I finally became a US citizen 2 days ago after coming here for 6 years!   That also means that I'm officially Sophia now. haha I was so not used to signing this new name, so on the day before my citizenship oath ceremony, I was practicing signing it like a hundred times XD Somehow I didn't really feel anything different after the ceremony, nor anything emotional. If there is, it's only the change of my name and the fact that I can vote now. =P These days I've been busy with changing my driver's licence, registering for vote, changing my name/opening new accts in a bank, applying for passport, getting ready for work, etc. Lots of documents to be read and lots of forms to be filled out before starting to work =( That's prob why these days I got tired and passed out at like 8-9pm and woke up super early. 0_o

The 4-week Taiwan trip was sooo awesome!! Got to see so many relatives who I grew up with and meet up w/ old friends. The food there is so cheap and yummy. Everything just seems so familiar yet a bit different. Cities have become more developed. People have become more trendy. Speaking of that, the girls in taiwan are sooooo skinny and pale! -_- Most of them dress nicely and have pretty makeup. They are all like carry brand name handbags. seriously, every 3 out of 5 girls carry like Gucci, LV, or Channel handbags -_- Salesmen in department stores told us that usually it's a bit cheaper to buy them in Taiwan than in other places. That's why so many Japanese tourists come to Taiwan and buy a LOT.

Another thing I like about Taiwan...or Taipei more specifically is it's MRT (something like metro or subway in the US). It's farely new so it's a lot nicer than the ones in NY and some in Japan. On top of the door, it shows which station it's approching and the nearby 2 stations. It's also announced in 3 languages (Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English). They are building MRT in Kaohsiung now so there's construction everywhere >< Hopefully it'll be done soon.

One thing I'm still not used to is the fact that they don't give u plastic bags to carry whatever stuff u buy anymore. If you don't bring a bag yourself and can't carry everything by hand, you have to purchase plastic bags. They started this a while ago, even before I went back 2 summers ago. I guess this is more environmental since plastic bags take so long to decompose. But then we were so short on trash bags that we asked my dad to bring back lots of plastic bags hahahaha.

Some photos taken while I was in Taiwan.

 cousin's dog, diamond. haha just got shaved. bosco said diamond's ugly ><

 my dearest grandma and i outside of a club. can u believe she's already 96?!

met up w/ middle school friends twice. they're the ones i played bball with. miss them!

met up w/ harry and ken..or nick in Taipei. ate soo much that day XD too bad ariel, bob and alison couldn't come =(

 with cousins/aunt/uncle @ a steak house in Taipei. Took a boat around some ports in Kaohsiung w/ other relatives.

waterfall outside a restaurant, xin du li, in Taipei. The MRT i was talking about =P

Hong mao cheng (previously a British consulate) and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. such a tourist

Dan shui in Taipei