The last few days have been good! We have been readjusting to Hsinchu and learning a bit more about the city as well as observing some classes at our schools. The classes look like fun and involve a lot of games and energy. James returned home elated from his his observation day. Maybe he's meant to be a teacher?! He also returned home with his first Taiwanese haircut. The guy did pretty good but James does not have as much hair on his head as normal. It will keep him cooler!
James is actually substituting teaching on Thursday...I mean tomorrow! Eek! The teacher he has been observing at his school had a medical emergency and the school could not find subs to cover all of his classes. Prayers for James please for confidence and authority :)
Today, Wednesday, is the Dragon Boat Festival. Schools and government employees recognize today as a holiday. We were adventurous and took a bus to the coast of Hsinchu to partake in the festivities. The Taiwanese race crew boats that look like dragons. We watched the foreigner teams compete at noon. One of the teams was named "The Foreign Devils." Then, we rented bikes and road the 17km bike path down the coast and crossed three rainbow bridges. First of all, the rental bikes were terribly uncomfortable after about 10km. Somehow, James had a great ability to ride a road bike! We rode the full 34km on the bikes. Our bums will most likely be bruised tomorrow! Sorry we don't have any pictures but the camera battery died as soon as we arrived. I figured no one would believe James rode a road bike that far and now we have no evidence to prove it except our word....
Here's a couple of pictures from online from the Hsinchu races
Rainbow Bridge
Coastline Bike Trail
So we've been jotting down a few notes about...well about random stuff that we should put in our blog.
- Dogs - The dogs here are way different than the dogs at home. There are stray dogs everywhere in every city we have been to. Normally that paints a terrible picture of dogs chasing you while running or begging for your food, etc. Well, not here. The dogs are quite similar to the people. They are super chill and always minding their own business, extremely different from the dogs in the US. James keeps approaching the dogs with such words as "Hey puppy puppy." The dogs look at him like he is crazy! You do need to watch your step though... So far, I've only stepped in it once and James hasn't at all!
- Garbage - The first few days we were here we thought we were hearing ice cream trucks all over the city. It was not just wishful thinking in the heat. Rather, it is the garbage truck. Instead of leaving trash by the curb, the garbage truck plays a musical tone. People run out to the street and throw their garbage into the truck. Somehow, I find it amusing to stand at our window and watch people run to street all at once to toss their bags in the truck. James constantly whistles the musical tone. I think the garbage truck driver must be either deaf, wear earplugs, or an overly happy individual. Apparently, James and I are lucky that our landlord takes the trash out for us. Some of the teachers take their trash to school since they are not at home when the truck drives by. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0C6W_CCI0U - Check out the tunes!
- Beds - The beds here are rock hard. James said it's like sleeping on a piece of cardboard laid on top of hard ground. Guess there must be a good market for mattress pads here...
- Q-tips - I believe the Taiwanese population has the cleanest ears in the world. There are Q-tips everywhere even when other toiletries are not offered. Every hotel, hostel and the gym has Q-tips available. Also, the hotels all have a ridiculous amount of "freebies" like shampoo, soap, shower gel, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, Q-tips, water bottle, razor and condoms.
- UV Umbrellas - It is quite common for locals to carry an umbrella on hot summer days. Turns out the umbrellas are not meant for rain or even necessarily shade, but they are lined with UV protection. Why waste money on sunscreen when you could have an umbrella?
- Awkward times at the gym - Every time I go to the university's gym across the street, it is something awkward always happens. The first time I entered the pool and everyone was swimming SO slow. I did my normal swim routine. While walking back the the locker room, one of the lifeguards who spoke no English got really excited. He started giving me thumbs up and was motioning a fast swim stroke. I think he thought I was fast...well at least comparatively to the other swimmers around me. Then one of the other times I go to the pool and there is about 25 college guys having a PE swim class or something. I asked the lifeguard if I could still swim that spoke a little bit of English. He walked over and had four guys exit the far left lane. He told me I was VIP. Nice!
- Most Helpful People in the world - The people in Taiwan are above and beyond helpful. Part of the culture here is to provide the best service possible. We had a 17 year old girl walk us all the way to the train station once and attempt to help us rent a scooter. We had another middle school girl talk to the bus driver and translate what bus stop we should use. We did not even ask these girls to help! That is only a couple of the many many stories we have of the helpful, nice people here.
- Taiwan vs College - We have found moving to Taiwan to teach English is quite similar to the beginning of freshman year in college. You have entered this new and exciting place, however, you really have no idea what is going to happen or what it is going be like although you have been thinking and fantasizing about this place for months. You are constantly meeting new people. Everytime you meet someone new you have to wonder if they are going to be one of your new best friends. Also, you walk everywhere and really don't know how anything works. You don't know how to ride the buses yet and really you are quite confused in general but everyone seems to want to help you out. Then, you start classes and think "what in world have I gotten myself into."
- Safety is not our first concern - There is virtually no crime in Taiwan. It's ridiculously amazing. No one locks their bikes in the middle of big cities! Shops have an incredible amount of merchandise sitting outside in the "sidewalk" where hundreds of people can walk by in a matter of minutes. Most amazingly at our favorite vegan restaurant, there are baskets of coins at the cash register. You get to take your own change for the meal!
- First Raindrops - We had heard that it constantly rains in Taiwan. We almost made it three weeks without seeing a drop. On this past sweltering hot Monday morning as James and I were running home from 18 Peaks park, the sky began to open up. It reminded me of when you want to cry really badly. Everything keeps building up inside of you. Finally, one day you just burst into tears and then you feel much better. I think the rain has been building up with all the heat and the sky finally burst!
- 104.7 The Fish saves our sanity - If you go to www.thefishatlanta.com, you can listen to the radio live from your computer. I have been obsessed with Kevin and Taylor in the morning on this station for years. This has kept us sane while being in the apartment. It's so nice to hear constant perfect English. The TV has Chinese commercials on the few English channels....
- Male English Teachers who stay in Taiwan - We have found that a decent portion of the single male English teachers marry a Taiwanese lady, stay in Taiwan and start a family. A fair amount of them never learn much Chinese. Just thought that was pretty neat!
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