Taipei Orientation

This weekend we had our whole Fulbright orientation in Taipei. We met the rest of the Fulbright grantees, the scholars and Kaohsiung ETAs. Most of the day was spent with people talking about who they are and what they are doing here which means LOTS and LOTS of powerpoints. I think people here love powerpoints they even use them frequently in class when teaching. I've already made a whole bunch. But in other news we stayed in a really awesome and cute hotel, ate lots of good food that we didn't have to pay for, had multiple awesome coffee breaks during our day with wonderful snacks provided by Vivian, went clubbing, and were generally treated like royalty. On Friday night the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (FSE - they are in charge of us basically) and the American Institute of Taiwan (the equivalent to the American embassy here) hosted a reception for us. There was food and drink aplenty and much hobnobbing. I think I seriously lack skills in that department because I ended up cornered by a few people for most of the night and did not really work the room. Oh well, there go my dreams for being a politician....

Our entrance table

(there is a mini fridge, safe, pot to boil water, and selections of coffee and tea)

My roommates for the weekend

(our reflection and the city outside)

Super comfy beds

(I wanted to take the whole bed home with me!)

At the Fish House

(we decided that we wanted to eat here because they had swings for chairs)

Nikka & Jessica

Kelly, Kim, and me

(we could look at the front window and wave at people passing by)

Breakfast Buffet

(it's so pretty you could get bread, xifan (like congee without stuff in it), eggs, fruit, drinks, it was pretty sweet)

My beautifully lit breakfast

(we got up early just to eat breakfast there every day)

Orientation begins!

(we were excited....)

Introductions

lunch at some restaurant

(I got the fish and it was in a creamy sauce - it was ok Western style food)

Vivian!

(she is part of the FSE staff that we hang out with whenever we go to Taipei)

Look at the stock of alcohol for the reception

(someone's excited...)

My favorite girls

(l-f: back row - Monica, Jessica, Nikka, Kelly & Kim, Kristen, and me)

Girls with Ian

(Ian is the son of Dr. H our academic adviser)

Kristen!

(She is a member of the Kaohsiung group but we met in the airport. Too bad she isn't in Yilan.)

Roomies with Dr. Chen

(he is the director of the Fulbright FSE in Taiwan)

Eric

(he's our buddy that lives in Yilan and gives us rides on his scooter)

Kim

Taking home some of the leftovers...

(we like wine)

Drinking our wine before going clubbing

(Me, Jessica, Kelly - she is our life adviser in Yilan and takes care of our day to day living - we love her!)