January 2009
26 posts
conducting
It’s Monday night and the first day of the lunar new year. I’m on Eternal Health Street with my ex-girlfriend Jiayan, hanging out with her sister Mimi, three cousins — Du Du, Xun Xun, and Hao Ge — and Mimi’s quasi-boyfriend called Brother Ah-kun. Is there a word for a guy in the process of courting a woman by doing things like paying for her family to go out to eat...
Happy 牛 Year
Since saturday night, no matter how early or late, the wee-bang or crack or boom-boom-boom of people launching fireworks has become a constant part of life.
First Semester Grades
Most of my grades are up online. Listening and Pronunciation haven’t been listed yet. My score for Modern Chinese Conversation was 93; Modern Chinese Reading was 96; and Traditional Chinese Character Studies was 93 (some kind of compromise between 96 and 90, I guess?)
Score for Gym class was only 88. Fuck mandatory physical education.
Also, I have a grade for ‘behavior.’...
Half American, half Japanese, half German
On Sunday afternoon, Teacher Chen Li-fen invited some students over to celebrate the end of semester and the lunar new year. “Celebrating ends and new beginnings is important,” she said. It was a good time. There was good food and — my enemy — the karaoke machine.
During the meal, Teacher Chen addressed me. “Peikai, I don’t know what to do. Your grade for...
Encouragement makes me feel confused.
It’s Thursday afternoon, and Pronunciation Class with Teacher Chen Huai-xuan is being held in the computer lab like normal. This is our last class of the semester, and I’m one poem reading away from winter break.
I’ve already mentioned the format of our final exam. Each student picked one short story or poem, and today has to read it aloud for the entire class. Teacher Chen has...
One More Day
…And three more tests. Listening, Conversation, and Pronunciation. After tomorrow, I’m free until Febraury 23. A friend from school is going back to America for break, so starting Friday, I’ll be staying at his place in Taipei.
Today we had our Reading Class final. For the past week, I’ve stayed in my room basically every night and reviewed everything we learned this...
more things
Somebody send me lots of Reese’s and York Peppermint Patties.
Start of Finals Week
This morning I overslept (going to this school has been the first period of my life where oversleeping is a problem) and woke up at 9:50, ten minutes before my first exam of the week.
Things I miss Vol. 1
Really big American towels.
Course Selection Yesterday
I signed up for Badminton.
