My trip so far

I am alive, after all. Surprising, right?
I have to say, though, it's not for lack of Taiwan trying to reverse my continuing run of good luck.

I have eaten, and survived, a dish called, literally, "stinky tofu". My English is deteriorating badly, by the way, so be warned. Anyway, as you might guess, this tofu is stinky. Not just a little inoffensive stink, either. It smells like cow shit. Cow shit left to ferment in the sun. Have you ever passed by a dairy farm, where they'll have a lot of the stuff piled up and, for reasons unclear to me, left under plastic tarps? Stinky tofu smells exactly like that. If you can get over the smell, the taste isn't bad - but it's not something I'd recommend you try, unless it was just to say you'd tried it.

But that's pretty tame. Apparently you're not supposed to drink the water here, because it can kill you. At least that's what people say - not even the Taiwanese drink the tap water.
Well, I drink the water anyway. Not all the time mind you, but when it's convenient. People think I'm crazy for it. It hasn't made me sick yet. I think it's probably one of those urban myths; if not, I'm pretty hardy, so I should be all right.

Food is stored by pretty relaxed standards - it's fairly normal to go to a restaurant and see a bowl of...something...sitting out. And let me tell you, it's hot here. So there'll be food just sitting around outside all day, and somehow, it doesn't quite go bad. I haven't gotten sick from that yet, either.

Buildings are constructed - and torn down - very quickly and seemingly without much regard for planning. The walls are thin, the buildings are tall and skinny, and stairways are very steep, with tiny stairs. If there are any decent earthquakes, I expect to see significant portions of the city collapse.

Most interestingly, the traffic here is regulated by a series of suggestions, not laws. Don't feel like waiting through that red light? Just honk your horn and go on through at 40 mph. Everyone else will be more or less understanding. There's no lane to drive in? That's fine. There's plenty of space on the shoulder, and on the moped lane, and in the turning lanes, and in intersections, and especially on the other side of the street. Plenty of unused space there. Don't signal for it, either, since someone else might decide to take it then.
I've only seen a total of 5 cops in my time here - I would call them relaxed fit cops. Heh. It's a pun. (Fit? As in, in shape? Oh yeah, still got those pun muscles to work out.) I think they're pretty happy so long as no one asks them to do anything. They really seem to be pretty cheerful, overall. Traffic is really not their thing.

And then there's the heat. Air conditioning, standard in most of the USA, is something more like a fancy nicety here. Each room will have a separate AC unit, which is terrifically inefficient; yet, electricity is supposedly very expensive here. The school I taught at last week, for example, did not have air conditioning. I don't know exactly how hot it was, but, according to my dad, it was something like 110, by the heat index. Humidity here is so bad you can not just almost see it - oh no, I'd say you could almost sculpt it. So shade is really no relief at all - it's just as hot, but with less brightness. Now imagine standing around in 110 degrees for 12 hours a day, teaching. Teaching a group of kids who are sitting in 110 weather. Now imagine being told that you have to teach them some American sports - and then being told that the gym doesn't have AC either, so you'll have to do it outside. Being forced to play basketball in that sort of heat is no one's idea of fun. I feel bad for those kids.

But, that's not to say that I'm not enjoying my time here. The kids I was teaching were all very good, and I wish I didn't have to move on. I was just getting used to them, and they were fun to be around.
The food here is also very good, plentiful, and cheap. Getting meals requires no planning, because there is always something to eat within 5 minute's walk. And it is almost all good. Now, there are some quirks - things that look familiar usually are not. Milk, for example. I was looking to get some milk the other day, and, since I don't read Chinese very well, I grabbed the most normal-looking container. It was milk, and it wasn't spoiled. However - I think it should have to carry some text saying, "inspired by milk". Think chocolate milk, but without the chocolate. Bread's the same way - it all has sugar added. Or, it's something slightly bizarre, like bacon bread. Or it has corn in it. Or ham and cheese baked into it.
So food's an adventure - I think the basic food groups here in Taiwan are sugar, grease, and vinegar. But it's all so cheap, and some of it is surprisingly good, so it's more fun than not.

That's all I'll write for now.