Adios Taiwanmex

Thursday, February 2nd, the end of my time at the hostel. This place has been great. What an excellent way of integrating into a strange place...it sure makes the transition into another culture easier.

The folks who run the place (Margos & Raul) are incredible. I can't imagine what I would've done without them. They have helped me in countless ways. I like to think of them as extended family. This place is remarkable, runs like a well-oiled machine. They told me that room "D" will always be remembered as David's room...lol. Margos is an especially remarkable person, she has endless energy and she is probably the most selfless person I've ever met. I've been here for about 5 months and I can't think of a single moment when she wasn't smiling/laughing!
I'm going to have to develop a whole new groove. I've really settled in to this neighborhood, it's gonna be tough to start over. I've got a good feeling about this new place and the area around it, it looks like fun.

Pictures!

a look at our egg nog endeavor. it worked out great. the nog was delicious. colleen worked hard on it, made it from scratch.
it's matilda! this is a little cutie that was picked up in an alley. she has become the hostel's mascot. we bottle-fed her for a few weeks...she is doing well and growing like a weed.
the group on christmas eve sporting their egg nog stashes. from left to right: irwin, ciaran, colleen, raul and liz. it was a fun night.
another good pic of matilda. she has us all acting like blithering idiots. she is adorable.

Group Living is for the Birds

Alright, I've GOT to get an apartment soon. This whole group living situation is a bit much. Most of the folks I've met here have been great, but I've had enough of being friendly for the sake of politeness crap. As most of you know, I'm not a morning person. Folks here are far too talkative in the a.m.. If getting an apartment will give me peace in the morning, I've gotta do it. Also, the couple who own the hostel are pretty screwed up and I am too close to the drama. They are messed up and I don't need to be involved. There have been a few great places I've checked out, but I wasn't quick enough on the draw and lost them. I think I need to be a bit more decisive.

The bosses at work have decided to treat all of the foriegn teachers to a Christmas lunch...we're all heading out to a nice restaurant this week. I guess that's a pretty cool gesture considering Christmas holds no meaning in this country. They have also found it in their hearts to give us the 26th off. The big holiday is at the end of January, Chinese New Year. I get a week off paid for that little number. I probably won't do much because EVERY Taiwanese person travels during that week and it's a massive log-jam on the roads/trains/busses/planes, not to mention the prices for travel skyrocket during that week.

Gonna check out King Kong this weekend. Peter Jackson is a great filmmaker, I'm sure it's going to be terrific.

I have been keeping an eye on the weather back home, not pretty. I gotta say, I'm not missing the snow. Its cold here, but not THAT cold. It usually doesn't dip below 50. The wind and rain can be tough, but it's not too bad.

Matilda

We have a new tenant in the Hostel. I'm thinking she's probably the smallest visitor that they have ever had here. She is a teeny-tiny little kitten. One of the folks staying here found here in an alley, she couldn't have been more than about 4 weeks old when she arrived...too young to be away from her mother. She has been with us for about a week now. I named her Matilda. We have been bottle-feeding her, it's a group effort. She is adorable. Pet care here is sorely lacking, vets are few and far between. We're just gonna give her the best care we can and go with it, she seems happy.

Pics of Matilda should be on here by the end of the week.

Pictures!

The next few pics are of the hostel I am staying at. This is a portion of the living room/common area.
A look inside a multi-person room. I have a smaller room with just one regular bed. I can't imagine sleeping on a bunk-bed for more than one night.
More of the living room. Many a night is spent watching movies. It's fun, usually about 5 of us glued to the tube.

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

The cast of characters that passes through this Hostel is mind-boggling. I've been here for 38 days, and it seems like I've met about 38,000 different types of people.

They range from a Canadian guy with less-than-honorable intentions to a group of Malaysian girls going to college in London on vacation. Perhaps the most intriguing actor has been the Italian guy with his Chinese wife. He is about 50 years old and she is about 30. He treats her like garbage. She rarely comes out of the room, as if she is being held prisoner. He seems to fit the stereotype of the overbearing, rude Euro with little regard for women. Most of the time he is so caustic that his appearance in the "living room" of the hostel is reason enough to go read a book in my room. He can clear a room faster than someone yelling fire in a crowded theater...lol.

I have managed to make some good friends while here. Graeme, a South African here to teach is a great guy. He got here the day before I did and has essentially followed the same route as me. I'm still not sure I want my child to learn English from a guy with such a crazy accent and tendency to drop the occasional Afrikaaner word in his daily speak? Scott, Steve and the other Scott are cool guys too. Three Americans here trying their luck on the island. The first Scott is here studying Chinese at the university. 6 hours a day of nothing but Chinese is killing him, and he just started last week...lol. Steve & the other Scott are here to teach. Having them here has been a real stress reliever. It's nice to know that I can come home and vent my frustrations to these guys and they'll understand because they are dealing with this craziness too.

Lately I've been having the craziest dreams. I'm not sure if it's the diet, my work, or the insanely uncomfortable bed? The dreams range from deep-sea adventures to being part of a group of cannibals (don't ask about the cannibal thing, it's too bizarre to explain). Needless to say, I've awoke many a night babbling wildly.

Yesterday was "Teacher's Day". It's a day set aside to honor teachers. My boss gave each of the teachers a really cool insulated thermos with our names engraved on them. I had about 50 kids approach me with their good wishes. Several parents brought in flowers and candy for us, it was interesting.

I need to wish my sister Jill a belated Happy Birthday! I'm such a stiff, I forgot about her birthday. She is so important to me and I feel like such a jerk for forgetting to call her. I love you Jill.