Couches

Nick and I got some new couches this weekend. "New" is not exatly right, as these couches were bought from a neighbor, a Canadian fellow who lives across the street from me. They're big, they're black, they're pleather. They are not new. Plenty of cracks and holes (haw) and a bit of dirt, but a lot better than the stiff, lopsided hulk we had until last week.

That thing was a pain to get out of the house. It involved lots of lifting, moderate to severe cursing, removing the hinges of our screen door, and two tall, sweaty foreigners squeezing a piece of furniture down four flights of dark steps.

Well, we got that damn thing out of there, and now we have two comforable (and surprisingly light) replacements that didn't cost but a few dollars.

We left a note saying "please take me" in English and Chinese on the old couch and chair and put them out on the street. They sat there for a few days as merely ornaments for the alrady beautiful building we live in. And then, yesterday they were mysteriously gone.

Also,I got Dad's Sling Box up and running on my TV. Now, via an internet connevted PC, I can control and watch cable TV from at&t cable in Cleveland. It's just for typhoon days, I swear.

Toxic Milk

There's been a big scare in Taiwan recently over tainted powdered milk from China. Apparently, the Chinese were cutting the milk with some other powder containing melamine, which can be toxic.

Babies were getting sick all over Asia, and the powder found its way into products produced in Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Malaysia. Some treats like chocolate and milk tea (photo below) are risky to eat right now.



I'm sick of having to worry about all of these products from China. It seems as though every few months, Chinese manufacturers cut some corner and a bunch of people get sick or die. It's difficult to keep up with all of the forbidden items, and I've been encouraged by many Taiwanese to just avoid buying anything made in mainland China. That's easier said than done, however. They make so damn many of the products I use every day. Even American brands such as Colgate are made in the depths of toxic China.

I got a new job.

I decided to make a clean break from my kindergarten job. I'm just not cut out to babysit those little tykes. I've got a new full time at an after-school English cram school called 21st Century. I'm teaching older (9-12 year old) kids.

It's just a tiny little four classroom school, but already I like it a lot more than the last place. I feel very at home here, and the kids seem to really enjoy being in my class.

I'm working later in the day (until 9PM most days) which is a bit of a downer, since Ariel finishes her work at 4, and we have less time to hang out than before, when we got finished at the same time.

Apartment/ First Week of Work

Nick and I started at our new job last week. We both teach kindergarten at the same school.His kids are 3 years old and mine are 4. Both of our classes are new students who have never been to school before.

It's taxing. They have no idea how to line up, listen, sit still, or play nicely, let alone how to learn English. I feel much more like a babysitter than a teacher. As of today, week 2, we're unsure whether we have the patience to teach such young kids. It's actually been the cause of a lot of anxiety and lost sleep over the last week.

I'm not sure now what I'll do, but I may end up working at another job.

Also, since a few people seemed curious, I've uploaded some photos of our apartment. These photos don't include Nick's space on the 5th floor, which is probably roughly 200+ square feet, or our roof area. We pay about $260US per month for this house.

The Album.

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.