In Taiwan, Everything is Easy

Three things you are never far from on this island of Taiwan are; a beach to rock your bikini on, an English Buxiban, and a Zhongshan Road. We must get more serious here and return to this office with a plastic stool outside of it. Others may call this office a box; as it is not much more than a square wall with random blue and yellow Chinese characters littered across the top left wall. Nobody could possibly read those beautifully-written yellow and blue Chinese characters regardless of language ability. This is because of the characters' proximity of being safely out of sight all people with the sight of an ordinary human being.      Amidst the call for the next set of passengers to board the train, the fellow I have never met before begins to grope and fondle my upper back and shoulder areas. A memory lashes in my head from the last time another man contorted my body with my permission. This complete stranger luckily has decided not to make small talk as he w...

Time Abroad in Taiwan: Where Does It Go?  The first ten pages of the Western calendar year of 2018, have already been tacked to the back of a wall for some time now. Well, for those that are still tacking calendars like Grammy, your calendar has been promptly resting on the month of November for twenty two days now. Many of us expats who started the year here in Taiwan have experienced Chinese New Year, and can safely order a coffee in Mandarin by now. Lonely Grandmothers of our Expat and nomadic souls all over the world are mumbling to TV's in empty rooms, "Boy oh boy. Where did the time go this year? It's already Christmas time. I guess Johnny won't make it for Christmas this year.  I wish Johnny never would have even went to that damn China. "  Grammy Smith makes these insight-lacking comments while rest-assured there is a calendar somewhere in her house tacked all the way up to November, 22.  On this Ihla Formosa ,  I do not offer over-whelmin...

If waiting 97 seconds at a stop light on your scooter on Zhonghshan Road in Taipei, to wait 90 more seconds just to complete your three-point left hand turn, has ever triggered your teacher voice inside your head to go, " You can do better  ______ / <--- ( Insert name of defeated Ex-pat soul here )."   Your soul may be inter-locked with thousands of other frustrated English teachers on this island.  Let's talk about other options for living in Taiwan if you don't want to be like your fellow Expats who do nothing about rotting their souls away at stop lights under skies that make the Shanghai skyline look blue. With air quality always in the green, secret surfing coves around every corner, and virtually unexplored hot springs and waterfalls, any vacationer can easily fall in love with Taitung; situated along Taiwan's stunning east coast. Vacationing in Taitung and living in Taitung are two different animals of course. My experience of l...

***CNN Breaking News -- Bombshell Allegations About Trump's Not So Sweet Love Life *** These transcripts were transcribed from CNN' s daily program ' The Lead With Jake Tapper ,' on 1/04/2018. Jake Tapper - " Good evening ladies and gentleman. This, day 339 of the embattled Presidency of Republican president Donald Trump. It was a day that barely passed as believable. The day started with a belch heard around the world from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and ended with a story of the First Couple's marital issues being leaked to the press. It really should have been a routine day for the White House. They only had a few run of the mill items on the docket to attend to. However, the morning presser started in sharp contrast from its usual somewhat monotonous style of beginning formalities. Instead of starting with the usual news and notes, Sarah Huckabee Sanders apparently started with a giggle, a belch, and a wipe of ...

Taiwan #2 :) Bom! Bom! Bom! The Old Taiwan Teacher Man likes 'em big not too much in the can Rhino can Bom! Bom! Bom! The Old Taiwan Teacher Man even on the day he could get the pay he ran ran ran and ran ran ran and ran ran ran far as far far as far can be Running from sticky balls anyone? :) Bom! Bom! Bom! The Old Taiwan Teacher Man wants that one last wish to be one fresh free fish Free! Bom! Bom! Bom! The Old Taiwan Teacher Man that one fresh free fish best as best can be that is Heeee! Not free yet!

An Expat in Taiwan who doesn't like rainy days 1.)  It all s tarts with a ridiculously early wake-up: Wake up before sunrise if you want to have a terrible rainy day in Taiwan . That's right.  You gotta get up before the sun to make this day truly suck. You want this day to really drag on as long as possible. Having a completely terrible rainy day in Taiwan is not easy work man. Taiwan's 7-11 Sandwiches tasting like cardboard 2.) Head to one of Taiwan's 7-11's for breakfast - Ok. You're up early enough to piss of a monk. In the dark and in the rain, you remember that you're practically like a Chinese language master. That is because you can tell the lady at 7-11, 'Hot."  With rain pounding on your shoulders while gradually leaving you smelling like a wet dog for the rest of the day, you can now take advantage of your mad Chinese skillz. Forget all about the the delicious cheese  dan bing ; and all the other tasty breakfast choices in Ta...

Teachers rolling in the money- NOT :) Taiwan Public Schools vs Taiwan Cram Schools: The Money -   " I'm gonna get rich from teaching ,"  said no person with a brain ever.   Taiwan's Public Schools or the Taiwan Cram Schools won't be that much different when it comes to getting rich. The salary still can meet your needs. However,you won't exactly come home at night and use all your extra dollar bills as a spare blanket. The money is a great  question  when trying to decide between a Taiwan Public School job or a Taiwan Cram School job.    Most of the public schools jobs  normally start around 63,000 NT/month with an extra 5,000 NT/ month to go for housing.  You have to be at the public school from 8-4 in most cases. This monthly salary comes regardless of holidays. The Taiwan Cram Schools pay around 600-700/NT an hour. It is not salary. So, if the typhoon comes rolling around, you not only spend more money that da...