Guess who has an apartment!!!

Victory! I've apparently already memorized my new phone number!

Sadly I did not make headway on finding an apartment yesterday, but the hostel owner (Auntie Julie, for anyone who wants to go to Taichung and needs a place to stay, her hostel is wonderful) has room for me to stay another night. Also, teacher training starts tomorrow and will be in a hotel so that means I will have a few extra days of lodging. Today might have to involve heavy badgering of my director and recruiter to see where they are on talking to landlords, but I *hate* nagging.

This morning I learned if I sleep with my hair in a braid, I will look like Medusa the next morning. Good to know for future Halloweens!

Today I engaged in my favorite activity for when I am in a new city or have no time limitations or am simply feeling antsy--getting so lost that not even a map can save me. I only went out for a few hours, because I was in jeans and it is incredibly hot and humid outside, but oh man, did I have a great time.

I left under the guise of looking for a place to buy a towel (which I did not find, but I also did not ask for help in this quest), but ended up just walking around, taking everything in. One of the best parts of the afternoon was finding green tea juice boxes in the Family Mart. They were really cool and refreshing, and just sweet enough to be delicious. I also got another sticker for my Family Mart book (30 stickers gets you a toy. My inner child is so happy).

At one point I found a mall that had either three or four floors (I lost track), mostly full of hip clothing shops with restaurants and little food stands on the side, but the top floor was riddled with karaoke bars, many of which were already at full occupancy at one in the afternoon. I am excited to explore those further--hopefully they have pinyin (transliterated Mandarin) selections!

After about two hours, I was decidedly lost, hot, and tired enough to hail a cab to take me back to the hostel. As is my usual, I had only been about a kilometer away from the hostel, but considering everyone I asked for directions kindly shook their heads and sent me on my way, the taxi was probably a good idea. If I had dressed weather-appropriately, I probably would have stayed out longer, but I once again have to get used to living in a tropical climate. Maybe one day I'll go live in the North Pole and get a job as one of Santa's elves, because that seems like the only way I will ever live in a cold climate again!

Also in the Family Mart was a "Tuna Sushi Roll", which is exactly how it sounds and is everything I ever wanted in sushi (a long tube of sushi--so happy), but if I die, this is the reason.

My recruiter, Michelle, just called and she's going to help me find an apartment!!! We are meeting with a landlord at the school and we will go together to look at one of the apartments I found. So excited to have a home!!! Hostel life is great for now, but I can't wait to have a stable place to live.

Cut to a few hours later: I just went to see the apartment. I met Michelle, my recruiter and another teacher at the school, and her daughter. She brought me to meet the landlord, a sweet older woman who told her I was cute; she showed me the first apartment, which was okay in size but had no window, then told me there was another apartment one floor down which would costs a negligible amount more, but has a window overlooking the park. I decided to take that one (there will be before and after pictures on Facebook soon). Sadly, I couldn't move in tonight because I wasn't able to withdraw money from the ATM for the rent and deposit, but she said I could move in on Wednesday and pay on Thursday after I go to the bank. Easy-peasy! The apartment is a five minute walk from the school, multiple convenience stores, a supermarket, the aforementioned park, and a Costco. Perfect location, in my opinion.

Michelle is awesome, by the way. Her daughter is this adorable five year old nugget. She started off quite shy, but opened up quickly. We read a story together; her English is great for a five year old! Michelle told me that the students in the school are aged seven to thirteen years old, but she lets her daughter study there even though she is a bit young.

I also learned about training--three of us from Taichung will be attending, including one guy from a different Taichung branch of the school. It will be at the head office in Hsinchu, and we will take the 7:03am train tomorrow, yikes! Training will be from tomorrow morning until Wednesday night, and then I will meet with the other teachers on Friday afternoon so we can create lesson plans. So excited!

The school itself seems wonderful. It is small and homey, and has a little washing station outside and a library with big plush couches right inside. Also, it appears that I will be referred to as "Teacher", otherwise nameless, of course, for the rest of my English-teaching career. I don't mind at all, and think it is kind of sweet.

Note to all of my teacher-friends: I want to set up language exchanges between our classes! Let's talk when the school year starts and we're all situated. Even once-a-week or once-a-month Skype dates would be AWESOME, especially if the time difference works out.