Country Fair

Hey again. It's really been a while since I've written anything here. Things are starting to get busy again. But people have been asking me about the Country Fair, so I decided I'd tell everyone at once instead of repeating it way too many times.

So, I had to get up at 5:00 last Sunday to get ready and pack all my Canadian stuff, then my host dad gave me a ride to the MRT station so I'd be on time. I met Mariah (from Alberta) and we waited for the train, figuring out that the MRT doesn't start until 6:00. We got to Zhonglun High Schoo at 6:45 ish, we weresupposed to be there by 7:00, but most people were already there. We called Kevin and Chris (both from BC) ahead of time to get them to check our igloo because they live closer to Zhonglun than we do. They hadn't by the time we got there because all the doors to the basement were locked.

While Mariah, Kevin and Chris pounded on a door, I walked around and found an open door. The igloo was fine, so I found the door they were pounding on and told them to take the elevator down. We managed to get the igloo up with minimal damage. We set it up and the Americans promptly sprinkled it with red, white and blue balloons that said USA on them. We popped them all and I stealthily stuck a Canada sticker to their table.

The actual fair started at 9:00. But people were there before then. It was hard figuring out what to say about Canada, yeah, we have snow and hockey, but I couldn't really think of anything else, let alone say it in Chinese. But Mariah helped me out and started talking about Inuits and Canadian culture. The people at the fair were the outbounds for district 3480 and they were deciding which country to go to. I actually spent about 20 minutes talking to a guy whose first choice was Canada. But most people just came by to ask us to stamp their paper (they all had these papers they had to get stamped by evry country) then left for the American table which was right beside ours. But don't worry, we had a bench as a border and the Americans needed a passport to get through. My host parents and sister came by and checked out the Canadian table to be polite then spent about 1/2 an hour at the American table. My host dad told all the inbounds he was Jasmine's host dad, which they told me later on. I'm not sure, but I think my host sister is interested in going on exchange, but she's not too crazy about Canada. She laughs when I walk outside in a t-shirt and she wears a winter jacket. One of the Americans made a weirdness scale. Low is weird, then crazy is above that then over crazy is Canadian. She thinks I'm even over Canadian.

Anyway, by 1:00, everyone was exhausted. But we still had 3 hours to go. So we satisfied ourselved by playing Uno and other card games. I tried to teach them President, but they thought I was cheating with all the rules I kept throwing at them. Also, the French guy and German girl that live on the Kinmen islands came to the mainland for the Fair. We haven't seen them since August, so it was good seeing them again. Most people think they shouldn't live on the island and have their own list of inbounds they'd rather lived on the islands. I won't repeat it here unless some inbounds find it. Still, the people on the islands learn a lot more Chinese because not a lot of people there speak English.

Anyway, my friend Yu-En from church came around the end while everyone as practically asleep because of the early morning and long day. Still, it was nice to see her and she got to meet some of the other exchange students.

At 4:30, we were finally allowed to go home. Some people wanted to see a movie, but I just wanted to go home, shower and sleep. I actually ended up staying awake for a lot longer then went to bed. It was a fun day, but very long! They assured us the next country fair in April will be a lot smaller. It's supposed to be at Taipei Grand Hotel, which is apparently the fanciest hotel in Taiwan. So I'm thinking the styrofoam igloo woud be out of the question. We also had a cardboard inukshuk covered with tinfoil named Inukshuk Hank. But the Americans squished him at the end of the day.

On Wednesday at Culture class the rotarians announced the winners. We didn't know we were competing. Canada got second place. Germany got first and USA got 3rd. I don't know if that was the number of people interested in going to our countries or how our tables looked. Anyway, we all got shirts with a map of Taiwan on them and the Germans got water bottles in addition to that.

I'm also kind of frustrated because last week at Culture class I was wearing my hoodie and I put my MRT card into the kangaroo pocket because I didn't feel like digging my wallet out of my backpack. Despite the number of times my real Mom and Dad have told me that cards should go into my wallet or I'll lose them. After some Taekwondo, then rolling around on the ground building an igloo, I realized my card was gone. Mariah asked what I was looking for then told me Joe (the guy in charge of YEP inbounds) had my card. On Sunday, I expected he'd have it because he normally carried stuff we leave behind with him. But when I asked him, he told me he left it in his other bag. I thought only girls had more than one bag. He promised he'd bring it on Wednesday. In the meantime, I had to use change to get around on the busses and MRT. I used most of my NT$4000 allowance on Christmas gifts and NT$1000 of it went to my MRT card. My host mom gives me NT$700 a week for lunches and dinner when I can't come home for dinner. Most of that went to the bus, so I was really glad when Wednesday came because I was pretty much out of change and money. But Joe forgot to bring it! I was so mad, but I guess this is my own fault for being foolish with my card. I'll always do whatever Mom and Dad tell me. So, I've resorted to using Canadian change I found in my suitcases for the bus. It's NT$12 to ride the bus and the $10 coin looks a lot like a quarter, but a bit bigger and the $1 coin looks like a penny, except in Chinese. So I have to be sneaky when I put my change in the box for the bus, so far no one's noticed. The MRT is trickier. I have to use actual Taiwanese currency for that. I'm down to NT$60, which is enough to get me to church and back on Sunday. I guess I won't be going anywhere this weekend.

I got my first Christmas package from home yesterday! It was from Miranda and itwas kind of shock. It feels nothing like Christmas here. It was sort of cold last week, meaning below 20 degrees. This week it's been rising again slowly. It was 25 today. Still, I can't believe it's almost Christmas. It's still summer to me, despite everyone telling me I'm crazy for still wearing shorts and t-shirts. I was listening to some Christmas music this afternoon (Arrogant Worms and Christmas X, classics!) and for a moment, it felt like Christmas, but then I look outside and it's gone. I guess Christmas will be easier for me than some of the other outbounds from 7010 (my sponser district in Canada) because Taiwan is one of the few countries that doesn't celebrate Chritsmas. I was talking to some of them and they're having a tough time dealing with it, even though it's still a month off.

Anyway, I'm doing fine! Believe it or not, I'm actualy losing weight, which makes no sense. But I guess I've been laying off the bubble tea which is so bad for you! Still, then I can eat some Christmas treats when they arrive!

Hope it snows soon back home!