toilet paper and dumplings

We have been teaching for a few weeks now (which is an experience in itself), and it's a blast. In addition to Taiwanese students, we also have 6 French students -- which makes for an intercultural mix. Coming up with our own lesson plans and keeping our students entertained for 2 hr blocks is quite the exercise of creativity.

We also began our Chinese classes this week. We have a 2hr oral Chinese course on Mondays, and a 2hr Chinese writing course on Wednesdays. Jake took 6 semesters of Chinese in America, so he has some foreknowledge. My Chinese knowledge, however, is zilch. Our Monday class is purely in Chinese -- so imagine the language shock my brain endured. Our classmates include the aforementioned French students and one Japanese student.

The photos for this week are purely a hodgepodge of normal day outings.









(above) This is a breakfast food served at a food cart in Sinying. It's like Taiwan's own version of an Egg McMuffin. In addition to meat, egg and bread, the vendor adds some sort of sweet sauce and a bit of (unidentified) green, crunchy vegetable.





(above) At another breakfast place, they serve this bacon tortilla dish.



(above) Dumplings!! Walk in, order a plate of dumplings (we normally get about 40), and stuff your face. Good stuff.



(above) One of Jake's favorite dishes: curry chicken over rice.



(above) In this part of Taiwan, there is no Starbucks to be had. Instead, there's a popular coffee shop called "85 degrees." They offer a plethora of desserts, in addition to drinks. In Yanshuei, we found a coffee shop called "5 degrees," which is basically "85 degrees" with the "8" crossed out.



(above) Nope, that's not detergent he's holding in his right hand. Any guesses? That's a container of bodywash - bulk size perhaps?



(above) Probably the smallest car I've ever seen.



(above) Outside every window, there is a chain to hang clothes on. When we first saw this, we prepared ourselves for the dread of having no clothes dryer. However, after poking around our apartment building a bit, we realized that we DO have a dryer to use. But, you've got to let the clothes cool for a bit before trying to remove them -- or else the clothes are nearly too hot to touch.



(above) The "international blend." Tastes the same.



(above) From left to right: 50, 10, 5, 1.



(above) In America, coins are something that get lost under seat cushions or get thrown into a jar and forgotten. Here, however, coins actually have useful value and are worth Taiwanese dollars.



(above) Undrinkable tap water means we go through a ton of water. And since its so humid here, there's no choice but to make like a camel.



(above) I was given a request to take a photo of the toilet paper here. This photo is a package of, you guessed it, Taiwan's toilet paper. Below, is the toilet paper holder in our bathroom.





(above) This floor of Nan-Jeon's library contains only English books (though only a small portion is dedicated to fiction). Believe me, when you send two bookworms to Taiwan, English literature is a basic need.


Toilet paper, bacon tortillas and mega-sized detergent ... I think that just about covers everything.

As always, thanks for reading.