#4

 It is now "Autumn" here in Taiwan. But it's nothing like the autumn I know. There are no crunchy golden leaves on the pavements, no cold sharp wind whipping round you, not a hat or scarf to be seen! This weather would be England's hottest season. The locals say it's getting cooler... and I can kind of understand, by that we're not in the high 30s anymore. More like high 20s... yes. Much cooler.

On Saturday night we went to a really big night market, the name escapes me but it was awesome!

Ed loves squid!!

This is deep-fried squid! The sellers have a good sense of humor!

The night market was heaving with people! And very warm.


Ed bought me some new shoes from the market! Only $100, which is just over £2!

 After going round the night market, we went for some early morning bowling!

This is the ground floor of the bowling place...

I think I was the overall loser, with something like 17 points... but it was a laugh anyway! 

(The kitten is so cute can I just say...

)

Yesterday I turned 22! It was a little strange at first to be so far away from home on my birthday, but having Ed and and my housemates, who I've only know for a week and half, made it so special. In the afternoon, Ed and I explored yet another mall. And wow. It was amazing!!

We took the free shuttle bus from the MRT station, which took us straight to the mall:

The Dream Mall is the largest shopping mall in Taiwan and in East Asia !! It is HUGE! 400, 000 m2!!! This photo doesn't give it justice.

This is the outside area:

The interior of the mall is stunning, all glass and marble. Funky glass features on the wall add to the fun and sleek design.

This is the top floor of the mall. This is a room dedicated to car racing!

The corridors went on for miles!

On the roof, there is an amusement park!!

Unfortunately Ed and I did not have the guts to actually get on the Ferris wheel... ha we were too scared! But luckily there were other things to amuse us...

I put 5 tokens into the slot, and then I drove it around... very, very very slowly. 

This was the entrance to the arcade! A floor elow the amusement park.

TETRIS!!!

And the views were magnificent! 

We then discovered the free zoo....

How many are there?!

Look at his little face!!

Feeling happy, on our walk home.

We got home at about 7ish, had a nap, showered and headed out for my birthday treat - KTV!!! Karaoke!! It was so so much fun! An all you can eat buffet: 

Our own booth:

And the best singers in Kaohsiung!!

P-P-Poker Face!! Ha ha!

Pauline! 

Favorite duo of the evening!

AHHHH!! It was so much fun. I sang loads... Can't Fight the Moonlight, It's Raining Men, I'm a Barbie Girl (with Ed!!), Stand By Me, Don't Speak. All the good ones! Lexus and Pauline also sung some gorgeous traditional Taiwanese songs. On our way home Pauline jumped out the taxi and bought me a cake!!

It was a fantastic day, and an awesome night!! THANK YOU!!!

Ed has his first day of actual teaching today! I hope he's ok! Now some bad news concerning my job... I know I put up on facebook that I had found a job, well I had but I decided to turn it down. There were reasons for this obviously: bad pay, big classes (20 kids compared to Ed's classes being 8 max), formal dress code and it's a mission away! It was a great school, but I know I can find something better. In fact, just moments ago I got a call from another school asking me for an interview this evening! So hopefully that will be better. 

Thanks for reading all the way to the end, it is a long one this time!

I will blog soon! x

Dear England... #3

It's the 16th of September already! And it feels like I've been in Taiwan for years. It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun is still burning. It's 31 degrees today with low humidity. Which makes it incredibly hot. I had my first interview yesterday, in which I had to give a thirty minute lesson to 16 kids aged between 4 and 5. Adorable! It went well, but you can never tell. I really hope I get it!
We have now moved into an apartment in the Sanmin district with our new friends Lexus, Vanessa and Pauline. The apartment is lush! Although we have to climb 5 flights of stairs... but it's all worth it! There is air conditioning in every room and the decor is lovely. Our (temporary room, we're moving upstairs in one week) room is painted orange with a big cupboard, and bed side tables on either side. We also have a nice cooling fan.

This is the room we are staying in at the moment!

This is the balcony! 

This is the view from the balcony. We are on the top floor, good views but a climb!

Ed also had a job interview for the cram school Joy, it's quite far away from where we're living, but he got the job! He's signing the contract today, and then observing until 9pm. He met this guy Dan at football practice who has been living here for 15 years. He's worked at several schools and says Joy has been the best one. 

On his way back from the interview his cash card didn't work... Meanwhile, I was back at the flat - no money, no phone, no key. Helpless, just waiting. I was expecting him back at 6. So when it came to 7 I was getting worried. So I found some change to go and call him from a phone box. I left the door to the block of flats open and prayed that it wouldn't be shut on my return. I phoned Ed. No answer. FUCK!!! I panicked and started to cry. Where the hell was he??? I walked back to the flat to find the door shut. Oh crap. I had really messed it up now. All I could do now was wait for someone to come home. But when would that be? And where the fuck was Ed? It was coming to half past 7 so I decided to ring Ed again. He picked up. The pay phone I was using wasn't very good so I couldn't here him very well. But he said he was on his way back. Relieved, I waited for him. He arrived about 15 minutes later, drenched in sweat, blisters on his heels. He explained that he had to walk 3 miles from the school because his cash card didn't work at any 7/11, leaving him no option but to walk. Now that doesn't sound that long, but in 30 degree + heat, where you can't speak the language and you're not really sure where you're going, it must have been horrible! A total nightmare for us both. 

But it's ok, we've decided that it's better for the person left at the flat to have the phone and key. We only have one of everything! Very difficult. You can't get a mobile phone until you have a residency visa, which I can't get until I get a job... but Ed's working, so we can get another phone soon. 

I haven't taken photos for a couple of days now... and I think it's because the more familiar you get with a place, the less fascinating and picture worthy you think it is. But I will do my best and take some more and put them up here.

These four photos are of the beautiful Central Park MRT. This is exit 2. 

This is the view from where we had lunch a few days ago in Central Park.

This is the Star Mall just by Central Park.

This ice-cream cost just over a pound, and it's only one scoop! It's bloody massive!

Ed and I discovered the arcade...

This one is really hard... you have to trot like you're on an actual horse!

This is the Star Mall lit up.

This will be our new room from next week!

Thanks for reading!! I will blog again soon!