I'm feeling a little cranky after riding all around town in the pouring rain and teaching 6 hours of class (4 in the morning and 2 in the evening) in damp clothes. I just can't help but thinking that people weren't meant to live in such conditions, coming from the rather dry central-western Canada. How do people in England and other perpetually rainy places survive? I seriously need some tips!
I'm still working on it, but I must confess, as I pedal and feel rain dripping down my neck, into my shoes, and getting the bottoms of my pants wetter and wetter, i can't prevent a longing for the plains of Saskatchewan or Alberta, and a small desire rises in my heart to leave Taiwan for good. Perhaps this is my current manifestation of culture shock.
Before my well-deserved and long-dreamt of bubble bath, here's a bit about my apartment complex.

I live in a 7 floor building, with a lot of neighbours I don't often see. I haven't shared an elevator more than 5 times in the last 2 months. When you enter the building you see a square courtyard which houses the bikes of the various residents. Mine is by far the most colourful save for the small red one with training wheels. There is a "security" lady who basically just sits in the couryard all day, takes care of the mail and sweeps the hallways. My hallway often smells of corn soup, a staple food here in Taiwan. I've met a friendly lady on the first floor while taking out the garbage, and had conversations that felt strangely like the dialogues out of my Chinese text book. Amazingly enough, she hasn't asked me to tutor her kids yet, maybe in the next conversation. Well, so far I'm still enjoying my space here (that's an understatement!) and even enjoy cleaning more than I used to. I feel so "homemakerish" when I prepare meals for later in the week and freeze them, wash my floor, buy dishes, or do other household stuff (though it's not immaculate by any stretch of the imagination).