officially not an illegal immigrant

part one: judged at the gym

ok so today, the weather was so disagreeable. walking to the gym, we got soaked. i really need to get some crocs or something for rainy days (we have to change our shoes at the gym anyway). the crazy thing more is the amount of rain that came down. i think there should be more drainage, but as my friend pointed out, it is a mountain after all – gravity can do the work. but the drainage that is here was overloaded in a way. there was like 1-2 inches of rain all the way down and of course terrible puddles.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_0a1b7a8b37004686b3a63d1ec17e7d6d/480p/mp4/file.mp4

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we skipped core today because somebody ate too late. it's okay though, we were there for a good 2.5-3 hours anyway. a lot of running into people. i saw a fellow UO student that i haven't seen in a while. also, people from our program. another factor for the time is that it's hard to get machines because they basically only have one of each. we did pull-ups, lower back extensions, face pulls, bicep curls (cross and normal), forearm curls and probably more but yeah. that assisted pull-up is still my favorite i think. also, random but dodgers and the rockies were on the tv today. i was surprised to see the rockies up 3-0 but i checked just now and they actually lost. dodgers came back for a 6-5 win.

you know how people are usually worried about others judging them at the gym? yeah that happened to me – but not in the way you think. it's so crazy. so a class where somebody introduces the machines and stuff to students came by while i was doing my second set of back extensions and the instructor totally used me as an example. she came up and just started talking about the equipment while i'm in the middle of the set. i momentarily stop, but she's like keep going. and then proceeds to use me to explain what i'm doing. my gym buddy thought quickly and got some pictures!

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thankfully, the rain had stopped by the time we were heading back. we also made it just in time for me to not only grab a snack and pocari from hi-life, but also catch the garbage truck. really hoping my shoes dry out quickly but there's not really much i can do, especially because of humidity.

part two: legal housekeeping ✅

today i only had one class, research methods. i was a bit worried because the readings were pretty simple to me. like i've done research things since AP sem in sophomore year of high school. but in lecture it was expanded on and more hands on. for example we used fancier terms and got more into epistemology, types of variables (categorical: dichotomous or nominal; continuous: ordinal, interval, ratio). we also talked conceptual frameworks and variable relationships (mediation, moderation, correlation). we even did a baseless framework all together.

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after class, i explored the club fair with friends. the odd thing is that we have to pay into them. the only one i'm seriously considering is the photography one because they're doing three trips to do photography but also they're places i want to go to! there was a kpop random play which i've never seen in person. it's so fun to see people just jump up after like two notes and dance to the songs. i don't know how you could remember all the different choreo! also, kpop random play is just as it sounds. a song is randomly played and anyone can just jump into the dance if they know it. you can tell who learned it mirrored and sometimes even which member's choreo they learned. the fair made main campus very crowded. but at least it cut down on people out for the lunch rush a bit. this time, we had vietnamese.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_8121c4a0fcbc42b69c65545e62f2cac2/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_fcf401c8baa9490799d8fb4617cc8932/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

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back at the dorm, i'm looking through all the club info flyers and such and i get the email that my ARC card is ready! after all that shit from last week (details in the last post), i just wanted it asap. the immigration place closed at 17:00 but it was only about 14:45 so i took a risk and said let's go. but damn, transport was not transporting. the trip is already about 50mins normally, but the fricking bus driver ignored me requesting a stop with the bell thing. body language and everything also said i needed off. i even tapped my card, but nope. i tried again a stop later, still didn't stop. finally he stopped but it's two stops past where i needed to be to transfer to the mrt. so i walk the distance of two whole bus stops. there's no better alternative route at this point. especially if i wanted to make it in time. i got there with like 25 minutes to spare. but dang my walking pace was fast even for me. cardio✅ after, i said let's just get all this stuff done and walked over to the phone carrier to get my long term phone number. rip my seven day one. sorry you didn't get to use your full potential. so all is good and well, but i got stuck in school rush hour. the bus stop i needed was actually next to a school and that bus was so stuffed. i was practically up hanging with the driver for 30mins. eventually, i get back and grab soup and dumplings for dinner this rainy evening. at least i was lucky enough to be first on the shuttle up to the dorms.

part three: IMICS wednesdays?

today was very busy. i was out all day, but with two classes, that's sort of a given. first, i had communication theories. we talked agenda setting and priming today. after, some IMICS students grouped up for lunch. we actually took a bus like four stops away and it was quicker than eating near school. like we got in as a group and got our food faster than last week just because there was no rush like there is around campus.

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then, we had to split off for the afternoon. i had class again and we talked about media convergence, "remix" or "ripping", leading to discussions on copyright and creativity. i think that professor likes me. she actually thanked a group of us that tend to leave last for participating so much. then i had two-ish hours to kill before the photography club intro. i grabbed an early dinner. i was not too hungry yet, but i knew i had to because otherwise i'd be eating convenience store food later. which again, is quite decent, but i only do that if i'm really desperate. i went to a buffet sort of place which is super cheap but healthy. i go there when i feel like my veggie intake is low hahah.

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and then it was club time. and holy shit there were so many people stuffed in this classroom. way more than i expected, but i guess it's for the whole uni, so undergrads too. they have great opportunities and tools: lectures, camera rentals, a darkroom, and my favorite 外拍 "out" "take (a picture)". so basically little field trips if you will. their first one is 淡水 (tamsui) but since it's been my favorite place for a while, i've already shot it. a senior of ours is in it too! i was weighing the price to the provided stuff and i decided heck yeah! this is my biggest hobby and for a lifelong membership is only 1000 ntd which is like ~30 usd. my senior said that even includes after you've graduated. like if you're around and want to sit into the lectures or anything, it's ok. also, this lifetime membership is more economical than paying 800 ntd each term i'm here. finally, after all that, i could go home. 8:00-21:00 days are not ideal but it is what it is.

part four: ramping up

today i only had the one class where the professor rambles too much. i'm slightly unsure of why we have class because it's essentially him talking and then the presentations on the three readings. i guess there's discussion but the way the professor set it up, it's really rigid. like he designates a group to respond and he directly went to them today, despite others having opinions. and because of time management issues, there's not really any back and forth or variety of opinions shared. i'm not even sure i'd call it a discussion. it just seems like a really easy way to make people uninterested. that being said, now that it's the end of week three, i have many more things to worry about. for example, presentations for this class. unfortunately, we are presenting three weeks in a row starting next week (but then we don't have to later in the term). not to mention, presentations for other classes and weekly discussion posts. wish me luck 🍀

part five: 大雨 (big rain)

started off today at the gym. leg day and i learned how to do romanian deadlifts! the weather is getting super annoying though. i swear every time we stepped out from under a covering, it would start to rain harder. and as i mentioned before, the water just pools up and leaves a nice layer on everything. rate of downpour ≠ rate of drainage i guess. by now, i've invested in water slides for days like these. then i had a lunch meeting with my host family

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cleaned up a bit and then lunch with my host family and another pairing. the hosts are colleagues so they thought they'd do a joint meet up. i got to meet the kids from my host family and gosh they are adorable. two girls – one year apart and the oldest is in 2nd grade. after lunch, we grabbed some bubble tea and my host mom ran into people from her church. we said hi and she treated us all to the tea. the next event will probably be dumpling wrapping at her church, so maybe i'll see them again. in any case, it was nice to practice chinese!

part six: calm before the storm

i mean this literally and figuratively haha. typhoon KRATHON is coming. this may be the last nice day before it's projected to make landfall this week. it might just skim the east coast but we'll see. there's already a sea warning out for the south of the island. and i was just thinking, i don't think the one last time actually hit the island – we were just in the affected area with rain. so baby's first typhoon i guess heh. ✌️

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anyhoo, i spent the day prepping for a presentation i have this week with friends. one is like me in that we are serious about being prepped. us two spent our entire three hour slot at the library, but the other member is much more lax. he left early because he had essentially double-booked himself and clearly has priorities. he also read the wrong thing. to be fair, the book titles are one word different and it's his first time in taiwan so exploration is understandable. but dang if i had read the wrong thing to prep a presentation, i'd immediately freak out and dedicate all my effort to fixing that before anything else. just as long as it comes together, it's fine. after the library, we grabbed linner of dumplings and soup. perfect for a cooler day. jeez calling 85F cooler is wild – this island will change you hahah

♡蘇晨