Going for My Favorite Drink

I went to Starbucks today. Yes, I was able to stop myself from going there for more than a week. I think the price of the drinks were a big motivation… and it's not really just that, it’s because there are lots of great tasting options here like to Pudding Milk Tea, Flavored Yogurt, Juices and what nots.

My order for today: Grande Personal Half-Caf Pumpkin Spice Latte. (Starbucks people, do I have the order wrong? Something’s supposed to come first before the other?)

So, the first time I went to a Starbucks store here in Taipei was with Dad last September 4 and I was only looking at the drinks. Today, I had more time to browse around and golly, I found out something new, while the drinks are around 30-50% more expensive than they are in the Philippines, the sandwiches and puddings are cheaper by 15-30%. Of course, they have pastries specially tailored for the season (it’s mooncake right now).

So far, the Starbucks experience has been okay. It’s pretty much like the one we have in the Philippines, except that:

1. The store was not used to the personalized requests. I don’t really know if it’s just because I’m near a school and people here aren’t used to Starbucks yet, or it’s just me who loves personalizing a drink.
2. The 2 Starbucks outlets I’ve been to are less personal than in the Philippines. They don’t ask for your name and when your order is ready, they’ll just call out your drink at the bar. There’s still some personality though, they chat with you a bit so that you feel that you’re not just merely a “customer”.

For now, that’s it about Starbucks.

Adjusting to Life in Taipei

It's been almost two weeks since I arrived here in Taipei and I'm still adjusting.

Arriving in Taipei with more than 15 kilos of excess baggage (not charged since it was technically not in excess because my parents were with me), I stayed with my parents for the first two days and got a stronger impression of how Taipei and its transport system work. The convenience brought by the MRT and the taxis are not lost on me, but I've discovered that buses are the affordable way and usually get you closer to where you need to go (unless, of course, you're going somewhere near the MRT station).

One of the best ways to save while travelling in Taipei is to get an Easy Card, this is available in MRT stations and some of the convenience stores. The card provides a 20% discount to cardholders when they take the MRT and a 50% discount if you transfer from a bus to the MRT or vice versa (on the second trip). Of course, as a student, I just had to get the student card, it has the bonus of also giving me a 20% discount on bus rides.

I planned to move in to my dorm room on September 4 but it was just a bit too dirty for me so I cleaned it up first and moved in the next day. One thing I immediately did for my dorm room was to get an airconditioning pre-paid card, yes, we need this to use our airconditioner, but at least the facility is available and since it's quite affordable, I'm not really complaining.

I enrolled in school and I've been going around town processing the needed documents to make my extended stay legal.

Being the introvert that I am, I've met a few people and I'm getting along with them. School started last September 13, while I didn't have classes on that day, I did have one for each 14, 15 and 16. I'm taking them for credit this semester and I just learned that I'll be having quite a few case studies and all of the courses will require a case presentation and/or a final paper at the end of the term so I'll try to immerse myself in the readings and see how things go.

Well, a lot has been happening but I hope I'll be able to continue my posts.