Stinky Tofu

Hello all,

I hear there are some troubles accessing the vlog. That's a shame because they are treats to watch. I will look into it but for now, I will do it the old fashioned way and chisel some words down.

For the past three days I have been in Hsinchu observing classes and finding an apartment. I have successfully accomplished both. I am very pleased with my new digs. Sam, another English teacher at my school will live below me which will be nice.

Here are the dirty details, I will be teaching 2-3 classes a day which are 2 hours each. The kids range in age and skill level and I am not sure where they will be putting me yet.

I start orientation in Taipei this Monday and will begin teaching June 25! I am very anxious to start teaching and get more settled into this place.

I saw my first Taiwanese Mafia incident the other night. I woke up to a ruckus outside my apt and ran to the window to see what was going on. I saw 5 or 6 guys beating the hell out of some guy with bats, crow bars and kicking him as well. I was terrified! I ran to turn out my lights so they couldn't see me watching. At this point, I realized I didn't know the police's number. I went to google it but by that time, I heard sirens coming. THEN, I saw a cop pull his gun on a guy on the ground who I assume was a suspect? I am not sure. I went to bed and closed the blinds.

No more shootings or beatings lately.

Moving on, I am excited to start teaching! Everyone here is SO helpful and kind. I think once I get into my groove, I will like this place a lot.

Want to hear some funny stories now?

I decided I couldn't live off of Pringles and M&M's any longer so I ventured out for food. I had a plan to find a restaurant with pictures so I could point to one like an American idiot. Turns out, there were none. I wandered for like 20 minutes and I thought I was going to die from not eating. I stopped at this corner place and said to the woman "Hello, I can''t speak Chinese. I am hungry. Will you make me some food, please?" She looked at me with a blank stare. So I mimed out what I had just said. SHe understood it and brought me some food. It. was. terrbile. After talking to a friend, he told me it was stinky tofu, a delicacy here. not. It was deep fried tofu with a marmalade center and spicy cabbage. I choked it down and rewarded myself with an ice cream bar and beer.

Hope America is treating you all well, tell her I say hello!