Canada out, England still in and I am still in Taiwan!

 Having entered Taiwan on June 2nd, 2026, it has been a little over a month now since I arrived. It has been a lot of fun up to now mixed in with frustration over the rules for obtaining a job here and the long winded process that I keep getting contradictory information about.

I have been offered a contract at a public school here in Taipei and is actually the school where my friend has been working for the last 5 plus years. Great news, I know, but when you mix in the stuff that needs to be done or what I am being told needs to be done (by AI, Google Search etc), I am totally confused and at the end of my tether. Well not literally, but it is a total pain in the arse. I am just going to see what happens when I meet with the school to apply for my work permit and take all my original documents with me plus my RCMP fingerprint check that expires August 23rd this year. I did go and get my health check done earlier this week. That entailed an x-ray, blood tests, blood pressure, weight, eye test and doctor check. It seems to go well and can go and pick up the papers on July 13th. I needed 2 passport style photos, which were soooo easy to get at a photo booth and also only $7 for 6.

I am enjoying the World Cup albeit at weird hours for some of the game; 3am 5am 6am etc. But it has been fun watching them with Dave who has been betting on almost every scenario you can imagine; draws. losses, draws in regular time. It has been a decent tournament up to now and I hope England go all the way. My prediction with the small group that I met about 3 weeks ago was that England would win the World Cup. I got to go first and of course stayed true to my lineage.....lol.

Here is Dave with his Yellow Submarine umbrella!

Dave and I went to a cool bar called Parklife. It is run by a British fella, Mark and we met a friend of Dave's there, Thomas.

Have been exercising everyday still and pushing myself a little more and trying to get to the next phase of weight loss. I am down to 260 now regularly, which is a 50 pound weight loss since January 9th. Just in case I didn't remind you all before.....hahahahha. I am less concerned now about the weight (of course I want to get down to 225) but am starting to lose inches off my chest and other body parts. I know what some of you are probably thinking! Dirty minded buggers!

Here are a couple of pics of being out and about around the Temple and some of the stuff that has been amazing to be around everyday here in Taiwan. It really is a beautiful place and there are so many cultural nuances, it is mind-blowing. 

This is a pic of Hot Pot; a popular Taiwanese style of restaurant and absolutely awesome. The stuff is all given to you at the table and you boil all your veggies and meat etc in the hot pot at your table and add all the spices to suit you as well as limitless coffee, pop, juices etc. 

This pic was at the top of the Temple stairs. I used Google Translate to figure out that it was some historical figure's birthday and these were in memory for him. 

Temple Top

These 'cool cats' were sitting on a wall of the road that we were walking down to get to the "Stairs of Hell" which are a set of steps that almost killed me going up. Probably about 500-600 steps straight up. I did it, though! Had my heart rate up to 145! 

The weather continues to be roasting hot and it literally is like living in an oven when you walk around. Within 2 minutes of being outside, the sweat starts oozing out of your pores. I have never sweated this much in my whole life. I must say though, after you finish any type of exercise, the shower after is AMAZING.

Look at this fella's safety boots.......lol

Here's a bit of the beginning of one of our walks.


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