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Taiwan Teaching Diary #2
Aug. 14th, 2022 07:56 amHi! A lot has happened in the last 12 days. My schedule was adjusted so I'll only be teaching 6 classes -- technically 5 since I just have to monitor this vocab class.
The biggest stressor was getting my visa. On August 5 I got an email from the visa officer, saying that she needed my itinerary. I hadn't booked anything because I didn't know when I'd get my paperwork. I hastily booked a flight out of Salt Lake City (about a three and a half hour drive from my hometown) for August 12. My visa and passport were mailed on August 8. I had paid for two-day shipping. Friends, I did not get my paperwork until 3 PM on August 11! (You might have followed my screaming about this on Twitter.) But I got it, and we made it on time. I decided to upgrade to business class for the flight from San Francisco to Taipei, and it was worth it. I slept/dozed for nearly the entire 13-hour flight.
I was super nervous about what the process of getting through customs and to my quarantine hotel would be like, but the staff was very well-practiced, and it only took about two and a half hours between getting off the plane and arriving at the quarantine hotel.
The hotel is not the most luxurious place I've ever stayed, but neither is it the worst. The food so far is meh, but I'm so very grateful that the place has air conditioning and that I only have to stay in hard lockdown for three days. I can't teach for a full week, but I can go out after Tuesday and get my own food or go look for an apartment. I spoke with my department head this morning, and he told me he stayed in this same hotel when he returned last summer and his hard lockdown was two weeks!
I'm really really tired, as you might expect, and I have a horrible headache, probably because I need to drink more water, but I think this will be a good year. At least I hope so.
The biggest stressor was getting my visa. On August 5 I got an email from the visa officer, saying that she needed my itinerary. I hadn't booked anything because I didn't know when I'd get my paperwork. I hastily booked a flight out of Salt Lake City (about a three and a half hour drive from my hometown) for August 12. My visa and passport were mailed on August 8. I had paid for two-day shipping. Friends, I did not get my paperwork until 3 PM on August 11! (You might have followed my screaming about this on Twitter.) But I got it, and we made it on time. I decided to upgrade to business class for the flight from San Francisco to Taipei, and it was worth it. I slept/dozed for nearly the entire 13-hour flight.
I was super nervous about what the process of getting through customs and to my quarantine hotel would be like, but the staff was very well-practiced, and it only took about two and a half hours between getting off the plane and arriving at the quarantine hotel.
The hotel is not the most luxurious place I've ever stayed, but neither is it the worst. The food so far is meh, but I'm so very grateful that the place has air conditioning and that I only have to stay in hard lockdown for three days. I can't teach for a full week, but I can go out after Tuesday and get my own food or go look for an apartment. I spoke with my department head this morning, and he told me he stayed in this same hotel when he returned last summer and his hard lockdown was two weeks!
I'm really really tired, as you might expect, and I have a horrible headache, probably because I need to drink more water, but I think this will be a good year. At least I hope so.
