Alice in Wonderland
I'd been doing some biking across downtown the past few days to familiarize myself with the shops and to explore the city streets.
I got a second-hand bike for 350 NT (around 540 pesos). But it doesn't have a basket (150NT)and a taillight (50NT) yet so I went to a bike shop and tried to communicate with the little Chinese that I know. I also carry with me a Chinese Phrase for Dummies yellow pocket book. They thought I'm from the US or Japan. The owners are couples in their 60s and they are also really accommodating. I told them I'm a tong xue (student) at Tzu Chi Uni.
In pesos, the bike costs around 848.50.
Meals
Meals here in the fastfoods infront of the uni cost between 50 to 70 NT (77 to 107 pesos) which is comparable to Glorietta foodcourt prices. But the servings here are really generous. It is good enough for a really hungry guy's appetite so sometimes, me and Meymey (my Indon roomie) have to split the servings because we don't want to stuff ourselves with too much food. The food is delicious but I still miss my Maggi Savor.
Dormitory
I now live at an 11-story dormitory for girls (beside our building is the guy's dorm). It has an elevator and a lounge where students can watch TV. The blessed ones get to stay on the upper floors with a really nice view of the city and a backdrop of mountains. There's a vending machine for drinks infront of the dormitory and has tables, chairs where students can socialize.
We got the room on the leftmost part of the ground floor which is beside the washing area and the mini-kitchen with hot and cold water dispenser and a refrigerator which is locked by someone who's afraid of her food being stolen. Nagmamaramot ang bruha. Only the freezer is open. We really need to unlock it soon.
Our room is spacious enough. It has four beds, wardrobe cabinet, a desk with drawers, chair and shelf. There's also a big ceiling fan for ventilation. There will be only three of us who will live there. Each room has its own bathroom which has a separate stall for shower with hot/cold water. For someone who's been in a third world country accommodation, I consider it as an upgrade.
The distance to the language center from the dormitory is around 10-min walk. Just 2 mins if you are riding a bike. I need to show the pictures soon but I'm still figuring out where to place the USB cable of this digital cam that I'm using.
I also have to thank Erin. She's also a Filipino scholar that I met in the forums while I was still in Manila to guide me through everything that I needed to know before going to Taiwan. Including my decision to change universities at the last minute in order to cut on costs. This year, there are only two of us, females, who are on a Mandarin scholarship. She's currently going to Taipei's NTNU. We are supposed to go to the same uni but she's living with her father so I guess she can save on costs unlike me who's on a Lonely Planet adventure. Our stipend worth (NT25,000) a month will be disbursed to us on October so I have to watch my spending since I'm using my own money right now. Good thing mga nagkukuripot din mga kasama ko.
People
I have to agree with Erin that among the Asians, pinakagwapo at magaganda pa rin mga Pinoy at Pinays. Although the Taiwanese kids are more trendy and has Japoks hair, swangit pa rin sila.
My class will start on Monday 10-12nn. Can't wait.
I got a second-hand bike for 350 NT (around 540 pesos). But it doesn't have a basket (150NT)and a taillight (50NT) yet so I went to a bike shop and tried to communicate with the little Chinese that I know. I also carry with me a Chinese Phrase for Dummies yellow pocket book. They thought I'm from the US or Japan. The owners are couples in their 60s and they are also really accommodating. I told them I'm a tong xue (student) at Tzu Chi Uni.
In pesos, the bike costs around 848.50.
Meals
Meals here in the fastfoods infront of the uni cost between 50 to 70 NT (77 to 107 pesos) which is comparable to Glorietta foodcourt prices. But the servings here are really generous. It is good enough for a really hungry guy's appetite so sometimes, me and Meymey (my Indon roomie) have to split the servings because we don't want to stuff ourselves with too much food. The food is delicious but I still miss my Maggi Savor.
Dormitory
I now live at an 11-story dormitory for girls (beside our building is the guy's dorm). It has an elevator and a lounge where students can watch TV. The blessed ones get to stay on the upper floors with a really nice view of the city and a backdrop of mountains. There's a vending machine for drinks infront of the dormitory and has tables, chairs where students can socialize.
We got the room on the leftmost part of the ground floor which is beside the washing area and the mini-kitchen with hot and cold water dispenser and a refrigerator which is locked by someone who's afraid of her food being stolen. Nagmamaramot ang bruha. Only the freezer is open. We really need to unlock it soon.
Our room is spacious enough. It has four beds, wardrobe cabinet, a desk with drawers, chair and shelf. There's also a big ceiling fan for ventilation. There will be only three of us who will live there. Each room has its own bathroom which has a separate stall for shower with hot/cold water. For someone who's been in a third world country accommodation, I consider it as an upgrade.
The distance to the language center from the dormitory is around 10-min walk. Just 2 mins if you are riding a bike. I need to show the pictures soon but I'm still figuring out where to place the USB cable of this digital cam that I'm using.
I also have to thank Erin. She's also a Filipino scholar that I met in the forums while I was still in Manila to guide me through everything that I needed to know before going to Taiwan. Including my decision to change universities at the last minute in order to cut on costs. This year, there are only two of us, females, who are on a Mandarin scholarship. She's currently going to Taipei's NTNU. We are supposed to go to the same uni but she's living with her father so I guess she can save on costs unlike me who's on a Lonely Planet adventure. Our stipend worth (NT25,000) a month will be disbursed to us on October so I have to watch my spending since I'm using my own money right now. Good thing mga nagkukuripot din mga kasama ko.
People
I have to agree with Erin that among the Asians, pinakagwapo at magaganda pa rin mga Pinoy at Pinays. Although the Taiwanese kids are more trendy and has Japoks hair, swangit pa rin sila.
My class will start on Monday 10-12nn. Can't wait.