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Published: August 14th 2013
Leaving for Taiwan
July 31,2013, 6AM, sunny and warm, we are off on our newest adventure!July 31,2013, Marty drove us to the airport at 6 in the morning. We enjoyed a nice flight to Vancouver where we had a 5 hour layover before boarding for our 13 hour flight to Hong Kong. We had a very nice flight. We were up and about (and found out that it is true that once over the ocean booze is free), visiting and enjoying a few drinks as well. We were weather delayed in Hong Kong, and arrived in Kaohsiung at 11PM instead of 8:20 local time. However, Vivian from the Kaohsiung American School was there, waiting for us. She loaded us into a cab and after a 20 minute ride, took us up to our new apartment which just happens to be across the street from the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. We had been to the museum on our earlier trip but we never dreamed that we would be living in that ritzy part of the city!
Vivian gave us our keys and a new cell phone with important contacts already entered in. She allowed us to look around our apartment and turn on the AC (whew was it hot!) and then handed Linda 2 bundles
30 Hours Later
We have just arrived in Kaohsiung. We were greeted and taken to our new apartment where we found all these goodies waiting for us! of cash (her salary for the month of July and her settling in allowance), and we were told that a cab would take us to the school at 9 in the morning.
Our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment had lots of windows and light. It is on the 3rd floor overlooking the backside of the museum and the surrounding park. The school left us snacks on the table, milk, juice and water as well as a couple of salads in the fridge. The landlady had even left a bottle of wine ( which we didn't have a cork screw for) and 2 new glasses on the table to welcome us to our new home. The king size bed was dwarfed in the master bedroom by the large room and generous closet space. Besides the large master bedroom, with en suite, there is a study or "honor" room. The living room boasted a chandelier, a sculptued and mirrored wall, large patio windows with a view of the park! There is an entire 5 shelf cupboard for shoes near the entrance. Above that cupboard is yet another cupboard that I am sure we will fill, in time.The large flat screen TV
Modern Open Design
Kitchen to the far right, study behind a glass wall, and open living and dining room sits on the curved accent shelf boarded by another cupboard. There is a kitchen with microwave, fridge, dishes (but no corkscrew), pots, no oven only a toaster oven. We have a small back patio where the washing machine sits, and we can hang clothes to dry on the pull down rack.
And, did I mention the jeweled door handles with matching jewels in the velvet couch and ottoman? How about the funky lights throughout the apartment? There are 4 air conditioners to keep the Taiwan heat away from our tender skin, one in each bedroom, another in the living room and the fourth in the study./honor room. The main colors are black and white and the decor is very modern. Wow!
We crawled into bed about
1:30AM. In the morning, Maurice walked the 2 and a half long blocks to our local 7-11 for coffee and fruit. After more apartment organizing and a few phone calls, our cab arrived to take us to the school. We were met by Tom Farrell, the superintendent, and Gerry Dery, Linda's lower school principal and were ushered into the conference room where we had breakfast and more coffee. After a little visiting
Black Jewelled Sofa
And matching ottoman, the apartment is bright and sunny. Our school provided lots of cash for us as well as wine, snacks,salads, wine, juice, water, cookies and more! we spent the morning learning about the school, its' history and the future expectations. After school stuff, Gerry, Linda's principal, drove us around our area and, after dropped us off to refresh oursleves. We agreed to meet and walk over for the opening dinner planned for new staff at Tom's building. Many of the staff were on hand to meet and greet the new teachers and we spent the evening getting acquainted. After a 10 minute walk back we stopped at the 7-11 and bought beer for our night cap. We enjoyed our apartment as it cooled off.
Saturday morning, we were awake at 5:30AM jet-lag and our internal clocks were out of whack!
Saturday morning a cab took us back to the school where we boarded a bus and were whisked off for a city tour. We were taken for lunch at the Pasadena on Pier 2, a very up scale restaurant. We shared a meal with 22ish people, passing the various plates around and around. We bought some funky bread and once again boarded the bus. Even the veteran teachers complained of the heat. We went shopping at Dollars, a supermarket and appliance store where we
Kitchen
Far door leads to a small balcony where the washer is. Above the kitchen sink is a dishes dryer, just stack them in and turn it on for 15 or 30 minutes. got a few things for ourselves and for the apartment. Phil and Angel, two veteran teachers, offered to lead a group to the Night Market for supper. We wandered through the aisles and picked up various dishes from some of the many booths. The market did have a great selection of food and we browsed the shopping, then caught a cab for home....pooped from heat and jet lag.
August 4th, Sunday we were once again picked up and whisked off to another adventure. We were driven by bus an hour or so out of the city up into the mountains to visit the Taiwan Indigenous People's Culture Park. Taiwan has 12 different recognized indigenous tribes and they all live in separate regions of this 400km long island. Taiwan is only 140 km wide, and so is not very large, though it is home to some 23 million people. Most of the population lives along the western coast, with some habitation along the rugged eastern coast. The center of the island is mostly mountainous and has few roads or habitation. The drive to the center was very scenic and very steep. The mountains drop straight down to the valleys where
Our Fully Furnished Apartment
We have everything we need, the landlord even included slippers for guests as well as us! wide but shallow rivers flow. Because of the steepness of the mountain sides, when the typhoon rains come, it creates massive flooding in the valleys as the water rushes down the hillsides.
Upon arriving at the cultural center, we were invited to create our own glass beads for either a necklace or bracelet. We had a 'blast'melting and manipulating the glass, all with much help from the staff. Each of us now proudly owns our personally handcrafted momento. Then we went upstairs for lunch and yes, more traditional food was served, this time in air-conditioned comfortable surroundings.
From there we toured the museum, got on one of the many trams and rode up to the pavilion at the top of the mountain where we sat, enjoying the traditional singing and dancing performance. After the hair raising ride back down the side of the mountain, we walked across one of the suspension bridges and got a really super view of the shallow, black mud river beds. We watched/listened to more local music and our visit ended with the centuries old, traditional fireworks.
The drive back to the city was about an hour long and before you knew it
New Teachers and their Families
After a welcome meet and greet at the school, we are on the bus and off for some sightseeing and shopping! we were at Costco. Maurice and I were very popular because we BOTH had cards and could get several people in on our cards. We showed restraint and bought little, but we priced out some products. We then spent a lot of time on the bus dropping off people with their purchases, and finally arrived to our apartment about
8PM.... pooped, again! Already we are putting in 12 hour days and school has not even started!
Monday was our first full day at the school. We had another full day learning the expectations and getting to know where things were located. One of our challenges will be to learn the technology and programs the school is using, and this lead to a few more meetings and many questions. Linda hoped to get into her classroom and unpack. Did we tell you that the enrollment had gone up in grade 4, so they have split the class to 15 students in Linda's class and 14 students in the other grade 4 class. Sheila and I will compliment each other in our styles and knowledge.
We made arrangements with Tom to buy one of his scooters and should get it
Pier 2
The Kaohsiung City Bureau of Cultural Affairs took over the Pier-2 Art Center in 2006. A perfect place to stroll and observe. Man, is it ever HOT! as soon as we get our permanent work visas, called an ARC. The scooter is a used one and will cost us $500. Maurice did well driving it already. He will need to be fearless in the Taiwan traffic. Having lived in Mexico City, the traffic here appears calmer, though still erratic by our Canadian standards. There is an incredible number of scooters on the road, or the sidewalk, they seem to be and go everywhere. Also on Monday morning, we were loaded once again on a bus and taken to have our ARC photos and were told we should have the ARC in about 10 days. In the afternoon, after a few more meetings, Linda unpacked and began organizing her new classroom.
We headed for home, only 10 minutes from school, around 6, had a beer and relaxed while the apartment cooled down. We then walked 2 and a half blocks to the Red Buffet, or whatever it is called in Chinese. We walked in, picked up a tray and paper plate, then went along and selected our food from the 40 or 50 different dishes, and finally came to the till at the far end. There, the
Obligatory Photo
One of the Taiwanese EAs was given many cameras. lady looked through what you had, then indicated that we needed to pay 225 NT, or around $8 for both our suppers. Wow, quick, easy and cheap, we don't think we'll be eating suppers at home much. Just down the street from there, we have our local grocery store. We picked up a few supplies and headed for home, exhausted.... again.
Tuesday Aug 6, the school no longer paid for the cabs, and the whole school staff was expected for the 8AM meeting. Of course, the morning started with breakfast. Then, more meetings, orientation, technology briefings, digital lessons, the desire to be as paperless as possible, cultural awareness, procedures and policies, a new math program and a ton of laminating. (Maurice learnt how to laminate and took on the task of laminating and cutting for Linda's new math program. He then helped others with their laminating and cutting. He was a sought after man! He got to meet more staff that Linda by just working in the faculty room)......The list goes on! Wednesday was more of the same, and finally, Linda got a good night sleep as her internal clock adjusted. More meetings, more unpacking, organizing, planning and computer
Pier 2 Artwork
The girls got it right the third time they tried. Wonderful street art and statues were everywhere stuff!!&/$-);$;@-@$&! Linda will get there .... eventually.
Friday, after working at the school till
6PM, we headed out with one of the veteran teachers for a staff social at "the Fish Market Restaurant". About 50 of us gathered together at the restaurant where we each threw in 300 NT, or about $10.00. That was enough to pay for all of our food as well as all the beer we wanted to drink. The organizers....locals.....ordered the platters of food, and we passed around the 1 liter bottles of beer and ate and drank our fill while circulating and visiting. We then walked to a bar and ended the evening with a nightcap before Annie gave us a ride home.
Saturday we managed to sleep in till
6AM. We skyped and visited with some our family in Canada. Maurice watched the Riders football game going on in Canada on Skype, with Aaron and Delphine. Meanwhile Linda engaged in much studying and researching with the computer. In the afternoon we headed to Carrefore to pick up a few more items that would make our fully furnished apartment more comfortable. We noticed that people shop and leave their full carts unattended outside
Pasadena on Pier 2
We enjoyed a shared lunch at this chic restaurant. It was wonderful to get out of the 34 degree high humidity heat! while they enter restaurants to eat. Crime does not happen here so they feel it is safe to leave their full carts at the door. Scooter helmets are left on the scooter and people just do not take them. How good is that! On Sunday, after another restful night we rose and spent the day researching the city, doing school work (yep, working with the computer some more), and trying out the tools in the kitchen to make brunch. Did we mention that items in the kitchen are in sets of 2, 3 or 5? That is because the number 4 is the number of death here! We took a long walk around the Museum and then on to the Love River, completing an 8 mile hike in 36 degree heat. We only stopped for beer at the 7-11 once! 7-11 or Family Mart are the places of choice for any needs you may have. They even have tables to sit at and drink your beer while the sweat runs down your back and legs. They don't usually have the AC on high. It was also a good place to get out of the 2 minute downpour that came out
Street in Kaohsiung
We walked down this street to get a good view of the ocean of nowhere! Once home, we stripped down, showered to cool off and prepared our supper.
We planned for an early evening, because on Monday morning, school starts for real, the students and parents are expected at 7:15 and Linda will be there to greet them with a smile!
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Bob
non-member comment
Outstanding
We wish you all the best. Really enjoyed reading this and the pictures are amazing.