This first blog is being written as I wait for my laundry to finish washing, so I can hang it dry before I head out for some night marketing :)
My first week here has mainly been just learning how the city is formatted, and getting settled. First things first, figuring out the subway/metro system. Pretty simplistic and very convenient. One thing I love about Taipei is that it's extremely easy to get around. Like any good major city, you don't need a car to live here, as public transportation beats any other major city I've visited before (including, but not limited to NYC, San Fran, Chicago, and DC). I bring a map with me wherever I go, so I can figure out where I am, and if I'm going the right direction, but I hope to one day not need it. The Chinese are very efficient - in both time and space, so there are lots of little nooks and crannies to be explored. Expect pictures of things like an entire store that is the size of an apartment bathroom.....literally 3'x5', or those hilarious "800 things, 3 families, 2 pets, and bag of groceries all on one moped." That last one isn't too literal, but you've seen what I'm talking about.
Second item of business...finding a jits gym and someplace to train kettle bells. A girl needs her "buh-jay-jay" (as pronounced by one Chris Catania) and some bell tossing while she gets her grub on, if ya know what I mean ;) I noticed very quickly (and this was even before I got here, since I did my research while I was still in the States) that BJJ, strength training, KB's, and anything beyond a regular gym is not very popular here...yet. MMA is more popular, and there're only maybe 4 or 5 places to train on this island. BJJ....apparently there's only a small handful of studios, mostly combined with the MMA, and all came from one studio: Taiwan BJJ. So naturally, that's where I decided to go. Plus, I can train there every day of the week if I want :) By the way, you'd think that having so little competition, prices would be super expensive (like I experienced while in DC...~$200-$250/month!!), but I was pleased to find out that Taiwan BJJ is only $2500NT a month, which is about $75USD. Since I'm a girl, they gave me a discount of $500, so it ended up being $60USD/mo. And, since I was only going to be here for about 3 months, he waived the registration fee of $1,500NT. Score :) The main instructor is Makoto Ogasawara...look him up. He has history. So far, I've only been to 2 classes (1 hour of instruction, 1 hour of rolling), and it's a lot of fun. There is every belt level there, and everyone's pretty cool. I am the only female, I think, but I haven't checked out the night classes (up to 4 hours!!), so there might be some there, although I highly doubt it, as I haven't seen any evidence of female jits-ers there. Plus, Taiwanese girls are too "delicate" to be rolling around on the ground with a bunch of sweaty guys, especially if they have to grow calluses on their fingers and get bruises all over their bodies. Contributes to Reason #42 why I will not end up with a Chinese/Taiwanese husband: I am too much of a tomboy.
Side note from the jits....because there are so many English-speaking foreigners there, my Chinese may not improve as much as I had hoped it would. We'll see, though.
Kettlebells....also hard to find. I found one place I have yet to check out because I actually overslept today. Formosa Fitness. They have private and group classes, but I don't think they'll let me throw bells around on my own. I might have to cave and do some group classes. We'll see tomorrow morning when I stop by. I got my cell phone up 'n working yesterday, so I can actually set an alarm to wake up. If that place doesn't work out, I may consider getting a regular gym membership (horrifying, yes, I know), or just get creative in my lovely condo with some bodyweight exercises.
Speaking of my condo...my aunt has graciously offered to house me for my stay (I also have a couple other options, but this might be my home base). I have to say, I'm spoiled just by being able to stay here. I'm on the 7th floor (I try to take the stairs up as much as I can, but once in a while, I have to take the elevator because they lock the doors to the upward stairs for safety) of a 12 story building called the "Metropolitan Mansion." I have concierge downstairs that greet me by name every time I enter and exit the building. If I enter through the back, the guy at the car gate opens up the gate (even though there's plenty of room for pedestrians to walk through), he gets out of his little booth, greets me by name, bows, and then radios the concierge inside that I'm coming in. I have an everything-proof front door (yes, even bomb-proof) with a zillion locks on it, and a newly remodeled everything. Cable TV is still up and running from the last renters, as is the phone, and I just got the internet set up a couple days ago. The bathrooms are awesome and also have this control panel with different "air" settings, where I can turn on a dehumidifier (it's humid here), various degrees of heat (so I don't get out of the shower into cold air), a setting for drying my clothes (it's typical in Taiwan to dry your clothes on a clothing line), and some other stuff I can't read. There's no dishwasher (normal in Taiwan), but there's a dish dryer that also kills bacteria. And a walk in closet that would allow me enough closet space for my actual wardrobe. 3 bedrooms, by the way, and lots of storage space (not that I need any of that, since I packed minimal items). So yes, I consider myself spoiled right now. And I'm quite enjoying it. The view is quite nice, too :)
Bomb-proof door
Food....soooo delicious :) It's hard to find food this delicious in the US. Everything is good. Yes, there are Mc Donalds, Subway, Burger King, and even Pizza Hut here, and they have some different items on the menu than the US versions, but seriously, why the heck would I want to eat that kind of food while I'm here (other than the fact that I don't even eat that crap in the US) when there are SOO many other delicious things to eat!! My first night here, my aunt and uncle took me out for hot pot. All-you-can-devour of fresh veggies, seafood, meats (mostly beef and lamb), fruits, and even desserts. I wanted to try one of everything, but since there was so much stuff, I obviously failed. That was about $14/person for dinner. Eat that, Hometown Buffet!! My second day here, my aunts took me out for sushi. We ordered 2 "samplers" (1 of which they shared, and the other they made me eat by myself), which included 7 or 8 giant pieces of SUPER fresh varied sashimi, roe salad, half a crab, soup, 4 other plates of stuff I can't even remember, a plate of super sweet seedless tangerine oranges and a small bowl of mung bean/barley soup for dessert. I didn't even eat everything because I was so full. Each sampler was $1200NT, or $36USD. If I were to get something comparable to that in Cali, I'd probably have to pay $50 or $60, at least, and not even get dessert. Oh, and the quality of sashimi......yea. Sushi in the US is ruined for me. Later in the week, I also ate a few of my favorite things, which included something I've actually dreamt about: Hujiao Bing, or "black pepper bun." It's basically super juicy beef with lots of black pepper and green onions rolled in a bun of flaky, non-oily, soft yet crunchy goodness, and coated with a heavy sprinkle of sesame seeds. They bake it by slapping each freshly made bun on the side of a kiln. Each bun is about the size of my fist. And only $45NT....$1.50USD. I have made it a point to only cook breakfast at home, and eat my other meals out. Also, for those of you who know about my turning Paleo/Primal.....yea...about that...hahaha! It's easy to eat Paleo here, but since there are so many good things that I haven't had in YEARS, I'm definitely enjoying myself (but not overdoing it). If you've ever had Taiwan breads, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, well, let me know, and I'll recommend some places near where you live so you have have a little taste of it! One can easily eat a different type of bread every single day for a year and not have a repeat. My joints hurt a little, and my energy isn't as high as it is when I'm strict Paleo, but I think it's worth a temporary indulgence. Breakfast remains strict Paleo, but that's about it. Later on, I might be able to have the self control to make more of my meals Paleo, but probably not for another few weeks. 
This, by itself, would be enough of a reason to go to Taiwan!!
Not sure what this is called in English, but it's something traditionally eaten that goes with the Lantern Festival (one of the several holidays that celebrates the full moon). It's made of a mochi-like outside (without sugar), some type of filling (mine was peanut powder; other common ones are black sesame or red bean paste), and some type of soup (mine was a peanut soup, but normally it's just the water it's cooked in). Very delicious, but a little too sweet for my taste buds right now. My first time having it made fresh.I've also noticed that I forgot to pack "enough" clothes. I thought that I could just buy more clothes when I got here (seeing how things are so cheap here), but I forgot that I am considered an oversized asian. The typical asian female here is 5'2", 90 lbs, and has no muscle (read: pencil-thin limbs and no ass). I forgot that the last time I tried to find jeans here, everything was too short for me, and if I could fit my legs and ass into it, the waist was too big. Thankfully, I brought 2 pairs of jeans and a pair of courdoroys. I'll probably end up buying some skirts or shorts or something. Maybe summer dresses (shocking, isn't it?!?). Shoes will also probably be hard for me to find. I should have planned this out a little better. Maybe I can dress up my Cobians. I doubt they'd let me in some of the places with my Vibrams or Vivobarefoot. Tops may also pose a challenge to find. Though the trend is loose/flowy/bigger tops, it's not really my style. Not to mention, everything with words on it is in English, and spelled wrong (clearly labeling me a fob when I get back to the States). The trend for bottoms is either tights, pantyhose with designs on it, skinny jeans, or leggings. And boots. Obviously nothing I'm very interested in. Skirts/dresses for the summer it is!! :)
Since the air quality is pretty horrible here, I have also made it a point to wear makeup before I wander the streets, so as to protect my face. Many people here wear face masks (the result is that everyone kinda looks like they're a surgeon or has some type of communicable disease, but in reality, they're just trying to prevent spreading disease and lung cancer from air pollution), but my experience with wearing face masks left me super uncomfortable and hot, so I just breathe through my nose and let my natural filters (read: nose hairs) do the filtering for me.
Ok, that's it for now. 8:30pm, which is 4:30am PST, and my gi is done washing. Time to hang that thing up and go night marketing!!
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