Snails, Lizards, and Roaches

Today was a little cooler so I had the motivation to go out to do some more shopping when there was a break in the rain. Since we're a tropical island in the Pacific, it rains just about every day here. My messenger bag is large enough to haul around my umbrella, fortunately.

While I was at the store, I debated on whether or not to get a bottle of Coca Cola or not. I have yet to see a Mountain Dew here, but Coke and Pepsi are plentiful. Thing is, since it's so hot and humid, I was wondering if I should get the soda because the caffeine could dehydrate me. But after drinking warm pure water (ugh), pulpy juice, and soy milk all day, downing a cold glass of carbonated soda sounds heavenly! So I got myself a giant bottle to keep in the fridge since it was cheaper. I hope I'm leaving enough room for the second teacher to put all her stuff once she gets here. I'm afraid I'm monopolizing all the space.

Tomorrow, my manager, her family, and some of the other staff of the preschool are taking a trip to nearby Penghu Island for vacation during the school's break period. It sound really fun and it has a beach! A seaside beach! This will be the first one I've been at in my entire life! Yes, it's prolly going to be a lot more boring than I think it will be, but it's the principle of the thing! I love maritime stories and views, so I've always been excited when it comes to beaches and the sea (or in this case, the ocean. Thank goodness I brought my 4 bathing suits with me!

I've had the opportunity to spy some exotic wildlife recently. The first was yesterday, when I was going to the kitchen and I saw movement around the trash bags out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my flashlight around (I use a flashlight since if I use to much electricity and the electric bill goes up, I have to pay for the difference) and I saw a webbed foot before it disappeared beneath the wooden floor! I had read somewhere on the internet that lizards are the rats of Taiwan, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was. Most people would prolly cringe at the prospect of having lizards in such close quarters, but honestly, I'd rather have them than cockroaches. Lizards eat the cockroaches that we might have. I saw a roach last night as I was walking around. It was the size of my palm and darted around so fast I screamed and jumped back! I hate roaches so much. If having lizards around decreases the number of roaches, I'm all for them!

Also, if you go down to grassy areas during the evening to night hours, there's a good chance you will see a snail. Or two snails. Make that a snail every five freaking steps. And these are pretty big! I considered keeping one as a pet and calling it Gary (kudos if you know the reference), but I don't know much about caring for them. I read that they aren't bacteria-ridden as a lot of people seem to think they are, but they're slime can get everywhere. I'll post some of the better pics I got of the snails.

Picture post

Two days and I'm already sick of the heat and humidity in this place. Any shirts I wear outside get patterns of sweat on them. I have a fan in my apartment that I have constantly blowing on my desk, but it takes stripping down to your underwear and letting it blow on your sweating bare skin to avoid feeling disgusting. My family had a foreign exchange student from Taiwan years ago that used to put water on her face in the bathroom and then just let it cool down without drying it to keep cool. It's a good idea in theory if only it didn't simulate sweat pouring off your face, making you feel even grosser.

To make matters worse, I have a leather comfy chair. It's not the comfy part I'm complaining about, it's the fact that if I sit in it for any length of time and then stand up, a puddle of sweat gets left on the chair and I feel

like I've just walked out of the shower on my legs. My mom keeps urging me to write. If you people think it's so easy, try keeping your patience when you feel like you're wading through water with each step. Seriously, get a plane ticket, come to Taiwan, and see how far you get on your blogs. :P I'm sitting on a TOWEL right now and it sticks to me when I get up!

I could stride around naked with the blinds closed, but the section between the apartments and the kitchen is outdoors and that runs the risk of some bald, perverted, old man sitting alone with a telescope in another building spying on me.

I found a couple of popsicles in the fridge that the previous teachers left. Also, I found out that "Amy" was one of the names of those teachers, so no past life for me.

All right, I'll put up some pics so you people should be satisfied for a while.

Taiwan from airplane at night.

Sideways view of Chinese church hymnal.

The Church front. Surprisingly similar to American style.

There are gardens grown within the city. Here's a shot of one on the other side of the street.Mountain scenery.

Playground of the preschool as seen from the balcony.

Inside my room.
Outdoor hallway. The left door leads to the bathroom and two rooms, one of which is mine. The right now leads to a copy of the left, but those rooms are mainly used for storage. The door on the far side leads to the kitchen and the living room.
The Living Area is on the second floor. This is a shot of the balcony. This is what you see when you turn around while standing in the same spot as above.
Shot of scenery from the balcony. See the mountains? Actually, they are 3x as tall. It's just the majority of them are being covered by coulds in this pic.
You can see a portion of the city from here.

1st Full Day in Taiwan

I took some pictures of the apartments above the preschool where me and the other English teacher will be staying. Unfortunately, I just got hit with exhaustion, probably on account of only getting a total of 5 hours of sleep in the last 2 and a half days. For me, that's far too little to be functioning properly.

I will say that the Squirts are even more adorable in person. If I sit and eat lunch with them, it's like I'm instantly the center of attention because I'm the 'new teacher.' For some reason, they keep calling me Teacher Amy, I think because one of the previous interns was named Amy. Or maybe there's a past life of mine that I'm not aware of that they inexplicably know about. Who knows? I'm tired.

Our manager took me to the night market and the grocery store today to show me how to get good, cheap food in Taiwan. I'm starting to think that the US should adopt a bazaar system to supplement our capitalist economy. This food is awesome! There's meat dumplings, something like french toast packed with meat and veggies, fried chicken, and a juice bar where you can combine the flavors of any fruits you want.

Also, I hope I never have to do anything beyond biking here because the trafficking laws are insane. I rode on the back of my manager's scooter and she and everybody else were driving on the roads in ways I would never dream of being safe. It's a drivers ed's teacher's nightmare. I'm sure this isn't the only place in the world (just look at downtown Chicago) but this is definitely one of the extreme places.

Here's to hoping it doesn't take me too much longer to get used to this heat!