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YF19pilot posted:Typhoon ain't no thing for me. I've lived through hurricanes, can't be any worse than riding out a Cat 4. Don't bother going to Main Office before training. You will probably meet up with them a couple days before training to do your medical, and they ask for the paperwork then. You should try doing some touristy things in Taipei before you start training. Once you start, you'll only get a couple free days. Definitely get a bank account, change your money, get a SIM card/phone before they take your passport. I would recommend Mega Bank, but if you are going to a different city you should probably ask a trainer what banks are there. Mega Bank might not be in smaller towns. For phones, Fareastone and Myfone are both good carriers that are easy for foreigners to deal with. Dunno if they have stores wherever you will live though.
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Sep 22, 2014 12:59
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| # ? May 16, 2024 19:59 |
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YF19pilot posted:Ate at MOS Burger tonight. Got the chili-cheese burger? I don't know if that's even classified as chili, but that's what it looked like. The chicken nuggets they gave as a side (looked like hashbrowns in the picture) bland, but are saving me from starvation. There's a 八方雲集 up the road around the corner, will try that tomorrow. Otherwise, I may lose a little weight while my taste buds acclimate to the local cuisine. I will try my best not to succumb to McD's (I don't like them state side anyways), but if I find a KFC I can't make any promises about what will happen. Their nuggets suck, better to just get their fried chicken and definitely get the croquette/korokke, which is basically fried mashed potatoes and is loving delicious. p sure they have an English menu available
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Sep 22, 2014 15:02
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Just go into one of the stores with meat hanging in the window and ask for a ji tui fan (雞腿飯) or san bao fan (三宝飯) and you'll get some tasty meats on nice white rice with vegetables that would be delicious except people here hate vegetables and want them to be unhappy, and maybe some halfway decent tofu or something else.quote:take your passport Wait what, that sounds shady as gently caress.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:03
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duckfarts posted:Their nuggets suck, better to just get their fried chicken and definitely get the croquette/korokke, which is basically fried mashed potatoes and is loving delicious. They did, I just didn't feel like spending five minutes to go over it. Will definitely take my time next time. Spanish Matlock posted:Just go into one of the stores with meat hanging in the window and ask for a ji tui fan (雞腿飯) or san bao fan (三宝飯) and you'll get some tasty meats on nice white rice with vegetables that would be delicious except people here hate vegetables and want them to be unhappy, and maybe some halfway decent tofu or something else. Will keep an eye out. Veggies are delicious. Will probably nab a phone in the next day or two, there is a Far EasTone around the corner, and one in Chiayi, which unless things change on Monday, is where I've been told I'm going. Also, will check things out with Mega Bank. I just get a kick out of a bank called "Mega Bank" as that's always painted as a bad thing to be.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:20
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Spanish Matlock posted:Wait what, that sounds shady as gently caress.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:28
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Yeah, it's the ARC application. Also they take it as security for the startup loan, but that's voluntary.
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Sep 22, 2014 16:03
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They take your passport because they have to put the visa in it. And also they take it if you get the loan, but that is a completely separate thing and is totally shady, unlike the first thing.
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Sep 22, 2014 16:20
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Yeah, David's never took my passport AFAIK.
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Sep 22, 2014 17:20
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Slowpoke! posted:They take your passport because they have to put the visa in it. Thankfully I will be able to get by without having to rely on taking the loan. Also, I really need to start learning this language. It's annoying when the English language version of a website is just general 'corporate info' instead of a translated mirror of the main website.
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Sep 23, 2014 01:06
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YF19pilot posted:Thankfully I will be able to get by without having to rely on taking the loan. Use Chrome and the translate feature, have Google Translate bookmarked.
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Sep 23, 2014 04:06
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duckfarts posted:Use Chrome and the translate feature, have Google Translate bookmarked.
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Sep 23, 2014 04:21
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YF19pilot posted:Still, I really need to hurry up and learn how to read/speak Mandarin so I know what I'm ordering. Haha, hope you're ready to be here for a few years duckfarts posted:p sure they have an English menu available My favorite Taiwan menu related experience was going out with a Taiwanese friend. Waiter brings two Chinese menus out, then looks at me and does a double take and apologizes profusely before running off to get an English menu before either of us can say anything. When the waiter returns, he overhears my friend and I conversing (in Chinese) about how it wasn't necessary for him to do the switch. At that point I was ready to accept an English menu anyway, but before either of us can do anything the waiter gets really flustered and apologizes profusely AGAIN, removes the English menu and gives me a Chinese menu AGAIN. I don't care what language your drat menu is in just let me order something!!! Spanish Matlock posted:
Yeah WTF... You can just apply for an ARC on your own. Reminds me of when I bought a scooter and they were like "Just give us your ARC and we can do the paperwork for you!" Uh... no, we will sign the paperwork together.
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Sep 23, 2014 04:38
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Of course you can do it yourself. Hess' system is designed to help people who really have no idea what's going on or what they're doing, so it's all babby-safe. They just take your passport from you and get it all done for you. It's not really "shady as gently caress."
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Sep 23, 2014 04:44
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Even if you did apply for your ARC by yourself, wouldn't your passport be sitting in government offices while they processed it anyway? Having your company deliver it to them isn't shady at all.POCKET CHOMP posted:Hess' system is designed to help people who really have no idea what's going on or what they're doing, so it's all babby-safe. Not just for ARCs.
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Sep 23, 2014 05:06
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Hess isn't going to steal your passport, come on guys.
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Sep 23, 2014 05:11
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Got a phone. I am now back in the modern world. Roughly about the same time I finally have feelings of doubt and nervousness for the first time. Sitting in Mos Burger I realize, this must be what it feels like to be a Mexican coming to America for the first time, the feeling knowing that you stick out like a sore thumb, can't read, can't speak. Except, at least he already knows how to read a Romanized alphabet. And there aren't assholes in pick up trucks trying to trick me into taking a ride to the INS office. This fried chicken isn't half bad. Now I just need to find someplace selling what Spanish Matlock suggested and I'll probably be set.
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Sep 23, 2014 06:21
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YF19pilot posted:Got a phone. I am now back in the modern world. Roughly about the same time I finally have feelings of doubt and nervousness for the first time. Sitting in Mos Burger I realize, this must be what it feels like to be a Mexican coming to America for the first time, the feeling knowing that you stick out like a sore thumb, can't read, can't speak. Except, at least he already knows how to read a Romanized alphabet. And there aren't assholes in pick up trucks trying to trick me into taking a ride to the INS office.
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Sep 23, 2014 07:06
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duckfarts posted:Also, the locals are way friendlier to you. This is true, walking around Monday morning I probably bumped umbrellas with like two dozen people and half of them would immediately turn around and apologize, even if it was obviously my fault for being a stupid foreigner trying to go upstream against a crowd. (It's even more hilarious considering that many people would try to raise their umbrella over mine to pass by, even if I was clearly taller or had better reach). My dad's side of the family is Hispanic, and they will tease each other about who is the most Mexican, and there are people in his home town who try to pretend to be Mexican for some reason (most of the families have been in Texas since the Texan Revolution). It boggles my mind why someone would want to do that when you have assholes who honestly refuse to acknowledge that anyone who is Hispanic or speaks Spanish might have actually been born in the USA, or anywhere other than Mexico (including Spain!) e: Also gotta give credit to the Taipei road works. They repaved the intersection out front of the hotel last night. When I got out this morning, I could only tell by the lack of crosswalk markings and smell of fresh asphalt. CovfefeCatCafe fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Sep 23, 2014 |
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Sep 23, 2014 07:23
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Yo YF, cool to see you made it to Asia man! Enjoy and have a great time in Taiwan, I loved it when I was there!
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Sep 23, 2014 07:30
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goldboilermark posted:Yo YF, cool to see you made it to Asia man! Enjoy and have a great time in Taiwan, I loved it when I was there! Hey, I appreciate it. You've been a big help in getting me to do this. I still lurk in the China threads, too, so I'm not ignoring you guys over there either.
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Sep 23, 2014 07:46
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http://www.zhongwenred.com/lessonone.htm I remember running through the first couple of lessons on this site helped me out way back when I had no mandarin at all. The little literal translations at the bottom helped me wrap my head around the syntax.
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Sep 23, 2014 11:20
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Spanish Matlock posted:http://www.zhongwenred.com/lessonone.htm Ah, thanks for this. That will help immensely. In the mean while I am chuckling over 'cat'. (And the fact that I can't seem to paste Chinese characters into my post for some reason).
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Sep 23, 2014 11:52
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Spanish Matlock posted:Yeah, David's never took my passport AFAIK. Do you not have a visa in your passport? If you do, maybe they made you do everything instead of handling it themselves. I suppose if you don't trust your school, that is okay, but I've found that regardless of how you feel about Hess, most people agree that the initial document process is professional and trustworthy. When it came time to renew we had some issues with our branches not realizing they needed to take my passport again for the new visa, but the initial application when you first arrive is handled by the main office people, not the branch. They know what they are doing (they should, with Hess's turnover they process about 250-300 new teachers a year).
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Sep 23, 2014 14:42
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Koreagoon coming to Taiwan for the first time on Saturday October 11th-16th. Expenses/accommodation questions: My plan is tentatively to arrive, drop my crap off at a hotel/motel, and then go a club. What's good? Also, what's the going rate for Love Motels? Can I do better than 40USD/night? Will I be able to get one solo? Will they have computers in the room like Glorious Korea? I haven't looked at airbnb. Hostels and couchsurfing don't appeal too much to me. Regardless of the outcome, most likely I'll be heavily intoxicated, so I expect to have to take the entire day to recover Sunday. Monday-Thursday I don't have any plans. International roaming is like $10USD/day, can I get sim for my phone (of course it's unlocked)? I just want/need wifi like everyone else on the planet. Street food, I crave street food. Variety. Can someone give me a good guide of food stalls to visit around Taipei, or link me to a visual guide? Any former Korea Goon wanna meet up and tell me just how much better my life would be in Taiwan? Is Taiwan just like Korea, in that real laundromats are few and far between; I like to travel light. Are there any Apple stores in Taiwan yet? I was hoping to swap of my iPad since it's developed a lot of bad pixels. Or should I just leave my iPad at home? Finally, as can be expected I'm a social tourist, is there life beyond the city in the north? How can I be enticed to go south? I give absolutely no fucks about any religious bullshit
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Sep 23, 2014 16:17
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YF19pilot posted:
Your computer probably has an option to type in Chinese; remember to set it to Traditional. Slowpoke! posted:They know what they are doing (they should, with Hess's turnover they process about 250-300 new teachers a year). I wonder how Hess's turnover rate (about 40% of new hands quit after/during the first year, I think) compares to chain buxibans/buxibans in general.
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Sep 23, 2014 16:50
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YF19pilot posted:Still, I really need to hurry up and learn how to read/speak Mandarin so I know what I'm ordering. Okay but until then just download the Hanping app and pay for the camera add-on/upgrade/whatchamacallit. Worth way more than the  they charge.
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Sep 23, 2014 20:20
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poetrywhore posted:Okay but until then just download the Hanping app and pay for the camera add-on/upgrade/whatchamacallit. Worth way more than the Paid for the full version, I like the little notepad. Thanks, this is going to help out immensely. Also, learned that "Dear Friend" is also a slang term for "A visit from Aunt Flo." Will have to be careful with that one.
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Sep 24, 2014 00:49
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House Louse posted:Even if you did apply for your ARC by yourself, wouldn't your passport be sitting in government offices while they processed it anyway? No, they take it away for like 2 seconds to photocopy, all within your range of sight. IDK, I'm probably paranoid, but I basically never let my passport out of my sight when I take it out, usually keeping it in a locked drawer in my dorm otherwise. It's literally your identity/nationality, perhaps the most important document you can own, and they're a bitch to replace. I had a friend miss an entire semester of school due to losing his passport and having to wait for a replacement. YF19pilot posted:In the mean while I am chuckling over 'cat'. I am still convinced that 貓 and 狗's pronunciations were based purely on the noises those animals make. politicorific posted:International roaming is like $10USD/day, can I get sim for my phone (of course it's unlocked)? 1. Just go to any telecom place (Chunghua, Dageda, YuanChuan)and ask for 1G of data. I did this with my friend right next to NTU and the staff spoke like no English but you might get lucky. 2. There are laundromats, ask your hotel 3. Just go to a night market (Shilin being the largest/touristiest/easiest to find; Jiantan MRT station) and point, eat whatever looks good. There is a blog called Hungry in Taipei but if you're just trying to eat street food you can't really go wrong. 4. No Apple store but there are ... what are those called? Authorized resellers? No idea if they could fix your thing 5. I am atheist as gently caress and think your attitude towards religion is lovely, but whatever. The highlights of Taiwan are NOT religious sites, not sure where you got that idea. I am feeling generous today so here are a set of keywords: Taroko Gorge, Sun Moon Lake, Kenting, Mount Alishan. And a million other things. hitension fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 02:57
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YF19pilot posted:Paid for the full version, I like the little notepad. Thanks, this is going to help out immensely. Also, learned that "Dear Friend" is also a slang term for "A visit from Aunt Flo." Will have to be careful with that one. Or just aunt. Specifically, mom's side.
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Sep 24, 2014 03:02
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hitension posted:No, they take it away for like 2 seconds to photocopy, all within your range of sight. I don't know if the process has changed since 2008 when I moved to Taiwan, but I'm pretty sure Hess (or any school) taking your passport for any extended amount of time would be for the residency visa which is actually placed inside your passport, not the ARC. I think it was like 7-10 business days or something, and during that time the government did absolutely keep my passport in their office. I know it had nothing to do with the school because I didn't move over here with a hand-holding school, and I had to do the Residency Visa and ARC all by myself. For the ARC, you're absolutely right, with the requisite copies and verification of the original, you can hold on to it. But for the visa which they actually stick in your passport, you have to surrender your passport to them. I should say I still have that same Residency Visa from 2008, and every year after then, when renewing my ARC (or applying for my APRC) I never had to give up my passport. It was a one time deal. I also had to give TECO in America my passport for a week to get a tourist visa before I even came to Taiwan for the first time, so I think that's pretty standard.
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Sep 24, 2014 03:12
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hitension posted:The highlights of Taiwan are NOT religious sites, not sure where you got that idea.
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Sep 24, 2014 03:13
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hitension posted:I am still convinced that 貓 and 狗's pronunciations were based purely on the noises those animals make. It's like the pokemon way of doing things. But moreso I meant 貓 and a certain chairman. (Also, going to have to figure this whole posting Chinese characters out, I changed the input settings on my computer but still doesn't seem to take, I'll have to see what gives). quote:3. Just go to a night market (Shilin being the largest/touristiest/easiest to find; Jiantan MRT station) and point, eat whatever looks good. There is a blog called Hungry in Taipei but if you're just trying to eat street food you can't really go wrong. I'm probably going to do this tonight, actually. I was just up there to see the National Palace Museum this morning.
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Sep 24, 2014 05:44
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YF19pilot posted:It's like the pokemon way of doing things. But moreso I meant 貓 and a certain chairman. (Also, going to have to figure this whole posting Chinese characters out, I changed the input settings on my computer but still doesn't seem to take, I'll have to see what gives). Mao Zedong's family name is actually 毛, which, among other things, means "fur" and "body hair". But it's also a name, so yeah. Chinese.
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Sep 24, 2014 06:38
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quadrophrenic posted:Mao Zedong's family name is actually 毛, which, among other things, means "fur" and "body hair". I know, I'm just having trouble copying and pasting characters into the reply form here. Anytime I quote, the characters come up as &#xxxxx; where 'x' is a 5 digit number. I don't know if that's a setting I need to change on my computer or on the forums (it works fine copying to Facebook, for example).
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Sep 24, 2014 07:23
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duckfarts posted:I dunno, some of the temples are pretty cool. Longshan's main incense urn has those figures of Dutch dudes holding up the top because people weren't too fond of them at the time I think. The Fo Guang Shan Monastery in the south is supposed to be a place to visit too. To be honest, if you're not interested in Eastern religions to begin with, the temples in Asia definitely begin to blur together after awhile. I've been to Buddhist, Daoist, Shintoist, etc in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, it does get tedious after awhile. But "I give no fucks about religious poo poo" is kinda needlessly negative, especially since the religious sites in Taiwan are at least legitimate sites of THAT SAID, Fo Guang Shan is touristy as hell. There is literally a Starbucks inside. I have been dragged there to volunteer (long story) and yeah they are not great. They also give a bunch of money to the KMT (as if the KMT was hurting for money...). Whee. Longshan Temple is aight I guess. I had a friend pray there for love (was not successful), I prayed there to pass an important test (was successful). I'm more likely to pass right by Longshan temple and go to Ximending. Knowing goony goons they'd be more interested in the prostitute alley next door.
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Sep 24, 2014 07:44
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If people like to ask you about religion, just say "我信睡覺"  hitension posted:I have been dragged there to volunteer (long story) and yeah they are not great. What happened hitension posted:Knowing goony goons they'd be more interested in the prostitute alley next door. It's the South East Asia thread, some goons were surprised that a prostitute costs as much as a hot lunch back home.
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Sep 24, 2014 07:50
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What time does that night market up in Shilin get going? If my back is up to it (wore the wrong shoes to the museum, no support), I'm gonna try heading up there tonight or tomorrow. My roommate for training arrives on Friday, not sure how that will affect my plans for poking around. Otherwise might head back to Taipei 101 now that I have a camera on my phone.
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Sep 24, 2014 08:27
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YF19pilot posted:What time does that night market up in Shilin get going?
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Sep 24, 2014 09:40
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YF19pilot posted:What time does that night market up in Shilin get going? If my back is up to it (wore the wrong shoes to the museum, no support), I'm gonna try heading up there tonight or tomorrow. My roommate for training arrives on Friday, not sure how that will affect my plans for poking around. Otherwise might head back to Taipei 101 now that I have a camera on my phone. Most night markets open at 5, but not all of the stalls will be set up or ready to serve food by then. 6-7 is usually safer if you want to see everything. Shilin is a beast, even on a regular weekday, so if you want to avoid the crowds, go as early as possible. After 7, when the people who set up their poo poo in the middle of the walking street are out, it becomes a congested mess of people slowly shuffling by. I think the Raohe Night Market is better and easier to navigate around, though it's not close to any MRT stop. If you want to go to a night market around Taipei 101, there is Tonghua Night Market. It's not as touristy, but it has food and shops none-the-less. Here is an MS Paint map I made for you.
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Sep 24, 2014 10:06
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There's a metro stop called Watson's? gently caress me 
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Sep 24, 2014 10:07
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