Nonetheless, I feel like now is a good time to take a moment to talk about our living situation. It's pretty amazing. We're in a BEAUTIFUL 12-story brick building near the Cultural Center in Kaohsiung; our building forms a "U" around a gorgeous courtyard complete with polished granite chess-playing tables, a gazebo, and a koi pond. I'm living with Rachel, Brittany, and Karina, and our apartment, apartment "A," as designated by the Fulbright people, is on the third floor. And, in addition to a balcony off the living room, each of the four bedrooms has at least a window facing into the courtyard; one of the two suites, which are larger and have private bathrooms, also has its own balcony. Here's the view from the living room balcony:
I'm in one of the smaller rooms, with cheaper rent--$5,050 TWD, if I remember correctly, so about $168 USD. Of course, the suites are only about $210 USD, so still insanely cheap, but I wasn't thinking that clearly when we picked, thanks to jet lag. But hey, with the saved money, I can travel more! IF I get to stay here, that is. Anyway, here's my current room--note the still-packed suitcases by the bed; I unpacked my carry-on, but I'm not letting myself get too settled yet.
Just off-camera to the right is a wardrobe; behind the desk to the left is a bedside table. If we DO stay, I have some rearranging to do--the way it is now makes the room look and feel smaller than it is. Also if we get to stay, I'm getting new curtains.
But therein lies the problem: we don't know if we're staying.
Today we went shopping, first at Ikea and then at Carrefour, which is basically the Taiwanese version of Fred Meyer, and we had no idea what we should or should not buy. Sure, in our current apartment my room needs more storage, but what if I have to move to one with no room for a chest of drawers? Sure, I have a twin-sized bed now, but what if I move to a place where I have a queen? On the flip side, sure apartment A has a fully stocked kitchen, but what if I have to move to a place with nothing whatsoever? And that's actually a very real possibility: the apartments we're in now have been used by Fulbright for a number of years now, and so have a lot of stuff in them that has been left behind by former grantees. Those who move, however, are going to new apartments--Fulbright hasn't even picked them out yet. Chances are they'll have nothing.
So, long story short, I didn't buy much today. An alarm clock, a bedside lamp, a pillow, under-bed storage (which, incidentally, doesn't fit under my bed. But if I move?), a bath mat. Breakfast food. All stuff that could easily move with me, if it comes to that.
A highlight of the day was definitely the fruit section of Carrefour--GIANT mangoes, dragonfruit, lychee, melons, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, kiwis, apples (oddly the most expensive thing there--ah, tropical fruit being local), and a bunch of fruit I didn't recognize. Also amazing was that, after I loaded my cart with fruit, juice, bottled water, Laughing Cow cheese, a coffee drink, chips, hand soap, and dehumidifying stuff, plus shared items with my apartment mates like laundry detergent, air freshener, eggs, bread, and watermelon, my bill came to about $23 USD. Wonderful.
I'm looking forward to formally learning more Chinese, and I'm learning, bit by bit, even today--trying to figure out what kind of coffee the cafe next to our apartment building has, trying to understand the 7-11 clerk from the other side of the apartment building tell me how much my yogurt cost, ordering "ee-guh kuhluh" (one Coke) for lunch, learning from Rachel that "chi bao le" means "I'm full." (Would have been useful to know that one in China!) "Xie xie" is no longer the only useful thing I can say.
Right now, though, "Wo esile"--I'm hungry. Down to the courtyard for pizza.
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