Hey everyone! To start off with, I made it to Taiwan in one piece and so far I'm loving it here. The food is delicious, the people are friendly, and the weather is great. I was lucky enough to come right as it started to cool off, and aside from a little rain here and there, it's been really nice. But before I get ahead of myself, here's a short recap of my trip.
After saying goodbye to everyone in Wisconsin (and the cats at home), my parents and I drove down to Chicago where my extended family threw me a party complete with a cake decorated with a Taiwanese dragon. I was up way too early for my liking the next morning, and after my last American breakfast, we headed to O'Hare International Airport.
Saying goodbye to my parents was the hardest part, and I was a little choked up going through the security checkpoints. After emptying my pockets, taking off my shoes, giving them my belt, and going through the metal detector three times, I staked out a spot at my gate and boarded the plane soon after. My nerves were starting to get to me once the plane began to taxi to the runway, but they quickly settled down during the two hour delay and refueling back at the gate.
Once we were actually in the air, we were treated two two lunches (guess they were going by the local time, not our biological clocks), a snack, and three movies including "Night at the Museum: Pointless Sequel", "Ice Age 3: the Suck Age", and "The Proposal" which was actually pretty good.
I arrived in Tokyo to transfer 12 hours later, then finally flew into Taiwan. There, I was met by a driver sent from Kojen Schools (a very nice service, and the first time I've ever seen my name on a sign waiting at the airport - ritzy). He drove me to the temporary housing facilities, and I met one of my roommates for the time being, and my second roommate arrived the next night. Their names are Josh and Daniel, both from the East Coast, and they're really nice. Josh has already been here for a month, so he was especially helpful in getting me acquainted with the area and setting me up.
On to the work portion of my trip. Yesterday was my first day of classroom observation. I'll do this until next Friday, when I'll actually start teaching young children at my school. Basically, I sat with the students and watched two teachers instruct them in pronunciation, grammar, reading, and writing through a bunch of games, workbook exercises, crafts, and quizzes. It looks straightforward enough (apparently they provide you with all the materials you'll need) and I'm excited to get going and meet my students.
As for the city life, Taipei is a huge metropolis, and I've only just begun to explore. I've tried out my Chinese at ordering some vegetarian foods, and hit on a really good restaurant that lets you pick out every ingredient from a case up front, and they cook it all in a spicy soup right in front of you. Everything is fresh, and it's one of my favorite meals here. There are also a ton of parks and open spaces everywhere here, and the trees on the streets have had enough time to grow that walking down the lanes is really enjoyable. There was definitely a lack of vegetation in mainland China, so that's what I was expecting here, but I'm pretty sure there are more outdoor houseplants than there are people in the city, and since it's a sub-tropical environment, it's this way year round. Every window, balcony, and courtyard is filled with lucky bamboo, orchids, and leafy green plants, and every park and road is lined with palm trees.
In the interest of keeping this relatively short, I'm gonna cut it off here. There's a lot more that's happened and that's going to happen since the first month is extremely busy, so I'll try to break that up in several installments over the next few days. There's no internet at the Kojen housing facilities, so I've been bumming it off of friends in the area and parks with wireless access. When I get an apartment (I'm off to look right now) I should have more stable access to the internet, and I'll be able to e-mail, skype, instant message, and all that other good stuff that'll keep me in touch with you folks. Hope everyone's having a great year so far too!
P.S. Pictures to come once I either find a cord that goes with my camera, or buy a new one here.
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