August 23, 2011

Aghhhhh today was so damn long. Didn’t sleep to well because A) I took a bajillion naps on the plane and B) this bed is the same hardness of the floor, they might as well throw a sheet on the ground and call it a day. On a positive note, this is my last night in the hotel, hopefully. Today I woke up at 7ish and just listened to music and watched the only Always Sunny episode I had on my computer until it was time to go downstairs to meet up with Sam again. We planned on meeting at 10am in the lobby and I was so bored that I was ready 2 hours early and went down at 9:45am and sat outside to catch some sun while I waited. Turns out he was running 10-15 min late..um try about 35 minutes late..I roasted outside until about 10:35 and he rolls up with not much apology (this is the first test of my patience today) So the original plan was to stop and get breakfast, but since Sam was late, we skipped that and went straight to Dewey headquarters to “sign in.” I didn’t know what that meant, but sure enough I get there and I was signing into an orientation with 7 other teachers!? Kinda wish I would’ve known, but thank god I always pack a purse of goodies and amongst those items was a pen and paper. So I met some other teachers, only one girl was around my age and her name is Lynn. The others are all older guys…like late 30s and 40’s. Weird?! Where’s all of the hot foreign men I was hoping for! kidding (sorta). I found out that out of all of them I was the only one who was placed in the city. They were all placed in schools in suburban areas. The leader of our orientation had been teaching in Taiwan for a while. He ended up getting married and starting a family in Taiwan and never went back. We discussed motivation amongst varying levels of students and different games and activities. I spat out a few ideas that the others liked, but if I was prepared I would’ve brought the list of things I made on the plane! The lunch was gross. Just slimy, gelatinous noodles with chicken and some veggies and I think they put cheese on it? I tried to eat it.

So Sam interrupts the class and has me leave early to go with him to look at apartments. I was super excited for this mind you..The first one was in a really nice area, kind of quiet off to the side of the hustle and bustle. The landlord seemed like a real sweet tiny lady. Very smiley, I got a good vibe. She took me through the front which looked like an open garage. We passed through an empty classroom with desks/chalkboard, and this random classroom had a kitchen sink/microwave/stove top/water thing. I guess this classroom is called a Buchebon? Its for students who have school AFTER school to learn English and other subjects.  We looked at a few different rooms but the first one is the one we wanted. It was about the size of Kristen’s room and had a really nice bathroom with lots of light and mirrors AND a separate tub, which is rare in Taiwanese apartments? Marble counter on the bathroom sink and marble floors. The apartment was small but bright, literally just a room and a bathroom. Came with some metal shelving, a twin size bed, a desk, and air conditioning. No tv L A major plus about the place was that it was brand new and never lived in. They had a separate little deck for “bbq’s” and another deck with a washer and place to hang dry your clothes. So it’s nothing special but definitely could use some decorations. It already has these bright yellow floral curtains, I’m going to try and work with them. Sam was all for this place, he almost didn’t want to take me to the next one. We get to the next one and the landlord was old man, didn’t seem too thrilled to see us. The room wasn’t an “apartment” it was a hostel room? So it was used a lot and it was on the 12^th floor. The building had a lot of character, almost like an old hotel, green and orange walls. Chinese decorations. Kind of smelly, smoke and..just old smell. We get to the room and it’s definitely bigger than the last one, bathroom wasn’t bad. Looked like a total 70’s pad the way it was decorated. Green walls, orange décor. The bed was a queen size bed with old bright orange designed bedding. It had a little leather loveseat, a really old leather love seat with holes in it. It had a tv and a tv stand. A night stand and a fridge. It had this awesome balcony that had the prettiest view of the entire city. It was a cool looking place, but it was definitely old and dirtier. More like a hotel room than a room you’d make your own apartment. Soo I went for the first one. The first one was 5,500 NT a month, not including electric/water, but the school gives me 5,000 NT a month for my apartment. So I’d be paying 500 NT plus utilities out of my pocket which equals $17 U.S. dollars folks…yep, I will be paying about $25 dollars for an apartment..I laughed hearing this. Apparently my apartment is around the corner from the one of the biggest or best night markets. I’m also by the train station and the school. It’s considered the old downtown of Taichung. A little outdated, the newer downtown is more like Chicago with its tall shiny buildings and high end stores..maybe its best that I’m away from that type of shopping haha. 

When we went shopping for my apartment, Sam took me to like..a “dollar store” but everything was 39 NT and under. I only bought a few things from there because..its a dollar store. When we went to the bigger market which was kind of like a walmart/target, that’s where I got most of my stuff. I was a little disappointed in the selection but hey, its Taiwan. At this point in the day, some would say “jet leg” was settling in, but honestly, I didn’t eat breakfast, barely touched my goopy noodle/chicken dish for lunch, and was shopping for an apartment with a boy who thought that it meant the world to me to get the best deals. I was getting super cranky. I would go to grab facewash and it was one I was familiar with, and he kept saying in this slowww matter of fact voice “Well..here’s the thing…that is 120 NT..THIS one is 109 NT..” In my head: Ok..so $4 compared to $3.75..I don’t care. He made the same statement for Every. Single. Item. No joke. Toilet paper, detergent, lotion, mattress, bedding, pillows, hangers. After spending 2 and a half hours in this fluorescent lit wal mart with no food and not much sleep, I finally just told him that I didn’t care. I’m spending $25 a month on an apartment..I’m used to $700 a month plus $300 for a car..I can by 1,000 bottles of this facewash 3 times a week if I want to. I didn’t do the math there, but seriously, I flat out told him I brought money to live comfortably in an apartment for a year. I couldn’t even pick out a cute comfortor set because he’d say..”Welll…here’s the thing…this is fake cotton..this is for a double bed..you have  a twin, this doesn’t come with a sheet.” Ahhhhh then you show me what I should get, and I’ll choose from those options. Basically, this type of shopping with my mom would’ve taken half the time and we would’ve gotten the best deals with the cutest stuff. But it’s ok..new life..got it, breathe.  On a positive note, he caught my crankiness at a good time and was like, lets just go eat and do this another day…We went to a night market and I ate stir fried rice, adamame with pepper and garlic (sooo good) Some pork dish, corn soup, oh and “taco balls”…but they aren’t “taco” at all..stupid American move #3 or 4. This was a deep fried octopus part, not sure which part but not taco meat. It didn’t taste bad though, mainly because anything deep fried is good. Also, I love the juice out here. They’re so refreshing and tons of crazy ones to choose from. (Speaking of beverages, I have not had an alcoholic beverage since the plane, that’s pretty good.) This was a pretty tough day, I was exhausted and stressed and annoyed that I couldn’t just be in my new apartment and organize it. The only time I can talk to my mom is with Sam’s phone when he’s like..right next to me. And of course I get all choked up and sad talking to them soo I’m really ancy for my OWN phone and Wi-Fi..INTERNET PLEASE!! I’ve never missed facebook and gchat and emailing and skyping sooo much. Oh and I finally have a friend,  a tiny adorable lizard in my hotel bathroom. It scared the shit out of me and I wanted to take a picture but that things fast. I’m going to name him Liz Chun. Seemed appropriate.