Alright I feel like a jerk. I haven't updated this in such a long time and it's probably been the most substantial time since I've been here. A lot has happened since the last post....started teaching for one, met some cool people, took a nice little weekend trip to Hsin Chu, have gotten settled into my apartment.....had my A/C break last sunday...got it fixed on Tuesday after two painfully hot days....A lot has been happening I've been sooooo busy preparing lessons and trying to prepare to teach these TOEFL and adults classes...
...oh also I got my ARC !!! or Alien Resident Card (Work Permit) It's good for a year and makes it official that I will be staying here for at least a year (unless I want to break my contract and pay the school 600 US, which being as cheap as I am, probably won't happen....
So there's a lot to write about and my fans have been clamoring for updates. Instead of writing about all that though (I swear more serious updates about each of those soon) I think I'll talk about another little oddity here in Taipei .............THE GARBAGE
So the garbage pick-up here is such an odd thing. When I first got to Taipei I would hear this song all the time Beethoven's "Fur Elise" faintly and all over the place. I mean liek I'd hear it waiting for the train, the bus all the time! Once I was going out to a bar with a friend of mine....I heard while we waited for the elevated MRT, then I swore I heard it when we got off...and IN the bar. I really thought I was losing my mind and that this living in Taipei thing was making me hear things that weren't there. So I was in HsinChu last weekend with some other teachers (more grizzled and experienced than I) when I heard that damn song again...
So I asked them what it was. They said "oh the garbage truck song? Yea that's the song the garbage truck plays when it's driving around. You'll definitely never think of that song the same way again after Taiwan."
Apparently here the garbage truck, just like Mr. Softee plays the song as it drives around picking up trash...the reason they play the song is to let people know they are coming because in Taipei you don't just put your trash on the sidewalk and then they pick it up....instead the truck will park in one area and you have to bring down the garbage and throw it in the truck yourself. This may seem convenient btu it's kind of frustrating....They pick up the garbage (at least by my apartment anyway) around 10 pm. And they only wait for about 10 minutes or so...
There have been many times so far when I've had a particularly stanky garbage I needed to take out...but didn't get home until around ten. I heard the song a few blocks away and had to run all sweaty, with all my teaching books....up to my apartment (4 floors) then grab the garbage and hustle back down to try and catch the trucks before they leave...most of the time I make it...but sometimes I'm left standing in the middle of the street, dripping in sweat, holding a bag of garbage while the truck drives of blasting Beethoven all the way. It is a pathetic sight....standing in the middle of the road holding a bag of garbage.......
What's even more sad is having then to walk back into your apartment carrying said bag of garbage....
It is pretty funny though one day I just was eating at this outdoor restaurant type place on my corner when the truck came....and just saw a panicky mass of Taiwanese people running from their apartments with trash bags........ in flip flops, or their pajamas to catch the truck. It's really funny to watch as long as your not the one in full flight......I recommend youtube searching for Taiwan garbage truck...
Anyway will post more interesting stuff and more about teaching too....now time for some 30 NT breakfast, and 10 NT milk tea to start my day!
Cheers
Brian
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
teaching tomorrow...yikes!
So tomorrow is my first day of work....here is how my jobs actually break down...
I will be teaching kids Monday to Friday from 450 - 620
I will also be teaching an adult conversation class at Time Language for 1.5 hours a WEEK.....
then the coup-de-grace (the irony is I had to google the correct spelling of coup-de-grace)- I will be teaching a TOEFL class for 3 hours a week (also at Time)
TOEFL is the test used to allow foreign students admission into Gad schools here in the US. So these people are probably pretty smart, and also probably know grammar rules, and vocab, better than I do. The New York City public school system did not really drill grammar rules into my brain. I'm really nervous about all my classes but especially the TOEFL class. These students have a lot riding on the test and here I am some 24 year old English major telling them what's right or wrong. The reason I'm teaching this class is apparently because the adult school believes my English degree makes me qualified to teach it. The fools. As anyone who knows me can attest to I am a lousy speller, and even lousier at grammar. But the pay is 750 Taiwan dollars an hour which is like 25 US or something...so I really am going to have to work hard in that class....
I could've come to Taiwan and taken some BS English teaching job, just reading off a sheet of paper to kids 8 hours a day, but I've never been one to back away from a challenge. So I decided to take the job that would be most challenging (teaching grad students who are older, wiser and probably more focused than I am seems challenging enough)...I knew I'd face challenges, and the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward. It's going to be really really tough though...I know that for sure.
So I have to observe a bunch of conversation and TOEFL classes before I can teach...Oh also I'm teaching at a summer camp in Hsinchu this weekend...it should be fun, I only teach 3 hours on Saturday and 3 on Sunday and the rest of the time I'm free to chill, plus they put us up in a hotel...I think I might try windsurfing while I'm there!
I'm really nervous about all my classes though...this is def. the biggest challenge I'll face so far, but I just gotta suck it up and do it...Also I want to say congrats to my cousin Beth and her husband Seb!!! My family had a big party in Battery Park for her wedding and obviously I couldn't be there. I feel terrible about that, I wish I could've made it...... I'm really close to all my cousins, aunts and uncles and is sucks not to be able to be there for it. I really miss my family at times like this...but knowing my family... I'm sure there was enough booze at the party that they probably didn't even realize I wasn't there...
Oh so here are the pictures of my apartment, it's kind of annoying because I have to do all the tedious shit that comes with moving into an apartment (buying curtains, sheets, blankets, pots and pans); which in and of itself is pretty awful, only now I have to do it all not speaking Chinese....keep in mind this apartment is only about 300 US a month! 2 blocks from the MRT and in a chill area....can't even imagine how much it'd go for in NY...
off to bed now...tomorrow I hope I do ok, and the kids don't walk all over me (the adults too)...tomorrow will be interesting.
Enjoy the apartment pics....
living room
kitchen area:
MY ROOM (and yes I know it's a bit girly with the purple and all, the French girl who I rented it from decided to paint the whole room purple one day on a whim....but it's a HUGE room....I think my first paycheck is going towards a bucket of paint and some new curtains)
VIEW ONTO MY SEMI-BALCONY:
BATHROOM
here goes nothing,
Brian
I will be teaching kids Monday to Friday from 450 - 620
I will also be teaching an adult conversation class at Time Language for 1.5 hours a WEEK.....
then the coup-de-grace (the irony is I had to google the correct spelling of coup-de-grace)- I will be teaching a TOEFL class for 3 hours a week (also at Time)
TOEFL is the test used to allow foreign students admission into Gad schools here in the US. So these people are probably pretty smart, and also probably know grammar rules, and vocab, better than I do. The New York City public school system did not really drill grammar rules into my brain. I'm really nervous about all my classes but especially the TOEFL class. These students have a lot riding on the test and here I am some 24 year old English major telling them what's right or wrong. The reason I'm teaching this class is apparently because the adult school believes my English degree makes me qualified to teach it. The fools. As anyone who knows me can attest to I am a lousy speller, and even lousier at grammar. But the pay is 750 Taiwan dollars an hour which is like 25 US or something...so I really am going to have to work hard in that class....
I could've come to Taiwan and taken some BS English teaching job, just reading off a sheet of paper to kids 8 hours a day, but I've never been one to back away from a challenge. So I decided to take the job that would be most challenging (teaching grad students who are older, wiser and probably more focused than I am seems challenging enough)...I knew I'd face challenges, and the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward. It's going to be really really tough though...I know that for sure.
So I have to observe a bunch of conversation and TOEFL classes before I can teach...Oh also I'm teaching at a summer camp in Hsinchu this weekend...it should be fun, I only teach 3 hours on Saturday and 3 on Sunday and the rest of the time I'm free to chill, plus they put us up in a hotel...I think I might try windsurfing while I'm there!
I'm really nervous about all my classes though...this is def. the biggest challenge I'll face so far, but I just gotta suck it up and do it...Also I want to say congrats to my cousin Beth and her husband Seb!!! My family had a big party in Battery Park for her wedding and obviously I couldn't be there. I feel terrible about that, I wish I could've made it...... I'm really close to all my cousins, aunts and uncles and is sucks not to be able to be there for it. I really miss my family at times like this...but knowing my family... I'm sure there was enough booze at the party that they probably didn't even realize I wasn't there...
Oh so here are the pictures of my apartment, it's kind of annoying because I have to do all the tedious shit that comes with moving into an apartment (buying curtains, sheets, blankets, pots and pans); which in and of itself is pretty awful, only now I have to do it all not speaking Chinese....keep in mind this apartment is only about 300 US a month! 2 blocks from the MRT and in a chill area....can't even imagine how much it'd go for in NY...
off to bed now...tomorrow I hope I do ok, and the kids don't walk all over me (the adults too)...tomorrow will be interesting.
Enjoy the apartment pics....
living room
kitchen area:
MY ROOM (and yes I know it's a bit girly with the purple and all, the French girl who I rented it from decided to paint the whole room purple one day on a whim....but it's a HUGE room....I think my first paycheck is going towards a bucket of paint and some new curtains)
VIEW ONTO MY SEMI-BALCONY:
BATHROOM
here goes nothing,
Brian
Saturday, July 5, 2008
pictures up
First off happy belated Fourth of July to everyone. It was tough being here then, knowing all my friends and family were out BBQing and drinking (by far two of my favorite things to do). But it was ok here, went out with some people from the hostel and had a good time. ....
Anyway I moved into my apartment today!! It is by far the nicest/biggest/ coolest place I've lived in. My bedroom is HUGE, has a queen bed, a big cabinet/closet type thing two windows about 12 foot high ceilings and is probably about the size of my whole last apartment. The only downside is that cause two girls lived in the room before me, it is painted purple and has pink curtains haha. I may paint it but I'm going to wait at least a month to see how I like the place. The living room is really big as well and has wood floors, is very clean with a tv, a few tables and a little kitchen table. I met the one roommate today he seems nice, he's a software engineer from Taipei. His English is ok, so we agreed to help each other learn English and Chinese. The other roommate is this 37 New Zealander and apparently is not coming back to the apartment until the end of July. I think I'll be ok here, but it is a little expensive at 300 US dollars a month and until I get more hours at my school, it may be a little tough to afford it. But I'll figure something out....
So I'll post more tomorrow about work ( I start on Monday teaching the kids :-o .... But for now it feels good to have my own place, I did like the hostels but it was getting a bit much...too many people, constantly being woken up, snorers, now I feel like I am actually LIVING in Taiwan and not just traveling through it. It's really exciting but also really nerve-wrecking. Everyday is still a challenge, to different degrees and in several different ways. They may be something small like trying to find a cheap blanket for my bed....or something bigger like trying to plan a lesson plan for a bunch of 8 year olds when I've never taught before. But I came here to take on as many challenges as I could and so I just have to suck it up...this is why I am here after all. I hope I can handle it...
Anyway due to popular demand I posted pictures (about 300 ) of my time here so far...of course they are edited for content...but check them out if you want. I think this link should work, I used snapfish cause it was the easiest to upload, but if you can't see them email me at brian.viani@gmail.com, and I'll invite you to view them.
Enjoy the pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=54751215256120445/l=405297369/g=136315986/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Anyway I moved into my apartment today!! It is by far the nicest/biggest/ coolest place I've lived in. My bedroom is HUGE, has a queen bed, a big cabinet/closet type thing two windows about 12 foot high ceilings and is probably about the size of my whole last apartment. The only downside is that cause two girls lived in the room before me, it is painted purple and has pink curtains haha. I may paint it but I'm going to wait at least a month to see how I like the place. The living room is really big as well and has wood floors, is very clean with a tv, a few tables and a little kitchen table. I met the one roommate today he seems nice, he's a software engineer from Taipei. His English is ok, so we agreed to help each other learn English and Chinese. The other roommate is this 37 New Zealander and apparently is not coming back to the apartment until the end of July. I think I'll be ok here, but it is a little expensive at 300 US dollars a month and until I get more hours at my school, it may be a little tough to afford it. But I'll figure something out....
So I'll post more tomorrow about work ( I start on Monday teaching the kids :-o .... But for now it feels good to have my own place, I did like the hostels but it was getting a bit much...too many people, constantly being woken up, snorers, now I feel like I am actually LIVING in Taiwan and not just traveling through it. It's really exciting but also really nerve-wrecking. Everyday is still a challenge, to different degrees and in several different ways. They may be something small like trying to find a cheap blanket for my bed....or something bigger like trying to plan a lesson plan for a bunch of 8 year olds when I've never taught before. But I came here to take on as many challenges as I could and so I just have to suck it up...this is why I am here after all. I hope I can handle it...
Anyway due to popular demand I posted pictures (about 300 ) of my time here so far...of course they are edited for content...but check them out if you want. I think this link should work, I used snapfish cause it was the easiest to upload, but if you can't see them email me at brian.viani@gmail.com, and I'll invite you to view them.
Enjoy the pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=54751215256120445/l=405297369/g=136315986/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
set two Guinness World Records and foudn an apt.
I found an apartment today! It is really nice, big, right near the MRT for only about 9,000 NT a month. It comes out to like 300 US. The room is huge, with two big windows, a queen size bed, and a big dresser. The rest of the apartment is clean and spacious with wood floors all around. The other two roommates are this New Zealand graphic designer who seems cool and this Taiwanese kid who doesn't speak much English but seems nice. The only drawback is I'm taking it over for this French girl, so the walls of my room are purple, but she said she painted it when she moved in and the landlord had no problem with it, so I'll paint it I think eventually. The only drawback was I had to leave a two month deposit, and pay for the month of July's rent...which was annoying and depleted a good amount of my savings, but I;ll get that two-month back when I move out so July I might just have to be cheaper than normal.....I'm excited, living in the hostels were cool, and it was good cause I got to meet a lot of people, but I'm looking forward to having my own room and some privacy. I move in on Saturday and it's in a pretty nice neighborhood.
After I found the apartment, I went with another kid from the hostel to the Taipei Arena, to...and this I think is so cool, help break TWO, that's right TWO Guinness World Records!! haha it was pretty random and cool. It turns out this woman who works in the hostel here also works for the Taiwan Tourism board, and as a promotion for Taiwan they were doing this crazy activity , that was only open to tourists. The idea was to get 1,000 tourists into the arena and set a record for the most people receiving a deep tissue foot massage at the same time! apparently these massages are famous in Taiwan.....it's called Reflexology...and it is a pretty intense massage. So we went to the arena and they gave us sandals, tshirts, other promotional stuff....we sit down and there are 1000 other people all over the floor of the arena and another 1000 masseuses. It was crazy....after some cool local drummers and opening ceremonies.....they started the count down at 40 minutes and started the massage on out feet.
They used oil and stuff and to be honest it really hurt a little. They worked the whole foot, the big toe (I didn't know it could even get massaged) the pinky, all over the calves, and the arc of the foot. It was funny they kept saying if it is too painful for you give a thumbs down and the masseuse would decrease the pain (they were only doing it half force but it was still fucking painful)...haha the best was this Japanese guy next to us was writhing in pain....it was hysterical...
after 20 minutes they switched to the right foot...I had injured this foot running not to long ago so I had to wuss out and ask him to go one notch lower...but the kid I was with decided to go for the full amount...he looked like he was in a lot of pain...so for the sake of my injured foot I'm glad I didn't go for it all...Anyway after an awesome 40 minutes of massage, it was time to break our second record......the most people playing "head, shoulders Knees and Toes" at one time....
All two-thousand of us stood up and played/sang the song in English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese haha it was really funny....we did that for five minutes and I guess it worked and the record was set. It was pretty cool got a certificate and everything. I don't think I'll be in the book, but still...not a bad story to tell my grandkids, or to tell at a bar for that matter....
I'm still working on posting pictures...they'll be up soon...
All the best,
Brian
After I found the apartment, I went with another kid from the hostel to the Taipei Arena, to...and this I think is so cool, help break TWO, that's right TWO Guinness World Records!! haha it was pretty random and cool. It turns out this woman who works in the hostel here also works for the Taiwan Tourism board, and as a promotion for Taiwan they were doing this crazy activity , that was only open to tourists. The idea was to get 1,000 tourists into the arena and set a record for the most people receiving a deep tissue foot massage at the same time! apparently these massages are famous in Taiwan.....it's called Reflexology...and it is a pretty intense massage. So we went to the arena and they gave us sandals, tshirts, other promotional stuff....we sit down and there are 1000 other people all over the floor of the arena and another 1000 masseuses. It was crazy....after some cool local drummers and opening ceremonies.....they started the count down at 40 minutes and started the massage on out feet.
They used oil and stuff and to be honest it really hurt a little. They worked the whole foot, the big toe (I didn't know it could even get massaged) the pinky, all over the calves, and the arc of the foot. It was funny they kept saying if it is too painful for you give a thumbs down and the masseuse would decrease the pain (they were only doing it half force but it was still fucking painful)...haha the best was this Japanese guy next to us was writhing in pain....it was hysterical...
after 20 minutes they switched to the right foot...I had injured this foot running not to long ago so I had to wuss out and ask him to go one notch lower...but the kid I was with decided to go for the full amount...he looked like he was in a lot of pain...so for the sake of my injured foot I'm glad I didn't go for it all...Anyway after an awesome 40 minutes of massage, it was time to break our second record......the most people playing "head, shoulders Knees and Toes" at one time....
All two-thousand of us stood up and played/sang the song in English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese haha it was really funny....we did that for five minutes and I guess it worked and the record was set. It was pretty cool got a certificate and everything. I don't think I'll be in the book, but still...not a bad story to tell my grandkids, or to tell at a bar for that matter....
I'm still working on posting pictures...they'll be up soon...
All the best,
Brian
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