im a bad blogger but will attempt to appease the masses with the details of the past crazy and random week.
last night i survived my second earthquake since being in taiwan. i wish one would happen during the day instead of at like 3am!
last night i survived my second earthquake since being in taiwan. i wish one would happen during the day instead of at like 3am!
in another one of m
y random wanderings around the city, i discovered a park. the name of my city is jhu (竹) bei (北). 竹= bamboo and 北=north. soooo in the park, there is a huge bamboo chute! this park is mostly for skateboarders, but there is a little pond thing-y where little kids go to feed the fish. the really ugly, really scary fish. anyway, i went to this park and saw the stars for the first time since coming to taiwan. it was nice. i was beginning to think they didnt exist here.
y random wanderings around the city, i discovered a park. the name of my city is jhu (竹) bei (北). 竹= bamboo and 北=north. soooo in the park, there is a huge bamboo chute! this park is mostly for skateboarders, but there is a little pond thing-y where little kids go to feed the fish. the really ugly, really scary fish. anyway, i went to this park and saw the stars for the first time since coming to taiwan. it was nice. i was beginning to think they didnt exist here.<--i dont know why my camera insists that its 2006.
on monday, i got my first real paycheck from my first real job, deposited it into my first real (non-student) bank account and then proceeded to pay my first real bills. boo. but, i felt so grown up! paying my own rent and my own cable and etc etc. with my own real money that i earned (!!!) at my own real job. it was a strange feeling. but good! being an adult is a job in and of itself. and its also very strange to know that all my friends are back at uncg busy being students again and im not! but, life goes on i guess.
lately, ive been having dreams about people speaking english to me. i have to say that in taiwan this never happens. if someone addresses me, its always in chinese. in stores, on the streets, on the phone...always chinese chinese chinese. i keep dreaming that english speakers move in next door to me, or start working in the tea shop on my street, or just pop up in random places. its starting to freak me out, because ive also started dreaming in 'chinese,' which isnt real chinese of course, just people running around speaking the sounds i hear all the time with 'xie xie' thrown in every other word. sometimes even when i open my mouth to say something, i have no idea what to say...i have no idea which language i should try to speak in and on one occasion, i tried to order at a restaruant in german. so many words are getting twisted and tangled in my head! its a wonder i can even say anything to anyone.
so friday night, my friends jayson and milliya and i went to eat hotpot. it was my first time and definitely unforgettable. hotpot is basically a restaraunt of raw meat and veg and pots of boiling water. you do the math. that night, i ended up eating: a whole octopus (yes a whole one), DUCK BLOOD (i swear), squid throat, clam, a fish head, and a bunch of other scary things i couldn't/didnt want to identify. there will be photos soon to prove it! i cooked it all myself! even i ate a whole shrimp...eyeballs and legs and tail still attached! i even cooked that myself. never a dull moment eating around here, thats for sure. then, we went to see up...which is pixar's best to date! run, dont walk, to go see it! it was amazing! i laughed, i cried, etc etc.
lately, at work, i have to take my shoes off. interesting cultural difference. i dont know if i will ever get used to walking around public places barefoot. i really dont think i will.
sunday, i went on a whim to go get my haircut. its ard enough sometimes to get a haircut in english...try doing it in chinese! somehow, i get in, get my hair washed, and then they brought me tea and were talking to me a mile a minute in chinese like i knew what they were saying. i could catch like every 50th word. instrumental christmas music was blaring from the speakers and it was just funny. i was the only person in the shop, and everyone was talking to me and i couldnt respond, and the whole time 'joy to the world' is playing so loudly that i couldnt even think. finally, half the staff ends up at the computer talking to me by translating everything into english online. then i would respond in very bad chinese, they would all join in a chorus of 'cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!' and i would just smile and try not to laugh. when i left, i made sure to wish them all a very merry christmas.
temple in jhubei
typical street.
Hahahahaha. So the thing that popped into head when reading this was when we would sit at Spencer's for hours and complain about the TERRIBLE Christmas music. I hope this wasn't quite as painful.
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