fall in taipei

the days have really started to fly by. fall has arrived in taipei and it's been surprisingly lovely. a few days ago i went out sightseeing on a sunny afternoon to the confucius temple near yuanshan station. it was a quiet, green space and having gone on a weekday, there were only a few other people there.





a little way down the street was the livelier baoan temple. here there were many more people visiting the gods, carrying sticks of burning incense. i wish i knew more about the traditions in visiting these temples. i only know that you're supposed to enter from the right door and walk counterclockwise.

i've started to try more of the restaurants around my studio. i had my first slice of pizza in taipei yesterday at a restaurant nearby. not bad. better than the spaghetti i've had here. my appetite continues to get better, especially now that i've started to swim more. i'm happy that i've been able to resume some of the routine i had while still in houston.

there's one more month left of the fall term with a one week break before the winter term starts. i'm pretty satisfied with how my chinese is going. i've noticed within the last two weeks or so that things are just starting to click. yesterday i was in a taxi and after going the wrong way a bit, i explained to the driver that we wanted to go in the other direction. speaking was the easy part and i did it without hesitation, but when he replied, i didn't really catch it all. luckily amanda was able to figure out what he was trying to say. listening and understanding are the slowest things in coming, but i can definitely tell that i've made some progress. kung fu club has been pretty good too. i've learned how to say a few useful words related to body parts, but haven't learned the characters for them.

this week has been pretty good for firsts. tomorrow i'll be going to my first club in taipei for a halloween party being thrown by the ntu school of management. i still haven't bought a costume, but neither have my friends. i'm not sure how late i'll stay as the last mrt train leaves at midnight, but in any case, it ought to be a fun night out. i missed out on halloween last year, so maybe i ought to make up for it tomorrow...