I’m in the middle of purchasing an IP phone from a distributor here in Taiwan. My Asterisk server is quite solid, but most of the softphones for Linux are disappointing. When I get my phone, please call and say hello. I have a long list of people I need to catch up with. The first is my grandma, whom I’ll call today because it is her birthday.

As I wait for my “grep -R tpe1 *” to finish, I’ll write a quick update. School: I’m currently studying at the Chinese Culture University. Two weeks have passed, and I’m starting to feel more confident about living in Taipei. Today I went to a dance performance with a friend and 10 of her friends — I almost understood what they were saying. I could hear that they had or didn’t have something, along with “doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter” — but I didn’t know what they had or didn’t have. Exciting! I meet with Christian and Chino, from Germany and Japan, at 11:00 a.m. every day to practise for two hours. I then have class for two hours before wandering home. I’ll usually try to practise again before I fall asleep.

So many promises, so little done. Well, it is time to get through that list. Shortly, you can expect updated photos and videos. At the time, I also published a number where readers could reach me. As you know, I’m something of a techie. The historical phone numbers have since been removed for privacy.

After Singapore, a quick flight brought me to Taiwan. The mountains seemed to nestle into the clouds, which blanketed the sky. The view was beautiful until the plane dropped below the clouds and everything became gloomy, dark, and wet. The plane crossed expanses of farmland, a landscape I was not used to. After breezing through customs, I got on a bus and started to come “home.” A long bus ride, a decent walk, and five flights of stairs brought me to my host’s house. I curled up and quickly fell asleep.

So I’m in Taiwan. I have so much to write about. Expect an update shortly.