Finally got internet at our apartment. Its been a long week without any connection to friends and family!
We are finally all moved into our apartment now. Bought a bed, sheets, some dishes and necessities and are feeling more at home everyday. Since we moved out of the training hotel, we have been busy adjusting to our new jobs teaching. Mark and I began last Friday observing other teachers, and then on Monday we began teaching our own classes. We are working at different schools but are teaching the same levels. We both have kindergarten in the mornings and then a two hour class of grade 1s in the afternoons. Mark doesn't get home til 7:30 every night as his class starts later than mine, so by the time he gets home and we get some dinner, it is pretty much time for bed! So, this week has been kind of boring, but we are settled and starting to adjust.
Life here is good. We haven't had much spare time to go exploring, we still have lots of our neighbourhood to explore in fact. For the next few weeks we will be working Saturdays for open houses trying to recruit new students to our schools. So having one day off a week does not give much time to get out of the city. This Sunday we might try to go to this huge waterpark not too far from where we live. Although it's not too far from here, it is still a challenge to find. Things have been a bit difficult with the language barrier. Its difficult for me to even order lunch as I cannot read the menu or communicate with the person serving or cooking it. I tend to go to places that have pictures or point to something they are serving someone else. At times I wish I could just scream out what I want to eat and be able to actually get it, but I'm not in Kansas anymore so I guess I have to get used to it. It's not even the food that I'm missing back home; its the ability to order what I want. Oh well, enough complaining.
On a brighter note, I've had the privilege of experiencing a Taiwanese doctor's office this week. For 5 days straight I could not hold any food in my body, it was coming out in liquid form, giving me sharp pains in my stomach. When I had to run out of my class in the middle of teaching to go to the bathroom two days in a row, I figured it was probably time to see a doctor. Luckily, there was a clinic right outside of my school and my (male) teaching assistant accompanied me to translate. Kind of an awkward situation when you have to tell your male co-worker that you have not had a solid poop in 5 days and have had diarrhea multiple times a day - in order for him to tell the doctor what's wrong with you lol. Oddly I wasn't embarrassed at all haha. The doctor said I had a stomach infection, so I got some meds (which again had to be translated to me about when to take them, etc), not too sure what they are, but 24 hours later I am feeling back to normal.
Since we are on the poop topic, I must add in another Taiwanese perk. The squat toilet (toilet on the ground, no seat or bowl) and I first met on my way out of the Taipei airport. I had some what of an anxiety attack. I knew that I would encounter these in my life abroad, but I did not expect to see it so soon. So, without further ado I went to the washroom and to my surprise, I survived. The squat toilets seem to be preferred when there is an option for Taiwanese people, perhaps because it is more sanitary as your bum doesn't touch anything. But I always head to the toilet bowl if there is one available, never heard anyone dying of toilet seat disease. My mom would not make it in this country. When you are having a stomach attack and the only thing available is a hole in the ground, well that's what you take. Oh and you don't flush toilet paper here. Another thing hard to get used to.
When I am fully back to health, Mark and I will venture out and meet up with friends from our training group, probably next weekend. Tonight, we will explore another area of our neighbourhood and have our daily adventure of finding dinner. Some of the food is SO WEIRD. We eat a lot of "mystery food". More stories to come!
Ps: Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I can't be bothered to proof read. Besides I'm a teacher, my spelling/grammar is perfect! :) NOTTT
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