Merry Christmas!

Rob here! Hard at work at the Kojen offices writing Christmas Greetings to one and all while I awaited the annual Kojen Christmas party on the Friday before Christmas!

Nigel (head of my school), Rob, Vivian (cutie in grey and back), Dave and Brenda wish everyone a Merry Christmas from the teacher's room at Kojen ESP!

Rob and Dave debate the Taiwanese love of Fish Pizza, and our own relative distaste for it.

Rob snuggles up with Crystal, the beauty who is second in command of the Kojen ESP office (and decides Rob's future). Both of us want to wish everyone a happy Season's Greetings and hope that your holiday included lots of joy, and less fish pizza! (Unless you like Fish Pizza!)

Rob

Gothic Old Building

The reason I always carry my camera with me in Taipei is that I never know what I'm going to see next. As I walked to join Connie for her wedding dress fitting I saw this rather creepy looking old building towering nearby, so I snapped off a few pictures of it. I think it's a residential building, but I'm not sure. Looks creepy enough, though!




 

Warriors of Stone

Taiwanese, I have noted, have a love of statues. They use them quite a bit to decorate their buildings and open spaces, so I try to take pictures of some of the more interesting ones I see as I wander around Taipei.

These fellows were found in front of an office building the other week, and are statues of what I believe are buddhist warrior monks:


 

Dennis

At lunchtime on Tuesday and Thursdays I've been teaching a pair of loan officers from Cosmos Bank: Dennis and Samy. Their bank was bought out by the GE Financial group and so they have been working hard to improve their English for personal and professional reasons. Dennis is a really friendly and hardworking guy, and Samy a cheerful and thoughtful lady, so we had some good conversations about life, history and politics, to say nothing of studying English. Unfortunately due to their job they sometimes missed classes, and in the end were unable to continue on for a new session, but it was still fun to teach them. Pictured here is Dennis with yours truely, Samy was unfortunately too busy to come to the last class. I wish them both the best of luck in the future and hope they keep studying!

Rob 

Formosa Valve and Fitting Company

Recently I finished a session (but no the class) at the Formosa Valve and Fitting Company, a company located way out in the suburb of San-Chong where I teach 5 beautiful girls and one distinguished gentlemen. The gentleman was out this day, so unfortunately you will have to make due with a picture of the smart and lovely ladies of FVF. From left to right, they are: Ivy, Celine (don't call her Celina!), Sherry (who is single and looking!), cheerful Evelyn and their brave leader Jenny.
I took over this class from Terrance, another teacher at Kojen ESP who left to seek job opportunities elsewhere, and have been teaching them writing skills. I came in halfway through the session, but we get along pretty well and they were kind to this new teacher. If they can just improve their grammar, they'll actually be a good bunch of writers, but they need to keep practicing! 

My Cheating Heart...

Well, I have to confess, I'm a cheater. A two-timer.

It's true, I have another blog....I feel so....ashamed... ^_-

Actually, not so ashamed. I have always felt this blog was restricted to my life here in Taiwan, and probably that's why it hasn't been updated at much as it should be. This blog really doesn't belong to me, as well, it's this company's, which always bugged me.

So, I decided to combine my new Podcasting hobby with my blog, and once I'd registered Kungfuactiontheatre.com as my new domain name on the internet I promptly set up a new blog there which will cover anything and everything I decide to put up. At first it was going to be a Blog related to the podcast production, but eventually I decided to just make it an "anything goes" blog with lots of different subcategories.

I will still continue to use this blog while I am in Taiwan, but I think probably once I return to Canada this blog will fall into silence. Then again, who knows what the future brings?

So, come on over to http://kungfuactiontheatre.com to see Rob's semi-random thoughts on just about everything. And come here to check out pictures of my cute students and life events in Taiwan.

Best!
Rob

Wide Open Spaces

I often spend a lot of my time when I need to get out on the local University Campus. National Taiwan University is one of the oldest in Taiwan, and a beautiful place. It's just two city blocks from my home, and next to most of the local restaurants, so I often wander there after eating as a way to relax.


Students enjoying the NTU campus environment around the library.


The pathway to the library.


Wide open spaces! Something rare in crowded Taiwan, much less in the middle of Taipei!


A nice place to just sit and reflect on whether those palm trees have coconuts or not... 

The Library

Nice and imposing, isn't it? A good solid modern campus library!


A nearby Japanese-styled student center where I went after taking these pictures.


Another shot the library, with it's stone name plaque, a very common thing in Asia. They like the permanence that having things carved in stone seems to imply. I wonder if Connie will want me to carve my wedding vows in stone too...


The Two Towers...The library bell tower, and next to it the distant Taipei 101, world's tallest building. 

What lies within...

A Taiwanese university cafeteria.


Weird modern art in the main hall. Looks like it was designed by engineers!


Pay phones! Which in Taiwan mean ugly grey or green boxes!


A student checking the announcements and somesuch in the hall, notice how the Japanese theme is carried on inside as well as outside. 

The way out!

What lies beyond this door?


Oh no! Trees! Triffids would love this place, probably as much as I do. It's a real garden campus.


Before crossing the street, look right!


And look left! 

Something Old

Bicycles are perhaps the most common form of student transportation here, and around the world!


Staircase from a Japanese-era building.


Another shot of the stairs, experimenting with light and camera angles.


The actual building, which I believe is an engineering building. The weathered effect is literally the result of the extreme weather here in Taipei. You should see what it does to people who spend all their time outdoors! 

End of NTU

Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoon the campus is filled with groups of men with cameras following around beautiful women in sexy or strange outfits. They're camera clubs who hire the model collectively to spend a few hours posing for them. It's a good gig for both sides, although one wonders how the models feel about it. In this case the model was wearing a sexy angel costume (with wings), a pink wig, AND bunny ears! You have to wonder how they explained what she'd be wearing to her, or how they decided this was the costume they wanted her to wear..."I want a bunny girl!" "I want an angel", "I want a girl with pink hair!" Still, it does keep the campus interesting!


A view of the agricultural gardens where they grow experimental crops, and one of the more modern buildings.



Flowers from the side of the path.


Students come,
Student go,
Knowledge flows forever.

And Rob went home to take a nap... 

YangMinShan

So, today I joined Connie and her mother in a tip up YangMinShan mountain to one of it's many parks! I met them at the train station, and then two bus rides later there we were outside of the visitor center..

I took this picture because I thought it was sad they had to put bars on the vending machines in such a beautiful and idyllic setting. I guess there are people spoiling things everywhere!

The bus stop area in front of the visitor center. That white stuff is clouds! We're actually up in the middle of a large cloud bank during these pictures! (Which is also the reason there are no scenic shots...)


Plaque outside the Temple of the God of Earth, an honorable and just local diety.


Said temple behind the plaque!