Note

Welcome to my little haven in this vast world known as the Worldwide Web. All of the things you will see here are but a glimpse into who I really am and what I’m doing with my life. I also upload photos here so if you’re going to use them for whatever, or upload them somewhere else, please inform me before doing so. I’m not the type of person who puts watermarks on my pictures but please give credit where credit is due. That said, stuff that are not mine are labeled as such. Muchas gracias and enjoy! :)

Away and back!

As I’ve said in my previous post, we’re on our winter break and so I went to the Philippines. This is the reason why I haven’t posted anything new here. I was in the Philippines for a little over a week. Everything worked out well because I was able to do all the things/meet the people in my list. Wee!

I’m back here in Taiwan but a big part of me wants to return to the Philippines so bad! I know that my stay here will all go into my future so there’s that. I’ll post about my Manila adventures soon! I have over 1600 photos, and I’m slowly uploading them in my online accounts. Will probably post a couple of photos here as well.

Ta-ta for now!

Closing time

Yay! We’re finally on winter break! That means that I’m going back to the Philippines soon! Wee, I can’t wait!

Before that though, let me just update this blog with what’s been happening these past few days.

I had my Chinese Carving 篆刻 class. We were gonna make rubber stamps via carving. I didn’t finish mine so the teacher let me bring it home. I still didn’t finish it the next day (because it takes a lot of time and effort) so the teacher told me to just keep working on it and I can show it to her when I’ve finished it. She also told me that I did a great job with the carving. Heehee, yay me!

I'm almost done! I've pretty much carved out 3 of the 4 characters.

That reminds me, I forgot to post about my Chinese knotting class. For that, I made this bracelet. Our teacher was so nice to give me ear hooks so that I can make earrings as well.

My bracelet and future earrings. Look at the pretty knot.

We had another class dinner, and this time we went to Witch House, this restaurant somewhere in Gongguan where you could play board games. The food was a bit too pricey for us, but since we were already there, we just decided to make the most of it.

I ordered the Tilapia baked in almonds and butter, and I must say that it is yummy! The dish came with a drink – and I got the iced coffee topped with ice cream. I’m gonna write more about this over on Manila Foodistas one of these days.

Class picture, lol

After eating, we started playing some games. We played Solo (which is like Uno cards), werewolf thing, and this counting game. Yeah, it was fun.

Counting game

Werewolf game

I applied for the National Health Insurance because it’s been 4 months since I got my ARC. The whole process took me around 30 minutes, I think.15 minutes when I applied for the insurance, and then 15 minutes when I applied for the card itself. It was really soooo easy. This is one of the MAJOR differences between a third world country and a more… progressive country. In the Philippines, you would never expect to have your documents/official stuff processed in 15 minutes. I hope the Philippines can someday be as efficient as Taiwan.

Daan local district office

Merry is here in Taiwan! We met up and had dinner at this Italian restaurant in Gongguan. We ordered pasta, and the serving was huge! Also, every order comes with unlimited soup and drinks. We were also served a basket of freshly baked bread. Yummy! Again, I shall blog about it over at Manila Foodistas. It was fun to catch up with her because it’s been a while since I’ve last seen her.

Merry and I at Gongguan

Uncle Johnson celebrated his birthday recently and so we ate at this pricey restaurant. I loved their healthy soup thing filled with mushrooms, pork, Chinese vitamins, etc. I also loved their seafood curry that you pair with the hot-off-the-oven fresh bread! YUMMY.

Yesterday was the last day of school, and like I’ve said, we’re now officially on winter break! We brought food for all of us to eat. After that, we played mahjong! Hee.

Food!

Cute mahjong tiles!

I was finally able to go to Raohe St. Night Market! It’s not as good as Shida, Gongguan, or Shilin though. Plus, it’s a bit far from where I live, so… I also went to the Dunhua branch of Eslite. They have a lot of cool stores, and the bookstore part apparently is open 24 hours! A lot of people go there and read the books that are on display. Wow! Too bad the area is a bit far from where I live. Oh well!

Bureau of National Health Insurance

Raohe St. Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市

Today’s voting day here in Taiwan! I usually don’t like to get into politics, but I’m not gonna hide whom I want to win. I really hope incumbent president Ma wins. I like how Taiwan currently is – it’s a developed country and they have a lot of ongoing projects that really help the country, and also makes things easier for foreigners like me. Therefore, I hope he can have another term so that he can keep improving the country.

Lucky cards

Taiwan scholarship program requirements

I decided to make this post just to remind myself (and also to answer my friends’ questions in the future) as to what was required of me after I had gotten the scholarship. I’m gonna make a post next time about the requirements for applying to the scholarship itself.

Requirements:

• Visa application form
• 2 (2 x 1.5) head and shoulder pictures with white background
• Passport valid for 6 months
• Birth certificate issued by NSO
• NBI clearance (I think the current NBI clearance thing should state the purpose of that clearance, so if I remember correctly, they put “study in Taiwan” on mine)
• Diploma and TOR authenticated
• Admission letter from Taiwan university
• Medical exam clearance (the embassy has a list of affiliated hospitals/clinics – I went to the Ruben Bartolome Medical Clinic)
• Acceptance letter to scholarship (from the embassy)
• Study plan
• Interview

- Documents are original and 2 photocopies
- P3100 (3 working days) – this will be waived if you are a recipient of the Taiwan scholarship program. Recipients of the Huayu scholarship have to pay (but I’m not sure if they’re to pay the full amount)
- add P1550 for expedition (expedite fee: 1 day)

Checklist:

• Student visa
• Certificate of immunization (Mumps Measles Rubella) – from the medical exam
• Authenticated diploma and TOR
• Terms of agreement for scholarship (you need to sign this)
• Health/accident insurance valid for 6 months (optional because you can apply for this at your school in Taiwan)

NBI Clearance P115

Ruben Bartolome Medical Clinic

• 878 J. Nakpil St. Malate
• 5238231 loc. 5502, 5523
• 5213857, 5254831
• stool and urine samples
• 50php for picture
• 2500php student fee

Applying for an ARC (within 15 days after arriving in Taiwan)

• Collect required documents (passport, resident visa, 4 photos, 1000NT (1 year), study plan (if you have studied in Taiwan for 2 years and you’re just renewing your ARC)
• Go to the national immigration agency (I went to the Taipei City Office one – because there’s also the Taipei County office one, and the Taipei City office is located at No. 15 Guangzhou St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, MRT Xiaonanmen station exit 2 – there are signs so you’re not gonna get lost – well, I didn’t, and I usually suck at directions and stuff)

Bank account (it has to be the branch around the area where you live, and this is where your stipend is going to be deposited)

• passport
• ARC ID
• deposit of 1000NT (I chose Chinatrust because it’s the bank affiliated with 7-11 stores, and since there are a lot of 7-11s (with ATM machines), it’s more convenient
• deposit of 100NT if you choose to open an account at the post office (instead of at a bank)

NHI (4 months after getting your ARC)

• application form
• passport
• ARC
• 2×2 picture
• You have to go to your local district office to apply, and then go to the Bureau of National Health Insurance to get the card
• You have to cancel your NHI at the same local district office 2-3 days before leaving Taiwan. Fill out the withdrawal application form!

- I went to the Daan district office. From National Chengchi University, you ride bus 236 to MRT Gongguan station 捷運公館站, and then you take either buses 642 or 643 to Xinyi Xinsheng Road Entrance 信義新生路口. The address is 8/F No 86, Sec. 2, Xinsheng S. Rd. 新生南路二段86號8樓. The trip takes a total of around 40 minutes. Hope that the buses arrive quickly.

- The Bureau of National Health Insurance (for the card) is located at 5/F No 15-1 Gongyuan Rd. 台北市公園路15之1號5樓. I rode the bus 236 again from NCCU and got off at MRT NTU Hospital station 捷運台大醫院站 and started walking towards the building. You can also take the MRT and get off at the same station, exit 3. Turn right and start walking until you see the building (to your right). You won’t have to walk far. The bus ride took me almost an hour as well. LOL.

January 9, 2012

There remains only a week left before I head back home! Can’t wait! Being the kind of person that I am, I’ve already planned out my entire week there. The schedule isn’t 100% full, because I wanted to give way to some “spontaneous” stuff. There aren’t anything special/specific yet for the days I’ve “reserved” for my family and relatives. Since some of our relatives here in Taiwan are also going home, I’m pretty sure we’re gonna tour them around.

I chose to sleep in rather than wake up early to go to the local district office. I had to apply for the National Health Insurance. I originally planned to just do it some other day, but then I thought that I could at least try to look for the building in preparation for when I really have to go there. After class, I immediately went to the bus stop to wait for the bus. I got off at Gongguan and then rode another bus to get to the building. I missed it by 2 stops though (because the signboard wasn’t working and I didn’t hear what the driver was saying, whoops!) so I had to walk back. It’s all right though – at least I was able to “exercise.”

I love how convenient it is to apply for stuff here. You don’t even have to wait a long time, and everything’s so organized. I got there at almost 4:30PM (and I think they close at 5PM so I wasn’t expecting a lot) but I was still able to finish everything. Cool! I still have to go to another office to get my card though. Probably going to do that on Wednesday. On my way out of the office, I took a picture of their signboard (for my Project 366 thing), and the information lady asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was gonna blog about going there for my insurance thing and she even offered to take a picture of me. LOL! I said, “no thank you!”

Okay, ciao!

January 8, 2012

I’ve been feeling under the weather since yesterday. I was supposed to go out yesterday and today, but since I wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t go with them anymore. Chose to rest and stay at home instead of going out. Feeling much better now.

This (read: huge) pimple below my nose decided to come out! Grr. I want to pop it so bad, but I’m sure that I’m gonna regret it so I’m not touching it. I hope it disappears soon. It’s in the “pus is about to come out” stage so I’m pretty sure it’ll be gone after a few (I hope by tomorrow!!!) days. It’s disgusting to look at! Boohoo.

God really sends us people/signs when we least expect it. I was just telling a friend about how I don’t want to forget Spanish when suddenly, this Latin American acquaintance messages me. We talk for a while about random stuff and in the end, we’ve decided to go jogging when I come back from the Philippines (so that’s next next week). Yay, here’s to me exercising and hopefully conversing in Spanish (and making friends).

I thank my mom and UP (my education) for making me appreciate the value of doing research. Of course there are times when it’s tedious and it’s time-consuming and we get lazy to do research and we just want things to be spoon-fed to us, but we won’t really learn that way. We have to look for things on our own. Stop being dumb. This is just me ranting about some people who keep on asking questions when it only takes a minute (or even just a couple of seconds depending on your Internet speed) to know the answer. Pfft!

Today’s December 15 in the lunar calendar and apparently, that means eating ge bao 割包 (in Mandarin, and gua bao in Taiwanese). It’s this bun filled with pork belly, pickled mustard greens, cilantro, and crushed peanuts. Yum!

Books 2012

For previous years’ lists, click here.

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Jeff Kinney) – January 2

El color púrpura (Alice Walker, translated by Ana Maria de la Fuente) – January 5

The Paper Chase (John Jay Osborn, Jr.) – January 8

 

First week of January 2012!

It’s been a pretty busy week, what with midterms looming over our heads.

The week’s almost over though, so here’s a breakdown of what happened (most probably not in order):

I basically had classes. After class, I would either go to the library or head straight home. Yeah, it was a pretty uneventful week for me.

The other day, temperature dropped to 8 degrees. BRR!!!

So cold!

I attended my wax dough 蠟陶土 class. We were given this DIY kit and we could do whatever we wanted. I went for the flower in a pot thing because it looked easy to make. I was originally planning to make a sunflower in a pot (UP represent!) but it was hard to shape the dough. According to the teacher, because it was cold (temperature, weather), the dough had frozen. We had to continuously roll it between our fingers just so it would gather (?) enough heat. I’m pretty happy with the results. It’s cute! There are a lot of wax dough left over, and I still have 2 wicks, so I’m gonna do something else one of these days.

My pot - in the works

Flower in a pot!

We had 2 days for our midterms – the 1st was for the oral part and the 2nd was for the written part. For the former, we were given around 20 minutes to make a 6-minute speech about the topics we had just received. Talk about pressure! After that, we read this conversation thing. For the latter, it was a standard written test composed of multiple choice, identification, fill in the blanks, and a 400-word essay answering a question. We played Jenga after the exam. LOL.

Playing Jenga

A little over a week left before I head back home (to the Philippines). Yay, I can’t wait! I’ve got a lot of things planned. Hihi. I have a bunch of errands to run next week though – applying for the National Health Insurance, asking about that program, buying stuff, etc.

There was a night when I decided to sleep later than what I originally planned, because my cousin and I were talking about random stuff. I chose to stay up and chat with her rather than go to bed. Of course!

My mom’s going to Korea in I don’t know when. Boo! I want to go too. Oh well, someday!

I think one of the good things about being average/being in the middle is that you always have room to grow. Yeah, that’s it.

Our class had dinner together. It got awkward at times (because we haven’t known each other that long) but overall, it was all right. Pretty soon, it’s gonna be less awkward and we’re gonna become ‘closer.’

Winter term 2011 class picture

One of my classmates has an authentic Prada wallet. Oooh!

I’m currently feeling under the weather, so I decided to just stay at home today (I was supposed to meet up with some classmates to go out) and rest. I also organized my stuff – my drawers, cabinet, etc. I feel so… organized!

Protected: 2012 Goals

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Why 2011 rocked!

JANUARY – Won an iPod!

JANUARY – Tan grand family reunion

FEBRUARY – Bi-monthly dinner with my high school 3rd year classmates!

FEBRUARY – Visit to the Spanish embassy as the Vice President for Relations of UP EURO

MARCH – Lunch with the Spanish bloc!

MARCH – After our thesis defense, with our adviser and panelists!

MARCH – Candidate for graduation!

APRIL – Hello Taiwan!

APRIL – Graduated from UP Diliman!

APRIL – Family picture during graduation

APRIL – Span bloc during graduation!

APRIL – Picture in front of Oble with Span bloc

APRIL – First day of work (orientation)

MAY – Bonding with the team

JUNE – Parents’ 24th wedding anniversary at Gumbo

JUNE – Woo! Got my Schengen visa!

JUNE – Stuff from our counterparts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico

JULY – First gadget I bought with my hard-earned money!

JULY – Finished our first paid translation job!

JULY – Finished our first paid translation job!

JULY – Awarding ceremony for the Taiwan Scholarship Program at Makati Shang

JULY – Despedida with my CSA friends

JULY – Despedida with my EURO friends

JULY – House blessing!!!

JULY – Home sweet home!

AUGUST – Madrid’s Kilometer 0 aka HELLO MADRID!

SEPTEMBER – Taiwan Alien Resident Certificate

SEPTEMBER – BBQ day in celebration of the Mid-autumn Festival

SEPTEMBER – First time to see the moon rising, at Danshui

OCTOBER – Night at National Chengchi University

OCTOBER – 2011 World Design Expo

OCTOBER – Yehliu hiking and marveling at the views

NOVEMBER – Post card from Patty (from Europe!)

NOVEMBER – 2011 Fall Term class

NOVEMBER – Sunday bonding with relatives

NOVEMBER – Sun Moon Lake!!

NOVEMBER – Checheng!!

DECEMBER – Xitou!!

DECEMBER – Random talks with random people

DECEMBER – Wulai and Neidong!

DECEMBER – Simple things like getting a card for Christmas (from Uriel, my Dominican Republic friend)

DECEMBER – Christmas party with Filipino scholars

DECEMBER – Christmas with my family here in Taiwan

DECEMBER – New year, new hair color!

DECEMBER – Birthday lunch with cousins at Macho Tacos

DECEMBER – Birthday gift from my Japanese friend Shungo

DECEMBER – My birthday!!!

DECEMBER – Waiting for the Taipei 101 fireworks display!

DECEMBER – Taipei 101 fireworks!

Life is made up of little things that we often overlook, not knowing that they actually make up most of our life. If there are small things though, there are also of course, bigger things. Above are some of my 2011 highlights aka why 2011 is by far, my most awesome year yet!

I remember posting entries on the first day of 2011 saying how I felt like 2011 will be a GREAT(ER) year for me, because it’s the year for making things happen. Well, I didn’t disappoint myself. I really was able to do a lot of things in 2011, and it has truly been an unforgettable year. Wee! I was also able to visit 2 of the countries (Spain and Taiwan) I listed in the answer to the question, “List three countries you’d like to visit, and why you want to go.” I’ll be visiting the third (China) in April! Yay, let’s go 2012!

Hello 2012!

This is how we spent the first day of the new year! I really can’t believe that it’s 2012! I’ve probably said this a million times already but it seems just like yesterday that 2011 started, and I had a lot of wishes and dreams. Now, 2011 has ended, 2012 has begun, and I’ve accomplished a whole lot in between. I’m gonna post separate entries about this – one about the awesomeness of 2011, and the other about my plans for 2012!

Anyway, I helped my aunt make bread pudding.  Yay, I now know how to make one! It’s easy! For dinner, we went to Uncle J’s house in Linkou. The 3 families gathered there for New Year. We ate a looot! We all wanted to puke after. There was SO MUCH FOOD – lots of main courses and lots of desserts. Then, we played this Chinese card game after. It was a simple but fun mini-reunion.

Happy New Year!
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
新年快樂！
Manigong Bagong Taon!
Bonne année!