Day 1 - Wed - Taiwan

I got to Taipei around 6a after a relatively uneventful 16 hour flight. I was a bit unsettled, cause the only information I had was 'someone will pick you up.' When I cleared customs, there was in fact a sign on the counter that said 'Mare Nomda' which I figured was close enough, but there was no actual human affixed to said sign. I gave the other drivers my exasperated look in Chinese, and in short order an actual person arrived.
No english, but no problem. We drove about an hour, then stopped at like a rest stop. I gave him my confused look in Chinese, and he said 'pay'. So I grab my wallet and walk inside. It was in fact a bathroom. Apparently 'poo' sounds a lot like 'pay' in Chinese. And he bought me a can of 'Mr. Brown', which despite the racist picture on the front turned out to be quite tasty cold canned coffee.

So we finally get to Jen's street, but neither of us know the address. He calls the number jen gave him, which is the school, and hands me the phone. Well the girl doesn't speak a lick of English, and I'm really curious why he handed me the phone, so I got to break in all my new Chinese. Turns out we were across the street. I found Jenn who was still asleep btw, but the moral of this story is when jen got to school, the girls told jen
'I talk Dad, he speak Chinese.' I know, mad props.

So I hang out for a couple hours while jen works, and then we meet the boys for lunch. Very tasty noodle bowl with cat food on top. Jen went back to school, and I walked around downtown.
Good things:
-people smile at you a lot
-there is food every 10 feet
Bad things:
-though USA is big here, from t-shirts to music, no one actually talks to you
-the food is rarely anything you would eat
-it is really hot
-the air is barely breathable
I went back home, napped, took a shower and went back downtown. The whole vehicle experience here, btw, is akin to Death Race 2000. My dinner consisted of a crepe with plasticised lunchmeat and cheese, corn, lettuce, and mystery red and white sauces. I know I make it sound better than it actually was. I did, however, meet 2 foreigners who have lived here 6 months and said I was the first person they've met. Go figure.

Jen gets off work in a half hour, so technically my day isn't over yet....
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