I finally did it

So here I am. I've finally made it to Taiwan. Today marks 3 weeks since I arrived. Life is definitely a little different from good ol' Eugene.

Discoveries in Taiwan:

-There is an epidemic of stray dogs. It's sad how many people here just leave their dogs behind when they move. Domesticated strays are super friendly though. 

-People are incredibly nice and helpful here. There have been a couple times now where I've gone into a restaurant to get food to go, but instead get invited to sit down with a big group of people and eat/drink/chat for an hour. I end up walking out with a full stomach and new friends. 

-There is not as much Chinglish as I thought there would be. People here actually have a decent grasp on the English language, emphasis on decent.....

-Recycling is huge here, even more so than in Oregon. You can get a hefty fine for not sorting out your garbage. Oregon could take a lesson from Taiwan. Also, the garbage trucks play a jingle when they are near, much like an ice cream truck. 

-All you can eat BBQ for about $8 US is my new favorite place. 

I've done a lot in the past 3 weeks, so I'm gonna try and recap as much as I can. 

The second night I was here, Barbie and I went to a Boyz II Men concert. Apparently Chinese Valentine's day was the following Monday, so there were a ton of couples. Only 3 of the Boyz were there though, and they made sure to edit the 4th out of the videos they played. Motownphilly was performed twice. 

I've been to a couple beaches in the north so far, and I can't stop thinking about how beautiful they are. I've been able to see the sun set on them both times now. Taiwan has the beauty of Oregon with warmer water. I went to Fulong beach this past Sunday and we got rained out after a few hours. But we found shelter and waited it out. It was worth it. 

After a couple weeks of work, I'm finally starting to adjust. It's weird to have a job that I get excited about going to (No offense, Pony people!). The kids are so sweet and fun to teach. The younger ones get attached really fast. One little girl followed me around after class to show me a Hello Kitty eraser she had just bought. A couple students found out my name sounds a lot like the Chinese word for 'stupid' and have definitely been taking advantage of it. I brought my recently purchased Polaroid camera into a class and the kids went NUTS. It really opened them up to me. 

I'm hoping to start doing some traveling around the island soon. There is great SCUBA diving in the south that I really wanna check out in the next couple weeks. I've been to Taipei a couple of times now, and I got to check out White Wabbit Records. Easily one of Taiwan's most hipster record shops/best kept secrets.

That's all for now, I gotta start planning some lessons. If anyone has good ideas for games to play in my classes, let me know.

-迪龍 out