First Week of School Recap

So the first week of classes are over and we have worked out all the kinks in our schedules. I have switched out of my original class and into a much better class. I took a pronunciation class and after my third day of class I spoke to the Pronunciation teacher if she knew of a better teacher that was more likely to speak english and teach me Pining, the english equivalent of the chinese alphabet, so she suggested her own morning class. So my schedule has not changed and I am in a much better class.

We have been eating a lot of the local stuff and we have also been walking all over the city to find interesting little stores and places in addition to familiarizing ourselves with the city center. We have walked to Sogo and Breeze, the big malls, and also all the way to Taipei 101. Who ever says walking isn't an exercise is doing it wrong. My legs are killing me from all this walking and stair climbing, 190 stairs to my class on the 10th floor. All this exertion explains how people here eat so much.

In addition to our normal classes we have also been attending some additional classes such as Taiwanese and Cuisine and Dining. We are going to start watching the chinese movies as well. We have to accumulate 15 hours a week of classes to qualify as full time students for our visas and our regular only counts for 10 so we will be getting credit for the movies as well as the other classes we are taking. I have taken a few tests already and feel very comfortable in my abilities to learn quickly and stay at the top of my class.

Been eating a lot but my camera is heavy so it hasnt been making it out into the heat or into the rain so not many pictures. I am becoming a big fan of the bakeries here, though its a little difficult to figure out if the baked goods are dessert like or snack, meal like.

Best food of the week has to be the Green onion pancake that are fresh here. You can buy them frozen in the US. Each goes fro about 25 NT so for two its just a little over a dollar. One of the few places that is open for me on my way to school at 8 in the morning.

Went into class today hoping for a better outcome, English or some pinging, roman letters for the Asian characters, but was told that my teacher wont teach it to me. So I am switching classes. I don't plan on wasting money on a class that wont be teaching me. The good news is I ran into some fellow Americans who's teacher does teach the pinging as well as the characters so I will be doing the paperwork to move into that class tomorrow. There is of course a trade off. It is in the same time slot as the Cuisine and Dinning class, Jen is going to still take it but I will fit it in my schedule during the next semester.

Went to our favorite local dumpling place again and got our normal Korean and Curry dumplings, and tried out the house special pork. I think we are sticking to our Korean and Curry. Pictures up soon showing all these yummies, I promise.

After classes we walked over to Gongguan and each got a cup of the Boba Milk and then walked the campus of National Taiwan University. Very large campus with an entry that resembles Stanford in regards to the palm tree lined drive. Took the MRT back into our neighborhood and got some Burger King! The onion rings dont compare and the ketchup here is terrible, Jennifer loves it. They got the burgers right though so it was a taste of home. Sent of my post cards today so let me know when, or if, they arrive so I can get a feel for how long it takes.

We decided to walk back from the Train Station, where we hoped off the MRT and ate, and of course about half way home it decides to rain and I left my umbrella at home today. Need to go do some studying. Pictures, some of them, tomorrow morning.

First day of class

My teacher doesn't speak English. This is going to be a long semester. In addition to not speaking English my class is made up of people from Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Mexico so we cant really help each other since we don't speak the same language. Argh!

Just had some crackers this morning before my class and went with Jennifer over to Century 21, not the movie theater, to get some chicken sandwiches. In a land of cheap food, this meal doesn't really belong. Mediocre food, higher prices and didn't offer the student discount even though it is located on campus. On a high not though they have a chant they all sing together like at Johnny Rockets when you play Chicago on their juke boxes.

Went back to class and did some listening exercises and got homework out of the way. Started at 8am and left after 7 hours. Long first day.

Met up with some of the people Jen went to school with last summer and ate Din Tai Fung, the steamed dumpling place. Luckily we weren't stuffed to the brim this time so we were able to eat our fill of the tasty treats. Hurray!! Like I said before, you should find this place and eat there. It is that good.

Made it home with just enough time to do all my memorization and go to sleep. Have a test tomorrow morning.