Taipei Update 1/16/08

As I write this update I find myself wishing that I could put more real content onto this seeming blank screen, but I digress, life in Taipei has become somewhat of a blur. I of course can comment on the propensity of Taiwanese people to show up at least, if not more, than 15 minutes late of every occasion (minus perhaps work). However, this type of thing along with other observances is the type of social and cultural commentary that I wish to examine and explore as much as possible before stepping forth and revealing my own, rather limited view of another place. Truth be told, I have found a groove in this wonderful city and I feel it has become for the time being, my home. I am sure everyone can relate to having their routine in life. Certain places they tend to eat at, certain things they tend to do... or rather the unvaried. Who would think that such a thing could happen in such a foreign place, but it is true! For me it all starts when I wake up in the morning and get ready to walk out the door 4 to 5 hours before class starts.

I normally start my day off with some kind of rice and egg breakfast meal and read a book or listen to my iPod. The portability that such an object as this offers has helped me stay somewhat up-to-date in the world. I offer many thanks to Podcasts, free downloadable internet talk shows of sorts, which have been keeping me abreast of the latest in the world of politics, movies, science, and overall geekdom, that I so enjoy. After my morning meal I am off to the Cafe called Artist coffee, where I hit the books and spend a good 4 hours preparing for my 3 hour Chinese class. This place has the most wonderful Shrilanken Milk Tea that is impossible to resist after the first sip. If I am feeling up for it I also will order a wonderful meal at the Cafe to the step price (for Taiwan bare in mind) of $5 USD.

My homework routine everyday includes some if not all of the following actions: Character Practice, everyday we are given approximately 15 new vocabulary words that we must write a minimum of 10 times in our Character work books. Flash-card Making, writing characters 10 times is just not enough and in order to actually remember the characters I am learning I also make flash-cards for every single one this allows me to study them at anytime (which most often means on the MRT where I must look very strange, or very diligent to Taiwanese patrons). Workbook, This homework coincides with whichever Chapter we happen to be on that day, it is due every two days and takes on average around 2 hours to complete. It could take less time but I have an average score of A+ on this portion of my school work and I wish to keep that consistent so I will keep working at my somewhat slow pace. Reading and Review, Every chapter has three portions of text within them, Dialogues, Narration's etc. and it helps me to study them outside of class. Our teacher does not really stress the importance of the Dialogues but I still like being able to read the Dialogues with some fluidity. Other than the dialogues we also have small exercises in the book to help with the new grammatical structures that are introduced in every chapter.

Once this daily routine is completed I spend a small amount of time walking around Shida yeshi (Shida Night Market) either to buy lunch, if I don't order the wonderfully tasty Penne Noodle dish, or just walk around and relax my mind. After lunch I am in class for three hours. The first two days of a chapter we have a ting xie(literally,listen, write), or dictation test consisting of new and old grammar and vocabulary in sentence form. From there we work on new grammar points and other various exercises that keep us busy for the three hours. During this time of course, no english is spoken. On the third day of a chapter we have our test, yes thats right, the third day of a chapter is also the last day of a chapter. The test is held in the last hour of class but always runs longer than just one hour, so on test days I usually spend closer to four hours in class than three.

After class it is off to fill my stomach again; sometimes I wish i didn't have to eat it would save me so much time and money. The area around school is host to tons upon tons of restaurants from a variety of different places. In the past week I have eaten Indian, Korean, Japanese, and "Italian" meals. Each wonderful in its own fashion. From there my night gets varied. Sometimes I spend time with my classmates hanging out and other times I am with my language partners speaking Chinese and getting coffee or tea (I often chose the latter these days). I am sad to admit that my brief encounter with HwaRangDo has come to an abrupt end. My teacher has found the need for a second job, which, much to my distaste has fallen on our weekly scheduled times. It was fun while it lasted. Perhaps I will find a new martial art to fill the four hour weekly void. However, the more I study Chinese the more I would like to spend time learning something more peaceful and tranquil... perhaps calligraphy or Tai Chi. Well that is all for now from this wonderful land. I will be sure to ponder some more ways to see the sights that Taiwan has to offer.