Thursday 9/5:  Prelude to a Typhoon and Fulbright Orientation

I woke up hoping class was cancelled, hearing the rain pouring down.  I peered out my back door; it was coming down in TORRENTS and sounded and looked so bad, I was sure everything was closed.  I went downstairs to ask the doorman and he just laughed, said [“This is nothing, of course we still have work, Taipei is never shut down unless blah blah”]—some word I didn’t understand.  This was the worst case scenario then:  pouring hard rain and I still had to go to class. 

I settled my class schedule for good, then headed straight to FSE, skipping class because of Fulbright orientation.  The rain eased down.  I got completely lost on the bus to FSE, I had to ask people on the way several times.  When I got there a bigger group than I expected was quietly listening to FSE director Wu Jing-Yi, who seemed like he was trying to be informal, but everyone was rather stiff and formal nonetheless.  He stopped and asked me to tell a bit about myself and it turned out they were just discussing the National Health Insurance.  The younger ones seemed to sit on one side and I took an empty seat at the table the older ones, the senior scholars/lecturers, some with their spouses.  We had a tea break during which I met Shawna, her project is actually writing a novel, and she’s also taking classes at MTC but is using the textbook at the next higher level.  Except for Shawna who is half, the rest of the junior scholars are white as down and undoubtedly speak, read and write Mandarin far beyond my comprehension as well.

It was a long day, they stuffed us with food, stopping for tea breaks and lunch every hour or two, having pastries, cakes, coffee, tea, pearl milk tea, fruit, and a Japanese lunch box that I couldn’t even finish.  I think I ate more in those five hours than I had in all my meals that week put together.  I got my NHI card and the rest of my cash advance and emailed using their sloOOooOOOw connection.  I met Jonathan, the other person from Yale (just graduated from undergrad) and Brian who I met in NJ 10 years ago.  For the most part, the orientation went through a lot of things I already knew and places I’d already been.  A couple people had been here awhile already, and a few aren’t here yet.  They seemed like a nice bunch, but tomorrow’s outing was cancelled because of the typhoon warning. 

M&D came over with more food and cleaning equipment.  They told me this funny story about when they left my place last night.  Dad was dragging the pullman suitcase and Mom was carrying a big shoulder bag.  Dad thought he’d take a shortcut into a lane and when they turned in, immediately lots of prostitutes stepped out from the shadows and stared at them.  Realizing their mistake, they walked through as quickly as possible, the luggage wheels rattling the whole way, prostitutes everywhere, until finally they emerged, and the lane turned out to be a U that ended up at the road they started!  Mom could barely tell me the story, she was cracking up so bad.