Day Forty-Seven.

Today is a great day of discovery. I discovered a microwave on the 6th floor when I was doing laundry. There was also a toaster. I discovered the university sends me an email when I get mail in the post, then consequently discovered the mail room, and my giant package from BEST FRIEND EVER, Rob. I discovered my roommates are shy, but a taste of American candy is a good bribe for them to talk to me. I discovered the two quiet ones are actually really nice too. I discovered TWO of my three US television shows air on Wednesday night and are always waiting on me when I get home from class. I also discovered a direct correlation between not speaking to a certain person and the height of my mood--that is to say, I'm happier now that I've been since I arrived. Peace out, Cub Scout. Hello, Discovery.

Only one more day stands between me and Spring Break. I have found several more people who are staying in town and we're going to rock Taipei for the weekend while everyone else is out of town. I'm looking forward to getting out of my room for a day or two before turning my concentration back to the books. Let's cross our fingers for sunshine and cloudless skies.

Day Forty-Six.

I think it is official: I am allergic to Taiwan.

There have only been a few days where I have felt my best here and today is definitely not one of them. I have a runny nose, sore throat, and the beginnings of a cough. On top of that, this week my wisdom teeth decided to all finish breaking through simultaneously. Needless to say, all I want to do is sleep.

I took my one and only midterm exam today. Overall, it went very well, however I forgot three of the acronyms (5 points each) and I am sure I messed up a few concepts. Still yet, it was far better than expected. I can handle a C on my midterm as long as my group does a good job on the project. I am sure I can do well on the final exam with more time to study.

My camera is lonely, gathering dust upon my shelf. It has been a very long time since I last took a photograph here and that saddens me. I want to travel more and get out, but this Chinese class is shackling me to my desk. Even over my small "Spring Break" this weekend I will be tied down studying due to the looming unit exam on the first day back in class. Sometimes I feel like a tired old mule, slaving away at my homework just to have it marked up in red, and tossed aside and the cycle begins again. I did take some leisure time today after my exam; I crawled into my bed with my Kindle and finished the novel I've been working on for quite some time. It is nice to have that familiar feeling of accomplishment at ticking another book off of the list. I will admit though, I am sad the story ended. I guess now the quest begins to pick the next candidate amongst the titles fighting and shuffling to be first in line...

PS. Check out the article Tim wrote!

Day Forty-Five.

Today was exactly what I needed. Chinese class went very well; I can feel myself progressing at last. All that is left is to continue my current level of studying and catch up my writing ability. I really wish I would have taken the time over the past two years to learn to write--if I had, everything would be much less stressful. Outside was sunny and warm, just like I wished for, but I can't bring myself to even contemplate tomorrow's stormy weather. It's going to be a long Wednesday. I have class from 9AM until 1PM at JiHe, then my Marketing midterm exam at 2 to 4PM back on the main campus. I'm going to have to grab something quick to eat on my way to the exam, otherwise the only think I will be able to think about is food.

I received my passport back from the IC office today with my extended Visa. Looks like Taiwan thinks I'm okay to stay until the 12th of June. It seems a little silly that I have to renew it for only fifteen days, but I don't make the rules here. Aye, aye, Cap'n.

Played some football tonight on the field in front of the dorm with Koek, Sönke, a kid from Chinese class and his friend. We picked the one night of football club that was a real game, and therefore created our own mini field and game. It was actually quite a bit of fun, especially since I don't know when I'll get to play again with Spring Break coming up. After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Ps. Yikes! Just something to think about...

Day Forty-Four.

For tonight's homework soundtrack, I'm listening to what many people characterize as "emo music." So with a Silverstein playlist queued on YouTube, I'm putting pen to paper. I missed football tonight because I was in the library studying for my Marketing Midterm on Wednesday; I deem that a worthy cause to miss the one thing that I love more than anything else here. Here I am now, after my delightfully scalding-hot shower I am finishing up the last few sentences of this three day Chinese homework marathon.

I know it hasn't exactly been a secret that the past few days have been hard for me, but I am hoping that this week will be different. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm, one day of relief before a week and a half of rain. Needless to say, I'm going to try to make the most of it.

Let's do this.

Day Forty-Three.

There are:

91 days until my 20th birthday.

92 days until I leave Taiwan.

6 hours of homework remaining for tonight.

10 words that need defined and used in sentences.

57 unanswered questions.

But there is only one exhausted, ill, homesick me. Why doesn't this homework ever end?

Day Forty-Two.

I'm pretty sure today couldn't get any worse.

Day Forty-One.

You know your culture shock has worn off when there are octopus legs sticking out of your rice and you're okay with that.

Day Forty...

...and it's raining again...and I saw the second side of my food.

我吃坏肚子了。我頭很疼。 我身體很不舒服。

晚安。現在我去睡覺。

Fun Fact: The word "forty" is the only number that has the linguistic property of its letters being arranged in alphabetical order.

Day Thirty-Nine.

I want to start out by posting something I have been meaning to mention for a week now: Congratulations WVU for our first B&E ranking! [Read the full article here]

The WVU College of Business and Economics has been ranked in the Top 100 Best Undergraduate Business Schools of 2011 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek, and you're invited to celebrate!

Please join us for a reception in the 4th Floor Atrium in the College of B&E on Tuesday, March 15, at 1:30 p.m. We're ranked because of the hard work of our students, faculty and staff. So let's eat cake and celebrate! I look forward to seeing you there.

Jose V. Sartarelli, Ph.D.

Milan Puskar Dean

A Taiwanese friend of mine that I met in class was accepted today by MCU for study abroad and is currently awaiting the response of the host institution. If all goes well, Ray Kuo will become part of the Mountaineer family this fall semester! When he first approached me to ask about a few schools in the US, he had no idea where I was from. So, obviously, when he opened his booklet and said his first choice to attend was WVU, I was through the roof in excitement. Keep your fingers crossed for him!

I apologize for the lack of presence of personal thoughts or real writings lately--as I said yesterday, time seems to be moving too quickly for me to keep up. I stayed up very late last night conversing with Tim Terman about the article I mentioned back in December. I'll update with further news as he informs me of what's going on with it. At least I can mark that off of the list of things I need to finish. Sanya stopped me outside class today to remind me to bring my documents in for the Visa renewal, so I will be doing that tomorrow after Chinese class. It feels pretty good to knock two large To-Dos off of my list, but it's a vicious cycle. I have a midterm exam next week for Marketing class that I need to study for as well as a group project looming ever closer. This is no time for procrastination.

Happily, I have already completed my homework for Chinese today! A step in the right direction for getting things done on time. Let's hope I won't be up until 5AM again tonight...granted, judging from how I am feeling now, I don't know if I will make it to 10PM without drooling facedown on my keyboard...

Zzzz....

[post edit: Ray was offered California Long Beach and he took it over WVU.]

Day Thirty-Eight.

I feel like I'm running on a treadmill that is set to a higher speed than I can handle--I am running to keep up, but very slowly losing ground, getting behind. I need to stop time for a little while and just get things together. I am tired of rushing to finish my homework at three in the morning, or pushing someone else's deadline because of my inability to focus for five minutes. I don't know what's gotten into me recently, but I need to kick this habit hard.

Tonight, I am cleaning out the closet of things to do. I have two emails on the queue list left to write that I am hoping to get to tonight, but seeing as it is already 3:11 AM, they may have to wait a little longer. This life is a viscous cycle. I need some peace.

It has been thirty-eight days now, and therefore I have added "Renew Visa" to my list of things to do. If I do not apply and have my visa renewal granted within sixty days of entering the country, I will have to leave and reenter for the new visa to be valid. That sounds like a lot of time and money that I do not have to invest in this. Let's just get it right the first time, shall we?