Brian’s Journals

January 14, 2026

Mountains, Boba, and Maids

好久不見

I have lived in Taiwan for about 5 months now. I have to say this place can get cold. Obviously no where near as cold in Europe right now for my other fellow exchange friends, but sometimes I consider praying for the deadly summer’s heat to come back. So the last few months have been busy. I mean VERY BUSY. (We don’t get winter break until mid January) But I would like to share a few adventures with you.

In December we had Christmas party for the exchange students in my district. However this wasn’t a normal party. It was a Chinese competition to see who can speak the best. Many people sang, presented their own country, or talk about their life so far in Taiwan. I did presentation on the USA because two days before the competition I was rehearsing the song I was gonna sing, but my friends were pleading for me to stop singing. Apparently I’m a little rusty from my chorus days. Anyways I thanked them because I tied for 4th place- not a bad deal. Then a bad deal happen. Right after the competition my heart got sliced open when Rotarians contacted all our parents to make a Christmas videos for us. I saw my 2 year old niece sing jingle bells and all my family saying they miss me. I may have shedded a tear or two but being an exchange students gives you tough skin. After the party they invited the local Roteract clubs so we had a big party with exchange and Taiwanese high school students at the party making it a night worth remembering.

The pass few weekends I usually take trips to Taipei with my friends. Where I live it takes about an hour to get there by regular train. Just a side note I really like the trains here, to any public-transport deprived American it really touches your heart that you can commute to a city for less then 2 dollars an hour away. Also there faster trains here however I prefer the cheapest option. One time in Taipei me and my friend decided to do something thats been on my bucket list for a while. To climb up QingTianGang mountain 擎天崗. Now the ride there was hectic. Me and my friend who is wearing a full on Kimono were standing in a crammed mini van liked bus to get to the summit. The road leading up there is pretty curvy and for some reason my bus driver is thinking he is in Daytona 500. He taking these curves like prime Vin diesel however his luck ran out when he crash into the drop arm. Everyone on bus was okay just little embarrassing for the guy driving. I made sure to thank the bus driver afterwards. Then the climb began, we walked and hiked like 30,000 steps of rugged terrain. We reached a couple peaks and when we made it the top I froze in awe. The view was breathtaking. The mountain is covered in beautiful green grasslands. The Wind hit my face like baloney sandwich. The scenery reminded me of a Japanese television series called Vinland saga. Me and my friend felt like champions that day. We ate our juicy sandwiches and onigiri on the top of the mountain wearing our crazy outfits talking about life. Afterwards, we pack our bags and headed back to urban jungle. Our next move was eat Mexican food. I was quite excited to try out tacos for the first time in Taiwan. I must say they were muy bien. At the end of the day me and my friend rode back on the train in his kimono and my overly dress attire. A memory worthy of writing journal entry for.

Some different news I just switched host families. We live in middle of downtown now and I have 20 boba shops around me. The boba here is quite spectacular. If you are reading and only drank Boba from the west. I have to say, I’m sorry-you don’t know the taste of real Boba. The sugar and milk distribution is perfect; the price is one dollar; there a ton of different shops. When I come back to US I think i’ll understand how Icarus felt when his wings were clipped- this is truly the closest my tongue has ever gave me a hug. My family is also quite older, all my siblings are above 40 and have master degrees. I actually prefer this because they have more free time then my last host so we can go on more trips. Also this family speaks Japanese, English and even German. I don’t need the German, but I can practice more Japanese here. Speaking of Japanese I also made Japanese friends here. Usually every week we get on phone call and I practice speaking Japanese. My mandarin is comfortable enough now where I switch to it if I don’t understand something in Japanese. My pronunciation and my pitch accent need some work but I’m happy I get a chance to practice both Mandarin and Japanese. Learning a another language on exchange is quite enjoyable I recommend it to anyone who wants to brush up. We also plan on having trip to Taipei together soon and I really look forward to it.

Another adventure I had was with the same friend I climbed the mountain with. This guy is basically my twin but with a full grown beard. Now ever sense I heard of the invention of maid cafes I knew I had to experienced it once. I have to say it was not disappointing. Now in this type of establishment the bread and butter is not in food (ironic right) but actually talking to our waitresses. They were very lively and we got to practice alot of Chineses. Generally Taiwanese are shy but our waitresses straight up talk to us like we knew eachother for years. It was a fun experience and friendly reminder not to be scared to try new things even if it sounds cringey. Thats the one strength I have learned from Taiwan is not being scared to show my authentic self and try everything. All the social anxiety and judgement is release and it feels like your kid again where things are just how they are.

Thank you for reading my journal. As my journey closes up through these next couple months I will make sure to remember to write my journals. Thank you again to my Mother and my family for supporting me all throughout the journey. Thank you to my host families for taking care of me. Thank you to Rotarians for giving us this opportunity. Thank you to my classmates and friends from Pingjhen for being so kind to me. Thank you to Zhong Li Chinese class for always making me laugh.

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