Well I narrowed down the hundreds of ads I looked at down to ten that I deemed "acceptable". With Felicity's advice about the different areas, and costs, I narrowed those ten down to three. While the one apartment a few blocks from DaAn "forest" park was in a fantastic area, I just couldn't afford the 1000 US a month rent. Then there was management fee (for whatever managers manage), water, power, DSL, and other things. So it was out of my reach, just barely.
Of the three I chose, I visited one on Friday night. One ad had the wrong phone number listed, and the other was an agency that had already rented the apartment. The apartment I saw was fantastic. It had a kitchen, a decent bathroom and the bedroom area was "up stairs". They partitioned the studio into two floors. The upstairs that had the bedroom was inspired by a Japanese style, wooden floors and everything wooden. Tons of cabinets to store clothing in. The only worry was that the stairwell was to narrow to get a proper mattress up there. That and the bathroom was an all in one bathroom, but they got around that with a heated floor that dries the water.
The roof had a fantastic view. You could see 3/4 of Taipei easily. Not only that, they had a spa and little BBQ pits. On the first floor was a workout room, a computer suite if you didn't have a computer and a KTV room. The KTV room wasn't my thing (Karaoke) but everything else seemed cool. Since it was the first place I saw though, I was being practical and said "I'll look at some others and let you know".
Today when I found out that all my other choices had issues, I had Felicity's sister call the landlords of the place I saw last night. Unfortunately they had already rented it. The people who viewed it half an hour after me decided not to wait. That was a shot to gut because I realized over night how great the apartment was. Good area, safe (because of the RFID key to get to your floor) plus everything else. I guess I'm going to have to find new ones now. The rest of today is set for looking for new apartment listings to check out tomorrow!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Registering for Classes
After my aborted attempt to register on Wednesday (I didn't have passport sized pictures with me, I was picking them up Wednesday night), I headed over early to ShiDa's Mandarin Training Center. Its off of HePing and ShiDa road. The school is actually cut in half by HePing road. It was easy enough to find the building after I spent some time on Wednesday looking for a map, so Wednesday wasn't a total loss.
I was the 2nd person in line when they opened at 8:30 and because I was a scholarship student, it was even faster. Go to station 1 to check my name off the list and pick up paperwork, then to station 2 to get my student ID made (which isn't a 3X5 card but more like a 5X7 half laminated thing). Except for using an ink pen instead of a ballpoint there weren't any major problems. I even got a discount on the registration fee I had to pay.
After that I walked over and waited my turn to go in and do my oral interview. The lady was a rather stern Chinese lady but I did much better in this interview than in the ICLP one 3 years ago. I made some mistakes like using the wrong verb "to send". I used one that means literally to hand someone something, instead of mailing it to them. The interviewer was impressed that I had done ICLP before, even if it had been a while and I forgot a lot of my vocabulary. She said that I could take the Intensive courses, which are 3 hours a day instead of 2, if I wanted. My only concern was that the morning classes are for continuing students, and I wanted morning classes. She said if I tested well enough that they would put me in the Intensive courses.
I'm both happy and sad about that. Happy because it means that my Chinese will improve faster. I'm sad because I read what the Intensive courses require. 3 hours of class every day, M-F and 4 hours of prep work outside of class. My work week is going to get filled up pretty quickly at the rate I'm going. We'll see what happens though. I took the listening test which was a standardized Chinese test of vocab, grammar, listen to a paragraph and respond, and got an 83/140 on the Intermediate level. That's not bad but a little less than I had hoped for. Either way, it shows what my level is and helps me to improve.
After getting that straightened out, I went back to the Hostel to read for a while. It's too hot to go outside and I hate the grime that sticks to me after walking in the humidity so I have begun to take cabs everywhere. I'll balance that out by riding the bike I plan to buy when it cools down some. That and eating at the vegetarian places close to my hostel, including this yummy organic vegetarian place that also offers meat if you so desire.
After reading for a few hours I was getting bored just about the time my friend Natalie called me. She and I went to High School and College together and she has been here since February. I jumped at the chance to get out and hang with her and the other grad student who is over here, Ryan Dalton. We met up at a relaxing little bar named the Penguin where Natalie was having a Language Exchange with a Taiwanese girl name Wendy. Wendy seemed nice, a little nervous, but nice none the less. After she left to go back to her dorms (its a school night for her) we sat around and chatted for a long time. They kicked us out of the bar at 12:30 because it was slow, and we weren't ordering enough for them to keep it open. Its a mixed bar/hookah place/tea shop.
I almost forgot to mention the best part. As I was walking up to the bar, on ShiDa road, there was a guy selling food out of the back of a blue truck. That in itself is nothing special, until I saw someone petting his animal. I thought it was probably just a cute dog, until I saw that it was white and had a beak. The guy had a pet goose. A big fat white goose that sat there and let you pet it. I did a triple take and almost ran into someone. I wish I had my camera with me. I mean who has a pet goose?
Anyway, it was good to see Natalie again and talk to someone else who went through the same experience I did. Hers was a little different since every quarter, people she knew left and she had to meet new people. The foreigner turnover rate in Taiwan is pretty high. I expect she, Ryan and I will be hanging out a lot since we all know each other pretty well.
Ohh and one more thing that I found out. Grandpa was right. The Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ restaurant is still here and doing well. I found some reviews for it from last weekend so I am going to have to go pretty soon. Its amazing that the place is still open after 30 years in a town that has a turnover rate on restaurants of approximately 3 months. Just when you start to like a restaurant, they rip it out and put something nasty in its place.
I was the 2nd person in line when they opened at 8:30 and because I was a scholarship student, it was even faster. Go to station 1 to check my name off the list and pick up paperwork, then to station 2 to get my student ID made (which isn't a 3X5 card but more like a 5X7 half laminated thing). Except for using an ink pen instead of a ballpoint there weren't any major problems. I even got a discount on the registration fee I had to pay.
After that I walked over and waited my turn to go in and do my oral interview. The lady was a rather stern Chinese lady but I did much better in this interview than in the ICLP one 3 years ago. I made some mistakes like using the wrong verb "to send". I used one that means literally to hand someone something, instead of mailing it to them. The interviewer was impressed that I had done ICLP before, even if it had been a while and I forgot a lot of my vocabulary. She said that I could take the Intensive courses, which are 3 hours a day instead of 2, if I wanted. My only concern was that the morning classes are for continuing students, and I wanted morning classes. She said if I tested well enough that they would put me in the Intensive courses.
I'm both happy and sad about that. Happy because it means that my Chinese will improve faster. I'm sad because I read what the Intensive courses require. 3 hours of class every day, M-F and 4 hours of prep work outside of class. My work week is going to get filled up pretty quickly at the rate I'm going. We'll see what happens though. I took the listening test which was a standardized Chinese test of vocab, grammar, listen to a paragraph and respond, and got an 83/140 on the Intermediate level. That's not bad but a little less than I had hoped for. Either way, it shows what my level is and helps me to improve.
After getting that straightened out, I went back to the Hostel to read for a while. It's too hot to go outside and I hate the grime that sticks to me after walking in the humidity so I have begun to take cabs everywhere. I'll balance that out by riding the bike I plan to buy when it cools down some. That and eating at the vegetarian places close to my hostel, including this yummy organic vegetarian place that also offers meat if you so desire.
After reading for a few hours I was getting bored just about the time my friend Natalie called me. She and I went to High School and College together and she has been here since February. I jumped at the chance to get out and hang with her and the other grad student who is over here, Ryan Dalton. We met up at a relaxing little bar named the Penguin where Natalie was having a Language Exchange with a Taiwanese girl name Wendy. Wendy seemed nice, a little nervous, but nice none the less. After she left to go back to her dorms (its a school night for her) we sat around and chatted for a long time. They kicked us out of the bar at 12:30 because it was slow, and we weren't ordering enough for them to keep it open. Its a mixed bar/hookah place/tea shop.
I almost forgot to mention the best part. As I was walking up to the bar, on ShiDa road, there was a guy selling food out of the back of a blue truck. That in itself is nothing special, until I saw someone petting his animal. I thought it was probably just a cute dog, until I saw that it was white and had a beak. The guy had a pet goose. A big fat white goose that sat there and let you pet it. I did a triple take and almost ran into someone. I wish I had my camera with me. I mean who has a pet goose?
Anyway, it was good to see Natalie again and talk to someone else who went through the same experience I did. Hers was a little different since every quarter, people she knew left and she had to meet new people. The foreigner turnover rate in Taiwan is pretty high. I expect she, Ryan and I will be hanging out a lot since we all know each other pretty well.
Ohh and one more thing that I found out. Grandpa was right. The Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ restaurant is still here and doing well. I found some reviews for it from last weekend so I am going to have to go pretty soon. Its amazing that the place is still open after 30 years in a town that has a turnover rate on restaurants of approximately 3 months. Just when you start to like a restaurant, they rip it out and put something nasty in its place.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Apartment shopping
The heat and humidity is murder here. I'm drinking about two liters of water a day, or more, as necessary to keep myself from dehydrating. Even then, if I am outside for more than 15 minutes I look like I have been swimming. I need to find some handkerchiefs to carry around until it cools down.
I seem to be adjusting to Taipei better and faster than last time. It helps that I have a basic idea of the layout of the city so that I don't get lost as easily. I just really wish it was cooler so that I could go travel more with the free time that I have. Until it cools down some more in fall, I think I'll postpone traveling and instead just focus on apartment hunting.
I spent a couple weeks researching apartments on TEALIT.com before I came here. The only problem is that apartments on that listing service have an unofficial "foreigner tax" due to the fact that the landlords speak English and can raise what they charge for rent on unsuspecting new arrivals. It does help to get an idea of what is available to rent in Taipei though. If I want a studio, there are hundreds of options. A 1 bedroom apartment is much harder to find on listing services. More common are 2 bedroom places. The western style bathroom (separated tub/shower area) are harder to find than the "all in one" traditional Taiwanese style.
There was one apartment I found that I was interested in. It's a studio, but the bedroom is lofted above the entrance to give it a more open feel. Its in an area south of the city, further south on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) than my previous place by two stops. The nice thing is its right above the MRT station and you can't hear a thing. There are actually two apartments there that I was interested in; the one I found on the listing service, and then one that Felicity's aunt owns. Her aunt bought the place for Felicity's cousin Emily when Emily was studying the last year of high school so she wouldn't have to take the half hour bus ride to and from home everyday. Now that Emily is starting college, she'll be in the dorms and doesn't need it anymore.
Its a nice place with west facing windows, which will help keep it warm in the winter, but I'm still going to look around a bit more. I have reservations about the place since it is a studio, and owned by Felicity's aunt, but she was understanding. She didn't want me to feel pressured to rent it because her family is offering it to me for about 100 US cheaper than the other apartment. We'll see what happens.
I seem to be adjusting to Taipei better and faster than last time. It helps that I have a basic idea of the layout of the city so that I don't get lost as easily. I just really wish it was cooler so that I could go travel more with the free time that I have. Until it cools down some more in fall, I think I'll postpone traveling and instead just focus on apartment hunting.
I spent a couple weeks researching apartments on TEALIT.com before I came here. The only problem is that apartments on that listing service have an unofficial "foreigner tax" due to the fact that the landlords speak English and can raise what they charge for rent on unsuspecting new arrivals. It does help to get an idea of what is available to rent in Taipei though. If I want a studio, there are hundreds of options. A 1 bedroom apartment is much harder to find on listing services. More common are 2 bedroom places. The western style bathroom (separated tub/shower area) are harder to find than the "all in one" traditional Taiwanese style.
There was one apartment I found that I was interested in. It's a studio, but the bedroom is lofted above the entrance to give it a more open feel. Its in an area south of the city, further south on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) than my previous place by two stops. The nice thing is its right above the MRT station and you can't hear a thing. There are actually two apartments there that I was interested in; the one I found on the listing service, and then one that Felicity's aunt owns. Her aunt bought the place for Felicity's cousin Emily when Emily was studying the last year of high school so she wouldn't have to take the half hour bus ride to and from home everyday. Now that Emily is starting college, she'll be in the dorms and doesn't need it anymore.
Its a nice place with west facing windows, which will help keep it warm in the winter, but I'm still going to look around a bit more. I have reservations about the place since it is a studio, and owned by Felicity's aunt, but she was understanding. She didn't want me to feel pressured to rent it because her family is offering it to me for about 100 US cheaper than the other apartment. We'll see what happens.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Arriving in Taipei
Thirteen hours is a long time for any flight, especially trans-pacific where your knees end up in the back of the chair in front of you. Happen to me every time, like clockwork. However, rather than having some weird passenger sitting next to me that I actively try to avoid, I had a nice lady who is on her way to Ningbo, China to teach elementary school there. I didn't look forward to her flight, with a delay in Taipei, then a flight to Hong Kong, a delay there, and a transfer onto a puddle jumper to fly into Ningbo. She was nice though, and made for some pleasant small talk for most of the flight.
I got off the flight at 5:30 local time, walked to immigration and saw long lines of 20 people or more. Figuring it would be awhile, I waited behind two people to change my USD into NTD (New Taiwan Dollars). When I turned around, the crowds had dropped to 4 people per line. In the 3 minutes that it took me to wait in line and get my money, they processed a couple hundred people. I jumped in the shortest line, got through, and went to collect my baggage. However, I wasn't paying nearly enough attention to which carousel I went to.
Since there were two flights from LAX to TPE, one a half an hour earlier than mine, Murphy's law dictated that I had to go stand by the wrong one, that was almost empty, and look like a fool. I figured out quickly enough (with minimal embarrassment) that I was in the wrong place, and hurried over to the correct carousel. I grabbed my bags as they came right by and breezed out of customs without having to declare anything.
Having had 3 years pass since I last landed in Taipei during summer, my brain actively worked to shield me from how miserable this much humidity is. The cab ride was fine, although walking into the wall of humidity is a nasty wake up call at 6 in the morning. When I got out of the cab at my hostel, World Scholar House, I quickly realized why my brain had tried to protect me. My glasses immediately fogged up and I immediately started sweating profusely. This was at 7:30 am mind you, not the middle of the day (which was far worse).
I got situated in my prison cell style room; 6X10 with one window an AC and a fan. Its not bad for now, but I need to find my own apartment quickly. Hostels have the ability to attract weird and socially inept people. Grunting and staring seems to be on par for the current guests, in contrast with when I stayed here last. That time had some nice fellow guests to chat with and watch movies with.
I grabbed breakfast with Felicity at 11 or 12 am and then we walked around and chatted. It was miserable weather but great seeing her again. She's offered to help me find an apartment and I took her offer up. She has one in mind that I'll talk about in a later post.
I got off the flight at 5:30 local time, walked to immigration and saw long lines of 20 people or more. Figuring it would be awhile, I waited behind two people to change my USD into NTD (New Taiwan Dollars). When I turned around, the crowds had dropped to 4 people per line. In the 3 minutes that it took me to wait in line and get my money, they processed a couple hundred people. I jumped in the shortest line, got through, and went to collect my baggage. However, I wasn't paying nearly enough attention to which carousel I went to.
Since there were two flights from LAX to TPE, one a half an hour earlier than mine, Murphy's law dictated that I had to go stand by the wrong one, that was almost empty, and look like a fool. I figured out quickly enough (with minimal embarrassment) that I was in the wrong place, and hurried over to the correct carousel. I grabbed my bags as they came right by and breezed out of customs without having to declare anything.
Having had 3 years pass since I last landed in Taipei during summer, my brain actively worked to shield me from how miserable this much humidity is. The cab ride was fine, although walking into the wall of humidity is a nasty wake up call at 6 in the morning. When I got out of the cab at my hostel, World Scholar House, I quickly realized why my brain had tried to protect me. My glasses immediately fogged up and I immediately started sweating profusely. This was at 7:30 am mind you, not the middle of the day (which was far worse).
I got situated in my prison cell style room; 6X10 with one window an AC and a fan. Its not bad for now, but I need to find my own apartment quickly. Hostels have the ability to attract weird and socially inept people. Grunting and staring seems to be on par for the current guests, in contrast with when I stayed here last. That time had some nice fellow guests to chat with and watch movies with.
I grabbed breakfast with Felicity at 11 or 12 am and then we walked around and chatted. It was miserable weather but great seeing her again. She's offered to help me find an apartment and I took her offer up. She has one in mind that I'll talk about in a later post.
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