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drat. I do hate to pass these evenings up, but I was at sato-castle (comedy themed motel) with miss url over the weekend. I'm glad you found a new tutor haraksha, apols for not replying to your message sooner. We'll put down some mojito's soon.
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Aug 26, 2012 07:18
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| # ? May 16, 2024 18:37 |
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Also, it's somehow worse that my friend who owns a bar wanted me to bring lots of money to his bar to buy into his MLM and not to pay for hookers.
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Aug 26, 2012 09:59
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Haraksha posted:Also, it's somehow worse that my friend who owns a bar wanted me to bring lots of money to his bar to buy into his MLM and not to pay for hookers. I'm confused (in so many ways) Bring money to the bar is par. Buying into an MLM is kinda funny. But, who was supposed to pay for the hookers?
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Aug 26, 2012 13:21
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No but you see if you bring more money to the bar next time you'll get lucky. Or so I hear.
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Aug 26, 2012 13:35
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So how common is it for typhoons to do a complete loopdy-loop about face and head back to the place they just were, even stronger? It looks like it's gonna be a rough week for Kaohsiung.
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Aug 26, 2012 14:29
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Not common in the least. I can think of maybe a couple in recent history that've done full loops. The first one that springs to mind is Nari, which spun around about by Okinawa in 2001; there was also Parma in 2009 that turned back around and came back at Taipei. Apparently there was also this one in 1986:
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Aug 26, 2012 14:58
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quadrophrenic posted:So how common is it for typhoons to do a complete loopdy-loop about face and head back to the place they just were, even stronger? It looks like it's gonna be a rough week for Kaohsiung. -The Kgoons
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Aug 26, 2012 15:12
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Bolaven is loving off to Okinawa. Kaohsiung is getting Tembin 2: Still Tembin'. It might even get up here to New Taipei!
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Aug 26, 2012 16:27
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If it makes it up north, it'll be so hosed and broken by the mountains on the way up that it won't be much more than regular-rear end lovely weather e: unrelated, I remembered that video I was talking about the other week at Revolver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHC7JPhBPBQ sub supau fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Aug 26, 2012 |
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Aug 26, 2012 18:04
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url posted:I'm confused (in so many ways) The long and short of it is that when I went to the bar with DontAskKant, there were more than a few comments made that it was a sausage fest. After I messaged my friend saying I was bringing dtb to his bar, he called me up and told me to bring a lot of money so that I could be very lucky. Now, to a westerner's ears, "lots of money to get lucky" sounds like what you say when you're implying there will be hookers at the bar. Turns out, he's gotten himself tangled up in some kind of religious cult that sells gaudy jewelry. It was an opportunity he didn't want me to miss!
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Aug 27, 2012 11:43
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So I'm seriously considering buying a car right now. How long did it take you guys to get your license, or did you simply walk into the building and take the test right there?
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Sep 4, 2012 15:15
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I walked into the building and took the test. Then I failed it miserably. The test is a nasty, nasty piece of work. The writing isn't so bad because you can just memorize all the answers by taking the practice test online. Some of the English is OK, but the rest is a crapshoot. The first part of the test is a 90 degree back in. I was never very good at this, but maybe you are. After that is parallel parking. Neither is particularly difficult under normal circumstances. However, these aren't normal circumstances. You are not allowed a correction and to pass the test "most correctly", you're not actually allowed to stop your vehicle. Your back in and your parallel parking both have to be completed in single motions. As well, you're not aiming for the space. You're aiming for the box inside the space. If you are in the space but not centered correctly, you're going to hit the electronic sensor. Those parts are relatively easy if you get just a bit of practice time. The real hard part on the test is the S-line. You have to drive through a really tight S forwards and then do it again backwards. Again, it isn't enough to just not hit the curb. You have to stay within the electronic sensors the whole time. This took me weeks of practice to get right. It's a completely alien maneuver with few real world applications. The closest thing to this I've seen was my buddy's driveway in the middle of the woods, but it's not like we were under pressure to get out of it in a timely manner. After that, it's just about using your turn signal, stopping at the right places, and knowing how to use your handbreak on an uphill stop. The only way I was able to practice the test was to pay for lessons at a local testing facility. This cost me some stupid amount of money and required me to go in every day for a month. But then I passed the test with a near perfect score on my second try. Your mileage may very.
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Sep 5, 2012 01:23
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That sounds awful. I guess maybe I'll just give it a go with no practice, and see how things work out. Then maybe look into driving school.
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Sep 5, 2012 02:16
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The worst part about it is that it doesn't teach you how to drive. It teaches you how to pass the test. I think Taiwanese drivers do one hour of street driving before they take the test. This is a major contributing factor as to why everyone is an awful driver. I'm no better at parking or driving than I was before I passed the test. To pass the test, they mark spots in the car that you have to line up with various objects on the coarse. You then take the test in that car. To pass the back in and the parallel parking, you just have to make sure that your dots lined up with the sign poles before turning your wheel a set number of rotations. Ask me to recreate these maneuvers in a random car in a parking lot, and I'd probably still fail miserably.
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Sep 5, 2012 03:08
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I walked in and got 100 on both tests. I was allowed to practice the driving course twice with a guide for some reason. He told me exactly what to do to pass the test. Where to put the mirrors ( facing the back tires) and any other hint. It was also a really really hot summer day. So the test giver really wanted out of the car as fast as possible. I didn't even finish the parallel park and he was telling me to move on. Good luck!
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Sep 5, 2012 06:54
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That's such loving bullshit. My friend had a similar experience. He went in, failed, but because he could speak really good Chinese, he harangued the guy into letting him try again. He just went off about how unrealistic the test was until the guy cracked, showed him where to line stuff up, let him try again, and passed him. On the other hand, I got two guys to watch me, neither of which could speak any English. My only thought was that they were there to act as each other's witnesses in case I complained about not being properly instructed on how to take the exam. Obviously it's my fault for not being able to speak Chinese, but it still bothers me for how arbitrary the whole thing is. Oh well, I have my license and my car now, so it doesn't matter much.
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Sep 5, 2012 07:05
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Hey y'all! Greetings from the mainland.  The exciting news for me is that I'll be coming into Taipei from Tianjin on Sunday the 16th and staying until the 21st. I will be a bit busy on the 17th and 18th, but after that I will have all day on the 19th and 20th to do whatever I please before I have to play back from Taipei to Tianjin on the evening of the 21st. I'm totally stoked about visiting Taiwan, after living in China close to three years. I'm especially stoked about having a few days to do whatever I want. I will be put up through the night of the 18th but then have to fend for myself. Does anyone have any hostel recommendations for Taipei? I was also thinking of CouchSurfing. Do you all know if there is a big community for that? Also, I'm really into nature poo poo. Like, hiking and all that. In the OP it said there was some really great hiking, which sounds awesome. How accessible is the island from Taipei? I don't want to go too far from the city, unless it's really easy to get around. I will only have two free days, I don't want to spend one of them traveling. Anyone have any suggestions on beaches, hikes or natural things that I will absolutely appreciate being in Taiwan, considering I will NOT be in a large, metropolitan city in China? Do you think I will have any problems with getting around? You know, here in China, we have all this regional dialect bullshit, and also everyone and their mother is happy to try and cheat you if you are white. Or black. Green. Really anything other than Asian. I don't think Taiwan is like that, right? Appreciate any kind of feedback or advice I can get. Have heard such wonderful things so I'm stoked about coming down your way and seeing what it is all about! Thanks in advance for useful insight.
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Sep 5, 2012 12:05
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The 4 Beasts are all pretty good hikes that are very accessible from Taipei. They're not going to be as solemn and naturey as some of the more inland hikes, but they're really fun to hike at sunset to get a good view of 101. http://hikingtaiwan.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/the-four-beasts-and-others-%E5%9B%9B%E7%8D%B8%E5%B1%B1/ I don't think I can give beach recommendations that aren't very touristy, but Tamsui has some lovely beaches if you just wanna sizzle for a bit. It's on the Taipei Metro. Also, I can't speak to the cheating-ness of the mainland, but I really don't think you're gonna find the same thing in Taiwan. When I bought my first bottle of Laphroaig here, the shopkeep knocked off $200 without me even asking. I've never been much of a haggler, and the dude straight-up haggled for me. I love this country.
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Sep 5, 2012 13:10
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Haraksha, your problem is obvious. You didn't slip the instructor a 1k note. My co-worker took a little driver's course. The instructor said something like the best way to pass the test is to bribe the instructor.
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Sep 5, 2012 13:16
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Well, I ended up passing the test on the coarse I practiced on with my instructor as the one testing me. In a way, I did bribe him. I paid for a month of loving lessons. In any case, they were so sick of me by the end of it that I got to go first out of dozens of people taking the test that morning because I was white and didn't speak Chinese.
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Sep 5, 2012 14:08
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Haraksha posted:Well, I ended up passing the test on the coarse I practiced on with my instructor as the one testing me. In a way, I did bribe him. I paid for a month of loving lessons. It's even better to be white and pretend not to understand Chinese.
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Sep 5, 2012 16:09
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Ravendas posted:It's even better to be white and pretend not to understand Chinese. Soon. I'm taking three a week private lessons right now and I really feel like my Chinese is getting stronger. My biggest hurdle for months has been my listening and I'm finally starting to recognize what people are saying to me.
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Sep 5, 2012 17:26
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Ravendas posted:It's even better to be white and pretend not to understand Chinese. I've shamelessly gotten out of about 5-6 obvious traffic violations where the cops pulled me over and had me dead to rights.
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Sep 6, 2012 01:35
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You guys have traffic laws and cops enforcing them? How barbaric. Glorious Korea cares not for such silliness.
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Sep 6, 2012 04:22
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Grand Fromage posted:You guys have traffic laws and cops enforcing them? How barbaric. Glorious Korea cares not for such silliness. They seem to only come out when they need money. I generally refer to driving here as "driving by Darwinism" for a reason.
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Sep 6, 2012 05:21
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Grand Fromage posted:You guys have traffic laws and cops enforcing them? How barbaric. Glorious Korea cares not for such silliness.
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Sep 6, 2012 06:30
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It's like the Pirate Code, but replace Jack Sparrow with Jack Daniels.
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Sep 6, 2012 08:56
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So I just got into Tainan a couple of days ago, and I discover that all the words I thought I had learned are being pronounced differently. There are no "sh"es or "zh"es in anything! They should warn people about that! Weisenme? Sei? Zong Guo. Is this only a Tainan thing, or is this the Taiwanese accent?
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Sep 7, 2012 10:49
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Inu posted:So I just got into Tainan a couple of days ago, and I discover that all the words I thought I had learned are being pronounced differently. There are no "sh"es or "zh"es in anything! They should warn people about that!
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Sep 7, 2012 11:18
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That's Taiwan Guoyu right there. It's stronger in the south, though, since up north people don't speak nearly as much Taiwanese. Wait until you start hearing the people who can't pronounce f's, q's, and yu's too.
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Sep 7, 2012 11:19
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Totally a Taiwan thing. I'm dreading going to the mainland.
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Sep 7, 2012 11:50
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TetsuoTW posted:That's Taiwan Guoyu right there. It's stronger in the south, though, since up north people don't speak nearly as much Taiwanese. Wait until you start hearing the people who can't pronounce f's, q's, and yu's too. Wild. What do f's q's ad yu's become? It seems like the pattern I've noticed is "sh" > "s" "zh" > "z" and "ch" > "c", which works out really nicely in Pinyin.
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Sep 7, 2012 12:01
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Well it's also super common in southern China; in Guangxi, Guangdong and close-by provinces you'll find many speakers that lack a retroflex and the have their own messed up pronunciations of others too.
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Sep 7, 2012 13:44
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Haraksha posted:Totally a Taiwan thing. I'm dreading going to the mainland. The only real difference is in the mainland, every Taiwan-sized piece of land (or smaller) messes everything up in their own unique way. Hangzhou and Zhejiang in general have roughly the same crap going on as in Taiwan though, if you want to feel at home.
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Sep 7, 2012 14:30
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goldboilermark posted:Hey y'all! Greetings from the mainland. JV's Hostel was pretty cool. Middle of a sweet night market, air conditioned, close to a few 7/11s (although this is probably true for anywhere in Taipei), really friendly owners, only gripe was that the nearest MRT station was ~10 minutes away, but not a huge deal. As well, I've heard good things about the Eight Elephants Hostel. I spent most of my time along that side of the island, so I can't offer much about venturing over to the more rural parts of it... but I believe there's good nature stuff to do around Taipei, much of which is doable by bus? Also... get an Easycard if you plan on traveling around Taipei a fair amount. The Taipei MRT is fantastic. I think I had to push tears away when I saw people observing "walk left, stay right" on the escalators.
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Sep 8, 2012 01:16
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After Korea, Taiwan really felt like the most orderly place in the world.
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Sep 8, 2012 05:23
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What's the etiquette for eating while walking in Taiwain? I see food for sale on the street everywhere but never see anyone eating on public. I'm personally however not concerned with food stalls, but rather there is a Subway next door to my place and I want to buy a sandwich and eat it while I walk to school every day. Is that a no-go? (In Japan I'd get serious stares and people murmuring under their breath about foreign savages.)
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Sep 9, 2012 16:12
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Eating and walking is fine if somewhat uncommon. No one gives a poo poo. Just don't do it on the MRT and remember to throw away your litter.
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Sep 9, 2012 16:18
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dtb posted:What's the etiquette for eating while walking in Taiwain? Like Haraksha said no one will give a poo poo about it. However, how the hell do you eat a Subway sandwich while walking? I can hardly keep those things together while sitting.
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Sep 10, 2012 02:01
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| # ? May 16, 2024 18:37 |
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HappyHelmet posted:Like Haraksha said no one will give a poo poo about it. However, how the hell do you eat a Subway sandwich while walking? I can hardly keep those things together while sitting. Rip the paper and unroll it slowly, exposing just a bit of the sandwich at a time. 
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Sep 10, 2012 02:08
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