It's June.
It's Taiwan.
It's currently 67 degrees Fahrenheit at 5:12 p.m.
This does not compute.
It's usually around 80-85 and feeling much hotter (it was around 95 or higher on Friday, and that was still in May!). Historical data on the monthly mean minimum temperature for June, from the Central Weather Bureau's site, gives the low at 75.7F.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you....
6/24/08: I'm complaining now. It's frickin' hot.
Showing posts with label Taiwan life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taiwan life. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Dear Diary: Day 5 on the Island....
I've been on vacation from school since Friday the 1st. And since Saturday the 2nd, I've been spending hours and hours a day watching the most faboo TV series, Lost. It all started when Shannon arrived on Saturday afternoon. She spent the night Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, leaving Tuesday morning, and except for a couple runs to the store for victuals and food prep time in the kitchen, we had our asses plunked down on the couch, working our way through all of season 1 and part of season 2 before she had to leave. I've continued the grueling ritual and am now into season 3. Hopefully, Shannon managed to find the series for rent at Blockbuster, because my set is region 1 coded, and she's unable to play it on her DVD player. Hoo boy, she was so pissed off Tuesday morning, because the student she left my place at 9:30 a.m. to meet stood her up, and she could have stayed here and watched at least two more episodes before her afternoon student!
My ass hurts. My legs hurt. I'm really tired of sitting. However, it is rainy and freezing-ass cold outside, so I have no incentive to vacate the premises and get some exercise. I walked to the store yesterday afternoon and got soaked, because one shoe seems to have sprung a hole that caused my left sock to become a soggy lump and the wind was so bad that my umbrella did a "kai hua" - that's Chinese for "blossoming flower" and I think you get the idea. It's not raining right now, so there's a good chance I'll get out and about today, before I lose all feeling in my nether regions.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, around 2:00 a.m., I was awakened by wailing and moaning. I figured it was the kids next door crying, tried to fall back asleep, but it kept up. Finally, I took my earplugs out and walked over to the wall, thinking maybe I'd bang on it, but then I heard the sound again, coming from outside. It was the wind, sounding just like it does during a typhoon! I guess the way these buildings are set up it sort of makes a wind tunnel that gives the wind a lot more force, and it just wailed and wailed for over an hour, keeping me awake. Can't imagine what it will be like during an actual typhoon, but guess I'll find out.
So, hey, it's now The Year of the Rat! Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! I'd dithered a bit about whether to make the trek into Taipei and pick up some yummies from Shanghai Dumpling to bring back here to eat or to fend for myself, and the sorry state of the weather pretty much decided me on staying here. I already had some stuff to make hotpot, so I bought a little more and sat here with DZ eating fish balls and mushrooms and sliced beef boiled in broth and dunked in hot & spicy sha cha jiang. Trust me, it tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. There were lots of fireworks and firecrackers last night, but not all night long, thank goodness. I went to bed around 1:30 a.m., I think. No wailing winds kept me up.
It's perfect baking weather, and last week on Friday I made chocolate chip cookies and some muffins, which Shannon and I made quite a nice dent in. Today I'm going to make a cheesecake, just because I feel like it. Having the little oven on for hours sure makes it warmer in here. If you remember, Taiwan apartments don't come equipped with central heat (or air), so all I have for warmth is a standing space heater that actually does quite a good job. Taking a shower ain't fun, though, as the bathroom is really cold. Best I can do is set the heater up outside the door and try to get the tub/toilet room warmed up before I get in, and get dressed as fast as possible when I'm done.
OK, so I'm gonna get myself outside before the rain starts again, and then when I come back I can continue my immersion into fantasy island life with the cast of Lost, trying to figure out all these mysteries.
My ass hurts. My legs hurt. I'm really tired of sitting. However, it is rainy and freezing-ass cold outside, so I have no incentive to vacate the premises and get some exercise. I walked to the store yesterday afternoon and got soaked, because one shoe seems to have sprung a hole that caused my left sock to become a soggy lump and the wind was so bad that my umbrella did a "kai hua" - that's Chinese for "blossoming flower" and I think you get the idea. It's not raining right now, so there's a good chance I'll get out and about today, before I lose all feeling in my nether regions.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, around 2:00 a.m., I was awakened by wailing and moaning. I figured it was the kids next door crying, tried to fall back asleep, but it kept up. Finally, I took my earplugs out and walked over to the wall, thinking maybe I'd bang on it, but then I heard the sound again, coming from outside. It was the wind, sounding just like it does during a typhoon! I guess the way these buildings are set up it sort of makes a wind tunnel that gives the wind a lot more force, and it just wailed and wailed for over an hour, keeping me awake. Can't imagine what it will be like during an actual typhoon, but guess I'll find out.
So, hey, it's now The Year of the Rat! Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! I'd dithered a bit about whether to make the trek into Taipei and pick up some yummies from Shanghai Dumpling to bring back here to eat or to fend for myself, and the sorry state of the weather pretty much decided me on staying here. I already had some stuff to make hotpot, so I bought a little more and sat here with DZ eating fish balls and mushrooms and sliced beef boiled in broth and dunked in hot & spicy sha cha jiang. Trust me, it tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. There were lots of fireworks and firecrackers last night, but not all night long, thank goodness. I went to bed around 1:30 a.m., I think. No wailing winds kept me up.
It's perfect baking weather, and last week on Friday I made chocolate chip cookies and some muffins, which Shannon and I made quite a nice dent in. Today I'm going to make a cheesecake, just because I feel like it. Having the little oven on for hours sure makes it warmer in here. If you remember, Taiwan apartments don't come equipped with central heat (or air), so all I have for warmth is a standing space heater that actually does quite a good job. Taking a shower ain't fun, though, as the bathroom is really cold. Best I can do is set the heater up outside the door and try to get the tub/toilet room warmed up before I get in, and get dressed as fast as possible when I'm done.
OK, so I'm gonna get myself outside before the rain starts again, and then when I come back I can continue my immersion into fantasy island life with the cast of Lost, trying to figure out all these mysteries.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Honeymoon is Over
I committed some heinous crime in a previous life. I'm not sure what it was, but it must have been particularly awful. That's the only explanation I can think of for why I'm unable to find a quiet place to live.
The first couple of weeks here at the new apartment were so nice, very quiet at night, no problem sleeping at a decent hour. Then the noise from upstairs gradually became worse and worse. When it first began, it was only a couple of nights a week, beginning at 10:00 p.m. when the kid took his shower and got ready for bed, continuing until 11:30 p.m. Well, OK, just a couple of nights, I can handle that. Then at the beginning of January, it was every night. Every single friggin' night, and every three to five minutes (yes, I'm keeping a written record) a bedroom door slamming, a cupboard slamming, drawers slamming, things dropped on the floor, dragging furniture across the floor. So, I talked to the security guys, and they said that noise after 10:00 p.m. was a no-no in this community, and if it continued I should call them.
Finally, I did call them one evening and asked them to call the upstairs folks. Didn't have any effect, the noise still continued until 11:30 p.m. After a few days, I'd had enough again, and once again asked them to tell the 10th floor folks to knock it off. I heard the guy upstairs on the intercom phone, saying "OK, OK, sure." then talking loudly to his wife as the noise continued. Obviously this is not working.
Fine, I decided I'd make a change in my own lifestyle. Most people here shower at night before bed and not in the morning like I'm used to, so I've been doing that. This allows me to sleep in a bit longer, but it also cuts down on my morning "drink-loads-of-coffee-while-fiddling-around-online-to-wake-up" time. I still don't feel I'm getting enough sleep, and I usually get shocked awake by some loud bang at least once after I hit the sack.
Last Sunday I wrote a very nice letter, which Shannon had helped me compose, really polite and all, asking the upstairs neighbors to be more considerate after 10, close doors, drawers, and cupboards gently, etc. I gave it to the security guy to give to them, because he said that was the best way. Attached to security's copy was a two-page record of the time and type of loud sound I'd been experiencing. After about a half hour, my doorbell rang, and it was one of the security guys. He said the upstairs folks had refused to take the letter and maintained that it wasn't them making the noise. Needless to say, I was incredulous, mouth agape as I listened to this hogwash. The guy said the next time the noise started, I should call the desk, and they'd send someone to my place to listen to see where it was coming from.
Strangely enough, Sunday night was very peaceful, no slams and thunks, and I heard the first shower running much earlier than usual. I had a meeting with my landlord on Monday evening, and I talked to him about all this. He told me that in Taiwan buildings sometimes the sound is actually coming from three or four floors up, that the people right below don't hear it, but the folks two floors down do. I'm sorry, but I don't buy this. Granted, the origin of some noises seems difficult to pin down, but those slamming doors and dragging furniture are quite obviously right over my head! No way in hell that sound is coming from two floors up.
Monday and Tuesday were also quite peaceful, and I was able to sleep early. To me, having it suddenly become quiet after security talked with the 10th floor people just seems to reinforce the fact that it was them making the noise. I mean, why else would the noise cease like that, after being a nightly ritual for over two weeks? However...... Wednesday it was business as usual with lots of noise. I tried to listen carefully to see where exactly it was coming from, putting my ear against the ice-cold concrete walls on both sides. I thought maybe some sound was coming from next door, and since I'd already met that woman and she was very nice, I went to ask them if they were possibly closing doors and cupboards quite loudly. She and her husband talked to me for a long time, both maintaining that their living room, which is right next to my bedroom, has no cabinets or anything that would make that sound, and that since she babysits infants she has always taught her family to be very quiet, so as not to disturb the babies. OK, so not them. Didn't seem that the noise was coming from the apartment on the other side, either. After the loud noises continued until 10:40, I called the desk and asked them to send someone up. Of course, just as when you take your car to the mechanic it will NOT make that funny noise, so it was that as soon as the guy arrived (bringing with him a disgusting miasma of cigarette smoke that polluted my entire apartment), the upstairs was silent. And as soon as he left, the noise began again, but thankfully ended at 11:00 p.m.
On Thursday they started early, around 8:00 and continued until at least 10:40, this time someone using power tools, dragging furniture around and rolling something heavy across the floor. I tried to ignore it best I could, certain that if I once again asked the guys to come listen, it would be quiet. Last night we had more power tools and hammering, and when someone fired up that drill at 10:20, I lost it and called the desk. But then I heard the drill sound twice more, and once it really did seem to come from the babysitter's side. It's hard to tell, is it upstairs and making the wall vibrate and the sound is traveling down it? I truly did believe the neighbor when she said they try to be extra quiet all the time, because she has that honest sort of look. I tried listening at their front door to see if the drill sound was coming from in there, but I couldn't hear anything. And there was clearly some sound that was coming from upstairs, because in the small bedroom, there are no other apartments on either side, just two balconies, so the sound is definitely originating from upstairs.
So here I am, once again dealing with inconsiderate neighbors (somewhere) who don't seem to sleep much themselves. It's still much better here than in Zhuwei, and I don't have the added burden of tons of noise from outside 24-7 to deal with. I will try to adapt and just stay up later than I want, since I don't think anything is going to make them stop. I sure wish I were the sort of person who could roll out of bed, wash my face, get dressed, and be out the door, because then I could sleep until 7:45 a.m.! Alas, that's not me. The latest I can sleep is 6:45 a.m., I need that hour of wake-up time in order to be fully functional. I don't know how the Taiwanese do it, getting only 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night - or less.
Now that I've gotten that particular rant over, on to a new one. My teacher this semester is incredibly boring. We're third-year students and we're being treated as first-years. The first test she gave was so laughable, two pages, handwritten (badly, my writing is much nicer), of simple "fill in the blanks" and make some easy sentences. For the last three semesters, each time I've had a test it has taken me almost the full two hours of class to complete it. Most required writing some small essays, and most were four pages of typewritten questions. It took me less than half an hour to complete the test last week. And so far this teacher has not asked for any homework! OK, so that's sort of nice, except that it doesn't really push me to make progress. Another thing that bugs me is that she loves to hear herself talk and doesn't give us much chance to say anything. This may be helping me improve my listening skills, but I need to talk, too! We're all frustrated and not looking forward to dealing with this every day until March 28 when the semester ends. Argh.
Despite all of the above, I must say that I'm still incredibly happy here in Taiwan and have no desire to leave it. Anyone who knows me knows that I will always have a complaint about something, no matter where I live. It's the way I am, I'm a griper for sure, and too old to change my ways.
The first couple of weeks here at the new apartment were so nice, very quiet at night, no problem sleeping at a decent hour. Then the noise from upstairs gradually became worse and worse. When it first began, it was only a couple of nights a week, beginning at 10:00 p.m. when the kid took his shower and got ready for bed, continuing until 11:30 p.m. Well, OK, just a couple of nights, I can handle that. Then at the beginning of January, it was every night. Every single friggin' night, and every three to five minutes (yes, I'm keeping a written record) a bedroom door slamming, a cupboard slamming, drawers slamming, things dropped on the floor, dragging furniture across the floor. So, I talked to the security guys, and they said that noise after 10:00 p.m. was a no-no in this community, and if it continued I should call them.
Finally, I did call them one evening and asked them to call the upstairs folks. Didn't have any effect, the noise still continued until 11:30 p.m. After a few days, I'd had enough again, and once again asked them to tell the 10th floor folks to knock it off. I heard the guy upstairs on the intercom phone, saying "OK, OK, sure." then talking loudly to his wife as the noise continued. Obviously this is not working.
Fine, I decided I'd make a change in my own lifestyle. Most people here shower at night before bed and not in the morning like I'm used to, so I've been doing that. This allows me to sleep in a bit longer, but it also cuts down on my morning "drink-loads-of-coffee-while-fiddling-around-online-to-wake-up" time. I still don't feel I'm getting enough sleep, and I usually get shocked awake by some loud bang at least once after I hit the sack.
Last Sunday I wrote a very nice letter, which Shannon had helped me compose, really polite and all, asking the upstairs neighbors to be more considerate after 10, close doors, drawers, and cupboards gently, etc. I gave it to the security guy to give to them, because he said that was the best way. Attached to security's copy was a two-page record of the time and type of loud sound I'd been experiencing. After about a half hour, my doorbell rang, and it was one of the security guys. He said the upstairs folks had refused to take the letter and maintained that it wasn't them making the noise. Needless to say, I was incredulous, mouth agape as I listened to this hogwash. The guy said the next time the noise started, I should call the desk, and they'd send someone to my place to listen to see where it was coming from.
Strangely enough, Sunday night was very peaceful, no slams and thunks, and I heard the first shower running much earlier than usual. I had a meeting with my landlord on Monday evening, and I talked to him about all this. He told me that in Taiwan buildings sometimes the sound is actually coming from three or four floors up, that the people right below don't hear it, but the folks two floors down do. I'm sorry, but I don't buy this. Granted, the origin of some noises seems difficult to pin down, but those slamming doors and dragging furniture are quite obviously right over my head! No way in hell that sound is coming from two floors up.
Monday and Tuesday were also quite peaceful, and I was able to sleep early. To me, having it suddenly become quiet after security talked with the 10th floor people just seems to reinforce the fact that it was them making the noise. I mean, why else would the noise cease like that, after being a nightly ritual for over two weeks? However...... Wednesday it was business as usual with lots of noise. I tried to listen carefully to see where exactly it was coming from, putting my ear against the ice-cold concrete walls on both sides. I thought maybe some sound was coming from next door, and since I'd already met that woman and she was very nice, I went to ask them if they were possibly closing doors and cupboards quite loudly. She and her husband talked to me for a long time, both maintaining that their living room, which is right next to my bedroom, has no cabinets or anything that would make that sound, and that since she babysits infants she has always taught her family to be very quiet, so as not to disturb the babies. OK, so not them. Didn't seem that the noise was coming from the apartment on the other side, either. After the loud noises continued until 10:40, I called the desk and asked them to send someone up. Of course, just as when you take your car to the mechanic it will NOT make that funny noise, so it was that as soon as the guy arrived (bringing with him a disgusting miasma of cigarette smoke that polluted my entire apartment), the upstairs was silent. And as soon as he left, the noise began again, but thankfully ended at 11:00 p.m.
On Thursday they started early, around 8:00 and continued until at least 10:40, this time someone using power tools, dragging furniture around and rolling something heavy across the floor. I tried to ignore it best I could, certain that if I once again asked the guys to come listen, it would be quiet. Last night we had more power tools and hammering, and when someone fired up that drill at 10:20, I lost it and called the desk. But then I heard the drill sound twice more, and once it really did seem to come from the babysitter's side. It's hard to tell, is it upstairs and making the wall vibrate and the sound is traveling down it? I truly did believe the neighbor when she said they try to be extra quiet all the time, because she has that honest sort of look. I tried listening at their front door to see if the drill sound was coming from in there, but I couldn't hear anything. And there was clearly some sound that was coming from upstairs, because in the small bedroom, there are no other apartments on either side, just two balconies, so the sound is definitely originating from upstairs.
So here I am, once again dealing with inconsiderate neighbors (somewhere) who don't seem to sleep much themselves. It's still much better here than in Zhuwei, and I don't have the added burden of tons of noise from outside 24-7 to deal with. I will try to adapt and just stay up later than I want, since I don't think anything is going to make them stop. I sure wish I were the sort of person who could roll out of bed, wash my face, get dressed, and be out the door, because then I could sleep until 7:45 a.m.! Alas, that's not me. The latest I can sleep is 6:45 a.m., I need that hour of wake-up time in order to be fully functional. I don't know how the Taiwanese do it, getting only 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night - or less.
Now that I've gotten that particular rant over, on to a new one. My teacher this semester is incredibly boring. We're third-year students and we're being treated as first-years. The first test she gave was so laughable, two pages, handwritten (badly, my writing is much nicer), of simple "fill in the blanks" and make some easy sentences. For the last three semesters, each time I've had a test it has taken me almost the full two hours of class to complete it. Most required writing some small essays, and most were four pages of typewritten questions. It took me less than half an hour to complete the test last week. And so far this teacher has not asked for any homework! OK, so that's sort of nice, except that it doesn't really push me to make progress. Another thing that bugs me is that she loves to hear herself talk and doesn't give us much chance to say anything. This may be helping me improve my listening skills, but I need to talk, too! We're all frustrated and not looking forward to dealing with this every day until March 28 when the semester ends. Argh.
Despite all of the above, I must say that I'm still incredibly happy here in Taiwan and have no desire to leave it. Anyone who knows me knows that I will always have a complaint about something, no matter where I live. It's the way I am, I'm a griper for sure, and too old to change my ways.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Moving to California in Two Weeks
Isn't life strange? In March 2005 my friend Nat signed the contract for my apartment on March 6, and I moved in on March 22, coming from California to Taiwan. Yesterday, on November 6, I signed the contract for my new apartment, and I'll be moving in on November 22! And isn't it funny, the name of the new apartment complex is California Community. This whole thing just tickled me, still here in Taiwan but I'll be living in California again.
It was pouring rain and incredibly windy yesterday when Shannon and I got to Danshui to go look at the apartment. The ad said it was only a 12-minute walk from the station, but judging by the map, we knew that was impossible. After a half an hour walk, mostly uphill, we arrived at the building, completely drenched. The complex is huge, four large buildings around a central area that has a big swimming pool and children's play areas. The apartment is on the 9th floor (I can't recall how many floors in all, maybe 16), and it has a very nice view. It's smaller than my current place, only two bedrooms and no actual dining area, plus only two small balconies instead of the two very large and one small one I have now. But the lighting is awesome, with loads of indirect lighting as well as direct lighting, and the kitchen is nice and big.
The bathroom is miniscule, a tub and a toilet crammed together, with the sink in a separate area outside, rather like many hotels have. Not a problem for me, less to clean, is how I look at it.
I'm not really sure all my furniture will fit, and there's not one closet in the whole place. That's one thing I find incredibly odd about Taiwan apartments, most of them don't have built-in closets. People buy cabinets and wardrobes, or sometimes they have closets built in when they buy a place (like my current pad has two large ones with overhead storage space as well), but you don't get any sort of storage space at all in the apartment! Also, there are no air conditioners in this apartment, which is fine now because it's winter, but come summer I'll have to shell out more money for air con, because the ones I bought for this apartment won't work in the new one. The windows are not the same, so I'll have to buy the kind that half of it is wall mounted on the inside and half is mounted on the outside.
The photo below will be my bedroom, it's the largest. The second room will have the computer and the extra bed, unless I decide to put the computer in my bedroom and a lot of my bedroom furniture in the extra room. We'll see. I'll sure miss the huge built-in desk with shelves and drawers that the current apartment has. I won't be able to display all my cool Wu Bai & China Blue stuff!
The complex has, in addition to the pool, an exercise room with treadmills and weight machines (no more excuses why I'm not exercising!), a squash court, a dance studio (costs extra for a teacher and classes), a reading room, a basketball court, pool and ping pong tables, a movie room, and a meeting room. There's a 24-hour security guard, and I will no longer have to chase the garbage truck, as there is a central trash collection area in the basement, and I can throw it away when it's convenient for me. There's also a generator, so if the power goes out, we'll still have it. Doesn't happen too often, but I do recall the day I was stuck in the elevator for 10 minutes in the middle of summer and thought I'd die. There are also numerous shops and food stands within a few minutes walk, a bus stop right outside the main door with 10 different lines, a bus every three minutes, meaning a quick ride to Danshui MRT station. The landlord is going to draw me a map showing me the shorter way to walk, which really is about 12-15 minutes, piece of cake. More exercise for me, that's a good thing. The apartment is also within walking distance of Tamkang University, where I hope to be enrolled next year (keep those fingers crossed).
The best two things: the rent is $3500NT per month less than what I pay now, so I'll save about $100US per month (can you imagine renting a nice apartment in California USA for $370 per month? I can't.) And we went upstairs to inquire if the apartment above was infested with noisy children, and I can cheerfully report that there is a family with one 7-year-old boy, and their next door neighbor (of whom we made the inquiry) said they are quiet. But if they aren't, I can call the managers, and they will go talk to them, an option I do not have where I am now. Gosh, maybe I'll be able to get a good night's sleep! Also, according to the ad, this house has absolutely fabulous feng shui, so I'm assured of a prosperous future and a happy life - yeah!
I have a lot of packing to do, and I'm not looking forward to shelling out big bucks for a mover, but it's impossible to move it myself. Hopefully I can enlist the help of friends to move the smaller stuff and just pay to move the big things, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure hoping I won't be required to paint the place I'm leaving, just clean it up nicely. I suppose if she wants me to paint, I'll tell her to take it out of the deposit, I don't have time for that.
So, anyone wanna buy an air conditioner? Make you a hell of a deal.....
It was pouring rain and incredibly windy yesterday when Shannon and I got to Danshui to go look at the apartment. The ad said it was only a 12-minute walk from the station, but judging by the map, we knew that was impossible. After a half an hour walk, mostly uphill, we arrived at the building, completely drenched. The complex is huge, four large buildings around a central area that has a big swimming pool and children's play areas. The apartment is on the 9th floor (I can't recall how many floors in all, maybe 16), and it has a very nice view. It's smaller than my current place, only two bedrooms and no actual dining area, plus only two small balconies instead of the two very large and one small one I have now. But the lighting is awesome, with loads of indirect lighting as well as direct lighting, and the kitchen is nice and big.
The bathroom is miniscule, a tub and a toilet crammed together, with the sink in a separate area outside, rather like many hotels have. Not a problem for me, less to clean, is how I look at it.
I'm not really sure all my furniture will fit, and there's not one closet in the whole place. That's one thing I find incredibly odd about Taiwan apartments, most of them don't have built-in closets. People buy cabinets and wardrobes, or sometimes they have closets built in when they buy a place (like my current pad has two large ones with overhead storage space as well), but you don't get any sort of storage space at all in the apartment! Also, there are no air conditioners in this apartment, which is fine now because it's winter, but come summer I'll have to shell out more money for air con, because the ones I bought for this apartment won't work in the new one. The windows are not the same, so I'll have to buy the kind that half of it is wall mounted on the inside and half is mounted on the outside.
The photo below will be my bedroom, it's the largest. The second room will have the computer and the extra bed, unless I decide to put the computer in my bedroom and a lot of my bedroom furniture in the extra room. We'll see. I'll sure miss the huge built-in desk with shelves and drawers that the current apartment has. I won't be able to display all my cool Wu Bai & China Blue stuff!
The complex has, in addition to the pool, an exercise room with treadmills and weight machines (no more excuses why I'm not exercising!), a squash court, a dance studio (costs extra for a teacher and classes), a reading room, a basketball court, pool and ping pong tables, a movie room, and a meeting room. There's a 24-hour security guard, and I will no longer have to chase the garbage truck, as there is a central trash collection area in the basement, and I can throw it away when it's convenient for me. There's also a generator, so if the power goes out, we'll still have it. Doesn't happen too often, but I do recall the day I was stuck in the elevator for 10 minutes in the middle of summer and thought I'd die. There are also numerous shops and food stands within a few minutes walk, a bus stop right outside the main door with 10 different lines, a bus every three minutes, meaning a quick ride to Danshui MRT station. The landlord is going to draw me a map showing me the shorter way to walk, which really is about 12-15 minutes, piece of cake. More exercise for me, that's a good thing. The apartment is also within walking distance of Tamkang University, where I hope to be enrolled next year (keep those fingers crossed).
The best two things: the rent is $3500NT per month less than what I pay now, so I'll save about $100US per month (can you imagine renting a nice apartment in California USA for $370 per month? I can't.) And we went upstairs to inquire if the apartment above was infested with noisy children, and I can cheerfully report that there is a family with one 7-year-old boy, and their next door neighbor (of whom we made the inquiry) said they are quiet. But if they aren't, I can call the managers, and they will go talk to them, an option I do not have where I am now. Gosh, maybe I'll be able to get a good night's sleep! Also, according to the ad, this house has absolutely fabulous feng shui, so I'm assured of a prosperous future and a happy life - yeah!
I have a lot of packing to do, and I'm not looking forward to shelling out big bucks for a mover, but it's impossible to move it myself. Hopefully I can enlist the help of friends to move the smaller stuff and just pay to move the big things, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure hoping I won't be required to paint the place I'm leaving, just clean it up nicely. I suppose if she wants me to paint, I'll tell her to take it out of the deposit, I don't have time for that.
So, anyone wanna buy an air conditioner? Make you a hell of a deal.....
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Dog Days of Summer
{Trumpet Fanfare} Hear ye, hear ye! Please note the passing of 6.5 kilos of ugly flab! That would be 14.3 pounds for you US folks. Ah, the little things in life that can make us so happy.
Next week is the last week of the semester, with the semester final on Thursday. So, I've been cramming for that, plus trying to write the compositions that I haven't yet written (yeah, I'm a slacker sometimes and do my best work at the last minute). And after the semester is over, I have 10 days off before starting the new one on July 30. I'm guessing I'll be bored senseless most of the time.
However, I do have one lovely thing to look forward to - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The book comes out on July 21, and I've already pre-ordered at Eslite. So this week I'm re-reading The Half-Blood Prince, since it's been two years since I read it and have forgotten some of the details. This is a strange sort of anticipation, because this book is the final Harry Potter book, and I'm so sad about that. How can Ms. Rowling leave us like this? I'm hoping she won't, that she'll continue writing books related to other characters or at least set in the same magical universe. Surely she needs to make even more millions than she currently has.
One of my friends here in Taiwan is writing a book, and she's been letting me to read it as she writes. It's a quirky vampire novel, and I love it! After reading some of the complete drek that's on the market now, I'm quite sure she'll have no difficulty getting published, as her work is miles above a lot of that crap.
The weather this week has been truly miserable, hot and humid like you would not believe. We had one or two days of marginally cooler air thanks to super typhoon Man-Yi that was making a fly-by on its way to Japan, but it wasn't enough. Today is supposed to be a RealFeel of 106F, bleah. At least there's wind, which does help a bit, and it will probably rain sporadically all next week. Being the bright bulb that I am, on Tuesday I decided it would be an excellent idea to walk from school to Zhongshan MRT station. The temp was probably around 103F degrees and not a cloudy day, and no breeze. After my almost one-hour walk, I damn near collapsed at the station! First thing I did when I got home was take a cold shower and then guzzle down a bunch of water. Yikes, won't be doing that again soon. Although I will try to force myself to go for early morning walks along the river while I'm on my school break, instead of sitting on my fat ass in the house all day long.
I started teaching a brother and sister last week. Jerry, the guy, is quite good looking (IMO) but a bit shy. He's 33 and is an interior designer with his own business. His 31-year-old sister, Celine, is an interesting person. She says she has "healing hands" and can use qi gong energy to help people heal. I'm hoping to get her to try on my bad knee, which still bothers me quite a bit sometimes. And I'm trying to surreptiously find out if Jerry has a wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend, because if he's single and straight, I'm going to introduce him to some of my friends!
Wu Bai & China Blue will be going to Malaysia in August for a concert at Genting. I will not be going, because if I leave, I ain't got no visa to come back. Just as well, since it would cost me tons of money that I can't afford. I also didn't go to the autograph sessions that were held today in the central and southern Taiwan because 1) it appeared that it would be just Wu Bai and not the whole band and 2) I have to study for my final. Hopefully there will be a session in Taipei that will feature everyone. Not that I don't madly adore Wu Bai, of course, it's just that if I'm going to get a CD autographed, I want EVERYONE'S signature since EVERYONE worked on the CD, not just Wu Bai.
Just one more month and my friend Ye Ying will be leaving for Holland for her studies there. I'll really miss our language exchange sessions. She's an excellent teacher and a fine friend, and I'm so proud of her for passing her IELTS exam and being accepted at Leiden. If the opportunity arises, I'd love to be able to visit her there, but I'm afraid it's probably far too expensive a trip to make.
And then in September my good buddy Aaron will be returning from England, where he's been studying for the last year. It will be great to have him back, and I know he'll be happy to be on home ground again. He called yesterday, and we talked for an hour and a half. One of his best friends had gone to England to visit him, and the cheap bastard sponged off Aaron the whole time! This guy is a teacher who makes good money. The only thing he brought as a gift to Aaron was one single pack of instant noodles, that's it. He stayed in Aaron's dorm, in Aaron's bed, while Aaron slept on the floor. Aaron had to spend his money eating out every day while his friend was there, and not once did the guy offer to pay for a meal - even after he won 25 pounds (around $50US) at the casino! Like they say, with friends like that...... So yesterday on the phone I taught Aaron all sorts of new words: cheapskate, tightwad, miser, stingy, penny pincher, niggardly (which I told him to avoid using, as it sounds far too much like a very unpleasant word, despite having nothing at all to do with that word). I'm so grateful that my friends are the generous sort.
The first year I was here, I wasn't very careful with my money at times (what a dork!), and I also spent a lot furnishing my apartment. My bank balance dwindled by $22,621 that year, which is not bad by US standards but for a person without an income not so great. So the next year I was much more careful, and I also managed to earn a bit more from teaching. Yesterday I finally calculated the cost of last year to my bank balance, and it was $11,223. Wow, I managed to cut expenses in half without even realizing it! I've been working on paying off the two credit cards I have, so I've been spending about $250-$300 per month on that (and was spending a lot more per month that first year). So, once I get those paid off (I have about $2300 to go), I'll be spending even less. I just want my little nest egg to get me through four years of university, and I think I can squeak that by, especially if I can keep teaching just a little bit.
By the way, a big thank you to all of you who faithfully read my blog instead of sending me e-mails asking me what's new (yeah, you know who you are, if you finally dropped in to read, cuz I already chewed you out for it). I have to say that it's truly disappointing to know that some friends don't bother to read it, especially now that I write so little, so it's not as if they have to spend hours a day catching up on my doings. I admit that I don't check my Chinese friends' blogs very often, because it's not so easy to read the Chinese, but everyone who blogs in English gets an almost-daily visit from me to see if there's anything new. I may not always leave a comment, but I'm reading!
Next week is the last week of the semester, with the semester final on Thursday. So, I've been cramming for that, plus trying to write the compositions that I haven't yet written (yeah, I'm a slacker sometimes and do my best work at the last minute). And after the semester is over, I have 10 days off before starting the new one on July 30. I'm guessing I'll be bored senseless most of the time.
However, I do have one lovely thing to look forward to - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The book comes out on July 21, and I've already pre-ordered at Eslite. So this week I'm re-reading The Half-Blood Prince, since it's been two years since I read it and have forgotten some of the details. This is a strange sort of anticipation, because this book is the final Harry Potter book, and I'm so sad about that. How can Ms. Rowling leave us like this? I'm hoping she won't, that she'll continue writing books related to other characters or at least set in the same magical universe. Surely she needs to make even more millions than she currently has.
One of my friends here in Taiwan is writing a book, and she's been letting me to read it as she writes. It's a quirky vampire novel, and I love it! After reading some of the complete drek that's on the market now, I'm quite sure she'll have no difficulty getting published, as her work is miles above a lot of that crap.
The weather this week has been truly miserable, hot and humid like you would not believe. We had one or two days of marginally cooler air thanks to super typhoon Man-Yi that was making a fly-by on its way to Japan, but it wasn't enough. Today is supposed to be a RealFeel of 106F, bleah. At least there's wind, which does help a bit, and it will probably rain sporadically all next week. Being the bright bulb that I am, on Tuesday I decided it would be an excellent idea to walk from school to Zhongshan MRT station. The temp was probably around 103F degrees and not a cloudy day, and no breeze. After my almost one-hour walk, I damn near collapsed at the station! First thing I did when I got home was take a cold shower and then guzzle down a bunch of water. Yikes, won't be doing that again soon. Although I will try to force myself to go for early morning walks along the river while I'm on my school break, instead of sitting on my fat ass in the house all day long.
I started teaching a brother and sister last week. Jerry, the guy, is quite good looking (IMO) but a bit shy. He's 33 and is an interior designer with his own business. His 31-year-old sister, Celine, is an interesting person. She says she has "healing hands" and can use qi gong energy to help people heal. I'm hoping to get her to try on my bad knee, which still bothers me quite a bit sometimes. And I'm trying to surreptiously find out if Jerry has a wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend, because if he's single and straight, I'm going to introduce him to some of my friends!
Wu Bai & China Blue will be going to Malaysia in August for a concert at Genting. I will not be going, because if I leave, I ain't got no visa to come back. Just as well, since it would cost me tons of money that I can't afford. I also didn't go to the autograph sessions that were held today in the central and southern Taiwan because 1) it appeared that it would be just Wu Bai and not the whole band and 2) I have to study for my final. Hopefully there will be a session in Taipei that will feature everyone. Not that I don't madly adore Wu Bai, of course, it's just that if I'm going to get a CD autographed, I want EVERYONE'S signature since EVERYONE worked on the CD, not just Wu Bai.
Just one more month and my friend Ye Ying will be leaving for Holland for her studies there. I'll really miss our language exchange sessions. She's an excellent teacher and a fine friend, and I'm so proud of her for passing her IELTS exam and being accepted at Leiden. If the opportunity arises, I'd love to be able to visit her there, but I'm afraid it's probably far too expensive a trip to make.
And then in September my good buddy Aaron will be returning from England, where he's been studying for the last year. It will be great to have him back, and I know he'll be happy to be on home ground again. He called yesterday, and we talked for an hour and a half. One of his best friends had gone to England to visit him, and the cheap bastard sponged off Aaron the whole time! This guy is a teacher who makes good money. The only thing he brought as a gift to Aaron was one single pack of instant noodles, that's it. He stayed in Aaron's dorm, in Aaron's bed, while Aaron slept on the floor. Aaron had to spend his money eating out every day while his friend was there, and not once did the guy offer to pay for a meal - even after he won 25 pounds (around $50US) at the casino! Like they say, with friends like that...... So yesterday on the phone I taught Aaron all sorts of new words: cheapskate, tightwad, miser, stingy, penny pincher, niggardly (which I told him to avoid using, as it sounds far too much like a very unpleasant word, despite having nothing at all to do with that word). I'm so grateful that my friends are the generous sort.
The first year I was here, I wasn't very careful with my money at times (what a dork!), and I also spent a lot furnishing my apartment. My bank balance dwindled by $22,621 that year, which is not bad by US standards but for a person without an income not so great. So the next year I was much more careful, and I also managed to earn a bit more from teaching. Yesterday I finally calculated the cost of last year to my bank balance, and it was $11,223. Wow, I managed to cut expenses in half without even realizing it! I've been working on paying off the two credit cards I have, so I've been spending about $250-$300 per month on that (and was spending a lot more per month that first year). So, once I get those paid off (I have about $2300 to go), I'll be spending even less. I just want my little nest egg to get me through four years of university, and I think I can squeak that by, especially if I can keep teaching just a little bit.
By the way, a big thank you to all of you who faithfully read my blog instead of sending me e-mails asking me what's new (yeah, you know who you are, if you finally dropped in to read, cuz I already chewed you out for it). I have to say that it's truly disappointing to know that some friends don't bother to read it, especially now that I write so little, so it's not as if they have to spend hours a day catching up on my doings. I admit that I don't check my Chinese friends' blogs very often, because it's not so easy to read the Chinese, but everyone who blogs in English gets an almost-daily visit from me to see if there's anything new. I may not always leave a comment, but I'm reading!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Plum Rainy
Let's see, it's been steadily raining for about a week now, with very few breaks. We've gotten 5 inches of rain so far today, and I was wading in deep puddles getting from the bus stop to the MRT station at Jiantan this afternoon. This is the 梅季雨, the Plum Rains season. The nice part is that the weather is much cooler, even though it's still quite warm during the day. I'm continually drenched with sweat, and I'm really tired of my paper sticking to my arm when I'm in school and trying to write. Still, I'll take this over California winter rains any day!
Observation: no matter how flippin' hot it is (with a RealFeel of 103 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit), you will see these teeny, tiny Asian women wearing long-sleeved sweatshirts, denim jackets, and other various forms of warm clothing. I'm not sure if it's because they're so damned skinny they freeze to death when the air conditioning hits them or if it's because of their unreasonable dread of a single drop of sunlight falling on their skin. There was actually an article in the Taipei Times awhile back stating that Taiwanese women were often deficient in vitamin D because of their vampire-like dread of sunlight. When my teacher went to Thailand over Chinese New Year and came back with a beautiful tan, her Western students complimented her on how lovely and healthy she looked, and her Asian friends started back in shock and exclaimed how dark (and therefore ugly) she was. Me, I'm envious of the beautiful color of her skin when she tans. I just end up turning a very funny color when exposed to sunlight, not pretty at all.
Got my official grade from last semester, and it was 93. I surely hope this means I will get the scholarship next time. Gimme money, gimme gimme gimme. I'm doing OK so far this semester, getting in the mid to high 90s on my tests (Wang Laoshi doesn't actually give a grade on compositions). I truly enjoy her classes, and I'll be sad when the semester ends on July 20. She'll be going to the actual university to teach beginning in September this year, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to have her again when (and if) I start at Tamkang proper.
Was going to go apply for a visa extension today but because of the torrential rain decided to wait until Monday and hope it lets up. If they say "no" then I guess I make an emergency trip to either Singapore or Osaka for a new visa. Osaka will cost more, but if I go there I can see Luke and Kayun, and everyone says it's never a problem to get a visa in Japan. Some folks have had issues with the Singapore office. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
More than minor annoyance: my friend Carol was kind enough to do some shopping for me, as I'd checked the US Postal Service's shipping rates online and decided just how much I could spend for some stuff. She ran all over and got the things I wanted and then went to ship it, only to be informed that as of May 14 the post office has discontinued economy surface shipping internationally, everything is now priority mail and hence much more expensive. Like costing about $5US per pound expensive. WTF? So poor Carol had to return a bunch of the stuff, since I wasn't willing to pay $5 to ship a box of low-fat Cheez-its! As it was, it cost me $37 for the small 7-pound box I got, but at least that was all stuff I just can't get here, important stuff like earplugs, ibuprofen, and hair color in lighter shades.
Hm, what else? Well, next Saturday I'll be going to the Golden Melody Awards, IF I get my visa extended and don't have to leave the country. Wu Bai's official website was giving away 50 tickets, and of course I got one. Being a foreigner does have its perks. Wu Bai & China Blue will be performing, and Xiao Zhu has been nominated as best producer for an indy band. Hope he gets it. Then the following week is the concert, also looking forward to that. The new CD came out today, and I was going to pick it up this evening but decided it wasn't worth a trip out in the rain. I'll go get it next week.
The diet is going well, losing weight albeit slowly. I've lost 8.4 pounds (today, Saturday, was weigh-in day, so even though no loss last week, at least there was this week!), and I feel better already. If I could get more exercise, I'd lose more, but until my foot is better, I just can't walk much. If I ever manage to get the home gym I bought in November put together, then I could use that, but I haven't found anyone who can help me yet. So, it's still in pieces in the spare room. What a waste of money, huh? I guess I should just sell it.
On Wednesday I got together with Sherry, the woman Hiyoshi used to teach Japanese to. I hadn't seen her for over a year. Last week I got on MSN, which I hardly ever do, and she was there, so I started to chat with her. Apparently she'd called a few times, but every time must have been when I was out of the country, because my phone never showed any missed calls. She thought maybe I'd left Taiwan. She's the one who told me about Hiyoshi's baby, and she said he had never contacted her, either. Because she's going to Tokyo next month, she called him to ask him a question, and then he told her about the baby. I was very happy to connect with Sherry again, because she's really cool. Hopefully we'll be able to meet regularly now. Oh, and here's an example of just how straightforward the Taiwanese are. We were at Sherry's house chatting, and her husband was there working (they have a home business). I was bemoaning my weight, trying to refuse the snacks Sherry was pressing on me, and she said I hadn't gained weight. Then hubby piped up with, "Oh, yeah, much fatter than before!" Gee, thanks, I needed that. There is such a thing as too much honesty. Never mind, continue to diet.
Next Wednesday our class is going to the museum to see the special exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors. If you don't know what they are, just click the link. Someday maybe I can visit the museum in China to get the full effect of the magnitude of this amazing project.
Can't think of anything else right now. DZ is fine and is still misbehaving whenever she gets the chance, although she hasn't torn up any posters lately. Life in Taiwan is still great, despite the summer heat and all the rain. I still love Wu Bai as much as I ever did, despite wanting to give him a good hard whack on the head sometimes. And...that's all. :)
Observation: no matter how flippin' hot it is (with a RealFeel of 103 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit), you will see these teeny, tiny Asian women wearing long-sleeved sweatshirts, denim jackets, and other various forms of warm clothing. I'm not sure if it's because they're so damned skinny they freeze to death when the air conditioning hits them or if it's because of their unreasonable dread of a single drop of sunlight falling on their skin. There was actually an article in the Taipei Times awhile back stating that Taiwanese women were often deficient in vitamin D because of their vampire-like dread of sunlight. When my teacher went to Thailand over Chinese New Year and came back with a beautiful tan, her Western students complimented her on how lovely and healthy she looked, and her Asian friends started back in shock and exclaimed how dark (and therefore ugly) she was. Me, I'm envious of the beautiful color of her skin when she tans. I just end up turning a very funny color when exposed to sunlight, not pretty at all.
Got my official grade from last semester, and it was 93. I surely hope this means I will get the scholarship next time. Gimme money, gimme gimme gimme. I'm doing OK so far this semester, getting in the mid to high 90s on my tests (Wang Laoshi doesn't actually give a grade on compositions). I truly enjoy her classes, and I'll be sad when the semester ends on July 20. She'll be going to the actual university to teach beginning in September this year, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to have her again when (and if) I start at Tamkang proper.
Was going to go apply for a visa extension today but because of the torrential rain decided to wait until Monday and hope it lets up. If they say "no" then I guess I make an emergency trip to either Singapore or Osaka for a new visa. Osaka will cost more, but if I go there I can see Luke and Kayun, and everyone says it's never a problem to get a visa in Japan. Some folks have had issues with the Singapore office. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
More than minor annoyance: my friend Carol was kind enough to do some shopping for me, as I'd checked the US Postal Service's shipping rates online and decided just how much I could spend for some stuff. She ran all over and got the things I wanted and then went to ship it, only to be informed that as of May 14 the post office has discontinued economy surface shipping internationally, everything is now priority mail and hence much more expensive. Like costing about $5US per pound expensive. WTF? So poor Carol had to return a bunch of the stuff, since I wasn't willing to pay $5 to ship a box of low-fat Cheez-its! As it was, it cost me $37 for the small 7-pound box I got, but at least that was all stuff I just can't get here, important stuff like earplugs, ibuprofen, and hair color in lighter shades.
Hm, what else? Well, next Saturday I'll be going to the Golden Melody Awards, IF I get my visa extended and don't have to leave the country. Wu Bai's official website was giving away 50 tickets, and of course I got one. Being a foreigner does have its perks. Wu Bai & China Blue will be performing, and Xiao Zhu has been nominated as best producer for an indy band. Hope he gets it. Then the following week is the concert, also looking forward to that. The new CD came out today, and I was going to pick it up this evening but decided it wasn't worth a trip out in the rain. I'll go get it next week.
The diet is going well, losing weight albeit slowly. I've lost 8.4 pounds (today, Saturday, was weigh-in day, so even though no loss last week, at least there was this week!), and I feel better already. If I could get more exercise, I'd lose more, but until my foot is better, I just can't walk much. If I ever manage to get the home gym I bought in November put together, then I could use that, but I haven't found anyone who can help me yet. So, it's still in pieces in the spare room. What a waste of money, huh? I guess I should just sell it.
On Wednesday I got together with Sherry, the woman Hiyoshi used to teach Japanese to. I hadn't seen her for over a year. Last week I got on MSN, which I hardly ever do, and she was there, so I started to chat with her. Apparently she'd called a few times, but every time must have been when I was out of the country, because my phone never showed any missed calls. She thought maybe I'd left Taiwan. She's the one who told me about Hiyoshi's baby, and she said he had never contacted her, either. Because she's going to Tokyo next month, she called him to ask him a question, and then he told her about the baby. I was very happy to connect with Sherry again, because she's really cool. Hopefully we'll be able to meet regularly now. Oh, and here's an example of just how straightforward the Taiwanese are. We were at Sherry's house chatting, and her husband was there working (they have a home business). I was bemoaning my weight, trying to refuse the snacks Sherry was pressing on me, and she said I hadn't gained weight. Then hubby piped up with, "Oh, yeah, much fatter than before!" Gee, thanks, I needed that. There is such a thing as too much honesty. Never mind, continue to diet.
Next Wednesday our class is going to the museum to see the special exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors. If you don't know what they are, just click the link. Someday maybe I can visit the museum in China to get the full effect of the magnitude of this amazing project.
Can't think of anything else right now. DZ is fine and is still misbehaving whenever she gets the chance, although she hasn't torn up any posters lately. Life in Taiwan is still great, despite the summer heat and all the rain. I still love Wu Bai as much as I ever did, despite wanting to give him a good hard whack on the head sometimes. And...that's all. :)
Sunday, May 20, 2007
If You Want Peace, You Must Not Keep Hurting Taiwan
Lung Ying-tai (龍應台). May 18, 2007. Public speech on May 17, 2007 at Cambridge University, England.
If You Want Peace, You Must Not Keep Hurting Taiwan
Come on World, are you going to continue allowing the Big Bully to intimidate Tiny Taiwan? I try not to think about the number of missiles aimed this way, but sometimes it's not easy to ignore.
If You Want Peace, You Must Not Keep Hurting Taiwan
Come on World, are you going to continue allowing the Big Bully to intimidate Tiny Taiwan? I try not to think about the number of missiles aimed this way, but sometimes it's not easy to ignore.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By Special Request
Scenic requested a picture of Little Miss Jealous, DZ, so here's one of her along with the object of her jealousy (and one of the few posters that she hasn't been able to mangle). More photos can be found at my pbase site: DZ Da Krazy KatShe loves getting up on the back of the office chair. However, since her spaying she's getting a little fat, and one of these days when she jumps up there, she's going to go ass over teakettle along with the chair!
Disheartening news: my nextdoor neighbor may be right. Last night there was definitely at least one of the kids home and making noise until after midnight. Granted, it was much quieter than usual, but they were there. Was it all just a cruel April Fools Day joke? Could that little girl from the third floor actually be so dense that she thought I was talking about a family that has already been gone for a long time? Why must I suffer so????
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Oh Happy Day!!!!!!!!
This has been the most peaceful weekend I've experienced at home since I moved to Taiwan. No annoying children sounds from upstairs. They woke me up at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and from then on it was quiet, figured they went away for the weekend. Could hear some little bit of normal noise from up there, doors closing, slight bumps, but really minor.
So this evening I went out to buy some fruit, and on the way back I ran into the little girl from downstairs, walking home. It's her mother who has also complained to the parents of the monsters. We started chatting, and I mentioned how lovely and quiet it was this weekend with them gone, and she said, "Oh, they moved! Everyone kept telling them they were too noisy, so they moved." I damn near danced all the way home.
When I got back, a lot of fireworks began going off outside, something to do with this week being the week to honor ancestors, burn ghost money, and clean tombs. But I felt like it was to help me celebrate finally getting rid of the one thing I hated about living here.
Now, let's hope that whoever moves in upstairs isn't one of those sort who love to sing karaoke at full volume all night long.
Edit Monday evening, 6:21 p.m.
I saw my next door neighbor when I got home, told her the kid downstairs said the 5th floor monsters moved. She said she didn't think so, saw them today, said the other family up there had moved a long time ago, and that they were also noisy. Now I'm hearing the brats running back and forth again, but I'm still holding onto a hope that they're just there cleaning up stuff and really have moved. But I have a bad feeling about this.....
So this evening I went out to buy some fruit, and on the way back I ran into the little girl from downstairs, walking home. It's her mother who has also complained to the parents of the monsters. We started chatting, and I mentioned how lovely and quiet it was this weekend with them gone, and she said, "Oh, they moved! Everyone kept telling them they were too noisy, so they moved." I damn near danced all the way home.
When I got back, a lot of fireworks began going off outside, something to do with this week being the week to honor ancestors, burn ghost money, and clean tombs. But I felt like it was to help me celebrate finally getting rid of the one thing I hated about living here.
Now, let's hope that whoever moves in upstairs isn't one of those sort who love to sing karaoke at full volume all night long.
Edit Monday evening, 6:21 p.m.
I saw my next door neighbor when I got home, told her the kid downstairs said the 5th floor monsters moved. She said she didn't think so, saw them today, said the other family up there had moved a long time ago, and that they were also noisy. Now I'm hearing the brats running back and forth again, but I'm still holding onto a hope that they're just there cleaning up stuff and really have moved. But I have a bad feeling about this.....
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Rainy Days and Sundays
After many days almost summer-like weather, we've had nothing but rain, rain, rain for a week. Cold rain. Cold days. I'm not complaining, you know. A little bit of cold in a hot country like Taiwan is a good thing!
I'm once again experiencing teacher frustration. Friday night Xiao Zhu called and said Vincent is just too busy these days to attend English class on Saturday and that he'd call me when his son has more time. Having experienced this excuse before (Rosa, Jennifer) to take the place of the more straightforward, "Sorry, changed my mind, don't want to study English.", I'm not holding out much hope of Vincent returning. We shall see. Xiao Zhu asked how to get me the paltry fee from the first class, which was supposed to be paid with the rest of this month's classes in one shot, and I told him I'd collect it from him on the 23rd when we go to see ABS.
I decided I'm going to apply for a scholarship at the language center, which would be NT$12,000 per month, or approximately US$365 (tuition is NT$16,000 every 11 weeks). I meet the requirements, so we'll see. Wish me luck.
Every time I think about trying to attend regular university beginning this year, I start thinking about how little I do know about the Chinese language, and I start to worry. I've only actually studied for a year and a half, and that barely scrapes the surface. I'd much prefer one more year of studying the language itself before attempting to attend classes taught in Chinese. So, at this point, I've decided to wait until 2008 to start my "real" studies. Ye Ying also advised that I look into a couple other universities that might be cheaper than Tamkang.
There's a test tomorrow, so today will be spent studying. Since it's no weather to be outside, staying in is certainly not a problem!
I'm once again experiencing teacher frustration. Friday night Xiao Zhu called and said Vincent is just too busy these days to attend English class on Saturday and that he'd call me when his son has more time. Having experienced this excuse before (Rosa, Jennifer) to take the place of the more straightforward, "Sorry, changed my mind, don't want to study English.", I'm not holding out much hope of Vincent returning. We shall see. Xiao Zhu asked how to get me the paltry fee from the first class, which was supposed to be paid with the rest of this month's classes in one shot, and I told him I'd collect it from him on the 23rd when we go to see ABS.
I decided I'm going to apply for a scholarship at the language center, which would be NT$12,000 per month, or approximately US$365 (tuition is NT$16,000 every 11 weeks). I meet the requirements, so we'll see. Wish me luck.
Every time I think about trying to attend regular university beginning this year, I start thinking about how little I do know about the Chinese language, and I start to worry. I've only actually studied for a year and a half, and that barely scrapes the surface. I'd much prefer one more year of studying the language itself before attempting to attend classes taught in Chinese. So, at this point, I've decided to wait until 2008 to start my "real" studies. Ye Ying also advised that I look into a couple other universities that might be cheaper than Tamkang.
There's a test tomorrow, so today will be spent studying. Since it's no weather to be outside, staying in is certainly not a problem!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
2007 - So Far, So Good
Once again I begin with an apology for not writing much. I wish I had more excitement in my life to share with you all, but.....I don't.
So, the party on 12/23 was a success, we had fun, ate lots of good food (including some homemade hot and sour soup that Ye Ying and Xuan Yi made), I drank lots of beer, my Korean friend Kayun drank too much pear cognac and fell asleep on the couch for awhile, and the tiramisu was awesome. So awesome that I made a second batch, which turned out not quite as good since I used too much espresso. Next time I'm experimenting with making my own invention, Kahluamisu.
Kayun stayed with me for a few days last week. She had to give up her apartment on Wednesday, so she showed up at my front door Wednesday a.m. with her huge suitcase in tow and stayed until she left yesterday at 5:00 a.m. Silly girl had booked an 8:30 a.m. flight back to Korea! So, she had to take a cab to Yuanshan MRT station to get the airport bus. I hope she made it on time, haven't heard from her yet. I'm really going to miss her.
Oh, getting the visa extension was a bit of a kerfuffle this time. My visa was due to expire on January 2, so I went to the Taipei County police department in Banqiao the week before, on Wednesday. The last time I went there, there was no MRT, just a bus, so taking MRT I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the police station close to the Banqiao station or the one at Fuzhong (they are very close), so I tried Banqiao first. Nope, the folks there said I needed to go to the one close to Fuzhong, so Kayun (who kindly accompanied me) and I walked there. After arriving at that police station, they said, "Nope! You need to go to yet another station." Well, OK, we don't mind walking, finally got to the place I'd gone to before, and I got a form and started to fill it out while Kayun went to get a number. They had a sign posted there, only in Chinese, not in English, telling foreigners that if their visas expire after 12/29, they have to wait until January 2 and go to a new office to get their extensions. Kayun was trying to figure out what the sign meant (we both read Chinese pretty darned well but this was complicated), but she didn't quite understand it all and finally asked a clerk, and he told her. She was shocked that they would post such an important notice only in Chinese and expect foreigners to be able to understand it, and she proceeded to tell them how stupid that was (not exactly the best thing to do, but she was right). I didn't know any of this was happening; I was still filling out my form. We were very confused, and the clerk drew us a little map and told us to go to the new location. OK, so we walked a little way, went past number 168, which looked like a police station, looking for number 166. There was a brand-new office being worked on, still not open, and we asked the workers if that was number 166. They pointed back the way we came. We returned to 168, where we found a police officer. Asked him where 166 was, he pointed back at the workers. WTF? Finally, we just walked back to the police station and told the guy there that the office at the address he gave us wasn't open yet. "Right," he says, "you have to come back on January 2." "But that's the day my visa EXPIRES. Isn't that cutting it a bit close? What if I'm sick that day? Can't I apply for the extension today?" He goes and asks some other guy, who finally explained to me that the government was moving the handling of visa extensions to the immigration department, and that the police department will no longer be responsible, and that there is simply no way I could apply for the extension until January 2.
I was really worried about having to wait until the last day, because one other person told me that when her friend waited until the final day, he was told he had to leave the country and apply for another visa! But I had no choice but to wait until the 2nd and was afraid they might tell me "no" when I went. I thought about buying a plane ticket to Hong Kong on Tuesday just in case, but then decided I should just hope for the best. Everything turned out fine. Kayun and I went bright and early because we figured there'd be a crowd. The office was a madhouse, tons of others who had had to wait all piled in, the poor workers hadn't been provided with essentials, like calendars, so they had to count on their fingers to figure out dates for visa extensions, and the woman helping me kept her cool despite being so overwhelmed.
So now I'm good until March 3, when I will be applying for the Alien Residency Certificate (ARC) to avoid having to keep leaving the country. That will also propose a problem, since I have to apply two weeks before my visa expires. Here's the hitch: school closes February 10 through February 25 for Chinese New Year. They, and all government offices, will also be closed February 28 for a national holiday. So the week before my visa expires, there are four working days. I have to have all the paperwork from the school before I can apply for the ARC. I have to wait three days from the day I ask the school for the paperwork before I can get it. So, if I ask on 2/26, I can't pick them up until 3/1, which would again be cutting it way, way close. But applying before the holiday closure is probably too soon, so who knows what I'll do? Not me, that's for sure.
Taiwan finally got some cold wintery weather. We went from balmy days in the upper 70s to upper 40s, low 50s. It's still not super cold, especially inside the house, but I now need to wear a jacket. Been a bit rainy, too, which always makes it feel colder than it is. The long-range forecast says we'll be back to high 60s, low 70s by the 13th. Maybe, we'll see. I just hope it's nice in February when Cheryl comes to visit.
Doris from Hong Kong arrived Thursday, and Nat, Charlene, Betty, Xiao Niu, and I joined her for a wonderful dinner at Shanghai Dumpling. I love that place, especially since we get such a great discount, as it's owned by the company Nat and Charlene work for. I passed on going with Nat and Doris to Miaoli yesterday. They were going to go to the hotspring, and I don't do hotspring, plus they were spending the night. I can't afford to spend much money now, since I'm not making any. What I have in the bank has to carry me through four years of university, so I'm saving the bucks for Wu Bai & China Blue related stuff!
I managed to waste all of my Saturday yesterday, doing absolutely nothing except dinking around online and reading, with a tiny bit of timeout for meeting with a young lady named Vivi who wants some help with English. Her family owns the convenience store by my house, and I've chatted with her off and on since I moved here. She truly wants to study English but can't figure out how to pronounce words she doesn't know, so she gets intimidated. I told her I'd try to find some phonics stuff online to help out, because I don't understand the method they use here in Taiwan to try to teach the kids English pronunciation.
Need to get my hiney in gear and accomplish something today, so zai jian, see ya, toodles, ta, and all that.
So, the party on 12/23 was a success, we had fun, ate lots of good food (including some homemade hot and sour soup that Ye Ying and Xuan Yi made), I drank lots of beer, my Korean friend Kayun drank too much pear cognac and fell asleep on the couch for awhile, and the tiramisu was awesome. So awesome that I made a second batch, which turned out not quite as good since I used too much espresso. Next time I'm experimenting with making my own invention, Kahluamisu.
Kayun stayed with me for a few days last week. She had to give up her apartment on Wednesday, so she showed up at my front door Wednesday a.m. with her huge suitcase in tow and stayed until she left yesterday at 5:00 a.m. Silly girl had booked an 8:30 a.m. flight back to Korea! So, she had to take a cab to Yuanshan MRT station to get the airport bus. I hope she made it on time, haven't heard from her yet. I'm really going to miss her.
Oh, getting the visa extension was a bit of a kerfuffle this time. My visa was due to expire on January 2, so I went to the Taipei County police department in Banqiao the week before, on Wednesday. The last time I went there, there was no MRT, just a bus, so taking MRT I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the police station close to the Banqiao station or the one at Fuzhong (they are very close), so I tried Banqiao first. Nope, the folks there said I needed to go to the one close to Fuzhong, so Kayun (who kindly accompanied me) and I walked there. After arriving at that police station, they said, "Nope! You need to go to yet another station." Well, OK, we don't mind walking, finally got to the place I'd gone to before, and I got a form and started to fill it out while Kayun went to get a number. They had a sign posted there, only in Chinese, not in English, telling foreigners that if their visas expire after 12/29, they have to wait until January 2 and go to a new office to get their extensions. Kayun was trying to figure out what the sign meant (we both read Chinese pretty darned well but this was complicated), but she didn't quite understand it all and finally asked a clerk, and he told her. She was shocked that they would post such an important notice only in Chinese and expect foreigners to be able to understand it, and she proceeded to tell them how stupid that was (not exactly the best thing to do, but she was right). I didn't know any of this was happening; I was still filling out my form. We were very confused, and the clerk drew us a little map and told us to go to the new location. OK, so we walked a little way, went past number 168, which looked like a police station, looking for number 166. There was a brand-new office being worked on, still not open, and we asked the workers if that was number 166. They pointed back the way we came. We returned to 168, where we found a police officer. Asked him where 166 was, he pointed back at the workers. WTF? Finally, we just walked back to the police station and told the guy there that the office at the address he gave us wasn't open yet. "Right," he says, "you have to come back on January 2." "But that's the day my visa EXPIRES. Isn't that cutting it a bit close? What if I'm sick that day? Can't I apply for the extension today?" He goes and asks some other guy, who finally explained to me that the government was moving the handling of visa extensions to the immigration department, and that the police department will no longer be responsible, and that there is simply no way I could apply for the extension until January 2.
I was really worried about having to wait until the last day, because one other person told me that when her friend waited until the final day, he was told he had to leave the country and apply for another visa! But I had no choice but to wait until the 2nd and was afraid they might tell me "no" when I went. I thought about buying a plane ticket to Hong Kong on Tuesday just in case, but then decided I should just hope for the best. Everything turned out fine. Kayun and I went bright and early because we figured there'd be a crowd. The office was a madhouse, tons of others who had had to wait all piled in, the poor workers hadn't been provided with essentials, like calendars, so they had to count on their fingers to figure out dates for visa extensions, and the woman helping me kept her cool despite being so overwhelmed.
So now I'm good until March 3, when I will be applying for the Alien Residency Certificate (ARC) to avoid having to keep leaving the country. That will also propose a problem, since I have to apply two weeks before my visa expires. Here's the hitch: school closes February 10 through February 25 for Chinese New Year. They, and all government offices, will also be closed February 28 for a national holiday. So the week before my visa expires, there are four working days. I have to have all the paperwork from the school before I can apply for the ARC. I have to wait three days from the day I ask the school for the paperwork before I can get it. So, if I ask on 2/26, I can't pick them up until 3/1, which would again be cutting it way, way close. But applying before the holiday closure is probably too soon, so who knows what I'll do? Not me, that's for sure.
Taiwan finally got some cold wintery weather. We went from balmy days in the upper 70s to upper 40s, low 50s. It's still not super cold, especially inside the house, but I now need to wear a jacket. Been a bit rainy, too, which always makes it feel colder than it is. The long-range forecast says we'll be back to high 60s, low 70s by the 13th. Maybe, we'll see. I just hope it's nice in February when Cheryl comes to visit.
Doris from Hong Kong arrived Thursday, and Nat, Charlene, Betty, Xiao Niu, and I joined her for a wonderful dinner at Shanghai Dumpling. I love that place, especially since we get such a great discount, as it's owned by the company Nat and Charlene work for. I passed on going with Nat and Doris to Miaoli yesterday. They were going to go to the hotspring, and I don't do hotspring, plus they were spending the night. I can't afford to spend much money now, since I'm not making any. What I have in the bank has to carry me through four years of university, so I'm saving the bucks for Wu Bai & China Blue related stuff!
I managed to waste all of my Saturday yesterday, doing absolutely nothing except dinking around online and reading, with a tiny bit of timeout for meeting with a young lady named Vivi who wants some help with English. Her family owns the convenience store by my house, and I've chatted with her off and on since I moved here. She truly wants to study English but can't figure out how to pronounce words she doesn't know, so she gets intimidated. I told her I'd try to find some phonics stuff online to help out, because I don't understand the method they use here in Taiwan to try to teach the kids English pronunciation.
Need to get my hiney in gear and accomplish something today, so zai jian, see ya, toodles, ta, and all that.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Merry Christmas!
Hallo everyone! I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, and of course a very Happy New Year. As happy as I am here, I do miss my friends back in the US, and I'm sorry I can't share the holiday cheer with you in person.
I'm also sorry I haven't been writing much lately, but there just hasn't been anything to tell. I've been going to school every day, doing lots of studying and homework, doing language exchange two days a week, and spending some time with my friend Kayun, who will be leaving in January to go back to Korea. I'm going to miss her a lot, so I'm taking advantage of what little time she has left here in Taiwan. My three-day-a-week student, Kitty, is in China this month, so I'm only teaching Funck on Wednesday evenings, not making any money at all :( Boo hoo. I don't want to find new students, though, because I need my own time to study. Jennifer, the three-hours-on-Sunday student, should start up again in January, and Kitty will (hopefully) be done with her family's business stuff in China and be back in January, too.
Tomorrow I'm having a Christmas party, starting at 2:00 p.m. and going on until we get tired of partying. I really don't know how many people will show up, maybe only a few, but I made tiramisu for the first time ever, and I have a Kahlua cake, too. I discovered that it's danged expensive to make tiramisu in Taiwan. The savoiardi cost me $6US, the mascarpone cost $9, and the amaretto (should probably have gotten cognac, but I'll drink amaretto as a drink and I won't drink brandy, so cognac it is) was $16. Of course, that bottle should make quite a few batches of tiramisu :) I hope it tastes good, because I didn't spend the $18 for real Italian espresso like the recipe said I should use. I just used plain old Barista Seattle Espresso blend. The recipe was cute, it actually says: Make the espresso and poor it into shallow flat-bottomed bowl. Add one shot of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa, and allow to cool to room temperature. If at this point you've decided to use coffee instead of espresso, take the coffee you've made and drink it. Then make espresso.
I just made some spaghetti sauce, too, not real sauce, just using Classico jarred stuff (it's really not too bad) and adding ground beef, onions, loads of garlic, mushrooms, green pepper, and red wine. However.....I have a feeling that bottle of red wine made the change to something resembling vinegar over the last 10 months that it's been in my fridge. The sauce smells a little strange, and it doesn't taste quite right. Oops, guess next time I'd better taste the wine before dumping it in. It's edible, though, just not super great, bit of a tart tang to it. Good thing I was only making it for me and not to serve at the party!
Let's see, anything else? Well, DZ has gotten a bit chubby since her operation. I guess it's partially being spayed and partially bulking up for winter. Not that we actually have winter.....the temperature has been quite nice, around 68-75 during the day, but a bit chilly at night. It's still not as cold as last year was, and some days I don't even wear my jacket in the afternoons. The Taiwan folks are all bundled up in ski jackets, and I'm in shirtsleeves. They must think I'm nuts. But I have a nice big layer of fat to keep me warm, and they don't.
The Taiwan postal service is pretty good. My dad sent a Christmas card, and he didn't write my actual street on the envelope, but they found me anyway. Probably not that many foreigners living in Zhuwei, they could figure out the street from the alley and lane numbers.
Last week I had a notice in my box that I had a parcel at the post office. I was all excited, thinking "Christmas present!" so I headed to Danshui Sunday morning to pick it up (yeah, they're open on Sunday, can you believe it?). The weather was beautiful, so I walked along the river to the post office. Sadly, it was not a Christmas present. It was a free gift from Hinet for upgrading my ADSL service. Unfortunately, it was a handy little device to help one learn English. Not exactly what I need. I think I'll give it to one of my friends - regift!
Yesterday I needed to apply for the next semester of school in order to get my visa extension. My visa is only good until January 2, so I have to go to the police station next week for sure. The school told me I had to wait until 12/21 to apply, so in the morning I picked up the forms. The assistants at this school aren't nearly as friendly and helpful as the gals at CLD were. The one who gave me the forms yesterday never smiles at all, always looks like she's sucking on a lemon. I told her I'd bring the forms back in the afternoon, so Ye Ying and I stopped at the counter after lunch, before our language exchange. That little bitch looked at my form and said, "The teacher needs to fill out this part." Well, you twit, why the hell didn't you tell me that this morning??? It was too late to catch my teacher, she was teaching another class, so I had to wait for this morning. Now I have to wait until Wednesday to get the confirmation letter from the school. That's just cutting it too close for me, and there had better not be any problems, or I'm gonna strangle that twerp.
I guess I've rambled enough now. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I'm also sorry I haven't been writing much lately, but there just hasn't been anything to tell. I've been going to school every day, doing lots of studying and homework, doing language exchange two days a week, and spending some time with my friend Kayun, who will be leaving in January to go back to Korea. I'm going to miss her a lot, so I'm taking advantage of what little time she has left here in Taiwan. My three-day-a-week student, Kitty, is in China this month, so I'm only teaching Funck on Wednesday evenings, not making any money at all :( Boo hoo. I don't want to find new students, though, because I need my own time to study. Jennifer, the three-hours-on-Sunday student, should start up again in January, and Kitty will (hopefully) be done with her family's business stuff in China and be back in January, too.
Tomorrow I'm having a Christmas party, starting at 2:00 p.m. and going on until we get tired of partying. I really don't know how many people will show up, maybe only a few, but I made tiramisu for the first time ever, and I have a Kahlua cake, too. I discovered that it's danged expensive to make tiramisu in Taiwan. The savoiardi cost me $6US, the mascarpone cost $9, and the amaretto (should probably have gotten cognac, but I'll drink amaretto as a drink and I won't drink brandy, so cognac it is) was $16. Of course, that bottle should make quite a few batches of tiramisu :) I hope it tastes good, because I didn't spend the $18 for real Italian espresso like the recipe said I should use. I just used plain old Barista Seattle Espresso blend. The recipe was cute, it actually says: Make the espresso and poor it into shallow flat-bottomed bowl. Add one shot of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa, and allow to cool to room temperature. If at this point you've decided to use coffee instead of espresso, take the coffee you've made and drink it. Then make espresso.
I just made some spaghetti sauce, too, not real sauce, just using Classico jarred stuff (it's really not too bad) and adding ground beef, onions, loads of garlic, mushrooms, green pepper, and red wine. However.....I have a feeling that bottle of red wine made the change to something resembling vinegar over the last 10 months that it's been in my fridge. The sauce smells a little strange, and it doesn't taste quite right. Oops, guess next time I'd better taste the wine before dumping it in. It's edible, though, just not super great, bit of a tart tang to it. Good thing I was only making it for me and not to serve at the party!
Let's see, anything else? Well, DZ has gotten a bit chubby since her operation. I guess it's partially being spayed and partially bulking up for winter. Not that we actually have winter.....the temperature has been quite nice, around 68-75 during the day, but a bit chilly at night. It's still not as cold as last year was, and some days I don't even wear my jacket in the afternoons. The Taiwan folks are all bundled up in ski jackets, and I'm in shirtsleeves. They must think I'm nuts. But I have a nice big layer of fat to keep me warm, and they don't.
The Taiwan postal service is pretty good. My dad sent a Christmas card, and he didn't write my actual street on the envelope, but they found me anyway. Probably not that many foreigners living in Zhuwei, they could figure out the street from the alley and lane numbers.
Last week I had a notice in my box that I had a parcel at the post office. I was all excited, thinking "Christmas present!" so I headed to Danshui Sunday morning to pick it up (yeah, they're open on Sunday, can you believe it?). The weather was beautiful, so I walked along the river to the post office. Sadly, it was not a Christmas present. It was a free gift from Hinet for upgrading my ADSL service. Unfortunately, it was a handy little device to help one learn English. Not exactly what I need. I think I'll give it to one of my friends - regift!
Yesterday I needed to apply for the next semester of school in order to get my visa extension. My visa is only good until January 2, so I have to go to the police station next week for sure. The school told me I had to wait until 12/21 to apply, so in the morning I picked up the forms. The assistants at this school aren't nearly as friendly and helpful as the gals at CLD were. The one who gave me the forms yesterday never smiles at all, always looks like she's sucking on a lemon. I told her I'd bring the forms back in the afternoon, so Ye Ying and I stopped at the counter after lunch, before our language exchange. That little bitch looked at my form and said, "The teacher needs to fill out this part." Well, you twit, why the hell didn't you tell me that this morning??? It was too late to catch my teacher, she was teaching another class, so I had to wait for this morning. Now I have to wait until Wednesday to get the confirmation letter from the school. That's just cutting it too close for me, and there had better not be any problems, or I'm gonna strangle that twerp.
I guess I've rambled enough now. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Freedom Ends Monday
It's my last weekend of being a lazy bum, because Monday I start my Chinese classes again. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends, and also to probably spending more time with the friends I already have, as I'll be in their area every day now. So, hey, maybe next week I'll have some interesting stuff to write, provided I can find the time to blog in between homework and teaching.
Originally, my Mon-Wed-Thurs student had asked me to start a daily routine with her, cutting our two-hour lessons to 1.5 hours. But since she also wants me to spend time correcting the practice work she does, and she doesn't want to pay over a certain amount per month, we're sticking to the three days per week, and then I'll spend two afternoons at home working on her compositions and sentences. She sent me a couple Thursday - 18 pages of sentences in one, and 6 pages in the other. Took me four hours to do. Her compositions are worse, because her English writing skills are pretty weak, and sometimes I can't even figure out what she's trying to say. I think she's asking too much of herself, trying to cram five years of English study into a half a year to prepare for a test that I'd find difficult! The GRE Test is a very advanced test of English, requiring students to discuss issues and present arguments, and I doubt that many ESL speakers do well in it unless they have studied for a long, long time. We'll do the best we can, but at this point I'm not very optimistic about her chances.
The weather is bizarre. It started to get nice and fall-like, with cool (and even cold) days, but now it's back to being hot. I never know what to wear, or if I should bring a jacket or an umbrella with me when I leave in the morning. I'm still sleeping with the fan on at night. If I use the covers, I'm too hot. If I don't, I'm too cold. ARGH! So, I spend a lot of time tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.
My house is a pigsty, so hopefully I'll muster up the urge to clean today. I truly hate mopping floors, but just vacuuming doesn't do the trick when one has tile and wooden floors. I think they're overdue for a good scrub.
Next week is Thanksgiving, and I do so miss the huge turkey dinners of the past. I'm trying to decide if I want to find a turkey breast and do up a little dinner of my own. I know I can buy all the ingredients for pumpkin pie, too. However, is it worth the effort? Dunno. Some of the restaurants here offer Thanksgiving dinners, but they're very expensive, and from what I've read on the message board, not really all that tasty. Maybe I'll make some Hainan Chicken Rice instead :) Or have hotpot at home, since I bought the pot and still haven't used it.
And of course after Thanksgiving comes Giftmas (Nicole's very apt word). I just want to forget about that particulary holiday. I don't have the extra money to buy gifts for my friends, and I don't want my friends to spend their money on me. I have everything I need, and I don't need a present to prove that my friends love me! I know that already. Christmas cards would certainly be welcomed with a smile, because knowing that my friends are thinking about me makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Gosh, I suppose I should start looking for my own cards here, too.
Well, the dirty house is crying out for attention, so I suppose I should tear myself away from the computer and get started before it gets much warmer.
Originally, my Mon-Wed-Thurs student had asked me to start a daily routine with her, cutting our two-hour lessons to 1.5 hours. But since she also wants me to spend time correcting the practice work she does, and she doesn't want to pay over a certain amount per month, we're sticking to the three days per week, and then I'll spend two afternoons at home working on her compositions and sentences. She sent me a couple Thursday - 18 pages of sentences in one, and 6 pages in the other. Took me four hours to do. Her compositions are worse, because her English writing skills are pretty weak, and sometimes I can't even figure out what she's trying to say. I think she's asking too much of herself, trying to cram five years of English study into a half a year to prepare for a test that I'd find difficult! The GRE Test is a very advanced test of English, requiring students to discuss issues and present arguments, and I doubt that many ESL speakers do well in it unless they have studied for a long, long time. We'll do the best we can, but at this point I'm not very optimistic about her chances.
The weather is bizarre. It started to get nice and fall-like, with cool (and even cold) days, but now it's back to being hot. I never know what to wear, or if I should bring a jacket or an umbrella with me when I leave in the morning. I'm still sleeping with the fan on at night. If I use the covers, I'm too hot. If I don't, I'm too cold. ARGH! So, I spend a lot of time tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.
My house is a pigsty, so hopefully I'll muster up the urge to clean today. I truly hate mopping floors, but just vacuuming doesn't do the trick when one has tile and wooden floors. I think they're overdue for a good scrub.
Next week is Thanksgiving, and I do so miss the huge turkey dinners of the past. I'm trying to decide if I want to find a turkey breast and do up a little dinner of my own. I know I can buy all the ingredients for pumpkin pie, too. However, is it worth the effort? Dunno. Some of the restaurants here offer Thanksgiving dinners, but they're very expensive, and from what I've read on the message board, not really all that tasty. Maybe I'll make some Hainan Chicken Rice instead :) Or have hotpot at home, since I bought the pot and still haven't used it.
And of course after Thanksgiving comes Giftmas (Nicole's very apt word). I just want to forget about that particulary holiday. I don't have the extra money to buy gifts for my friends, and I don't want my friends to spend their money on me. I have everything I need, and I don't need a present to prove that my friends love me! I know that already. Christmas cards would certainly be welcomed with a smile, because knowing that my friends are thinking about me makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Gosh, I suppose I should start looking for my own cards here, too.
Well, the dirty house is crying out for attention, so I suppose I should tear myself away from the computer and get started before it gets much warmer.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Cops: Taipei
The police in Taipei drive around with the lights on the tops of their cars constantly turned on, revolving red and blue. I've often wondered just how they actually get offenders to stop when they wish them to. Now Johnny Neihu, the funniest writer at the Taipei Times, has cleared up some of the mystery.
Stop! Or I'll shoot you hesitantly
Stop! Or I'll shoot you hesitantly
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Unimportant Notes
Just a few things I think about and then forget to write about, so I'm finally doing it.
1. I'm making more money in interest now than when I moved here, even though I've spent a lot of money. This confuses me. However, it also pleases me, so I hope it continues.
2. Despite the extremely warm summer and my being at home far more than I was last year and hence using the air conditioner much more, my electric bill for July and August was only $1849NT, or about $56US. Can't complain.
3. I'm buying a new DVD player and a surround sound system. My treasured Malata all-region DVD player began having issues and refuses to play a DVD all the way to the end. So, I decided to go ahead and buy a new one that is bundled with a home theater sound system. I'm tired of listening to Wu Bai concerts through the lousy TV speakers.
4. I finally sold my little refrigerator this week. Did I mention I'd bought a new, larger one? Can't remember. But I did, because I wanted a freezer that I could actually put things into.
5. My Sunday student canceled our classes for the month of September because she's a wedding consultant and has too much going on. Bye-bye $225US. Crap on a rope. Guess this month I'm not making any money, since the guy I've been teaching three days a week is leaving for the UK.
6. Charlene passed along the great news that ABS will be performing on October 7. Coolio, since I'll be back from the next trip to Singapore on October 6. Let's hope they don't change the date to the 6th, because rushing from the airport to the club would be a pain in the ass.
7. The Demons from Hell upstairs have been suspiciously quiet lately. I think perhaps they've started going to school and now are forced to spend their evenings doing homework rather than screaming and pounding and running back and forth. Either that or their parents finally cracked and killed the both of 'em.
That's all, folks.
1. I'm making more money in interest now than when I moved here, even though I've spent a lot of money. This confuses me. However, it also pleases me, so I hope it continues.
2. Despite the extremely warm summer and my being at home far more than I was last year and hence using the air conditioner much more, my electric bill for July and August was only $1849NT, or about $56US. Can't complain.
3. I'm buying a new DVD player and a surround sound system. My treasured Malata all-region DVD player began having issues and refuses to play a DVD all the way to the end. So, I decided to go ahead and buy a new one that is bundled with a home theater sound system. I'm tired of listening to Wu Bai concerts through the lousy TV speakers.
4. I finally sold my little refrigerator this week. Did I mention I'd bought a new, larger one? Can't remember. But I did, because I wanted a freezer that I could actually put things into.
5. My Sunday student canceled our classes for the month of September because she's a wedding consultant and has too much going on. Bye-bye $225US. Crap on a rope. Guess this month I'm not making any money, since the guy I've been teaching three days a week is leaving for the UK.
6. Charlene passed along the great news that ABS will be performing on October 7. Coolio, since I'll be back from the next trip to Singapore on October 6. Let's hope they don't change the date to the 6th, because rushing from the airport to the club would be a pain in the ass.
7. The Demons from Hell upstairs have been suspiciously quiet lately. I think perhaps they've started going to school and now are forced to spend their evenings doing homework rather than screaming and pounding and running back and forth. Either that or their parents finally cracked and killed the both of 'em.
That's all, folks.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
How do I turn off my brain?
Every night it's the same. I go to bed around midnight, sometimes a little later, sometimes a little earlier. All night long I toss and turn, sometimes waking up every hour (I know this, because I look at the clock). Every time I wake up, my brain is going a mile a minute, frequently replaying bits of songs, sometimes repeating Chinese phrases, sometimes just thinking about stuff in general. I don't wake up in a blur, like, "Wha....where am I?" but fully conscious and THINKING. Then usually around 5:00 a.m. I sink into two or three hours of heavier sleep before finally getting out of bed. I feel as if I haven't had a good night's sound sleep since I moved to Taiwan - but it doesn't seem to be affecting me adversely. I'm not run-down during the day, I seem to have the normal amount of energy, and I don't fall asleep while teaching my students. That's good, huh? Huh?
My habit in the US was to get to bed by 10:00 p.m., then get up at 4:45 a.m., so I was only getting 7 hours of sleep on the average. Weekends were another matter, and I could cheerfully snore away for 10 or 11 hours. The house was dark at night, because I lived in the mountains. No streetlights outside, just the moon and stars. We're talking dark here, like can't see anything, just gotta feel your way down the hall to the bathroom if you gotta pee. Then there was the silence factor. Magalia was peaceful at night, barring the occasional barking dog. I didn't need to run the fan to drown out noisy upstairs neighbors, just popped in the earplugs and heard nothing the whole night. And I had the most wonderfully comfortable place to sleep - my couch. Ah, how I miss that couch, and what a joy it was to spend a few nights on it again when I stayed at Weiwei's house. This couch cradled me, hugging my ample curves so gently, and not giving me room to thrash around.
So here I have a double bed that is OK for comfort but comes nowhere close to the bliss of that couch. I have light everywhere, 24-7, with never a completely dark night (well, unless a typhoon knocks the power out for a little while, which is rare). I finally got some dark drapes for the bedroom after more than a year without drapes, and that helps, but it's still quite light in there. Even if I use the sleep mask, light leaks in underneath.
So, what's keeping me from sleep? Is it the light? Is it the noise? Is it the bed? Am I just noticing my sleeplessness more now because it's so incredibly hot and I have to have not only the fan but also the air conditioner on at night, both producing background noise? Am I just a statistic in the annals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? "Insomnia tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men."
Maybe I should go to bed even later than I am, because much of the time I don't feel sleepy when I hit the sack, I just figure it's late and I should hie myself off to bed. Perhaps if I stayed up long enough to feel the sleepies creeping up on me, then I'd sleep better. I dunno.
Suggestions welcome, but don't ask me to drink warm milk. I don't care how much tryptophan it has in it, Taiwan milk is just nasty when heated up. Ewww. Hey, wait......chocolate and peanuts also have tryptophan. AHA! The solution is to eat more peanut M&Ms! Eureka, I have found it!
My habit in the US was to get to bed by 10:00 p.m., then get up at 4:45 a.m., so I was only getting 7 hours of sleep on the average. Weekends were another matter, and I could cheerfully snore away for 10 or 11 hours. The house was dark at night, because I lived in the mountains. No streetlights outside, just the moon and stars. We're talking dark here, like can't see anything, just gotta feel your way down the hall to the bathroom if you gotta pee. Then there was the silence factor. Magalia was peaceful at night, barring the occasional barking dog. I didn't need to run the fan to drown out noisy upstairs neighbors, just popped in the earplugs and heard nothing the whole night. And I had the most wonderfully comfortable place to sleep - my couch. Ah, how I miss that couch, and what a joy it was to spend a few nights on it again when I stayed at Weiwei's house. This couch cradled me, hugging my ample curves so gently, and not giving me room to thrash around.
So here I have a double bed that is OK for comfort but comes nowhere close to the bliss of that couch. I have light everywhere, 24-7, with never a completely dark night (well, unless a typhoon knocks the power out for a little while, which is rare). I finally got some dark drapes for the bedroom after more than a year without drapes, and that helps, but it's still quite light in there. Even if I use the sleep mask, light leaks in underneath.
So, what's keeping me from sleep? Is it the light? Is it the noise? Is it the bed? Am I just noticing my sleeplessness more now because it's so incredibly hot and I have to have not only the fan but also the air conditioner on at night, both producing background noise? Am I just a statistic in the annals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? "Insomnia tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men."
Maybe I should go to bed even later than I am, because much of the time I don't feel sleepy when I hit the sack, I just figure it's late and I should hie myself off to bed. Perhaps if I stayed up long enough to feel the sleepies creeping up on me, then I'd sleep better. I dunno.
Suggestions welcome, but don't ask me to drink warm milk. I don't care how much tryptophan it has in it, Taiwan milk is just nasty when heated up. Ewww. Hey, wait......chocolate and peanuts also have tryptophan. AHA! The solution is to eat more peanut M&Ms! Eureka, I have found it!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Back in the R.O.C.
So happy to be home again :) I'm exhausted, having suffered a 14 hour flight that was supposed to only be 13 hours. No clue why we landed an hour later than I expected, since we took off on time. Weird. Landed at 6:09 a.m., home by 9:00 a.m., unpacked by 11:00, showered by noon. Not bad, huh? Still got a bunch of crap on the bed to put away, though. Slept on the couch for about three hours, fitfully (see below for reason).
Frantic cat DZ refuses to believe I'm home and starts yowling when she can't actually see me. Apparently she spent the entire time I was gone hiding under the covers on the bed in the spare room, unless actively prowling the upper reaches of my shelving where she knows she's not supposed to be, breaking priceless objects like my Grandmother's liquer glasses. Grrrr.
The election will be tomorrow, thank Buddha. The noise level today has been incredible, those annoying trucks patroling the neighborhood, blasting their music and political messages, dragon dances with accompanying music, etc. OK, this is one aspect of Taiwan I loathe (but it still beats being in the US and seeing Bush on TV). Now there's a rally right outside my apartment, with the local supporters raising a ruckus, letting off fireworks, cheering, blah blah, all via loudspeaker. Does no good to close the window, so I'm just gonna go watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I picked up on DVD while in the US.
Frantic cat DZ refuses to believe I'm home and starts yowling when she can't actually see me. Apparently she spent the entire time I was gone hiding under the covers on the bed in the spare room, unless actively prowling the upper reaches of my shelving where she knows she's not supposed to be, breaking priceless objects like my Grandmother's liquer glasses. Grrrr.
The election will be tomorrow, thank Buddha. The noise level today has been incredible, those annoying trucks patroling the neighborhood, blasting their music and political messages, dragon dances with accompanying music, etc. OK, this is one aspect of Taiwan I loathe (but it still beats being in the US and seeing Bush on TV). Now there's a rally right outside my apartment, with the local supporters raising a ruckus, letting off fireworks, cheering, blah blah, all via loudspeaker. Does no good to close the window, so I'm just gonna go watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I picked up on DVD while in the US.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Ah, the pain of being unwanted.....
Taiwan is a very small island. So small that it would fit right in the space between my old home in Magalia, California and the big city of San Francisco. Yup, that small. Consequently, the Taiwan government isn't too keen on people moving over here and taking up space; and so they have adopted some rules.
If one wishes to stay in Taiwan more than one month, one must have a visa. How does one get this? Well, one must either have a confirmed job here and a work permit to go with it, or one must obtain a special student visa. The catch is that only certain schools are on the government-approved list, and if one does not attend one of those schools, one is S.O.L. Hey, no worries, my school is on that list.
Let me rephrase: my school was on that list. In April the government revised their list, and for reasons completely unknown to us normal people, they removed two of the language centers which have been popular for years. Right, you know it, one of those was mine. I think about 95% of the students at my school are here on student visas. They are not people with jobs who are studying Chinese in their free time, not foreign spouses of people who are here working in Taiwan for a long term. Granted, there are a few of those, but the school makes its living from those of us who need student visas.
We knew there was a problem, but the gals at the desk kept assuring us that the boss was in negotiations with the government, and the issues would all be resolved in May. Some students decided to play it safe and transferred to other schools that had the big thumbs up from the government. Other, more optimistic sorts (like me!), decided to wait and see. And last week I got the news: there is absolutely no way to extend my visa if I continue to study at this school.
Wah! I like my school. The tuition is lower than at other schools, the staff is great, the teachers (well, most of them) are wonderful, and I've made a lot of friends there. I'm comfortable there, and I don't want to change. Crap.
Never mind, I must make some choices. What will I do? I will have to leave Taiwan temporarily, because I can't overstay my current visa. No problem, I had already been planning a summer trip back to California for visiting and shopping. But how can I come back? I have to make some decisions.
I'm in a much better position than some of the students, because I already have money. So, if I choose, I can come back to Taiwan on my passport for a 30-day visit, and at the end of 30 days I just make a short hop over to Hong Kong for a day or two (and I don't even need to leave the airport; I can just wait there a couple of hours and catch a flight back). If I take the passport-only route, I must leave Taiwan every 30 days, and every time I go out of the country, I have to have already purchased the next plane ticket out, because you don't get back in unless you show proof that you have a reservation to leave again!
Second choice: I could hurry up and switch to another language center, getting my current school to give me a referral. New adventures with new classmates. But, my current Alien Residency Certificate is tied to my current school, so I have to start the process all over: be in Taiwan for four months without leaving, and consistently attending class. That would shoot my planned US trip right in the heart and kill it dead.
Third choice: attend university now, instead of a year from now, as I had planned. But, I still feel my ability to listen to and understand Chinese is quite lacking. I'm not sure I'd be able to pass my courses if I enter university now, and I wanted another year of language study first.
After much mulling it over, I have made my decision. I will, at least for a time, use only my passport to come back from my US visit, and I will go to Hong Kong once a month. Hey, I have friends there, it's a good excuse to visit them. Or I might even go to Singapore or Japan and see some places I've never seen. Thailand and Vietnam are also popular spots for the folks who make the regular trips out. I figure if I'm not paying tuition (which would be around $18,000NT at a new school), I can use that money for plane tickets. The price varies - in June one can go to Hong Kong for $4,100NT, but on July 1 the price leaps to $8,100. But that's just one airline, and there are always travel packages available.
Also, if I'm not going to school every morning, I can teach more English. Right now I have a lot of students! And they all like me so much that they keep telling their friends, and more people are asking me about sessions. It's been difficult juggling some of them, but I'd have a lot more flexibility if I didn't have a two-hour class every day.
Finally, the school I've been doing recording for has asked me if I want a job teaching conversational English. I gave a demo lesson yesterday, which went so well that they asked me if I would consider teaching TOEFL classes as well, which are more difficult that the conversation classes. They said if I get a job with them, they can apply for a work permit and ARC for me. Now, this would be absolutely wonderful, but since I've been consistently told that if one has no BA degree, one cannot teach (legally) in Taiwan. The government will not authorize work permits for teachers without degrees. The woman at the school did not seem to know this. I asked her to please check before either of us wasted any more of our time. This is Taiwan, and many times the "official" government regs don't seem to apply, and there are stories of work permits being issued to those sans that little piece of paper, but I certainly won't hold my breath. But I will do a happy dance if I get a thumbs up from the government! Easy job, only one day a week to start, three-hour class, $600NT per hour. The TOEFL class pays $700NT per hour. And, they are evening classes, which leaves the day free for more English tutoring :)
I spent five years getting to Taiwan, and I'm not leaving. Where there's a will, there's a way, right? However much I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends when I head back for the visit, there's no way I ever want to live in the US again. This bullheaded Irish/Italian/American Indian chick won't go down without a fight!
I'll keep ya'll posted on happenings, plans, etc.
If one wishes to stay in Taiwan more than one month, one must have a visa. How does one get this? Well, one must either have a confirmed job here and a work permit to go with it, or one must obtain a special student visa. The catch is that only certain schools are on the government-approved list, and if one does not attend one of those schools, one is S.O.L. Hey, no worries, my school is on that list.
Let me rephrase: my school was on that list. In April the government revised their list, and for reasons completely unknown to us normal people, they removed two of the language centers which have been popular for years. Right, you know it, one of those was mine. I think about 95% of the students at my school are here on student visas. They are not people with jobs who are studying Chinese in their free time, not foreign spouses of people who are here working in Taiwan for a long term. Granted, there are a few of those, but the school makes its living from those of us who need student visas.
We knew there was a problem, but the gals at the desk kept assuring us that the boss was in negotiations with the government, and the issues would all be resolved in May. Some students decided to play it safe and transferred to other schools that had the big thumbs up from the government. Other, more optimistic sorts (like me!), decided to wait and see. And last week I got the news: there is absolutely no way to extend my visa if I continue to study at this school.
Wah! I like my school. The tuition is lower than at other schools, the staff is great, the teachers (well, most of them) are wonderful, and I've made a lot of friends there. I'm comfortable there, and I don't want to change. Crap.
Never mind, I must make some choices. What will I do? I will have to leave Taiwan temporarily, because I can't overstay my current visa. No problem, I had already been planning a summer trip back to California for visiting and shopping. But how can I come back? I have to make some decisions.
I'm in a much better position than some of the students, because I already have money. So, if I choose, I can come back to Taiwan on my passport for a 30-day visit, and at the end of 30 days I just make a short hop over to Hong Kong for a day or two (and I don't even need to leave the airport; I can just wait there a couple of hours and catch a flight back). If I take the passport-only route, I must leave Taiwan every 30 days, and every time I go out of the country, I have to have already purchased the next plane ticket out, because you don't get back in unless you show proof that you have a reservation to leave again!
Second choice: I could hurry up and switch to another language center, getting my current school to give me a referral. New adventures with new classmates. But, my current Alien Residency Certificate is tied to my current school, so I have to start the process all over: be in Taiwan for four months without leaving, and consistently attending class. That would shoot my planned US trip right in the heart and kill it dead.
Third choice: attend university now, instead of a year from now, as I had planned. But, I still feel my ability to listen to and understand Chinese is quite lacking. I'm not sure I'd be able to pass my courses if I enter university now, and I wanted another year of language study first.
After much mulling it over, I have made my decision. I will, at least for a time, use only my passport to come back from my US visit, and I will go to Hong Kong once a month. Hey, I have friends there, it's a good excuse to visit them. Or I might even go to Singapore or Japan and see some places I've never seen. Thailand and Vietnam are also popular spots for the folks who make the regular trips out. I figure if I'm not paying tuition (which would be around $18,000NT at a new school), I can use that money for plane tickets. The price varies - in June one can go to Hong Kong for $4,100NT, but on July 1 the price leaps to $8,100. But that's just one airline, and there are always travel packages available.
Also, if I'm not going to school every morning, I can teach more English. Right now I have a lot of students! And they all like me so much that they keep telling their friends, and more people are asking me about sessions. It's been difficult juggling some of them, but I'd have a lot more flexibility if I didn't have a two-hour class every day.
Finally, the school I've been doing recording for has asked me if I want a job teaching conversational English. I gave a demo lesson yesterday, which went so well that they asked me if I would consider teaching TOEFL classes as well, which are more difficult that the conversation classes. They said if I get a job with them, they can apply for a work permit and ARC for me. Now, this would be absolutely wonderful, but since I've been consistently told that if one has no BA degree, one cannot teach (legally) in Taiwan. The government will not authorize work permits for teachers without degrees. The woman at the school did not seem to know this. I asked her to please check before either of us wasted any more of our time. This is Taiwan, and many times the "official" government regs don't seem to apply, and there are stories of work permits being issued to those sans that little piece of paper, but I certainly won't hold my breath. But I will do a happy dance if I get a thumbs up from the government! Easy job, only one day a week to start, three-hour class, $600NT per hour. The TOEFL class pays $700NT per hour. And, they are evening classes, which leaves the day free for more English tutoring :)
I spent five years getting to Taiwan, and I'm not leaving. Where there's a will, there's a way, right? However much I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends when I head back for the visit, there's no way I ever want to live in the US again. This bullheaded Irish/Italian/American Indian chick won't go down without a fight!
I'll keep ya'll posted on happenings, plans, etc.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Cost of Living
I thought you might be interested to know what I paid for basic expenses during my first year in Taiwan. It might be a little depressing for those of you living in the US! Amounts are in US dollars, not Taiwan ones ;)
Rent: $5,812 (US house payment was $8,220 annually, with another $1,300 for property taxes.)
Electric bill: $192 (average annual cost in the US, for me, was $300 [yeah, some people pay that per month but they're energy hogs, and I wasn't], which doesn't include the propane and wood I used for heat in the winter - that was expensive! I use electric heat here, when necessary.)
Water bill: $50 (average annual cost in the US was $240)
Home Phone/ADSL bill: $220 (average annual cost in the US was $216 just for the phone line plus $140 for dial-up Internet service, total $356)
Mobile Phone bill: $108 (average annual cost in US was $480, and I never used the damned phone, either)
Gas for cooking/hot water: $75 (I can't remember how much I paid for propane in the US, just that it was higher in the winter. I know it's a darned sight more than what I pay here.)
Transportation costs: $640 (I probably spent a minimum of $1,000 per year on gas in the US, if not more, plus auto insurance, car payment, maintenance, and registration. It's way cheaper to get around here, and someone else drives me!)
Tuition fee: $1800 (I think roughly the same price as the class at Chico State, but that class was only two days a week, and my class here is five days a week. So, I'm getting more for the money.)
I'm sure I spent more money on food and books than anything else here. I know I spend more on food than I should, because I keep buying overpriced imported stuff. Little by little, I'm cutting that out. This year I'm going to try to be really thrifty, but there's no way I can stop buying books.
Rent: $5,812 (US house payment was $8,220 annually, with another $1,300 for property taxes.)
Electric bill: $192 (average annual cost in the US, for me, was $300 [yeah, some people pay that per month but they're energy hogs, and I wasn't], which doesn't include the propane and wood I used for heat in the winter - that was expensive! I use electric heat here, when necessary.)
Water bill: $50 (average annual cost in the US was $240)
Home Phone/ADSL bill: $220 (average annual cost in the US was $216 just for the phone line plus $140 for dial-up Internet service, total $356)
Mobile Phone bill: $108 (average annual cost in US was $480, and I never used the damned phone, either)
Gas for cooking/hot water: $75 (I can't remember how much I paid for propane in the US, just that it was higher in the winter. I know it's a darned sight more than what I pay here.)
Transportation costs: $640 (I probably spent a minimum of $1,000 per year on gas in the US, if not more, plus auto insurance, car payment, maintenance, and registration. It's way cheaper to get around here, and someone else drives me!)
Tuition fee: $1800 (I think roughly the same price as the class at Chico State, but that class was only two days a week, and my class here is five days a week. So, I'm getting more for the money.)
I'm sure I spent more money on food and books than anything else here. I know I spend more on food than I should, because I keep buying overpriced imported stuff. Little by little, I'm cutting that out. This year I'm going to try to be really thrifty, but there's no way I can stop buying books.
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