Woohoo! No more language pledge! Finally I can unleash my real personality on you unsuspecting internets. Actually, though, it is very interesting getting to know people while speaking a foreign language. Some people can express themselves and convey their personality pretty well, but other people (like me) come across as dull, watered-down mere echoes of their true form. I think your ability to accurately portray your character in a foreign language depends mainly on two factors: your grasp of the language, and how much your personality depends on the intricacies of your native language. One outstanding aspect of my personality is my quick wit, often manifesting itself as searing quips (did you bring your aloe), and clever word play. In a foreign language, however, one lacks the finesse and mastery of subtlety required to pull this kind of performance off.

Speaking of performance, last weekend our program held a performance/talent show event. Students were encouraged to perform skits, sing, dance, or anything, really, as long as it was in Chinese. I penned a brilliant satire in which I poked fun at our head teacher and pointed out a few funny, oft-repeating situations in class. I of course played the part of Professor Zhou (who is the head of the Chinese department at Princeton). In the skit Professor Zhou is giving the new PiB teachers some instruction on how to deal with tricky situations in class. Most of the bits are inside jokes, so I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say I had to stop a few times to wait for the raucous laughter to die down. I do have a video of it though, so I can put that on Youtube or something.

Yesterday I woke up at 4:15am to start the final leg of my journey. I had a disastrous time trying to check out of the dorm, but finally got that squared away. I caught a PiB arranged shuttle bus to the airport, and in no time made it to Taibei safe and sound. Auntie Jia was at the airport to meet me (holding a sign with my Chinese name written on it). On the way back to her house we stopped to buy a few things, then made it home and got settled in. Her house is pretty sweet, especially compared to the dorms at PiB! Today we met up with a bunch of family for lunch. It was a good time meeting everyone, and I think some of them might be playing tour guide for me later this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday I'm gonna hang out with two classmates from PiB. They are the two mixed sisters I mentioned before (Kim and Sam). They are pretty familiar with Taiwan, so they are gonna drag me around to their favorite places. I think they most of all can attest to my radically different personality when speaking English.

Weeks Five and Six

這兩個星期過得不錯。上個週二打了一次網球。我找到了一個三年級的網球夥伴，他特別厲害！他非常擅長打網球，打得比我好多了。還有，他認識我大學的朋友 Atsushi，真巧。昨天我跟一個同學出去逛逛街，買些東西。她和她的妹妹都是普北班的學生，而且也是混血兒（台灣/美國，跟美麗一樣）。其實，普北班的混血兒挺多的，好像他們都在探究自己文化身份的一個方面。

我們星期五考完試以後去扔飛盤。我扔的還可以，但很多同學仍得很棒。甚至有一個同學參加過真正的大學非盤比賽，她果然扔得最好。

告訴你們一個秘密，我最進對珍珠奶茶上癮了。簡直太好喝了。差不多每天都起碼喝一杯。更危險的是他們會外送到宿舍，所以我們埋頭讀書的時候，只要打個電話，奶茶就奇跡般的突然出現。不過，不僅是奶茶，西方快餐廳也會外送。麥當勞，賽百味，肯德基都會把他們的食品送到你家裡。雖然我不常吃快餐，但住在這個又發達又便捷的城市不言而喻很容易就變得疏懶成性！

These past two weeks have been pretty good. I played tennis last Tuesday. I found a PiB 3rd year student to play with. He is very good at tennis, much better than me. And he knows my college friend Atsushi. What a coincidence! Yesterday I went shopping with a classmate. She and her sister are both PiB students, and also biracial (Taiwanese/American) like Emily. [Emily's note: I am half Chinese/half American, not half Taiwanese.] As a matter of fact, there are quite a few biracial students in PiB, as if they are searching for part of their cultural identity.

After the exam on Friday, we played frisbee. I threw ok, but quite a few classmates were great. One particular classmate even participated in an official college frisbee competition. She threw the best.

Now I'll tell you a secret: I am addicted to pearl milk tea. [Emily's note: also called "bubble tea."] It is delicious. I pretty much drink at least one cup everyday. The fact that the bubble tea shop will deliver makes it even more dangerous. When we are buried in our studies, all we need to do is to call, and the milk tea will miraculously appear. Besides delivering pearl milk tea, they also deliver western fast food. McDonald's, Subway, and KFC can all be delivered to your door. Although I don’t eat fast food often, it is easy to become lazy living in this well developed and convenient city.