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In the middle of nowhere, last stop on the train line. You need a scooter or you will die (from boredom.) If you like nature, maybe it will be fine.
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Aug 29, 2016 06:21
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Atlas Hugged posted:A friend of mine is looking at work in DaJia Taichung. Anyone know anything about that region? Oh hey, I lived there for two years! It is indeed in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by flat farmland. A scooter is an absolute necessity. Not sure what GoutPatrol means by "last stop on the train line," because the north-south coastal line runs through town. You can hop on a train and be in Taipei or Kaohsiung in about 3 hours, but you can't ride the train directly into Taichung. The cost of living is really, really cheap, but if you're looking for exciting things to do you aren't going to find much. There's a night market once a week on Thursdays but after about two or three visits you'll pretty much see everything there is to see there. With a scooter you can ride to the coast in about fifteen minutes and maybe go swimming when the tide is in, but when it's out the beach is a big stinking mud flat. Also it's even more miserable in the winter than usual because the wind comes right off the Strait with nothing to stop it. As for work there's a couple cram school chains; I worked for the HESS branch there and had a pretty good time because the branch manager there is pretty good. There's a few foreign engineers at the Giant bicycle factory near town, and there used to be a pretty good Thai food place that served the factory workers.
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Aug 29, 2016 06:37
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Are there any formal Mandarin classes? He seems to think if he's not in Taipei he'll be more likely to practice.
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Aug 29, 2016 11:57
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There are almost certainly none, and even if there were, you wouldn't want to spend money on them.
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Aug 29, 2016 12:06
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If he's looking for somewhere cheap and boring where he can study Chinese, come to Chiayi. The university's good and there aren't too many good English speakers.
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Aug 29, 2016 12:12
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Atlas Hugged posted:Are there any formal Mandarin classes? He seems to think if he's not in Taipei he'll be more likely to practice. In the town itself? Almost certainly none. There's a town not too far down the road, Shalu, that has a few universities that might have something, and I'd imagine there's definitely something in Taichung which is a bit of a drive (45 minutes to an hour by scooter) but could certainly be done. Also the town is right under the approach to the Taichung airport, so there's F-16s flying overhead almost every day. Not to mention with the famous temple there every weekend there's processions through the streets playing drums and setting off fireworks. So if he does move down there my advice is to make sure that his apartment is nowhere on the usual parade route, or else he'll be woken up at 8am every Saturday and Sunday.
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Aug 29, 2016 12:18
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a thing i now regret not purchasing when in taiwan
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Sep 1, 2016 04:15
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Just got here two weeks ago. What's a good site I can order general things from and have them delivered to the local 7-11? For instance, I REALLY need a decent sized umbrella, because the overpriced piece of poo poo I bought at 7-11 wouldn't keep a little person's feet dry for a ten minute walk. Second, what's the Mandarin word for those plastic covers you can wear on your shoes so they don't get wet? I REALLY need those, because I like to walk and I hate staying inside just because it's raining. Thanks!
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Sep 17, 2016 07:00
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nickmeister posted:Just got here two weeks ago. What's a good site I can order general things from and have them delivered to the local 7-11? For instance, I REALLY need a decent sized umbrella, because the overpriced piece of poo poo I bought at 7-11 wouldn't keep a little person's feet dry for a ten minute walk. i randomly guessed 鞋套 and googled it and was right! good job me! 防水鞋套 to be more specific or 雨鞋, but that might just mean "galoshes" generally
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Sep 17, 2016 07:20
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nickmeister posted:I REALLY need a decent sized umbrella, because the overpriced piece of poo poo I bought at 7-11 wouldn't keep a little person's feet dry for a ten minute walk.  (For real tho pchome24 or books.com.tw might help but get ready for no English and Taiwanese web design.)
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Sep 17, 2016 20:41
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Yahoo.com.tw is like the Amazon of Taiwan for just random stuff to order. But as said above you'll need someone who speaks Chinese to navigate.
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Sep 18, 2016 02:07
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nickmeister posted:Just got here two weeks ago. What's a good site I can order general things from and have them delivered to the local 7-11? For instance, I REALLY need a decent sized umbrella, because the overpriced piece of poo poo I bought at 7-11 wouldn't keep a little person's feet dry for a ten minute walk. Unless you're in the sticks, you should find umbrella shops or stands in shopping areas at some point, especially if it's raining. There's some nice big automatic ones for around 500-600NT. As for the feet things, plastic bags I guess? Unless you're riding a scooter, I only see those Hunter wellies and stuff. Maybe you could get one of those fish market rubber boots?
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Sep 18, 2016 05:26
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Hey I asked some questions months ago and your responses were awesome. I have another question. I looked in the OP and searched and I'm sure this is answered so sorry for asking again. Vaccines - needed? It seems by what is says here that I may need to get a Hep A vaccine and maybe some others? I have no health problems and neither does my wife. We are only going to be there for 2 weeks. What do you guys say?
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Sep 20, 2016 14:05
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yamdankee posted:Hey I asked some questions months ago and your responses were awesome. I have another question. I looked in the OP and searched and I'm sure this is answered so sorry for asking again.
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Sep 20, 2016 14:14
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Oh man I don't remember. Yeah if it's one of the standard ones I'm sure I got it. My parents weren't crazy and actually gave me vaccines. Edit: I was born in 86 and it looks like Hep A or B weren't recommended at that time yet. I asked my parents, waiting to hear back. Does my current GP have those records or am I going to have to call around? I don't even know where to start. Or should I relax and not worry about it? yamdankee fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 14:24
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I think Hep C is standard in the west, but it may well vary by region I visited Taiwan and didn't get hepatitis, but your mileage may vary
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Sep 20, 2016 14:46
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I thought the only vaccine they actually tested for was MMR, since that is a big deal in the poorer SEA countries.
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Sep 20, 2016 15:17
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You definitely need MMR if you for some reason don't have it. I know two people from Malaysia that had measles this year alone. You'll be fine without most of the rest unless you're sharing blood/fluids or spending a lot of time in the sticks getting bit by mosquitoes.
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Sep 20, 2016 15:42
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When I first applied for my ARC they didn't trust that I had had an MMR and insisted I do it again. Americans have a bad reputation abroad these days.
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Sep 20, 2016 16:48
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yamdankee posted:Oh man I don't remember. Yeah if it's one of the standard ones I'm sure I got it. My parents weren't crazy and actually gave me vaccines. i dunno, do you think you're really autistic or just a little bit?
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Sep 20, 2016 16:59
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Atlas Hugged posted:When I first applied for my ARC they didn't trust that I had had an MMR and insisted I do it again. Americans have a bad reputation abroad these days. This randomly happened to me too on my third health check here. They suddenly asked for records that I didn't have, despite it not ever coming up the two years prior. They swore up and down I'd have to get it done again, but proceeded with the rest of the check anyway. Then the doctors just forgot about it somehow and still signed off on everything and passed me. Bureaucracy in action! It never came up again in the following years either, until I finally got my APRC and no longer had to deal with that bullshit.
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Sep 20, 2016 17:43
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duckfarts posted:i dunno, do you think you're really autistic or just a little bit? LOL don't even get me started man. But that link in my original question, it contains something that does scare me a little, but probably only because I'm ignorant of conditions over there. It says, "CDC recommends this vaccine because you can get hepatitis A through contaminated food or water in Taiwan, regardless of where you are eating or staying." My friends and I don't plan on going to any shady places or crappy restaurants. We're basically staying in Taipei and Gaoxiong so, should we be safe or should I think about getting Hep A vax? I've definitely gotten all the routine vaccinations like MMR, etc. Should I bring any kind of papers with me to prove I have them when we get there?
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Sep 20, 2016 21:01
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POCKET CHOMP posted:This randomly happened to me too on my third health check here. They suddenly asked for records that I didn't have, despite it not ever coming up the two years prior. They swore up and down I'd have to get it done again, but proceeded with the rest of the check anyway. Then the doctors just forgot about it somehow and still signed off on everything and passed me. Bureaucracy in action! It never came up again in the following years either, until I finally got my APRC and no longer had to deal with that bullshit. Yeah, last time (my 2nd health check) they asked for my vac. records. This time (3rd check) they asked for them again despite me having a wavier that said I didn't have to do the vac. check. I forgot to bring the records with me, but since it was the same hospital, they pulled up the scanned copies on their computer and printed them off. Digital records are awesome  yamdankee posted:LOL don't even get me started man. Looking back on your previous posts, you're just coming to visit. Taiwan will give no shits about your vac. records. Most of us are talking from the standpoint of working/living here, in which case then Taiwan will definitely care. Most places, even down to "hole in the wall mom-and-pop" shops will use bottled or filtered water, so you should be okay. I've only ever suffered a bout of food poisoning (salmonella) once, and I think it was from a Subway, of all places. I don't know about getting Hep A from food, but when I first got here, there was a huge gutter oil scandal. Not sure if that's still a thing, though. Otherwise, if you're doing a general tour of Asia/SEA, it would be a good idea, in general, to be current on all your vaccinations, just for your own safety and health.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:44
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I'm doing some stuff for work with subdivisions of taiwan in map shapefiles and i'm missing Kinmen/Lienkiang counties. How come they're part of Taiwan rather than the mainland and as dumb as this sounds how important are they just the work involved to include them might be a bit of an issue and any excuse not to include them means less work
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Sep 21, 2016 13:28
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They're basically the staging ground between Taiwan and the mainland. The KMT won the last engagement of the civil war there by driving off the invading mainland force with the help of a boat in the area that moonlighted as smugglers. They're fairly important strategically and Kinmen also produces a poo poo ton of booze.
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Sep 21, 2016 14:02
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Jose posted:I'm doing some stuff for work with subdivisions of taiwan in map shapefiles and i'm missing Kinmen/Lienkiang counties. How come they're part of Taiwan rather than the mainland and as dumb as this sounds how important are they just the work involved to include them might be a bit of an issue and any excuse not to include them means less work How come -> the Navy all sided with Chiang so Mao had no well-armed boats to try and invade with, and the Nationalists spent a while turning them into fortress islands and painting signs big enough to be read from the Mainland that say "Yeah, come and try it if you think you're hard enough"*. *or something How important -> They're part of Taiwan so if you leave them out Taiwan will get annoyed and they're also part of China (because Taiwan is China and also part of China) so China might get annoyed too
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Sep 21, 2016 14:02
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Oh, also like Atlas says Kinmen makes 116-proof sorghum liquor that tastes like gasoline, and also some very nice kitchen knives made from melted-down artillery shrapnel.
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Sep 21, 2016 14:05
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Well they're included in my china file as some extremely basic polygons. Guess I need to try and get them into Taiwans file Thanks edit: I did it 
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Sep 21, 2016 14:08
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Kinmen and Mazu are still part of Taiwan and not the PRC because the PRC lost the last fight they had over them. The PLA bombed the poo poo out of both of them in August 1958, so the ROC started returning the favor, then the US hooked Taiwan up with sick weaponry and the PRC was put on the back foot. Then the Russians rolled up to Beijing and went "hey guys cut that poo poo out" and that was the last of the serious attempts to get Kinmen and Mazu back. I actually talked with an old veteran of that fight way back when I lived in Yonghe, it was super fascinating. I think that park in Yonghe might actually have a memorial for that same fight.Pirate Radar posted:Oh, also like Atlas says Kinmen makes 116-proof sorghum liquor that tastes like gasoline, and also some very nice kitchen knives made from melted-down artillery shrapnel. E: Actually that whole park is a memorial park for it apparently. E2: Now that I remember, that exact question comes up every now and then, usually around election time, because apparently a lot of people in Kinmen and Mazu don't feel particularly attached to Taiwan, what with the being miles away and never having been part of the Japanese empire. Like they're not pro-PRC, but they are pro-China. sub supau fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Sep 22, 2016 |
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Sep 22, 2016 06:26
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TetsuoTW posted:Good kaoliang is delicious and y'all can come the gently caress at me.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:50
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TetsuoTW posted:E2: Now that I remember, that exact question comes up every now and then, usually around election time, because apparently a lot of people in Kinmen and Mazu don't feel particularly attached to Taiwan, what with the being miles away and never having been part of the Japanese empire. Like they're not pro-PRC, but they are pro-China. Younger generations (<30) and people that have lived on mainland Taiwan/China tend to not feel this way. Or those from Kinmen at least, I'm not sure about Mazu. kaoliang is pretty alright, which works out nicely for me because people give me free bottles of the good poo poo all the time.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:51
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this is a stickup posted:Younger generations (<30) and people that have lived on mainland Taiwan/China tend to not feel this way. Or those from Kinmen at least, I'm not sure about Mazu.
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Sep 22, 2016 07:22
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Forgive me for not reading through the entire thread, but do you guys have meetups and/or have a line group? I have about zero English exposure in my day to day so I enjoy trolling online with other expats so I don't lose my mind. The redditors have one but.... yeah...
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Sep 26, 2016 10:43
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We hang out sometimes. Where on the island are you?
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Sep 26, 2016 11:31
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Tamsui
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Sep 26, 2016 11:44
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Right across the river from me!
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Sep 27, 2016 00:42
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phew: thanks for posting panda. i never speak for everyone, but, i'm glad you posted. I think I speak for all of us when I say we missed you. p.s. the squad you play with - my bestest friend sorry
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Sep 27, 2016 04:05
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The cryptic ending I don't quite get...
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Sep 27, 2016 04:11
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url posted:phew: thanks for posting panda. Typhoon day kuai le, url
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Sep 27, 2016 04:12
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Pandemonium posted:The cryptic ending I don't quite get... nothing cryptic, ...,you play rugby with a close friend of mine. dw about it. nothing untoward is/was meant
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Sep 27, 2016 04:14
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