Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

[salkay]

[aahz]

I've been staying in Taoyuan and waiting for my work permit to clear.
I have been doing a bit of a silly thing for most of my life, in signing my name as Mike Alan Powell instead of Michael Allan Powell, as it says on my birth certificate/etc. Mike is short for Michael, but honestly I always thought Allan was spelled Alan. Silly, silly me.
Anyways, while this hasn't led to any snafus (yet), it has led me to a certain amount of anxiety as I wait for my work permit to clear. I have the same SSN on all my documents, and hopefully this will be cleared up quick.
Lesson is: ALWAYS sign your name the same way. Oh, and look at your birth certificate, even if you think your name is spelled one way it may be totally different.
When I told my father about this, he said that he had always had the same problem. His own parents had given him the awful name Patrick Allan Richard Dilbert Powell... He shortened it to Patrick Allan Powell, and of course, this caused him immense headaches for his own passport issues.

Other than that, while waiting in anxiety for my permit to clear, I'm living in Taoyuan and getting quite bored. I have a gym membership around the corner (it has 4 swimming pools and is incredibly luxurious!), and wish I had a better computer. As soon as my permit clears I will really settle in, but right now I'm just sorta touristing about as best as I can. I've gone to Lukang, Taichung, and walked over quite a bit of Taipei.

[aahz]

I received my work permit! yay!!!

Now I feel a lot more confident about staying here long term. I've been walking a lot around my area and going to the gym daily. I've also bought Practical Audio Chinese to try to learn how to actually get around in the area. But since I have two weeks with nothing really to do, I'm planning to maybe take a tour of the rest of Taiwan. Take a train down to Kaohshiang, then maybe go along the coast to some nice tourist areas and up to Taroko gorge, before coming back up to Taiwan. Basically see the entire island as best as I can in the perfect summer time. I've been told that next week is the perfect week to go, since the week after is sort of the official start of summer vacation for most people.

Happy days!

[Dr_Zoidberg]

[mdweezilt]

Congrats aahz.

I'm also thinking of coming to Taoyuan from Korea, where I've been for 3 years. Did you need your ticket for leaving Taiwan to get your ARC?

Thanks

[mdweezilt]

sorry, I meant did you need a plane ticket to get your visa to work in Taiwan

[aahz]

First to respond to md: this was the process for me. First, come on a visitor's visa. Then, once I had a job I applied for a work visa through my employer. Then, they applied for a sixty day visa. Then, they applied for an ARC. I had to show up a few times, and there was a 3200 fee for the ARC which I did not know about.
To get your visa to work in Taiwan, from what I understand (and please correct me for I am not too familiar with the entire situation), it is actually done through your employer. Basically, you find a job, then they apply for your work visa. Otherwise, you are working illegally.

So my visitor's visa apparently passed and now I applied for my ARC, which will get to me on the 23rd apparently. An aside, every step of the passport/documentation has given me aggravating problems. For the work visa, there was my middle name being spelled different issue. For the 60 day visa, my signature apparently did not look exactly like my passport signature from 8 years ago (big surprise). I hope there is no problem for the ARC.

My first week of work just finished, and I have fallen into a pretty stable pattern. I am teaching only a few hours at the start (part-time 20 hours a week). So far I'm doing a good job, I hope. I am teaching grades far younger than I am used to, but I am not having huge problems really. I am quite happy with most of my students, I'd say the vast majority of each class is well behaved and participates well. Some of my students have very poor English but are so quiet that sometimes I have to engage them one on one to get them to learn. I have one student, Elvis, who is disruptive and non-participatory, and if I don't hover he tends to destroy his books, but that's nothing compared to students I've had in the states. My boss has been extremely kind. If anything he is telling me I'm doing a good job, and I know that I'm getting better each day.

About the only problems that I've been seeing in the long term for me are keeping myself occupied when I get home and learning to not splurge money on things. I have to get a better control on my spending, as every time I go out to Carrefours I end up spending a thousand or so dollars on stuff that, afterwards, I come to realize weren't necessities. Like, I bought bread and sandwich making stuff...when it is far cheaper and more exciting to go out to the corner restaurant for food. But I like the variety...

And getting home after school I seem to find myself going home and locking myself in to go on the computer and writing lesson plan stuff inbetween. Not bad two or three days a week, but by today I'm finding that playing video games is pretty boring. Saturday is the day I go to Taipei, and I like to do something interesting then, like see a museum or visit a shopping mall. In the evenings I play D&D games with a group of guys who are pretty awesome...although secretly I think I should GM to show them what a REAL awesome game is like.

I don't really have too many new friends yet, but I am starting to recognize and be recognized by people at the gym. It's strange, but the gym is the main way I get out now, and I love that I'm going pretty much everyday.

Things I miss so far:
My piano. (although the school has pianos so far I haven't managed to get a key to the piano room and I don't want to pester people until I have established myself more).
My car. (walking everywhere is good exercise and I don't have the money to buy a scooter yet)
Not sweating constantly. (I've become resistant to the heat/humidity in that I cannot tell whether it is blistering hot or just plain hot, and sweat copious amounts regardless)
Filtered water. (Supposedly there are these water dispensers that give filtered water, but so far I've been unable to locate one and have been just buying huge jugs from 7-11 that are way too expensive)
Chips, chocolate, and all the deserts that I have given up. (I can't really get into Taiwanese desserts and I haven't bought one bag of chips yet)


Things I love so far:
The students are super awesome! (They are very funny too!)
I love being so close to the gym! (And every time on the way there's a betelnut beauty who I always get to check out!)
I love my new computer! (It cost a bundle, but it's worth it!)
I've lost weight! (I don't know how much, but I had to cut new belt notches on my belt to fit me)
My coworkers are very nice! (I cannot complain at all about anything they've said to me, they've always been supportive and encouraging)


Anyways, once I get into the groove of things I probably won't post any more updates.

[salkay]

[salkay]

[aahz]

Story so far:
I'm working at a school in Taoyuan, having a good time.
I've lost a lot of weight since November...and quite a bit of it in the last few months since I came to Taiwan. Overall, I've lost 40 pounds.. 25 of it since May. In just the last week (since Friday the 30th) I've lost 8 pounds. Why? Well, it's not particularly eating well, but it is a combination of quite a few things, I think. I'm walking a LOT...especially since I don't have a scooter or anything. I go to the gym every day and I've upped the cardio part of my exercise tremendously. I don't like desserts or sweets in Taiwan, I haven't eaten ANY since I got here.
It's not that I am superavidly trying to lose weight. more that I'm trying to change my diet completely and be a healthier person. It is working, I hope!
Other than the weight issue, things are going pretty smoothly. I love the kids here... Although I never thought I could handle Elementary age kids, they are surprisingly easy to manage as long as I keep them busy. It's days where there's nothing to do that's the problem.

[zipper]

So, how do you like the heat and humidity? Are you pissed that we haven't had a typhoon, yet? How about the little earthquakes? Those are cool to experience every now and then. What are you eating for lunches and dinners? Have you found any interesting entertainment such as pubs? Have you visited any mountains and temples? Have you seen any temple parades? You know the ones with the giant puppet men, mean looking youths and fire crackers. Have you visited the bowling alleys? They only use big balls here. Have you visited your nearest 99 store to buy your household basic cheapies? Have you seen the variety of wild life here; such as lizards, snakes, cicadas, herons, bats, hawks, cock roaches, huge spiders, geckos and etc? What about the wet markets? The vegetable and fruit markets? Lichee was in last month, and I think that dragon balls and pineapple are still hot. How about stinking tofu? Have you met any sweet little hot pants, yet? What about the little sweeties in the glass booths. Have you tried their little bettlenuts? Surely, you must have experienced some of the aforementioned thus far.

The other day on a busy sidewalk, I got pocked in the eye by someone's umbrella in broad day light as she nonchalantly pushed on by. Yes, they use umbrellas here during sunny and hot days and often wear coats to protect themselves from those carcinogenic solar rays.

[aahz]

heh, so many questions!
Well... The heat and the humidity were stifling for me at first. I have secretly thought of myself as a cold weather person who punishes himself by living in San Diego...and now in Taiwan. I got used to it the tough way. I walked so much in super hot weather and got used to just being super hot and sweaty as a natural course of being me. On one hand, I hardly notice the difference between "Wow it's hot" and "Oh my god it's hot!", and pretty much treat it all as just hot... that is, I sweat and continue as normal. For example, as I am teaching one class of "activity class", and we daily go out and play, the kids say "wow it's hot" and I have hardly noticed. I think it has also been helping me lose weight.
Haven't seen a typhoon yet, but I have noticed one or two little earthquakes. In San Diego we had them occasionally, but not as frequently as here.
For lunch, I eat at the school so I typically don't eat very much. I try to eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast. For dinner I typically (guiltilly) eat big; nyurou mein (beef noodles), maybe dumplings, or one of those beef steak hot plates they have around here. I drink a lot of King Charlie's (kinda like a locals starbucks but with tea) Zhenzu Naicha, a pearl milk tea with little rice thingies inside. Very good, and basically the only sweets I get.
I've visited a lot of areas... Today I went to Yingge, visited their ceramics museum and stuff. Previous weeks I've gone repeatedly around Taipei. The first week I was here I did a bit of touristing; visited Taichung and that old chinese city near it (Lugang? Lufeng?). I also had a week free so I traveled around the island. First to Kaoshiung by bullet train (I loved Lotus Lake area), then Kenting by bus. (Btw...despite the hype I thought it was not the most fun beach town) Then I went on to Taidan, which was a very boring city and I really didn't like it!, took a scooter for a day on Lyudao (Green Island was pretty, kinda like the Alcatraz of Taiwan), then up to Hualien to visit Taroko Gorge. Pretty nice tour...
I'm not really a pub type person, but Feebie's was introduced to me and I liked the people there. Also not really into bowling... Maybe I'll try it though.
Haven't seen any temple parades, yet. Kinda want to, though.
The nearest good store is a Carrefours, and I go there a LOT. It's about a 45 minute walk away, and so I usually walk there and back on weekends, doing my laundry along the way. Good exercise!
As far as the wildlife I haven't seen any of the creatures you mentioned! Maybe just bad luck... only ones I have noticed are the bug bites I get. My legs have a dozen or so bites. I tried washing the sheets but I think it's just the shorts I usually wear and because I am so yummy to them.
Wet markets I haven't seen, and I go the night markets around here but don't really know much about the wet markets. Stinky tofu is not really too bad, actually. I don't have a great sense of smell though.
Confession: If there's one thing I love about the weather here, it's the sweet little hot shorts that those girls wear. Especially if they wear high heels with them. Gah, they never really do that in America anymore. Call me a pig....Today as I was coming off the train I saw this girl wearing them walking off and I just....waited till she walked by and then followed her to the exit staring at those awesome legs. i've never actually followed a girl like that before, but...DAMN!
Betelnut beauties are silly, not really my sort of thing. Although the first few times I saw one, I had to stop and just laugh. Really a funny concept...pretty girl in a box! Even funnier if her boyfriend is lounging around outside.

[zipper]

They say it�s better if you eat the �big meal� at noon and a smaller one at dinner time. It helps you control weight, because you burn more calories during the day than at night. Drinks lots of cold water will help you burn off calories as well.

I like small typhoons because they usually cool things down and clean up the air a bit.

The pearls in the pearl milk tea are actually made out of sweet potatoes. Watch out, it is very fattening.

Carrefours is very expensive. I am bit surprised that you haven�t shopped at the locals; particularly the 99 store, because these stores are practically ubiquitous.

Also, you can buy small used washing machines here for as low as NT 2000. We bought one for about that much and it has served us faithfully; saves a lot of money and time for us.

Yes, the young women today dress up sexually provocative and tastefully. I see girls so often wearing skimpy shorts sporting their lower buttocks. Having said that, I have become immune to it, and pretty much don�t gawk at them anymore. Just a sneaky little peak every now and then, and then I am on my way. But I want to caution you about following them around even if it seems innocent and discrete. Beware, there are cameras everywhere here; especially in all public places, and your behavior and actions could be misconstrued.

[jdkrone]

just want to thank everybody in this forum. It has been very beneficial for me to read. cheers.

jd