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We're in the middle of a "super typhoon." I'm not sure what makes it super. But I do know its pretty windy and rainy.
The dormitory vending machines have been scavenged of all food. I need to find some sustenance. So I'm venturing out into the storm to find something to eat.
If you never hear from me again I was probably killed by Jangmi. I'd guess by being blown off of the bridge or by catching a big chunk of flying debris with my head. It was nice knowing you.
I bought a motorcycle yesterday. Vroom vroom. It features an unadulterated 125ccs of performance. Which is to say, not much performance at all. But it goes when I want it to go, and it stops when I want it to stop.
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Concerns about melamine in the milk have prompted eating establishments around Taipei to put up signs like this to ensure me that the milk in my overly sweet coffee and tea beverages is not imported from China.
Today I was lucky enough to have powdered milk from the USA:
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And powdered milk from New Zealand:
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Tappl is a cheap milk chocolate product ubiquitous throughout Taiwan. It's hard to describe Tappl's special qualities to those who haven't yet enjoyed it's delectable $10nt flavour. Suffice to say that you don't really know good chocolate until you've tasted Tappl. Once you've tasted Tappl, you'll realize that all the other chocolate you've ever eaten was good chocolate. Tappl features a unique waxy, chalky, sometimes gritty texture, and a taste that can only be described as 'something like chocolate.' But no one really eats Tappl for the flavour. I eat tappl because it "is the best choice to supply full energy of stay up or camping mountaining, exercising."
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I was a late bloomer when it came to university attendance. As such I skipped the popular 'living in a dorm room' phase of undergraduate life. Luckily for me, National Chengchi University has allowed me another chance to live the student's dream life.
I've had a few questions about my living conditions. Hopefully the following will serve to answer them:
Firstly, I'm living in graduate student accommodation, which means I get the luxury of a room to myself. Initially I was told I'd have to share a room, but I nagged them until I got my own place. My dorm building is located halfway up a mountain, about a ten minute walk to the main lower campus area. There are buses, but I have yet to figure out the seemingly arbitrary scheduling.
As one approaches my building one has to swipe his RFID equipped student card to open the compound gateway. Next one walks by this room. There's a custodian of sorts in here. I'm not sure exactly what his job description is, but if I had to guess, I'd guess it has something to do with passing the buck. That electronic sign there keeps track of how much electricity we are collectively using.
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Next you have any number of doors you can use to enter the building proper. I like this one the best because it clearly explains that absolutely no females are to travel beyond this point. That's right. There'll be absolutely no nooky in any Taiwanese dorm rooms. That is, unless said dorm rooms are inhabited by gays...
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Once inside, one is confronted by beautiful Stalinesque decorating throughout the building. Every floor has at least one common room luxuriously appointed just like the one pictured below.
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The hallways are long, often unlighted, and home to hanging rain gear and umbrellas. Each door leads to a small vestibule which in turn leads to two separate rooms and a shared bathroom.
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Once inside the room there are functional metal furnishings, an air conditioner and usually a goodly amount of dust.
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The air conditioner needs another micro-chipped card to function. One can charge this card with money at the campus co-op. This I believe serves to keep the numbers on that aforementioned electricity consumption monitoring board from rising too quickly.
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It's not a terrible place to live. But it isn't very exciting either. Even though there are probably a few hundred students living in this building I've only seen a few scurrying around the halls. The common rooms are not exactly designed to facilitate socialization. That said, as I mentioned earlier, it's CHEAP. I reckon I'm paying about $60/month for accommodation. I can't really complain.
I haven't been back in Taiwan for two full days, and already it's raining in anticipation of a big 'ole typhoon hitting in the next day or two. Sinlaku is currently a category 4 and forecast to increase to a category 5 by tomorrow. Hopefully it turns north and forgoes Taipei. I was reading that my dorm occasionally loses power. Whereupon, they recommend residents "go home" which would be rather inconvenient for yours truly.
After over two years in Halifax, I'm back in Taiwan. I'm doing a Master's degree at NCCU. I'd forgotten many things about Taiwan. The smells, the garbage truck music, the at times infuriating service, the dust. My room had a few pounds of dust in it when I moved in. After cleaning it up, everything is again covered in a thin layer of dust.
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Speaking of my room, I've decided to live in residence initially. It's tiny and seems especially so after moving out of my nice studio in downtown Halifax. It's probably about twice the size of the bathroom that I'm used to. But on the upside, it's cheap as chips. When reckoned on a per square foot basis, I'm probably paying the same, or maybe even less than I was before.
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I plan on taking a lot of pictures, and hopefully writing more than I have been recently, so check back often.
