So today I decided to wander into Taichung and as things turned out I spent the whole day navigating the busy streets of Taichung alone which was actually quite fun. I'm definitely getting a better idea of how to get everywhere. Of course I haven't really mastered the city buses so it involves much walking but I kinda like that because it means I get to visit the little stores I stumble across along the way which is something I wouldn't get to do on a bus.
So I went to Chung Yo a big department store I'd visited once before and gave up on after 6 levels of clothes clothes and more clothes. But this time I'd done my research and went straight to level 10 home of Eslite bookstore a huge bookstore chain in Taiwan and also home to many Vitas Lu singles and also books in English...well ok not that many but still some books in English. The place was pretty cool although it was actually walking to Chung Yo where I made a great discovery.
The discovery being a second hand bookstore on the same street but further up. While many books were in Chinese they had a small section dedicated to english literature. And there were many classics there, I found ithard to walk away empty handed but at that stage I'd yet to see what Eslite held and was wary to buy anything. But the second hand bookstore will be somewhere I will visit again. I think I'll have to limit how much money I bring on trips to Taichung from now on! While eslite had modern literature such as Kite Runner and PS I Love You the SH bookstore had such classics as the portrait of dorian grey and my favourite Little Women as well as not so classics such as Grisham's The Client.
After buying all the Vitas Lu stuff I could find and also exploring the top levels of Chung Yo department store I wandered back and stumbled across a huge market which was packed with heaps of funky little side stalls and food stalls. Having already hit my puffie store I wasn't really interested in food though so I kept wandering.
I also stumbled upon a pet store with cats and dogs. The conditions they are kept in is quite disgusting, at least they weren't crammed in but they have nothing but wire surrounding them even on the bottom of their cages. One puppy was chewing it's water dish. I've been tossing up getting some sort of pet after my paperwork comes through. I'm not talking cat or dog as that would be cruel given the hours I work and the size of my apartment. But a fish or a bird is viable. There are birds for sale everywhere here...how many of them are sold as pets and how many as food I'm not sure. I'd love to get a duck but 1 I don't think my apartment is suited for a duck and 2 I'm pretty sure all ducks sold are designed to be food and I'd hate to pay for one and watch it get slaughted in front of me in some warped translation problem. They do have smaller birds though such as canaries etc I dunno it's just an idea.
I ended up hitting the guitar store again and grabbing some stuff I needed and made some fanboys who saw my label.
After wandering around all day I was tempted to catch a movie however the only movie I was remotely interested in seeing was x-files 2 and that didn't start for another hour so I skipped that and went in search of food. I was going to check out this food court I stumbled across last time however this time it didn't look so appitizing and the fact people were smoking all around turned me off even more so I kept wandering. I ended up at a "pizza" stand where I ordered my 2nd pasta dish since arriving. It actually wasn't horrible although I doubt I'll be rushing back again.
After all the excitement I headed home.
If it is nice tomorrow I will head to the swimming pool and do a few laps. Aside from that I think tomorrow will be a lazy day, I have a heap of movies that are just asking to be watched, not to mention the entire 2nd season of Dexter.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Taichung again
So once again I headed to Taichung this weekend. I was in the mood for some retail therapy. I was also in the mood for buffalo wings. I experienced my first shopping mall after arriving early in Taichung. It was stupidly crowded and reminded me more of a market than a shopping centre. There were also movies playing, so at least I know where to go when I want to see a movie. David and I met up and ended up taking the long way to Taichung Park home of a huge goat family (statue). The park was nice despite being within walking distance of Central Taichung the park was very serene. There was a huge bunch of kids doing something I'm still not sure what there was much screaming, jumping and laughing. After that we dawdled around and found a huge shopping mall. All it sold was clothes, jewellry and more clothes. Very disappointing. We did manage to find a music store on the way to TGI Fridays and I found the cd of the chinese singer I like (although I already had that cd but still).
TGI Friday's was a great experience. David says they were American prices and admittedly it was the first meal I'd payed over $500 nt for but really that wasn't much considering the amount of food I had. I ordered a full plate of buffalo wings and a bowl of fries and a milkshake. The waiting staff there was awesome most spoke English and spent alot of time around our table teaching us (well mostly David) various Chinese words. When we left every single waitress there came to say goodbye and one came running and asked when we were coming back and said that if we came at certain times she would be able to help us with our Chinese which was really friendly of her.
We then dawdled back towards the train station finding King Wang's Bakery on the way.
This morning I was meant to meet up with a social worker (YiChen) from my old home to take me on a visit. Unfortunately I decided to first go get some travellers cheques cashed which was fine and then proceeded to walk away in the wrong direction. After a while of walking I asked in my broken way which way the train station was and got pointed in the direction I was walking...so I kept going. It was about 20 minutes later that I realised my mistake. By then I was due to meet YiChen so I called her up and she managed to come find me and take me to the home.
Daniel A Poling's Babies Home is a lot bigger than I first imagined. The staff there was amazing, all very friendly. Many of the kids I saw today were special needs and unable to go to school. I also saw some of the little babies (1-2 years old) who were adorable. One girl loved playing with my watch. Cameras weren't allowed in with the babies but they were welcomed everywhere else.
One volunteer there studied in America and has travelled a lot of the world. She lives in Taipei and comes and volunteers a few days a week. She offered to be my guide in Taipei whenever I make it there. Everyone was very accomodating and said I was welcome to come back any time.
They gave me lunch and we discussed my family and what I'm doing in Taiwan I showed them the old photos I had of the Home and they told me my chinese name meant "beautiful piano". All in all it was a very special few hours and I look forward to visiting again soon.
I then got dropped back at the bus stop and decided that I wanted to explore more. I wandered around places I'd not yet been to and stumbled upon a musical instrument store. The guy spoke English and gave me a decent deal on a basic guitar so I took it.
While I was waiting for my bus two people came around with key rings trying to raise money. I gave the 100 NT and they were so grateful it was embarrassing. I think they spent a good minutes saying thankyou. Today I got off the bus in an area I actually knew which was nice.
I missed the garbage trucks and was slightly peeved as I haven't thrown out any rubbish since being here so I was going to go try and follow the trucks and dump the stuff when I stumbled upon a load of rubbish in the stairwell. I honestly don't know if it's allowed to be there but as I don't know where the main rubbish bin in for my apartment building I followed suite and dumped my rubbish there.
All in all I think this weekened went well and apparently my health check is back so the paperwork can commence tomorrow hopefully. yay I will eventually be legal.
TGI Friday's was a great experience. David says they were American prices and admittedly it was the first meal I'd payed over $500 nt for but really that wasn't much considering the amount of food I had. I ordered a full plate of buffalo wings and a bowl of fries and a milkshake. The waiting staff there was awesome most spoke English and spent alot of time around our table teaching us (well mostly David) various Chinese words. When we left every single waitress there came to say goodbye and one came running and asked when we were coming back and said that if we came at certain times she would be able to help us with our Chinese which was really friendly of her.
We then dawdled back towards the train station finding King Wang's Bakery on the way.
This morning I was meant to meet up with a social worker (YiChen) from my old home to take me on a visit. Unfortunately I decided to first go get some travellers cheques cashed which was fine and then proceeded to walk away in the wrong direction. After a while of walking I asked in my broken way which way the train station was and got pointed in the direction I was walking...so I kept going. It was about 20 minutes later that I realised my mistake. By then I was due to meet YiChen so I called her up and she managed to come find me and take me to the home.
Daniel A Poling's Babies Home is a lot bigger than I first imagined. The staff there was amazing, all very friendly. Many of the kids I saw today were special needs and unable to go to school. I also saw some of the little babies (1-2 years old) who were adorable. One girl loved playing with my watch. Cameras weren't allowed in with the babies but they were welcomed everywhere else.
One volunteer there studied in America and has travelled a lot of the world. She lives in Taipei and comes and volunteers a few days a week. She offered to be my guide in Taipei whenever I make it there. Everyone was very accomodating and said I was welcome to come back any time.
They gave me lunch and we discussed my family and what I'm doing in Taiwan I showed them the old photos I had of the Home and they told me my chinese name meant "beautiful piano". All in all it was a very special few hours and I look forward to visiting again soon.
I then got dropped back at the bus stop and decided that I wanted to explore more. I wandered around places I'd not yet been to and stumbled upon a musical instrument store. The guy spoke English and gave me a decent deal on a basic guitar so I took it.
While I was waiting for my bus two people came around with key rings trying to raise money. I gave the 100 NT and they were so grateful it was embarrassing. I think they spent a good minutes saying thankyou. Today I got off the bus in an area I actually knew which was nice.
I missed the garbage trucks and was slightly peeved as I haven't thrown out any rubbish since being here so I was going to go try and follow the trucks and dump the stuff when I stumbled upon a load of rubbish in the stairwell. I honestly don't know if it's allowed to be there but as I don't know where the main rubbish bin in for my apartment building I followed suite and dumped my rubbish there.
All in all I think this weekened went well and apparently my health check is back so the paperwork can commence tomorrow hopefully. yay I will eventually be legal.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Taichung Continued and JhuShan town
So after scouring JhuShan with my little eeepc to find an internet connection I discovered that my big laptop could jump onto someone's wifi from the comfort of my own apartment (with a little tweaking) yay. So I type this for the first time in my apartment. So much nicer.
So anyway I have a heap of stuff I wrote during the last few days. Warning: it is long, read at your own peril! There are also a bunch more photos here.
Monday: So I met with Bryan (who is younger than I thought and a hell of a lot cuter than I expected) and we headed to Taichung Hospital where I was poked and prodded and x-rayed. It was all very painless and easy though he then dropped me back at the bus stop I would need to go to in order to get back to JhuShan. After getting my bus ticket (with some help from the Visitor centre and my phrase book) I boarded the bus back to JhuShan and sat happily eating my puffies (dunno if that is what they are called here but I know stores in Australia use that name) and being snap happy with the scenery. Before boarding the bus I took a careful gander at people's tickets to see where they were going thinking I would be smart and just find someone with the same destination as me and then get off when they get off.....works in theory. In practice I got confused as to who I was meant to follow and followed the wrong people...fortunately we weren't too far from my destination so with some common sense and a lot of blind luck I made it into familiar territory without too much hassle. The down side is I still don't know where I'm actually meant to catch the bus to Taichung from in JhuShan.
Monday night I took a walk around the shops in JhuShan just to see what was around. I found another English school a couple of blocks away and I was tempted to go talk to their foreign teacher but decided that being from a rival school that may be frowned upon. The central area itself is quite busy and a lot bigger than my initial impression. I found lots of great little food stores dotted around some time. Then on my way home I went into the supermarket and saw they had fans on sale so I lugged one of them home with my daily groceries and assembled it first thing. I have a spare part and the switch to make the fan stationary doesn't seem to work but aside from that it is perfect. With both that and my air con going I no longer wake up dying in the heat at night.
Some interesting differences:
- the Taiwanese just don't seem to walk everything is scooter, bike, bus or car....a 10 minute walk is considered a long way away.
- I kept hearing this cool music reminiscent of a Chinese version of Mr. whippy and at first I thought it was like something festive it was only today that I realised the music is played by garbage trucks as a way to signal people they are in the area so everyone can run down and throw out their garbage.
- Red lights seem to mean stop if you feel like it.
- No one locks up their bike.
Wednesday: It occurred to me the other day that there could possibly be a great view of the countryside at the back of my apartment block (it is only apparent during the day for obvious reasons) so I wandered down and low and behold I have a great view of the countryside just outside my door.
I was watching tv the other night and stumbled across a music program which was showcasing well known Taiwanese musicians. Of course I hate music and turned it straight off…..actually I was riveted, I brought out my trusty camera and took photos of the artists I liked the sound of. Now being somewhat of an expert at navigating JhuShan the next day I wandered into a music store and started doing my little mime routine only to discover the owner spoke English. I was actually a bit disappointed because music is one of the only words I know in Mandarin and I didn’t get a chance to use it. I did however have a nice conversation with the owner who grew up in JhuShan and knows the area well (unlike most of the people I’ve met so far) and he told me I could come ask him about anything if I was unsure which I thought was well nice of him. He was astonished that I would want to 1 listen to music in a language I still don’t know and 2 would actually buy the music. In fact he suggested I just download it as it was cheaper….how he makes a living I have NO idea. I told him I was still in the process of getting the internet and I like to support artists. So in the end I walked away with 2 cds and a dvd from a Taiwanese singer called Elva. I listened to it last night and decided that I like it but I think it is more because I have no idea what is being said. She reminds me of a Taiwanese version of J Lo.
Tuesday I only taught 2 classes as we are in the transition between summer school and regular school (the new term starts Sep 1). Today I have 5 classes however most of these classes write themselves which isn’t too bad. I should probably prepare more but to be honest I just don’t feel like it.
I found a wifi hotspot Tuesday however before I could do much I lost the signal. Actually there are a lot of unlocked signals floating around but most of them won’t let me connect.
I’m developing quite a nice routine now.
8.30am wake up
9 go for a wander
11 go back to apartment and make lunch
12.45 wander off to work
9.30 get home from work, watch tv, look over next day’s lessons
12.30 go to bed
Making lunch is not an easy task if I want it hot. It takes over an hour to boil water in my little oven. Hot lunch made by me consists of noodles and a curry from a packet. I also eat a lot of fruit, bread and jam. I love the soy milk here. Occasionally I pick up something hot at the supermarket to munch on at night but most of the time I’m just not that hungry. My Mandarin still isn’t good enough to go around ordering food from the many cafes and stalls around town.
I now know my address and will post it here soon.
Quite often I seem to get mixed messages from my boss at school, maybe it’s a translation thing but it can sometimes make things really frustrating. Here’s an example
My first day of teaching I rocked up in shorts and a top and my boss made a passing remark that made me think that maybe I wasn’t dressed appropriately so I brought this up with her and she said that formal is definitely better ie pants over shorts and shirts over tshirts. Fine. So then I started wearing pants and a shirt each day. Almost all my formal wear is black (because it is easier to wash). I then got told in a round about fashion that I was wearing too much black…..I’m now compromising and wearing tshirts and pants. No one has said anything about this yet.
Wednesday 27th August 2008
I taught 5 lessons today each at 1 hour a pop. I’ve never taught 5 hours in one day. Fortunately the classes kinda wrote themselves and I was given a basic lesson outline by the other native teacher for each class so lesson planning wasn’t too bad. My voice however was another story. I tend to shout a lot in class not as in get angry just shout to be heard. So by the start of lesson 5 my voice was faltering, but the middle I was spluttering out words and by the end my throat was raw. I also discovered today that Amy and her family have actually gone to Taipei….this was never mentioned to me, not that it matters much but it is nice to know.
So far I have one class tomorrow. Whether I will get more later I dunno, I can totally live with 1 class.
Next entry will be shorter.
So anyway I have a heap of stuff I wrote during the last few days. Warning: it is long, read at your own peril! There are also a bunch more photos here.
Monday: So I met with Bryan (who is younger than I thought and a hell of a lot cuter than I expected) and we headed to Taichung Hospital where I was poked and prodded and x-rayed. It was all very painless and easy though he then dropped me back at the bus stop I would need to go to in order to get back to JhuShan. After getting my bus ticket (with some help from the Visitor centre and my phrase book) I boarded the bus back to JhuShan and sat happily eating my puffies (dunno if that is what they are called here but I know stores in Australia use that name) and being snap happy with the scenery. Before boarding the bus I took a careful gander at people's tickets to see where they were going thinking I would be smart and just find someone with the same destination as me and then get off when they get off.....works in theory. In practice I got confused as to who I was meant to follow and followed the wrong people...fortunately we weren't too far from my destination so with some common sense and a lot of blind luck I made it into familiar territory without too much hassle. The down side is I still don't know where I'm actually meant to catch the bus to Taichung from in JhuShan.
Monday night I took a walk around the shops in JhuShan just to see what was around. I found another English school a couple of blocks away and I was tempted to go talk to their foreign teacher but decided that being from a rival school that may be frowned upon. The central area itself is quite busy and a lot bigger than my initial impression. I found lots of great little food stores dotted around some time. Then on my way home I went into the supermarket and saw they had fans on sale so I lugged one of them home with my daily groceries and assembled it first thing. I have a spare part and the switch to make the fan stationary doesn't seem to work but aside from that it is perfect. With both that and my air con going I no longer wake up dying in the heat at night.
Some interesting differences:
- the Taiwanese just don't seem to walk everything is scooter, bike, bus or car....a 10 minute walk is considered a long way away.
- I kept hearing this cool music reminiscent of a Chinese version of Mr. whippy and at first I thought it was like something festive it was only today that I realised the music is played by garbage trucks as a way to signal people they are in the area so everyone can run down and throw out their garbage.
- Red lights seem to mean stop if you feel like it.
- No one locks up their bike.
Wednesday: It occurred to me the other day that there could possibly be a great view of the countryside at the back of my apartment block (it is only apparent during the day for obvious reasons) so I wandered down and low and behold I have a great view of the countryside just outside my door.
I was watching tv the other night and stumbled across a music program which was showcasing well known Taiwanese musicians. Of course I hate music and turned it straight off…..actually I was riveted, I brought out my trusty camera and took photos of the artists I liked the sound of. Now being somewhat of an expert at navigating JhuShan the next day I wandered into a music store and started doing my little mime routine only to discover the owner spoke English. I was actually a bit disappointed because music is one of the only words I know in Mandarin and I didn’t get a chance to use it. I did however have a nice conversation with the owner who grew up in JhuShan and knows the area well (unlike most of the people I’ve met so far) and he told me I could come ask him about anything if I was unsure which I thought was well nice of him. He was astonished that I would want to 1 listen to music in a language I still don’t know and 2 would actually buy the music. In fact he suggested I just download it as it was cheaper….how he makes a living I have NO idea. I told him I was still in the process of getting the internet and I like to support artists. So in the end I walked away with 2 cds and a dvd from a Taiwanese singer called Elva. I listened to it last night and decided that I like it but I think it is more because I have no idea what is being said. She reminds me of a Taiwanese version of J Lo.
Tuesday I only taught 2 classes as we are in the transition between summer school and regular school (the new term starts Sep 1). Today I have 5 classes however most of these classes write themselves which isn’t too bad. I should probably prepare more but to be honest I just don’t feel like it.
I found a wifi hotspot Tuesday however before I could do much I lost the signal. Actually there are a lot of unlocked signals floating around but most of them won’t let me connect.
I’m developing quite a nice routine now.
8.30am wake up
9 go for a wander
11 go back to apartment and make lunch
12.45 wander off to work
9.30 get home from work, watch tv, look over next day’s lessons
12.30 go to bed
Making lunch is not an easy task if I want it hot. It takes over an hour to boil water in my little oven. Hot lunch made by me consists of noodles and a curry from a packet. I also eat a lot of fruit, bread and jam. I love the soy milk here. Occasionally I pick up something hot at the supermarket to munch on at night but most of the time I’m just not that hungry. My Mandarin still isn’t good enough to go around ordering food from the many cafes and stalls around town.
I now know my address and will post it here soon.
Quite often I seem to get mixed messages from my boss at school, maybe it’s a translation thing but it can sometimes make things really frustrating. Here’s an example
My first day of teaching I rocked up in shorts and a top and my boss made a passing remark that made me think that maybe I wasn’t dressed appropriately so I brought this up with her and she said that formal is definitely better ie pants over shorts and shirts over tshirts. Fine. So then I started wearing pants and a shirt each day. Almost all my formal wear is black (because it is easier to wash). I then got told in a round about fashion that I was wearing too much black…..I’m now compromising and wearing tshirts and pants. No one has said anything about this yet.
Wednesday 27th August 2008
I taught 5 lessons today each at 1 hour a pop. I’ve never taught 5 hours in one day. Fortunately the classes kinda wrote themselves and I was given a basic lesson outline by the other native teacher for each class so lesson planning wasn’t too bad. My voice however was another story. I tend to shout a lot in class not as in get angry just shout to be heard. So by the start of lesson 5 my voice was faltering, but the middle I was spluttering out words and by the end my throat was raw. I also discovered today that Amy and her family have actually gone to Taipei….this was never mentioned to me, not that it matters much but it is nice to know.
So far I have one class tomorrow. Whether I will get more later I dunno, I can totally live with 1 class.
Next entry will be shorter.
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