Taxi's - party people's best friend:)

This is really cool thing. There are so many of them! and they are everywhere! plus, not only they are fast and comfortable, they are very cheap. And the capacity of one normal taxi is up to 5 people:)

It looks like a pic from NYC, not from Taipei! well, maybe except for a different fonts;) honestly, there are thousands of them. Waiting time is around 30 seconds. And even though they do not speak English, it is possible to get to terms with them:)

And the traffic is not that bad either. It is something Polish can dream about:) 3 lines everywhere, not to many traffic jams, great signs... It seems impossible to get lost around here!

But let's get bask to economic point of taxis:) We use them usually to get to parties, which are mostly held in one district. And that is the center of the city. And the coolest thing - it never cost more than 200NT$ for the whole travel! If 4 people are going, it is 5 PLN per person. and in fact it is a couple of kilometres! Not to add that taking the MRT (metro) would cost around 25NT$. So lets say that the cost is doubled, but you get door to door transfer... That's so convenient;)

And you can have so much fun in the taxi... coming back from Jonas's b-day party, we got a taxi-minivan. Although at the beginning we thought that he was arguing with us, he simply had this way of talking;) and when he caught that we are coming back from b-day, he turned into greatest taxi driver ever! He turned up the music, playing some hiphopish tunes, started dancing and laughing with us, opened the roof window so that Jonas could play with his baloon and stand up and shout "I'm the king of the world!" :D Finally he did a little tokio drift coming into final corners. Best car ride in Taipei so far!

I should not mention that we took his business card and wil call him before next party, should I?:)

And Taipei at night is breathtaking...

Weather

This is probably the most convenient time of the year for the Europeans.

It is neither too hot nor too cold, temperature oscillates on the level of 25 degrees. Recently it has not been raining, although there was already a week when it rained heavily for a couple of days in a row. But it was the time when two typhoons were going near Taiwan - unfortunately neither of them visited Taiwan (maybe it sounds suicidal, that I am waiting for typhoon, but locals tell that it is unforgettable experience:) ). So autumn and winter are nice:)

But this was not a case at the beginning. 2 months ago it was all time time around 35 degrees, enormous humidity, and it seemed impossible to stay outside during the day for more than 20 minutes. Walks to school, which take about 10 minutes, were unbearable and mostly ended with sweaty t-shirt and bad moods. That is why so many people did catch cold at the beginning - including me.

The other thing is that it is impossible to live without air conditioning. Wherever you go, there are fans blowing in your face. It is great and pleasant and all, but guarantees a cold before you get used to it. Constant temperature changes are tricky.

So, if you are coming to Taiwan - be prepared!:)

Some things about the exchange... :)

Well, if I a to write about the impressions, let's write about exchange itself at the beginning:) this should make things easier:)

The People

There are around 50 people at exchange at college of management. Overall, there are probably more than 20 of the at the whole NTU, not including GMBA students, who are here in a number of 80 or more. But all those people can be divided into some ethnic groups basing on the country of origin:)

The Francophones

Mostly French, but there are some cases of Belgium people as well. No one knows why, but they represent the biggest number of exchange students - maybe up to 25%. It looks like they want to conquer Taiwan through silent establishment of student colony:) One way or the other, there are students fro best universities - Paris, Lyon, Toulouse... Because of them French is the second most spoken language here - after Chinese :P And it gives me a great opportunity to perfect French. It is funny how surprised they are when it occurs that I can speak their native language - but I did improve in just these 2 months:D

German group

Germans and Swiss. I do not think that there is someone from Austria. Do not now why... To my surprise, they are more open minded and more "European", without German classic attitude;) but I guess that there are only guys from these countries.. and they represent around 15% of people.

The Dutch

Quite a lot of them around here, mostly from Erasmus University. But they represent many different ethnics, like Turkey, Taiwan, Italy... Dutch can be heard around here quite often, not that there is a big difference between it and German:P

Scandinavians

Mostly Swedish and Norwegians. Mostly tall. Mostly cool:) and with a great fashion taste;)

English-speaking group

That is Americans, Brits and Aussies. Quite a bit of them, although they do not stand out of the picture. Most of them came here for intensive Chinese course - 2 hours of Chinese every day. kinda cool, but they do not have tie to travel:P

Rest of the world

hmmm, difficult to say from what countries is this "rest"... There are some people from Spain, a couple from Latin America... Some Japanese... And that's pretty much it. At the exchange, I am the only representative of my beloved country;), what makes me quite exotic:) At GMBA there is someone from Russia and Slovakia, but at the exchange I guess I am the only representative of Eastern Europe. Not that it bothers me, but it would be cool to have someone to speak Polish with from time to time...

Overall there are more guys than girls. And they are much cooler than girls. No kidding. Open minded, creative, outspoken, intelligent, eager to travel around. I did not expect that I will meet here so many people, who will become my really good friends.

There is a great chance for a Euro Trip in the future:)

Peace of mind

Finally, some peace and quiet and I can write a bit on the blog...

Well, it is not that I am lazy. Or not systematic. Not even that there is no time. There is. But for the last month there was rarely time to sit down, chill, focus on my own business... It has been just a month of school, but I feel that it was already 5 months! There are always some papers to write, cases to read, presentations to be made. As it occurs, you have to work here maybe not much harder, but more often than at SGH. Professors expect you to be always prepared for the discussion, to have read the chapter and be ready for in-depth analysis. But luckily I have already made my share of cases and presentations, so I will be able to focus on other aspects of living in Taiwan... Finally.

And maybe it is time to write about some impressions after these almost two months of living here? :)

Why is it so hard to be systematic and work with schedule?

Nah, Jimmy, you were not right - I am still here, trying to create something. But the first two weeks of school are usually disastrous, more annoying and irritating than examination session (well, maybe this is only mine opinion). Although I thought that everything is well planned, I did not forget anything, the truth is - if it seems to go smoothly and without any problems, something has to mess up:/

Having to fight bureaucracy on many levels in two countries, I cannot focus and sit and finally spend 5 hours on Chinese without being interrupted. Or I want to write something. or visit new places. All in all, the day looks like this:



Well, maybe not like that:) but there are so many distractions that it becomes really difficult to start doing something in systemic way!



Hopefully next week it will be easier to get ready:) and thinking of it, this is more or less the way student's life looks like during the examination session:) somehow these short videos cheered me up a bit:)

After the weekend, because on the weekend there will be trip to the mountains!:)

DeafLympics – Basket semis and finals, football final

DeafLympics are ending right now, I am just watching closing ceremony and will go to the roof of my dorm to see fireworks on Taipei 101 (this was the coolest thing I have seen so far:) ). But now a few words about sports I know and can rally comment on.
First – b-ball. Two semi-finals: USA vs. Greece and Israel vs. Lithuania.

First one was interesting, Greeks were leading for the most of the game. But suddenly they run out of ideas and motivation, they became slow and were making the easiest mistakes. And although US were struggling for the most of the game, they sweat out the victory. But the game might have gone both ways – Greeks lost on they own wish.

Israel vs. Lithuania: it is not even worth my time to write about that game. The only thing that is worth noticing is how Lithuania warms up. Especially with the 3 pointers:)

And this is almost the final score – I did not care to stay till the end:) but one photo says more than 1000 words:P

The Finals:

Woman’s final: Sweden vs. US. Very good game, pleasure for the spectators. The game was all the time on the edge, but US did not lead at any time. Still, I love bball on any level, and if chicks are playing so well, it becomes a must-see game:) and Swedish players were not only good – they were also cute:)

Guys final: Lithuania vs. USA. At the first glance it is clearly visible that American team is stronger, bigger and quicker. It also occurs to be much more aggressive – in defense, offence and in off-play confrontations.

First 5 minutes of the game are shocking – Haney, nr 9 US team (9 like MJ at the Olympics:) ) scores like crazy, every shot goes in. they lead 9 – 0 at the start. Lithuania seems scared, confused and cannot find a way to outplay their opponents. But when they calm down, “multiples triples” go in and it is a close game. For two and a half quarters.

In the middle of the third quarter US goes out with full-court press and Lithuanian team makes mistake after mistake. They struggle to keep the game close, but at the beginning of the last quarter everything is known – US will be the champs.

Still, their celebration is not as cool and positive as Swedish one.



Plus I believe that I enjoyed the female final more:)

Football



Final: Russia 2: 3 Ukraine. The first football game I have seen lie on a big stadium:) and I wish it was better. I guess that I should not expect a lot, I have already learned that on other sport and tournaments, but… Well, I saw the final. And that is cool:)

School is back!

Holidays are finally (and unfortunately) over. I got a bit lazy and I was not blogging, as there were some extra things to do during last few days (DeafLympics and stuff...:) ) School year (or academic year as you wish) is about to start. Well, not everyone is happy with that... but what you can do? At least my school looks cool:)

The plan for the week looks promising, 3 days of school 4 days of the weekend, that is, 4 days of studying Chinese:) and some extras - b-ball, kung fu, negotiations club, soccer, hip-hop class... I guess this will not be boring! :) but the schedule is going to be packed tightly, gonna be exhausted after week like that… But I did not come here on vacation, did I? :)

My building

First classes were cool, It is not like previous Polish students said – that they are boring, professors do not speak fluent English, that they are not creative. My first professor studied at the University in US (California if I recall correctly), speaks great English and his lecture was surprisingly interesting. We’ll see what next days will bring:)

The entrence

Main alley:)

Schools sport fields