Oops

I apologize for my lack of updates recently. I've been meaning to make one, but it slips my mind. However, it's not because my life is starting to get more humdrum; quite the opposite, actually. Let's take a gander!

School has been going well. At first I thought I was going to be struggling for a while, since my classmates all seemed to have a really good grasp on Chinese and my rustiness combined with traditional characters and Taiwanese slang I didn't know, I could be in for a long semester. However, I've been working hard and improving. On my first test I got an 86 (the lowest grade in the class), but on my last test which I took yesterday I got a 92. It's not a huge improvement, but I was the only one in the class to have their test score improve. Despite my frequent errors during oral parts of class, I think the teacher is aware I'm trying hard and want to improve.

Speaking of school, I get Monday and Tuesday off! It's for Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival is in many ways like Thanksgiving: it's in the fall, the family gets together, and there's important meals. However, instead of turkey being the main attraction, it's moon cakes: a semi-sweet small cake with an egg-based filling. In addition, everyone gets together at night to look at the full moon (it's always full because the holiday is based on the lunar calendar). I don't have very many big plans this weekend, but I may go for a day or evening trip to some of Taipei's hot spots.

I started taking a kickboxing class. It's a lot of fun. The guy running it, Anders, made it in response to health clubs charging NT$3000 (about US$90)/month for membership, and members would have to wear makeup and look presentable while working out. The club is free to join and the workout is rather intense. I got totaled the first few days but now I'm getting used to it. The club is gradually growing, and there are a good mix of males and females. Most of the people are studying, but there are a few English teachers. The class meets at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, which is a large public area. A lot of people there practice dances, T'ai Chi, and various other things, but it seems we get more funny looks from passerby.

Last Tuesday Taipei got a day off for a typhoon. I knew I wouldn't get any snow days here, but that's a welcome substitute. I just stayed inside all day and despite getting a little stir-crazy, it was a decent day.

I found a language exchange partner. His name's Ivan, and he's a Business Management major. His English is very good; in fact, better than almost all the English-speakers I've ran into on mainland China. We went to Starbucks and chatted about our respective countries, natural disasters, religion, and politics. It was refreshing being able to get a Taiwanese person's perspective on many issues I've only read about, like the way Taiwanese think their government is ran and their opinion of mainlanders. Hopefully I'll get to hang out with him again sometime soon.

My room is getting a little more home-like. Yesterday evening I bought some computer speakers and an office chair (the folding chair I bought is currently of questionable structural integrity). I think I'll be able to hang out here for another eight and a half months.

It's Saturday night here, but I haven't much in the plans. Anders (the kickboxing instructor) said he might be doing something, so I can potentially call him. If not, there's definitely some deep cleaning I can do around here.

That's what's up. I'll try to take pictures around the campus area to give you a more accurate view of what life's like for me. Thanks for checking in!