Ok it's been a while since the last post. It's only been two weeks so far and already I'm lagging behind. I definitely will try and post more everyday though cause so much happens each day. It's just hard tog get it all down and keep it all up to date. I gotta warn you cause it's been a few days this post is gonna be a little on the long side. So I recommend waiting till you really want to procrastinate, or are REALLY bored at work to read it....but I can promise it's worth it. It's a post filled with near death by taxi, frog eggs, tea in the mountains....and gondola rides. (That's what we in the blogging business call a teaser).
So first off, updates on my living situation. I decided to take a job teaching kids, 450 to 620 five days a week. I was torn between taking an adult job and the kids. Both provided an ARC but after talking to a few people I decided against the adult school. The hours at the kids place suck but I hope I can find something during the morning to supplement, plus working part time at the other adult school should help too.
I moved to another hostel (for those keeping track, that makes 3 hostels and 0ne hotel since I got here on June 14th) and it's definitely the best one so far. The last hostel I stayed in was as the Brits say "a bit dodgy". It wasn't clean at all and was really big. So there were a lot of people and most of them have been there for such a long time and were kind of anti social. Anyway the new place is great in a good location, super clean and filled with cool fun people.
Where to start on this monster of a post? I guess first off, I've been feeling a little out of it lately, mostly cause of that shitty hostel but also cause it was my brother's 18th bday AND graduation on Wednesday. So I was pretty bummed not to be there for it. It kinda made me realize that there are tons of things I'm going to miss out on while I'm here. Kevin's bday graduation, his trip up to college, my cousin's wedding and one of my best friend's wedding as well. That's just some of the things that I feel worst about missing. It sucks not being there for all those people that I really care about during this important and life changing events. It definitely had me thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea and stuff...I mean let's be honest it's not all random ferry rides and adventures here, it's a constant challenge and missing my brother's 18th and graduation just reinforced how hard it'll be to be away from literally everyone I care about....
That being said, no matter badly I may feel about that I can't dwell on it cause I learned in my short time here that things can change in a second....now here comes the fun adventure story, enough sappiness....
So yesterday me and two other guys from the hostel decided to head out to Maokong, on the gondola. I might have said this before but Taipei is built in this valley surronded by all sorts of jungle like mountains. They have this new gondola that leaves from one of the last stops on the MRT. It goes up to 300 meters above and outside the city where they grow all sorts of tea and have beautiful scenery in the mountains, with hiking trails, random old temples and really amazing scenery. It's supposed to be gorgeous up there. We left the hostel about 12 and in about 40 minutes on the subway we were at the Maokong Gondola. I traditional Taipei fashion, it looked like a thunderstorm was approaching. So understandably they were closing the gondola until the storm passed. We thought it might be fun to hike the 4 km up to the top. But as we were debating what to do, a taxi driver offered to take us to the top for 300 NT (10 bucks)
Now what was great was that one of the kids is studying Chinese so he was able to joke and barter with the guy and talked him down to 200 for the three of us.....Well naturally it started pouring as we got in the cab. Now I'm obviously from New York, so I've had my fair share of scary, odd or gut-wretching cab rides....but this was by far the scariest, heart-stopping cab ride of my life. This guy put NY cabbies to shame. It's a thunderstorm first of all, and not just an ordinary one but a Taipei thunderstorm. The cabbie is flooring it swerving around curves, around scooter drivers, passing cars over the yellow line on this winding, uphill and now spillery road. Meanwhile me and my friends are just exchanging terrifying looks in the back of the cab. He would sip around a turn, and there'd be a car then and ever time it was like he barely missed falling off the cliff. I thought I was gonna die....it was harrowing to say the least.
The best part though was we were about halfway up the mountain, still pouring and a cop car pulled up in front of us off a side road. I was so relieved cause at least he would have to slow down a little bit. BUT this cabbie had the balls, hutzpha or whatever else you want to call it TO HONK AT THE COP CAR IN FRONT OF HIM! THEN AGAIN...this guy is honking at the cop car to get out of the way and speed up!
We all just exchanged glances and thought this cabbie was done for. haha it was so out of control, I really think that in and of itself was worth the 200 dollars in the cab and would have been the best part of our day trip....
At this point it stopped raining and after our pulse rates dropped, we were on the top of this amazing mountain. And sprawled out below us was the entire city of Taiepi. It was beautiful. I mean you could really see everything from the eastern most part to the south of the city. We decided we wanted to head to a teahouse but have no idea where to go, so as I've learned here, to get good anything, you have to go where the locals go. We followed a family and we're walking by all these tea fields on this winding road...
And they have these quaint little teahouses tucked into the mountainside...some you have to walk up stairs or down stairs to get to...others through the forest. But we don't know which is best. We keep walking and the family goes into one so we follow them inside. It's this great little teahouse decorated with all kinds of tea paraphernalia, clay teapots, little tiny cups, bags and bags of tea on the wall, crackers and little snacks for sale.
Now I was with a guy from Seattle and someone from Paris, and we don't now shit about tea. So we have no idea what the best one is. We decide to follow the owner's suggestion and go with "the most famous green tea" in Taiwan. How could we do otherwise? We buy a whole bag and then sit down on this outdoor table overlooking the entire city, valley and tons of mountains. It is sooo serene (even though it's still raining). She shows us weiguorens (foreigners) how to make the tea. It really is an art apparently. You have to soak the ta leaves in the water for 1 minute, and 20 seconds more each time after that. I gotta say, we brewed some pretty badass tea. Of course it starts pouring again. But it's ok cause we're under a little awning....drinking amazing green tea in a tiny teahouse overlooking Taipei was incredible something I never thought I'd do or be able to do. So peacefully, quiet I really felt like I was in Asia, with the family eating and drinking tea behind us, the mist rising in the mountains and just relaxing. I think if I can go there every once in a while and chill out and relax......I might be able to just survive this crazy adventure....
It really put things in perspective gotta take the good (drinking tea in the mountains of Taiwan) with the bad(missing Kevin's Bday) And hope the good out weighs the regret of the bad. I think it will...
Anyway we knew the gondola back down wouldn't be running as long as it was raining and none of us wanted to risk going DOWNHILL in the Taxi of death...so we decided to wait out the rain and just have more and more tea. After six hours of intermittent thunderstorms, tea tea tea, some snacks that resembled some type of jerky and a chill atmosphere just hanging out and it finally cleared up a bit. We walked back and the gondola was running again (it was 730 at this point)....and hoped on the gondola. This was great too, it goes slowly down the mountains and stops all along the way. It's soooo quiet and peaceful in this 5 or 6 person gondola and you can see the whole city all lit up....It was incredible that above a city with millions of people we were still in pitch black jungle and couldn't hear a sound....The city looked magical from that perspective. The whole ride took like 40 minutes to go down and I wish I could have stayed up there for a few weeks or so haha.
It really revived my hopes for this journey and put things in perspective. It was a fantastic day (also before we left we had a great meal of rice, roasted duck legs, veggies from a buffet for only about 100 NT (3 doolars) it was the best meal I've had so far in Taipei so I think helped make the day that much better)....
You have to take the good with the bad and things will work out. That's my Doogie Houser-esque words of wisdom for today. (Remember how he'd type his stupid little mottos and life lessons on that big blue computer? What a great show)
Anyway still gotta find an apartment and another part time job but ideally I want to just sit up there and drink tea, until I achieve nirvana....when I do I'll blog about it...just like Buddha himself I'm sure would've done. ...
Oh pics will be posted as soon as I find a good website to put it on...they are really nice...
Brian
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
decided to take a job...
So I got a call today from a school where I had interviewed on Friday. When I had originally interviewed, the owner mentioned that she would have a position for me but not until September. That wouldn't really help me seeing as how my VISA is up the middle of August. I kept applying for other jobs in the meantime, and then she called today saying there was a position open from 450 to 620 pm Monday to Friday. AND that I would be able to start on July 7th. That'd be cool cause I could travel around the island maybe a little before then and it would give me some time to set up a place to stay nearby.........The pay is ok 620 Tawainese dollars and hour. The school is for kids aged 7-10. When I took a tour of the school it seemed like it was well organized and they would provide the curriculum. She has everyday laid out and what I would need to teach for each day. There are only about 8 kids in the class. The way I figure it for an hour and a half each day it shouldn't be that bad. That's not that many hours but what is great is that she told me she would be able to provide me with an ARC or work visa. Even though I won't be working that many hours with this school, it will let me stay in Taiwan for at least a year. In the meantime I can look for part time work in the mornings or later after 630 at an adult school. From people I've talked to it doesn't seem like finding a job is the tricky part, but it's the hours, getting enough to be consistent that is the hard part. Even my friend who is Taiwanese and an English teacher, works at a few different schools.
The other adult school that wanted to offer me a position is still willing to give me some hours possibly teaching business English. This is much better paid and is basically teaching business people how to format a letter, fax, proper vocabulary to use in different situations, etc. I've looked over the textbook and I think I can handle it. It's not too complicated and most of it is just common business lingo and letter format (finally my year and half as a paralegal is paying off!)....The adult school was recommended by my friend, so I know it's legit. They've also offered me a weekend summer camp class. I need to teach for 3 hours, Saturday and Sunday on the 13th of July about an hour from Taipei in the beautiful Eastern part of the country. I would get 700 per hour and get so spend time exploring another part of Taiwan. So I think I'm gonna do that as well.
I haven't signed anything with either school yet but I think this could work out well....my 7.5 hours in the afternoon with the kids, and have my ARC covered, then I could find part time work in the mornings with another school and work some (albeit sporadic) hours with the adult school where I know at least one other person who works there. The adult school would only start me with one class, but maybe more down the line. I'm hopeful this could work out.
That being said in order to get my ViSA I have to get a health check done at a hospital here. I went today because I had no interviews lined up and to be honest was a little worried because I hate getting my blood drawn (the one thing that I'm a real chicken-shit about) and I know how annoying waiting at the doctor's office can be. I went to the hospital around 1, expecting to be there for a solid 3 hours. For the health check they need a blood test, chest x-ray and a physical by the doctor. So I'm assuming this will take a really really long time. They test for HIV, syphilis in the blood test (which I'm sure I don't have either of), and tuberculosis with the chest x-ray (which I'm pretty sure is something I don't have, otherwise anyone who I've been near in the last month or so may be in trouble). Anyway at the hospital there were tons of foreigners getting their tests done. One thing I will say that I've noticed about Taiwan is that when it comes to bureaucratic stuff, they are really efficient. The health check was no exception. First I had to fill out a form with my name, DOB, medical history etc. I then brought the form to one counter where they verified my ID and gave me a number. When my number was called I went to get "examined" by the doctor. I literally sat there, he looked over my chart and asked "So you fill sick now?" I said no, and then he asked how long I've been here, and if I got used to the heat yet and reminded me to wear sunblock when I was here. Then after a dozen or so stamps (the government loves stamping everything, they put 3 stamps on my VISA, a few on one sheet then on another sheet then a different set of stamps on a third sheet...all the government agencies can't get enough of stamping), he said ok go to the next station. I turned around stood on a scale and my height and weight was taken, more stamps on my forms. Then I turn around again, go to another person at another station put my arm in an automatic blood pressure machine, more stamps, I get up go to another woman who takes my temp. in my ear and has me read a chart. Stamps start flying again and at this point all my forms are more stamp than paper. She tells me to go back to the first register and pay.
I go back pay $1,023 NTD (about 30 US dollars). More stamps and she says go to the second floor for blood work. I really felt like I was being processed for feeding. Like I was on some weird assembly line for English teachers, just one after another. There must've been about 30 foreigners there and I don't think anyone hospital worker spent more then 30 seconds with each.....
So I head upstairs take another number, then when my number's called I sit down and in 4 seconds my blood is drawn and I'm told to hold the cotton swab on for ten minutes, then head up to the 3rd floor for my chest xray. After a minute wait..... I'm in there, told to take a deep breath ....then just like that, done with the xray. The technician stamps a few pages and tells me to go back to the first woman. I head down hand my form...stamp stamp stamp get a receipt and am told to come back in a week to pick it up. haha it was unreal. The whole process took about 30 minutes. It was really like a factory ........we teachers were in .....out.... and processed like the absent-minded commodities that were are .....then sent on our merry way, to teach English across the island. Just like that !
Amazing how easy stuff like that is here. I think it would take days and cost a fortune to do that back in the states.
I have another interview tomorrow with an adult chain school and then one on Thursday with another kids school. Hopefully one of them can provide me with some morning hours. Now though, I'm off to the bars to celebrate my job over some 2 dollar beers.
Cheers,
Brian
The other adult school that wanted to offer me a position is still willing to give me some hours possibly teaching business English. This is much better paid and is basically teaching business people how to format a letter, fax, proper vocabulary to use in different situations, etc. I've looked over the textbook and I think I can handle it. It's not too complicated and most of it is just common business lingo and letter format (finally my year and half as a paralegal is paying off!)....The adult school was recommended by my friend, so I know it's legit. They've also offered me a weekend summer camp class. I need to teach for 3 hours, Saturday and Sunday on the 13th of July about an hour from Taipei in the beautiful Eastern part of the country. I would get 700 per hour and get so spend time exploring another part of Taiwan. So I think I'm gonna do that as well.
I haven't signed anything with either school yet but I think this could work out well....my 7.5 hours in the afternoon with the kids, and have my ARC covered, then I could find part time work in the mornings with another school and work some (albeit sporadic) hours with the adult school where I know at least one other person who works there. The adult school would only start me with one class, but maybe more down the line. I'm hopeful this could work out.
That being said in order to get my ViSA I have to get a health check done at a hospital here. I went today because I had no interviews lined up and to be honest was a little worried because I hate getting my blood drawn (the one thing that I'm a real chicken-shit about) and I know how annoying waiting at the doctor's office can be. I went to the hospital around 1, expecting to be there for a solid 3 hours. For the health check they need a blood test, chest x-ray and a physical by the doctor. So I'm assuming this will take a really really long time. They test for HIV, syphilis in the blood test (which I'm sure I don't have either of), and tuberculosis with the chest x-ray (which I'm pretty sure is something I don't have, otherwise anyone who I've been near in the last month or so may be in trouble). Anyway at the hospital there were tons of foreigners getting their tests done. One thing I will say that I've noticed about Taiwan is that when it comes to bureaucratic stuff, they are really efficient. The health check was no exception. First I had to fill out a form with my name, DOB, medical history etc. I then brought the form to one counter where they verified my ID and gave me a number. When my number was called I went to get "examined" by the doctor. I literally sat there, he looked over my chart and asked "So you fill sick now?" I said no, and then he asked how long I've been here, and if I got used to the heat yet and reminded me to wear sunblock when I was here. Then after a dozen or so stamps (the government loves stamping everything, they put 3 stamps on my VISA, a few on one sheet then on another sheet then a different set of stamps on a third sheet...all the government agencies can't get enough of stamping), he said ok go to the next station. I turned around stood on a scale and my height and weight was taken, more stamps on my forms. Then I turn around again, go to another person at another station put my arm in an automatic blood pressure machine, more stamps, I get up go to another woman who takes my temp. in my ear and has me read a chart. Stamps start flying again and at this point all my forms are more stamp than paper. She tells me to go back to the first register and pay.
I go back pay $1,023 NTD (about 30 US dollars). More stamps and she says go to the second floor for blood work. I really felt like I was being processed for feeding. Like I was on some weird assembly line for English teachers, just one after another. There must've been about 30 foreigners there and I don't think anyone hospital worker spent more then 30 seconds with each.....
So I head upstairs take another number, then when my number's called I sit down and in 4 seconds my blood is drawn and I'm told to hold the cotton swab on for ten minutes, then head up to the 3rd floor for my chest xray. After a minute wait..... I'm in there, told to take a deep breath ....then just like that, done with the xray. The technician stamps a few pages and tells me to go back to the first woman. I head down hand my form...stamp stamp stamp get a receipt and am told to come back in a week to pick it up. haha it was unreal. The whole process took about 30 minutes. It was really like a factory ........we teachers were in .....out.... and processed like the absent-minded commodities that were are .....then sent on our merry way, to teach English across the island. Just like that !
Amazing how easy stuff like that is here. I think it would take days and cost a fortune to do that back in the states.
I have another interview tomorrow with an adult chain school and then one on Thursday with another kids school. Hopefully one of them can provide me with some morning hours. Now though, I'm off to the bars to celebrate my job over some 2 dollar beers.
Cheers,
Brian
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A funny thing happened on the way to the island...
So first things first, I had to get my wisdom tooth pulled the other day. I've never had any problems with it before, or any of my teeth for that matter...but as soon as I got here it started killing me. It was really painful so I had to get it taken out. I found a dentist who went to Northwestern and spoke pretty good English. I was really nervous about it. But luckily he said it would be easy to remove. He gave me local anesthetic, no gas though because they don't really use that here. So the whole time I heard him kinda cracking my tooth and even though I didn't feel any pain it was still really tough to deal with. But it was done within a few minutes. Coming from the US, my worry was that this would cost me a fortune. Cause I don't have health insurance, I'm not a citizen of the country and I literally just showed up to this office, out of the blue. So I was ready to shell out a ton for this...
But it ended up only costing $1,000 Taiwanese dollars. Which is only 30 US dollars! When he said it'd be 1,000 I said oh 1,00 US, that's not so bad. I couldn't believe how cheap it was! 30 Dollars! It really is pathetic how backwards our health care system is when I can come to another country without insurance and pay less than in my own country. How is it that my country can not provide me with a reasonable health policy? It's really disgusting. How much is it to just fill a cavity even with insurance? That's one thing that is terrible about the US, hopefully if Obama can get elected he can follow through on his campaign and maybe make some strides towards universal health care...We'll see though, I don't think it will happen anytime soon, unfortunately.
Aside from my tooth it's been good here. Yesterday I decided to take a trip up North to Keelung. It's this port city all the way on the Northern tip. I took the train, similar to the Metro North I guess, about 40 minutes from Taipei. The reason I wanted to go up there was there was supposed to be this great island that has amazing cliffs and beaches that was only a ferry ride away from Keelung City. So after I got off the train I took a bus through the city to this port Bashu port. Now this was right after my tooth got taken out, and the taste of blood in my mouth and the crazy bus twisting around turns and stuff made me feel a little sick. But it was ok. After about 20 minutes I finally got to the port and it was really nice cliffs and stuff were all around the port and it was much cooler than in Taipei. After a lot of pointing and miming I was able to find out which ferry was leaving for Keelung Island, but since the ferry only leaves when it is full, I had to wait a while. I was on the boat, by myself waiting for the boat to leave and a Tawainese family came on. There was a Mom, Dad, a 10 year old boy, an older girls. a little baby and I think an uncle and Aunt. So the little boy comes over and starts talking to me, looking at my freckles and comparing his arm to mine. He seemed fascinated by them haha....
It turns out that the ferry has, of all things, a karaoke machine on it. So the Mom and her older daughter start singing in Chinese. Like they expected there to be one on board. At first I'm thinking this is going to be a long trip. I was still feeling queasy from the bus, tooth and the rocking of the boat....so I was thinking this trip might be a big mistake....
The kid meanwhile is still talking to me asking me where I'm from and with my little Mandarin I am able to answer him a little but. The whole time the Mom and her daughter are really getting into the Karoke as well. The 10 year old then brings over the song book to me saying "you sing, sing" and pointing to the songs in English. After a few minutes I gave in and decided why not....when in Rome after all. My song choices were kind of limited to a few English songs like Danny Boy, Let it Be and a few other gems. I decided on the Rolling Stones though "The House of the Rising Sun"....the kid was so happy I was going to sing he ran over and handed me the microphone then coaxed me to stand up....the rest of the family is encouraging me too at this point and still it's only us on the ferry...
I start singing and adding some stage presence and Jagger like dance moves. It was so surreal, being on the Northern tip of Taipei, singing karaoke on a ferry with a Taiwanese family...haha. But it turned out to be really fun. I was singing to the whole family and they seemed to be enjoying it..... Truth be told, I got really into it....the family is singing along and the 10 year old is so proud of himself.... And at the end everyone gave me a very nice round of applause.
It was really fun. Anyway the island itself was beautiful. It was uninhabited, and took about 30 minutes by ferry. The beach was all coral and there were huge immense cliffs and caves all over the island. All the people on the ferry were the only ones on the island. It was pretty cool. So lush too. There were all these rocks sticking out in the ocean and all these little trails all around to. We spent about an hour on the island and it was worth the long hike out there. The coolest part was going back to Taiwan, we passed from the Taiwan Straight to the Pacific Ocean, Where the currents meet you can actually see a sharp difference in the water, on the Taiwan Strait the water is calm as can be...but you can see a line where one side is calm, then on the other is rough. It was really interesting....
The island itself was great, but the karaoke was a lot more enjoyable, even though it was such a strange thing. Guess I'll have more of those while I'm here. Tomorrow I move to another hostel, met some cool people here so far so I'm sure I'll meet some more at the new place. Still no job yet but another interview Monday and I plan on spending today sending out more resumes....
That's all for now, time to get some $1 noodles for lunch!
All the best,
Brian
But it ended up only costing $1,000 Taiwanese dollars. Which is only 30 US dollars! When he said it'd be 1,000 I said oh 1,00 US, that's not so bad. I couldn't believe how cheap it was! 30 Dollars! It really is pathetic how backwards our health care system is when I can come to another country without insurance and pay less than in my own country. How is it that my country can not provide me with a reasonable health policy? It's really disgusting. How much is it to just fill a cavity even with insurance? That's one thing that is terrible about the US, hopefully if Obama can get elected he can follow through on his campaign and maybe make some strides towards universal health care...We'll see though, I don't think it will happen anytime soon, unfortunately.
Aside from my tooth it's been good here. Yesterday I decided to take a trip up North to Keelung. It's this port city all the way on the Northern tip. I took the train, similar to the Metro North I guess, about 40 minutes from Taipei. The reason I wanted to go up there was there was supposed to be this great island that has amazing cliffs and beaches that was only a ferry ride away from Keelung City. So after I got off the train I took a bus through the city to this port Bashu port. Now this was right after my tooth got taken out, and the taste of blood in my mouth and the crazy bus twisting around turns and stuff made me feel a little sick. But it was ok. After about 20 minutes I finally got to the port and it was really nice cliffs and stuff were all around the port and it was much cooler than in Taipei. After a lot of pointing and miming I was able to find out which ferry was leaving for Keelung Island, but since the ferry only leaves when it is full, I had to wait a while. I was on the boat, by myself waiting for the boat to leave and a Tawainese family came on. There was a Mom, Dad, a 10 year old boy, an older girls. a little baby and I think an uncle and Aunt. So the little boy comes over and starts talking to me, looking at my freckles and comparing his arm to mine. He seemed fascinated by them haha....
It turns out that the ferry has, of all things, a karaoke machine on it. So the Mom and her older daughter start singing in Chinese. Like they expected there to be one on board. At first I'm thinking this is going to be a long trip. I was still feeling queasy from the bus, tooth and the rocking of the boat....so I was thinking this trip might be a big mistake....
The kid meanwhile is still talking to me asking me where I'm from and with my little Mandarin I am able to answer him a little but. The whole time the Mom and her daughter are really getting into the Karoke as well. The 10 year old then brings over the song book to me saying "you sing, sing" and pointing to the songs in English. After a few minutes I gave in and decided why not....when in Rome after all. My song choices were kind of limited to a few English songs like Danny Boy, Let it Be and a few other gems. I decided on the Rolling Stones though "The House of the Rising Sun"....the kid was so happy I was going to sing he ran over and handed me the microphone then coaxed me to stand up....the rest of the family is encouraging me too at this point and still it's only us on the ferry...
I start singing and adding some stage presence and Jagger like dance moves. It was so surreal, being on the Northern tip of Taipei, singing karaoke on a ferry with a Taiwanese family...haha. But it turned out to be really fun. I was singing to the whole family and they seemed to be enjoying it..... Truth be told, I got really into it....the family is singing along and the 10 year old is so proud of himself.... And at the end everyone gave me a very nice round of applause.
It was really fun. Anyway the island itself was beautiful. It was uninhabited, and took about 30 minutes by ferry. The beach was all coral and there were huge immense cliffs and caves all over the island. All the people on the ferry were the only ones on the island. It was pretty cool. So lush too. There were all these rocks sticking out in the ocean and all these little trails all around to. We spent about an hour on the island and it was worth the long hike out there. The coolest part was going back to Taiwan, we passed from the Taiwan Straight to the Pacific Ocean, Where the currents meet you can actually see a sharp difference in the water, on the Taiwan Strait the water is calm as can be...but you can see a line where one side is calm, then on the other is rough. It was really interesting....
The island itself was great, but the karaoke was a lot more enjoyable, even though it was such a strange thing. Guess I'll have more of those while I'm here. Tomorrow I move to another hostel, met some cool people here so far so I'm sure I'll meet some more at the new place. Still no job yet but another interview Monday and I plan on spending today sending out more resumes....
That's all for now, time to get some $1 noodles for lunch!
All the best,
Brian
Thursday, June 19, 2008
I have a job! (sort of)
Well I went to do my demo at this adult school today. and it went well. The woman said I did a really great job, was clear, articulate and precise in the lesson plan. So she wanted to offer me the job. This is great! It's a really good job with good pay and teaching adults, hard to come by here. BUT and this is a big BUT, they can only offer me about 4 hours a week. They said they have one class I can teach then another one. But the problem is that in Taiwan, in order to get a work permit, a teacher must have a minimum of 14 hours per week of teaching. And it'd be illegal for me to work without at least 14 hours. So since this school can't offer me more hours, I have to get a work permit through another school. Then I could work part time with this school. It's annoying but there's nothing I can do about it. The positive side of this is that I have an interview with a school tomorrow. It's a kid's school so the hours would be during the day and it would be teaching 8 to 10 year olds. They would give me at least 20 hours and a work permit....SoOOOO If I can get that job, and get the permit, I would be able to work part time at the adult school after working with the kids, and get some good pay and a great experience. It's just funny how at the interview today, they were urging me to get another job in order to be able to hire me.
Anyway I'm going to see how it goes. I hope these two jobs work out but if not, I'm sure I'll find something else...
All the best,
Brian
Anyway I'm going to see how it goes. I hope these two jobs work out but if not, I'm sure I'll find something else...
All the best,
Brian
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
sometimes you gotta take a train to the last stop and get lost...
Time for another update, it's been a few days since the last post, but an eventful few at that. I've been getting adjusted to life here , I'm learning what are some good foods to eat and where the best places to see are located. I'm still struggling with Chinese but as long as I can point to some delicious smelling or mouth-watering looking food I'm ok. The food is really good. Today I had beef stew with all sorts of veggies thrown in, combined with these clear noodles whose name I forgot already. The best part was that I got a HUGE bowl for roughly 5 US dollars, plus it came with a free plum juice. (Plumb juice is very sweet and better then I expected) I've been playing it safe so far food wise, but today after my friend from Taiwan advised me, I had to try pig's ear. It was cut up and looked like a paler bacon....truth be told, it was pretty good, like crunchy bacon.
The hostel I've checked into is fine, right in the center of town, and has a very helpful staff. I had booked a six person dorm room with an ensuite bathroom, but for whatever reason, I'm the only one in the room. So basically I paid to stay in a dorm room with 5 other annoying hostel-like people, but I now have the whole room to myself (with my own bathroom). Sometimes you just get really lucky. And of course the first person I meet here is from Flushing and here visiting his relatives. And if that wasn't bad enough it turns out he lives in Middle Village, and works on Dry Harbor Road and Woodhaven BLVD. He said "oh you're from Queens, what part?" and I gave my standard response "well you probably never heard of it it's called Glendale" and before I could add my "near Forest Hills" He says "oh yea I live in Middle Village" haha small world...
But the best thing that's happened in the past few days, besides hearing about the Mets' downward spiral (HA!) .......was that I decided to get lost in Taipei .
..I've traveled a lot in my life, mostly all over Europe, and done it several times on my own. One thing I've learned is that to really get to know a place, I mean to really get a feel for the culture, and people, you have to get lost in it, I mean really really get lost. Just start walking and see where it takes you. Some people may get freaked out being lost in a strange city, especially one where you don't speak the language, but for me I find it comforting........the possibilities are endless and .I've seen some great things just by getting lost.... I mean just wandering around, not worrying about where you are, or what important sights you need to see, is great for me....I thrive on it.....the way I see it, if the sights are that important they'll find you if you just explore around....
So yesterday I figured it was about time to extend my tradition of getting lost to Taipei.
I decided to take the MRT to the last stop and just see what happens. The cool thing about the city of Taipei, in my opinion anyway is that it's situated in a valley, surrounded by tropical mountains and jungle. So you could be in Taipei at one point and then all of a sudden you are in the country or jungle. There is no casual merging of city to suburbs, to farm to wildness like in the States. There's city then a sharp break and country, jungle and mountains.... Unfortunately this valley setting also means that there is a lot of rain in the city (it's rained everyday since I got here). It's strange it starts out sunny then everyday around 3 o'clock, it starts pouring buckets.....
BUT the way the city is set up also means that outside of the city is a whole different environment. So I wanted to explore/get lost away from the city. It's a big city and sometimes it gets tiring being in it....
So I took the Northern most MRT line (the Red line) to the last stop Danshui without a plan and with no idea what to expect...I'm glad I did. I had heard that to the North was a great beach town, but I had no idea what to expect....
I got off the train and just started walking. After going through touristy areas, I followed a lot of people who were going down this little alleyway. The alley was barely big enough for me to fit through without having to turn sideways......Turns out this alley leads to a great little market. Almost immediately I was surrounded by people; shoppers, sellers, more wanders like myself. I kept walking and on all sides of me are dozens of stalls selling everything you could imagine, chicken feet, socks, sneakers, pig livers, mangoes, beans, children's book bags, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, you name it. Everyone yelling in Mandarin, me having no clue just trying to soak it all in and not get toppled by the crowds....The market weaves in and out and at this point I have no idea where I am, ( I was using the train station to orient myself, but quickly gave that up). I wish I understood what people were saying because it seemed like an interesting debate was taking place between a merchant and buyer about the price of a sweatshirt. It was just this cacophony of sounds and noises that were completely foreign to me. I ended up leaving the market and turning to my left, where the river is. There is a long walkway along the river and to my right the river gets wider and wider and eventually opens up to the ocean....
There's a great little park there along the water front and lots of stands selling amazing smelling food. Again I have no idea what kind of food but it smells like a combination of fried dough, shrimp and pork. I sat down for a bit on a bench overlooking the water, and the lush green hills across the river and relaxed cause it was really really hot. It was nice to have some calm after the craziness of the market....
There is a ferry right near me loading near the beach, so I decide to get on. I have no idea where it might be going but figure why not? I get on and it turns out the ferry goes across the river to what I later found out was a little town called Bali. I get off the ferry and it's this seaside area filled with games, food stands, all the stuff you might find on Coney Island, except the Taiwanese version. (They even had corndogs and that game wehre you shoot the balloons with darts to win prizes)....
I just start wandering around, but keep coming to dead end after dead end....so I turn when I can turn and end up in a part of the town that probably wasn't made for tourists. There are a few stray dogs running around and the houses are kind of dilapidated....
........BUT as I'm walking I see the top of a Buddist temple, green, yellow and red colored dragons peeking out above the houses, and right then I decide....yea I'll go there. This is the first time all day I've actually decided where to go....
After a few more turns I finally see it. And it's this beautiful, orate, incredible temple. There are several people praying inside but outside is red and with dozens of dragons on top. The colors are great, and inside every single piece of the temple is an intricate design, filled with dragons and images that I have no idea about. Incense was burning and the smell was incredible...I felt unsure how to handle myself there, cause all the locals there were so serious. I just tried to take it all in. It was beautiful and very serene....( I'll post pictures ASAP)....It was surreal to be standing in this tiny Buddhist temple in the middle of Taiwan, and just a few days ago I was sitting in NY....It was such a great experience! It's amazing to think of the dedication it must've taken to carve every inch of the temple....I spent a looooong time there. just soaking in all the ambiance. After about 45 minutes of exploring every nook and cranny of the temple I headed back to the ferry and back to Taiepi...
I'm glad I just set off without a plan traveling without a plan always leads to the best experiences !!!
It was the first temple like that I've been in and the detail, intricacy and beauty of it was really unbelievable, fantastic and humbling, very very humbling......
Anyway I know this was a long post, and thanks for reading till the end (if you did)...I guess the moral is that sometimes you just have to head out on a train, take it to the last stop, without any plan, expectations or assumptions and get lost exploring the city....good things will almost always happen if you do...
Alright that's it for now........Oh and also I have a teaching demonstration tomorrow at an adult learning school, it'll basically determine whether or not I get this job. It is a great job, with good pay and I'd be teaching adults, which would be more well-behaved than annoying kids ....and if I nail it tomorrow I might get it. I really hope I get this job ...so time to prepare a lesson. Let's hope it goes well...
All the best,
Brian
PS It looks like my prediction about Chen Ming Wang winning the Cy Young this year will not be coming true. It is a sad day for Taiwan and for the Yankees. Ah well at least our manager didn't get fired at 3AM.
The hostel I've checked into is fine, right in the center of town, and has a very helpful staff. I had booked a six person dorm room with an ensuite bathroom, but for whatever reason, I'm the only one in the room. So basically I paid to stay in a dorm room with 5 other annoying hostel-like people, but I now have the whole room to myself (with my own bathroom). Sometimes you just get really lucky. And of course the first person I meet here is from Flushing and here visiting his relatives. And if that wasn't bad enough it turns out he lives in Middle Village, and works on Dry Harbor Road and Woodhaven BLVD. He said "oh you're from Queens, what part?" and I gave my standard response "well you probably never heard of it it's called Glendale" and before I could add my "near Forest Hills" He says "oh yea I live in Middle Village" haha small world...
But the best thing that's happened in the past few days, besides hearing about the Mets' downward spiral (HA!) .......was that I decided to get lost in Taipei .
..I've traveled a lot in my life, mostly all over Europe, and done it several times on my own. One thing I've learned is that to really get to know a place, I mean to really get a feel for the culture, and people, you have to get lost in it, I mean really really get lost. Just start walking and see where it takes you. Some people may get freaked out being lost in a strange city, especially one where you don't speak the language, but for me I find it comforting........the possibilities are endless and .I've seen some great things just by getting lost.... I mean just wandering around, not worrying about where you are, or what important sights you need to see, is great for me....I thrive on it.....the way I see it, if the sights are that important they'll find you if you just explore around....
So yesterday I figured it was about time to extend my tradition of getting lost to Taipei.
I decided to take the MRT to the last stop and just see what happens. The cool thing about the city of Taipei, in my opinion anyway is that it's situated in a valley, surrounded by tropical mountains and jungle. So you could be in Taipei at one point and then all of a sudden you are in the country or jungle. There is no casual merging of city to suburbs, to farm to wildness like in the States. There's city then a sharp break and country, jungle and mountains.... Unfortunately this valley setting also means that there is a lot of rain in the city (it's rained everyday since I got here). It's strange it starts out sunny then everyday around 3 o'clock, it starts pouring buckets.....
BUT the way the city is set up also means that outside of the city is a whole different environment. So I wanted to explore/get lost away from the city. It's a big city and sometimes it gets tiring being in it....
So I took the Northern most MRT line (the Red line) to the last stop Danshui without a plan and with no idea what to expect...I'm glad I did. I had heard that to the North was a great beach town, but I had no idea what to expect....
I got off the train and just started walking. After going through touristy areas, I followed a lot of people who were going down this little alleyway. The alley was barely big enough for me to fit through without having to turn sideways......Turns out this alley leads to a great little market. Almost immediately I was surrounded by people; shoppers, sellers, more wanders like myself. I kept walking and on all sides of me are dozens of stalls selling everything you could imagine, chicken feet, socks, sneakers, pig livers, mangoes, beans, children's book bags, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, you name it. Everyone yelling in Mandarin, me having no clue just trying to soak it all in and not get toppled by the crowds....The market weaves in and out and at this point I have no idea where I am, ( I was using the train station to orient myself, but quickly gave that up). I wish I understood what people were saying because it seemed like an interesting debate was taking place between a merchant and buyer about the price of a sweatshirt. It was just this cacophony of sounds and noises that were completely foreign to me. I ended up leaving the market and turning to my left, where the river is. There is a long walkway along the river and to my right the river gets wider and wider and eventually opens up to the ocean....
There's a great little park there along the water front and lots of stands selling amazing smelling food. Again I have no idea what kind of food but it smells like a combination of fried dough, shrimp and pork. I sat down for a bit on a bench overlooking the water, and the lush green hills across the river and relaxed cause it was really really hot. It was nice to have some calm after the craziness of the market....
There is a ferry right near me loading near the beach, so I decide to get on. I have no idea where it might be going but figure why not? I get on and it turns out the ferry goes across the river to what I later found out was a little town called Bali. I get off the ferry and it's this seaside area filled with games, food stands, all the stuff you might find on Coney Island, except the Taiwanese version. (They even had corndogs and that game wehre you shoot the balloons with darts to win prizes)....
I just start wandering around, but keep coming to dead end after dead end....so I turn when I can turn and end up in a part of the town that probably wasn't made for tourists. There are a few stray dogs running around and the houses are kind of dilapidated....
........BUT as I'm walking I see the top of a Buddist temple, green, yellow and red colored dragons peeking out above the houses, and right then I decide....yea I'll go there. This is the first time all day I've actually decided where to go....
After a few more turns I finally see it. And it's this beautiful, orate, incredible temple. There are several people praying inside but outside is red and with dozens of dragons on top. The colors are great, and inside every single piece of the temple is an intricate design, filled with dragons and images that I have no idea about. Incense was burning and the smell was incredible...I felt unsure how to handle myself there, cause all the locals there were so serious. I just tried to take it all in. It was beautiful and very serene....( I'll post pictures ASAP)....It was surreal to be standing in this tiny Buddhist temple in the middle of Taiwan, and just a few days ago I was sitting in NY....It was such a great experience! It's amazing to think of the dedication it must've taken to carve every inch of the temple....I spent a looooong time there. just soaking in all the ambiance. After about 45 minutes of exploring every nook and cranny of the temple I headed back to the ferry and back to Taiepi...
I'm glad I just set off without a plan traveling without a plan always leads to the best experiences !!!
It was the first temple like that I've been in and the detail, intricacy and beauty of it was really unbelievable, fantastic and humbling, very very humbling......
Anyway I know this was a long post, and thanks for reading till the end (if you did)...I guess the moral is that sometimes you just have to head out on a train, take it to the last stop, without any plan, expectations or assumptions and get lost exploring the city....good things will almost always happen if you do...
Alright that's it for now........Oh and also I have a teaching demonstration tomorrow at an adult learning school, it'll basically determine whether or not I get this job. It is a great job, with good pay and I'd be teaching adults, which would be more well-behaved than annoying kids ....and if I nail it tomorrow I might get it. I really hope I get this job ...so time to prepare a lesson. Let's hope it goes well...
All the best,
Brian
PS It looks like my prediction about Chen Ming Wang winning the Cy Young this year will not be coming true. It is a sad day for Taiwan and for the Yankees. Ah well at least our manager didn't get fired at 3AM.
Monday, June 16, 2008
pictures from Taipei
View from Taipei 101, right before it started to pour. I think I jinxed it by bringing my sunglasses. In my defense though it was sunny earlier in the day. I know the background looks kinda fake, but I promise I was really up there...
89 Floors up in Taipei 101...crazy!
View from the tallest building in the world
Taipei 101
Rainy Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
National Theatre
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
2008 AL Cy Young award winner (that's right I'm calling it now) in Bobble head form. I see so many kids with Yankee shirts on. It's great
All the scooters revving their engines and ready to go, note the family, everyone piles onto these things. Yesterday I say a guy with a dog standing where his feet were on the scooter! and not some stupid little dog but a full grown Golden Retriever!
Scooters as far as the eye can see on my way back to the hotel from Taipei city centre.
view from the hotel
More to come later, I'm off to check into my hostel now. I feel more at home there then here in this nice hotel. Hoping I can find some fellow English teachers who can help me find a job....not too worried though. Not sure where I'll explore today. The city is so big and there are tons of little alleys and shops I may just wander around today and get lost....
All the best,
Brian
Sunday, June 15, 2008
scooters and humidity -first impressions of Taiwan
Well it's 7:30 in the morning here and I can't sleep. I'm assuming it's still due to jet lag and that I'm still on NY time; so figure it's time for a post on my first impressions. First thing is that it is HOT, but more than that it is humid. It's been raining all day yesterday and I decided to explore a bit of the city. Even though it was nearly pouring, the heat was pretty intense, and I was sweating a bit despite the rain. The bad thing is that the hotel I'm staying in is about a 30 minute walk from the closest MRT (mass Rapid Transit) or subway stop. So it was a bit of a trek just to get into Taipei. I had to stop and ask directions a few times, but I asked directions in Mandarin, MRT zai na li? and so the people I spoke to assumed I spoke mandarin fluently and told me the directions in mandarin, very fast. I had to nod and act like I understood and follow their pointing gestures....I did understand a word or two, but by the time I figured them out, the person was already on the next sentence..... But as I was standing on one corner looking very confused, like so many tourists walking around Times Square, a man came up and asked me in English if I was lost. Of course I responded that I was...and explained I was looking for the MRT.. he was very helpful and gave me detailed directions in English, I can't imagine NYers being as cordial. But the long walk was worth it because the subway here is really clean and efficient. Plus everything is in English (as I thanked the guy who gave me directions he said "Don't worry the MRT is in English so you won't get lost anymore"). It is fast to, and cheap. The woman at the counter explained where I needed to go and how much it was.
There are definitely some new sights and smells that I'm not used to yet. There are tons of little shops along the roads and I can't tell if it's a store or a house or a combination of both, because there is ussually a family inside watching tv, but then someone outside selling something.... Regardless, these shops sometimes have the best smells, like fried chicken or steamed duplings as you pass by; in others the smells are not as pleasant. But the way I see it, I'm sure many a tourist has walked down say 53rd street in the summer time, on garbage day and been taken aback by that nasty smell; I sure as hell have...So it's just a matter of taking it in stride. I'm in a big city, there will be smells and sounds I'm just not used to some good, some bad but all part of the experience.
The other thing beside the humidity that I noticed right away was the crazy amount of scooters. When I was in Italy I thought there could never be another place that loved the Vespa more than the Italians, but I think it's safe to say that in terms of scooter use, Italy ain't got nothing on Taipei. They are everywhere, and all kinds of people are on them. Little old ladies with tons of grocery bags jammed on their scooters, old men zooming in and out of traffic... cool 17 year old kids, even moms with 1, 2 and even 3 kids packed onto a little scooter (one woman had one kid on her lap, two older ones on the seat behind her). One kid was asleep as he rode on his mom's lap and she zipped around through traffic. It's pretty amazing. As someone who appreciates a good nap, I have to tip my cap to that kid's dedication to napping, I don't think I could sleep on a scooter like that....... Because it was raining too all day, everyone had these bright colored ponchos on while riding. So at a red light at a busy intersection, there were about 30 -40 multi-colored scooter drivers reviving their engines-ready to go. This combined with the fact that most have the masks over their faces to protect against pollution, makes it look like some futuristic, multi-colored army. Then the light turns green and wham! it's mad dash to the front of the pack and 60 some-odd scooters all hitting the gas at the same time is a lot louder than you would think. I kinda want to get one, but am not too confident about not getting into an accident.
I did end up getting a cell phone. That was an adventure in and of itself. The poor girl in the store was very eager to help me, but with her limited English and my even more limited mandarin it was quite a process. It was very frustrating not being able to communicate even the simplest thoughts to someone else. There was a lot of pointing and writing down of costs. At one point I was trying to ask how much was the cost per minute. After writing down in mandarin duo shou (how much) ________NTD /fen (minute), we were finally able to understand each other somewhat. I felt bad though because she was using more English than I was using Mandarin, even though I should be the one forced to adjust as I am a guest here. Thankfully her patience and our limited knowledge of the other's language paid off and we were able to figure what the other was saying. I ended up spending about 100 us dollars on a phone and a prepaid minutes SIM card. It just reinforces how tough this is going to be, when even the basic thoughts and needs I have are difficult to articulate. I don't want to be that annoying American who goes around assuming other people speak English. Makes me want to get even more serious about studying mandarin, I need to spend more time working on it.
Anyway this was a long post. Today I plan on sending out more resumes, exploring more of the city (maybe the Da'an district), studying madarin more and maybe checking out Taipei 101 and the Shi'in night market, that is if I'm not still jet lagged.
All the best,
Brian
There are definitely some new sights and smells that I'm not used to yet. There are tons of little shops along the roads and I can't tell if it's a store or a house or a combination of both, because there is ussually a family inside watching tv, but then someone outside selling something.... Regardless, these shops sometimes have the best smells, like fried chicken or steamed duplings as you pass by; in others the smells are not as pleasant. But the way I see it, I'm sure many a tourist has walked down say 53rd street in the summer time, on garbage day and been taken aback by that nasty smell; I sure as hell have...So it's just a matter of taking it in stride. I'm in a big city, there will be smells and sounds I'm just not used to some good, some bad but all part of the experience.
The other thing beside the humidity that I noticed right away was the crazy amount of scooters. When I was in Italy I thought there could never be another place that loved the Vespa more than the Italians, but I think it's safe to say that in terms of scooter use, Italy ain't got nothing on Taipei. They are everywhere, and all kinds of people are on them. Little old ladies with tons of grocery bags jammed on their scooters, old men zooming in and out of traffic... cool 17 year old kids, even moms with 1, 2 and even 3 kids packed onto a little scooter (one woman had one kid on her lap, two older ones on the seat behind her). One kid was asleep as he rode on his mom's lap and she zipped around through traffic. It's pretty amazing. As someone who appreciates a good nap, I have to tip my cap to that kid's dedication to napping, I don't think I could sleep on a scooter like that....... Because it was raining too all day, everyone had these bright colored ponchos on while riding. So at a red light at a busy intersection, there were about 30 -40 multi-colored scooter drivers reviving their engines-ready to go. This combined with the fact that most have the masks over their faces to protect against pollution, makes it look like some futuristic, multi-colored army. Then the light turns green and wham! it's mad dash to the front of the pack and 60 some-odd scooters all hitting the gas at the same time is a lot louder than you would think. I kinda want to get one, but am not too confident about not getting into an accident.
I did end up getting a cell phone. That was an adventure in and of itself. The poor girl in the store was very eager to help me, but with her limited English and my even more limited mandarin it was quite a process. It was very frustrating not being able to communicate even the simplest thoughts to someone else. There was a lot of pointing and writing down of costs. At one point I was trying to ask how much was the cost per minute. After writing down in mandarin duo shou (how much) ________NTD /fen (minute), we were finally able to understand each other somewhat. I felt bad though because she was using more English than I was using Mandarin, even though I should be the one forced to adjust as I am a guest here. Thankfully her patience and our limited knowledge of the other's language paid off and we were able to figure what the other was saying. I ended up spending about 100 us dollars on a phone and a prepaid minutes SIM card. It just reinforces how tough this is going to be, when even the basic thoughts and needs I have are difficult to articulate. I don't want to be that annoying American who goes around assuming other people speak English. Makes me want to get even more serious about studying mandarin, I need to spend more time working on it.
Anyway this was a long post. Today I plan on sending out more resumes, exploring more of the city (maybe the Da'an district), studying madarin more and maybe checking out Taipei 101 and the Shi'in night market, that is if I'm not still jet lagged.
All the best,
Brian
Friday, June 13, 2008
Greetings from Taipei!
Alright so here is my first attempt at a blog. Bear with me because I am notorious for how terribly I get along with any type of technology. I just left the US and am embarking on a crazy adventure trying to find a job teaching English here in Taipei. I quit my job, left a sick apartment, closed my bank account, canceled my cell phone, and here I am.....jobless (for now), homeless, in a country where I don't know anyone and don't speak the language. It's pretty nuts. I'm hoping to find a job before my 60 day work visa expires, and if so stay hear for about a year. I've got about 3,500 bucks with me and that's about it. Although I do have a few jars of peanut butter. Worst comes to worst, I think I can survive on that for a solid month, it worked in college afterall...
I just arrived in Taipei from a loooooooong flight out of Newark. It was 13 hours to Tokyo, then I had a two hour layover, then another 3.5 hours from Tokyo to Taipei. I don't even know what day or time it is. It was miserable, no window seat and right by the bathroom....but on the plus side I did get to watch Semi-Pro (they ran it 4 times and to be honest Will Ferrell movies do not get better each time you watch)....The first flight from the US left at 11am, so by my brilliant calculations, that makes it sometime around 7am NY time. I wasn't really nervous or anything about the flight, I think nerves will come more when I start heading out into the city....but I was really frustrated and annoyed at having to be stuck on a plane for so long...
Here in Taipei it's 8 at night. and HOT, humid as well. I put a sweatshirt on as I was leaving the plane because it was raining outside and a guy said to me "you don't need that it's too hot here". He was right....It sucked arriving so late but luckily, thanks to my sister's hotel deal hook-up (thanks a ton Caitlin, staying here makes such a difference)... I am staying my first few nights here at a four star hotel for a cheap fee of $40 a night. At the airport they even arranged to have a car pick me up and bring me here. It was pricey ($1,300 Taiwanese dollars or 40 something bucks) and I know there are cheaper buses from the airport, but I am too jetlagged and it's too late at night to end up getting lost in a strange city. Then I'm off to various hostels at a more affordable 15 dollars a night until I either find a job or am forced to leave the country.
Aight it's time for a hot shower and bed, I am so exhausted .... I'll try to keep this blog updated as often as possible and will have a more substantial post tomorrow.
all the best,
Brian
I just arrived in Taipei from a loooooooong flight out of Newark. It was 13 hours to Tokyo, then I had a two hour layover, then another 3.5 hours from Tokyo to Taipei. I don't even know what day or time it is. It was miserable, no window seat and right by the bathroom....but on the plus side I did get to watch Semi-Pro (they ran it 4 times and to be honest Will Ferrell movies do not get better each time you watch)....The first flight from the US left at 11am, so by my brilliant calculations, that makes it sometime around 7am NY time. I wasn't really nervous or anything about the flight, I think nerves will come more when I start heading out into the city....but I was really frustrated and annoyed at having to be stuck on a plane for so long...
Here in Taipei it's 8 at night. and HOT, humid as well. I put a sweatshirt on as I was leaving the plane because it was raining outside and a guy said to me "you don't need that it's too hot here". He was right....It sucked arriving so late but luckily, thanks to my sister's hotel deal hook-up (thanks a ton Caitlin, staying here makes such a difference)... I am staying my first few nights here at a four star hotel for a cheap fee of $40 a night. At the airport they even arranged to have a car pick me up and bring me here. It was pricey ($1,300 Taiwanese dollars or 40 something bucks) and I know there are cheaper buses from the airport, but I am too jetlagged and it's too late at night to end up getting lost in a strange city. Then I'm off to various hostels at a more affordable 15 dollars a night until I either find a job or am forced to leave the country.
Aight it's time for a hot shower and bed, I am so exhausted .... I'll try to keep this blog updated as often as possible and will have a more substantial post tomorrow.
all the best,
Brian
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