The Filipino Scholars in Taiwan (FSiT) have gathered for a Halloween Party at the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH) of the TIGP dorm. There was also a costume contest but I didn't join the contest. If I will be wearing a costume in that party, I will portray the character of Hero in Gundam Wing. I would just wear a sando and a short. hehe! It was my first party with them and I have a lot of fun. Aside from the classic Charades and Pinoy Henyo parlor games, I've also learned and enjoyed a new game. They call it 'The Bobo Game' and after the game I just realized that I was so 'bobo'. Haha! It was already 12 midnight when the party ended and it was a tiring, fun and hilarious unforgettable night.
I remember the night I first arrived in Taiwan. I took a bus to Nangang Exhibition Center then transferred to a taxi to reach TIGP Dorm. It was already 1am when I reached the dorm. I was really hungry at that time but I decided to just sleep and eat in the morning. I woke up at 3am. My stomach really needs something to digest. I asked the guard if there is any 7-eleven nearby the dorm but he said that the nearest store is Family Mart. I went out of the dorm to buy something to eat from Family Mart. I'm not wearing any jacket so it's the first time I feel the cold climate of Taiwan. I bought instant noodles from Family Mart and I need hot water. I press the hot water button in a water station inside the dorm but no hot water went out of the tube. I didn't know that I have to press the unlock button to release the hot water. After figuring it out that I need to press the unlock button, only a small amount of hot water was released. I noticed that water is being boiled again. I don't want to wait anymore since I am already hungry so I just press the cold water button to have sufficient amount of soup for my noodles. The first food that I ate in Taiwan was cold noodles and the rest was history.
October 20, 2013 is my 50th day in Taiwan. I woke up early in the morning to attend the 3rd day of BIT 2013 NYMU (Taiwan Day 48) but to my surprise the lectures in Bioinformatics workshop were delivered in Chinese! I got bored so I decided to go to Tamsui after the lunch break. Tamsui is Taiwan's version of Manila Bay. It is no longer in Taipei City but rather it is in New Taipei City. Since it is a weekend, there were a lot of people. I don't have any idea on what I will experience in Tamsui. One of my PhD classmate told me that I can ride a boat in Tamsui. I noticed a long line of people. I searched for the start of the queu and I found out that people were falling in line to ride a speed boat. I went back to the end of the line to fall in line. Someone at my back asked me about something. I didn't understand what he said so I just replied "I don't speak Chinese". Then that person spoke in a language that was familiar to my ears. He spoke in Tagalog and to my surprise I said "Pilipino kayo?
From that point, I met three Filipinos who are queuing for a boat going to Fisherman's Wharf. They asked me if I know on which line am I queuing. I replied, "Hindi ko alam, basta pumila lang ako". I just thought that the line I am with is the one my classmate is telling me about, so I just followed these three Filipinos so I will have some company. We were able to find the boat going to Fisherman's Wharf and you can just watch the videos about my boat ride. It was another exciting and unexpected experience. I didn't know that I will be riding a speedboat. The ride cost NTD 60 and I just placed my EasyCard on the sensor to ride the boat. I was thrilled while riding the speedboat and I took videos of the views using my Nokia phone. I hold my phone firmly since I might lose my balance because of the big waves and accidentally throw my phone into the river. We toured around the place. I usually take photos of the places that I visited but I seldom had panoramic photos of myself with the tourist spot. One of the Filipinos took photos of me in Lover's bridge so I can have a remembrance of my trip in Tamsui. We also visited this castle looking hotel. I thought I was in Disneyland but I was not and that fairy tale inspired building is the Fullon Hotel. After strolling around we decided to go back home and I heard a lot of stories from my new friends about the lives of Filipino workers in Taiwan. We rode a bus to get to Tamsui MRT.
My fifty first dates is my first fifty days in Taiwan. I'm already halfway in my adaptation and acclimatization process in this democratic China. I will be staying here not for another 50 days but maybe for more than 1000 days. There will be challenges along the way in fulfilling my dreams but one is thing is sure, I have to stick to my game plan which is to "Have Fun!"
October 20, 2013 is my 50th day in Taiwan. I woke up early in the morning to attend the 3rd day of BIT 2013 NYMU (Taiwan Day 48) but to my surprise the lectures in Bioinformatics workshop were delivered in Chinese! I got bored so I decided to go to Tamsui after the lunch break. Tamsui is Taiwan's version of Manila Bay. It is no longer in Taipei City but rather it is in New Taipei City. Since it is a weekend, there were a lot of people. I don't have any idea on what I will experience in Tamsui. One of my PhD classmate told me that I can ride a boat in Tamsui. I noticed a long line of people. I searched for the start of the queu and I found out that people were falling in line to ride a speed boat. I went back to the end of the line to fall in line. Someone at my back asked me about something. I didn't understand what he said so I just replied "I don't speak Chinese". Then that person spoke in a language that was familiar to my ears. He spoke in Tagalog and to my surprise I said "Pilipino kayo?
From that point, I met three Filipinos who are queuing for a boat going to Fisherman's Wharf. They asked me if I know on which line am I queuing. I replied, "Hindi ko alam, basta pumila lang ako". I just thought that the line I am with is the one my classmate is telling me about, so I just followed these three Filipinos so I will have some company. We were able to find the boat going to Fisherman's Wharf and you can just watch the videos about my boat ride. It was another exciting and unexpected experience. I didn't know that I will be riding a speedboat. The ride cost NTD 60 and I just placed my EasyCard on the sensor to ride the boat. I was thrilled while riding the speedboat and I took videos of the views using my Nokia phone. I hold my phone firmly since I might lose my balance because of the big waves and accidentally throw my phone into the river. We toured around the place. I usually take photos of the places that I visited but I seldom had panoramic photos of myself with the tourist spot. One of the Filipinos took photos of me in Lover's bridge so I can have a remembrance of my trip in Tamsui. We also visited this castle looking hotel. I thought I was in Disneyland but I was not and that fairy tale inspired building is the Fullon Hotel. After strolling around we decided to go back home and I heard a lot of stories from my new friends about the lives of Filipino workers in Taiwan. We rode a bus to get to Tamsui MRT.
My fifty first dates is my first fifty days in Taiwan. I'm already halfway in my adaptation and acclimatization process in this democratic China. I will be staying here not for another 50 days but maybe for more than 1000 days. There will be challenges along the way in fulfilling my dreams but one is thing is sure, I have to stick to my game plan which is to "Have Fun!"
I attended the first day of the 2013 BIT (Bioinformatics in Taiwan) conference in NYMU (National Yang Ming University). Although there is a free shuttle bus from Academia Sinica to NYMU, I decided to take the MRT to have some adventure. I wanted to see Shipai Station of the Tamsui Line. This station is in the same train track as the Jiantan Station (Taiwan Day 42). There is nothing special in Shipai Station. I almost got lost in finding NYMU but since I have a map that I have printed from the conference website I was able to find NYMU.
I have observed that the NYMU campus is located on a hill slope. This in contrast to most universities that I have visited wherein the campus is generally flat. There is no registration fee in joining this conference and there area lot of speakers from different institutions like Johns Hopkins, MIT and University of Pennsylvania. I also have my PhD classmates with me in that conference, Alcides from Peru and Divya from India. The food was also free so I really enjoyed listening to the talks. hehe!
During lunch time, I have learned from one NYMU student that there is a hiking trail in the campus. Out of curiosity and since I am not interested in the talks in the afternoon, I decided to go and hike the unknown trail. It's my first time to hike a mountain in Taiwan and it is not planned. It is an exciting experience! The name of the hiking trail is Junjian Yan Hiking Trail. The total distance that I climbed up is 500 meters, that is according to the marker in one of the steps at the top of the trail. At the top was some sort of white rock (In the NYMU conference map, they called it battleship rock), it maybe limestone but I am not sure. The wind was so strong and I am a little scared because I am alone in the peak. I might lose my balance while taking pictures and video and fall to the cliff! I don't want my hiking experience to become a scene in a Final Destination movie. I took a 360 degree video of the place. I can still go higher but it was too dangerous. The wind was blowing strong.
All of my effort in climbing the trail was rewarded by the fantastic view of Taipei City. I can still see Taipei 101 behind a mountain but in the video you will find it difficult to spot Taipei 101. Going down the hiking trail, you will still see great views of Taipei City. Taipei City is surrounded by mountains (Taipei Basin as they say) so I have a lot of mountains to climb and this hiking experience will not be the last but just the start!
I have observed that the NYMU campus is located on a hill slope. This in contrast to most universities that I have visited wherein the campus is generally flat. There is no registration fee in joining this conference and there area lot of speakers from different institutions like Johns Hopkins, MIT and University of Pennsylvania. I also have my PhD classmates with me in that conference, Alcides from Peru and Divya from India. The food was also free so I really enjoyed listening to the talks. hehe!
During lunch time, I have learned from one NYMU student that there is a hiking trail in the campus. Out of curiosity and since I am not interested in the talks in the afternoon, I decided to go and hike the unknown trail. It's my first time to hike a mountain in Taiwan and it is not planned. It is an exciting experience! The name of the hiking trail is Junjian Yan Hiking Trail. The total distance that I climbed up is 500 meters, that is according to the marker in one of the steps at the top of the trail. At the top was some sort of white rock (In the NYMU conference map, they called it battleship rock), it maybe limestone but I am not sure. The wind was so strong and I am a little scared because I am alone in the peak. I might lose my balance while taking pictures and video and fall to the cliff! I don't want my hiking experience to become a scene in a Final Destination movie. I took a 360 degree video of the place. I can still go higher but it was too dangerous. The wind was blowing strong.
All of my effort in climbing the trail was rewarded by the fantastic view of Taipei City. I can still see Taipei 101 behind a mountain but in the video you will find it difficult to spot Taipei 101. Going down the hiking trail, you will still see great views of Taipei City. Taipei City is surrounded by mountains (Taipei Basin as they say) so I have a lot of mountains to climb and this hiking experience will not be the last but just the start!
I went to Carrefour to buy some stuff and one of the things that I need is a broom and dustpan. I don't expext to find a "walis tambo" in Taiwan but I was just surprised that the broom and dustpan are in a set and you can even hang the synthetic broom to the handle of the dustpan. The handle of the broom is connected at an angle unlike our locally made "walis tambo" which is connected to the center. After my Carrefour shopping, I decided to have a haircut. Having a haircut in Taiwan is expensive, normally it cost NTD 200 to NTD 300. Being a barber or working in a parlor is a profession in Taiwan and that means they are well compensated as compared to the Philipppines wherein I just pay 40 pesos for my haircut. They say that the barber shop/parlor in Carrefour only charges NTD 100 for a haircut and I want to try it. The problem is that aside from haircut I also need to have my hair dyed. Most of my high school classmates knew of my hair turning gray. This happened during the end of my first year high school and it has been a problem for me ever since. I don't dye my hair during those times since I was still young and I am afraid my scalp might be damaged or affected because of the chemical used for dying the hair. I started dying my hair when I was hired as a faculty at UP Manila and everybody was just surprised when they first saw me with my all black hair and I just looked younger. haha! While I am still in the Philippines, I just go to my favorite barber shop once a month to have my haircut and I would just say "barbers". After that, my mother would just buy a cheap hair blackening shampoo and she will be the one to color my hair in hour home. The problem is I don't have my mother with me in Taiwan. The cost of dying my hair with black color cost NTD 700 in this parlor. It's expensive! I don't have any choice so I just say "Ok" so I can have my first Taiwanese parlor experience. Since I know that most people here in Taiwan don't speak English and I don't speak Chinese, I just decided to print a picture of a guy with a crew cut hairstyle with a Chinese and English translation so I can get the haircut that I want. Actually, I really dont' need to print something I can just act the movement of the scissor with my hand (just like "rock, paper, scissors"!) but I might be misunderstood and lost all of my hair! The mirrors in the barber shop serves as a cabinet wherein the customers can place their valuables. They also have a chair where you can sit and they will wash and shampoo you hair. The final step before leaving the barber shop is to use a blower to dry you hair after the hair washing. Paying NTD 800 every month may not be a good idea so I have think of a way to color my hair. My Filipino friend promised me that he will accompany me in looking for a hair blackening shampo in Watsons or Cosmed. People in the drugstore don't speak English so I need someone who can speak Chinese. I hope that I may find one so I'll just be the one to dye my hair and save NTD 700 every month. Nevertheless, it was a nice experience in getting a haircut in Taiwan!
I went to National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in the morning to submit my registration credentials. NTHU is not in Taipie, it is in Hsinchu and it is a province of Taiwan. After submitting my documents I went back to Taipei to find and buy the reference book for my Chinese Class I. I went to Taipei Main Station and started to walk to find Chongqing South Road because this is where the bookstore I am looking for is located. I opened my bag to look for my Taipei Metro Tourist Map but I couldn't find it. I just used my intuition in looking for that road. I just realized that I was already walking in front of the Presidential Palace and I knew I am lost in Taipei! I asked one tall guard in the gates of the Presidential Palace and I said "Chongqing" (the -qing is spelled as 'tsing' like matsing) and he just showed the the road I was walking was Chongqing South Road already. I walked back towards Taipei Main Station and I was able to find the bookstore. The book cost NTD 600 and I think it's worth the price. I could not find any ebook in the internet so I just decided to buy the book. Photocopying the book might be less efficient since photocopying one page cost NTD 1. In the afternoon I went to the Postal Bank to get my ATM card. My ATM card has a Visa logo and has number at the back. I thought it was sort of credit card or debit card so I blackened the numbers on the photo to protect my ATM. I think I can make online purchases with this card and even pay by just presenting the card at cashiers in malls and grocery stores. I can now effectively study for my Chinese Class I with my book and I can now have my Skype subscription with my ATM account.
I just received my first stipend as a TIGP fellow. I was supposed to received NTD 34,000 for the month of September, but since I have to pay two months advance and 1 month deposit for my stay in the TIGP dorm I was deducted NTD 16,500. I was deducted another NTD 5,000 for my installment payment of my tuition fee in Tsing Hua University. During the enrollment, I borrowed money from the TIGP Bioinformatics Program (TIGP Bioinformatics program is very helpful!) and I owe them NTD 16,098. The total stipend left in my pocket was NTD 12,500. It's still a lot of money but I still have to pay my credit fee in Tsing Hua by Oct. 25 so I have to budget my money again. I have also attended my first lab meeting with the NGS sequencing core of the Academia Sinica's Biodiversity Research Center (BRC) and I have also met Dr. Mei-yeh Lu. She is the Lab Manager of the Sequencing Core and I have a 30-minute interview with her before the lab meeting. She is a very busy person because while we are talking to each other she has to answer so many phone calls. Based from my interview with her, the BRC's sequencing core is also the official NGS sequencing core of Academia Sinica. They serve all the sequencing needs of all the Principal Investigators and researchers of Sinica but they don't have clients outside Sinica. She said that they don't want to compete with biotech companies in Taiwan as they will deprive them of income. I asked her if there was any market in Taiwan for genome sequencing and she replied that she does not have any idea since their primary aim is to service Sinica's research projects. I saw on her computer an excel file that is currently open and it was the price list for the sequencing service and I asked her how much do you charge people (I just remembered PGC's pricing problem). She replied that the cost would depend on how the sequencing core is supported, since Dr. Wen-Hsing Li has so many resources they are able to lower their price (My professor in the lab rotation, Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li is also affiliated with the BRC). I asked her if they have a LIMS and she replied that they don't have that tool but she would love to have that system in the NGS sequencing core. However, if they will have LIMS, their prices would increase and would not be any more cost-effective. It was already 3pm and we transferred to a conference room. The conference table was U-shaped and I was sitting at the back beside Dr. Lu. Members of the team presented the latest updates on their genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. I learned a lot but most of the time they speak in Chinese. I wish there were subtitles (I imagine these subtitles would just float in the air! haha!) so I can understand them but I can hear five Chinese words that I know the meaning and that means I'm learning their language. I'll just need to put some extra effort in learning their language. I have already met Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li and Dr. Mei-yeh Lu, the Bioinformatics Director and the NGS Sequencing Core Lab Manager, respectively. I have already accomplished my first task in my game plan in Taiwan and my drive for excellence is just starting!
After my Python programming class, I hurriedly went to the 2nd Floor of the Center of Academic Activities to find the First Conference Room and listen to the talk of Dr. Li. He is my professor in my lab rotation and he is the Bioinformatics Division Director of the Genomics Research Center. I can say that I am lucky that I am doing my rotation in his lab. Thanks to PGC, I have some experience in assembling a TB genome and other NGS data analysis and that was my "ticket" to work in his lab. I was nervous when I entered the conference room. I've never seen such a large conference room like this. I can just fell the pressure of hundreds of people sitting semi-circularly and paying attention to one person at the center. I'm sitting at the backmost row and I'm looking directly at my professor. Since I am doing my lab rotation under his supervision, I could pick him as my adviser for my PhD dissertation. The conference room was filled with TIGP students who are eager to listen to his experience in the USA as a PhD student. He made the right decisions in his life and that is the reason why he is successful and with many achievements in life. He even talked of some of his past PhD and PostDoc students that he mentored and that adds pressure to me. He presented a world map with markers pinpointing the different country of origin of his past students. If ever he will take me as his thesis student, I may become to be the first Filipino TIGP Bioinformatics student to be mentored by him and I will work hard to be successful like him.
