Heading to Hong Kong

It's exactly one month until my alien residency card in Taiwan expires. What does this mean? It means I either have to leave the country or renew my contract with Kojen. I opted to leave. I've spent three memorable years here, one more than I had planned to originally. Living in Taipei has had its ups and downs. Let's see... What have I loved about Taiwan...
10. 7-11s everywhere - "It's so convenient here!"
9. People are generally quite friendly.
8. The MRT is awsome. Public transportation rocks.
7. Living expenses are quite low, able to save money.
6. I blend in. Yay!
5. Great Chinese food and the best tea in the world.
4. Hot springs.
3. The mountains are a half hour away.
2. The beach is an hour away.
1. Traveling in Asia and meeting people from around the world.

Things I hate here...
10. Every other store is a 7-11.
9. I hate scooters. They're loud and stinky and everywhere.
8. Traffic rules or shall I say lack there of.
7. Rude people on buses who don't get up to let you into the inside seat.
6. Rude people on buses who shove you out of the way to get to the front.
5. Crazy drivers who don't yield to pedestrians or bicyclists.
4. Cars who don't pull over when there's an ambulance behind them.
3. Prejudice against Asian Americans who don't speak Chinese fluently. I've encountered more prejudice here from Taiwanese and foreigners alike than I had ever experienced in America.
2. Women who carry umbrellas in the sun and look down on those with dark skin.
1. Air pollution. I feel like I've been smoking for twenty years. The pollution is suffocating in Taipei.
1. Lack of individuality and independance amonst people in a monoculture.
1. Girly Taiwanese women and the foreign men who prey on them.
1. Taiwanese men who want their women to be weak, subdued, and without a mind of their own.

There are more but I'll leave it at that.

Actually, many people who come here say they'll only stay here for a year but end up getting swallowed by the comforable life one can have in Taiwan and stay for 5 - 10 years without ever learning to speak Chinese (I also find this rather dispicable.) I promised myself that would never happen to me. I've decided to go on with my original plan to move to Hong Kong and learn Cantonese. Things have already been set into motion. I've given my notice of resignation to my academic director, made arrangements for a place to stay on a little island a half hour ferry ride from Hong Kong proper called Cheung Chau with a beach and no cars, inquired about a Hong Kong visa (it turns out that I don't need a visa. I can stay there for three months on my US passport), and found a replacement to take my room in Tianmu. Now all I need to do is find a job which is giving me a bit of anxiety and has been for the past couple of months. I've applied to several schools with no luck. My Asian appearance and last name seems to be my main hinderance. Employers in Hong Kong apparantly don't think a Chinese American can do as good a job teaching English as a white person can. I thought that perhaps a hundred years being colonized by the British my have taught them something but I guess I was wrong. What makes me feel a little better is telling myself that if it doesn't work out, I can always go home. It's not the end of the world. There are worse predicaments, are there not? Besides, I also promised myself that I would be back in the States by the time I was 30 and start settling down and building a stable life. Well, that's only 5 years away; time's running out!

I haven't posted on this site for quite sometime and probably won't post as often as I used to for several reasons. The main one being my psychotic old hag of a roommate Helen has cancelled my ADSL because she "doesn't want to be responsible for such a large amout of money," about 24USD a month. I've never hated a person as passionately as I do this creature. Thank God I will be rid of her. But that's story to be told another time. When I move to Hong Kong next month it will probably take some time to get the Internet set up and running. I don't think Uncle Ngai uses the Internet or even has a computer.

I'm sitting in an Internet cafe near the Shilin night market. The screen is displayed in Chinese only and there is no spell check so my post is probably littered with mistakes. My apologies.

The Japanese teachers give it a go. ISO 3200 

Mr. Hou, the evil one appears to be having a good time.  

Kojen teachers at their best at the annual Kojen Summer appreciation party. School six always has the best act. The one on the right is my boss.  

I'm back and better than ever

Now that the hectic summer schedule at Kojen is over, I'll have more time to write in my blog. But not today. More stories and photos to come, though. So stay tuned.