Sorry I haven't blogged the last few days, but I've been trying to spend as much time as possible with my Taiwanese friends before I have to leave. As some of you know, I was sad during our closing ceremonies because the person who I felt I have become best friends with in Taiwan (Durant) was not able to attend due to a family emergency. He had to go back to his home town, and wasn't going to be back for two weeks; I wasn't going to be able to say goodbye (a few tears may or may not have been shed).
The day after closing ceremonies, David and I went to a BBQ at Casper's apartment. When I walked in to his apartment, Durant jumped out from behind the door and almost tackled me. He had been able to return early, and I felt inexplicably happy! The BBQ was a blast, and the food was fantastic.
On Thursday, a few of us (Rita, Sandy, Durant!, Casper, Chinh, David, and I) went to the Taipei Zoo. I got to see two pandas, a gila monster, a red rhinocerous, a wallaby, a shit-ton of crazy birds I've never seen before, and many animals I've seen previously at other zoos. It was SOOOOO hot! After the zoo, we went to this huge book store where I bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Traditional Chinese (I already own it in Simplified Chinese) and in British English. I'm super excited about these purchases!
Friday, I spent all day with Casper, Durant, and Sandy. We pretty much just hung out in Casper's apartment and had a great time. Today, the four of us are going to see Inception, go bowling, and then make dinner at Casper's again. I'm getting nervous because I'm riding on one of the 500,000+ "motocycles" (mopeds) in Taiwan. The traffic here is ridiculous...but, I trust Durant to not kill me (it was nice knowing all of you)!
I can't wait to come home, but I'm also extremely sad to be leaving. I've already cried three times now, and I know there will be more tears to come. I don't know how to explain it, but in the three, short weeks that I've been here, I've gained an entirely new family here in Taiwan. Maybe it's the shared experience, maybe it's the whole "I've spent every hour of every day of the last three weeks with these people" syndrome...Idk. What I do know is that I will miss these people like crazy. Especially Danny, Durant, Sandy, Nicole, and Casper.
I love you all so much, and can't wait to see you!!!
