After a summer spent fishing, watching television, and hanging out with family, it is now only two days until I return to the misty mountains of Taiwan. Summer is ending, but something else is just beginning. Something new. Although I spent six months in Taiwan last year, I spent most of the time in Taipei with only a few short excursions into thecountryside and even my time in Taipei seemed short. I still feel there is a lot there that I haven't seen and haven't done yet. For my first blog before leaving, I thought I would share some general information as well as some of my plans/goals for this trip.
Last year I was a student studying at Chengchi University on the outskirts of Taipei. This year I will be teaching English,well, somewhere in Taiwan.Things are still up in the air as to where I will be living. I am arriving in Taipei early and staying at a hostel called Taiwanmex. It is clean and cheap (only $10/night). I will be there until the Hess training program begins on July 25th. At that time I will move out of the hostel and into a hotel paid for by my employer. This is also when I will find outwhere in Taiwan I will be teaching. I was able to choose three locations from a list of Hess schools. In order of preference I chose: (1) Taipei (2) Keelong (3) Taichung.
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Alice_What
Taipei is located on the northern part of the island and is the capital. Being in the capital has obvious adantages such as convenient transportation and a good nightlife. I also am already familiar with the layout of the city and have many friends living there. The downside is that it is more expensive to rent an apartment and too many people speak English. All of those people want to practice their English and so when they see a foreigner they will only speak English regardless of how their proficiency in English compares to your proficiency in Mandarin.
The second location is about an hour by bus from Taipei. I picked it because it is proximity, but I sort of regret it now. I could have picked Gaohsung, a large port city where the World Cup will be held this year. It is further away but there is a highspeed rail that could bring to Taipei in about the same amount of time it takes to ride the bus. The bus rides aren't exactly relaxing and definitely not for those who are prone to carsickness. Last time I tookthe bus to Keelung, the driver took a fast curve and I flew out of my seat across the aisle and into my friend's lap. It was funny, but not something I want to experience on a regular basis. Although it is my least favorite of the locations, it wouldn't be terrible.
It is on the northern coast of Taiwan and home to the largest (or possibly second largest) nightmarket in Taiwan. Being situated on the coast, it also has delicious seafood that cannot be easily found in Taipei. There are also some interesting places in the area, such as a small town called Jiufen which was built during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, interesting windblown rock formations, and a futuristic housing project that was built andabandoned in the 1960s. Finally, less people speak English there so I would be able to practice my Chinese more; however, because it is very far north, not many people would speak Taiwanese there, or they might, but probably not fluently.
The third location, and my second favorite, is Taichung. Taichung is located in the center of the island and the city where bubble tea was invented. It is supposed to have some of the best teahouses on the island. There are many advantages to living in Taichung. The biggest is that I would have a free place to stay. I became good friends with one of the Chinese t.a.'s at the University of Iowa lastyear and she said I could stay with her family in exchange for teaching her sister English. Because it is further south, less people would speak English and more peoplewould speak Taiwanese, which is a language I would like to learn. Rujun's family speaks Taiwanese fluently, so this wouldbe the perfect opportunity to learn. Finally, it is also connected by highspeed rail to Taipei.
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