Welcome to Tainan

So we're going to keep this short (I lie) and sweet since I'm jet lagged and about ready to pass out. It's about 6:21 PM over here right now which probably means most of you have a few more hours of sleep before your day begins. Considering I flew who knows how many miles and then took a high speed train and then took a bus, I'd say today was eventful.

My trek started out in Raleigh, NC I woke up around noon eastern and did the morning rituals of brushing my teeth and checking my e-mail. Then I packed up my backpack and played a few last games on the 360. From there it was off to the airport with my parents and my sister who was a temporary travel companion. Of course I forgot something at home, my watch and webcam, so after saying goodbye the folks rushed back to get them for me. The first flight was uneventful, I worked a sudoku while Cheri explained to me some of the industry lingo for the airlines.

When we got to Atlanta we went to find a place to eat. Since we were meeting Logan at his arrival gate we chose on Checkers. After the meal I made a few calls to some of the people who are bound to read this eventually. During this time Cheri tested me on what certain planes look like. After about an hour of this it was off to meet Logan, Cheri made a pretty sign with a happy face on it. When Logan got off the flight he informed us that it had always been a dream of his to have a hot girl hold a sign with his name on it at an airport. Anyways, we went to our departure gate and said hello (I watch too much TV) to Cheri.

The flight to LAX isn't really worth reporting, Logan and I bought the Forbidden Kingdom to watch. I'll probably never go out of my way to see it again. LAX has to be my least favorite airport out there. TBT was written on our tickets and if not for curiosity I would have never figured out that we had to go outside and walk past one terminal take a turn and go into TBIT (I for international). Since I was supposed to sit in the middle of some people I made the wise choice of requesting an emergency exit for the flight.

On the flight to Taipei I talked a bit with the people who sat next to me before passing out. They were on a missionary trip with 30 other people traveling around the world to various places for 11 months. I was so interested, I passed out... really though my passing out had nothing to do with them I was tired.

When we arrived at the Taipei airport we went through customs and went to the baggage claim. All my baggages were there but Logan was missing one of his so he had to go report the fact that it was lost (thanfully he got it back later in the day). Cheri the Alaska luggage was a pain to carry around. To get to the bus we had to go up and elevator over a skyway into a skytram over another skyway and down an elevator... not fun at all for me. Anyways, we got on the bus that took us to Taipei Main Station which was about a mile from where Logan and I stayed last time we were in Taiwan. While unloading my suitcases from the bus the Alaska luggage strap ripped on one side so what was already a pain to carry around became even a bigger pain. Thankfully since Logan didn't have any large luggage to carry he picked it up.

In the station we bought our tickets and boarded our second ever high speed train. I sat behind Logan so we could both get window seats and I can't say I really regret it. While the two chairs next to Logan were occupied by the same people the whole ride my chairs could be compared to the game musical chairs. Lets see... at first it was a guy about my age eating some type of food that I didn't recognize, then an Australian/New Zealand lady sat next to me, after she moved to sit next to here husband a father and his daughter (on his lap) sat next to me, after they moved a mother and her two daughters took over the seats. I'd have to say that the last one was my favorite, the daughter who sat next to me was very curious about the fact that a foreigner was there and she kept of staring at me and even at one point unlocked me with a paper key she had.

When we arrived in Tainan we took a free shuttle and kept on trying to guess which stop was ours. We managed to get it right but still had no idea where to go. Logan and I found ourselves in front of the NCKU hospital and in need of some help. So while I watched the bags Logan went and found a nice guy who used to live in Toronto to help us find our way. We finally arrived at the IIM office (our degree school) where we met Adam (not his real name) and a few people whom we had only known throught e-mail correspondence.

Adam was Logans appointed helper with the university so he helped guide us to the prince dorms where we are currently housed. Unfortunately for me they wanted a 2 month deposit ahead of time so that meant I had to find an ATM before being allowed access to my room. So Adam being the nice guy he was took me to two ATMs in front of the NCKU postoffice. After having no success with the ATMs, I found out later they were for local banks only, we went back to the dorm. This is where I met Jennifer, my appointed helper who took me to the foreign ATM at a 7-eleven about 200 feet away from the dorm.

After filling out all the paperwork for the dorm we were given a brief tour. The room is bare minimum furnishing. We have a bed frame, a desk, and a book shelf. The electricity and water are run with an prepaid RFID card stuck in a box at the door, Logan and I did the math and it looks like to keep the room running for a day it will cost about $2.50 which is pretty cheap. Our laundry room is on the second floor and the kitchen (which is RFID run as well) is on the roof of the building.

Logan, Jennifer, Adam, and I went to eat at a local cafe where I rediscovered milk tea. We then went and bought things for the room such as cleaning supplies, bedding, and hangers. By the time we got back it was about 3:30 PM. Logan and I started unpacking and doing some spot cleaing while Jennifer and Adam looked at some pictures of back home. When they left we mopped the floor and went to the 7-eleven to get some drinks to fill up our fridge.

Well that's wall for now (and probably a lot more than you're getting from now on). The picture is of Logan on one of our Futon beds.

Snail Mail Info:
No. 118, Shengli Rd.
East District, Tainan City 701, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Room 1341

- Clark