Keeping busy in Taipei

This week has to have been, by far, the most busy since I arrived in Taipei. Monday I was busying hitting the books because I had my first test on Tuesday and I wanted to do well. I normally actually spend most of my time in the mornings studying before I go to class but I couldn't on Tuesday because I had a "business lunch" with Greg Wong, a friend of a family friend, who works at the American Institute in Taiwan as Commercial Section Chief. The AIT is located in the International Trade Building, which is located kiddy corner to the Taipei 101. The lunch was fabulous, fresh squeezed apple juice, mushroom soup, and the best salad bar I have ever seen or tasted. Greg was wonderful to meet, it was nice to hear a business mans perspective of Taiwan. I felt like we really had a lot of common interests and goals in life and we bonded quite well. While eating lunch I also got to meet and share some gossip (a Chinese past time) with Du Yen Hao, the Executive Advisor for the General Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. After lunch I only had a brief moment to admire the Taipei 101, and snap a few pics before it was time to rush to school for my first big test.

I arrived to school with plenty of time to quick review my Chinese characters and grammar points, and I walked into class confident in my abilities. When I walked into class however, my classmates and I were told that our class was being disbanded because we didn't have enough students to keep our current class going. We were promptly moved to another class, only to find out that our new classmates had just taken the chapter 16 test the day before! Guess we lucked out, cause we didn't even have to take the test at all. My current class now has 8 students, and a much better teacher. I didn't mind the teacher I had before but my new teacher is fun, exciting and much more in depth about the finer points of the Chinese language; I must say, she reminds me a lot of my teachers back home.

After Chinese class I was off with some friends to grab a quick bite to eat before trying out a kickboxing class that everyone has been raving about it Taipei. We ate our meal and then hitched a bus over to Freedom Square (formerly know as Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall). Kickboxing is put on every Tuesday and Thursday by a group in Taipei called Cheap Hippie Kickboxing, and runs from 8pm-10pm on both those nights. Being a Gill my feet of course took a beating, but that wasn't the only thing hurting by the end of the second hour. I believe Hippie Kickboxing is a euphemism for @$$kicking two hour workout that has nothing to do with kickboxing. We did a lot of running, stretching, pushups, sit-ups and other enduring testing exercises that really just try and bust you into shape rather than learning any self defense. I can't say that it is not an effective way to work out (I am still feeling the burn after 3 days) but it certainly isn't my cup of tea. The only redeeming factor, other than burning off the past 4 days meals was the amazing view of CKS Memorial Hall.

Wednesday after waking up sore in places I didn't think possible I was off to my Wednesday routine of school followed by dinner with one of my friends/language partners from Taiwan. We had agreed on Monday, since I didn't know how much kickboxing would take out of me, to grab a bite to eat and then go for a nice 30 minute hike on the outskirts of Taipei City. We ended up eating at a nice veggie buffet and then catching a bus that took us near Taipei 101 again where we walked toward the hills to begin our hike. Let me take a moment to clarify a "taiwan" style hike (if you are in the city). Basically you walk up a ton of stairs that just go up a giant hill until you get to the top. There were no paths that you could walk on, just more and more stairs that got steeper and steeper the higher you went. I am not going to lie, it was not the most pleasant experience after kickboxing, I really felt the burn in my calf muscles. However, once we made it to the top of the peak I totally forgot about the stairs or the burn and just took in the view. We were able to see all of Taipei city, and it was, despite being a little hazy, absolutely beautiful. We enjoying the view and the tranquility of our destination for about an two hours before descending back into the busy city life, where I had to worry again about homework, and my actual first Chinese exam.

Thursday came and went like a flash, I spent my morning buried in my books and had my first exam. After class I arrived home to find my friends from Thanksgiving had come back to Taipei for a few more days and were going out for some dinner and drinks at Jurassic Bar, a restaurant filled with dinosaurs, tacky music, and expensive food. The place turned out to be a totally blast, we got a 7000cc keg of beer, and chatted the night away; making new friends and having a great old time like us Americans/ Australians always seem to do.

I woke up this morning feeling just fine and dandy, did some homework and headed off to school. I have found my groove and like the fast pace life here in Taiwan. Everyday holds a new adventure for me, and when I start my days I always know that something new and exciting will happen before the end. Tonight as I write this I am planning on going out for some hot-pot with my friends, who leave tomorrow, for a final dinner sendoff. After that who knows... oh also, I did quite well on my first exam, so know one needs to to worry that I am having too much fun. Here are some final pics of my weeks adventures. The first pic is the view from my hike, and the second is Dana, my friend from America with our 7000cc's of beer!