Saturday, January 16, 2010

So Far ~Mariah~

So far in Taiwan I have been able to find my routine, Every week day I head to school at 6:30 in the morning. On weekends I like to fill my time with friends, like going ice skating and trips to ikea. I found that I have become really close with the other exchange students, I think this is because we are all going through the same experience and because we are having the same adventures we almost depend on eachother for advice and support. I think this is really important since we are all in a different country without the intimite support of our real families.

For the next few weeks our school will be on winter break! I am very excited to have these weeks off because I am filling all my free days up with places that I haven't been to yet, for example I think I will go biking at danshui, and maybe I will be allowed to travel outside the city for a little trip. For me to be allowed to travel on my own is more like a wish than it is a reality... there are a lot of rules for exchange students, the people that take of us are very concerned with our safety wich is understandable, but one can wish right?

As for the new semester coming up I have no idea which classes I will be joining, I hope that I will get a chance to meet new people, and be apart of different and interesting classes again.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Life in Taiwan ~rebekka~

Three 三 months have passed since I first arrived! The shock never wears. Just the fact that I’m in Taiwan is still a dream. I feel completely at home, but every once in a while I have to remind myself that I have another life on the other side of the world. It’s a strange feeling- having two lives :)

Nothing turns out how you expect it to be. I’m so comfortable here, but then again at times… It’s hard to explain. Sometimes I just wish I could fit in with everyone. But I don’t blame people for starting at me or being curious when a group of teenage foreigners walk by. I stare a bit too when I see a “foreigner” –anybody other than Taiwanese. It’s so different from the U.S., where we’re so diverse and yet I never really noticed before.

Last month we had a Culture Fair! All the inbounds represented their counties and we talked to the future outbounds. I’d say the U.S. did well. :) We handed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. mmm. I think I convinced some people to come to Florida too. The Canadians (including Mariah of course) built an igloo out of Styrofoam and handed out hot chocolate! Germany won though, but I think it’s just because they had Kinder Chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate!

I changed host families last week. Leaving my first host family was the hardest thing I’ve had to do since saying goodbye to my parents four months ago. 四個月! I’ve become so attached to my host parents, and starting over is so difficult. Yet again, I’m on an emotional roller coaster. haha. But overall, I understand why Rotary has us change families. Every family is different, special in its own way. And I think by my next journal, I’ll feel completely at home here. It just takes time…

But anyway, I do like my new host family :) On the first day of the new year, we went bike riding in a park off of Xindian 新店 River. It was wonderful. I love the park!

新年快樂! (Xin nian kuai le) Happy New Year! My New Years Eve was amazing. After dinner with my family, I met up with some of my friends at Taipei 101. There were so many people there! It was chaotic. But my friends were there all day so they had a great spot near an ongoing concert and with the perfect view of 101! I got to spend my first minute of the new year watching fireworks burst out of the tallest building in the world! Incredible. 太好了! Getting home was a nightmare though, haha. Squishing yourself on the subway with about a million other people is an interesting experience. I even witnessed a guard pushing some extra people in so they wouldn’t get hit by the MRT doors! I thought that only happened in Japanese movies!

Christmas was a few weeks ago! I actually wasn’t too homesick. Near the beginning of December I was, but well I felt that there was no sense in being nostalgic. And I did have a good Christmas in Taiwan. Mariah came to my house and we made my favorite gingerbread cookies and watched basketball movies (I think we both miss being around people other than Taiwanese =P and I miss my melting pot country). But anyway, although my host parents don’t really celebrate Christmas, we had a little tree and to my surprise they gave me presents! I got a few lovely packages from home too. I love getting mail!

At school (CK) we had so many decorations! It was beatiful. Ten Christmas trees in every hallway! Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

School Life

School in Canada is a bit different than here in Taiwan. For example we get a choice in the subjects that we take, and we do not stay with the same people the whole day but have different classes with different people.

Here at CK it's almost like my school for Rebekka and I because we get to have many different classes with a different classmates. In this picture we are with a Junior High class, we are all painting pumpkins in Chinese painting. I am not the best painter but this is my favourite class. I think there is a combination of things that make this class so good; it's relaxing without being boring, I can make something that's all mine, make something that gives me pride to see, and of course my teacher is amazing!


Every second week I have sewing twice, this is one of the few classes that I have with my homeroom. I actually don't mind sewing, I thought maybe it would be a bit tedious but it keeps me occupied and again just like Chinese painting, I am able to make something that's all my own. In Canada we have sewing class which is again optional for students to take, which maybe isn't such a good thing because it isn't the most popular course among people my age.

Another traditional course that I have enrolled in at our school is calligraphy, I think it's extremely cool that I am learning things like this. When Rebekka and I started this class all the teachers involved in calligraphy bought us these calligraphy packages, it was extremely generous of them and it's one of the best keepsakes that I can think of. Actually my stay in Taiwan so far has been filled with kindness and generosity from many people. Anyways, with the gift I was given I hope that by the end of the year I will be able to write my name.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

My Life in Florida






大家好! 我叫江柔佩. And my English name is Rebekka! 我從美國,Florida來. I live in South Florida, near Miami! It’s just as hot as Taiwan, but the beach is beautiful. 我是16. I go to Pompano Beach High School in Florida. But this year my school is 崇光女中!

Many people ask me why I wanted to be an exchange student and why I wanted to come to Taiwan. Hmm sometimes it’s hard to explain, but I’ll try...
I love traveling and seeing new places. I think I’ve inherited that trait from my mom. She’s traveled around the world. She’s from Finland, so she’s been all over Europe and has lived in Germany and Thailand. Eventually she moved to the U.S as a tour guide and met my dad in Florida. Well when she was pregnant she decided she wanted to have me in Finland, so I was born in Lahti, Finland! I’ve lived in Florida for hmm 16 years, meaning I’m both a Finnish and American citizen. Anyway, we visit family and friends in Finland often, therefore when I decided that I wanted to be an exchange student, Europe wasn’t as intriguing as Asia (where I’ve never been to and the culture is so different!). Taiwan was my first choice in Asia. I don’t know why. I just like Taiwan. I think Chinese culture is very interesting. I thought that I would love it here, and I was right. 我爱台湾!

So in Taiwan, I live in Xindian on a mountain! In Florida, we don’t even have mountains! Florida is actually completely flat. And we’re at sea level, so we can’t have basements underground. But Taiwan has stores and malls completely underground! It’s so different than what I’m used to. My city in Florida is called Coconut Creek; it’s very suburban and you have to drive a car to get anywhere. When you’re 15 years old, you can get your learners permit and they when you’re 16 you can get a driver’s license. Right now, I still have my learners permit, so when I go back home I’ll get my license and maybe my dad will buy me a car J maybe…. Haha. Last year my mom and my friends drove me to school. We don’t have the MRT, because like I said, you can’t dig very far underground. I love traveling on the MRT here! It’s so cool!

I go to Pompano Beach High School. My school is very near the beach, less than a 5 minute drive. My school is unique in Florida, because I only go 4 days a week! Monday through Thursday, from 7:00-3:00. To graduate high school, we have to have certain requirements (other than good grades), and one of them is at least 40 hours of community service hours, but if you do over 250, you get a special silver cord award. So on Fridays, many students volunteer. I volunteer at my old elementary school in the mornings, in a First grade classroom. I love little kids, they’re so cute!

Hmm, I didn’t say that my full name is Rebekka Ariella Katariina Flam. It’s very long. In English-speaking countries, we have a first name, a middle name, and a last name (family name). But I have two middle names. Anyway, we go by our first name, so call me Rebekka or 柔佩! <3

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Mariah's Life In Canada




I would like to give you an idea of what life was like for me in Canada, you will then be able to see how drastically my life has changed since I have moved to Taiwan.








- In Canada I lived in a small town called Goodfare, the population is around 200 people. In such a small town I was lucky enough to have three bestfriends; actually they were more like sisters, we spent so much time with eachother that their families felt like my family. Our families would always come together and have small parties for no reason. So to say the least we are a close knit community!





- Starting from the top right hand corner is Sarada and to her left is Kari, below Kari is myself and beside me is Lenka.





Sarada's family owns a buisness called Next Generation Reforastation. What this buisness does is replants trees after they have all been chopped down. Her families buisness attracts employees from all over the world, some come all the way from Africa! Although planting trees seems like it would be easy work, it's far from that. Imagine your self carrying a 40 pound bag of trees all day, constantly bending over and digging, working in all kinds of weather, and the misquitoes insecently bitting at you all day. Actually when I describe it like that some of you might be wondering why anyone would want to go treeplanting. Well if your a good treeplanter you can make enough money to not have to work all winter, and the food out at camp is better than food in the restaurants, and just to meet new people is interesting.


Kari's family has an unusual buisness as well. Her family owns a farm called First Nature Farms. What makes their farm interesting is that everything grown there is organic; this means that there are no pesticides used, the animals graze on green grass, and the cattle are not in a closed building which are called feedlots. Long story short, Kari's family works incredibley hard to have healthier animals which in turn keeps us healthier.






There are two reasons why I would like to show you this; first I would like to describe to you the amount of snow that some people in Canada experience. I am actually sitting on top of a snow bank, as you can see the height of the snow is taller than myself! Second reason I would like to show this to you is to describe how little population we have compared to Taiwan. This picture is taken in the middle of nowhere. There are no roads, barely even a trail. The few ways to get here is to drive what we call a ski-doo or you would have to walk; which I don't incourage you to do unless you bring a pair of snowshoes.


-There are many places in Canada that are like this; we just don't have a big enough population to expand. We might not have some of the conveniences that a big population may have but, thats what I think is so great about Canada the wide open space!









Here is a picture of my family. This picture was taken at my sisters college graduation. Starting at the left is my sister, she is now 21 years old and works on the surgical floor of the Grande Prairie City Hospital. Grande Prairie is an hour away from Goodfare so in order for her to make a short commute she and her friend share an apartment. One of the many things I have noticed about Taiwanese culture is that most University students live with their parents untill they are in their mid 20s. In Canada, and I am pretty sure the U.S. too, young people move out when they finish High School or when they turn 18. Our 18th birthday is a huge deal, we are declared young adults. We can finally make our own decisions. In my brothers case he moved out when he was 17. He had finished high school and was moving on to college where he was learning to be an electrical engineer. He has now finished with his last year at college and has been working for a year. My father has several buisnesses such as log building, raising elk, and historical restoration. My mother is a teacher in an elementary school, and I have ruled out being a teacher myself because of how much work and overtime she puts in.