggins: on an adventure, and constantly snacking. And there will even be dragons involved when the Dragonboat Festival comes around. Lucky me!

As my little birthday present to myself, I learned to ride a bike today. I kind of have to, since I ride it to the train station and back every day once I start school in another week. I'm not going to ride in heavy traffic just yet, because I still can't quite go in a straight line, but I'm getting there. My body is a plethora of bike-related injuries, including scratches and bruises from the bike pedals and everything I ran into, raw skin from gripping the handlebars for dear life, and mosquito bites from being outside practicing for so long. At one point, the bike was pretty much riding me. But I had a talk with it, and told it that this is in fact Taiwan and not Soviet Russia like it seemed to think. My bike has never even been to Soviet Russia, so I don't know where it got the idea that riding people was acceptable. But we had a little conversation, and we seem to have reached an understanding: the bike obeys me, and I don't accidentally leave it on the train tracks without a rider.

I may have conquered the bike, but I'm still fighting for dominance over a much more persistent enemy. For the past few mornings, I have woken up to find tiny little ants crawling on my bed. There are few things I hate more in this world than ant drones, so with my host family's help I got to work trying to exterminate them. Cleaning the room didn't work, because even though we did it twice they came right back. They seem to like the bamboo mat I sleep on, so I removed it from the bed today in hopes that they will at least leave the mattress alone. I was a little desperate this afternoon so I decided to see if my body spray would kill them (it very effectively smothers them), and now my bed is a vanilla-scented ant graveyard. The ants seemed to get the message and have vacated the area for now. Time will tell if they return....

I know ants in the bed sounds really icky, but as my host sister explained to me, it's not that bad. They don't bite, they don't really crawl on me, and there's no food in my room for them to steal (meaning I have no idea what they come inside for in the first place). My sister even thinks they're kind of cute. But this isn't about what the ants do anymore. It's about pride. The ants have made this personal. It's like a smaller, somewhat more pathetic version of Moby Dick, except there are lots of little brown ants instead of a big white whale.

On the bright side, I am eighteen today, and attitude conquers all. Nothing is really that bad if you look at it from the right perspective. In fact, everything is fantastic with the right perspective. People have more power than they give themselves credit for. I know my power, and I am using it to the best of my ability to make this experience wonderful - ants, bruises, confusion and all. People who know me well know what I mean when I say I don't need any outside forces to help me have a beautiful and valuable experience here. It's a special day, and I miss so many of my friends (you know who you are!) but I am happy to say that I am living in the here and now and having a blast.

Catch you later!