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For Taichung living, If you're looking for places with kitchen in the Xitun or Xi District (which is where the Costco and SOGO are) then it could get pretty expensive. I was living in a box there for 10000 NT. Granted, it was a pink, flowery box, but now half of my bedroom was bigger than my whole apartment before. I would say that if you're planning to stay for longer than one year, just suck it up for the first year and wait. By the time that's up, you'll be able to get a Taiwanese friend to help you look for good deals and better places. Most schools will not be setting you up in the better places, unless you're really lucky or willing to live with a roommate.
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Jun 25, 2013 08:57
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 22:12 |
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Does anyone know how much a taxi from Taoyuan airport to the center of Taipei will cost? Dealing with my parents so I want to make this as simple as possible.
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Jun 25, 2013 14:21
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HappyHelmet posted:I kinda feel like it would be cheaper for you to meet them at the airport and the take the bus back together. Well I'm in Hong Kong with them right now, and they are bringing a very large amount of luggage. I don't want to keep track of my elderly parents and their stuff through the bus system I don't know. Money isn't an issue when 1200 NT is still cheap for them.
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Jun 26, 2013 02:45
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kru posted:Yeah, I paid 1200nt both from and too the airport to my hotel, so I assumed it was the 'go-to' fare. Going to assume his parents dont really care about the difference and just want to get to their abode. Yeah is was 1100 even after the fee, which is less than the whole fee it costs to get them to Newark or JFK. We're at the Grand Hotel and going to do the tourist thing the next two days before they come down to Taichung and see how I live. They've spent the past month on the mainland so Taiwan is supposed to be their de-Chineseafying before they go back for another month.
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Jun 28, 2013 04:31
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Why can't we all just drink some San Miguel and get along? Sometimes I feel bad about not caring about these foreigner expectations. This is not one of these times.
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Jul 8, 2013 15:05
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I would personally prefer that we don't have typhoon days. I actually want to teach tomorrow and Saturday.
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Jul 11, 2013 14:50
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Moon Slayer posted:Kindy graduation? Just oral tests for the next two days. And I like the kids in those classes and promised them I would bring in my erhu (that I just bought on a whim and haven't opened since.)
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Jul 11, 2013 15:39
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I got to teach my class today, but all later classes are canceled. Still no word on tomorrow though.
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Jul 12, 2013 12:10
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Yeah I just got the text too, and my manager LINEd me earlier. I got a friend in Nantou and he still doesn't know.
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Jul 12, 2013 13:35
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Atlas Hugged posted:Guess it's basically done at this point. Hooray! Or, you know, the eye. http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201307_sat.html#JMJb3XIhT9CSRDPx.01
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Jul 13, 2013 06:54
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USDA Choice posted:Even as a token white dude tourist in Vietnam, they aren't even close to authentic. And the lettuce/greens are a little too plentiful. But they're still tasty, and $42 so neither cheap nor highway robbery. You don't have a Vietnamese place close to you? The one near me sells big ones for around 80.
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Jul 20, 2013 07:31
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Atlas Hugged posted:Finally got around to visiting a Taiwanese dentist and holy poo poo ultra sonic cleaning is the worst thing ever. You could try to get your teeth cleaned and they say they can't because of your canker sores. Then start poking at said sores with the sharp dentist stick thing with the small mirror on the other end. Then they try to get you to hold a mirror for them and you can't tell them that you don't know what the gently caress you are looking at because they made you take off your glasses and you got a bunch of poo poo in your mouth. I will say, whatever they did had got them to stop hurting. At only 50 NT too!
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Aug 9, 2013 15:43
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Taichung is done after 6, which is great for me because I am so tired of driving an hour out of the city for my Wednesday night class. It seems like every Wednesday is just downpours whenever I need to start driving.
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Aug 21, 2013 04:25
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Ravendas posted:I live near a big apartment complex that has some people that bring around their own truck each night and take whatever recyclables you have, unsorted. I give them that stuff earlier in the evening, then throw the rest away in the garbage truck proper. n/p GoutPatrol fucked around with this message at 08:45 on Sep 8, 2021 |
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Sep 11, 2013 14:43
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Yeah the Kids Club books have alot of that stuff stuck in them. Kissing students for doing a good job, hitting them (but not too hard!) if they screw up.
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Sep 12, 2013 02:29
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I know this is going to sound stereotypical but anyplace where there are alot of university students you will find some kind of LGBT presence. There are alot of language exchange societies not exactly catering to that, but groups tend to congregate there too.
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Oct 3, 2013 05:41
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LINE is everywhere. I told my family back home about LINE, we started using it instead of Skype. It also worked when I went on vacation to China, which was nice.
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Nov 1, 2013 16:18
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duckfarts posted:3000-5000NT, upper end is for name brand lenses like Nikon/Hoya/IForgot, these are high index thin lenses with coatings too. Frames within this price range aren't name brand like Burberry or anything, but includes pretty nice stuff that includes plastics, titanium super-flex frames, and rimless frames. Yeah, about that price is right. I got new glasses for about 7000 but I went all out.
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Nov 23, 2013 15:54
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Atlas Hugged posted:I still don't understand how a man can be in the beer business and not drink beer. Don't get high off your own supply.
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Nov 28, 2013 15:00
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hailthefish posted:I wonder if there would be a market for 'rigorous Western-style grading' or if it would fail due to a) "But we score so much better on standardized tests than you Americans This is partially a problem on the personality and age of the CT, I've come to notice. Alot of younger CTs who don't have any kids aren't able to convince parents that they are working to make their kid better. Middle-aged one with kids, or part-timers who don't get return rate bonuses, can fail kids easier. I have been told that for a regular, Step Ahead/EFL class, you need 12 kids in it to make a profit. If you keep trying to hold back kids when your class is smaller than that, there be problems.
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Nov 30, 2013 10:39
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" or b) "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY CHILD GOT A 70%?!?! I SENT HIM TO THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST!!!!"
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Taiwanese famous and actually famous are very different things. Its a running joke among my friends.
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Jan 5, 2014 17:27
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POCKET CHOMP posted:Aren't you the dude who made long angry posts lamenting about how Taiwanese were unfairly lumping all foreigners together as sex-crazed rapists after some sensationalist news stories? Then you go and make ridiculous generalization like that. I guess whenever this thread gets kind of dead you come out of the woodwork to liven things up. Every foreigner here has some self-loathing in them, Pandemonium just has a little more than most.
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Feb 1, 2014 11:50
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Bloodnose posted:That's odd. I was in Taipei for Hanukkah this year and there wasn't a single Hakka at the temple. Not even at the rabbi's birthday party! Its ok, most Jews don't go to temple either. I know I didn't.
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Feb 11, 2014 15:08
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duckfarts posted:
The written test on the website, I say, doesn't prepare you for alot of the questions on the actual test. Like, the practice test only has like 25% of the possible questions you could see. I failed the written test the first time because I just took the online test a couple times, and thought "I got this." And then they throw out these long, double-negative engrish questions at you. Just memorize all the pictures they show on the online test and what they mean, those are mostly the same, or you will know what couldn't be the answer and can guess.
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Feb 14, 2014 07:44
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Atlas Hugged posted:Some people like their things to run smoothly and come without any pre-existing problems. I certainly could have bought a cheap scooter, but I've seen my friends do that and then spend 10,000nt every year on repairs. I spend 0 on repairs and just pay it all up front. My scooter is 20 years old, all I need to do is give it an oil change every month and its good  The biggest thing I needed to fix after 2 years was a new spark plug. My scooter also makes strange noises when it can't start up after it rains, very similar to a car horn "a-oooooooo-ga."
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Feb 16, 2014 14:00
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caberham posted:
If we're not talking just about burgers anymore, then Vini's Deli, which opened up recently in Taichung, is loving amazing and I want to eat there every day and get fat(ter) and fatter with its delicious sandwiches, soups, and hummus. https://www.facebook.com/vinisdeli?ref=stream&filter=1
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Feb 26, 2014 16:15
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HESS can be an incredible hit or miss situation. The actual teaching portion is like how I describe it to my friends back home: it's like you're a substitute teacher who sees the same class every week. You don't come up with any lessons but do all the homework. I've been teaching at the same branch for over two years now, and I can say with all honesty that I like going to work there everyday. I would like to keep working there for longer. I adore my coworkers and kids. They've also got me doing two other classes for them inside a junior high school and those are pretty good too, for the most part. I also get sent out on alot of all day-excursions where you teach huge groups in public schools, and those were easy money (all outside HESS contracted stuff pays more and get gas per diems that will fill up your scooter for the week. ) That being said, I have also been pretty screwed by them big time on one occasion : forced to drive an hour out of town to teach an adult class of engineers with no plan of any kind given to me (with the reason given that they were supposed to buy a book with the course but they didn't want to, so come up with your own poo poo. ) When that happened, my regular school branch always had my back and tried to help me whenever she could. When I have been farmed out to sub at other branches, my experiences were... Not as good. One branch in particular, which has a reputation about being lovely, was hell everytime I went there. Others ranged from fine to this sucks. My roommate, who also works for HESS, has had a really lovely time with upper area management who continually try to screw him, and he's finally had enough and plans to quit once I get back from vacation (because he is subbing all my classes for a month because they literally don't have anywhere for him to work right now. He agrees with me that my school is great and his other schools treated him much worse.) I would go into more detail If you want but let's just say that he really hates HESS now. If you're in the need to save alot of money in the first year, you probably won't (with the expensive places they find you when you get there, and startup costs, Im pretty sure I lost money overall even with my parents help. ) if you move into a real place after, even on a HESS paycheck you should be saving a fifth at least. About the split shifts thing, they make you send a contract when you get there about how many hours you must average a week and if you are doing Kindy. For the most part, if you sign a no-kindy contract, you won't do it unless your branch is a sleazy gently caress. However, you may get Jump classes during regular hours, which is alot like a kindy class but only two hours. I've only subbed jump, and if you're problem is with little kids climbing all over you and not the time issue, you will hate that.
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Mar 15, 2014 10:03
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I was wondering why my Facebook was blowing up on anti-government stuff this past day. I have yet to see a pro-government post.
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Mar 20, 2014 12:42
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caberham posted:Can't you just say skipping school? No, because then he couldn't show that he knows words.
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Mar 21, 2014 11:30
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TetsuoTW posted:I have never understood why people like taiyangbing in the first place. Maybe I've only had bad ones, but they're firmly in the same category of "well I guess someone likes them" as mooncakes. They are delicious, but impossible to eat without getting big fat flakes of them all over yourself. I can only eat them bachelor-style over a trash can.
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Mar 27, 2014 12:17
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Barto posted:
This reads like an Onion old-man opinion. Beautiful.
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Apr 2, 2014 11:54
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url posted:Were you able to get data? I thought they sell one with pre-paid data already on it. That's just from my casual glance memory though.
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Apr 10, 2014 02:43
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Oh man...I've never seen flooding this bad when outside. I drove my scooter in waist high water because I can barely see ahead of myself. Lil' guy pulled through it like a champ, though.
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May 15, 2014 14:38
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Is LINE chat only for Taipei goons?
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May 27, 2014 03:31
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Speaking of new jobs, I will be leaving HESS after 2 1/2 years. I can't really say that I wanted to leave (I really love my school and all the kids I worked with,) but my new job opportunity was just too good to pass up, in terms of a real career and not endless buxiban drudgery. Finally using my education degree, I'll be teaching in a very well-respected and gigantic private school in the all english program, teaching US history and a multitude of elective courses. The pay is really good, even though this job is going to be probably 10x the amount of work, because this is a legit teaching job. Which basically means I'm kinda freaking out until it starts, and also angry at HESS because I need them to send my contract release form (need to leave a month early to start this new job) to the labor bureau and they won't do it until the end of the month, which, because this job is ridiculously by the book, it is really loving me over, and there is nothing I can do about it.
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Jul 17, 2014 15:11
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House Louse posted:Do you mind if I ask why you re-signed at HESS? I'm thinking about whether to renew now, and I'd appreciate the opinion of someone who renewed and doesn't have a vested interest in convincing me to do the same. How did you get on with their way of doing things after the first six months? If you aren't having a good time there, then don't renew. Each branch I've been to and worked at was very different and all dependent on who the bosses are. You could have been stuck at a lovely one. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the "HESS way." Some branches make the NSTs go to weekly meetings that serve no purpose; mine doesn't. Some branches don't have the CTs in the class with you when you're teaching; mine always does. I am never going to complain about the amount of work I had to do while I was there: if you were just teaching EFL classes, then its a cakewalk. I wrote up a rambling post about it a couple months ago: some douche posted:HESS can be an incredible hit or miss situation. The actual teaching portion is like how I describe it to my friends back home: it's like you're a substitute teacher who sees the same class every week. You don't come up with any lessons but do all the homework. I've been teaching at the same branch for over two years now, and I can say with all honesty that I like going to work there everyday. I would like to keep working there for longer. I adore my coworkers and kids. They've also got me doing two other classes for them inside a junior high school and those are pretty good too, for the most part. I also get sent out on alot of all day-excursions where you teach huge groups in public schools, and those were easy money (all outside HESS contracted stuff pays more and get gas per diems that will fill up your scooter for the week. ) That being said, I have also been pretty screwed by them big time on one occasion : forced to drive an hour out of town to teach an adult class of engineers with no plan of any kind given to me (with the reason given that they were supposed to buy a book with the course but they didn't want to, so come up with your own poo poo. ) When that happened, my regular school branch always had my back and tried to help me whenever she could. When I have been farmed out to sub at other branches, my experiences were... Not as good. One branch in particular, which has a reputation about being lovely, was hell everytime I went there. Others ranged from fine to this sucks. My roommate, who also works for HESS, has had a really lovely time with upper area management who continually try to screw him, and he's finally had enough and plans to quit once I get back from vacation (because he is subbing all my classes for a month because they literally don't have anywhere for him to work right now. He agrees with me that my school is great and his other schools treated him much worse.) I would go into more detail If you want but let's just say that he really hates HESS now. If you're in the need to save alot of money in the first year, you probably won't (with the expensive places they find you when you get there, and startup costs, Im pretty sure I lost money overall even with my parents help. ) if you move into a real place after, even on a HESS paycheck you should be saving a fifth at least.
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Jul 19, 2014 19:20
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House Louse posted:I was thinking of the way the curricula are so structured that there isn't much freedom for the individual teacher. I think that is a really good idea. You know how many fuckups there are that come here and don't know how to teach. You get a bunch of people who are here for working vacations and have no interest in really teaching. With HESS, there is a sense of stability. I have no idea how other buxibans could operate when their idea of a lesson plan is "so, fifteen minutes before class, what are we gonna do?"
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Jul 22, 2014 18:27
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HappyHelmet posted:Not poetry, but the best was the guy trying to hawk his lovely air-brushed paintings in the central park of Taichung every weekend. And he always attracts a crowd. No idea how or why.
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Sep 7, 2014 10:26
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...yes he still sucks
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Sep 7, 2014 11:08
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 22:12 |
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How are you going to point that out with kids who will not be able to understand your explanation. The first sentence is, literally, all they know, plus maybe 20 or so nouns from the alphabet, if I am remembering when they teach the possessives, it has been around a year since I taught the early levels there (I think they learn his/her before he/she, but then they kind of re-learn his/her again after that because its kind of never brought up again. If you do teach kids from the first lesson on, you'll see how the first book is really different from all the other books and alot of what it tries to do doesn't make sense.) What you would usually do at that low level is to write the original sentence pattern on the board with a couple pictures of things they know, like a dog, cat, apple. Then draw a boy and girl on the board next to those objects and label them "his" and "her." Its easier with the animals so you can draw leashes as signs of possession. Then once they hear you speak the new pattern, write it up on the board, specifically noting to erase the A part and replace it with his and her, showing them the positive and negative answers you could say. After all the kids have kind of practiced with you in asking and answering, you can play a game with them using a big dice or sticky ball. Draw 6 pictures on the board, bring two kids up. Rock Paper Scissors for who asks question and gets to roll the rice/throw the ball, whatever they land on they need to use in a question, and the other person answers. GoutPatrol fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Sep 10, 2014 |
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Sep 10, 2014 14:32
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