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Now it gets interesting. Arriving Taipei next Thurs...
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mick_luna



Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 115
Location: toronto

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:56 am    Post subject: Now it gets interesting. Arriving Taipei next Thurs... Reply with quote

and hoping some interview appointments i've been attempting to line up materialize between now and then. Will check out lonely planet for cheap accomodation, and expat watering holes. Any recommendations? Can i buy you a beer and milk you for all of your secret expat lore (he says cunningly) ?
where do all the journos and creative types in Taipei hang out? is there a favoured drinking spot for FTs?
chin chin
Mick
www.portfolios.com/exotica
www.exotica.freeservers.com
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TaoyuanSteve



Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mick. Here's welcoming you to Taiwan. Now, please, consider resizing or removing your current avatar. It's wayyy too big and screws up the pages.
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TaoyuanSteve



Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thumbs up to you Mick, on your new avatar. Very Happy

In Taipei, there are numerous expat and western-style eateries and pubs. Really no need to list them here as there so many. You are almost only limited by taste and budget. Taipei can be an exciting place. Good luck!
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wood



Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Now it gets interesting. Arriving Taipei next Thurs... Reply with quote

mick_luna wrote:
and hoping some interview appointments i've been attempting to line up materialize between now and then. Will check out lonely planet for cheap accomodation, and expat watering holes. Any recommendations? Can i buy you a beer and milk you for all of your secret expat lore (he says cunningly) ?
where do all the journos and creative types in Taipei hang out? is there a favoured drinking spot for FTs?
chin chin
Mick
www.portfolios.com/exotica
www.exotica.freeservers.com


Punctuate properly when you send resumes to schools. It may seem off topic to bring this up, but I know that there are schools that reject resumes or introduction letters outright upon discovering poor pronunciation.

Yeah, I know this is a forum. And I suspect that everyone here already knows that. However, I have received many introduction letters with relaxed pronunciation. The first impression isn't good. Maybe I am behind the times. Or maybe basic pronunciation is seen as an indicator. I'm not taking a shot at anyone. I'm just telling you how it, in many cases, is. No hard feelings. If you are more careful in your introductions and resumes that you send out, then there isn't really a problem. I'm not a grammar/spelling cop. I'm just trying to make you aware of how many people may view your introduction letter/resume.
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mick_luna



Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 115
Location: toronto

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, what i really really need right now is criticism of my avatar and grammar. Steve and Wood, is there any more minutiae you can find to nitpick about? There are some really helpful and kind people on this forum, but its always fascinating to see people here like you. Wouldn't you rather be tripping marathon runners on the final leg of a race, or criticizing the colour of swim trunks worn by Aculpulco cliff divers? That might be interesting, I can't see what interests you about picking holes in unemployed ESL teachers. I guess we just make such good targets, being vulnerable like that.

Let's see, somebody who just spent 1300 dollars on a flight to a foreign country, on the other side of the world, going in cold without contacts, and looking at supporting themselves without work for an indefinite period. Hmmmm, what can i do to make that situation better? Empathy is such a wonderful quality, and so so rare.
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BigWally



Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Mick...

Obviously you're going to be stressed, and I think wood was just trying to give you some constructive advice to help you out in your job search once you arrive. I know where you're coming from, I just arrived in Kaohsiung a week ago, and my head is spinning, but dont fret, because if you have some money saved up in your bank account you'll be fine.

If you can find cheap accomdations quickly you'll be good, because the food, drinks, and many other needs are cheap. For example, my first day I went out with the girlfriend and the "getting settled assistant" (for lack of a better title) from the school we'll be working for and we had this huge lunch of beef noodle soup, with a plate full of spinachy green veggies and a couple bottles of soda each, and the total bill converts to about $6CDN for all 3 of us.

Keep that skin nice and tough, because you're bound to run into something more difficult than a couple of tough posters on a message board in your journey. Just yesterday I ended up on my scooter about 45 minutes out of town before i realized i was going the wrong way...d'oh.

Taiwan is great! Surprised

Ganbei! Cool
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mick_luna



Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 115
Location: toronto

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

and yes, i do tend to be a little more fastidious about grammar in covering letters than on online forums. One is a way to communicate and trade information in a (ideally) timely and efficient manner, the other is a means of courting a prospective employer, hence the difference.
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mick_luna



Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 115
Location: toronto

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

yes, you're right Big Wally, I just find it easier to be easygoing in some situations than others. This too shall pass.
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dangerousapple



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 292

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think people are just trying to tell you to be on your toes. There are many, many people coming to look for teaching jobs now, and bosses have the luxury to be picky. Schools get a lot of resumes. Any resume that has mistakes is likely to get tossed, and any teacher with a lot of demands will get passed over. And never try to use flying to the other side of the world as a negotiation tactic. You will get absolutely no sympathy from anyone.
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TaoyuanSteve



Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mick_luna wrote:
Thank you, what i really really need right now is criticism of my avatar and grammar. Steve and Wood, is there any more minutiae you can find to nitpick about? There are some really helpful and kind people on this forum, but its always fascinating to see people here like you. Wouldn't you rather be tripping marathon runners on the final leg of a race, or criticizing the colour of swim trunks worn by Aculpulco cliff divers? That might be interesting, I can't see what interests you about picking holes in unemployed ESL teachers. I guess we just make such good targets, being vulnerable like that.

Let's see, somebody who just spent 1300 dollars on a flight to a foreign country, on the other side of the world, going in cold without contacts, and looking at supporting themselves without work for an indefinite period. Hmmmm, what can i do to make that situation better? Empathy is such a wonderful quality, and so so rare.


Mick, your old avatar was so large it made reading threads in which you'd posted difficult. So, I merely made a polite request for you to change it to something smaller, nothing more. I, further, gave a polite thank you when you changed your avatar. I think your characterization of me as nit-picker in this case is unfair. Take a good look back and see if you're not just over-reacting to what I (and others) asked for. It's only about consideration for others.
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Forumosa Maoman



Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Lotus Hill

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Now it gets interesting. Arriving Taipei next Thurs... Reply with quote

wood wrote:
mick_luna wrote:
and hoping some interview appointments i've been attempting to line up materialize between now and then.

Punctuate properly when you send resumes to schools. It may seem off topic to bring this up, but I know that there are schools that reject resumes or introduction letters outright upon discovering poor punctuation.

Absolutely right. I used to work for such an outfit.

You might want to check out www.taiwanease.com for jobs along with tealit. And of course networking with the foreigners you meet here once you're on the ground will help a lot also. Good luck and welcome!


Last edited by Forumosa Maoman on Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:03 am; edited 2 times in total
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Miyazaki



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 635
Location: My Father's Yacht

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 12:30 am    Post subject: Re: Now it gets interesting. Arriving Taipei next Thurs... Reply with quote

wood wrote:
Punctuate properly when you send resumes to schools. It may seem off topic to bring this up, but I know that there are schools that reject resumes or introduction letters outright upon discovering poor pronunciation.

Yeah, I know this is a forum. And I suspect that everyone here already knows that. However, I have received many introduction letters with relaxed pronunciation. The first impression isn't good. Maybe I am behind the times. Or maybe basic pronunciation is seen as an indicator. I'm not taking a shot at anyone. I'm just telling you how it, in many cases, is. No hard feelings. If you are more careful in your introductions and resumes that you send out, then there isn't really a problem. I'm not a grammar/spelling cop. I'm just trying to make you aware of how many people may view your introduction letter/resume.


"Pronunciation"?

And you're giving advice? Shocked
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markholmes



Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Pronunciation
Main Entry: pro�nun�ci�a�tion
Pronunciation:
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English pronunciacion, from Anglo-French pronunciation, from Latin pronuntiation-, pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare
: the act or manner of pronouncing something
- pro�nun�ci�a�tion�al adjective


Question


Last edited by markholmes on Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:54 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dr_Zoidberg



Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Miyazaki is referring to wood using of the word pronunciation when he should clearly have used punctuation.
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markholmes



Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That'll teach me to read posts thoroughly before replying. Rolling Eyes
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