Morakot Relief

EDIT: Michael Turton and Forumosa have information on donating locally.

We had it easy up here in Nankan, but down South there was terrible devastation: The death count is in the hundreds, and thousands of people are trapped in rural areas without supplies. Hundreds of people have lost their homes.

If you're moved to do so, this is what I've found about giving:

The Tapei Economic and Cultural Office (Taiwan's equivalent of an embassy) in Los Angeles has set up a fund:

1.For checks

Please make check payable to: TECOLA 88

Send check to:TECOLA 88 3731 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700,Los Angeles, CA 90010

2.For wiring

Receiving Bank: Mega International Commercial Bank, Los Angeles Branch
ABA No.: 122040922
Address: 445 S. Figueroa St., Suite 1900,Los Angeles, CA 90071
Swift Code: ICBCUS6L
Beneficiary Account No.: 1004564
Beneficiary Account Name: TECOLA88

World Vision is also raising funds.

I'm still scratching around trying to figure out where to donate locally here in Taiwan. So if you read my blog and you live here - let me know!!

Morakot Watch Pt. 2

We woke up this morning to drizzly and patches of blue sky, not exactly storm-of-the-century weather here in Nankan. However, some areas of Taiwan got up to 2 meters of water and several people died. So we weren't about to embark on any major Saturday adventures either.

Instead we drove to the mall to watch Bruno. There were a few really funny jokes, but I thought for the most part it was gross-out and lame. Then I came home and watched the entire season of MTV's 16 and pregnant. Shameless, I know.

I have got to get out tomorrow.

Morakot Watch

James made spaghetti for dinner and we opened a bottle of Yellow Tail cabernet. Then we plugged his laptop into our new TV (thanks, James' parents!!) and rocked out to Spoon and The National. I found if you sing loud enough you can't hear the wind scream.

It's getting on around 11 p.m. now. We're watching Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which is miserably self-referential and boring. But I'm happy we haven't lost power, or yet at least.

I keep checking the news, but I'm not sure whether Morakot has landed yet or not. Some news sites are saying it could last into tomorrow. So stay safe everybody.

When is it over?

The wind is supposed to die down this afternoon and the rain - I'm not sure about the rain. But as soon as we can venture outside with the assurance we wont be hit in the face by flying trash, I plan on scooting out of this apartment.

Weather permitting, James and I are going to meet an Australian journalist who works for the Japan Times this afternoon. James might do translation work for him, and I plan on aggressively needling him on future job opportunities.

That aside, I'm still setting up interviews on the English school circuit. There are plenty of school looking for teachers, but it's hard to say how legitimate they are without physically traveling there and interviewing. Thinking about all the interviews I have to do really just makes me want to take a nap.

"Now you know what typhoon is"

It's still raining sideways, only harder now. The windows are rattling, and water is streaming down the facade. The lights just flickered, followed by a loud buzz.

Tina: "What is that?"

James: "Probably the generator switching on."

Tina: "Oh you know what we need do ... Get some water."

She proceeds to the kitchen to fill buckets.

Tina: "If you need to shower you need to do it right now."

James, you best not be thinking you're going to get away without showering today, I think to myself.

This is how James wards off typhoon boredom, he reorganizes his DVDs. Unfortunately his doing so only increases my hankering to impale myself on an eating utensil.

Typhoon Top Ten

It's raining sideways. Everything is closed. Here are my plans to entertain myself so I don't attempt seppuku with a chopstick while we're stuck inside.

1. Attempt to set up voicemail on my cellphone sans English-language user manual.
2. Finish reading The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh.
3. Watch Best of the Chris Rock Show.
4. Bust out my "Chinese in 500 words book" in the hopes of one day being able to order my own intestine soup.
5. Eat my fishballs for lunch, pretend they're double cheeseburgers.
6. Stream sad country songs while I rub menthol on my heat rash.
7. Write a bitter and boastful ballad about how I picked the right time not to be job hunting back home.
8. Think of ways to accidentally on purpose break James' synthesizer.
9. Sneak down to the 7-11 downstairs and buy some plum wine and not share it.
10. Convince James to let me french braid his leg hair.

Thar She Blows

Oh man, after a lifelong fascination with the ocean, this is the first time I've been able to use that phrase in earnest. Typhoon Jangmi (which is supposed to be big but I don't know anything about weather measurements so you should really just read about it at Bloomberg) is expected to pass through Taiwan and then on to eastern China.

It's sort of scary and exciting, witnessing my first typhoon. Exciting because I will hopefully get to watch TV all day tomorrow, which will be a welcome break from all the pavement beating we've been doing in this tortuous humidity. Scary because I will likely be stuck inside this apartment with my boyfriend and his mom for a 24-hour stretch. Pray for me.