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