09.09.2006 or "Dorayaki and Heineken"
(Bleach Episode 1 Dub is up on the Anime Page)
Today I slept in late, woke up, messed about on the net, started some downloads, took a shower and headed off to feed and wash the turles back at school. But when I arrived there, there was no one in the office so I couldnt get in. A call to my co teacher added the argument that they would ok for just one day and so. Not to waste a day I decided to go for a cycle around Taichung. I was actually looking for a place called Joes Arcade, or something like that, a place where I had been before but had no idea about how I got there. Today I still didn't find it but I did wander into some other cool places. In one direction I found a Subway and needed some food so popped in for a tuna sandwich. Everything was exactly the same as when I worked in Subway, they asked the same questions, all the fillings were the same, it was kind of depressing that the corperate hand of subway had turned these people into exact copies of the Sheffield subway branch employees. It seemed like everything they were doing was so unnatural for regular Taiwanese people I felt like saying, it's ok, take your time, we're in no rush here. The sandwich was also exactly the same, although aparantly you dont get chilli sauce in Taiwan, did we have that in England or did I just imagine it?
Anyway, driving up past the firestation with the cute anime sign, I located NOVA for the first time for myself. Parking up my bike in a place i'm pretty sure could have got it empounded, I took the opportunity to survey the area. Electronics shops seemed to have congregated around NOVA in an attempt to cash in on the similarly minded through traffic of nerds, of which I was also one. So I found a really cool gaming store which, as seems to be the norm here, politely requested they hold my bag in a pidgeon hole whilst a perused the store. The strangest thing though was that upon seeing my face they all immediatly started speaking in Japanese. Obviously they only learnt one foreign language for dealing with non Taiwanese customers and that was it. Not minding too much, my Japanese is a darned sight better than my mandarin, I headed into the store to look around. I was actually after Taiko no Tatsujin 5 or the Anime special that came between five and six but there seemed to be a distinct lack of playstation games. I was reminded of somthing which is glaringly apparant in this country: people love PCs. They love making them themselves piece by piece and souping them up so that they can outpace any console on the market. One other by product of this mindset is the prevelance of the online game. Korea apparantly has the highest count of online game subscribers in the world bu I wouldnt be suprised if Taiwan came in second. In this store they were thousands and they are even in 7/11. Gaming Cafe's are the same, everywhere and really cheap too, but they take their online gaming seriously.
Heading back into NOVA on a saturdaywas a mistake, I got mobbed by hundreds of serious shoppers haggling over god knows what, I started think, if just one of my friends from back home who appreciated computers was with me now, they would flip their lid. I however had had enough and wanted out. I headed home via my new favourite place in Taiwan, a tea shop called third year second class. Its owened by these three guys who have been made into anime characters on their sign. The whole school theme was pointed out to me by my girlfriend when we noticed that they had stolend almost and entire Asian classrooms worth of parephenalia and stowed it away behind the counter. They are allways playing really loud music and trying to make people laugh by shouting welcome to passers by in increasingly bizzare voices. I am a big fan of the whole act. I am an even bigger fan of the heineken green tea they make. Image how nice it is on a boiling hot day to have an ice cold container filled with lemon juice, ice, chinese green tea and heineken lager all shaken together and sealing into an anime monagramed cup. It was so cold and refreshing that I almost fell of my bicycle.
Heading home I played Taiko for hours upon end, and have only just finished, time to settle down watch lots things I have downloaded. Tomorrow is going to be filled with school work and preparation so I need to make the most of these last few hours. Rest assured I will do my best,
Untill next time,
This has been MMI
Today I slept in late, woke up, messed about on the net, started some downloads, took a shower and headed off to feed and wash the turles back at school. But when I arrived there, there was no one in the office so I couldnt get in. A call to my co teacher added the argument that they would ok for just one day and so. Not to waste a day I decided to go for a cycle around Taichung. I was actually looking for a place called Joes Arcade, or something like that, a place where I had been before but had no idea about how I got there. Today I still didn't find it but I did wander into some other cool places. In one direction I found a Subway and needed some food so popped in for a tuna sandwich. Everything was exactly the same as when I worked in Subway, they asked the same questions, all the fillings were the same, it was kind of depressing that the corperate hand of subway had turned these people into exact copies of the Sheffield subway branch employees. It seemed like everything they were doing was so unnatural for regular Taiwanese people I felt like saying, it's ok, take your time, we're in no rush here. The sandwich was also exactly the same, although aparantly you dont get chilli sauce in Taiwan, did we have that in England or did I just imagine it?
Anyway, driving up past the firestation with the cute anime sign, I located NOVA for the first time for myself. Parking up my bike in a place i'm pretty sure could have got it empounded, I took the opportunity to survey the area. Electronics shops seemed to have congregated around NOVA in an attempt to cash in on the similarly minded through traffic of nerds, of which I was also one. So I found a really cool gaming store which, as seems to be the norm here, politely requested they hold my bag in a pidgeon hole whilst a perused the store. The strangest thing though was that upon seeing my face they all immediatly started speaking in Japanese. Obviously they only learnt one foreign language for dealing with non Taiwanese customers and that was it. Not minding too much, my Japanese is a darned sight better than my mandarin, I headed into the store to look around. I was actually after Taiko no Tatsujin 5 or the Anime special that came between five and six but there seemed to be a distinct lack of playstation games. I was reminded of somthing which is glaringly apparant in this country: people love PCs. They love making them themselves piece by piece and souping them up so that they can outpace any console on the market. One other by product of this mindset is the prevelance of the online game. Korea apparantly has the highest count of online game subscribers in the world bu I wouldnt be suprised if Taiwan came in second. In this store they were thousands and they are even in 7/11. Gaming Cafe's are the same, everywhere and really cheap too, but they take their online gaming seriously.
Heading back into NOVA on a saturdaywas a mistake, I got mobbed by hundreds of serious shoppers haggling over god knows what, I started think, if just one of my friends from back home who appreciated computers was with me now, they would flip their lid. I however had had enough and wanted out. I headed home via my new favourite place in Taiwan, a tea shop called third year second class. Its owened by these three guys who have been made into anime characters on their sign. The whole school theme was pointed out to me by my girlfriend when we noticed that they had stolend almost and entire Asian classrooms worth of parephenalia and stowed it away behind the counter. They are allways playing really loud music and trying to make people laugh by shouting welcome to passers by in increasingly bizzare voices. I am a big fan of the whole act. I am an even bigger fan of the heineken green tea they make. Image how nice it is on a boiling hot day to have an ice cold container filled with lemon juice, ice, chinese green tea and heineken lager all shaken together and sealing into an anime monagramed cup. It was so cold and refreshing that I almost fell of my bicycle.
Heading home I played Taiko for hours upon end, and have only just finished, time to settle down watch lots things I have downloaded. Tomorrow is going to be filled with school work and preparation so I need to make the most of these last few hours. Rest assured I will do my best,
Untill next time,
This has been MMI
posted by Aaron | 6:00 AM
2 Comments:
any pics of 'third year second class' and the proprietors?
ps how much is the Nokia N93 going for over there?
Hey Man, sounds like you're having a cool time there - like you've settled in a lot more now. Dont worry about the turtles, im sure they can take care of themselves - i wouldnt be suprised if you go back on monday to find some empty pizza boxes scattered around the classroom!
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