Week 1: What did I get myself into?

So Albert and I are going to open a bubble tea franchise in Mid-Michigan and I just finished my first week of training. Surprise! Going into it I felt pretty confident because I got through graduate school with my highest gpa yet. So I felt like I could do anything. That being said, I was a little nervous because of how hard Albert said it would be. Turns out he was right! But before that let me share some photos:

My in-laws taught me how to peel and cut dragon fruit. This is what it looks like after you start peeling it. It reminded me of the eggs in Alien so I had to take a picture with it- face huggers creep me out.

Here's what it looks like after you peel and cut it- It's beet red and the color is really strong. I bet it would stain, but it's incredibly yummy. I always want to have one when I'm back in Taiwan.

Here's a couple of interesting signs. McDonald's here is promoting two new kinds of sandwiches with different colored buns. The black one is made from squid (I think), and the red one I forget. Maybe red pepper or tomatoes. Either way it sounds disgusting.

This next sign is funny. It says "The gods are watching you if you litter." It's referring to the Buddhist/Daoist religion in Taiwan. 

Okay show off time. I got my haircut! (Finally!) And they straightened it for me.

This is the view from the apartment building I'm staying in. Pretty right?

It also looks like super rich people live in that building. I found three lamborghinis, a ferrari, a mini coup, and a maserati. The lamborghinis look like the batmobile.

I also got new glasses!

Here's an unobtrusive temple hanging out near Costco.

And going shopping on my one day off.

So although the training is strenuous- 9 hour day, 6 days a week, and on your feet the whole time, I know I can make it. It's making me excited for when we can be in charge of our own store, and I'm super happy I got to learn so much new Chinese vocabulary so far. All of the signs and buttons in the store are in Chinese so if I didn't already have this threshold of reading ability I would be completely lost. This past week I was working in the back brewing tea and other materials for the drinks, and I'm going to start to learn how to make drinks in the front and interact with customers this next week. Wish me luck!