Graduation at last! Yesterday was the commencement ceremony. I finally got my diploma and am on my way to bigger and better places! The above picture is the of the chaos that ensued after the ceremony was over. Everyone sprayed each other with silly string! I'm definitely glad to be moving on from high school but at the same time I'm sad to be leaving a place where I have spent my last four years. Happy graduation class of 2010!

This is my sister in her graduation dress. She bought it just to wear to my graduation. Isn't she so nice!

Yesterday was Baccalaureate, which is a religious service to honor high school graduate. The picture is of my sister and me in the front of our house, me wearing my graduation regalia. Today everyone (for the most part) is frantically getting ready for my graduation party tomorrow. Tonight is graduation. I'll be sure to upload pictures!

This is my sister Morgan making spaghetti. She insisted that I put her on my blog, so here she is. In the picture she is making spaghetti, a typical dinner dish in America.

This is me at the Jacksonville High School awards ceremony this past Tuesday shaking hands with Principal McGuiles. So far I have received:

Quincy Jones Musicianship Award

President's Volunteer Award

Kiwanis Certificate of Academic Excellence

Illinois State Scholar

Top 10% of Class

President's Award for Educational Excellence

Things keep showing up in the mail, so who knows if this is all of it or not!

This is my bedroom, and yes I did clean it just to take the picture. This is my favorite place to relax at home. I sleep, play video games, and read (notice the large stack of books on the chest next to the bed?) in this room.

This is my house. It's two stories with a two car garage. In the picture you can see my mom's silver Volvo, my dad's black minivan, and my sister's red car. My mom and dad, me, my sister Morgan, and my brothers Adam, Andrew, and Aaron, as well as our dog Copper and two guinea pigs call this home.

This is my car. It's a '99 Mercury Mystique. It's not much, but it runs well enough and gets me to where I need to go. In case you were wondering, the giant dent in the back door is due to someone backing into my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot last spring. Overall, it's been a good car and I'm hoping to sell it before I go to Taiwan.

My First Post

Hey all!

This blog is for everyone to see what I am up to during my coming year in Taipei, Taiwan. The next couple of months will be me documenting my life in America for my host family(ies) to read about. Once I get to Taiwan, I won't be able to respond to any comments/email due to the immersion process, so please don't be offended if I don't reply.

Thanks!
Eric