So this morning was probably the most action packed morning I’ve ever experienced in my entire life! I woke up at 4:30AM and arrived at the Taipei Confucius Temple at 5AM. Today is Confucius’ birthday and the ceremony started at 6AM, but we had to get there early because we didn’t have tickets. Today is also “Teacher’s Day” which Taiwan made an official holiday to honor Confucius’ birthday. Once inside, I saw that the temple was beautiful and the ceremony was perfectly organized and amazing. Confucius is known for being the cornerstone of Chinese culture and philosophy so we learned a lot about his impact on Asia. We also learned about how his concept of education continues to influence the world today.

Mayor Ma Ying Jiu held the highest position in the ceremony and gave a speech at the end. Let me just start off by saying that Mayor Ma is not an ordinary mayor. He got his law degree at NTU and then went to Harvard Law for his J.D. He is fluent in Mandarin and English (I can’t wait to be like that one day!) and genuinely cares about the concerns of Taipei citizens which is probably why everyone in Taiwan loves him. He is practically a celebrity here. In addition to all of this, he is also really popular for being extremely good looking (which I find kind of funny). I really wanted to conduct a short interview with him just to get his opinions about Taiwan and studying abroad on film. So at the end of his speech, I gathered all my courage and screamed out, “Mayor Ma, MAYOR MA!!!” He looked over and I said, “Can I please ask you a question?” I couldn’t believe it, but he actually walked over! I explained to him that I was a cast member of JYA and asked for a short 5 minute interview. He said to find him at the end of the program and that he’d let me know if he has time. I kept the corner of my eye on him until the absolute end of the program and as I saw him leaving the temple, I ran after him and reminded him about the interview. I was expecting to set up an appointment for the interview but when he saw me, he turned over to his bodyguard and said, “She’s going to interview me for five minutes.” The bodyguard said, “Three minutes.” Mayor Ma turned over to me and said, “Ok, you have three minutes. Starting now.”

I felt like I was dreaming. I’ve been emailing Mayor Ma for the past two months to try to schedule an interview and just recently received a response saying that he couldn’t because he’s too busy. I couldn’t believe that he was granting me an interview right then, right there. I wasn’t at all ready!!! Not only was I nervous, I was being squished by the people crowding around him to get autographs and to shake his hand. I tried to look around for a place to sit but it was so crowded that it was apparent we’d be doing this interview standing up. I had to think of the questions on the spot only using notes that Willy had written down for me. I was so nervous that I wasn’t even listening to his answers; I was just thinking of what I would ask next. My friend Willy and Wes whipped out the camcorder and camera and began taking pictures and filming for me. Thanks! I love you guys!!! Although I felt extremely rushed, I managed to squeeze in three questions before his bodyguard said, “We HAVE to go.” He then shook my hand and took off. Mayor Ma was rushing off to another press conference but I didn’t care that it was short; I got to meet THE Mayor Ma who I think, is one of the greatest politicians alive!

I went to my classes later in the day and told my teachers that I met him. They were telling me that they’ve lived in Taiwan their whole lives and have always wanted to meet him but never had the chance. Confucius’ birthday really is my lucky day! It’s now the end of the day and the interview was this morning but I honestly still feel like I’m on top of the world! I LOVE TAIPEI!!!

Posted by Natalie at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

As the weather finally starts to cool down in Taipei, the intensity level of my Chinese classes are starting to pick up. I’m currently taking 3 Chinese classes which are each one hour long, Monday through Friday. We have either a quiz or a test in all 3 classes almost everyday! I’ve never been good at memorizing Chinese characters so it’s not at all strange that I find memorizing over 50 phrases every night almost impossible. But I’m doing my best because this is my one opportunity in life to really focus on improving my Chinese and I’m going to take advantage of it.

I don’t know exactly why this is, but I’ve been sleeping at 5AM almost every night (or morning, I should say) for the past few weeks. The strange thing is, I don’t even get tired or sleepy. There are 7-11’s pretty much on every other block here in Taipei so my friends and I always make late night 7-11 runs at 2 or 3 in the morning. I know my friends back at home will not think this is possible, but I eat so much more here than I do at home (and trust me, I eat a lot at home). I’m living in the dorms so there is a lot of socializing, but I’m also spending a lot of time studying and memorizing characters which is probably why I sleep so late. My friend Jon is also teaching me how to play guitar and my goal is to be able to play a Jay Chou song by the end of the semester. Today was my first day of tennis and it’s my only class that I take with actual NTU students and not international students. It’s fun learning how to play tennis with a teacher that only speaks in Chinese, even though I have no idea what he’s talking about sometimes, I can just watch his actions and assume what he’s saying. I love tennis so I’m having a blast in that class.

I also joined a club (I have no idea what it’s called because it’s in Chinese) which involves NTU students volunteering at an orphanage to help mentor children. We basically get paired off with a child and spend the semester helping them with homework or just being someone they can confide in. However, I was worried that I might not be able to help them with homework since my Chinese isn’t great. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m learning Chinese from the exact same textbooks as the kids use. But they said it would be really helpful if I could help tutor the children in English which I thought was a great idea! I am actually really excited about this club because it makes me feel like I can use the skills I have to give back to the community here.

Good news! I finally bought a second hand bike which cost me about $30 American. The NTU campus is flat and very large much like UC Davis so having a bike saves a lot of time and makes getting around campus so much easier. Yay for no more walking!

Well, I have quizzes to study for and an early Calligraphy class tomorrow so I have to get to work but I’ll update again soon! Take care!

Posted by Natalie at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)