i'm relatively ok now, just a nagging cough that won't go away. i have been very busy trying to teach (it takes forever for me to prepare), and studying my chinese (i'm not used to being the slowest member of the class, but here i am - i seem to have been cast in the role of guy who asks stupid questions and feels like an idiot - most of the class has lived here for a while and knows the basics already). postings may continue to be about weekly until i get myself a computer. homesickness has become an issue (especially when i was ill), but i'm excited to get my first real paycheck from work. and soon, i will be insured. i have cable set up now, which helps me waste what free time i have.
my complaining for the day will relate to the system of garbage pick up in taiwan. there is no dumpster or garbage can outside of the apartment that a truck picks up here - instead, there is a set time when a truck drives by on a major road (i live in a back alley), playing a loud song like an ice cream truck (beethoven's fifth seems to be popular), and people throw the garbage and recycling in the back of the truck. it's very inconvenient if you happen to be busy when the truck comes by (our garbage seems to pile up quite a bit), and even if you do happen to be free, you have to waste your time waiting by the side of the road. adding to this, the recycling is only picked up on certain nights, and these don't exactly seem to be fixed. basically, the whole thing is a pain in the ass. add in the fact that there are very few (and very small) public garbage cans, and it is no wonder that there is a fair amount of litter here. it also helps to explain the burning of waste on the sidewalks that helps to make the air so challenging here.
1 comment:
glad you're back on your feet. i also have a nagging cough, as my chest congestion slowly improves. i've been coughing for around a month. my coughs are generally quite productive and completely related to the movement of mucous lately, so there is some satisfaction to complement the body-wracking spasms. i have decided to allow this malady to take its course without resorting to antibiotics as i have done in the past. i hope that allowing my body to overcome the illness on its own will decrease the likeliness of it recurring in future years. though this may be a bit optimistic.
on the subject of mandarin, i don't know if it may help your class studies specifically (especially since the value of any class can be a bit hard to get a clear sense of when you are in it), but pimsleur mandarin rocks the block. email me your address and i'll send you a cd-full of mp3's. even if you don't use it regularly, listening a little to it will get you in the mind frame of practicing. i've studied a lot of languages a lot of different ways, and pimsleur is the clear winner in my opinion. - and an incentive to study hard: remember that when you are the guy who asks stupid questions but you turn out to do well on tests everybody suspects that you're a hidden genius.
nice post-politically-correct use of the word 'challenging' btw.
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