Birthday

I had a fun birthday here in Taiwan. Thanks to Scott’s family. I spent the entire day with them. It was great to just hang out at their place. And they took care of me. I went over and told them straight out that I wanted to be with them so I could have a good birthday. They were trying to think of Chinese things to do. So Sarah, Scott, Nathan and I went to a noodle shop for lunch. I tried beef noodle soup and it was great. First meat I’ve had for a few days :)

Then Michelle, Rebecca and I went to a mini arcade. They wanted me to play the basketball game. It was fun. (Same as in the US. Shoot b-balls into a hoop with a time limit.) It was way hot though. The game was addicting so I kept playing even though I was sweating. We had a few treats too: cheese fries and ice cream. The ice cream was delicious! It was chocolate on vanilla and some chocolate pieces fell off and onto the ground. I laughed at how fast they melted.

We went back to their house and just hung out for a long time. They had decided to take me to a night market, but we weren’t leaving until 7:30. I kept thinking about going home. But I never did. It was nice to just talk with them. And Jessica and I played board and computer games and painted pictures.

The night market was cool. It wasn’t too busy since it was Thursday. I guess Sat. is really busy. I wasn’t sad about the lack of people. It’s easier when there are less people. We had to drive scooters there and it was about a 15-minute drive. Sarah, Jessica and Becca were on their scooter and I was on my own. For dinner, we had Japanese-style where they cook the food in front of you. Our cook was very nice and told me happy birthday. He also gave me a free egg-treat.

Becca kept saying that people were being extra nice to us because I was with them. What can I say? My white skin is good for something. And of course I got lots of stares. It even made Becca laugh. They don’t disguise it at all – they just stare.

After dinner we went shopping. Yeah! Becca loves to shop. Her Chinese name even means shopping. I bought a shirt and some headbands and earrings, a necklace and nail polish remover (was looking for it since I came here). We also played a game. That was the main reason Jessica came. I guess she loves it. It was fun, and, again, addicting. I’m not going to try and explain, and I didn’t take a picture of it. Sorry.

We got shaved ice before we did our shopping. It was very tasty! So cold and refreshing. It is called “8 treasure shaved ice” so we had to pick 8 different ‘toppings’ but they go in the bowl first and then the shaved ice is put on. It was interesting. They have lots of chewy stuff, and that isn’t my favorite. Jessica & I shared one and we mostly ate the ice. Sarah asked the lady to put more ice on and she did :) Again Becca figured it was because I’m a foreigner. Whatever, I liked the ice.