Patricia "Patty" O'Brien

2008-09 Outbound to Taiwan

Hometown: Palm Coast, Florida

School: Matanzas High School, Palm Coast, Florida

Sponsor: Flagler Palm Coast Sunrise Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida

Host: Tainan Castle Rotary Club, District 3470, Taiwan

Bio

Patty's Bio

Let me begin by saying: Sa-wat-dee, Kon-nichiwa, Ni hao, Griass God, and Bonjour! These, of course, are all greetings from (just a few of) the possible counties I’ll be living in next year. And trust me, there is no possible way to describe my emotions; to simply say ‘I’m excited’ would be a complete understatement.

Now to the introduction: My name is Patricia O’Brien, yet I generally go by Patty or Patty Anne. I’m 16 years old and currently a sophomore at Matanzas High School. I participate in the clubs CMPS (Community Problem Solvers), FPS (Future Problem Solves), and Leo’s club (basically just an under branch of the Lions club). I also spend a lot of my free time drawing, painting, and (my personal favorite) sculpting, which, unfortunately, I can only do in my art class. Now, add all that up to my school load and it’s needless to say, “I’m a very busy girl”, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love having something to do, anything to do, which has me constantly taking risks and trying new things when the world gets too dull. I guess you could say my life motto is “Life was meant to be lived” and I tend to live up to that at the fullest.

I’m not sure how to describe myself besides saying that I’m a ‘typical Floridian girl’. I love hanging out with friends, going to the beach, and adventuring out of the house to see and do things. I would also consider myself to be a friendly and outgoing person. I love meeting new people and making new friends. I enjoy my alone time too though; I usually spend it reading, journal writing, catching up on schoolwork, or doing my art things.

Now, there is no way I can introduce myself without talking about the important people in my life, my family. I have two wonderful parents, a bright, funny sister, and an amazing best friend (who’s practically another sister). Through out the application and interviewing process my family has stuck by my side to encourage me, share in my excitement, and listen to me ramble for hours on end about how much I want this. I truly believe they want this for me almost as much as I want it for myself, what more could I ask from them?

I’ve already fallen in love with being an exchange student and I can’t wait to meet the other 2008-09 exchangees. It is here I feel I should say: thank you SO much for this amazing opportunity Rotary! I’ll do everything I can to represent this state, our country, and the organization in the best way possible!

Until next time (when the journey really begins),
Patricia O’Brien

August 10 Journal

I’ve yet to set foot on the island of Taiwan and already I feel like I have morphed into a new, older, and more adventurous person. If I were to go back a year and stand next to the old “me”, applying to be what I am now, you would see two complete strangers.

Of course, the immediate differences would be noted on my appearance. For years I had long locks reaching towards my belly button and braces covering my smile. Not anymore. My braces are due off in a few days and I had my hair chopped off around my shoulder and chin yesterday. I love this new mature and grounded “me”. I feel ready to take on every new adventure and tackle every new hardship thrown my way. And for this, I thank Rotary.

I can hardly imagine the way my life will be in Tainan, Taiwan. My first host family, among everyone else I’ve talked to there, seem like the kindest and most loving people I could have ever hoped for. And, believe it or not, I’m not afraid. All I feel racing through me is an eagerness to explore and a bottomless need for change. But, I guess that’s what makes me an exchange student…

It’s less then eleven days now.

(Soon to be) from the other side of the globe,

Patty

August 29 Journal

I must have started, erased, and restarted this journal entry a hundred times now. It’s impossible to find the perfect opening, a quick intro that sums up the feelings I hold concerning my new surroundings. If at all possible, I feel everything. Every emotion to ever touch me, throughout my whole life, is now regathering in the pit of my stomach. The best way to explain this is to say that I am completely overwhelmed, but in a good way.

I love Taiwan, it’s a mystery I’m dying to further explore.

Although there are many things that take getting used to, I refuse to use the term “dislike”. There are only things I love, things I like, and things that are an “aquired taste”. This open mindset has helped me to try and retry many things.

My arrival to Taiwan was not ideal. I was sick and tired. Upon arriving at my first host family’s house, I vomited. Not the best first impression…

I brushed my teeth and went to sleep in a daze, not taking in any sights for the night. I woke up around 3:00 AM and finally took in my surroundings. My bedroom is on the 23rd floor of a building and I have a wall to wall window over-looking the city. It’s so beautiful. On the stories below me there is a shopping mall, a HUGE book store, and a Starbucks. It’s like heaven. <3

The other day my host family took me to a very nice Japanese restaurant to meet with their friends. We had our own room in the restaurant and after about five minutes, the other family arrived. They had two daughters, eleven and nine, who raced to see who could sit across from me. The oldest won and stared at me for a long moment before saying, “Oh! You’re so BEAUTIFUL!” I nearly fell out of my seat laughing. Once I got myself together I told her she was beautiful too, and I believe that comment made her day. <3

Every where I go people stare, point, and tell me I’m gorgeous. It’s soo… odd. In America I was just another teenage girl, but here I’m a fair-skinned, curly-haired, Beauty. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’m stopped in the street by people pleading to take a picture with me. I feel like a star.

After a full day wandering throughout the city I begin to forget how different I am (believe it or not) and once I return home and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my face shocks me. It’s as if I expect myself to magically morph into a tan, slanted-eyed girl.

Actually, since I’ve been here I’ve only seen one other white person. It was an older woman and my eyes flew to her the same way everyone here notices me; she stood out like a sore thumb. It was interesting to see the contrast though, to finally understand how I look to the Taiwanese.

Today, eight days since my departure, I took my first trip through the city alone. It was amazing. With every step I took into the unknown, my heart would skip a beat. Since I didn’t have any bread crumbs to mark my way, I developed my own system of traveling; I used the Seven Elevens. You see, Seven Eleven is found on EVERY corner here in Taiwan… So, as I made my way through the streets I made mental notes, for example “Turn right at the brick Seven Eleven, Go straight until I hit the white Seven Eleven… Turn left at the two story Seven Eleven… And when I hit the pink Seven Eleven, I’m almost home.” It’s a very amusing way to get around…

The food of Taiwan is… impossible to describe. It would like trying to describe “American food”… Taiwan is mix of Chinese and Japanese for the primary dishes, yet has influences from Korea, Europe, Thailand…. It’s like all these different cuisines came together to become “Taiwanese”… See?… it’s hard to explain.

Maybe it’s just my girly-ness kicking in, but I have to say one of my favorite aspects of Taiwanese culture is the clothing! The common fashions would be what we consider “Grunge”, “peasant”, “girly”, and “earthy” all rolled into one. Good thing clothes are so cheap here, or I would be completely broke by now. Hehe

So, With much love from my world, Patty

September 3 Journal

I’m going to Japan . Let me repeat that… I’M GOING TO JAPAN!

That’s right, this October I’m packing up and heading out to spend a week or two in Japan … I’m not sure just where in Japan I’ll be… But that doesn’t even matter, because I’M GOING TO JAPAN! Whoot!

Well, now that I got that bundle of excitement off my chest… I’ll fill you in on my recent adventures. Starting with… the first day of school…

So, let me begin by saying school in Taiwan is the nothing like school back here in the states… For example… here are a just a FEW differences:

Matanzas High School:
+ 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM
+ You can wear anything as long as it’s not showing your booty or too much cleavage, and you can pair it with any type of shoes you want. (Ah, flipflops are heaven <3)
+ The student body is made up of both boys and girls
+ The students switch classes every period.
+ You pretty much get to select the classes you want to take.
+The school has many clubs, sports, and activities for after hours.

Deguang Catholic Girls' High School:
+ 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM
+ You have to wear a school uniform, sailor style, paired with solid black or white sneakers. (I have Sailor Moon flash-backs daily)
+ As it says in the name, we are all girls.
+ Teachers switch classes every period. (which is good… because there’s no way I’m going up and down 6 stories every hour)
+ After lunch is nap time, which lasts for an hour.

Anyways, my first day of school wasn’t even a real “school day”. In Taiwan, they hold a huge opening ceremony on the first day to celebrate the upcoming semester. Basically, the principal gets up and speaks for hours, and then the middle school students perform some traditional dances…

So, I sat in the auditorium (the very first row), for what felt like an eternity, and listened to the Chinese music and speeches fly over my head. Honestly, I didn’t have the slightest clue what they were saying… so I started to doze off when I finally heard my name being called. They proceed to have me climb onto the stage (Which caused me to trip and fall… like most things in the world), handed me the microphone, turned me to face the THREE THOUSAND students before me (it was like an endless sea of Asian faces), and told me to speak... My heart stopped; I was certain that I was about to make a complete fool of myself.

Yet, the second I opened my mouth to say “Ni Hao”, the whole crowd broke out into a very long “Awwwwwwwwwww”, followed by a jumble of compliments like, “She’s so CUTE!”

After they finally settled down some, I began to tell them little things about myself in Chinese. Mainly just, “I come from America, from Florida …” “I’m learning Chinese, but very slowly…” “I’m happy to be here……” and so forth.

I swear, with every Chinese word I said, they would break into a huge applause and cheer. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been a brighter shade of red.

The next day was my first day of classes, if you could even call them that… As an exchange student, I have the easiest possible schedule. I’d type out the whole thing… but I have eight periods a day, that change for each day of the week... and it’s really not that exciting of a list. To sum it up though, I have a lot of Chinese classes and free time. Also, instead of getting out at 7:00, they let me go at 5:00. Whoot!

This is only for the first half of the year though. Next semester, when my Chinese is much better, I have to attend the regular classes with the Taiwanese students.

On to more interesting things now… Sitting in homeroom today, my classmates surrounded me, then began playing rock-paper-scissors to see who had to ask the first question. (Taiwanese girls are so shy!) The loser giggled nervously for a long time, and I thought she was going to run out the door… but then she finally asked me, in very broken English, “Do you haaaaaave…. a… Boyfriend….?” I nearly fell out of seat laughing. EVERYONE asks me this…

I mean, I’m from the other side of the planet… they could ask me ANYTHING about the culture… food… even the pop-culture… but no, they’re all dying to talk about American boys. It’s hilarious.

Well, I have Chinese lessons in a few moments, so I’m going to have to cut this short.

Until next time,

Patty

September 23 Journal

You may, or may not, have been wondering where I’ve been these past few weeks. Honestly, I don’t have much of an excuse for not writing; I do indeed see a computer everyday. However, my mind has been reduced to a similar structure as jelly, and I’m quite sure that I’m possibly the worst or most passionate exchange student here.

My understanding of the culture, although never complete, is vast enough to where I can safely say that Taiwan and I mesh perfectly together. I couldn’t imagine my life without this place; it’s as if I’m no longer that silly girl longing to have a taste of life. Now, I feel as if I have finally become the person I’ve always wanted to be, yet never mustered up the courage TO be, until now.

So why do I feel like the worst possible exchange student? Well, I must admit, I’m struggling with the Chinese language. Big time. Perhaps I’m not being fair to myself, a good portion of the other exchange students come from other Asians countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand, and have studied the Chinese language for far longer then I have. Yet, I constantly find myself comparing and feel as if shrinking in their presence.

It’s not that I don’t TRY, honestly I do, but sometimes it’s near impossible to wrap my mind around Mandarin. Lately I’ve actually been considering the reasons WHY I’ve had my difficulties and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m trying too hard. I completely understand how all of you back home will find this comment absurd, but I’ve realized that I’ve been looking at Chinese in a far too literal way. You can’t take two languages as polar opposite as Mandarin and English and expect the direct translation to make sense. It never will. So what is my new approach to all of this you may ask? I’m going to leave my English out of it altogether. The only way to learn this hassle of a language is to relate it to things, thoughts, smells, touch… but never words. By strictly keeping my memory at Chinese-into-picture, I eliminate the translating process and thus, save myself a whole lot of confusion.

Maybe I sound a little full of myself, to consider me among the most passionate exchange students in Taiwan, but I couldn’t imagine anyone loving this island greater. In fact, some exchange students in my city spend a great deal of time crying and longing to poof home. This of which, gets under my skin and makes me want to shake them… the only reason their exchange isn’t as amazing as they had hoped, is because they refuse to adapt to the culture. They’re in their right, I suppose; Taiwan is a very hard place to settle into. Those first two weeks were a constant struggle, fun beyond belief, but a struggle nonetheless. The food is like nothing I’ve ever been faced with. Yet, smells and tastes that had made my stomach turn just a short time ago, now fill me with hunger and desire. I guess my “acquired taste” theory was right, thank-you-very-much. :]

I’m sure you all are far more interested in what I DID over what I THINK, so I’ll begin my recap now… starting with, the week before, and the day of, the 21st.

Now, all my friends and family whom were dreading this exchange can tell you that the 21st marked my one month anniversary of my departure abroad… and ironically enough; it also happened to be my 17th birthday. Go figure.

I’ll tell you now, I dreaded that day like the plague. Just thinking about it made me well up with tears. Actually, just a week before, I had been sitting in my English conversation class when we began the unit on “Holidays and Birthdays”. We all had to answer basic questions and I held myself together until finally the teacher read out loud, “How would you feel if you were alone on your birthday?” My flood gates opened right then and there.

As it turns out, I had plans that night to go to the night market with a group of classmates after school, yet at the last minute they changed the plans and decided instead to spend the evening at one of the house of one of the girls. We played Uno, ate Taiwanese BBQ, her father tried to set me up with her brother, and they brought out a cake. Of course, I’m an oblivious girl and my first thought was, “Oh we’re having cake to celebrate the Moon Festival! Yummy!” That is… until they began to sing “Happy Birthday”. It was such a simple gesture, but it was so touching that I didn’t even mind that it was the funniest tasting cake I’ve ever had. <3

Of course, that was not the end of it. Ah, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice… Well, that’s exactly what happened.

The Friday before my birthday (occurring on Sunday) went by like any other Friday. I went to the library, helped out in English class, had nap time… and so forth. Then, last period came. Generally, this time is reserved for clubs, tests, studying… so I didn’t find it out of the normal that the class was taking a test… then Vivian (my closest friend here) came over and said she was done and said she would take me outside to spare me my boredom. Honestly, I was completely tired and would have rather slept, but I gave in and we went down stairs. We walked through the school museum, went to the band room (where a few people played songs just for me), and walked around the track… Being a silly little girl, I didn’t think anything strange of the phone calls Viv kept getting; I just plowed through, talking aimlessly about nothing in particular. Finally, she said we should go upstairs, which is a big task I might add… try going up and down 4 flights of stairs 5 times a day… Not fun. Anyways, we go to the room and Vivian cracked the door open, talked to someone, and then shut it again. Suddenly, she turned to me with a look of horror and said that we were in trouble because the teacher had come back and we had left without permission. I was dreading facing the wrath behind the door; our homeroom teacher can yell like no other… But when the door burst open, all I saw were 54 girls singing “Happy Birthday”, a huge CHOCOLATE cake, the chalk board decorated beautifully, and cards and presents. Tears swelled my eyes as I repeated “xie xie” to everyone. I’ve never been so touched in my life. Finally, I felt ok with my birthday. <3

Of course, I had more plans for the ACTUAL day of my birthday… I had invited Vivian over and she, my mama, Kim, and I went out to a BEAUTIFUL Japanese restaurant, where I received my third cake. Then, Viv and I spent the whole day walking through the city and shopping.

I wasn’t even shy about all the people staring; I’ve gotten used to it a long while ago.

Which I will go ahead and agree with Kyle and say: we are treated like royalty here. Being a fair skinned, big eyed American in Taiwan is just as magnificent as glowing gold and floating in the air. I’m treated like a complete and total princess. I’ve had strangers beg to take a picture with me, shop owners give me free things, random people blow me kisses, and my host family spoils me as if I were their own baby girl.

Recently, I received a pair of sneakers from a family friend (who I though was odd to ask for my shoe size..) valued at $100 US dollars. Apparently he is the owner of a HUGE company (over 80,000 employees) that produces the materials used for major shoe brands, like Nike…

How on earth will I adjust back to my American life?

Anyways, I have plans to go to Sun Moon Lake tomorrow and the following day. It’s BEAUTIFUL. Google it, you’ll see… it’s paradise. <3 I’ll be sure to tell you all about it soon!

From my side of the globe to yours, Patty

My friend Vivian and me

My lovely house

The view from my bedroom window

Eating in a village