There are countless blogs written about the iPhone so I don't want to duplicate what's been said in many other places on the internet, but I felt I should talk a bit about the iPhone and why it's especially good for me.
#1 - It's the phone I know. In Taiwan it's hard to find good information in English about the different companies, what phones they offer, and what features each one has.
I've been an iPod touch user for the last year and a half. For those who don't know, an iPod touch is basically an iPhone will all the phone and cellular network cabilities stripped out of it. It will play your music, show photos and videos, store your contacts/calendars etc. and it even has e-mail and web features. But it has one crippling limitation - with no access to the celluar network, you need to be within the range of a wi-fi hotspot to be able to connect to the internet. For a long time I've always thought that the device would be so much more useful if only it had constant internet access. With the iPhone, I get such capability as well as many other things.
#2 - International inputs - I can change my iPod to English, Chinese, Japanese or countless other languages just by clicking a few buttons. I have mine set to English, but I have four virtual keyboards installed: English, Chinese (pinyin), Chinese (bo po mo fo), and Japanese. I can swap between any of these keyboards on the fly, so it's easy to write e-mails or text messages in any language (or multi-lingual e-mails).
#3 - Camera and Video - I love taking pics to put on Facebook and videos for YouTube, but the process of shooting, then loading on the computer, then editing, then uploading is a time-consuming pain. With the iPhone, I can do all this right from the phone while I'm waiting for other things to happen (waiting in line, waiting for the bus, waiting on the toilet, whatever). I'm hoping that I can capture my travels more frequently with this added convenience.
#4 - Reading/YouTube - Whenever I eat, I like to either read something like a newspaper or magazine, or watch TV. But the selection of English material here in Taiwan leaves much to be desired, and I don't have a TV on the go. With my iPhone, I can browse all my favorite blogs and news sites wherever I am, or watch my favorite YouTube videos.
#5 - Internet Tethering - I just found out about this feature a week before I got the device, and this is a pretty sweet feature! I have two computers, a MacBook and a NetPC (Acer Aspire One). While I enjoy the portability of each machine, they both suffer from the same problem as the iPod Touch - it's frustrating to find a wi-fi hotspot when you're out on the move. But with the iPhone, you can very easily set it up so that if you plug it into a computer, that computer will be able to get it's internet from the iPhone. Although I've only had the iPhone for about 48 hours, I've already used this feature a couple times and it's fantastic.
#6 - Google Maps and GPS - The iPhone model I got (3GS) has a GPS inside it to instantly show me where I am on Google Maps (or Google Earth). It also has a compass, so that I can have the map automatically rotate as I walk around, so I know exactly which way I'm going. This feature is invaluable when you're walking around a foreign city in a neighborhood you're not familiar with. I still hope to get a scooter at some point, so this would be fantastic if I ever got lost on the road.
#7 - Voice notes - So many times I think of a question I should ask my Chinese teacher, about how to say a specific thing, but then I forget - because I don't have a pen/paper handy to write it down. But with the iPhone it's easy to take voice notes and label them for later use. So if I have a Chinese question - or an idea for this blog, I can make a note of it so I don't forget. A simple feature but very useful!
Of course, it still does all the great things my iPod touch did, like play my MP3s, show my pics and videos, keep my contacts/calendar etc. Oh, and I forgot to mention - it's a phone! I can make and receive phone calls on it ^_^
Of course, not every feature of the iPhone is something I really need. Here are some other features on the iPhone that I don't really care about:
#1 - Added speed. Every review I've read on the iPhone 3GS raves about the speed difference. And as a former iPod touch (1st generation) user, I can say that yes the speed difference is noticeable, but honestly I never had a problem with the iPod touch being too slow. So the speed boost isn't a big deal for me.
#2 - 3D graphics. I'm told that the graphics chip in the 3GS is more advanced than the PSP. But honestly I don't really care. I have a PSP and a DS and both of them display amazing graphics in my view, and the iPhone really can't compare to either machine when it comes to playing video games.
#3 - Voice Control - it's neat to be able to use voice commands to control the iPhone, but honestly is it that hard to just touch the screen or the included remote?
All-in-all, I'm very happy with the iPhone (as I knew I would be). It was expensive to buy it though. In Taiwan the contracts work differently - you have to pay a large sum up front, and then the amount you paid is used to discount your monthly fee. So I had to pay NT$28,800 for the phone in total, but roughly NT$21,000 of that will come back to me in monthly fee discounts and returned deposit, so the actual phone itself will cost me $7,800 in the end (about $250 Canadian dollars). I've been told that Taiwan is one of the cheapest places in the world to buy an iPhone, if you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective (phone + monthly service fee), but still - dropping that big a sum all at once made me wince!
I hope that this device enables me to keep in contact more often, both here on the blog and also on Facebook.
2009年10月13日火曜日
2009年9月17日木曜日
Life In The New Position
Now it's September! I notice it's not quite as hot as it was last month, but I'm still using the A/C quite liberally. But sometimes outside the heat is actually tolerable (but only sometimes). Maybe next month will be better.
I'm now about 2 weeks into the new position, about six months into my stay in Taiwan (has it been that long already?) and about 1 1/2 years into my time abroad. So how is life now?
Well, the hours are long. While I don't exactly have any shackles to my desk, and no one has explicitly told me that I should stay late, enough of the Japanese work ethic has rubbed off on me that I feel bad when my coworkers (the other two main supervisors) are still there and I'm heading off early. So whenever possible I stay and work with them. Sometimes that means working 14 hours in one day. The good news is that I can still go to my Chinese class (which I do twice per week). So on those days I don't stay late and they just schedule around me.
On the positive side, the work is exciting! I still do regular teaching every day, and there are some more remedial 'duties' I perform as manager (for example, I spend a lot of time correcting English documents written by the Taiwanese staff), but I also use any idle time to think of ideas and initiate my own special projects. I like having a job where I can take initiative instead of just waiting and being told what to do all the time.
There are some tough parts of the job. For example, twice this past week I've had to sit in on a meeting where an English teacher's class is not going well, and the school wants to have a meeting with the teacher to suggest some corrective course of action. Without going into a lot of detail, these meetings are difficult for me because I have to explain management's side to the teacher, yet the teacher is someone I also consider a friend. This creates an awkward situation on both sides and causes stress.
Many people have wondered how much I'm getting paid in this new position. Well, it's a modest increase in salary but it's one that I'm happy with. Before I met with the school owner I had sat down with a couple of Taiwanese friends and discussed the position I had left, and the position I was moving to, and what kind of duties, etc. I would have. We came up with a number that we thought was far and not overreaching. Later, when I met with the school owner, I was a bit nervous about it. Because I worried he would give me a number that was way lower than the one I had come up with. But actually, he gave me a number which was almost exactly the same, in fact it was slightly higher! So I'm happy that, even on this subject, we were on the same page.
So what's next? Well, in the short-term, starting next month I think I'll be doing my Christmas shopping. This Christmas will be the first time in my entire life (35 years) that I am not with my family for Christmas. But I still want to send gifts to them, so it's best to start early.
I also want to get a new cellphone. The one I have is a very cheap pre-paid phone that lacks anything but very basic functions. The iPhone 3GS has been released in Taiwan but supplies are still very short. Hopefully by next paycheck (Oct 10th) the phone will be in measurable supply. An iPhone would enable me to really connect with people in Toronto and Tokyo, as I'd be able to take pictures, video, etc. and upload them instantly. I may even be able to write my blog more frequently ^_^
I'm now about 2 weeks into the new position, about six months into my stay in Taiwan (has it been that long already?) and about 1 1/2 years into my time abroad. So how is life now?
Well, the hours are long. While I don't exactly have any shackles to my desk, and no one has explicitly told me that I should stay late, enough of the Japanese work ethic has rubbed off on me that I feel bad when my coworkers (the other two main supervisors) are still there and I'm heading off early. So whenever possible I stay and work with them. Sometimes that means working 14 hours in one day. The good news is that I can still go to my Chinese class (which I do twice per week). So on those days I don't stay late and they just schedule around me.
On the positive side, the work is exciting! I still do regular teaching every day, and there are some more remedial 'duties' I perform as manager (for example, I spend a lot of time correcting English documents written by the Taiwanese staff), but I also use any idle time to think of ideas and initiate my own special projects. I like having a job where I can take initiative instead of just waiting and being told what to do all the time.
There are some tough parts of the job. For example, twice this past week I've had to sit in on a meeting where an English teacher's class is not going well, and the school wants to have a meeting with the teacher to suggest some corrective course of action. Without going into a lot of detail, these meetings are difficult for me because I have to explain management's side to the teacher, yet the teacher is someone I also consider a friend. This creates an awkward situation on both sides and causes stress.
Many people have wondered how much I'm getting paid in this new position. Well, it's a modest increase in salary but it's one that I'm happy with. Before I met with the school owner I had sat down with a couple of Taiwanese friends and discussed the position I had left, and the position I was moving to, and what kind of duties, etc. I would have. We came up with a number that we thought was far and not overreaching. Later, when I met with the school owner, I was a bit nervous about it. Because I worried he would give me a number that was way lower than the one I had come up with. But actually, he gave me a number which was almost exactly the same, in fact it was slightly higher! So I'm happy that, even on this subject, we were on the same page.
So what's next? Well, in the short-term, starting next month I think I'll be doing my Christmas shopping. This Christmas will be the first time in my entire life (35 years) that I am not with my family for Christmas. But I still want to send gifts to them, so it's best to start early.
I also want to get a new cellphone. The one I have is a very cheap pre-paid phone that lacks anything but very basic functions. The iPhone 3GS has been released in Taiwan but supplies are still very short. Hopefully by next paycheck (Oct 10th) the phone will be in measurable supply. An iPhone would enable me to really connect with people in Toronto and Tokyo, as I'd be able to take pictures, video, etc. and upload them instantly. I may even be able to write my blog more frequently ^_^
2009年8月29日土曜日
Professional Development
One aspect of my life that had been nagging away at me, at least a little bit, is the issue of professional development. As happy as I am to be living abroad, and as rewarding as I find my life here, I couldn't help but notice that I was doing the same job as people who were fresh out of university, and more than a decade younger than myself.
From a professional perspective, I was basically starting over from the beginning. My decade-long career in IT seems like a distant memory. And part of me was asking myself, "Is this it? Will I just keep teaching like this for years and years until I retire?"
But I chose to stay positive. I have a stable job, a stable income, and legal status, which are things that seemed so unattainable only a year ago. And who knows what's around the corner? Sometimes nagging questions have a way of answering themselves.
A couple weeks ago, the owner of the school where I work, who's name is Jackie (we call him Teacher Jackie), asked if he could talk to me for a minute. I had only spoken to him directly a few times, as usually any managerial/supervisory issues are handled by the Taiwanese teachers. I thought maybe he was going to give me crap for playing around with the students (when the students are in the lobby area putting on their shoes, etc. I often like to play with them, give them high-fives, etc.)
Jackie said that recently he has so much work to do, because one of the supervisory Taiwanese teachers left to study abroad, and recently his wife is working to obtain her MBA. He mentioned that in the past he had had a foreign teacher on the managerial side of things, and that it worked out really well. He said he had a good feeling about me and wanted me to consider being a supervisor.
So, last Wednesday, I had another meeting where he wanted me to share my ideas about how to improve the schools (there is a school here in Sanxia as well as one in Banqiao, another area of Taipei County). I'm not sure if he agreed with every idea I put forward, but he seemed very impressed with how organized and prepared I was, and how well I was able to articulate myself. I guess working in a business office for 10 years actually taught me something after all.
So this Tuesday, at our general meeting, Teacher Jackie himself will come to make an announcement, that I am the new head foreign teacher for the schools. I will still be teaching but I will have a reduced schedule to help me achieve my managerial goals and duties.
I still am not sure how it will all play out. I worry that the other foreign teachers (who are also my friends) might distance themselves from me. I also worry that at times, the workload might seem unbearable.
But on the whole, I feel happy. Last February I made a hasty retreat from Tokyo, and arrived here in Taipei with no money, and no job, feeling somewhat useless and more than a little bit desperate.
Becoming a manager in less than six months is a welcome turn of events. And with the knowledge and experience I gain in this new position, who knows what might come down the pipeline next?
From a professional perspective, I was basically starting over from the beginning. My decade-long career in IT seems like a distant memory. And part of me was asking myself, "Is this it? Will I just keep teaching like this for years and years until I retire?"
But I chose to stay positive. I have a stable job, a stable income, and legal status, which are things that seemed so unattainable only a year ago. And who knows what's around the corner? Sometimes nagging questions have a way of answering themselves.
A couple weeks ago, the owner of the school where I work, who's name is Jackie (we call him Teacher Jackie), asked if he could talk to me for a minute. I had only spoken to him directly a few times, as usually any managerial/supervisory issues are handled by the Taiwanese teachers. I thought maybe he was going to give me crap for playing around with the students (when the students are in the lobby area putting on their shoes, etc. I often like to play with them, give them high-fives, etc.)
Jackie said that recently he has so much work to do, because one of the supervisory Taiwanese teachers left to study abroad, and recently his wife is working to obtain her MBA. He mentioned that in the past he had had a foreign teacher on the managerial side of things, and that it worked out really well. He said he had a good feeling about me and wanted me to consider being a supervisor.
So, last Wednesday, I had another meeting where he wanted me to share my ideas about how to improve the schools (there is a school here in Sanxia as well as one in Banqiao, another area of Taipei County). I'm not sure if he agreed with every idea I put forward, but he seemed very impressed with how organized and prepared I was, and how well I was able to articulate myself. I guess working in a business office for 10 years actually taught me something after all.
So this Tuesday, at our general meeting, Teacher Jackie himself will come to make an announcement, that I am the new head foreign teacher for the schools. I will still be teaching but I will have a reduced schedule to help me achieve my managerial goals and duties.
I still am not sure how it will all play out. I worry that the other foreign teachers (who are also my friends) might distance themselves from me. I also worry that at times, the workload might seem unbearable.
But on the whole, I feel happy. Last February I made a hasty retreat from Tokyo, and arrived here in Taipei with no money, and no job, feeling somewhat useless and more than a little bit desperate.
Becoming a manager in less than six months is a welcome turn of events. And with the knowledge and experience I gain in this new position, who knows what might come down the pipeline next?
2009年7月15日水曜日
On the Subject of Language
One common thing I see with many expats who are unhappy here is that they can't speak the local language well, and often they can't speak it at all. Upon arriving in Taipei, my Chinese was minuscule at best. I had taken Mandarin for a few months in Toronto, but that was four years ago and we didn't really get that far in the classes. Although I've managed to adjust and have learned to communicate very effectively with grunts and hand-gestures, I realize that long-term success here means that I need to learn the local language and, even if I don't become completely fluent, I need to be able to express myself and understand others at more than just a very basic level.
So for the past couple months, I've been studying Chinese. Instead of taking a class, I've opted for a private teacher in 1-on-1 lessons. This has worked out very well for me, because she can tweak the pacing of the lessons to go as fast or as slow as possible. She says I'm going very fast - in fact she says she talks about me to all her friends; she says how she has this new student who is learning so quickly and making such great progress. She also told me that my test scores (after every chapter we have to take a test) are highest amongst all her students.
While I'm happy to receive such praise, and I'm happy to be moving quickly (I'm almost halfway through the first textbook now, and hope to have it completely finished within the next fourteen or fifteen weeks), and I can see measurable progress whenever I talk to the locals here, I have to remember that I'm still a very beginner level and that only through regular habitual study can I continue to learn quickly.
So many times, I've met people who have lived or are living abroad, who say they regret that they never studied or didn't study as hard as they should have. But never once have I met someone who studied hard and said they regretted it later. 所以，現在我學中文。
PSもちろん、最近あまり日本語を話せない。「日本語を忘れてる？」と思ってる。ちょっと心配してるね！
So for the past couple months, I've been studying Chinese. Instead of taking a class, I've opted for a private teacher in 1-on-1 lessons. This has worked out very well for me, because she can tweak the pacing of the lessons to go as fast or as slow as possible. She says I'm going very fast - in fact she says she talks about me to all her friends; she says how she has this new student who is learning so quickly and making such great progress. She also told me that my test scores (after every chapter we have to take a test) are highest amongst all her students.
While I'm happy to receive such praise, and I'm happy to be moving quickly (I'm almost halfway through the first textbook now, and hope to have it completely finished within the next fourteen or fifteen weeks), and I can see measurable progress whenever I talk to the locals here, I have to remember that I'm still a very beginner level and that only through regular habitual study can I continue to learn quickly.
So many times, I've met people who have lived or are living abroad, who say they regret that they never studied or didn't study as hard as they should have. But never once have I met someone who studied hard and said they regretted it later. 所以，現在我學中文。
PSもちろん、最近あまり日本語を話せない。「日本語を忘れてる？」と思ってる。ちょっと心配してるね！
Long Overdue Update
I've had a few e-mails, plus a recent comment, requesting that I update my sorely-neglected blog. Of course my first reaction is one of surprise (someone out there is actually reading this?) but anyway, I'll tell you about my life since moving to Taiwan.
How is Taiwan? Well, right now it's hot. Last Sunday the humidex (what it feels like when you include the humidity in the temperature) was 47C. I find that at the end of the day my shirt is a stinky disgusting thing filled with old sweat that I don't just take off, I peel off. The humidity is just as bad as Tokyo (if not slightly worse) and the temperature is hotter. It's going to be a long summer!
I've also felt two earthquakes since I arrived here. One happened last night around 2am and it literally woke me up. I wasn't really scared, but I woke up and felt my bed rocking, it was like I was a baby again and someone was rocking my cradle. I felt more uneasy after the event - although everything stopped shaking, it felt like the earth below me (I live on the thirteenth floor of a building) was unstable, and that made it hard to go back to sleep.
Aside from this life here is pretty good. I'm not sure if it's better or worse than Tokyo, but it's definitely different. Here are some good/bad points:
Apartment: In Tokyo my apartment was 5.5 tatami in size, and I had to share the showers, toilets, and living area with the other people in my building (there were 70 rooms in my building). And my rent was 72,500 yen per month (including utilities). In Taiwan my apartment is 20 pings (40 tatami) in size (yes, literally more than 7 times larger), and I don't have to share anything with anybody. My rent is 5,000 (about 15,000 yen) per month plus utilities. While I enjoy having my own living room and bathroom, and of course I enjoy the cheaper rent, I must confess I miss the sense of community we had in my building back in Tokyo.
Food: When I first arrived here, I missed Japanese food terribly. But now I've become used to eating Taiwanese food and honestly believe I would miss it very much if I moved out of Taiwan. While some Japanese food here is popular, such as sushi, ramen, shabu-shabu, tonkatsu, curry, etc. it's often not the same as Japan, they put their own Taiwanese twist on it. I've become used to eating out, because in Taiwan it's usually cheaper to eat at a restaurant than to cook for yourself. So I've become spoiled with all this good, inexpensive food at the local restaurants!
Work: In Japan I worked all over Tokyo seeing private students, and I worked 7 days a week, sometimes as late as 11pm, and sometimes as early as 6:30am. In Taipei I work Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm (approximately - depends how quickly I finish marking everything). While I definitely enjoy the regular schedule and more free time, I also miss seeing different locations and talking to different people every day.
All in all, I've been very happy since moving to Taiwan, especially after I found my apartment here in Sanxia (a suburb of Taipei) and got settled and everything. Life here is not quite as exciting and dynamic as it was in Tokyo, but at the same time it's much less stressful because I have a steady paycheck, full health insurance and full legal status.
I will stay here at least three years, then decide if I want to go back to Tokyo or stay here in Taiwan.
How is Taiwan? Well, right now it's hot. Last Sunday the humidex (what it feels like when you include the humidity in the temperature) was 47C. I find that at the end of the day my shirt is a stinky disgusting thing filled with old sweat that I don't just take off, I peel off. The humidity is just as bad as Tokyo (if not slightly worse) and the temperature is hotter. It's going to be a long summer!
I've also felt two earthquakes since I arrived here. One happened last night around 2am and it literally woke me up. I wasn't really scared, but I woke up and felt my bed rocking, it was like I was a baby again and someone was rocking my cradle. I felt more uneasy after the event - although everything stopped shaking, it felt like the earth below me (I live on the thirteenth floor of a building) was unstable, and that made it hard to go back to sleep.
Aside from this life here is pretty good. I'm not sure if it's better or worse than Tokyo, but it's definitely different. Here are some good/bad points:
Apartment: In Tokyo my apartment was 5.5 tatami in size, and I had to share the showers, toilets, and living area with the other people in my building (there were 70 rooms in my building). And my rent was 72,500 yen per month (including utilities). In Taiwan my apartment is 20 pings (40 tatami) in size (yes, literally more than 7 times larger), and I don't have to share anything with anybody. My rent is 5,000 (about 15,000 yen) per month plus utilities. While I enjoy having my own living room and bathroom, and of course I enjoy the cheaper rent, I must confess I miss the sense of community we had in my building back in Tokyo.
Food: When I first arrived here, I missed Japanese food terribly. But now I've become used to eating Taiwanese food and honestly believe I would miss it very much if I moved out of Taiwan. While some Japanese food here is popular, such as sushi, ramen, shabu-shabu, tonkatsu, curry, etc. it's often not the same as Japan, they put their own Taiwanese twist on it. I've become used to eating out, because in Taiwan it's usually cheaper to eat at a restaurant than to cook for yourself. So I've become spoiled with all this good, inexpensive food at the local restaurants!
Work: In Japan I worked all over Tokyo seeing private students, and I worked 7 days a week, sometimes as late as 11pm, and sometimes as early as 6:30am. In Taipei I work Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm (approximately - depends how quickly I finish marking everything). While I definitely enjoy the regular schedule and more free time, I also miss seeing different locations and talking to different people every day.
All in all, I've been very happy since moving to Taiwan, especially after I found my apartment here in Sanxia (a suburb of Taipei) and got settled and everything. Life here is not quite as exciting and dynamic as it was in Tokyo, but at the same time it's much less stressful because I have a steady paycheck, full health insurance and full legal status.
I will stay here at least three years, then decide if I want to go back to Tokyo or stay here in Taiwan.
2009年3月10日火曜日
I moved to Taiwan!
Strawberries are in season now, so as I write this I'm eating freshly-sliced fresh strawberries with a bowl and chopsticks. Very very delicious!
So I moved to Taiwan. And I got a job. It's at Uncle Sam American School in Sanxia, Taipei County. I started training on Monday, and so far the new job seems like a lot of overwhelming information and I really doubt that I'll remember it all.. but I guess I can always ask someone later when I forget something. I think once I've got a few classes under my belt then I'll feel better. Teaching English in private one-on-one lessons to adults and teaching to classes full of young kids is somewhat different. I hope that whatever Taiwanese teacher I'm paired up with realizes I'll be depending on her to help get me through the first week.
I like this job because it's in Taipei county, so I can easily get to Taipei (1 bus ride to the MRT subway), and I don't have to work weekends or evenings (unless I have to do prep work for a class), so it's easy for me to visit and socialize with my friends. The market is not so good right now (or at least as good as it has been) for English teachers so I worried I would have to work far from Taipei and/or work a schedule that makes it difficult to visit my friends. When you live abroad, friends are what enable you to stave off homesickness (homesickness is actually a form of loneliness - you miss the support and sense of belonging that you get from your friends and family back home).
With a job I'll get a steady paycheck, and also a work visa. But payday is on the 10th of the month, so that means I won't actually see any money until that time, which means I've got to somehow ration out my existing cash to put me through. Right now I'm staying in rented room in a shared apartment in downtown Taipei, so I guess I'll stay here until I get my tax money later this month, then I can move into an apartment close to the school (as in like 10 min walking distance).
Speaking of apartments, holy crap one of the teachers from Uncle Sam took me to look at a couple rooms in this building (I guess most of their foreign teachers live in the same building), and WOW. Beautiful brand new high-rise building, with a 24-hour live security guard, swimming pool, gym facilities, kids' playground, and underground parking... and the apartment itself is 850 square feet! Remember my room in Tokyo was about 75 square feet, so this place is HUGE! It's fully furnished, has en-suite laundry (no dryer, but this is the norm in Taiwan), kitchen with stove, oven, big refrigerator.. living room with long L-shaped couch, 32" LCD HDTV.. two bedrooms, one with a huge closet that would easily hold my entire wardrobe several times over... air conditioner in each room, full unlimited internet... and all for NT$12,000 per month, which is about ￥3600 or about CDN$450. That's a little more than I had planned to spend on rent (I was thinking more around NT$10,000), but then again I wasn't thinking of a place this huge. I'm not sure yet but I might seek out a roommate, or I might just use the other room for guests since I'm hoping many friends from Japan will visit me while I'm here.
Today I went to the hospital for my 'health check', which is required by the government to get a work visa. I read stories of some foreigners that have to strip naked for the x-ray or take a stool sample, but actually mine was very painless. The hardest part was just figuring out where to go for everything. But thankfully there was a young, very cute nurse on the B1 floor that took pity on me and, despite her obvious lack of confidence with English, managed to help me fill out all the forms and get me to the right people. So the school should get my health check on March 21st, then they can apply for the visa on my behalf.
Tomorrow I have to 'demo' a few lessons as practice for next week (when I actually start teaching). Hopefully everything will run smoothly!
So I moved to Taiwan. And I got a job. It's at Uncle Sam American School in Sanxia, Taipei County. I started training on Monday, and so far the new job seems like a lot of overwhelming information and I really doubt that I'll remember it all.. but I guess I can always ask someone later when I forget something. I think once I've got a few classes under my belt then I'll feel better. Teaching English in private one-on-one lessons to adults and teaching to classes full of young kids is somewhat different. I hope that whatever Taiwanese teacher I'm paired up with realizes I'll be depending on her to help get me through the first week.
I like this job because it's in Taipei county, so I can easily get to Taipei (1 bus ride to the MRT subway), and I don't have to work weekends or evenings (unless I have to do prep work for a class), so it's easy for me to visit and socialize with my friends. The market is not so good right now (or at least as good as it has been) for English teachers so I worried I would have to work far from Taipei and/or work a schedule that makes it difficult to visit my friends. When you live abroad, friends are what enable you to stave off homesickness (homesickness is actually a form of loneliness - you miss the support and sense of belonging that you get from your friends and family back home).
With a job I'll get a steady paycheck, and also a work visa. But payday is on the 10th of the month, so that means I won't actually see any money until that time, which means I've got to somehow ration out my existing cash to put me through. Right now I'm staying in rented room in a shared apartment in downtown Taipei, so I guess I'll stay here until I get my tax money later this month, then I can move into an apartment close to the school (as in like 10 min walking distance).
Speaking of apartments, holy crap one of the teachers from Uncle Sam took me to look at a couple rooms in this building (I guess most of their foreign teachers live in the same building), and WOW. Beautiful brand new high-rise building, with a 24-hour live security guard, swimming pool, gym facilities, kids' playground, and underground parking... and the apartment itself is 850 square feet! Remember my room in Tokyo was about 75 square feet, so this place is HUGE! It's fully furnished, has en-suite laundry (no dryer, but this is the norm in Taiwan), kitchen with stove, oven, big refrigerator.. living room with long L-shaped couch, 32" LCD HDTV.. two bedrooms, one with a huge closet that would easily hold my entire wardrobe several times over... air conditioner in each room, full unlimited internet... and all for NT$12,000 per month, which is about ￥3600 or about CDN$450. That's a little more than I had planned to spend on rent (I was thinking more around NT$10,000), but then again I wasn't thinking of a place this huge. I'm not sure yet but I might seek out a roommate, or I might just use the other room for guests since I'm hoping many friends from Japan will visit me while I'm here.
Today I went to the hospital for my 'health check', which is required by the government to get a work visa. I read stories of some foreigners that have to strip naked for the x-ray or take a stool sample, but actually mine was very painless. The hardest part was just figuring out where to go for everything. But thankfully there was a young, very cute nurse on the B1 floor that took pity on me and, despite her obvious lack of confidence with English, managed to help me fill out all the forms and get me to the right people. So the school should get my health check on March 21st, then they can apply for the visa on my behalf.
Tomorrow I have to 'demo' a few lessons as practice for next week (when I actually start teaching). Hopefully everything will run smoothly!
2009年1月22日木曜日
Canada and Back Again
So for about a month, I went to my home country of Canada.
So how was it, to be back in Canada? It was cold!! But I managed to survive, and I'm really appreciating the warmer weather here in Tokyo. It was great to visit family and friends that I haven't seen in a while, as well as eat food that I haven't had in a while as well.
But yes, I'm back in Tokyo.. I arrived on the 14th of this month.
I went back to Canada for five reasons:
Reason #1: Visa Expiration
My visa was going to expire on December 15th, so I had to leave Japan by this date and go somewhere. A plane ticket to Taipei would have cost about 40,000 yen. A plane ticket to Canada cost me about 90,000 yen (only 50,000 yen more)
Reason #2: New Passport
The Japanese government would be very suspicious of me if I tried to enter the country on a fourth consecutive tourist visa. Renewing my passport enabled me to 'erase' my visa history and start fresh.
Reason #3: Student Holidays
Near the end of the year, most of my private students (my sole source of income) would be taking holidays anyway, so this was the perfect time to come back to Canada.
Reason #4: Home for Christmas.
Although winter is not my favorite time of year to visit (I'd much prefer to visit in the summer when Tokyo is unbearably humid and Toronto/Brantford is actually tolerable), there's something good about getting the whole family together at Christmas. It was especially good to see my grandmother. At 89 years old, I don't know how much time she has left.
Reason #5: To get a TESL certificate.
I found a place in Toronto that would let me finish the entire 60-hour course in 9 days. So now I have a TESL certficate. Why is this important? Because it should enable me to find work in Taipei with relative ease. I decided that if I can't stabilize my visa situation in Tokyo, I will work in Taipei and either finish my degree from there by distance, or obtain the work experience necessary to get a visa in Tokyo. In fact, recently I've been applying to places both in Tokyo and in Taipei. The first place I can get a work visa in, I'll go to.
There are some of you reading this that might think moving to Taipei is something of a step backwards, and that it's pushing me further away from my goal. But I don't believe that to be the case. Staying here on a tourist visa, teaching English under the table to pay the bills.. I'm just spinning my wheels at this point. I've learned what is important to me, and also what I need to do to get where I want to be. Now it's up to me to act - and put my plan into action.
So how was it, to be back in Canada? It was cold!! But I managed to survive, and I'm really appreciating the warmer weather here in Tokyo. It was great to visit family and friends that I haven't seen in a while, as well as eat food that I haven't had in a while as well.
But yes, I'm back in Tokyo.. I arrived on the 14th of this month.
I went back to Canada for five reasons:
Reason #1: Visa Expiration
My visa was going to expire on December 15th, so I had to leave Japan by this date and go somewhere. A plane ticket to Taipei would have cost about 40,000 yen. A plane ticket to Canada cost me about 90,000 yen (only 50,000 yen more)
Reason #2: New Passport
The Japanese government would be very suspicious of me if I tried to enter the country on a fourth consecutive tourist visa. Renewing my passport enabled me to 'erase' my visa history and start fresh.
Reason #3: Student Holidays
Near the end of the year, most of my private students (my sole source of income) would be taking holidays anyway, so this was the perfect time to come back to Canada.
Reason #4: Home for Christmas.
Although winter is not my favorite time of year to visit (I'd much prefer to visit in the summer when Tokyo is unbearably humid and Toronto/Brantford is actually tolerable), there's something good about getting the whole family together at Christmas. It was especially good to see my grandmother. At 89 years old, I don't know how much time she has left.
Reason #5: To get a TESL certificate.
I found a place in Toronto that would let me finish the entire 60-hour course in 9 days. So now I have a TESL certficate. Why is this important? Because it should enable me to find work in Taipei with relative ease. I decided that if I can't stabilize my visa situation in Tokyo, I will work in Taipei and either finish my degree from there by distance, or obtain the work experience necessary to get a visa in Tokyo. In fact, recently I've been applying to places both in Tokyo and in Taipei. The first place I can get a work visa in, I'll go to.
There are some of you reading this that might think moving to Taipei is something of a step backwards, and that it's pushing me further away from my goal. But I don't believe that to be the case. Staying here on a tourist visa, teaching English under the table to pay the bills.. I'm just spinning my wheels at this point. I've learned what is important to me, and also what I need to do to get where I want to be. Now it's up to me to act - and put my plan into action.
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