"What do you do in Taiwan?" "I stud..well, I tea...I do both!"

This is the first chance I've had to write since work and classes began three weeks ago. Things have been a little more hectic than I thought, but I finally have a routine down. That routine will need to change, however, because my plans for the next few months have as well.

Where to begin? I was placed in a class that's actually quite perfect for me. The content of the textbook is mostly what I've learned at some other point, so many of the things I already know how to say. I have forgotten how to write a great deal, however, and anything I remembered from before was simplified, so it's great review in terms of writing. I'm also learning more specialized vocabulary and brushing up on those more formal grammar patterns. I am the only American in my class; most of the students are from other Asian countries. There are two boys from Indonesia, a girl from Thailand, two girls and one boy from Japan, a nun from Vietnam (she's probably my best friend in the class), and a married Mormon couple from England. I had no idea they were from England until I heard them speak English...their Chinese accents are pretty good, and any hint of a foreign accent sounded American to me. In addition to discussing the text we talk about our experiences in our own countries, and it makes for a really interesting 2 hours. We all have very different reasons for studying Chinese and goals for what to do with it, and studying together has been quite a good experience so far.

My standard class is from Monday-Friday from 8:10-10am, which is about 10 hours a week. Because I have a student visa, however, I need to take an additional 5 hours of class to be selected from a list of lecture-style classes. These were the supplementary classes that I was so excited about taking, but, unfortunately, the most interesting ones all take place from 2-4pm when I have to be on my way to/at work. I won't be able to take those Taiwanese classes or the singing and cooking classes. The only classes offered in the first two weeks were ridiculously simple and not incredibly well-organized, so I sat through a few of them and then made up the rest of the hours in the library doing individual study. They do show quite a few movies each week, so I'm looking forward to going to those.

When I applied for my visa to Taiwan I applied as a student, which is what I thought you had to do if you wanted to formally be enrolled in a university here. I should have known that they'd be willing to take my money regardless of the type of visa I had, in which case I could have applied for a visitor or working visa and saved myself the extra 5 hours of class per week. There are also some strict requirements about how often I can miss class (not very often), and getting above an 80% on each assignment. All of this seemed doable until I got to the part about extending my student visa. In order to be granted an extension, I have to pay next semester's full tuition a week before the expiration date. This semester doesn't even finish until the end of November, but if I want to get the extension, I have to pay tuition by the second week of October. Not happening. I work Monday-Friday from 4-8 on three days, and 4-6:30 on the other two. It's not too many working hours, but it takes me an hour just to get there (and an hour to get back). My class ends early enough, so sometimes I come home right away, but other times I need to stay to get those 5 hours in. It would be really difficult for me to pick up another job, which is what I'd need to do if I wanted to keep this up. In addition, I have to apply to grad school this term, and I simply won't have time if I continue with my schedule now. It would be incredibly futile to keep attending classes to brush up on my Chinese if I can't even complete my applications on time.

So. All of this has led me to decide that after November, I won't be taking classes. And I feel good about this. Most of my deadlines are between January and March (with a few in early December), and this gives me plenty of time to prepare. It also gives me the chance to pick up more hours at my current teaching job if they are available and hopefully I'll be able to save a little money instead of merely covering my living expenses. If I have the time and finances to go back in the spring, then I certainly have that choice, but for now I think this is what I have to do. I've been sort of dreading the application process just because it's so much more important than anything else I've done, and I think I can better prepare if I treat it like a full-time job.

On to another topic. I moved into my new room a month ago this Saturday. It's a very nice room with a big, comfy bed. I hung little white lights around the wooden bookshelf that Andy left when he moved back to Canada, and I've hung pictures of my trips to Japan and Australia all over the room. The painting I bought last year in Kaohsiung when I was really missing the colors, smells, and sounds of fall made the journey with me, as did all of the gifts I received from friends last year and the engraved ceramic vase given to me by Wenfu. I made an ikea run on Sunday, the day after I moved in, and bought a really cool lamp and new sheets now that my bed is big. This year I also have a whole drying rack to myself! I remembered how the four of us used to fight over it last year (not really fight, but you know...), and decided that it was worth buying one for myself. There are many things that I will do Taiwanese style, but drying my clothes outside in the humidity and pollution is not one of them.

This past weekend Noah and I went back to Kaohsiung to retrieve Leo. We took the bus down on Saturday afternoon and got there around dinner time. We went to all of our favorite places, starting with the department store near my old apartment where we'd go for late lunches and Baskin Robbins. We headed down the street to walk around the Cultural Center, and watched as people set up their stands for the weekly craft fair. Julianna and her family came to pick us up at the Cultural Center and took us to this great restaurant for dinner. We ordered many family-style dishes along with sushi and sashimi, Steven's favorite, and shared them. We sat around enjoying the food and chatting, and then Frank, Julianna's husband, reserved a room for us at a nearby hotel and dropped us off there. We ended up staying very close to the train station in central Kaohsiung, so it was really easy to continue making stops at all of our favorite places. We walked to the MRT and went back to the Cultural Center to have a midnight "snack" at our favorite late-night restaurant. We said hi to all of the workers there, our favorite being a young-middle aged woman who absolutely loves AJ Burnett of the Yankees. If the Yankees are playing, they've always got the game on. After the customers are served, they'll sit down and watch it too. After dinner, we walked back toward the park in the middle of the Cultural Center, stopping at McDonald's for cappuccino and cake (both of which are surprisingly delicious). We said goodbye to the Cultural Center, and walked to Central Park, which is about 20 minutes away. We used to walk there and back on the weekends if we went to get dim sum or wanted to go to the night market. We had discovered a maze there one day, but every time we went back it had always been freshly chopped. We checked this time, too, and were very sad to see that it's still in hedge form. It was quite late by then, and Kaohsiung, is indeed, hotter and more humid than Taipei, so we caught a cab and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning I met Dr. Chiu at the animal clinic to pick up Leo. He was a little spiky from the move, but he seemed to recognize me. The clinic isn't far from Central Park, so we walked back in that direction to have a dim sum lunch. After the usual meal of steamed pork buns, dumplings, spring rolls, and tea, we went to the bus station to head back to Taipei. It was a Sunday and traffic was crazy, so it took us way longer to get back than expected. By the time I got home it was already after 9pm, so I got to work setting up Leo's home. I took him out of his little travel cage and held him for a while, and he didn't seem to mind at all. He didn't try to bite me, which means he absolutely recognized me. I let him wander around on my bed, one of his favorite activities, and introduced him to my three very curious roommates. Yumi got some great pictures of him.

It was great to go back to Kaohsiung, especially with Noah, but I'm looking forward to staying here this weekend. It's always nice to travel, but I feel like I miss out a little on relaxation time. I'd really like to plan another weekend there when I can leave on Friday night instead of Saturday, and do some day activities like going to the beach and the old British Consulate. There's a great Thai restaurant there that we didn't have time for, which is too bad because I have been craving Thai food! Better start planning my next visit...

I should probably wrap this up and get to bed (even though it's only 9:55...see what's become of me?), but there's one thing that's been on my mind lately. I really am enjoying class and I know that just a few weeks of writing practice has already helped me improve, but I miss feeling live I'm living here. That was probably the most valuable part of my experience in Kaohsiung, and between classes, studying, and work, I'm not finding the time to explore and meet friends. Last week I was running late for a meeting so I hopped in a cab and realized that it was the first time in a while that I'd had a great conversation with a stranger. Classroom learning is always valuable, and it's certainly what I need to focus on at this stage, but I'm sad to see that other part slipping away. Maybe I can change that next term after I finish my classes, because I really don't feel like Taipei is my city right now. And I know that I've been biased, but I would hope that with the chance to really get to know the city, I could learn to find the same sort of things that I love about Kaohsiung.