August 28, 2011

Stayed up pretty late last night but it was worth it. I was able to skype with some good friends and family. I talked to Michelle for a little while. I miss my local drinking buddy! She had some good advice for me about ordering food. She told me to make a list of some of my favorite dishes and have Sam or Chiao translate it into Chinese symbols for me. That way, I can order food on my own by just pointing to this sheet of paper. I got off the phone with her to talk with my Grandma, mom, and sister. It was great talking to my grandma, I just laugh thinking about how freaked out she must be with our technology..even before I moved, I was teaching her how to use a Nook and she was amazed.  It was funny talking to her and my mom at the same time because all 3 of us were like talking over each other and Kristen was making funny faces behind them. It was a good time. The computer started making strange high pitch beep noises so my mom thought maybe it was grandma’s hearing aids, but the same noises happened with Gina and I don’t think she’s wearing hearing aids.  I also got to talk to Casey and Gina for a long time which was awesome. They both put their dogs in front of the computer screen. Andddd I’m so happy for Casey! She accepted a new job!! She starts next week so Good luck!!

 

Today, I actually got brave and walked further away from my apartment. When I was in my apartment, I used my iPhone GPS to get to the area I wanted to go to and it actually worked for most of the way. It was about 10 am and it was really cloudy and there was a very slight drizzle (I was actually on a mission to buy a rain coat anyway.) At the time, I decided not to take my giant orange panda umbrella with me because it was just a few drops and I was set out to go on a long walk and assumed it’d be hot (which it was.) Basically, I was wearing a tank top, workout pants, and gym shoes and on my walk I immediately notice that everyone is either wearing a poncho or carrying an umbrella..and then, I remember that Sam mentioned earlier in the week that the Taiwanese do not let the rain get on them like we do in America. He said “it’s not good rain”  and right away I was like..”so is it acid rain?” And he said no, but the water is very polluted here so the rain is not good for your health (Well what the hell does that mean?) Awesome.. there’s me in my hot pink tank top letting the gradually bigger drops of polluted unhealthy rain drop all over my arms, hair, and face.  Clearly I stood out. I got all paranoid about this bad rain and I was starting to think about it too much on the walk ..I’m like, “Is this rain burning..or is that just in my head....” I had my lips pierced shut so I wouldn’t swallow any because you probably grow tumors if you swallow it or something. The walk ended up being super short because just around the corner was a McDonalds!! I live so close to it! AND, it was 10:20 a.m..you know what that meannnns..Egg Mcmuffin time. I got an Egg Mcmuffin meal and it was glorious. Somehow every bite melted in my mouth and I almost wanted to be a fat American and get right back in line and order another sandwich, but I didn’t...because breakfast ended.  The stores started to open up and I spent a lot of time in this real cute tiny book shop. I’m glad I live by it because they have every type of school supply imaginable and they have stamps and stickers and fun items that I could give away as prizes. When I left that shop I went to the Nike store to look at their jackets. The sales associate spoke no English but he was dead set on helping me. I used a lot of hand motions to show that I wanted a jacket and he was showing me non-water proof ones so I was like..pointing outside and making facial expressions and then I went up to a pair of shorts to show what material I was talking about and he was like “Ohh oh!” Anddd showed me to the waterproof jackets. They had some louddd colors and designs, I was surprised (but then I looked down at my feet and realized I was wearing neon green Nike shoes.) I ended up picking out this really cute pink/navy blue plaid one and then I found this perfect waterproof bag that is also a computer bag. It’s nice. I spent a lot..eek. I quickly walked back to my place and the rain was starting to get harder, but still not bad. As soon as I got into my apartment I took a nice hot bubble bath and scrubbed the hell out of my polluted rain arms. 

I mainly worked on my lesson plan for Tuesday but as I’m making it I realize I have so many questions which I’ll be able to ask tomorrow. We’re there for the whole day planning so that will give me an idea of what materials I can get from the office and what I have to buy. I took a break and watched Due Date on iTunes..it wasn’t as funny as I hoped. After the movie I put on my rain gear and walked to 7-11 to prep for the Typhoon that’s coming our way. It’s called “Nanmadol.” I wonder what that means? At 7-11 I bought peanut butter (which I thought they didn’t sell here?) Strawberry jelly, sour cream and onion pringles (best decision ever.) some almonds and some plum green tea (which is gross and tastes like prune juice..which I’ve never tried)  Lien and this guy Joe from our orientation group having been posting some updates about the Typhoon because its supposed to hit by tomorrow morning, and she’s very calm and tells me not to worry about it and then he’s extremely pumped for it! He’s hilarious. He has taught in Korea and China for a few years and has experienced Typhoons before so he told me to “sit back and enjoy the ride and get my camera out because these things are cool.” I’m having flashbacks to what my dad does during tornado warnings..he just stands on our deck and stares at the green sky while we freak out and hide in the bathroom. I don’t think I want to watch a natural disaster from my window so I’m going to take a melatonin and drink a glass of wine to take the edge off (that’s my Taiwanese version of a Xanax.) Just googled the meaning of Nanmadol and it’s the name of a ruined city and means "spaces between" and is a reference to the canals that crisscross the ruins. Why would they choose that name? I wonder why we name ours human names. Katrina and Irene sound way less destructive then Nanmadol, yet they’re extremely destructive. The natural disasters are getting pretty scary this year. I’m worried about all of my family on the east coast. I have relatives in North Carolina, relatives and friends in South Carolina, and family in Virgina where the earthquake just recently hit. My cousin Ellie had to evacuate her college and there was a student from her school who was killed when the earthquake caused a tree to hit his apartment.  I hope they’re safe. I’ll pray for them and everyone in that area. I wish I could turn on the news and stay updated. 

At this point, school is on unless the typhoon does cause the buses and transportation to stop. Just talked to Michelle again and she had another good idea and it was for my no fridge situation. She said I should just go buy a cheap little cooler and I can put beer in there. I asked if it’s bad that my strawberry jelly isn’t in a refrigerator and she thinks so.. I think it’s bad too, but it’d be a shame to throw it away after one use..I’m sure there’s a lot of preservatives in it right? Yay Chiao just emailed me back with some feedback on a worksheet I created. I feel more at ease (or maybe that’s the wine talking.) I never bought a “lunch box” for the lunches at the school. Hopefully they have disposable ones like on Friday. It’s just a little rectangle that you fill with all of the food and then you need your own chop stick set with it. Chopsticks are everywhere, but I can’t seem to find those lunch box things. Oh well, off to bed. Need to be ready for my first day at Yu Ying Junior High!!