Sunday, August 31, 2008

pictures

they messed up i will try something new next time.

Some pictures (i'll add a lot more)


ok so this is a sidewalk. can you tell? its ok for people to park their scooters on it. and to the right where that glass is is 7 11. its the most popular convenient store. riding the scooters is pretty fun, but dirty.


















my cool helmet. there are a lot of i guess cheap ones where if you actually did wreck while you are on your scooter i am sure they wouldnt work. the cheap ones i mean cost about $3 theres no way they could work. anyways, i think mine is cool. i also have to wear that black thing to cover my nose and mouth. they make all kinds of those with pictures, words, colors.




























so this is just a little menu at mcdonalds. they even have carry out too, which cost like $2 for them to delivery it to you. kind of cool. oh and its 24 hours.

























some toys you can get in your happy meals. the star wars clone wars stuff. its the same back in america i think.















pizza hut. this is at night so the picture isnt that good. its like 2 minutes from my home. thost scooters infront of the place are for delivery. its pretty good.













here is blockbuster. its really just like ours. they have you know candy, you can buy movies and games. there is an upstairs to this one too. its pretty cool.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

newest post

whats up. i had an idea of what i can talk about instead of just talking about nothing. anyways, my idea is to talk about specific stuff in taiwan like...just random stuff like what people do here, the way things are, that kind of stuff. well, i guess you guys know how i have this one friend here who is in a rap group and stuff. he is a pretty cool guy. hes from here but he talks just like us and he doesnt have an accent at all. well i guess its pretty good that i am friends with him because he and his group are a little popular here in Taichung. theres lots of clubs and bars and stuff here, so every week just about he is at one hanging out with other taiwanese rappers and that sort of people. well anyways, i think its pretty cool because its what i wanted to do here. i mean with just hanging out and that stuff. he invited me to a party last night at this huge dance club. ok well i guess thats it for now with him. now to my idea about talking about stuff....

so i guess first i will just talk about.....how about school??

ok well im not like 100% but i am pretty sure this is how it is here. from an early age i mean like elementary school. the kids are all taught by their parents, teachers, and other people that they got to study all the time. there are 1st graders here that speak more english than i can speak chinese. thats a lot i think too because i can say a lot of stuff. so a typical day lets say for a 7th grader. they wake up and stuff then go to their normal school. they are there the normal school hours and are also probably most likely in a club or sport. it seems like a lot of people are in something with their school. i know that colleges here its required that they do something besides classes.

so, after that kid goes to school and studies in class and stuff. he then goes to another "school". this one is from maybe around 5 - 9 or 10. its crazy. and in this school they learn more. they learn english, math, science. that kind of stuff. then they also get homework from this school too. after that the kid goes home and does his homework. im not joking, this is normal here. i mean of course not everyone does this but trust me the majority do.

ok so besides the after school stuff, the students are constatly under pressure. im not sure about middle school or elementary school, but i know high school and college are very competitive. a student doesnt just go to the closet high school like in america. they actually have to take a test to get into high school. and the kids take the test when they are like 7th or 8th grade somethign like that. its pretty crazy. and, if the student does bad on the test? ive heard its nearly impossible to change schools to the one you want. so if you do bad on the test you might end up going to a high school that focuses more on industry stuff instead of one that is more for science. also, the same thing goes with college. but here its a little different. a student takes a test again for the college they want to get into. so not only does the test determine where you go....it also picks what you do!!! so im saying for example, if you wanted to be lets say a elemtary school teacher, you would have to pass that acceptance test in high school. so if you fail it or whatever, you wont be a teacher, you will be something else. and there are different types of colleges too like ones for medical stuff to ones for industrial stuff. so anyways you can imagine the kids here. i always see them studying. there is a mcdonalds just 1 minute walking distance from where i live. they are also open 24 hours which is good. anyways, i will always see kids in there studying. i mean who studies in mcdonalds?

also i guess one more thing about school but not really. all the guys have to join the army for i think its 1 year and 6 months now. it use to be 2 years. but theres no choice about that. so after they graduate college or wherever they are going to the army.

ok thats it. i will think of a different topic next time.

Friday, August 29, 2008

hi

ok so i think a blog is just like my diary right? i dont know who all would read this but i guess i will keep people informed of what i am doing. i will try and put pictures on too. um....my sleep schedule is still messed up. i wake up around 5 AM and then play the Wii for a little bit. theres only like 5 cable channels here that play american stuff. those channels are all movies and shows like CSI Miami. i am not really doing anything right now or this week. i will be taking a chinese class which starts i think around like sept. 16 or something. i will also be teaching some english classes for like 3 weeks to get some money. that will just be in the afternoons. some stuff that i want to do while i am here....get a blockbuster card, cell phone, bike, and make my helmet look cooler. i got to take a picture of it. ok well....thats all bye.

Hello

i am testing this out.