David, the Irishman, woke up first because he needed to go to Hong Kong that day. I woke up second and started packing my things. The staff seemed quite sad to see me leave, but wished me luck with my travels and said I should come back again. I knew I would. I took the subway to Lo Hu station again, on a mission to call home. I walked and walked, trying to use my calling card on various telephones, but alas, it simply wouldn’t work. I went to an internet cafe, bought an access card, and got online. Still, no outside websites would load. They tried to connect, but the delay was simply too long. I returned the card, without a refund, which was frustrating, and finally learned why: “It was most likely …

In the morning, I woke up, found some food, and met a few more people at the hostel. I spent time talking with two people working there: Athena and Sherry, who was volunteering during a break from university in Hong Kong. Both were kind and enjoyable company. Athena spoke excellent English after studying it at university, while Sherry was volunteering partly to improve hers. I was waiting for a call from a work colleague in Shenzhen. We had spoken about business by phone but had never met in person. At about 2:00, we made contact and arranged to meet for coffee half an hour later. I chatted with Sherry and Athena until it was time to leave, then took a taxi to the cafe.

Early in the morning, I got up, ate a little, and went to the train station. I walked through the subway station and eventually arrived at the KCR depot. I bought my ticket to Lo Wu and was off. The border was a little stressful, especially because I didn’t yet have a visa for China. On previous trips, I had purchased my visa at the border, and I did so again this time. I paid the rather steep fee of HK$380; it would have been almost HK$700 had I used my U.S. passport. To reach the small visa office, go through security until you reach the mainland China gates, then look to your left and go up the escalator.

Another Christmas overseas. Today was a good day, like most of my days. After waking up, I took the MRT to the office, but alas, nobody was around! I waited, read for a while, and waited some more. An hour and a half went by, and I was still waiting. Since I normally went to work in the afternoon, I wasn’t surprised that nobody was in the office. I went downstairs to the coffee shop, and a few minutes later a co-worker met me. We chatted for the next two hours about China, travel, teaching, politics, and my home countries. It was a good time. Once we finished our coffee, I went upstairs and found that people had arrived. To my surprise, my boss had brought plenty of turkey and other food. For the next …

If you flip through my site, you can see that I have had the privilege of travelling around the world. Even though I don’t often experience “culture shock,” I sometimes encounter things that are genuinely unique. This was one of them. One of the first nights after I arrived in Taipei, I was doing something in my room when I heard music. I didn’t quite know what was going on, didn’t really care, and forgot about it. The next night, I heard the music again. By the fourth night, I asked my host, “What is that noise?” She just started laughing. One question I forgot to ask when I moved in was, “Where does all the rubbish go?” In this part of Taipei, there is no …

Life is full of choices. What should I wear today? What goals should I set for this week? What should I eat for breakfast? The third question is easy for me because I know how to order only a few things at the local Morning Burger. Beyond breakfast, however, there are plenty of decisions to make. Recently, I have had to make some difficult choices, and I hope they prove to be the right ones. I made a deal with myself: once my bank balance fell to a certain level, I would find a job. Although I am careful about spending, I still need to eat. I am nearing that point, so I have decided to pause my Chinese studies and earn some money.

When I was younger I hated reading. I mean, I guess I didn’t hate reading, but I always found better things to do. Like dig holes. Times have changed. Throughout middle school I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Xanth fantasy series by Piers Anthony; Dean Koontz was pretty good as well. In high school my teachers spoon-fed me fine literature, with special thanks to Mrs. Bowen-Jones for her AP Literature course. Compared with many people I have talked with at uni, I had the privilege of being exposed to many great works. While the fine details have now somewhat faded, I still remember the overall themes and motifs. At the time I didn’t fully enjoy or appreciate the privilege I had. Indeed, the push from …

I must take a few moments to note that the GRE was completed successfully, one more step in the PhD application process. Interestingly, as I walk along the streets, I am routinely asked: “so, what does @!*% mean?” “Heck, I don’t know!” While I would consider my vocabulary broader than that of the average English speaker, she still asked me some rather random words. As a reward, I agreed to go shopping with her. So, today I woke up at 6:00am, she took her GRE, and by 11:30 I was off to lunch and several shops. Those of you who know me can sympathize with the pain I was in, as you know I don’t really like shopping. At one point she was browsing some shoes, and I sat down on the …

School has started again, and it is very hard, as expected. My class has five students, including me. One classmate is from Korea, and the others are from Indonesia. Today, the teacher mentioned that the Indonesian students already speak some Cantonese, so the tones come easily to them. I admit that I’m a little jealous. Otherwise, the past week hasn’t been too eventful. Matsu was wonderful, as you can read, but being back in Taipei is nice too. Ian and I are, for whatever reason, working towards the MCSE+Security certification, and I am behind where I would like to be. I should soon be able to shift into high gear and finish a few more exams. One may wonder why Kelvin is pursuing an MCSE. He …

In the previous few years, I had been fortunate enough to travel a lot. International flights no longer fazed me. After my exam, I jumped on the MRT to Taipei Main Station and had some lunch. Knowing that aeroplane meals are built for “average” appetites, I decided to eat more beforehand. Lunch was mediocre but filling, and I went upstairs to the bus terminal. The bus was already there; it left every 20 minutes or so, and I had plenty of time, but I still purchased my ticket and ran for it.