My New Home

I am finally settled in my own place and just completed my first week of school. It was an exhausting and crazy week and I spent most nights walking around my area of the city.

I live in a single apartment (kind of a studio apartment but smaller). There is a shared laundry and kitchen area. I guess the other residents here are all foreign English teachers but I never see them because they work at bushibans. Bushibans are English schools that students go to after the regular school day. They leave school at about 4 p.m., eat dinner and then go to bushiban until about 9 p.m. That means all my neighbors have the opposite schedule of me.

My room is fully furnished, including a refrigerator, cable and internet. I have a bathroom that is also my shower. I love this concept. I can wash my bathroom floor and myself all in one shot. I also have a small dressing are/laundry drying room. These rooms are common in Taiwan. They are situated where there is good ventilation because you air dry ALL of your clothes. Cloths dryers are rare in Taiwan and those who have them are usually westerners. I've rigged a plastic chain across my little drying room to hang my clothes from for drying.

I created a little bedroom by using my bookshelf as a wall. It's cozy enough for me. I made sure I can't see the T.V. from my bed so I'm sure to go to sleep right away. Although, I still managed to fall asleep with the T.V. and lights on last night. I guess some habits are hard to break no matter what country you're in.

My neighborhood is full of life. I live near a lot of different city parks. A few blocks east of me is a beautiful park along the Love River. In the evenings, the park comes to life with couples on dates and groups practicing Tai Chi and other martial arts. Just northwest of me is a brand new department store called Han Shins. It's out of my price range but fun to window shop at. They have a huge food court with all kinds of foods and a fancy grocery store right next to the food court. Koahsiung Arena is right next to it. A five minute walk south west and I'm at the KMRT station (their new subway system). I ride to work everyday and it's another 5 minute walk from that station to my school. I think I can get through this year without a scooter or a bike. I walk and ride the subway everywhere.

I live in a trendy and bustling urban neighborhood. There are lots of stores and restaurants as well as food carts. There are also plenty of Western restaurants. So far, I've found Subway, 2 McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Starbucks all within a few blocks of my apartment. I'm trying to avoid those places because I can eat there any time in the States (even though for the most part I haven't eaten at most of those places in over a year). The temptation is strong though because ordering is much easier there. Most of the servers know the English names of the sandwiches and I know exactly what I'm getting. For the most part, I've gone vegetarian since arriving here because I can't stomach how they prepare meat (with all body parts still attached). Even in the States I preferred to not have my meat on the bone because that was to much of a reminder of it's living state for me. I know...I'm weird. The vegetarian options are great here, though. The have all kinds of wonderful fake meats and they do some many things with tofu and mushrooms. I've been enjoying my new eating habits.

I think I'm adjusting fairly well. I have my moments of culture shock or homesickness. It's only natural to have them. I think living in such a busy city and also keeping active with work helps make those moments brief. Keeping myself occupied is the key and there is so much to explore here.

I'll be taking my camera to school next week. I can't wait to share with you about my school and classes. There are plenty of differences but also some similarities. I hope you will enjoying seeing them.