Feelings in Taiwan

Sunny (actually, it has been raining and cold all week, except today...)


I've been lazy to update ever since I got here and my emotions were getting the better of me too. =T


First Thoughts
I must admit that I was taken by surprise when I first arrived in Taiwan.
Everything looked very old to me within the area of my school - NCCU.
My residence was also a shock - very dusty, buggy, smelly, etc.
So my first 2 weeks were very hard to adjust to. =(
Many of us wanted to move out to nearby apartment units, but we decided to suck it up in the end.
I met some friends from NTU and their residences are much nicer and their school is in the city too - *sigh...
I avoid staying home as much as possible nowadays.
Also, even though I understand bits of mandarin, the fact that I couldn't use English anywhere kind of created a language barrier - which I didn't think would've been a problem until I got here.

On the bright side, the city is really nice, things are quite inexpensive and the night life is much cooler than Toronto. =)


Classes
I'm enrolled in the MBA program at the school here and I must say that the classes are still quite easy. lolz.
I only have a total of 4 classes spread out on Tuesday's and Wednesday's - so I have 2 three-hour classes a day. =)
A very nice schedule, I must say, so I have a 5-day weekend to travel around Taiwan and internationally as well.

Here are the courses I'm taking:

• Demand Chain Management - Tuesday 9am-12pm
• Business Policy - Tuesday 2pm-5pm
• Media & Globalization - Wednesday 9am-12pm
  (this is a non-business course and is actually quite hard... =T but it's pass/fail... so w/e)
  
• Web Technologies - Wednesday 2pm-5pm
  

Only thing is that all classes require class participation so I can't really skip...
But I have 10 days off in May because the University Holiday falls exactly on the 2 days that I have class. =P


Currently
I'm just settling into my courses and seeing when it would be best to travel. =)
I've found some friends outside of my school to hang out with - friends of some friends in NCCU who attend NTU or who are just visiting Taiwan.

I went to quite a few lounge and clubs within the first week in Taiwan since all the Europeans are crazy party-ers - they hit the clubs/lounges at least twice a week.
But I don't really like the late-night outs and I don't think Danny likes it much either so I don't go to those parties much now~
I like my chill group now~
We don't go home early every night, but we just do other things rather than clubbing or drinking - like drinking traditional tea, movie-ing, night market-ing, eating good long dinners, shopping, etc.~ =)
Everything here is really cheap, actually - especially food. =P

I'm still a little homesick and feel especially so when I'm alone in my depressing-looking room.
It's ok during the day, but the metal-locker-looking closets and beds really bug me once it gets dark outside - don't ask why.
They just pull down my mood. lolz.
I've already gotten used to the dirtiness and the bugs, though, so it's a good start. =)

I webcam a lot with family and friends so that I feel much better.
I miss them so much!


Coming Soon
We've done a lot within Taipei already so I think we're hitting Tainan this weekend so I can see some artifacts in the southern part of Taiwan and eat some good local food.

Danny and Sam are arriving to find me in a little more than a week's time - March 19!
I miss my bf and bro so much! ^-^
Can't wait to see their familiar faces.

Hitting HK either 2nd or 3rd week of April to visit my beloved SChan~~ =)
We're gonna have a blast!
I need to shop - can't seem to find much clothing I like here - so I haven't really spent much on shopping.
I've spent most of my money so far on necessities and my long d phone bill. =P

Visiting Singapore in May with SChan during my 10 day break~~ yeaa~~


More updates later! =)