<div><span style="font-size: 14px;">What a month.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">I am not sure if this is redudant but I'll include it anyway. &nbsp;I did some make up classes before finals and then did finals a week earlier than normally scheduled so I could go to my good friend's wedding in Taiwan. &nbsp;The weekend prior, I went to Hong Kong for the bachelor party. &nbsp;I'll get to those in turn. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">The finals were... interesting. &nbsp;I had five classes this semester. &nbsp;Two were from the English department and three were from the tourism management department. &nbsp;The English major classes each took about one hour to complete. &nbsp;The tourism classes took closer to three hours on average... This was because they didn't do their homework proactively/at all and it ended up biting them in the butt. &nbsp;I gave them fair warning; they did not heed. &nbsp;Many did not pass...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">Anyway lets move to a funner topic. &nbsp;Hong Kong was really fun. &nbsp;We spent a day in Macau &nbsp;(not HK, but really close :D), where I managed to win 1500HKD and then lose it just as quickly. &nbsp;Thankfully, I had the wherewithall to not try and win it back... and probably lose more. &nbsp;It was super fun regardless. &nbsp;We ate pidgeon (famous Macau dish &gt;_&gt;" it tasted pretty good though!), yummy seafood, and lots of other stuff. &nbsp;We went walking around and made a general nuisance of ourselves.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">I met some very interesting people. &nbsp;We went to a cool new hotel called Star world, where every hostess (and there were many) was over 6 feet tall. &nbsp;Thoroughly perplexed by this anomoly of height, I inquired of one how so many cute tall girls were in the same place. &nbsp; Her response was "we are not Chinese, we are Filipina." &nbsp;Thinking perhaps I missed something, I asked how that made a difference. &nbsp;She enlightened me by enunciating that they were also models. &nbsp;My interpretation was that Filipina models are cheaper than Chinese ones. &nbsp;But the arrogance was really a shock. &nbsp;Her whole mannerism was of condescension (and perhaps because she also physically looks down on almost everyone). &nbsp;It was really weird. &nbsp;But on to more fun topics</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">The wedding was crazy. &nbsp;It was a little bit by the belt, but absolutely amazing, not to mention the great opportunity to participate in a traditional Taiwanese wedding ceremony. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">Lets back up to the beginning.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">I needed to change my flight from landing at 7pm to landing at 4pm, which ended up costing me a pretty penny, but in hindsite was definitely necessary as we had not prepared anything yet and I would have been totally lost if I hadn't been there during the prep for the entrance ceremony etc.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">So we got ready for the wedding the night before, after hitting the streets for some (abbreviation: all) local street foods- to include: &nbsp;delicious mochi meat dumplings (forget the name) which have a nice savory/sweet sauce and probably only feel like half their amount of calories; some muousels fresh from the night market; wintermelon tea (oh how I missed it from high school days and didn't realize it till now); a meatball soup which (after a little soy and white pepper) was really tasty; some egg patties covered in more delicious savory/sweet sauce and mixed with onions, chives, and garlic which would have made even one as suave as I (lol) a social pariah; and some delicious taro cake which really hit the spot right above where your full line is located (I think for the girls it was significantly above that line, but such is life). &nbsp;After the gourging, we went to the hotel room and worked out our opening entrances, locations, and dance routines for the bride's dance. &nbsp;After that, the men rushed to the basement of the hotel where the ironing board was located and we hung out and ironed out our very travel wrinkled suits.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">The next day, in a fleet of black mercedes with red ribbons and bows adorning them- launching firecrackers into the street among heavy traffic without a car swerving or pedestrian batting an eye- we journeyed to the bride's hotel. &nbsp;Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeting by beautifully dressed, sternfaced brides maids who demanded our groom proove himself worthy of their fair maid's hand through a series of trials. &nbsp;For her pleasure, produce "I love you" in 6 different languages. &nbsp;For her edification, three reasons why you love her, and why she is the only person for you. &nbsp;For her reminiscances, arrange a large number of pictures of her and the heroic groom in chronological order. &nbsp;To know your dedication, consume a box of fruits which you despise (tomatoes). &nbsp;For your commitment list nine rules you will follow, nine rules you expect her to follow, and nine promises to keep. &nbsp;To prove your resolve, run through a ten ply piece of ceranrap. &nbsp;And finally for her warmth and love, acquire the ring frozen within a block of ice. &nbsp;After completing the trials we were permitted to enter her chamber (hotel room) where we were fed traditional rice dumplings. &nbsp;Some talking with parents ensued (blahblahblah). &nbsp;We went down stairs for some photo ops throughout the gorgeous (specifically designed for weddings) hotel, and then had a bento lunch. &nbsp;From there we found our corrosponding bride's maids (denoted by the color of our bow ties and their dresses) mounted up and drove to another hotel where the reception and party would be held. &nbsp;Upon arrival we had a wonderful welcome by the (also wedding prepared) hosts and hostesses, and made our way to the prep area (I think the hotel did 3 weddings that day, ours being the best, I mean last). &nbsp;We ran through the script with the would be reverend (who was really just a senior hostess) and practiced our dancing and such. &nbsp;Apart from some logistical issues (grooms men not having Taiwan phones &gt;_&gt; ) everything went smoothly :D</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">The ceremony room (chapel?/chamber?) held about 50 people. &nbsp;We listened to very sweet self written vows (his in English, hers in Chinese ~so cute~) and I may have gaffaued (I couldn't go a whole night without at least one faux pa) after he said when they had a baby he would promise to keep the bed warm while she went and took care of him/her in the middle of the night. &nbsp;Next we took a breather and had some coffee to prep for the big reception. &nbsp;the reception hall held closer to 400 people. &nbsp;Most of the people were fashionably late, but soon the hall was packed with every seat taken. &nbsp;We made our grand entrance, dancing, singing, and then introducing ourselves with our respective partners. &nbsp;We ate some food, did some toasts, and then the three grooms men from high school (myself included) made speeches. &nbsp;Being that the general audience was Chinese or Taiwanese, it was expected that at least one of the groomsmen speak in Chinese. &nbsp;Unfortunately the man of honor spoke Cantonese, and the other groomsman was more focused on science than language and knew only English at speech making level (despite his heritage), which left me to produce some kind of speech. &nbsp;It was a lot of fun. &nbsp;I'm really glad I have been studying. &nbsp;I think it came out alright. &nbsp;I quoted 1st Corinthians on love, and wished them the best, and recounted a less than admirable story about our past. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">After some dancing, a winner takes all rock paper scissors tournament, and some more toasting, we headed to the after party. &nbsp;We took taxis to a questionable location, where there were numerous garage doors inside a giant parking complex. &nbsp;Dirty concrete lined the walls with spray paint numbers over each of the doors denoting which 'room' was which. &nbsp;Rather perplexed, I stepped in faith and followed the group into the shadowy garage door 711 which was our room. &nbsp;Inside there was a car stall, and behind a single dark wooden door. &nbsp;Still rather perplexed, it was an amazing realization to open that door and see the gianormous room which it concealed from us. &nbsp;A forray with a running fountain led to a living room with a 90+" flatscreen facing a double king which had a hall leading to a kitchenette, sauna, and bathroom. &nbsp;Hidden behind a wooden grated rotating wall was a spa which could easily hold 20 people- also with its own big screen- flanked by 2 giant futons. &nbsp;Don't judge a book by its cover. &nbsp;This was not a storage unit. &nbsp;We drank, danced, sang, played spoons, beiruit, and had much merriment. &nbsp; &nbsp;I woke up too early (9am) and made a bottle pan flute out of beer bottles... it was not received well. &nbsp;But, I guess some people just aren't fit for the morning after a long night of partying.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">When I had finally aroused enough anger and adreneline in some of the other groomsmen, we went and got breakfast for everyone and feasted before heading out to our (the groomsmen's) hotel in Taipei, and the lady's to their respective abodes (being natives to Taiwan). &nbsp;Thankfully, we were graced with going in similar directions, and some of the vixens accompanied us to Taipei so that we would not get lost. &nbsp;There was also a billeting snaffu which they magically repaired for us in the nick of time. &nbsp;It was really awesome having them conveniently around to help us (and go out of their way to do so) so much. &nbsp;It really drove home how awesome the Taiwanese culture is. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">(segway) The whole island has an amazing atmosphere of relaxation, and peace. &nbsp;Everyone is introvertedly amiable and willing to help one with any (stupid) problem one thinks of. &nbsp;The weather was great (though summers still suck I'm told), the people are super nice, the food is delicious and inexpensive-- I could get used to Taiwan... I'm halfway to Hawaii and I almost feel regret for leaving Taiwan (to go to paradise... :P). &nbsp;Definitely my favorite place in Asia right now (I would say China, but you have to take an international flight to get there and half of China is not allowed to visit it; so it kind of begs the question doesn't it?). &nbsp;Anyway, we also went to a hotspring and a famous night market on the top of a mountain or something. &nbsp;Both were amazing experiences.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">We went from 45 degree Celsius water to 5 degree Celsius water and I turned bright red. &nbsp;It totally relaxed me though, and we got to stay two and one half hours for $1 (40ntd), pretty awesome. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">Lastly we went to Taipei 101 for new years and saw a really awesome firework show while we played Uno jenga and hung out one last time. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">Best 4 days of Winter vacation so far.</span></div>