Hi Folks

Hey everyone,

So how is everyone doing? I am pretty good. I just wanted to give you an update of what I am doing. First, I have to say that there really isn't too many jobs here for foreigners unless you can speak Chinese. If you could speak Chinese, I am sure you can get a good job here, or anyway in the world actually. So my options for jobs are limited to really only being a tutor or a teacher. Don't get me wrong. Being a teacher or a tutor is actually a decent job here. I mean with the money. You can easily make more than $15 an hour here. If you aren't getting paid that much, don't take the job and look at a different place because people here will pay you well for teaching English.

I actually don't teach at a school or something though. I did for a little bit, and I made really good money. There wasn't anything wrong with the school or the other teachers. I just wanted to do something else that's all. So if any of you were thinking about maybe teaching in a different country for a few months or a year I would say go ahead and do it because we are young and you won't get to do it when you are older. I didn't want to do it when I am 35 years old and married. I couldn't do that. I think it is a good way to travel and also figure out what you want to do with your future. You don't have to teach in Taiwan because lots of other countries want teachers.

Anyways, so what I do now is help my dad out. I go to classes with him and talk with the students. I consider myself something like a helper I guess. If a student needs some help with something I can help them. I like doing it because the people are really nice. So what I do is I go with my dad to school and stay there until we come home. At night I might hang out with my friends and that kind of stuff. I enjoy doing it, and it is what I want to do right now. It gives me a chance to hang out with my dad and stuff.

Oh about the picture....all I was thinking when I saw this was LOOK OUT BELOW!!! There were two guys putting up an AC I think and the ladder was pretty ratty too. I couldn't walk through it because the alleyway is only big enough for 2 people.

Over the Weekend

I did a few thinks this weekend and I wanted to show some pictures. I took a lot of pictures so I picked a few to show you guys.

First I went to this other town that is kind of close to my city. It was maybe 45 minutes away or something. It is a smaller place and they have lots of temples there. I took a lot of pictures of temple stuff. It was really nice there and there is a lot of details that goes into making the temples.

Next I went to this place called Kao May Marsh. It was a really nice place. It is also very windy there too. They have lots of wind turbines there. Those were cool to look at. At the marsh there are tons and tons of little crabs, so everyone there tries to catch them and look at them. There were lots of different kinds of crabs there. We stayed there until it was dark.

Along the way, I saw some guys standing on the bed of a truck while we were on the highway so I took a picture of them because I thought they are crazy.

The final place we went to was on the side of a mountain over looking the county of Taichung. It was nice because the weather was prefect, and at this spot you can order snacks and drinks. I had a chocolate waffle with some hot chocolate and looked out at the city lights. It was a really fun day and I wish you guys could have experienced it.

See you later.

WHY!?!?!

Linkin Park Cancels Asia Tour

October 7, 2008

Linkin Park has been forced to cancel their upcoming Music For Relief Concerts in Mainland China, Macau and Taipei as lead vocalist Chester Bennington has sustained a back injury and is under doctor's orders to refrain from traveling or any physical activities. Linkin Park sincerely regrets this unavoidable cancellation and apologizes to fans for any disappointment caused. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.

The concerts were organized as fundraisers to benefit Sichuan, an area ravaged by a devastating earthquake this past May. However, thanks to generous donations from concert promoter Emma Ticketmaster and Linkin Park, funds will still be contributed to the band’s nonprofit organization, Music for Relief, and matched by the World Bank. These funds will benefit post-earthquake reconstruction projects in the Sichuan Province initiated by Chinese Civil Society Organizations.

The cancelled shows are as follows:
Oct. 12 - Shanghai, China - Shanghai Stadium
Oct. 15 - Wuhan, China - Xinhua Stadium
Oct. 17 - Taipei, Taiwan - Taipei Soccer Stadium
Oct. 19 - Beijing, China - Beijing Workers Stadium
Oct. 21 - Macau, China Cotai Arena - The Venetian

The Fruit Market

Hey guys,

I thought I would put up some pictures of some fruit. Its really no big deal, but I thought maybe you would like to see some pictures. Fruit markets are really popular here, and there are plenty of them. Many people sell their fruit on the street or in a small open market. The fruit here is so cheap. I don't remember exactly how much things were but it was really cheap. For example, the picture directly above here is of hundreds of lemons. They are green, not yellow. Maybe they are limes too or maybe they aren't even lemons. I don't really know and I don't care because it tastes good in drinks. Okay, well it says 29 above it and I think it was something like 10 of them for $0.29 which is like...$0.0089 USD. The bananas were...a batch of them for like the same price or something like that. I don't know if every fruit market has prices like this one, but this is so cheap isn't it? Maybe it was because I went there around 10 PM at night and they were on sale. I don't know.

If you are wondering how does an apple taste for example here compared to the US I would say it tastes like an apple. Apples here and in the US are both taste like an apple. Although some fruit here does taste pretty delicious. I don't know the names of all the fruits but I think most taste like tropical fruit or something like that. Also, the fruit here is seasonal. I wanted strawberries but no one has them right now because its not in the season. Maybe a different store like a big grocery or something would have them but not the markets.

There are a lot of fruit farmers here mainly on the eastern side of the island because it is more tropical there. Then all the food is shipped to other places in Taiwan. There are still fruit farmers all throughout Taiwan because I will see them here in the city selling their food.

I wanted to talk about one of the fruits I took a picture of. It is picture 3 and 4, and the fruit is called durian. I have heard that it tastes sooo good. I'm not too sure though. I can't eat it because I know I will throw up. Let me try to explain. It smells really bad to me. I know lots of peole don't mind the smell, but I can't stand it. It just smells bad trust me. It smells bad when you cut it open, so its ok in the market and stuff if its not open. Once its open...run! Do you guys know Andrew Zimmerman? He is the chef that travels around the world on the travel channel eating food and stuff. I saw him try and eat this fruit on a segment and he couldn't do it. He said it tastes something like a raw onion. Something like that. Then again, I saw Anthony Bourdain eat this like it was nothing. Knowing me I couldn't eat it. I haven't seen it but in the markets where Andrew Zimmerman went to, the durian vendor had to be a certain area away from the real market because the smell was so bad.

People have said durian and stinky tofu ( thats another topic ) taste soooooooo good! I can't eat them because the smell alone makes me sick. Literally, it really does. I smelled stinky tofu and I threw up right there in the restaurant. Well, I guess I can talk about stinky tofu now since I brought it up. So everyone knows tofu right? Ok well the stinky part of the name of this snack comes from the sauce or maybe its the way its cooked. It is cooked in a bin of a dark liquid and then the tofu is deep fried into it. There are lots of different ways to cook it but this is the way they do it in the market. It is so popular here that you can't go to a market without seeing it.

So anyways, I went to a restaurant with open windows. The restaurant was really nice and cozy. I have smelled stinky tofu before so I know what it smells like, but I thought I could try the restaurant even though a stinky tofu vendor was next to it. So occassionaly i would smell the tofu being cooked which is ok in moderation. I can handle the smell little by little. I always hold my breath when I pass a stinky tofu vendor. I'm serious. So anyways, the smell just coming in through the windows and about 15 minutes into being there I threw up. I tried not to because I was telling myself you can't throw up here! I'm sorry though, I had to. Luckily I had a little plastic bag that I did it in. So maybe you guys can see how bad the smell is to me. I know lots of people don't mind the smell though. I want to try and explain the smell...it really smells like the sewage being cooked. That is the best way I can explain it, and I'm not joking. If anyone visited me here, I bet most people couldn't eat it.

Ok see you guys later!

Out Shopping

Hey guys,

Yesterday I went shopping at the store. They are having a sale, so there were a lot of people. When there is a sale here, it seems like everyone about it and wants to go shopping. I went to the store early so it wouldn't be so crowded, but it was still early when I went there around 11 AM.

I don't really know what a definition of a mall is but I think Taichung would have a few malls. They have individual stores, department stores, malls, and markets. I think instead of calling a mall a mall here people say department store. When I first heard that I thought oh okay I'm going to a place like JCPenny. I was wrong. The department stores here aren't really department stores like what we are thinking of. They are maybe like a mini mall, with a food court and a nice movie theater. It seems that all the department stores have a movie theater.

Then there are malls, but these malls aren't really like what we are use to. There might be something like 13 floors for the mall, but its set up differently. Some floors are just for make up while others are for men and women. That's how it's set up. Also, for example, in the men's section of the mall there is a Levi's part. Levi's has its own part on the floor but you don't walk into a new room to go inside the store if that makes sense? Mostly all the stores are on the floor and only separated by their own clothing. It is a little different. So just picture a mall without all the extra doors and walls for most of the stores. You would walk into each store freely.

Anyways, so I was shopping, and I went this one part where they were selling jeans. Then I picked some out that I liked and tried them on. I liked them, but they were too long for me. I guess I couldn't buy them....Just joking. I bought them. They would customize the jeans you wanted to your length. It took about 10 minutes for her to do that. I thought that was pretty cool. So all the jeans just come in the size and then the length they customize it to the way you want. It costs about $50 for the jeans which is like going to the GAP or something. I got some more things too. The sizes here are also a little different, so instead of getting a medium like I would in Knoxville I have to get a large. Some people when they come over here are actually too big to buy some of the clothing. I mean your selection is limited. They might have your size but don't count on it.

So about this picture. I don't know what to think about it. I saw these eggs like this at the market and I was like huh? I think it looks like of cool. Ok talk to you guys later on.

What did I do for my Birthday?

Hey everyone,

Yesterday was my birthday, and I enjoyed it. Around 6 PM I went to go out to eat with Cherry. I ate so much that I was feeling kind of bad, but it was ok. She told the restaurant that it was my birthday so when we were done eating the meal that sang me the happy birthday song and gave me a good piece of cake. It was kind of embarrassing though because the place was crowded and they also wanted me to sing with them and stand up.

After that, Cherry and I went to go bowling with her brother and sister. Her brother is pretty good at bowling and he could do some tricks with the ball like spinning it different ways. The second game we played I only scored something like 65 points. I started to try and spin the ball too, but it didn't work out too well. There aren't too many bowling alleys here, and the only one I know of is actually kind of cool. I think the ones in Knoxville are only so so, but maybe it's because I have been to them a lot. The bowling alley here is also an arcade place (with nice arcades if that makes sense), upstairs is ping pong, about 20 pool tables, and also there are batting practice things upstairs. The patting practice here is really popular. It's not the kind of batting practice like in a batting cage because it is a little different. You pick the speed of your ball and there's I think maybe 8 different speeds. Well, I guess its the same back in the US but it's still different. Anyways though, my friends Bobby met up with us there too.

After that, Cherry, Bobby, and I went to this really nice lounge/bar/live music place. I guess I will give you some background on Bobby. He is from New Zealand and speaks just a little bit of Chinese. He could get around town if he wanted to with his Chinese. He loves snow boarding and he travels around the world snowboarding. Since there really isn't any snow here is he going to be going to Colorado for I think he said 7 months. He is a really cool guy.

So we went to this place and it was really really nice. I should mention that the bars/lounges here are really really nice. They aren't like Knoxville at all, so don't picture a Knoxville bar. Knoxville doesn't have lounge that I know of. The lounges/bars remind me of the ones from Las Vegas. I say this because all of them that I have been to are really nice and relaxed. The people dress up nice when they go to them and the environment is good. I think it is the same if Las Vegas. I haven't seen a lounge/bar here that is like the ones in Knoxville. I don't know if they exist here. You can bring your little purse dogs with you too if you want. I saw that. You know what I mean by purse dogs? Those dogs that fit in your purse.

Ok, we went to this place and it was really crowded and everyone was having a good time and there was a pretty good band on the stage. You could also request songs for them to place, so I requested Hotel California. The guitarist in the band played an awesome solo during the song. I had a lot of fun there. Since it was my birthday, I got a free cake! It was a lot of cake and we couldnt finish it. I would go back to that place because it was nice and you can go there to relax and hang out.

So that is what I did for my birthday. Today I am actually going to go out again and buy some gifts, so that should be good. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I had a haircut on my birthday. Haircuts here are really good because they are all salon type of places and you get drinks and a massage when you get a haircut. I don't know if you guys can tell but my hair is gelled up kind of like a Taiwanese pop singer. It thought it was funny, so I kept the gel in it all day.

Ok well enjoy the picture and I will talk to you guys later.

Vacation is coming up!

Hey everyone,

I am still doing good here, and I am still having a lot of fun. Today I went to a tea shop around midnight and had some snacks and drank lemonade. It was still really busy. About 1 million people live in the city of Taichung so it's usually busy until 3 in the morning everyday.

Look at this picture I took. This is a VERY typical food vendor in Taiwan. Do you guys see all those different kinds of food? Do you know how many of those foods I have tried? 0. I just can't bring myself to do it. This type of food vendor is one of the most abundant type I think. There are lots and lots of food vendors, and they sell food really cheap. I am a picky eater so that is why I haven't tried on of these foods, but maybe you guys would like some?

So anyways, there is another typhoon coming here! That would be 3 in a row. I mean, in the past 3 weeks there has been a typhoon every week. It is suppose to come on Saturday, so I still have a little time to go outside.

I think I should be having a vacation coming up soon too. Let me explain. On Friday, it is my birthday, so I am going to go out with my friends. I don't know where yet, but I have a few ideas. So I think that counts as a little vacation. Then, next weekend is actually a vacation in Taiwan. There's no school next Friday, and a lot of people are off work. I want to try and go somewhere within Taiwan that weekend. I am pretty sure I will either go to Kenting, Tainan, or the mountains. Kenting is really nice and has the beaches that we see in postcards and that kind of stuff. Tainan is a lot closer to me (maybe 1 and a half hours), and it has a desert, beach, and mountains all in one county. So that would be cool. The other thing is I would go to the mountains around here. It should be pretty fun.

And then the weekend after that I will go to Taipei for the weekend! I'm going to see the Linkin Park concert which should be cool. Then while I'm in Taipei I plan on going to a little island by boat and also go to a temple in the mountains. So it should be pretty cool too. I have been to Taipei a few times already so I know a little bit about it.

Last time I was there, before I went I heard about this market that has snakes. I had to go see it, so I did. This market wasn't too big, and there weren't too many people there. Anyways, as you walk down the street you see LIVE snakes just hanging upside down on a string I think. Kind of like laundry hanging out to dry. I don't know if the peole hit them really hard and then hang them up, but they are still moving and stuff. So then these vendors ask you if you want something to drink right? That's when you see something you don't see everyday. The vendors take a knife and cut the snake while its still alive right down the middle. They cut open the skin like a surgeon. I think they do more than this because they get specific body fluids from the snake and put it into little cups like the ones you drink at a water fountain or the dentist office. They usually have 3 different types of cups and each one has different fluids in it. One I know for sure is 100% blood. They don't add water to it or something like that. You drink it straight up. So you drink all three of them one by one and then you pay the guy like $10 or something I don't know how much. I only saw two people do it when I was there. It was pretty cool. So that's the kind of stuff I like to see. I like to see the stuff I can't see everyday.

Ok so anyways, after that weekend my visa is going to expire. I have a visitor visa that only lasts for 60 days then before this time is up I have to leave Taiwan for one day. That's the type of visa I have right now, and I think that's the one I want. It gives me a chance to go to a different place for a little bit. I mean it makes me leave travel somewhere for at least one day. So anyways I am thinking I will go to Hong Kong for a few days. I have heard Hong Kong is a cool place. Maybe I will be able to go to Macao too since it is right next to it, and I hope to win money if I go there. You know Macao is the gambling center of Asia. Its different from Las Vegas. I can explain that a different day because that might be a like post. So anyways, I only checked this one airline, but it is about $230 for a roundtrip to Honk Kong or Macao. I think that's a really good price right? With this airline, you can go anywhere in the world, but I was just looking at SE Asia. It was around $500 round trip to Tokyo and that was the most exspensive. You can go to Bali ( nice beach resort ), Thailand, and the Philippines all for under $450 round trip. I was saying this is pretty good because when I was looking at flight from Knoxville to SanFrancisco it was $850 on the internet. I think thats crazy because you litterally can fly anywhere in the world round trip for around $1300, at least last time I checked. I might be wrong now though.

Ok well I hope everyone is doing good. See you later.