Random Picture of the Week #17

Little birds for sale near the Guting MRT station.

Two Months In...

Well, tomorrow is the two month mark in Taipei. It is also the day we would have had to leave if we didn't secure jobs and work permits in time. We celebrated by going to see Harry Potter (loved it), getting some cheap chicken and rice on the street, and indulging in Belgium beers at a bar we found called "Belly Wash" (bizarre).

I've been working for two weeks now at my job teaching adults intensive English speaking, reading, and writing. They range in age from 18 to 50 and are all taking this 10 week, half day course for various reasons. The diversity makes for a lot of fun, I think, although it is a little harder to help everyone reach their goals.

For me, the hardest thing about teaching adults is dealing with their sometimes flawed, or unrealistic expectations, like, "Now that I'm studying with a native speaker I'll sound like a native speaker," or "all I need is this 10 week course to ace the exam." Some people don't want to hear that learning a language is a lifelong endeavor. Kids don't worry about that stuff so much.

Anyway, overall I'm really enjoying my classes right now. Al is teaching adults and children and actually we're using the same books.

Nothing exciting to report, although we did experience our first big earthquake, a 6.4, which shook our house for what felt like a long time earlier this week. Nothing broken, amazingly-- I can't say I'm looking forward to more of those!

My favorite seat at one of my favorite cafes.

Random Picture of the Week #16

Al, antagonizing the chicken who lives around the corner.

Random Picture of the Week #15

Two girls check out the menu at Grandma Nitti's on a rainy Friday Night, ShiDa.

CKS Memorial Hall

We spent a recent afternoon checking out the National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. CKS was Taiwan's first president and generalissimo of the Kuomintang in mainland China before they had to flee to Taiwan when the Communist Party won the civil war.

As you can see in the following pics, the memorial hall has some fantastic architecture, the main central hall resembling the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. A small park with walking trails encircles the grounds and it's only a few bus stops away so we'll definitely check it out again in the future.

We managed to catch the changing of the guard in front of the CKS statue and spy a heron in the park before it started to rain and we headed home.

Me and Al in front of the main hall.

The grand Ceremonial Gateway from the National Concert Hall's steps.

Looking through the Ceremonial Gateway from the street.

The National Theater from the steps of the Memorial Hall.

Al!

Changing of the guard.

Changing of the guard.

Changing of the guard.

Lovely fish pond.