Our first day

After a tear flooded departure from Cleveland we boarded a plane headed to Los Angelas. The plane ride wasn't too bad except we made the mistake of staying up to watch Made of Honor because Mike has always wanted to see that movie. From L.A. to Taiwan really wasn't that bad. The seats were really comfy and we got to watch Iron Man and 21. When we got off the plane at 6 a.m. Friday, it was already so hot and humid out. There was a driver there to pick us up who didn't speak any English which was extremely uncomfortable. What made it more uncomfortable is that Mike hits the guys arm and asked him what his name was. The guy was probably so afraid that this 6 foot guy was touching him so he nervously replied with "yes", which was great.

The ride from the airport to our hotel was scary because there aren't any traffic laws and everyone drives like maniacs. There are hundreds of scooters that swerve in and out of cars and have no regard people walking, it's crazy!! So then we get dropped off at the hotel at 7:45 but it didn't open until 9:00 but of course we couldn't communicate with the driver so we had to sit outside for an hour and a half with no food or water because it was too early to exchange money at the bank for us to purchase any.

Finally we met Patty, our adorable tour guide. we walked around the neighborhood for a little bit before she treated us to our first official taiwanese meal, at Subber (Taiwan's version of Subway). Being the sloppy (and starving) Americans that we are, Erin and I scarrfed our food like it was the only meal we'd had all day...because it was. We ate so fast that she called us out on it and kind of made fun of us. Afterwards we got to try Bubble tea and Pearl tea, drinks that are massively consumed in Taiwan. they werent bad but the jelly balls that make their way up the straw are a little different and something that we are going to have to get used to.

After taking care of a few things we had to do upon arrival we finally got to check into our hotel room to shower and relax for the day. With both of us expecting a Hostel not far from the hollywood portrayal, we were pleasantly surprised to be at an upscale place tucked away from the main roads. Our room is really nice, coming fully equiped with a lip sofa and naked women on our walls (see picture above)....Mike's favorite part about Taiwan so far.

So around 4ish we went to get something to eat on our own this time and as we were walking aournd realized that everything seems to shut down after 4 so we had to go back to Subber again. This time we did not have Patty with us and Mike made an ass out of himself, first by TRYING to say hello in Chinese and then by pointing to what he wanted on the menu. The girl laughed at him like you American idiot and told him that they could speak English, it was great! It is very hard to walk around without our guide because there isn't a way to communicate with anyone for us yet and we can't read any of the signs because they are all written in Chinese but we both are looking forward to learning.

Then we went back to our hotel and I passed out around 5:30 p.m and now we are both wide awake at 6 a.m. Today we are going to look for our new apartment!!