First day back at work

I started work in the lab again today. Early morning starts again...ahhhh...and my 2nd bus at 8.01 am was late which made me late to work but anyway, it was really great to see my workmates again!! Simple acts of friendliness and smiles can go a long way - it warms my heart just to get to know these people better. No matter where we go, we meet different people, whoever they are, with their own story to tell. Even you...yes you, you reading my blog now!!Anyway, If I ever had to leave, i'll find it hard-pressed. I'm not sure about the outcome of the job interview yet but found out i've got one of my coursemates working there too!!

Been feeling so lazy, the weather is making my bones and skin wither away like an old granny. hahha...

Back in Sydney again!

Now that I'm back, there are some things to sort out....work, i've got another job interview on wednesday, coming accommodation plans, brothers might be leaving etc etc...

Came back this morning and unpacked most of my stuff but I've been sleeping all day. And it's raining....rain, rain, rain...cold and wet. I prefer it hot hot hot!!

I miss Taiwan :(
I was really getting used to life there. I don't really want to be back. But ...it was not hard to adjust back...just lingering sentimental feelings, you know.

Next, just focus on the next part of life.

Taiwan - 4

It's my last night here in Taiwan =( July22, Saturday night as I write this.

so quick quick quick!!!

I've really really enjoyed my time here in Taiwan, it's like another part of my life, another short phase. And I really like it how it was not just a holiday and seeing a whole new place and all, but I got to learn Mandarin and other Taiwanese culture stuff and also develop new friendships. I wished I could have stayed another week or a few more weeks or something. But reality is, money will run out here and back in Sydney.

I should be really thankful for this opportunity. At the moment, my heart feels a bit heavy....sounds a bit off-key, but anyway, i don't know how else to describe it. Not the fact that I won't be in this room anymore tomorrow night at this time. Our calligraphy teacher and her husband took us to her mom's place an hour away out of Taipei today and we had so much fun there singing Karaoke and going out to see the lotus flowers and crabs and then coming back to have a great dinner her brother prepared for us. It was fantastic. I wanted to go meet my friend as well in the evening coz she was going to show me where she volunteers every Saturday evening at an Internet helpline centre. I really really really wanted to go see it. Thought I would have enough time, but no, there wasn't. Hopefully, I can see my friend tomorrow. She's my coursemate's best friend and she has been so nice and so patient with me, she's like a great big sister. I've met up with her every week! Learnt so much from her, not just coz we have to communicate in mandarin but from who she is and her life and work. Yesterday, she took me up to see the university she went to, which is up the mountains and to have dinner around that area and then followed her to pick her brother up. Her brother is autistic and she is truly such a good sister. She's also a social worker with kids and she studied Chinese culture as well, so she's really good at Chinese. She explains so well and patiently in Mandarin when I keep on asking her my questions in my childish mandarin way - what is this, what is that, what do u mean...sometimes using wrong tones. And she listens when i try my best to tell her a whole heap of things that I've been up to and experienced in Taiwan and other things. I decided the only way to improve was to keep on finding things to say and ask and to listen and at the same time, to study my Mandarin textbook to improve my vocabulary! I'm still pretty crap.

So, yeah i wished I could have gone to see her voluntary work thing. But being in my room now, with my roommate having left yesterday (I really enjoyed spending time with her too), had some negative thoughts forming in my head, 100% non-Taiwan related. Stupid feelings that make me feel like my life is worthless to some people and other stupid stuff. I try to think about stuff my really "whatever" friend told me or when I meet some people and the kind of people they are. Even like, my Taiwanese friend's workmate who is so friendly and talkative and funny! She taught me while we were on the MRT on how the Chinese Bible she has (New Testament) works. I've kinda forgotten most of the things she told me now. I've been going to this Catholic church on-campus (it's a catholic uni) - to the Mandarin service at 8.30 am. And I was so lost until I met these Vietnamese people and got off a pinyin sheet of them, and then I improved a little in my understanding. Spent one night going through the dictionary and the sheet - but I still haven't finished going through it personally.

Anyway, writing here makes me feel a bit better now. Hmm....wondering what I should do now. I still haven't started packing all my junk. Maybe I should finish watching this Mandarin-dubbed HK Andy Lau movie? That'll take awhile. Write some thank you notes perhaps. Think what I'm going to do tomorrow - last minute stuff especially.

It's also half past one in the morning and I want to wake up for my last church service tomorrow.

Ok i'm outta here...

Taiwan - 3

sighh....the typhoon hardly even hit Taipei today. That's what I think.

So, we had class. It was raining on and off all day but nothing exciting or anything.

So, in the afternoon a couple of hours after lunch, some of us caught the bus and MRT to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. He's one of Taiwan's past great leaders. It was raining unfortunately but we had a good time and managed to catch the guards marching in front of his huge statue figure. About 6 guards, all in sync, and so skillful (for eg. twirling their rifles with just one hand).

Chiang Khai-Shek Memorial Hall

Inside the Hall

My Taiwanese friends didn't really want to go there with us but of course encouraged us to visit it. To them, it is like what the outside of the Opera House is to locals in Sydney.

Well, after that, we went somewhere else to do other stuff.

Yippee- it's the weeekend now!!!! =D I can finally sleep in.

Taiwan - 2

The 台风 (Typhoon) is hitting Taiwan!! And because of that, our field trip to the Eastern part of Taiwan tomorrow and Saturday has been postponed to next week. Coz that's the part that is supposedly being hit first by the typhoon - tonight! I'm really looking forward to going there after hearing how really nice it is from a few Taiwanese people so I really REALLY hope we actually get to go there next week!! Typhoon, please go away!!

My first typhoon experience - but it's probably going to be just raining and the wind howling like it was last night. The rain isn't that heavy and the temperature is not cold. But if it gets worse, then I might not have class tomorrow. That would of course feel like good news to me when I wake up in the morning. But I'd rather the weather be hot hot hot like it was last week coz at least we can go out and do stuff.

Have I mentioned how many dogs there are loitering along the streets? Major street, small street, in the university grounds and even in front of my dormitory building! This dog slowly walks into Watson's (a shop that sells things chemists sell -except the drugs) and sits down on the floor in front of some shelves and goes to sleep. The salesgirl didn't even shoo it out. Wow, dogs are allowed to come in? I think the dog came in for the air-conditioning.

Some stuff we got up to besides our usual Mandarin classes.

We had a couple of days of learning a little bit of chinese calligraphy! Some of us have done it before but it was my first time. I write not that great but it was fun!

Our school took us to the National Palace Museum. It's supposed to be up there with the other top museums in the world like the Louvre in Paris and the museums in London and NYC.

Our calligraphy teacher, who is so nice and outgoing and says funny things, took us out to Danshui which is up north in Taipei, next to the water. She told us "don't stand me up ah!". She brought her husband, whom she told us in class - is "very funny man" and some of her other young young students. They were so nice - treated us to dinner and some other small foods. And we're having another "date" next Saturday just before we leave.

Catherine, me and my roommate, Robyn

Taiwan - 1

It's the ending of my 4th day in Taiwan, 2nd out of 15 days of Mandarin classes. Feels like I've been here awhile because I think I've done a number of things and hanging out with my other study tour mates has been so great. There are 9 of us, actually 10 but the guy flew home yesterday. I hope he's really okay. I sat next to him on the plane and I never thought it would turn out like this.

Mandarin skills are improving slowly I suppose. It was a struggle talking about technical stuff....like whether it is better to buy a SIM card or phone card? what are the options? I even went to the catholic church service on Sunday coz I wanted to walk around the campus and see what it was like. Attended the 8.30 am Mandarin service. I didn't realise till later that there would be English services after that! It was a good experience even though I didn't understand most of what was being said except when we read in their bible "and Jesus said" and bits of the eucharist. Thank God for this nice girl whom I sat next to even though I was trying my best to understand her.

I hate the traffic here. Scooters and motorcycles are crazy and tooooo many. Like swarms of flies on the road. The cars and other vehicles don't even follow the road lines even in busy parts of Taipei. Malaysian driving is crazy but definitely not as crazy as this. I nearly got knocked down by this motorbike as I was getting off the bus as I didn't look left. The motorcyclist called me some name but I couldn't hear it. But then the next day I realised that that stupid man was coming in the opposite direction to oncoming traffic!! (If u didn't know, people drive on the right hand side here)

Ok i'm not mad even though I may appear to be from the way I write. I'm really having a great time!! My brain is a bit tired now....just studied quite a bit. Write more next time.

And yeah, it's true about the toilets. And there is no toilet paper!! Just like Malaysia I suppose. I'm getting used to it.

Taipei 101 (current tallest building in the world)