Hello Everyone,

I have yet to leave for Taiwan but I am already busy packing. I already have a bag packed full of food, books, classroom materials, and bedding. I even packed an air mattress at the suggestion of Stori, another teacher in Taiwan. She said that the beds are extremely hard. I remember how hard they were in China and I think that an air mattress is a pretty good idea. My next step will be packing clothes. I am going to go a little lighter with this since I know that I will have no trouble finding cheap clothes in Taiwan. I also don’t want to risk ruining any of my nice clothes. My closet at home will basically be staying the same, minus a few older items.

I am lucky to be in contact with some people who are already in Taiwan. They have given me a lot of great advice. Stori is a girl that I worked with at Lochearn who just arrived in Taiwan about a month ago. I knew she was considering going but we never really talked about our plans until I read in an email to everyone at camp saying that she was preparing to go. I emailed her back to let her know that I had also signed a contract. It turns out that we are only about an hour away from each other. Small world! Cathy is another teacher from Noble American School whom I am staying with during my first few days in Chiayi. She has been very nice, we have talked a lot over emails. I am so thankful to be staying with a teacher who can show me around. Plus, I will be able to save some of my precious money by avoiding a hotel.

I will be leaving Chicago next Thursday at 12:08pm. I have a short layover in Detroit and then it will be a direct flight to Taipei. The whole trip will be about 20 hours but with time differences, I will arrive in Taipei around 9:30pm on Friday. From there it will be about a 3-4 hour drive to Chaiyi. The school is sending someone to pick me up, but I was told that he does not speak any English. I have numbers for the director of the school, the dean, and Cathy. So I can call if there is any trouble. I am not too worried, they have done this many times before. My first weekend will be spent staying a Cathy’s and getting to know the town. I am also going to need some time to recover from jetlag. My contract doesn’t start until Tuesday but I will most likely spend Monday at the school getting acquainted with things. I will also need to do a health check so that they can file my papers for a work permit and ARC (Alien Resident Card). My ARC will get me government health insurance, which is standard for everyone in Taiwan. I have heard that it is actually quite good. It will also serve as my identification. I will need it to do everything from opening a bank account to getting a driver’s license (if I decide to get a scooter).

Well, wish me luck. It will be a hard week saying goodbye to family, friends, and Adam. I am going to miss everyone so much! I will make another post when I arrive in Taiwan. Hopefully that one will have some pictures.

~Lisa