First Day..We Made It

Okay, so I was so wired last night I did take a sleepez pill but I really do not think it helped because I was ready to go at 6am. Carol had a harder time getting sleep cycle adjusted and she is still desirous of lots of sleep, possibly because of all she did during the preceeding weeks.

It is very strange to read/see the news from an asian point of view. There is really a ton of news out there that we do not get in USA. The International Herald (NY Times) and the Taipei Times are available in the apt. so I read them and watched Asian CNN while drinking all sorts of hot tea....further wiring me!

Around noon, we venture to TAS by foot and made it.
Impressions:
1. The place is really quiet for what we thought
2. The mountaims around our area remind us of Saba only w/people but still lots of trees and
open space.
3. The Orange Julius effect (remember in UK, Carol needed a generous application
of something familiar when we were traveling) still works well only this time it was
Starbucks with a lovely young lady who wanted to know my name and hers is Mandy. Nice
and friendly.
4. People are very friendly here especially if you try any language with them.
5.TAS is really big and professional. Lots of forms but lots of help. The summer school kids
were on the steps in front of the school with a big table of food staples during a july"Ghost"
ritual with incense and much ceremony. new culture for sure
6. Cross walk signs have another sign that counts down how long you have to walk.COOL
7. The garbage truck announces its presence with a version of Fur Eliseby Beethoven on the
loudspeaker. Talk about class
8. The WELLCOME store is a food market...we have a steep learning curve to even figure
out what is what even when we are looking at it. Prices about the same as here. As Carol
said, " You have no idea how out of touch one can get only shopping at The Pig! We are
going to have a BLAST in these stores!
9. Our new apt. is all we expected and more. We were taken there by Spring Wu's cousin,
the caretaker. We could not really communicate because we do not speak the language.
Carol reminded me that the OK sign in English is really not good in TW as in go
(*&^*^yourself. and that a thumbs up means about the same thing. And I kept trying to
speak to him in Spanish of all things. The apt is a great blank palate for us so we are
anxious to get into it. No one really seems to know how to get the elect, water etc
transfered to our name. likewise the lease is a bit of a mystery but we have all the keys to
the place w/o money down.
10. It is really weird, again with weird, to look around at the topography and to have seen it
before with Google earth. The elevations, the major buildings..I have seen them all many
times without being here. Odd feeling. I guess I need to be careful of who I moon and
when.

More later or I will bore you.

Love
Bill