Well, apparently the Taiwanese government shares my deep and unabated hatred of Belgians because they refused to issue a residency visa and work permit to Ellie. She has until February 25 to leave the country or be deported with all the glorious side benefits that come with it. This puts us in quite a pickle as we really can't operate the school long-term with only four teachers. ILP has two teachers lined up for the next semester, but they don't graduate until the end of April, so they can't just up and come in the next four weeks. I'm quite sure that what will happen (if Ellie permits it) will be that she will fly to Hong Kong and try to get her visa extended until April 27. Naturally, there are some minor snags: no residency visa means no health insurance, no tax records because, you know, she would technically be illegally employed, which could possibly be a problem. The real problem is that Ellie only holds Belgian citizenship. If she held dual US-Belgium citizenship, there wouldn't be a problem.
We also found a magic scale in the spare bedroom. At least, we as an apartment collectively decided to assume it's magical because the numbers it displays are simply too fantasic to believe. Great ego booster though--I love being told I've lost eighteen pounds since I got here!
That's pretty much all of the thrilling news here. In more pedestrian news, there's been some exciting turnover in vendors on Food Street, so we can now buy Naan bread and crepes. One of the secretaries at school recommended a good and cheap pizza place, which we tried tonight. We went to Sweetney Todd last week, which was gushing with blood and had lousy sound. I'd like see it again, preferrably with subtitles (or at least normal sound) so I could follow it better. We're planning to see Cloverfield on Friday if it's showing here. I downloaded half of an Aimee Mann album, which I have been enjoying and listening to a lot. Paul hates "Satellite" with a passion previously unheard of. It's really quite unfortunate, since it is my favorite song right now, so it's in very heavy rotation. I also read Persepolis 2, which I liked a lot--probably more than the first book--though it's a bit more adult. (Luckily, I happen to be a certified adult.)
5 comments:
Why do you hate Belgiums? What'd they ever do to you?
Why do you hate Belgiums? What'd they ever do to you?
Technically, I don't "Belgiums," but I do hate Belgians for comedic purposes.
...You have no life whatsoever, do you?
I thought that was clearly established.
Post a Comment