NICE!

Hey guys,

Today I judged a singing competition. I don't have pictures because I thought it would be weird if I took them and I am a judge. There was a photo girl there, and she said I can have the pictures when she gets them online. There were 22 competitors and they sang without music today. They only sang for 3o seconds, and the other judges and I had to score them. All of them were pretty good. I don't know if you guys know it or not, but karaoke is really really popular here. The majority of people love to sing, and they are really good at it. At the end of the night, half of the people were eliminated because their scores were the lowest.

Next week the reaming people will sing a full song with music. It is kind of fun I think. It gives me something to do, and also meet new people.

There is something excited though...on the way home...I SAW A FERRARI!!! It was awesome. Luckily I had my camera. I will tell you just a quick story about it.

I saw the Ferrari, and I pulled out my camera as soon as I could. Well actually, I heard it coming up behind my car. Then I looked to my left, and I saw it. It took me a second to realize what I just saw. By the way, I think Ferraris are so cool. Even if they are really expensive, I just think it cool. So I pulled out my camera and took the picture of it while it was in front of my car.

Then, my dad and I pulled up next to it at the stop light. Thank God for the stop light. I was luckily wearing one of my Ferrari jackets. It has the Ferrari logo on the right sleeve, so I looked at the guy driving the car and I pointed to my logo. He just nodded. Then I showed him my camera, and he said ok! He rolled up his window which I thought was cool. It means that he was too cool for the picture. Anyways I took it, then he drove off.

That is my story with the Ferrari. I was just kind of shocked to see it in Taichung (where I live). I didn't know people could buy Ferrari's in Taiwan. This particular Ferrari was also my favorite one. The red color Ferrari.

Ok guys, I will talk to you later.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey guys,

I hope everyone enjoyed some food for Thanksgiving. You know here they of course don't celebrate it. I am going to go out tonight with Cherry to eat. Over here, they have my favorite type of restaurant in the world. Yea, even maybe more than Chick-Fil-A...I think. I can tell you guys about it later on, but maybe we will go there.

Tomorrow I am going to be a judge in a singing competition at one of the universities. I think the competition is like American Idol, and it seems pretty fun to do. It will only last two times, and tomorrow is just a warm-up I guess. Next week they will preform their entire songs in English. They asked me to be a judge and I thought it sounded fun. I'll try and take pictures of it and post them later on.

What else...you guys know I bought a bicycle right? Well, I ride it a lot over here. I really just ride it to play basketball, but at one of the universities they have a bicycle club and I think I might do it. I don't know though. I'll check it out. I kind of don't like riding my bicycle here at night because people drive crazy anyway during the day and at night it is even harder to see people.

Ok guys, I'll talk to you later about whats going on and stuff. See ya.

Locksmith

Hey guys,

Not too much going on here if you were wondering. Anyways, I found out on Sundays some people get together and play flag football at a university I go to play basketball at. I just happened to see them one day, and they asked me if I wanted to join them. There are a few Americans and the rest are Taiwanese. They are all pretty cool. It is just like flag football back home, and there are maybe like 6-10 that are usually there. I met this one guy there, and he is from NY. He is a pretty cool guy, but I have a story about him and his scooter.

He lost his scooter key while we were playing, and he doesn't have a spare one. I walked with him to go to a scooter shop for a new key. To make a long story short, a locksmith eventually came and made him a key right on the street. I thought it was pretty cool. He just handcrafted it on the spot, and it only took him maybe 10 minutes. It made me think...I wonder if its really easy to steal scooters here since he did it so quick.

I thought it was pretty interesting. I get to meet a lot of people at this school because it is pretty big, and I go there at least once a week to play basketball. Well, sorry if that wasn't too interesting, but there isn't too much else going on here.

See you guys later on.

Night Market Food

Hey guys,

I guess today I just wanted to tell you about some food at the night market. Well, first of all, there is a ton of food at the night markets. I would say half of all night markets are food and the other half is clothing.

I just wanted to tell you about some food I usually get. One of them is a chicken sandwich, but the chicken is cut into little pieces. The bread is toasted, and you can add stuff on it like cheese, lettuce, spicy sauce, and ketchup. The chicken on it is like a kebab style chicken. It isn't really like the chicken we are thinking of because this type of chicken is hanging on a rotating device and it is always heated. I think it is hard to explain. Anyways, I really like it, and it only costs $1.30. USD.

Another thing I get there is just a baked potato. You can add like 10 different things to it, but I just like it with bacon. Some other things you can put on it are cheese, corn, ham, tuna, and butter. It is really good and tastes just like how it does in Tennessee. It only costs $1.00 USD.

I also like buy bread there. There are a lot of different kinds. The kind I usually buy is just a sweet style bread, and its dirt cheap.

One more thing I like to buy are french fries. Have you guys ever tried sweet potato french fries? It is pretty good. Its sweet, and delicious. I have only had it here, but I'm sure you can buy it in the US. That is also really cheap. It is around $1.00 for a bag of it.

Something I wanna say about the food here is that they usually make it fresh for you while you wait. Everyone has the food set up and you tell them what you want and then they will cook it. Theres a lot of food here for everyone, so if you are a picky eater like me you will still enjoy it. One thing to remember...it might take a few months before your stomach likes the food. Ok see you guys later.

New Haircut

Hey guys,

Yesterday I got a haircut. It is really different than what I would get, or anyone would get in Knoxville. I think it is common in big cities and stuff.

The barber doesn't really speak English, so she will just cut my hair. I am cool with her cutting it because I think she does a good job. It costs the same price for a haircut here with tea, massage, washing it, and putting stuff in it as much as it costs for just a 10 minute haircut in the USA. Anyways, I just think its hair, and it will grow back if I don't like it. I do have a problem with bad haircuts though. I mean in the USA for example. I mean, sometimes I will get a haircut and it will only take 15 minutes, and it will be bad! Thats why I like to cut my own hair too. It saves money, and I can do just as good or better as a lot of barbers. I think the lady that cuts my hair is nice and she does a good job. Oh, she also went to Taipei on Saturday to do hair for a movie. That is pretty cool I think.

I don't know maybe it is hard to see my hair in the picture, but a lot of people have been saying it looks like the David Beckham haircut. I guess it is different for my hair to be like this because I have to put stuff in it to make it stand up. Anyways, my hair grows back fast so in a month I won't be able to do it. I just like it because it is a little different.

Ok talk to you guys later on.

New Bicycle

Hey everyone,

Hows it going? The other day I got my bicycle. It is a really nice one. I decided to go with one that is good for the road, and one that is also portable. I think it was a good idea I've heard bicycles get stolen a lot here. Whenever I go back to my home I fold it up and bring it upstairs. It is really convenient.

So first of all, there are a lot of different models that fold. There are also different brands too. I decided to go with Giant because I know its a good brand, and it is also made here in Taiwan so it is better quality than if it was made in China. I talked to some people that have a bike made in China and they said it needs a lot of repairs. I also was reading this folding bicycle on the web, and a lot of people said it is convenient for traveling. I mean around the city like going to school or something.

If you want to fold it, it only takes two steps. 1. fold the handles down and lock them. 2. fold the bike in half. After that, you can carry it anywhere you want. My bike is also really light. I am pretty excited about it, and I just wanted to show you guys.

Something good about my having a bicycle here is that I can get around easy. I can't drive here because I don't have insurance. I will take a taxi sometimes, but riding a bicycle is nice. The weather here is usually good too.

Ok I will see you guys later.

Hey everyone,

It is starting to get a little bit colder here. When I say a little colder I mean instead of it being 80 something and really humid its maybe in the upper 70s and still humid. At night it gets a little chilly when I ride on the scooter. I like the weather here right now because its not cold to me and there is also a nice breeze. During the day it is really hot, so I will wear shorts, but at night it gets cooler so I might wear pants.

Last night I went out to eat, and at the restaurant I ate some really really good chicken. It reminded me of something from P.F.Changs maybe. It was Kung Pow chicken. I don't know how to spell it. It was a little spicy and very delicious. It was cooked with peanuts and other stuff, and I have to say that it reminded me of something I would order in a restaurant in the US.

Oh yea, I thought I would tell you guys somethings you should get use to if you were to come here. I thought of a lot, but I actually can't remember most of them.
1. Some toilets are only a hole in the guard. It is really common in a lot of countries not just Taiwan.
2. The entrances to the bathroom have no doors. For example, in the guy's bathroom anyone can look inside of it and see you washing your hands or using the urinal.
3. People don't move out of the way for the ambulance or police cars. The police and ambulance have to move our of everyone's way even if there is an emergency.
4. Spiders are as big as my hand!
5. Every classroom uses a microphone, so when we were in school our teacher would have been holding a microphone while he/she spoke.
6. A lot of electronics aren't cheaper. I don't know if its true with everything, but for example Apple computers are the same price. The same thing with the brand Giant Bicycles. Other electronics are still the same like cameras, mp3 players, dvd players, and stuff.
7. People use the peace symbol with their fingers a lot. It means they are happy when they take the picture.
8. Everyone, including businesses take a lunch break at the same time. So that means schools from elementary to college and everyone else. You can still go inside the business and shop, but they will be eating lunch.

Thats all that I can think of for now. I know a lot more stuff, but I forgot it.

Talk to you guys later on.