Wow, 2 months since my last post.

Hey folks, I can't believe it's already been two month's since my last post, so I need to catch everyone up on what's been going on.

I finished my 1st semester of Chinese class at Shida two weeks ago, but decided not to register for the upcoming semester, as I want to focus on getting a job and restarting my career. That lull in my resume will become a bigger question for future employers the longer I am without a job.

I interviewed with two companies, a small high tech company, and ASUS, a globally recognized company. I would have loved to work for ASUS, as that would have allowed me to possibly transfer back to the US with a job with ASUS in either California, or their office in Austin. However, like AMD, the interviewer at ASUS was concerned about my Chinese language ability, since I would have needed to communicate with their R&D/Engineering departments and the dialogue would have been outside my current level. She did however, offer me some freelance editing work for some of their Marketing copy, as well as pass on my resume to other departments who might not need such a high requirement for Mandarin. So, I'll most likely be working for the other company, not that that's a bad thing. Since it's a small company, I'll get to work with a lot of different departments and learn a lot of various roles, which could translate better down the line, whenever I do move back to the states/wherever.

As for the semester (quarter) of school, I learned a lot in those three months, and made some lasting friendships that I'll always remember. Hanging out with my classmates after class definitely made me feel like I was back in college, and helped stave off that feeling of isolation before class started. Some moved back to the states, another taking a class elsewhere, another is doing some traveling with his dad, and the rest, save me, continued on with their studies, albeit not in the same class or teacher. If I do find a job, I'll try to find a private tutor, or maybe do some language exchange with someone who knows pinyin, so I can continue my studies. I should pick it up much faster, since I'd be forced to use it all day interact with coworkers.

Other important items of note that's happened is my brother and sister-in-law came to Taiwan to visit my dad so we could celebrate his 60th birthday together. It was a fabulous Japanese style dinner, with my mom's side of the family on hand to see both my brother and I together for the first time in over five years. Along with his visit, he dropped off my new Taiwanese passport, so I dont have to leave every 60 days with my US passport, and can save some money.

Since my 60 days were coming up, I needed to make a trip somewhere, but I also already had a Chinese visa that I got when my original plan was to move to Shanghai to learn Mandarin. Luckily, my former roommate Vic came to the rescue! His work sent him to Shanghai to do some training, and put him up in the Holiday Inn. Now, you're probably thinking, "the Holiday Inn? Couldn't he have stayed somewhere nicer?" Well, turns out in Shanghai, and outside the US, Holiday Inn is quite nice, being a 4 star hotel. Vic, being the ever gracious friend, offered his room for me to stay in for the week I would be visiting. I got to explore Shanghai during the day, and met up for dinner after he got off work. We ate great gastronomical feasts for dinner, and enjoyed every minute of it. Pictures will be posted on Facebook, all taken by Victor the überphotographer.

My friends have asked what I thought of Shanghai, and I respond by saying that I loved the city, the architecture, and history, but couldn't stand the people. I'm not sure if it's all mainland Chinese, or just people from Shanghai, but they were some of the most rude, uncivilized people I've ever experienced. They're loud and obnoxious in person and on their mobile phones, push and shove to get in and out of places, when waiting a few extra seconds would allow for everyone not to rub up on each other, and have no respect for others when waiting in line. I was routinely cut in front when queuing for the subway, buying tickets to the World Expo, and even ordering food. Once I spoke up and confronted them about it, they would apologize and back off, but seriously, have some patience people! However, I'd say the thing that bothered me the most was the hygiene, or rather, lack thereof, of the people I encountered. They hack and cough, spit and excrete without care, wherever, whenever. The most disgusting thing I saw was a mother squat her son down and opening up a slit in her son's pants to allow him to poop. In the middle of the sidewalk. When I saw this, I made a face and scoffed at her a bit, which embarrassed her, but only enough to move her son from the middle of the sidewalk closer to the edge near the street, to continue the poop. Blech.

In retrospect, I'm definitely glad that I made the option to stay in Taiwan to learn, as I can barely understand the Shanghainese accent, and not sure I could have stood dealing with the locals. It's made me appreciate so much more what I've experienced here in Taiwan, from the new friendships to being able to see my dad on a regular basis. Ok, time for bed, since I might need to take off suddenly tomorrow afternoon.

Ciao ciao!

Whirlwind travels

Wow, it's been almost two months since I've posted to my blog, and for the few people that actually read this, I apologize. A lot's happened over the last month and a half, with the highlight being my surprise visit back to Austin for my 30th birthday. I told very few people about the trip, so I could maximize my surprise from my friends, which was difficult enough, as the purpose of me flying back was to enjoy the start of my 3rd decade with my friends, and that would just be wasted time away from them in the short amount of time I had.

I started classes at the Mandarin Training Center (MTC) today, and it's a lot more intensive than I thought it was originally. It's nice to have a routine, and get out and interact with people. I was starting to get a little stir crazy the last few weeks being cooped up in the apartment. My class is fairly diverse, with people hailing from Brazil, Brunei, India, Myanmar (Burma), a Tibetan monk, and 3 others from the US. There will be a lot more to update, but for now, I need to finish up my homework and get some sleep as my class starts at 8:10am (blech).

Wan an!