This has been sitting on my phone for the past few weeks, and I can’t believe I’d almost forgotten about it. Yes, this is an actual English slang textbook. While the section on the usage of the word “fuck” is probably the best, the rest is also hysterical.
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve updated this site, but writing has been at the bottom of my priority list for the past month or two. I got back from the States a week and a half ago, and have been relatively busy ever since. First and foremost, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about my Visa situation. As many of you already know, I am no longer teaching, which means that I am on a regular 60 day visitor Visa for the time being. The good news is that it can be extended for up to 5 years, provided I make a short trip out of the country every 60 days. While I briefly considered changing it into a Student Visa by enrolling in Chinese courses at Chung Hua University, the 40,000 NT a semester price tag didn’t seem worth it. Perhaps I’ll reconsider that option closer to the Fall semester, but right now, I just want to focus on settling down a bit more permanently in Hsinchu. This brings me to my second issue….finding a new apartment.
As of this week, I am officially in the market for a new place to live. The fact that I’m now working from home means that my 5 pings of living space is becoming incredibly claustrophobic. I also have an ongoing desire to have my own kitchen. Of course, the icing on the proverbial cake is the fact that listening to the near-constant noise from the two kindergartens next door is beginning to test my sanity. In fact, as I write this, I am being bombarded by the symphonic sounds of screeching children. Le sigh.
Aside from that, life is good. I’ve been working out regularly since I returned to Taiwan and have caught up on some much neglected reading. I’m also looking forward to my two major trips this year: Chinese New Year in Thailand and a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich this fall.
Till next time!
-Rachael
So, all of my friends have been discussing their New Year’s Resolutions for the past week, and I thought I’d better make an attempt to jump on the bandwagon. Thus, I’ve compiled a list of my own resolutions for your reading pleasure.
1. Start working out again. I used to be very athletic, but life intervened, and I haven’t found the time to work out/play sports in months. Maybe I’ll join a roller hockey team, or just continue to go hiking on the weekends. Even yoga would be better than nothing.
2. Find some sort of geographical home. Okay, so maybe this will take more than a year, but I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m sick of moving every 6-12 months. It’s time I actually settled down and *gasp* bought a couch and a TV. Maybe even a dog.
3. Continue working towards my goal of self-employment. Honestly, this one isn’t that difficult, since the alternative of a stable 9-5 position is tantamount to brain death for me.
By far the best trip I’ve had in Taiwan thus far, though I’m far too tired right now to write a full report. However, I have some free time coming up this week, and will work on it (and the report from last week’s trip) then.
As a student in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was taught early on that the “responsible” thing to do was to get a prestigious job with a decent salary and settle down with the trappings of a middle class American life. Whether or not I enjoyed my job was irrelevant – that was what hobbies were for.
So I did the responsible thing and spent years pursuing a career in IT. Not only did it pay well, but there were also many opportunities for career advancement. However, there was one problem:
I hated it.
No, I didn’t hate the subject matter. What I hated was the realization that I was basically relegating myself to working in an office for the rest of my life. At the time, I convinced myself that I was being overly idealistic and simply lacked discipline. After all, everyone else I knew worked very hard at (what I considered) boring jobs in order to provide their families with a high standard of living. Yet they were happy, right?
In the years that followed, I became increasingly uncomfortable with this philosophy. Why couldn’t I become self-employed and do something that I was honestly passionate about? The short answer is that I was too scared and guilt-ridden. Scared because, in order to do that, I would have to knowingly remove myself from the relative stability of corporate life and rely solely on myself. Guilt-ridden because I was preoccupied with prestige – the opinions of those around me.
Well, no longer. My move to Taiwan has already benefited me in several ways. Most importantly, it’s allowed me to remove myself from the professional and social constraints that made my goal of self-employment unachievable. I’ve run out of excuses about why I can’t do it….now it’s time to move forward and actually give it a go. I have no doubt that there will be many struggles ahead, but now that I’ve clearly identified what I love to do and how to do it, I’m already well on my way to success.
My friend, Chris, and I decided to climb Five Finger Mountain today. It’s located near Beipu and was a roughly 45 minute scooter drive from East Hsinchu. Due to logistical issues (we didn’t have a map when we started), we only climbed two of the peaks. However, the exploratory detour we took on the way home more than made up for the missed hiking time. I was too busy oogling the scenery to actually take pictures of that particular detour, but will make up for it next time I’m there. Oh yes, there will definitely be a next time. 
The Christmas season is in full swing, and that means it’s almost time for the yearly school Christmas pageant. My students will be performing the Beatles song “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” They’ve actually done a great job learning the lyrics and choreography, but it’s still a riot watching them perform.
