Taichung

I haven't updated in quite some time, but here it is.

I had a wonderful visit back to Ohio in August. I got to see my family, and some friends too. It felt very good to be back home. It made me realize that I really did put my life in Ohio on hold while I commenced my life in Taiwan. I hadn't thought of those two things as being separate before, but they are in a sense.

All of the people, places, and things that made up my life pre-Taiwan have changed. Upon returning, I had no trouble identifying all of these things and people and places as being part of my life, but they were different, changed. My brothers are older, my house looks different, there are new restaurants in my neighborhood, Bud Light now comes in lime flavor.

I've put all of these things on the backburner again, however, and returned to Taiwan. I'll be starting a new job next week, teaching kindergarten at Marshall School in Taichung. Taichung, a city of about a million, is located about 2 hours south of Taipei, on the middle of Taiwan's western coast.

I feel excited about this new job. I'll miss my old students and coworkers (and to a lesser extent, the town of Linko,) but I was due for a change of scenery.

My roommate, Nick, and I rented an apartment on the 4th and 5th floors of an older building on the city's near west side. We live in an area with a fair amounts of expats from England, South Africa, and North America. We live within a couple blocks of a canal, a department store, two parks, two temples, and dozens of small shops and restaurants.

My girlfriend, Ariel, lives about five minutes walking from me, and she'll be working nearby too. So it's an all around good deal for me. I'm pretty excited about the next year of my life, and I'll definitely try my best to document all of my noteworthy thoughts here.

Changes

Summertime in Taiwan

It's officially summer in Taiwan. That means typhoon season is upon us. So far, the rain hasn't been that bad, but every Monday for the last month, as if it were a big "eff you" joke, it has rained all day.

Aside from that, June is a pretty eventful month for me. My kindergarten class is graduating at the end of the month, so I've been busy teaching them their performance for the ceremony. The frustration of trying to coordinate a play, a dance routine, and a speech for fifteen little kids is akin to trying to teach a team of cats to play water polo, or something equally as stressful.

My girlfriend, Ariel, has gone to work in Missouri for several weeks, and I'm looking forward to joining her stateside in August. It will be great to see everyone again, and to relearn things like driving a car, eating a burrito, and speaking English in a normal cadence and tone.

One of my best friends from college, Nick Dietsch, is set to fly over here to Taiwan next week. He's packing all of his stuff as I type, and is planning on living here and teaching English for a year. We will most likely find an apartment together in Taichung, about two hours South of where I am now.

So after I return from America in August, I'll have a new location and a new job to look forward to. That plus the fact that I have more friends, more experience living here, and I can speak more Chinese than I did a year ago all add up to the potential of an awesome second year here.

I'll post again soon, as I anticipate a lot more going on in my life in the next few weeks.

Ma Ying-jeou

Today Ma Ying-jeou becomes the new president of Taiwan. His Kuomintang (KMT) Party replaces replaces former President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). You can read about it here.

Free Taiwanese Dog

My Chinese tutor and friend, Iwen, is an avid dog lover. A yellow lab named Bebe, has recently come under her care. Another case of an abandoned dog in Linko, and an example of how older, bigger dogs are abandoned or abused when they are no longer cute and cuddly. Iwen has a few dogs like Bebe already, and would like to find her a new home. I told her I'd try to help her find someone who would want a dog that's on it's last chance.

Her description of the dog is as follows:

"She is 3-4 years old. She is not the most beautiful Labrador, but she is certainly kind, gentle, sweet, and friendly. We do wish to find a good home for her, a family to love her and care for her. She is NOT old, but she has been through too much pain, torture."

If anyone is interested, let me know via email or a phone call. Iwen will be able to pay for all of the travel and medical expenses involved (yes, even to the States) with getting this adorable dog into your loving home.

dont txt me bro!

I thought this article from Slashdot was pretty interesting. Apparently, per megabyte, sending SMS (text messages) to your friends and family is four times more expensive than sending and receiving data from the Hubble telescope. It's not exactly a scientifically correct research paper, but it probably rings true (no pun intended) to anyone who's been pissed about a high cell phone bill.

Birthday

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. It meant a lot, and I'm glad that you're thinking of me. I had a nice day, and Luke and I went out for teppanyaki on Tuesday night.

I'll be visiting home to Ohio for a couple weeks in August, so I hope to see a lot of people then.