today was another eventful day. first few days or even months in a country are always eventful -something new happens every hour, i swear.

so, i woke up and my aunt had already bought breakfast - cold noodles (liang2 mian4). it was okay, not my favorite. it was raining outside. then, i called several english schools and a friend i had met in taiwan last summer. we had a short conversation then my aunt was rushing me to go to the optometrist to get glasses. boo, i don't want glasses. i took my gu1 die1's younger brother's wife's kid hsuen hsuen (a cute little girl that resembles Boo in Monsters Inc.) to 7-Eleven to get drinks, because i wanted 7-Eleven drinks - i love 7-Eleven. then i took my computer in my backpack and went downstairs to a place called "E-Coffee". i tried to get on the internet, but couldn't. UHG. bummer and so annoying. i'm going to starbucks next time.
came home, then went to get the prescription for my glasses.

then, i went to a school called global village. i waited at the bus stop for the number 5 stop, which takes me to the Taipei City Hall MRT Station. the place is in the middle of a large-ass shopping street called Zhongxiao Dong Lu and I stopped at the Zhongxiao Dunhua Station. this was my first time riding an mrt since i first came back from taiwan. i sat next to a pretty girl, lol. but pretty girls are everywhere in taiwan.

so i came out of the mrt station and there it was - shopping. dun dun dun dun! it's everywhere! you need to tell yourself beforehand that you WILL NOT, at all costs, buy anything. because, once you buy one thing, you're going to let go and buy everything you see. honest to God. anyway, the girl who sat at the front desk of global village was called mina, very sweet and told me "sorry! my english isn't very good!" then she proceeded to have me a read a passage out of a magazine - easy shmeazy.

i walked out of the elevator, out of the building, and INTO THE SHOPPING STREET. dun dun dun dun. i was out anyway, so i just started walking down the street and window shopping, mostly. i passed a travel agency and went in to check ticket prices for a trip to HK. THEN, i found TEN REN TEA - oh my God!!!!!!!! (sorry). that is like, my favorite place to buy tea.

i walked in, full of glee, and oh so excited. i wanted to order everything on the menu. but instead, i ordered a milk tea, because it was safe and my favorite anyway. i walked up to the counter and ordered it. she asked me "how sweet do you want it?" you can say "1/3 sugar", "1/2 sugar", and so i asked, how sweet is your regular? she goes "our regular is VERY good" like she was stating a fact. i thought it was funny so i widened my eyes and chuckled, and said "okay, i'll take that." the guy working there was standing there and watching, looked at me and chuckled. he was so cute.

i continued shopping and found some incredibly, incredibly cute clothes, which i will buy later. lol. it's too soon in the game to start shopping. two people approached me and the girl was like "your purse!" and i was like, what? and she goes, what is that called? i said, longchamp. she's like, where do you buy it? i go, i bought it in the u.s., but i'm sure you can buy it here too. and she goes, oh. how much is it, etc....

THEN, the guy she was with was like "hey you have the acne scars on your face. do you know this doctor right over here, etc." i'm like, omg, they're trying to advertise to me without looking like they're trying to advertise. great. so i just mumbled something, like i'm already going to go to another doctor, etc. and left. totally felt like a dumba** to the people around me, but all in all, it was fun shopping!

i walked to the nearest mrt station (i love the freedom!) and rode the mrt back to Taipei City Hall MRT station. i always feel like people are looking at my in taiwan. for some reason, i always feel like they can tell i'm not from taiwan. is that true that people in taiwan can tell if you're not in taiwan like we can tell when a chinese person wasn't born in the u.s.?

i waited for the "Blue 5" bus that would take me back to where i live, and what's funny is that, the bus is really small, right? so i'm waiting over there and then the "Blue 5" comes from a distance and in a split second, people are literally SPRINTING over to the stop. i forgot about this last time. they don't form a line....they bunch together near the entrance. the last person trying to get out had a hard time - she had to push through people! there was this american guy who i think has been living here a while because he saw the bus i think the second it turned the corner, and rushed there before anyone else, lol, but he still wasn't fast enough than the other chinese people. hahaha.

i came home and my uncle had already cooked dinner. then my friend william called me to go to Luxy, a club mainly for foreigners, because it's incredibly overpriced, and i actually said no. woot. this is me resisting. it's actually not that fun. i'd rather go to a nice bar, sit around, and chat. i don't really feel the need to go dancing unless i'm with friends and he was going with his friends. no thank you.

my aunt called me to tell me she made an appt for me to see the skin doctor tuesday and asked if i wanted her to accompany me to youth worship at church tomorrow. yes, of course! i don't know anyone. i'm going mainly to find out about the small groups, bible studies, music training, etc. yay.

i just finished eating and i'm so tired. i have to call people in the u.s. and read Lord, Only You Can Change Me, the book my small group in Houston is reading. wow, it's only my second day in taiwan.