The summer weather here has been great so-far, although possible only because an air-conditioned retreat is never too far off.
I finished up the first month of teaching at the new school with no hassle at all and my class for August is even smaller (just 4 students). It's an easy job and with the supplemental income from the acting job I'm getting by.
I've been active enough on my free afternoons. One day I took a short trip to an are of Taipei I had not previously visited. The neighbourhood's main feature is a major shopping center, similar to Vancouver's Metrotown, that has hundreds of stores, restaurants, an I-max movie theatre and a massive Ferris wheel that has become a major symbol of Taipei tourism.
I chose not to take a ride in one of the slowly circulating glass greenhouses in the midst of 36 degree heat.
Jiufen, an extremely popular destination for Japanese tourists, is known for its narrow cobbled streets and traditional foods.
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The ambiance of the streets, alone, was worth the visit but the foods were the real highlight. Cold tapioca and sweet potato ball soup made for a refreshing treat while sweetened boar meatballs wrapped in sticky rice jelly settled my carnivorous cravings. Sticky sweet and savory balls made from mung-bean paste were another delicious delight as was a delicious peanut shaving, ice-cream and cilantro pancake wrap.
The scenic ocean views from the hillside were breathtaking and were it not for some rain showers should have made for spectacular photos.
A small nostalgia museum did make for a few fun, yet cheesy, photos and Jiufen made for a fun and memorable little day-trip.
I expected to be doing a bit more sightseeing as of late but seeing as we have finally had an internet connection installed in our apartment I have been wasting a great deal more time getting caught up on movies and TV shows.
The primary motivation for having the internet set up was that one of my roommates was moving out and saw it as an added incentive for a new tenant to takeover his rental agreement.
I suppose the incentive was good enough as we have now said farewell to my former roommate, Mike and he has been replaced by a student who is here studying Chinese.
A couple months ago I wrote about my desire to feel the force of a full-blown typhoon. Well, I'm getting what I asked for at this moment as Typhoon Saola thrashes at my windows. The typhoon has produced a "typhoon-day" akin to a Canadian snow-days, wished for by school age children and their teachers alike.
So, I've got the day off tomorrow but in-light of the heavy rain and wind that the typhoon brings I'll likely spend the day at home.
The typhoon is expected to pass by Friday, just in time for a weekend that I'm eagerly anticipating. The coming weekend will have me making the short hop to Hong Kong to hangout with my friends Adam, Gord, Chris and Ally. I'm looking forward the having some drinks with old friends.
The only other news I have is that I'm in four different magazines this month and probably just as many for next month. Additionally, some of the photos from my sock modelling gig are online now and can be found here.
One of the latest vids:
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