I’m baaaack! While technically I am in China, I would never say that aloud here. Taiwan has its own identity, an island appeal and a people who would be insulted if you lumped them in with the mainland. Taiwan has its own flag, own currency and own way of life and I’m excited to learn all about it!
I landed in Taipei last night after 3 flights (Halifax > Newark > San Francisco > Taipei) and a total of 40 minutes of sleep or so. The first flight was highly uneventful (except for about a 20 minute power snooze which NEVER happens) and I had a flawless connection. I did come extremely close to downtown Manhattan and saw the Statue of Liberty! The second flight was anything but flawless, though. The six hour United flight (I had the United Breaks Guitars song stuck in my head for hours) had one episode of Shark Week playing on loop, my seat didn’t recline, they didn’t give us a single bite of food and they only came around with drinks once at the beginning. If I had known, I would have brought food. Ah well; I did get to see the Golden Gate Bridge, though! The international flight, thankfully, was a different world with lots of food and dozens and dozens of movie and TV options. Sadly, I only managed about another 20 minutes of sleep so it was a loooong haul (about 12 hours).
I actually landed almost an hour early and was picked up 2.5 hours later by the school (once the other teacher from Michigan landed). I actually received an invitation to play ultimate (frisbee) within 20 minutes of landing from an old friend who lives here! I was incredibly sad I couldn't make it. We were driven back to the school by a driver (no English) and Maggie, a super sweet teacher who is the exchange coordinator. The school itself is in the Bali District (I get to see two Balis in one trip!) of New Taipei City, a suburb of Taipei. We were shown our rooms (on the fourth/top floor of the teacher’s residence) which a pretty plain Jane but have A/C and the beds have foam tops so this girl is over the moon! They also gave us fruit, OJ and some basic toiletries (which include toilet paper which, like the mainland, you have to bring with you to the bathrooms). At one point, Maggie asked us if we knew what the bananas were; it was pretty cute. She also took us to the local corner store and pointed out where to get breakfast and dumplings should we get hungry (our lunches are included on weekdays but no other meals). The only real downside here is the number of cockroaches we saw in just one night. We’re not so thrilled about those…
I might have slept four hours or so last night and woke in time to see a pretty sunrise over the river/mountains. After trying to sleep some more, Jennifer and I ventured out, explored campus a bit (it’s pretty big; there are 1100 high school girls and then a whole elementary school), watched some summer camp kids playing dodgeball and strolled for about 2.5 km along the riverside walking/biking lane; it was beautiful! We only turned around because the heat became too much for us (Maggie had warned us that it is best to go before 8am but we were out until 11:30). I am now back in the room, enjoying the wifi, A/C and soon, my bed (4 hours after almost two days without sleep isn’t going to cut it). Tonight we have supper with some teachers and the principal. Should be good! Adieu for now!
I landed in Taipei last night after 3 flights (Halifax > Newark > San Francisco > Taipei) and a total of 40 minutes of sleep or so. The first flight was highly uneventful (except for about a 20 minute power snooze which NEVER happens) and I had a flawless connection. I did come extremely close to downtown Manhattan and saw the Statue of Liberty! The second flight was anything but flawless, though. The six hour United flight (I had the United Breaks Guitars song stuck in my head for hours) had one episode of Shark Week playing on loop, my seat didn’t recline, they didn’t give us a single bite of food and they only came around with drinks once at the beginning. If I had known, I would have brought food. Ah well; I did get to see the Golden Gate Bridge, though! The international flight, thankfully, was a different world with lots of food and dozens and dozens of movie and TV options. Sadly, I only managed about another 20 minutes of sleep so it was a loooong haul (about 12 hours).
I actually landed almost an hour early and was picked up 2.5 hours later by the school (once the other teacher from Michigan landed). I actually received an invitation to play ultimate (frisbee) within 20 minutes of landing from an old friend who lives here! I was incredibly sad I couldn't make it. We were driven back to the school by a driver (no English) and Maggie, a super sweet teacher who is the exchange coordinator. The school itself is in the Bali District (I get to see two Balis in one trip!) of New Taipei City, a suburb of Taipei. We were shown our rooms (on the fourth/top floor of the teacher’s residence) which a pretty plain Jane but have A/C and the beds have foam tops so this girl is over the moon! They also gave us fruit, OJ and some basic toiletries (which include toilet paper which, like the mainland, you have to bring with you to the bathrooms). At one point, Maggie asked us if we knew what the bananas were; it was pretty cute. She also took us to the local corner store and pointed out where to get breakfast and dumplings should we get hungry (our lunches are included on weekdays but no other meals). The only real downside here is the number of cockroaches we saw in just one night. We’re not so thrilled about those…
I might have slept four hours or so last night and woke in time to see a pretty sunrise over the river/mountains. After trying to sleep some more, Jennifer and I ventured out, explored campus a bit (it’s pretty big; there are 1100 high school girls and then a whole elementary school), watched some summer camp kids playing dodgeball and strolled for about 2.5 km along the riverside walking/biking lane; it was beautiful! We only turned around because the heat became too much for us (Maggie had warned us that it is best to go before 8am but we were out until 11:30). I am now back in the room, enjoying the wifi, A/C and soon, my bed (4 hours after almost two days without sleep isn’t going to cut it). Tonight we have supper with some teachers and the principal. Should be good! Adieu for now!