Friday - Last day of Orientation and first day in Tainan

Friday

This morning, we got up and had breakfast and finished packing. I had to take my suitcases to the leisure room by 8:30 because we had to ship them to my school since I am taking the train. At 9:00 a.m. we had the Closing Ceremony. We met the people from our schools who came to get us. We discussed the contracts and signed them.

After that, we ate lunch together for the last time. It was so sad. In the four days we were together, we became like a little family. We had the parental figures, the kids, the weird members... Being in a foreign county is like being in a pressure cooker. Away from everything familiar, our real selves come out. There is no being fake, or lying. You are who you are. 

We got on the shuttle bus to take us to the airport or train station. I didn’t expect it to be so hard to leave them or that I would miss them so much. Anyway, Wai Hao and Phoebe and I got off first because we took the High Speed Rail (train) to Tainan. It was super cool!! We got tickets and got on the train. You have assigned seats and they are really nice. It took us 90 minutes to go what would have taken us 4 hours to drive. After we got to Tainan, we went to HOLA and bought me a mattress, sheet, pillow and blanket. The got me a telephone number and dinner and showed me the school.

The school is beautiful. I am really excited and nervous. I am going to have 7^th, 8^th, 10^th and 11^th grades! I am going to have my own office because the teachers go to where the students are instead of the students coming to the teacher. I kind of like it because I don’t have to be responsible for a room! After that, they dropped me off at my new dorm.

My room is teeny tiny, but functional. I have a desk, bed, closet, bathroom, TV and small refrigerator. It is definitely a change from having a house or apartment. Because I don’t have all my luggage, I don’t have many things in my room yet so it doesn’t feel very homey yet. After I unpacked and had a small panic attack, I walked down to the 7-11 and a small store and bought some food stuff (peanut butter, jelly, bread, OREOS) and some house stuff (trash cans, fork, spoon). I came back and organized and tried to make it all feel more like it was my space. I then skyped with several people! It was so good to talk to Mallory, Alicia and Debb! I felt so encouraged and refreshed when I finished! They all ministered to me in different ways! Then I went to bed in my very own living space!!