chaos week

嗨～ hi everyone! sorry, i am late with this week's post. i got sidetracked as usual. what seemed to be a normal week really took a turn at the end. stick around to find out!

as per usual, during the weekend we have some fun. this time it was karaoke! we've all been meaning to go and it was a great for bonding with some students i don't see as often. but to start the night off, we grabbed dinner at a curry place and watched some street performances. the following day, i had my first proper experience at taiwan starbucks. getting out of my room to coffee shops has proven very beneficial to my productivity. my favorite café so far is a few stops away in 北投 (beitou) called N° cafe.

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monday and tuesday were so very normal and chill (not literally, it's actually so hot and humid). the flowers lining the road the road down to 石牌 shipai (the town at the base of the mountain) are blooming and campus is so pretty, especially during golden hour.

wednesday added some nerves, excitement and confusion to the mix. if you remember correctly this was interview day! i got up early to prep possible answers and responses. although it was only an online interview, i was nervous for all the normal reasons but also the language and technology aspect. what if the connection was bad? what if the audio wasn't clear, therefore complicating the language aspect? turns out, i didn't have to worry at all. through the mock interviews in class, the teachers made the interviews out to be way more serious and formal than my experience. for me, it was simply a chat. the interview started with general conversation like "have you adjusted to taiwan yet?" (the answer is yes, besides the weather) and my 自我介紹 (self introduction). after which, the interviewer explained the organization and job a bit more. the other main question i was asked was to please "explain a study/job experience that had a great impact on you" so of course i explained my favorite job ever at UO's mills international center. the interview was then quickly wrapped up with things like "add me on LINE and we will communicate further there" etc. the whole call barely lasted half an hour. at the time, i thought that offering to be LINE friends was a good sign (more communication), but the length of the interview itself seemed like a bad sign and i immediately started to worry because this was kind of my last chance with the internships i had applied to (one rejected me and the other one just didn't ever reply). in hindsight, the length of the interview was probably influenced by the fact i took the video call in one of my school buildings, prompting the question of "do i have class soon?" and i did in fact have class immediately after the interview. after class, i had a quick break before my next one and i had already received an email from the organization. it said 歡迎妳來我們這裡實習 "you are welcome to our internship". i was a bit confused because it didn't seem like a decision – a fantastic example of eastern cultures often preferring a more indirect communication style. i would generally take this more like a suggestion as opposed to "we would like to offer you the position" or "you got the position" as i might expect in western work culture. to make sure, i did have a teacher take a look and confirm that they were actually offering the position. so when september comes around, i will be working at 現代婦女基金會 (modern women's foundation) whose mission is to build a equal society for everyone. i will help to handle media for certain initiatives like OYMY (only yes means yes) in addition to just day-to-day operations.

website: https://www.38.org.tw/index.asp

socials: https://www.facebook.com/MWF38/

https://www.instagram.com/mwf38/?hl=en

wednesday also added the ✨chaos✨. we also got news that someone from the program tested positive for COVID and that all classes are online for a week (4/27-5/6). we do not know which student it is, probably for privacy's sake, but it really did make it hard to know how worried i should be. it wasn't a spring cohort student because i've seen all of them since; also fall cohort is way larger. because i don't interact directly with fall cohort students very often, i was only worried about exposure through teachers or from being in the same space, namely yiguan, the unofficial hangout spot for flagship students during the week. unfortunately, all pharmacies were sold out of rapid tests. we were calling all the pharmacies and they were saying shipments would come in the next day at 2 or 3pm. i had class (online) during that time, so i booked it down the mountain right after. i went to four pharmacies and all were sold out. they actually have started putting up signs saying "all sold out of rapid tests" on their doors so people won't even bother coming in to ask. turns out that each day pharmacies will get new shipments and distribute them during a designated time. in addition, a new policy came out that each person is allowed five rapid tests at once and can't get another set until a month has passed. also, people can only buy the tests on their designated days – based on your resident card number: evens on tuesday, thursday, saturday and odds on monday, wednesday, friday. sunday is just a free-for-all. after failing to get tests on thursday, i went prepared today arriving about 45 minutes before the selling period and thank god i did because i ended up at the beginning of a line that spanned many storefronts. i am also happy to report that the rapid test came back negative. even among all this and the rise in cases, the QR system of contact tracing i explained in a previous post has disappeared. i really don't get why, but i can't lie: it's kind of nice because it was actually getting a little 麻煩 (troublesome).

even with just two days back online for class, i already want it to end. i forgot about all the tech things that like to be problematic: stable connection, audio, screen sharing, getting the link itself right etc. i can also feel myself getting so distracted with being in my room all the time. the biggest problem might be my bed being in close proximity – meaning naps are so very accessible. i can just feel that my sleep schedule is going to be so bad this week.

wish me luck and hope for a quick recovery for whoever got COVID.

♡蘇晨