It's Already Been One Week???

Wow! I can't believe that Jon and I have already been in Taiwan for a week. In many ways the time has flown by and in other ways it feels like we've been here forever. We are definately beginning to adjust better to the culture and our life here. We have become regulars at this Chinese restaurant right across from the school in Ping-Jen called "Johnsons" in English. It's really good and pretty cheap. Everytime we walk in, the owner comes out to speak to us in the little bit of English that he knows. There is also this one waitress that we get everytime. The second time we went in, she asked us what our names were in broken English and had us write them down. Everytime we come in, she gets out her piece of paper to read our names. She has Jon's name down but mine is something like "Kris- Shina." I smile and of course say "Yes!" The good thing about Johnsons is that they have an English menu so we know what we are getting...most of the time. Which leads me to my next point. When in a foreign country like Taiwan where Chinese is the language of choice it is very difficult to order food when there is no English menu, and all bets are off if you want to deviate your order. Example: Jon and I were at Johnson's and he wanted white rice instead of fried rice. In the states, of course this is no problem because there is no language barrier. We obviously do not speak a lick of Chinese, and the poor waitress speaks very very little English (other than our names) and could not understand for the life of her what Jon was saying. We have encountered this at several other places. If you want to change anything...well just don't count on it. They wont understand and you sure wont know how to explain it. Trust me....there aren't enough gestures in the world to explain that you want white rice instead of fried rice. Jon and I have realized that sometimes you just have to go with the flow and take whatever you get. Another example of this occurs when we go to McDonalds. There is one right down the road from where we are staying and it somehow provides enough of home! We probably have been 6 times since we've gotten here, and every single time we order the same thing..... Spicy Chicken sandwhich combo and a Quarter Pounder combo with two large drinks. Again we have never odered anything else when we go, but somehow every single time we are charged a different price. Jon and I get a kick out of this because we can't understand how this happens. Usually there is someone who takes our order that speaks English, so they understand but we never pay the same thing! In case your wondering, McDonalds is pretty cheap here. Jon and I can get two combos with large drinks for $6 American dollars total.
Jon and I started teaching Thursday. So far things have been really great...with the exception of last night. I was subbing for a teacher in Hsein- Jeih and had been given the lesson plan before hand. The co-teacher decided to change things up on me, and I really had no time to prepare. As luck would have it...I walked into class to see 6 mothers sitting in the back. Here is the thing...Gloria has an open door policy with its parents and allows them to sit in on class if they like. Many parents take advantage of this because they can learn English as well. Even though this is the case, its really nerve wracking. Luckily my co-teacher told me she thought I did a great job...She even told me she hoped that she could teach with me again...I was shocked. Anyways, that summs up the last couple of days. I am leaving you with a few fun facts about Taiwan!

A Few Fun Facts About Taiwan:
You will never get a fork or knife to eat with...only chopsticks
You will never be asked for your drink order...its BYOD
You will never leave a tip at a restaurant.
There are no public trashcans in the city...I've looked and haven't seen the first one
There are no sidewalks...walk as close to the side of the road as possible
Scooters are the transportation of choice...I had my first experience last night and it was a blast!
The population of Taiwan is 22 million people and it is the second most densley populated country in the world second only to Bangladesh. This means that in the space the size of a football field in Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) would contain the homes of 44 people!