The first 24 hours of my adventure consisted of rushing to the airport in Omaha, meeting the gang of new teachers in Chicago, enjoying the 13 hour flight to Tokyo, a 6 hour layover due to a delayed flight, an in and out of consciousness flight to Taipei, a two hour drive to Taichung and finally a 2 a.m. arrival to our hotel which we will live in for our first week here!! Phew! I thought the transition of changing to a time zone 13 hours different would be much more of a challenge, but hardly sleeping for 48+ hours made it unnoticeable. It was 82 degrees when we arrived at midnight so it was a quick, uncomfortable welcome to the heat and humidity that was yet to come. My body was also quick to notice the difference in food I was taking in.
I have been delightfully overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people here and I could not explain in words how amazing the girls I came here with are. Majority of us being from the Midwest, excluding Kelly, my roommate, whose from New York State and Angela who is from South Africa!
After another short 4 hour rest we had our first breakfast which consisted of noodles, cabbage, eggs, watermelon, espresso, and other things I wouldn't know what to name. We left in a van that is normally used by the kindergarteners at Cornel, the school we will all teach at.
We had a busy day of getting photos taken for our ARC (alien resident card), getting a health check at the local hospital, and touring the Nan Men Campus. Cornell consists of two campuses, Nan Men which I believe means North Gate, will be where I will work. During our tour we had our first glimpse into the classrooms and the students. No one wears shoes inside so right off the bat you feel free and also a little indifferent when you think about what you could walk on. Every single one of us already adored the students and I don't believe I've ever met students so excited to meet their teachers. It was such a thrill. The 10 new teachers and I had a lunch with all the teachers from the previous year, whom were all of our mentors, and the administration team. For the limited hours of sleep I had by this point, I felt very awake and every conversation I had I was completely engulfed in to. Immediately I knew these people were incredible and I had made one of the best decisions of my life choosing to teach in Taiwan.
Our health check took quite awhile. It consisted of paperwork, eye exames, height/weight, blood work, X-rays, and of course more espresso! On our way back to the hotel we were actually pulled over by the police! Yeah, day 1 and already getting in trouble. Sadly the school got a ticket for having "too big" of people in a van made for "little people."
Later in the evening, all of the mentors picked up their mentees on scooters and drove us through town to a restaurant called Banana Man. The restaurant was beautifully decorated after a movie from the 1940s. The menu had some extreme foods like crispy large intestine and pig intestine fried with silk ginger. Luckily, our table ordered sweet and sour pork and kung pao chicken. I also tried some hot fruit tea which was very tasty! Hot tea is very popular here, actually almost any hot drink is popular from water to milk. Our group took up 3 tables of 8 people each. The conversations and stories continued to flow well after the meal. We talked about nightlife, the markets, food, traveling, teaching and more.
My mentor Sarah and Banana Man!
The scooter ride was very exciting and frightening at the same time. I loved it, getting to take in the atmosphere and be apart of everything going on around me, although the fumes and the closeness of all the vehicles is quite intimidating. It will be awhile till I am comfortable driving one myself. Taichung reminds me of an Asian New York City, big advertisements, huge buildings, loud- in your face signs and people everywhere. There are not many rules when driving either, but one or two that will get you in some trouble, or even get you hurt, if you don't obey.
Today we were picked up again in the kindy van and taken to the Taichung Cultural Center for the graduation of Cornel's highest level of kindergarten, Sho Ban, and the 6th grade classes. The ceremony lasted for almost 3 hours, which may seem extreme, but we enjoyed tons of singing, dancing, and acting from the most adorable students and the staff. 
At the end there was a surprise performance and dedication to Jilda, the women who hired us all. Jilda is retiring from Cornel after 11 years. The performance had many people in tears, including myself.
I knew I had wanted to teach overseas, however even I am pleasantly surprised with just how happy and changed I already feel being here. The bonds and connections I have made here already are indescribable. I know I will cherish them forever. I have already experienced so much here, including squatting over a hole in a public restroom, that it is hard to fathom what will come next. Taichung is extremely fast paced and it is overwhelming to think that I will be teaching in just one week, though I must say I am truly enjoying every minute of it!
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