Super-typhoon

This weekend we had a 'super-typhoon' according to the local news. I have only experienced one typhoon so far in Taiwan and I think it was a weak one. This one however, was a big one.

Taipei is located in a valley between mountains so usually doesn't get hit as hard as other cities in Taiwan. Friday night a typhoon day was declared. We crazy foreigners went out for dinner and drinks. The weather wasn't too bad yet, just hard rain but not windy. Saturday was a different story. It was also declared a typhoon day and most stores were closed. The weather was much worse. The rain was constantly hard and the wind was almost unbarable. A few brave souls ventured out to purchase food but mostly the streets were empty. We went down the street to pizza hut to get some dinner and that was an adventure itself. We did have one casualty however, my umbrella was killed. I laid her to rest in the apartment's communal garbage can.

Sunday was also declared a typhoon day but the weather was a little better. The wind had stopped but the rain did not. It started raining Friday and literally kept raining all weekend. I've never seen so much rain in my life. And it's hard rain too, not just a light drizzle. The most unfortunate thing was the typhoon came on a weekend so I won't miss any work.

These trees were uprooted just down the street from my place. On Saturday we saw a car with some dents where the trees I'm assuming fell on the car. The owner moved the car before I could get a picture.

As you can see trees were not the only things to be tossed around by the wind.

Pretty much any business with large windows tapes them up before the typhoon arrives.

Yours truly with my back up umbrella braving the 'super-typhoon' to get my coffee. Obviously enjoying every minute of it.

I think I need a new umbrella.

New girlfriend

I have a new girlfriend now and I thought I'd tell you a bit about her. Her name is Jessica. She's beautiful with a great curvy body. When I'm with her men stare. She's laid back and enjoys long trips around the island. I've only been with her for about a month but I love our time together. Here are a few pictures for you.

I took these pictures right outside my apartment and as I did I had a couple of locals staring and asking me questions. Of course I didn't understand. This bike is an anomoly, there are very few cruisers here. Most bikes are much smaller and more sporty. The downside to a big heavy bike like this is manuevering is a bit tougher. Here everyone on scooters and bikes weaves through traffic and drives between lanes. It's harder for me to do that but I'll gladly make that sacrifice.

She's a 1995 Kymco Zing 150cc. Riding up steep hills can be a little tough on the engine especially with a passenger. For a 13 year old bike she runs great and is in pretty good condition. I've only been on her a few times and only on weekends. Riding in Taipei is still a little scary to me and it's probably going to take me a while to get used to.

Impressions after 7 months

This post was supposed to be titled impressions after 6 months but for obvious reasons I changed it.

Things are going quite well and I've settled into a nice little life here. I've been trying to see as much as I can around Taipei and Taiwan. I went to Alishan mountain a few months ago and that was awesome. The scenery was amazing. A few weeks ago I went to Leofoo Amusement park and that was cool too. Not quite on par with Canada's Wonderland or other North American parks but it was fun. In between there were visits to rivers for BBQs and a mountain much closer to Taipei called Ya Ming mountain. There was a concert at a beach about 2 hours from Taipei called Fulong beach. The music was horrible but the beach itself was fun.

I am so far loving my time in Taiwan. The people seem very nice to me and patient with my lack of Chinese. A lot of them like talking to me in English so they can practice their English. Of course when I'm trying to practice my Chinese it can sometimes be frustrating but I find it enjoyable too. I'm enjoying the cheap food and variety of eating establishments. I hesitate to use the word restaurant because many eating establishments are nothing more than a kitchen or BBQ set up outside. Which brings me to the night markets. I find the food can be quite enjoyable as long as you don't mind standing or walking and eating. I've gotten used to that. However many places do not serve cold drinks and most do not serve alcohol. There are many times where I have had to walk out of a restaurant to purchase a drink at 7-11 or another convenience store and bring it into the restaurant. And most restaurants are nothing more than tables and stools. My favourite kind of restaurant is called a Taiwanese or quick fry restaurant. It is as it sounds. Just wooden tables and stools, most times plastic. The food is quick and tasty and there is a variety of dishes. There are bottles of beer in a fridge and you just keep picking up and drinking bottles until you are finished. At the end they tally up your empty bottles and add it to your food bill.

I brought a friend of mine from Toronto, Omar, to my favourite Taiwanese restaurant a couple of months ago and a funny thing happened. First off I'm sure it was the first time two foreigners went there without a local. We were treated like celebrities. After Omar left I went back with Kelsie and the owner had the entire menu translated into English. I can now order whatever I want all by myself. We're changing Taiwan for the better! And on that note I've gotten used to the fact I can read almost nothing when it comes to food or anything else I want to buy in a store. I rely heavily on hand gestures and body language.

I've also gotten used to my school and it's so called English teaching. We're not teaching English at all. The kids just learn to parrot everything we say. They don't learn how to speak English, they learn how to repeat English. The positive thing is I no longer worry about what to teach day to day, there's no point.

And now on to things that piss me off about Taiwan. I've already done a post about fashion so there's no need to repeat myself. One thing that really steams my whistle is the total lack of courtesy, politeness or respect for others the Taiwanese have. They don't care if they walk into you or cut in front of you in line or push you out of the way to get on the bus. I've had old ladies try to muscle me out of the way on the bus and walk into me on the street. I'm getting used to it but I still don't like it. There just seems to be a lack of civility in the way they interact with each other. And the best part is they avoid confrontation like the plague. So if they do something like bump into you and you even look at them angrily they will profusely apologyze. But only because they are deathly afraid of furthering the confrontation.

The other thing that really pisses me off is the total lack of service at restaurants and bars. Orders are often incorrect, late or forgotten altogether. Entrees never arrive together so you're either forced to start before the other person gets their's or you have to wait while your food gets cold. And it's the same with drinks. Drinks are often made incorrectly and usually take forever to come. I guess it's the lack of tips. Funny how someone's salary isn't enough to motivate them to do a good job, they need something on top for them to give you adequate service.

Plans are to visit other countries in the near future, including Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Also to tour around Taiwan a bit more and see the south part. I guess that's about it for now. Keep on the lookout for more updates.

Typhoon day

So today is my first Typhoon day. Taipei County and Taipei City both declared today to be a Typhoon day. That means it's a holiday for those areas.

Yesterday we went to the supermarket to stock up for the next day spent in the apartment. It was like one of those scenes from a movie about the impending apocalypse. The shelves weren't totally empty but they were definitely sparse. The lines at the checkout were very long also. We of course stocked up on the essentials: tonic water, chips, beer...oh and water of course. We also went to the video store and got a couple of movies. All the while it was pouring rain with gale force winds.

Typhoon day: today was the actual typhoon. I ventured out in the typhoon for more essentials: coffee and breakfast. Plus I had to go out in my first typhoon. Just about everything in my neighbourhood was closed, except for a couple of breakfast places, a coffee shop, convenience stores, and of course the internet cafes. The weather was great, more pouring rain and driving winds. It almost tore my umbrella to shreds but I survived.

The unfortunate part about all this is I only get paid for four hours of work when normally I work seven hours on Mondays. Ah well I'm getting paid for staying at home and watching movies all day.

I have now experienced my first typhoon. One more notch on the belt of Taiwanese experiences.

Artsy Fartsy pictures

Here is my attempt at being artistic, enjoy.

Alishan national park

Random tree

Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park

Lover's bridge in Danshui again

Fashion (continued)

Just wanted to mention something I forgot in my post about fashion. Roots is everywhere. Yes that Roots, as in the Canadian clothing store. I literally don't go a single day in Taiwan without seeing someone wearing something from Roots. I think it might be more popular here than in Canada.

I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.

Anyway that's it for now.

PICTURES!!!

I have a lot more pics up on my facebook but here are a few.

Havin a little too much fun at the zoo.

Taiwan has the coolest bridges. This is Lover's Bridge in a tourist area on the ocean called Danshui.

I have developed this weird fascination with Taipei 101, I can't stop taking pictures of it.

This is Alishan mountain at sunrise.

Fashion

Taiwanese fashion is a mix of just about everything. There doesn't seem to be any real trend or style per say.

Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.

Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!

Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.

And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.

The land of efficiency

Taiwan really is the land of efficiency. Everything is done to get you in and out with the minimum of both human contact and hassle, and they usually are connected in some way.

First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.

The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.

I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.

I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.

We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!

Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.

Kid Castle - a model of disorganization

The name of my school in Taiwan is Kid Castle. There are two parts to the school: there is the kindergarten which is just like it sounds; then there is the cram school which is for older kids who go to a normal Chinese school in the morning then come to us in the afternoon. The kindergarten has kids as young as 2 years old and goes up to about 5 or 6. Then the cram school has kids all the way up to their early teens I think.

I've been teaching for about 3 weeks now and getting the hang of it. Most of my kids are good, although you've got the occasional shit disturber, hmmm...sounds familiar. I've learned to become a bit of a hard ass with the kids sometimes. For example today my oldest class was a real pain in the ass. They wouldn't stop talking and goofing around every chance they had so I laid into them a bit today and told them there was no fun stuff until they smartened up. And when I want I can really yell at them. Surprisingly my voice hasn't given up yet from all the yelling. We are supposed to get a Chinese teacher in every class as the disciplinarian, except I never seem to get one so I have to discipline them myself. I have yet to smack a kid. Notice I said yet.

Anyway what really steams my whistle about this school is the total lack of organization. Let me give you a couple of examples. Last week I was asked to sub for a sick teacher at another Kid Castle branch. I spent about an hour preparing for the class and was all ready to go. I walked over to the other branch, about a 20 minute walk, sat down and read over my notes when my boss showed up, she also came to sub for a sick teacher, 8 minutes before the class started she told me I was to sub for a different class. So I had to wing it for a 2 hour class which I had 8 minutes to prepare for. My hour of preparation went right down the shitter.

Another example. Yesterday I was asked again to sub for a class at the other branch. Apparently my boss knew the teacher wasn't going to be there for 3 days but did not ask me to sub until 45 minutes before the class, remember it's a 20 minute walk, but I also had to go home first to get warmer clothes because I was prepared for a 6 minute walk to my place, not a 20 minute walk to the other branch. This kind of last minute stuff is apparently the norm around here. The good thing is that I can't be blamed for not being prepared for class because I'm not really sure when I'll be teaching a class. Schedules are changed all the time. I've only been there 3 weeks an already had my schedule changed numerous times.

In a two week span 4 foreign teachers have quit with 3 naming the schools disorganization and 1 naming my boss specifically as reasons for quitting. The good news is my boss is being replaced on February 1st by Andrew who has done the job before and been at the school for 12 years and in Taiwan for 15. He's a much more competent individual and I can't wait for him to start. Unfortunately some of the disorganization happens above my boss so not all of it will disappear.

I also love the curriculum. The books and curriculum are specific to Kid Castle. The best part is the numerous grammatical errors in the books and the instructions to the foreign teachers. For example we had a song to have the kids listen to then answer fill in the blank questions for listening comprehension. The word fishes was in the song. Fishes! We're supposed to be teaching proper English to these kids who will take our word as gospel concerning the language and we have the word fishes in the song. I had to explain to them that it was done to make it sound good in the song but it is actually incorrect. Nice and confusing for the kids. Good job Kid Castle!

Oh and I think I might have convinced another foreign teacher not to sign a contract with the school because of the lack of organization. Oops. Ah well she was leaning that way anyway. Actually it's funny because the teacher who is leaving and cited my boss directly as the reason said she convinced a couple of other potential foreign teachers not to sign with the school. Should be a memorable next 11 months. Anyways that's about it for now. Later.

New Place

Hello again from the other side of the world. I have now officially moved into my new place. It is literally across the street from the place I was staying in temporarily. It's a bachelor with a bed, TV, couch, desk and cabinet. It's kinda small but I like to think of it as cosy. It's very safe and clean with several locking doors between me and the outside. There are also infrared cameras everywhere which is kinda cool. The best part is I have cable which means I actually have English TV stations. I get CNN and several movie channels including HBO which show English movies. It's about a 10 minute walk to the school so the location is just about perfect.

On the school front I'm settling into my teaching routine. The kids are generally great although you get the odd kid who just wants to be a shit disturber in class. Kinda reminds me of myself. But anyway they generally listen to me, especially when they get loud and I have to yell to get them to quiet down. There are only 3 male teachers in the school including me and they're all foreign teachers. All the Chinese teachers are female so is the rest of the staff. I figure that's a good thing for me cause the kids are unprepared for my hard assedness. Oh and the teacher monkey moniker I've acquired doesn't look to be disappearing anytime soon. I had to substitute for a sick teacher at another branch of the school and the first thing the kids said when I arrived in class was teacher monkey. You see all the teachers are called teacher (first name) by the students. Oh well I'm playing it up with the students and acting like a monkey outside of class. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually enjoying teaching. When I was in school, especially high school, I never thought in a million years I would teach, let alone actually enjoy doing it. My how things have changed.

On the food front I'm enjoying most of the food I've tried. Stinky tofu really is stinky. There is a stand right near my place and every time I pass it I have to hold my nose. It's really not that good and the smell makes my want to eat it even less. I have also tried the black chicken and it's not bad, kinda flavourless though. I do however enjoy the amazing amount of noodles here.

On Saturday night the school took all the staff up to a resort in the mountains for an end of the year party. There must have been at least 15 different hot spring pools there. Most of them were outdoors which was good because it was a cold and rainy day so the contrast between the hot water and the cold air was amazing. Some of the pools were so hot you couldn't spend more than 5 minutes in them without having to get out. Some had sulphur in them and I'm not quite sure the exact medicinal reason behind it but I think it's supposed to be good for your skin. Anyway afterwards we were served a banquet. Some of the food was good and some not so good. I tried sea cucumber for the first and last time. It was pretty much flavourless but the texture was slimy and downright disgusting. I actually managed to find rye at the bar and just had to have a glass on the rocks. Ahhhh a little taste of home. I have yet to find any bottles of rye since I've been here.

I have also now experienced the Asian fascination with karaoke. The bus we took up was fully equipped for karaoke with TVs and speakers and microphones. My god it was loud and most of the songs were in Chinese so it was painful to listen to. On the way back I was very thankful I had my mp3 player with me cause I just couldn't take it anymore.

Well I guess that's about it for now. Catch ya later.

Night of the Bugs

So I had a rude awakening last night. I got up to go to the washroom at 2:30am and as I stepped foot in the washroom a new friend was there to say hello. A cockroach crossed my path and I must have jumped 6 feet in the air when I saw it. I tell you Michael Jordan never had the kinda vertical I had last night. It took me a minute to compose myself and then I decided to say hello back with the sole of my shoe. Good old new balance, they do everything. He was probably the size of two loonies placed side by side but man he had me scared for a second or two.

After that it took me a while to get back to sleep, but when I did wake up apparently another new friend had greeted me, several times, as I was asleep. I woke up with 6 or 7 mosquito bites on my back. Lovely! Oh well I guess it was bound to happen, in a way I'm kinda surprised I haven't encountered more bugs since I've been here. It's all part of the experience right? Right?!

Anyway I have more things I have noticed that I thought I would pass on to you. The whole scooter phenomenon still cracks me up. You really do see entire families on a scooter. It's not just a Russell Peters joke. So far the most I've seen is 4 on one scooter. The funniest I've seen is 2 people and 2 dogs on a scooter. What's even funnier is once I saw a scooter with a dog stopped at a light and while it was red the dog got off and relieved himself on the corner then got back on and the scooter took off. I was on the back of a scooter at the time and I couldn't stop laughing at it. No one else thought it was so damn funny. And for some reason when there is a child on the scooter with a parent, only the parent has a helmet, not the child. Are you kidding me?! I rarely seen children on scooters with helmets on. Nice.

And let me tell you I'm glad I brought my motorcycle helmet cause the helmets people wear here I wouldn't wear on a bicycle forget about a scooter or motorcycle. They're paper thin and stop before the ears. I don't think I've seen more than 5 proper helmets that would meet safety standards in Canada.

A lot of people wear masks here too. And I don't mean surgical masks but ones that have been customized. You can buy them around town that have pictures and sayings on them and come in many different colours. And they don't just wear them when riding on scooters, some people wear them all the time. There are kids in my school who wear them all day. It's kinda weird because you never get to see they're whole face but it seems to be common place. I don't blame them the air here is much worse then in Toronto, and people in Toronto complain about smog.

The only thing so far I really dislike about Taiwan is the shower situation. They don't seem to have real bathtubs or shower stalls. Showers consist of a drain in the floor of the bathroom and a faucet. Essentially the whole bathroom becomes your shower. It's unfortunate because I used to love showers in Toronto but I have grown to dislike showering here and make them as fast as possible.

Well I guess that's about it for now. Catch you on the flip side.

Hello from Taiwan!

Hello everybody. I arrived in Taiwan December 30th so I've been here less than a week and let me tell you everything is different. First off very few people speak English. I think most people can say hi and bye but that's about it. People working in retail places like coffee shops and convenience stores can say a little more but not much at all. So far I can say hi (knee-how), bye (tsi-chien), thank you (shea-shea), and you're welcome (boo-ka-chee). I figure that's pretty good for 5 days.

There is literally a 7-11 or Family Mart of Hi-Life on every corner. They're pretty much the same thing. And you can buy beer and hard liquor in all of them! God bless Taiwan. You know we Ontarians could learn a lot from the Taiwanese. Western food is hard to come by unless you know where to go. I did manage to find a Pizza Hut within walking distance. However pizza toppings are much different than they are in the west. They did have a menu in English and as soon as I figure out how to put pictures up I will show you what I mean. Just as an example they have shrimp on pizza. When I get up enough courage I plan to try the crazy toppings.

Ann, Rob's girlfriend, and some of her friends and I went down to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world for about a week I think, to watch fireworks on New Year's. It was lots of fun. I also discovered that night that Taiwanese are light weights when it comes to drinking. After one girly vodka cooler most of them were done, guys too. Only Ann's friend Debbie could keep up with me and I'm not even a big drinker.

Transportation is very different from home. First off scooters outnumber cars probably about 5 to 1. And everyone drives like a maniac. Stop lights, lane markers, even sides of the road are merely suggestions. As a pedestrian you really are the bottom rung of the ladder. It is pretty much up to you to make sure you don't get run over. I have very quickly become accustomed to looking in several directions before crossing the road. Sidewalks are purely for scooter parking and most of the time you have to walk on the road or maneuver your your way between the parked scooters to walk down a sidewalk. The cars here are a lot different than in Canada. There are many models I have never heard of. Surprisingly there are very few actual motorcycles. I figured there would be lots of dirt bikes and dual purpose bikes but almost everyone is a scooter or bicycle.

As a foreigner here I do get stared at. Mostly by very young kids and old people. I actually thought I would get stared at more. Usually if you flash them a smile or say hi in Mandarin they will smile back or say hi. Everyone here is really nice. Pretty much the only westerners I have seen have been in the school I'm working at. I went to the night market with Debbie and saw a white guy and we said hi to each other and I laughed about it for the next 5 minutes. I dunno why but it cracked me up that just because we're both westerners we felt the need to say hi even though we didn't know each other.

I am pretty much taller than everyone else and and I kinda enjoy that. I went on the subway to get to Taipei 101 on New Year's and I could see almost all the way down the subway train. Everything here is designed to be as efficient as possible. There are people who work in the subway stations, MRTs, whose job it is to make sure that things move as efficiently as possible. The train doors always stop in the same place so you know where to get on and off. Also you have to take a number at the banks to get service, and they always have many tellers open. Again we could learn from them.

Getting meals has been a challenge. When I'm on my own it's been a bit of a struggle as most menus aren't in English and they don't have pictures. Again thanks to Ann and Debbie for making sure I don't go hungry. I've also noticed that a lot of people say good morning as if it means hi how are you. I don't think they realize that it is based on the time of day.

The school is really nice and big and everyone there is amazingly helpful and friendly. I have been observing classes and have only taught one 30 minute class so far. In one of the classes I observed some of the kids have taken to calling me teacher monkey. All of the teachers are called teacher (name). I think some of the kids are a little freightned of me but some have become quite friendly with me and that's cool. As the newbie teacher I have been stuck with the toughtest grade 1 class. I have observed them once and they are very easily distracted and don't like to pay attention to the teacher. However I plan to be really strict with them and not take any shit, then we'll see how quickly they call me teacher monkey.

Anyways I guess that's it for now. I'll try to update this as much as possible and as soon as I figure out how to get my pictures on I will do so. Bye bye for now, or should I say tsi chien.