Ovaltine, Banana Bread, & Insults

This weekend marked the first time in about 3 weeks that the sun was seen! Knowing that it was likely to start raining again at any minute, most of my classmates and I spent the weekend soaking up the much needed vitamin d. As predicted, there is now another typhoon heading towards the Philippines, which means we will be getting more rain by the middle of this week. The funniest part about the lack of sunshine was watching the locals bundle up in their coats just because the sun was gone...it was a lovely 22°/23°!

Things that might need to be mentioned (and addressed later when I return to the States)...

1. I seem to have a fondness for pie. I never really ate pie while living in the US, but now, I love Tuesdays or Thursdays when the nice Asian man sells Mom's Pies out front of the supermarket with a logo of a lady who strangely resembles an Amish woman. I like to alternate between the chocolate marbled cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake with blueberry topping.

2. I was introduced by my Chilean classmate to the wonderful world of Ovaltine! I never knew that I liked Ovaltine until last Wednesday. Now I find myself wandering into the 7-11's around my school looking for the bright orange carton and being slightly disappointed if the 7-11 I happen to wander into doesn't have any. I once made one of my other friends go with me to several different 7-11's in my quest for Ovaltine! I think an Ovaltine intervention might be needed!!!

3. The same Chilean classmate who introduced me to Ovaltine, also shared the wonderful fact that the bakery near school sells banana bread! Needless to say, I've been a frequent customer at the bakery and I'm afraid that like the Fruit Stand Man, the bakery employees will very soon get to know me as the English speaking kid who comes in and gets banana bread (lots of banana bread).

Halloween is approaching and I need to start looking for a Halloween costume...I'm kind of afraid that I'll end up being Hello Kitty for this Halloween. It could be a really odd Halloween. Some friends from the States and I have thought about seeing who could collect the most free candy in Taipei, however, since trick-or-treating is not really a concept the locals are familiar with...it could be quite the experience! Adding to this experience is the fact that we don't really speak Chinese...this definitely adds a new dimension to trick-or-treating!

In other news, my Chinese tutor taught me how to say "pig head," however, she taught me how to say it the polite way and her children corrected her with the less formal way to insult people! I think because I had learned the formal way of saying "pig head" that it was causing my Chinese speaking classmates to politely ask me what it was I was attempting to say- instead of feeling the sting of my newly acquired insult! I'll have to work on it! Perhaps by the time I return to the States for Winter Break I'll be able to count to 10 and insult people without them asking me what it is I'm wanting to say!