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Published: April 15th 2006
I like this one the best
About 15 mins from my house...A momentous week has come and gone and it was fantastic. First off, I am now a legitimate alien working here in Taiwan, as my work visa was stamped and my Alien Resident Card (ARC) was given to me! I can now stop living in fear.
I also passed my "trial" period at work and was not fired, amazingly enough. This now entitles me to get paid a normal salary, and get a monthly paycheck like everyone else. I also get to pay taxes like everyone else, but I'll take it. Next week is "demonstration week" that lets the student's parents come in and observe all my perfectly run classes. It does put some added pressure on me, but as you all know, I live for such a thing...actually, I am quite nervous as the other Chinese teachers have been telling me if I do a good job I could get fired. Yikes!
My Chinese lessons aren't without their milestones as well. I have memorized (writing, reading, speaking) 100 characters, and I don't know how many actual words. This is much harder then it seems, as every character is like a little piece of art. And then when characters
like "shi" and "shu" are completely different it gets even harder.
So things are progressing at a break neck speed. I took the Foreign Service Written Exam last Saturday. It was painstakingly long, and pretty difficult. I will find if I make the grade sometime in July.
I've been eating healthy, so all you mothers out there can stop worrying. Maybe a little too healthy! I have tried things like duck tongues, sea eel on a stick, chicken hearts, stinky tofu, and yes, eve chicken ass! They are all delicious in their own special way. I just hope I don't get bird flu from all the chicken ass that I'm eating!
Now I am off to a Taiwanese baseball game. The xongdi xiang versus the tong yi!! Or the Brother Elephants vs The presidents. It should be interesting, as these two powerhouses are major rivals! I just hope the tear gas doesn't need to be used.
I hope this letter finds everyone well. Happy Easter!
Ty
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Mary Bailey
non-member comment
Fantastic photos!
Great photos! I'm not too sure about the menu? Happy Easter to you, also! Hope you are well and happy and good luck on you!