The day after the pub quiz at Tin Pan Alley

 

Bonfires on the beach

 

I spy with my little eye something begginning with S - scooter scooters everywhere

 

Don't drink and drive

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 I had such a long day today I can’t believe it. I couldn’t sleep before my morning class. I had bloody lady gaga “telephone song” stuck in my head for hours I lay there tossing and turning to “stop calling, stop calling stop calling, I don’t want to talk any more” I had to wake up at 8 and I was still awake at 4.00am. Not to mention I woke up repeatedly in my meagre sleep. I can only blame myself I suppose for drinking all those free refill green teas at the Tin Pan pub quiz, which it is worthy to note we came second in. It’s on a Thursday night at one of the foreigner hangouts in Tainan. The food is pretty awesome, stonebaked pizza’s and deli sandwiches I thought I would get my moneys worth with the green tea and I sure did maximise that 50nt. But I guess that was why I was so wired. I think I drunk at least 6cups.

So any way I woke up feeling so tired and crappy and stumbled to the kitchen to whizz up my newly inspired morning smoothie. Newly inspired because I bought all these new ingredients from the 24hr shop and this was gonna be my healthiest smoothie yet.  It’s lychee season at the moment and they are so good the stone is pretty much non existence. I only had a half hour to take a shower, get dressed make breakfast, do my makeup and get my books together. So I stepped out of the shower realising my undies were in the washing machine. Our kitchen is lacking in plugs so the smoothie maker is sitting near the washing machine. In my haste I booted down the newly bought smoothie maker and all my breakfast and shards of glass dashed to the floor. FUCKKK echoed about the flat as I tried to maintain my towel covered dignity and scoop up the smoothie. I didn’t have time for this shit.

So I mop it all up and dash my towel in the washing machine only to hear the tinkle of glass hitting the bottom of the basin. I couldn’t leave it there otherwise someone could put a load on and then the washing machine break. This all ate into my makeup time so lets just say I looked like crap as I left the house for work.  I grabbed a cakey looking thing from the shop which on the outside looked delicious until I realised the inside was not chocolate but bloody red bean paste. My least favourite of all the bean pastes.

So I was completely pissed off teaching my class and of course that energy rubs off on the students who were equally as restless. The classes were poops. My saving grace was a flashy powerpoint game I made which was great. Then for some reason it just decided to break. The hyperlinks didn’t work and it fucking went to shit so we couldn’t play the game and they were all bummed out.

You know my day hasn’t really been that bad in retrospect some annoying stuff has happened it was just amplified but that fucking lady gaga song which now haven’t written about, has gotten stuck in my head again.  Plus it is sooo hot like sizzling hot. AAAARGH

 

The Youth Mobility Scheme Visa (YMS) Visa for Taiwan applying from England

Anping wetlands green tunnel boat ride in the national reserrve. Get to the front for the best pictures.

 

Anping beach enjoying the sunset.

  

I remember when I applied for this visa there was pittance of information on the web. There's loads of stuff for Taiwanese nationals applying to go to England but it seems it is not very popular the other way around. It is relatively a new visa so I guess thats why.

The YMS visa is for young people aged between 18- 30 who live in England and want to work and travel in Taiwan for one year. It's essentially a working holiday visa. Unlike other working holiday visas that require you can only work with one company for three months this one doesn't impose such rules. You can stay with one company the duration of you stay. Of course the purpose is that you travel and work so don't rock up to the embassy saying you want to work the whole year. 

The whole process is pretty long winded but I think worth it for the flexibility that you get once you arrive in Taiwan. You can come and go as you choose, you can take a break from work, you can take any job.

You need to make an online application here 

http://www.roc-taiwan.org/uk/ct.asp?xItem=232492&CtNode=11274&mp=132&xp1=


You also have to do a long winded health check. This is mandatory for all teachers staying in Taiwan so this is to compensate for it not being done in the country. My friend got it done here in Taiwan and it was alot more straight forward than getting it done in England cos they are well prepared for it here. It involves chest x rays, mmr vaccinations, and some other things. The medical check form has to be stamped by a health professional. On the actual medical check form it says you need 3 signatures from some health professionals that don't actually exist in the UK health care - but are just a direct translation of Taiwanese health care professionals. The guy at the embassy completely understood and was happy with the stamp of the nurse from the travel clinic. 

You also need cash! you need to bring i think it was 1600pounds of travellers cheques to the embassy or bank statements to that amount. No paupers allowed in Taiwan. 

Well i hope that provides some info to people looking to apply. Once you arrive in Taiwan you go to the office of immigration and get an alien residence certificate. We were the first they had ever seen with this visa. But i have met one other who did it. you can go work in seven eleven if you fancy.

You might want to check with the UK embassy for more info there is i think 200 of these visas granted a year. At the moment not a concern but who knows maybe people will catch on to our secret of good weather and good wages. 

Tainan Olympics Anping Beach

 

The Long Jump

 

 

Award Ceremony

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Olympics

I haven’t written in a while, well that’s a lie, infact I did write but I didn’t want to upload it. I was feeling a little depressed about Taiwan mostly work pissing me off. Man can it be annoying. You just got to remember with the buxiban it is business over education. Bum’s in chairs means nt in pockets. But hey whatever that’s the nature of the work. We get paid well to take the shit. I prefer teaching in High school feels like real teaching not like the buxiban baby sitting.

Anyway that’s not what this is about this is about the Beach olympics drum roll. Its only been two years in the making but I forsee this becoming a big festival in future. Everyone gathered down the beach to do our own olympics. The creators were inspired by last years Olympic fever to make their own and this year they put in a lot of effort to make it better. The teams were south Africa, Europe, Asia pacific, and America. I was part of the Europe team surprisingly enough. The whole thing kicked off at 8.30am for cricket which was a little too early for me. I made down at about 11.30. Events included, swimming, penalty shoot out, cricket, rugby, tug o war, long jump and …was there anything else, oh yes sack race and three legged race. It was forcast to rain and rain it did for maybe 10mins. It was a welcome release from the strong sun. Lets just say there were a lot of red faces by the end of it all.

Dog’s weren’t allowed down the beach as there has been a dog disease, not exactly sure of the name of it I think it is Parvo disease. Someone dumped a pack of puppies down the beach and a foreigner has been trying to find them all homes. He found homes for three of them but then one of the people decided it was a bad decision. They then preceded to take the pup to the pound. It was then the original doggy crusader said not to take it to the pound where a lot of dogs gets put to sleep but to take it back to the beach so he can keep looking for homes. Unfortunately the pup got parvo virus in the pound and came back and gave it to the other pups. They all died and this disease apparently can live in the ground for a year so dogs weren’t allowed. A couple of guys didn’t get the memo and brought them down. Hopefully they’ll be alright. The bad thing is there is a fresh batch of pups down there they are really little .I saw a picture of them I want to take one but I can’t poor things probably won’t last long.

Anyway sports and beer was good fun. The south Africans won, maybe because they took everything far too seriously plus a lot of them are massive so gravity is on their side when it came to tug o war. But it was all together a really great day. Everyone was drunk by the end of it. There was one scooter accident a fractured skull so It is definitely wise to take a taxi down there.  Don’t forget Sunscreen aswell!

More pics to come of the olympics