How about some Taipei sightseeing?

I figured I should start by seeing the guy who made this damn country. The "Generalissimo" Chang Kai Shek.

Brief Chinese history lesson - They had a civil war in 1949. CKS lost. He ran away along with 2 million people to Taiwan, which they got back from the Japanese in WWII a few years prior. The country was under martial law until 1987, after which it opened up and was the land full of happiness and sunshine it is now. Depending on who you ask CKS was the best thing since noodles or a giant asshole. Either way, he's got a big house to chill in for eternity.


As you can see by the scaffolding, the place looked closed. But I ran into a couple who teach English in Korea, and one of them is from Nashville. Seriously, what's up with all these Ohio Kentucky Tennessee folk coming out here?

Anyway it turns out the place isn't closed. We saw the guys car and a few other things, then popped on up to see the changing of the guard. I believe this changing was approved by the Ministry of Silly Walks.

I said bye to my new friends and went over to see Sun Yat Sen's old place. Its really just a building in a park, but it's a nice park. They were doing some kind of photoshoot with a traditionally dressed Chinese lady there. I ask some guy taking photos if it was alright if I did. He said "I don't know", as in "Ya got me man, I'm just a tourist also." So take I did.

You have to take off your shoes to go inside, which honestly felt pretty good after walking around. But god help the people who had to smell my feet. There were no photos allowed inside, but honestly it was pretty unimpressive.

By then it was getting late so I went back towards the subway. There's a great night market near my place that pictures don't do justice. Some of the best noodles of my life from an old lady sitting on the curb. Mmmmm.

Lack of internet at home is taking its toll. Up is down, down is up. I can't feel my toes. My mouth tastes like cheese. I thought the TV was trying to kill me. My blog has been reduced to random observations:

* The Traditional Chinese characters are very similar to the Simplified ones used on the mainland. I thought it would be a much larger obstacle. Turns out I can pretty much still read the ones I know.

* HOWEVER, they say things really weird. I'm sure it's a local dialect thing, but I'm having to ask people to repeat themselves a lot. Then they try in English. Then I don't understand. Then I go into a fetal position until they walk away.

* Everyone is crazy polite here. There is no pushing or shoving, everyone uses crosswalks. Cars will stop for pedestrians on small roads.

* It is much cleaner than China. People wash their hands, and the air is clean. I can actually see some stars at night.

* There is "open" WiFi everywhere, but it all requires a subscription. Like Boingo in airports. This is the most annoying thing ever.

* Their sidewalks have lots of gaps and random steps in them. I've stumbled quite a few times, and have to get used to watch my footing more.

* Despite not being recognized as a sovereign nation by most of the world, they seem far more international than even the largest cities in China.  They have lots of English (as well as a Japanese and Arabic) channels on TV. CNN International is a million times better than regular CNN and I don't know why we don't have it.

* Their English is terrible. I guess that's good for me, but the attempts at English I see in Asia have been understandable but humorous. Here it's just... I don't know what they're trying to do. It's perfect in the subway or on other government run things, but in the private sector its an incomprehensible mess.

* My shower is just a nozzle hooked up to my sink, like in a camper. I don't know if this is widespread but it makes cleaning the bathroom crazy easy.

* It's low 60s here and people are acting like it's a snowpocolypse. They wear scarves and heavy coats, and think I'm crazy for not wearing at least a jacket.

* They love their receipts. I am tired of having useless paper in my pocket.

* Haggling is much less of a big deal here. Prices are clearly marked and I was given a discount without asking for one. I don't know what to do with myself.

* More scooters, less cars.

* They're bigger on street food than China is. Even the KFC is just a window open to the sidewalk with no seating.

* Garbage collection is daily at a set time, and you have to personally give it to the garbage man instead of leaving it. I guess this is to encourage you to waste less, but it's stupidly inconvenient. I am going to keep my eyes peeled for a dumpster.

* They are big on recycling, with various bins for various types of trash. I don't really know which bin some things go in, so I'm probably ruining somebody's day.

* Stores are much more 9-5ish than China. The only thing open late are 7-11s, but they are EVERYWHERE. Like, coffee shops in Seattle everywhere.

* The 7-11s have a loyalty card where you get a sticker each time you shop there. You turn in the stickers for little toys and drinks. I am totally in love with this.

<sigh> My kingdom for wifi.

Hey from Taipei!

It is impossible for me to go to Asia without my luggage being lost. I was told my bag is in LA, which is interesting because I never went there.

So I found my ride, a small Taiwanese girl named Joy. It turns out Joy is my boss, which in hindsight I probably would have acted a touch more professional if I had known. Nothing too bad, but on the way back we were talking about food. She said her favorite was lettuce, which I thought was an odd answer. Not one minute later she commented that she should eat more carrots because its so dark. So I teased her that her new nickname is "Xiaotuzi" (little rabbit). She didn't seem to really care for this, which obviously is the point of a tease. But if she's signing my paycheck maybe I'll lay off.

She dropped me off in a hotel for the evening, and I was up bright and early the next day. We went to the school and she asked if I'd like to teach a class. 5 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours and no preparation to teach a 2 hour class. Why not?

Anyway I think I nailed it, and she said that the students enjoyed it. I met the other two teachers there, one who is from Columbus oddly enough. The other is from Chicago and leaves soon. Aaaand... that's it. Super super tiny school. We all have TAs which seem to do all of our busywork. And we have lesson plans if we choose to use them. So I'm not sure what my job is aside from talking. I'm sure I'll find out or this is gonna be an easy gig.

I've referred to China in the past as "diet Asia". Taiwan is flavor blasted Asia. The streets are the width of a human hair, shoulder to shoulder people everywhere. There's probably more shops visible from my window than in an average mall. Also outside my window is work, because my new apartment is above a Pizza Hut, which is across the street from the school.

I'm just started to get settled, and I still don't have internet at my place. Mostly today is just cleaning before I really start unpacking.

Oh internet... How I miss you.

Farewell America!

A big thank you to everyone who came out last weekend to see me off. It's unfortunate we weren't able to go shooting, but I'm going to try and squeeze it in the last few days I have here. I'm also glad I was able to get some ribs, chili, and a LOT of Mexican food. I'd estimate about 50% of my diet during this past month and a half was in burrito, nacho, or taco form. I figure I better enjoy it while I can.

I've begun the process of making a mental checklist of everything I need to do before going. It's a pretty brief list, that essentially consists of:

1) Get some Taiwanese Dollars
2) Acquire chili powder

As I learned from going to China, chili is not a thing over there. If you go in unprepared, you're going to be chili deprived, which in terms of vital functions for me is up there with oxygen. I actually don't have much to bring, in fact, I have even less to bring than when I moved to China. Turns out, a lot of stuff I took I just found I didn't need. It shouldn't be an issue to condense everything of my life into one suitcase, which just feels amazing. I also don't need to bring any winter gear, as the record low temperatures are mid 50s. You might be thinking "oh my god, that's amazing!", but I love cold weather. During the summer I am going to be thinking "oh my god, please murder me!" I'm hoping AC will be more widespread.

My flight is at 9:25am on Thursday, so the time is fast approaching. I get to have a stopover in my favorite airport in the world, Tokyo's Narita. You laugh, but every time I've been there it's been wonderful. I also stop in Detroit, which if you haven't been has a super awesome "Bill and Ted" trippy tunnel connecting the terminals. Excited doesn't even begin to describe how pumped I am.

And that's about it! The next update will be when I am on the other side of the world. If you ever want to say hello, just look at the ground and wave. Also feel free to visit. Taiwan is the China that is BFFs with the US, so you don't need a visa or other pesky things to come. I will also give you a baijiu shot. Trust me, it's delicious.

See ya, Cincinnati