We love the iPhone...and the newest iPhone!

How cool!
One of Chris's host families had this newest iPhone - much smaller than the iPhone available in the U.S.
Chris and his iPhone. Our iPhones worked in Taiwan (at least where there was wi-fi), so we all got to Skype and check emails courtesy of Chris. Chris downloaded a neat iphone app for learning Mandarin and I kept my Mandarin and Taiwan notes on my iPhone.

Our weekly Mandarin lessons are FUN!

The National Acrobats of China

Xie xie to my mom, Gwen Cook, for arranging for our GSE team to see the National Acrobats of China performing to a sell-out crowd at the Lied Center. The acrobats were amazing - using their incredible strength in simple but beautiful routines using props like cloth, bikes and spinning plates. Plus, for the team it was fun to hear so much Mandarin being spoken in one place.

Oh, How Time Flies!

It's hard to believe that we're only about two months away from leaving for our GSE trip to Taiwan! Time is going by so fast..but don't think we've been slacking. Quite the opposite, really!

So, what have we been doing? Well, learning Mandarin Chinese, of course! One of the main languages spoken in Taiwan is Mandarin. We want to learn as much of the language as we can before we leave to help bridge the communication gap and show just how excited we are to be immersed in the Taiwanese culture.

We tossed around several ideas on ways to learn Mandarin. We thought about Rosetta Stone software. We also considered using YouTube videos and books for self-study. However, no book or computer software can take the place of using a real, live tutor to help us understand and learn the language!

Our wonderful tutor, Jeremy Jewell, is an expert in all things that have to do with Taiwan and the Chinese language. We've had three lessons with him so far and will continue working with him until we leave for Taiwan. He's been an invaluable resource for us - giving us lessons on not only the language, but culture and ettiquette as well.


Of course, we already have some favorite phrases that we're learning, including:

Nǐ hǎo - Hello

Wǒ tīng bú dǒng 我聽不懂 - I don't understand

Duì bù qǐ kě shì, wǒ bù xí guàn zhè ge cài 對不起 可是 不 习 慣 这 个 菜 - Pardon me, but I am not accustomed to this
**This is our favorite! There's no doubt that we'll encounter some foods in Taiwan that we're not used to eating, so this phrase will come in handy!**

The most important thing is that we're having fun learning Mandarin. Be sure to quiz us on our Mandarin skills the next time you see one of us!