Major events, recap

Down to the penultimate week of ICLP and I have been 相當忙 (really busy). To show the progress we've made, some of the classes are doing speeches that all the teachers and some of the students attend. Today was my group's turn; we decided to do a debate on whether women should continue working or stay at home and take care of the kids after giving birth. 女性生小孩以後, 是否應該在家帶小孩還是繼續工作? I thought it would be a topic that my classmates would at least find a bit interesting and that wouldn't be too hard to cover, but the latter turned out to be untrue. The topic has too many aspects that can or should be taken into account and some of it was beyond the scope of my language abilities. Since the instructor made us write out everything we were going to say, it was an extremely scripted debate. I heard the students start laughing about a third of a way into it. I also started cracking up at how ridiculous we must have seem having a "debate", when really all we were doing was reading off what we wrote in preparation. If the instructor didn't say we had to use the vocabulary and grammar patterns that we've been learning, perhaps we could have had a less scripted debate. But at least it was entertaining.

Other highlights, went to K9, a karaoke place in the Living Mall (京華城) and enjoyed the melodious voices of my fellow ICLP'ers. I tried to sing but I can't for the life of me sing on key in front of people. In the car, in my room, no problem, but in front of people, I start going off-key. I'm just not meant to sing. But it was fun.

Forgot ID so couldn't get into Room 18, one of the popular clubs in Taipei. T_T But two friends of a classmate were kind enough to give me a ride to my cousin's place, aaaaaaall the way down in Da Ping Lin. I don't know if it's a correct observation, but the Taiwanese guys I've run into here are usually really nice and it seems they haven't let chivalry die. Good to know.

I've lost count of the number of people here who ask me if I'm Japanese. Still amusing. I went with the lovely Miss B. to get juice from the lady who always outside the entrance to TaiDa. She pointed at B. and said "Korean" and then pointed at me and said "Japanese". B. and I looked at each other and then looked at her and shook our heads no. Then I broke out the little Taiwanese that I know and said that we were actually Taiwanese. B. doesn't look Korean at all, I'm not sure where that came from. I get the Japanese comment so often now it doesn't surprise me. I still think it's odd, but I don't find it surprising.

Learned a new idiom (成語) today, 相見恨晚.

真可惜....