Settling down | Fili’s World

17 Dec, 2005 in Taiwan by Fili

Settling down

.

It’s been a month now in Taiwan and I finally feel like I’m starting to settle down. Geeeeezzzzz… That was some month. I think even I’m a little surprised as to how this whole Taipei visit turned out. Got this Chinese class going for me, a girl that I adore, a few friends, a fairly comfy place to stay and if all goes well I might even have my first freelance technical writing job next week (tfu tfu, knock on wood).

It’s more of a ‘routine’ time and that generally feels like a good change. I try to go eat lunch with a different classmate everyday in a different restaurant at a different area, I try to vary my sitouts at the coffee places and find myself things to study, look at and explore, but it is - afterall - routine. I’ve been at the same city for a month and it feels weird. I wake up everyday knowing, more or less, what’s going to happen with me the upcoming week or even the upcoming month and everyday I can’t ignore the recurring question in my head of whether or not this is what I want. The good side is that - I am able to plan more, commit more, feel more, think and act more about what I want. The bad side, or maybe I should refer to it as the not-as-good side is that - I am able to plan more, commit more, feel more, think and act more about what I want. Yeah, it’s the same things that make me happy and comfortable that are also the things that I worry about or am worried of. Does that make any sense?

I’ve got this online game that I like playing lately. Here, why don’t you have a go :
“Dear boys and girls, help fiLi find the differences between these two pages -
1) Weather forecast for Taipei, Taiwan
2) Weather forecast for Jerusalem, Israel”
I’m addicted to this game, mainly because of the amazing differences between the small backpackers bag, Thailand islands oriented clothing and non-existent heating facilities that I got here in Taipei as opposed to my fairly big warm wardrobe, private heating A/C plus central heating system that I’m used to with the same temperatures back in Israel. Sometimes, this place is just freezing, and aside from being at a very exact position in my bed tucked under the blanket covered sleepingbag anywhere else in the apartment is dead cold. Yesterday was a big step forward as I bought my own personal small heater and a really great cuddly ‘puff’ to sleep in. Together with some Hiphop clothing I bought (which were the only cloths to match my size in Taiwan’s XXS measures), some gloves I picked up and a scarf Vanina gave me, I think I’ll be okay. Every day I make small improvements that make my life a little comfier towards a decent way of living (as one of Nasa’s speech writers once suggested - “one small step for man, one giantleap for mankind“…).

.

Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to the full RSS Feed

Related Posts

5 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

WhatJ | December 18th, 2005 at 9:54 am #

Hi! I hope you don’t mind. I was browsing for Taiwan blogs and I found my way into yours.

Anyhow, I think it’s very interesting that you should learn Chinese. I am Chinese myself but am living in a non-Chinese country. I wish to go to Taiwan to live someday. I love that country and I’m glad you are enjoying.

Happy learning Chinese! It’s a beautiful language…I’m saying that in the point of view of somebody whose mother tongue is not Chinese.
fiLi | December 18th, 2005 at 10:22 am #

Heh. Ofcourse I don’t. No body ever comments in my blog…

I’ve been having so many international visitors lately. I have no idea why, but I think that’s so neat.

Xie xie ni (sheshenee). It is a beautiful language, and a lot simpler than I first made it out to be.
WhatJ | December 19th, 2005 at 10:56 am #

Are you learning how to write in Chinese too? Check out my blog if you have time, I sometimes write in Chinese. SOMETIMES.

I find that traditional Chinese characters are packed with so much meaning and history. I find it beautiful.

I’m so jealous about you being in Taipei, I was assigned there for about five months becuase of my job and I just love the country!

PS - I don’t know if this message will be posted twice becuase I posted a comment but it seems not to be successful so I posted again.
fiLi | December 19th, 2005 at 5:19 pm #

Heh… comments on blogger are recently moderated, so it takes a while for a comment to be approved.

Anyways, I’m trying to teach my self some Chinese writing and it isn’t easy.
Seeing how a Chinese dictionary is laid out makes you realize pretty fast how different and difficult it’s going to be. No alpha-bet, no sound base, just memorization and maybe - if you’re really into history - meaning.

Taipei is special. I do like it a lot (though I can imagine, and I do meet, people who think differently).
WhatJ | December 19th, 2005 at 5:45 pm #

Hi Again, I bought this dictionary in Hong Kong that uses Pinyin (alphabetized spelling of the pronunciation) but the words are in Traditional Chinese! I don’t know if it’s available in Taiwan though. I’ll try to get the name and publisher for you so you can go look if you’re interested. It’s a great dictionary, I use it a lot. It’s a Chinese-English dictionary by the way.

Oops…please expect multiple comments from me. Sorry!

By the way, I recommend that you go to Ying Ge. It’s this ceramics street in Taipei.

Leave a Feedback