27thFeb 07

Day One. Today was such a great, and bizarre day. It started with a long breakfast (not quite sure what it was but it tasted

fantastic) on the roof of the dorms, in brilliant warm sunshine, overlooking the running track and part of Taoyuan. First thing we got all the admin stuff out of the way, elected courses to take, and then headed to the local hospital. This had to be one of the weirdest days ever. Since I arrived late last night (in the dark) my

surroundings didn’t really dawn on me until we were on our wee bus on the way to the hospital (which felt somehow safe than normal, cos at least if you die due to the maniac driving, you’re heading in the right direction.) Since my mind appears to have switched off, I’ll leave descriptions for another day so as not to do it an injustice. So we got to the hospital where myself and six other exchange students (one from America and five from Korea) had to undergo a series of tests, everything from blood tests, x-rays, pee tests, the works, which, apparently is mandatory for all people living on campus (although, I have to say I’m a little dubious, since after showing my Russian roommate an impressive bruise from the blood test, she looked at me like ‘what-on-earth-are-you-talking-about?’ hmmm.) Later, we met up with some more Korean students and went on a short ‘here’s how the busses work’ tour to Taoyuan. The food here, on the whole, is great, however, this evening we ended up in a Korean restaurant, and in the true tradition of trying anything once that wont kill me, I did. It made me want to gag, it tasted like raw, rotten, fish (I figure that’s why it’s so spicy, to cover the flavour, and unfortunately they ordered no spices in mine). Parts of it looked pretty, like the flour & fish lumps had pink flowers painted on them. (see above picture) I love this place. It’s just weird.