Last week Kate and I paid a visit to the Taiwanese Embassy in Toronto. After much delay, we finally arrived in Toronto and luckily found the Embassy very easy to find. We got there at 3:20pm and filled out the necessary paperwork to each obtain a 60 day, multiple entry, extendable, visitors visa. We need to enter Taiwan as visitors and once our contract is signed, we pass our health checks, etc... then we can stay on the work visas that our school will apply for. At about 3:50pm (the Embassy closes at 4pm) we found out that payment is "cash only" and that the doors are closed and locked at 4pm exactly. After a short panic, we rushed down the elevator, down Younge Street to a TD Bank and then all the way back. On our elevator ride back up, the time was 3:58pm. Kate and I made it back just in time for the doors to be locked behind us. It doesn't seem that rushed now that I am writing about it in the comfort of my kitchen... but we experienced a small taste of some of the stressful situations that are guaranteed with moving to a foreign country.
Now that our visas are in place, health insurance is set up and all of the travel shots have been administered, all that's left to do is pack pack pack and bid Canada farewell! This weekend Kate and I will be visiting Harbourfront's TAIWANfest (which happens to take place at such a convienent time!) I cannot wait to get a feeling for the culture in which we will soon be submerged.
If anyone has any suggestions on what to pack that we may not think of, please feel free to let us know! Also, if anyone would like to pay a large portion of my osap debt, that is also warmly welcome :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Prep 101
Great News! Kate and I have both secured jobs with Joyland! We have been communicating with our boss Tina and she is helping us find accommodation for the first couple of weeks once we get to Taipei. We will begin looking for our own apartment as soon as we get there.
We have bought our plane tickets!!! We are leaving on September 2nd in the evening. We arrive in Taipei on September 4th. It's odd, but we don't really get a September 3rd, 2008. A couple of my friends were joking saying that they're going to have a September 3rd party and that I'll have to miss out entirely...
So many preparations are coming together now... because they have to! there's less than a month left before we're gone. Kate's already got most of her immunizations done. I had my first appointment today. We've got a travel doctor from Mississauga who's given us the 411 on what we need to do to protect ourselves before we move and once we're there. Unfortunately... it's very pricey to do this! The immunizations include: Japanese Encephalitis, Hep A/Typhoid, Meningitis and Whooping Cough/Tetanus. We also have prescriptions for Malaria pills, jet lag pills, sleeping pills and immodium-type pills. Soooo many drugs!
This coming week Kate and I are going to the Taiwanese Embassy in Toronto to get our visas. After that we are meeting with Allison (our cousin who went to Taiwan and taught for a number of years for the same employer) to ask her our millions of questions. We've been trying to get as much information as possible from our boss Tina, but the language barrier has so far proven difficult, albeit funny. Kate emailed asking about a dress code as we're wondering what to pack. Tina emailed back saying something along the lines of, "I don't understand about the 'dress code.' Do you mean the age range of the children?"
Thus, meeting with Allison will answer more questions at a faster, more coherent pace. I'm excited to hear more of her stories, I'm sure it will pump us up even more than we already are.
As this blog now indicates, I've arrived at a clever title! As those who travel by plane know, each international airport in the world has a three-letter code. Toronto (Pearson) is YYZ and Taipei International Airport is TPE. When you put it together it means: "from Toronto to Taipei to teach English." Neat eh!? nerdy...
Until next time, "keep fit and have fun!"
We have bought our plane tickets!!! We are leaving on September 2nd in the evening. We arrive in Taipei on September 4th. It's odd, but we don't really get a September 3rd, 2008. A couple of my friends were joking saying that they're going to have a September 3rd party and that I'll have to miss out entirely...
So many preparations are coming together now... because they have to! there's less than a month left before we're gone. Kate's already got most of her immunizations done. I had my first appointment today. We've got a travel doctor from Mississauga who's given us the 411 on what we need to do to protect ourselves before we move and once we're there. Unfortunately... it's very pricey to do this! The immunizations include: Japanese Encephalitis, Hep A/Typhoid, Meningitis and Whooping Cough/Tetanus. We also have prescriptions for Malaria pills, jet lag pills, sleeping pills and immodium-type pills. Soooo many drugs!
This coming week Kate and I are going to the Taiwanese Embassy in Toronto to get our visas. After that we are meeting with Allison (our cousin who went to Taiwan and taught for a number of years for the same employer) to ask her our millions of questions. We've been trying to get as much information as possible from our boss Tina, but the language barrier has so far proven difficult, albeit funny. Kate emailed asking about a dress code as we're wondering what to pack. Tina emailed back saying something along the lines of, "I don't understand about the 'dress code.' Do you mean the age range of the children?"
Thus, meeting with Allison will answer more questions at a faster, more coherent pace. I'm excited to hear more of her stories, I'm sure it will pump us up even more than we already are.
As this blog now indicates, I've arrived at a clever title! As those who travel by plane know, each international airport in the world has a three-letter code. Toronto (Pearson) is YYZ and Taipei International Airport is TPE. When you put it together it means: "from Toronto to Taipei to teach English." Neat eh!? nerdy...
Until next time, "keep fit and have fun!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
