More Love Boating

Apparently updating continuously is out of the question. The schedules that I have to keep around here is pretty strenuous, so accessing the internet, let alone a computer, is quite difficult. Perhaps I'll have better luck after this program (which is quite fun actually) is over at the end of July.

Difficult to Keep Up

It's really hard to sit down and hook up my computer so I can jot some stuff down. It's really just because there's simply no time to do so. I don't want to use my laptop now since there's a little crack on the backside - a cosmetic/mechanical problem, actually, so I'm not absolutely sure where I can get it fixed up. The actual laptop still works, but I'm using it sparingly (or not using it at all right now) so as to not make it worse. In order to use the PC's that are available here, I need to pay $10 NT (Taiwanese currency: about $1/30 US dollar) just to use it for fifteen minutes. It's pretty much a jerk move by the people in charge.

The rules enforced here at Love Boat are pretty ridiculous. First of all, most of the people here in my camp are between 19 to 27 years old, with some around 18. This makes many "campers" here older than the counselors. Surprising? Sort of, which adds to the fact that the rules the counselors make get broken easily and without much hesitation and regret. I'll list some of the rules broken most often:

• No people of the opposite sex in the room at any time.
• Curfew at 11 PM.
• No sneaking out after curfew.
• No alcohol (legal drinking age in Taiwan is 18).
• No overnight stays in other rooms.

I can understand the "no alcohol" rule, but everything else seems like its meant to be broken. Sneaking out is pretty much a given. No matter what the counselors seem to do, people sneak out without regrets anyway. People get out and drink, go clubbing, etc. Plus, the more some counselors try to hold us back, the more we want to get out. There's no surprise there, that's how all rules get broken (deliberately, anyway). Of course, there are some less anal, less uptight counselors who don't care who does what, where, and how.

I think I ought to lie low for a while. If I want things to go a bit more smoothly for the next 20-30 days, I should definitely relax and do things the right way.

If I can find some PC with a USB slot (how inconvenient...), I'll upload more pictures.

Registration Day

I can't believe how many people there are in this Formosa study tour program. What surprises me more is that nearly everyone is from California, and either go to UC Davis, Irvine, or Berkeley, with an occasional UCLA here and there. I walk around thinking, "Am I really the only one from the East coast?" So far I haven't found another person from the East coast, let alone from New York.

Even though the residence area for the program is located in Taipei, we're in a pretty run-down neighborhood compared to the inner sanctums of Taiwan's capital. Well, I know Taipei pretty well now, since I've visited the city on numerous occasions. Hopefully there will be time when I can head out and roam freely for a bit.

On other notes, I realized the drinking age in Taiwan is 18. Does that surprise me? Not really, actually. I think Chinese people are really lenient on alcohol consumption. Lenient as in unrestrictive, not as in "lenient amounts." Of course, that doesn't mean I'll charge out and drown myself in liquor...

As always, things will be updated as they come along. If they're interesting, that is.