Asia's best kept secret…

I’ve been in-country for three weeks and it should only be another few weeks before I get my ARC (Taiwan version of a green card).  It’s amazing how quickly the government entities here respond! It’s also amazing how I haven’t missed not having a phone (go Skype). lol

At breakfast today I talked with a friendly native who is in Taipei with his wife and daughter on business, looking to buy some property here. I gave him the business card of my real estate broker and raved about my experience at the National Art Museum. Turns out he’s the CEO of a high tech company based in Taichung (the city I visited last weekend).  We discuss art for a while and he invited me to stay with them the next time I’m in Taichung! Nice, huh?

At lunch time today I had my first scheduled Chinese lesson. The  teacher started off with pages xeroxed from a children’s book! Hah! It’s humbling being considered an expert in one language only to be a rank beginner in another – and the one I can’t speak is the one I need most for everyday life! I am starting to put some sounds and words together. I think the spoken language will come long before the written one.

This weekend I’m doing some final comparison shopping (for household items) at Costco (go figure) and on Sunday I’m heading to Yingge (ing-guh) just outside Taipei to see the Ceramics Museum and to find some unique plates. Next week: moving day!