Ready to depart for Taiwan!

Having made the decision to quit my job at the Blue Cross here in Montreal, I have accepted a position at a small school in Chiayi, Taiwan. My cousin Nichole (AKA Nikki) is working there, and I got the job through her!

I have gotten my visitor's visa. It took less than 48 hours (and I did the whole thing by MAIL!), so I was pleasantly surprised!
:-)

Maria (my travel agent) is forwarding the plane tickets to me today.... so everything is all set and I am ready to go! (All I have to do now is pack!).

I have asked Maria to look into the allowable luggage weight, and I am allowed 2 suitcases, 32kg each. When I arrive in Taipei I will be taking a domestic flight to Chiayi... and apparently they only allow 20kg per bag on the domestic flights. Maria assured me that if I tell them that I am transfering from an international flight, I will have no problems, but I was hoping that Nikki could confirm this for me (*which she now has!).

....and here is a little story that you might find amusing:

My uncle Bryan (who has travelled extensively and is really knowledgeable about these things) warned me that I should expect to be unable to orient myself in Taiwan if I can't speak Mandarin (no puns intended). When I arrive for my overnight in Taipei, I will need to get around a little bit: at the very least from the international airport to the hotel and then to the domestic airport in the morning... this got me thinking.... Just because Maria has booked the hotel (and the plane ticket) doesn't mean that I won't have to communicate a little while I am in Taipei... and there will be nobody to help me!

Rather than panic (which was starting to look like a viable option, LOL!) I went to the Chinese restaurant near my house last night and got one of the waitresses to translate some things for me!

I took a few pieces of paper and I wrote a sentence on each. I tried to think of things that I might need to ask while I am alone in Taipei. I wrote things like "Can you drive me to the Sheraton?" because I figure the Taxi driver might appreciate knowing exactly where I want to go, LOL!

I also thought that it might be a good idea to have a card written out asking for an early wake-up call. I thought this would be good to show to the hotel desk clerk when I check in, so that I don't miss my departure time in the morning!

Well, you can laugh if you like, but I feel a lot better knowing that I have a few "sentences" in Chinese at my disposal should I need them!
:-)

I am very excited, and I can't wait to join Nicole in Chiayi!!!