Del Monte Beach (06/24/2006)

Saturday. There's nothing we can do about the house on Saturday. So Vanessa and I decided to go for a stroll along Del Monte Avenue. We wanted to enjoy a day of being tourists.
We took a little walk along the road. Trees were standing along the road. The sunshine was a bit harsh to our eyes, but the weather was fine and comfortable. As we walked along the road, we saw kids, parents, grand parents gathering together, enjoying their family time. It was different from the life style in Taiwan. Family time is like part of their life. It was not surprised to see people riding bicycle, jogging, and taking a stroll as we did. Monterey is definitely an easy-going place.

After 20 minutes walk, a beach lying in front of us. Beautiful sky, blue sea, breeze, what anyone could expect more if there's such a view in front of you. We saw people coming back from the sea after their scuba diving. It was kind of cool. Some poeple were playing volleyball. A stranger rode a bicycle saying, "Give me five." So I did. And do you know why lots of foreigners do not have the problem of car sick? See the following next two pictures, and you know the answer. We took some pictures, and it felt good to be a tourist. I love to be a tourist. Why not? Just feel what I feel, do what I want to do.

I guess it may be a little bit boring to spend my two years here. But it should be a lot of fun taking a look at all the scenes and enjoying the greeting from strangers.

The First Day at Monterey (06/23/2006 US)

This is a small town with beautiful and extraordinary views. Mountains, lakes, sea, you can see them all right here in this small town. What you can expect from this small place is friendly smile and greetings from people you don't know. A "hi" from strangers maybe queer in Taiwan, but it is not unusual to hear the word coming out.
Perhpas it was because of the jet lag, I woke up early. Fortunately, I didn't feel that tired as I thought I might be.
Vanessa and I decided to go to downtown to see if we can find the place for us to stay for the next coming year. Of course, we did make a survey on the Internet. Nothing useful came out, though. But we felt that going to downtown to take a look was definitely necessary for newcomers like us. We looked for information of buses to downtown Monterey. We thought the place we stayed was far away from bus stop, but it was really close and convenient. It didn't take us much time to walk to the bus stop, and the bus came within five minutes. As we were trying to make sure if that was the right place to take a bus, a man came over and told us the bus should come here within five minutes. Few minutes later, he asked us if we had any change. He didn't check if he had enough change for the ticket. Without second thought, we searched for change in our purse. Vanessa gave him $20 change. But a bad hunch caught her. Why did he have no change for bus fare if he knew he was going to take a bus? It was not that unusual to me, but Vanessa felt a bit odd about this. So we decided to go to the bank, just to make sure if the bill was genuine. Luckily, it was. I don't think we were too worried. One can never be too cautious when he is a total stanger of the place.
With a map in hand, we looked around place for rent. We went to agents, but nothing worked out for us. They had nothing furnished, cheap enough, and at great location. After searching for an afternoon, we had a clearer picture of the town. It's rather small. Though we did not find anything, but at least we were able to take a really close look at the town. That's one benefit, I guess.

Heading to US (06/22/2006 TW)

This is my first time going to US, my very first time. Will I miss my family and friends in Taiwan? Of course. Yet, excitement overhelms me. Not much sadness comes over me before the trip.
I was lucky having Vanessa travel with me throughout the trip and for the next coming year. We planned everything together. Things were a lot easier with her. But I have to confess. I was lazy. I got my second luggage two days before the flight. You can easily imagine how I "took my time" preparing everything. On the very last day in Taiwan, I stayed up to get my all the stuff done. I didn't not go to bed until 3:00 AM, and I had to get up at around 5:00 AM since I had to arrive at the CKS Airport two hours before the boarding time.
As it was scheduled, I got up at around 5:00, feeling sleepy, of course. Somehow I even felt a bit dizziness because of the not enough sleep. I secretly prayed that it wouldn't be a difficult trip. My parents took me to the airport. Vanessa and her parents few minutes after we arrived at the airport at 6:45 P.M. We, then, lined up for check-in. Not many people was in the line. Before getting to the airport, we had physically and mentally prepared that we would be fined for our overweight luggages. One of my luggages was a bit over 32 KG, and the other one was under 32KG. Both of Vanessa's luggages were over 32 KG. Luckily, the lady who helped us to check-in gave us a break. We were fined $25 dollars for each overweight luggage. Later, I got my membership of UA.
My parents, Vanessa's parents, Vanessa and I stood in front of the gate talked for a while. At this moment, not much sadness came over me. After we went through the gate, I finally realized, "Okay, this is it. I have to rely on myself for the coming two years." Frighteness? A little. Maybe it is the expectation from my parents and myself that gave me the pressure.
Duty free shops was our first priority when we were at the aiport. But both of us didn't buy anything. Should I say that's a pity? Ha! Honestly, the price in duty free shops was not as cheap as we expected it would be. So the big-shopping plan was suspended. We expected something cheaper at the international airport at Nagoya.
Boarding time. Yes. It's the moment. Vanessa and I finally got on the airplane, UA 830, carrying us and our dreams and future.
The flight was okay. I took some sleep and Vanessa did, too. The meal was better than we expected. The service? Well, it really depends. I wouldn't say the service was bad. However, compare with other Asian airlines, it was not that "customers are always everything." But it was good enough for me. I got everything I needed.
Few hours after taking off, we arrived at the international airport of Nagoya. What could women do when they have some extra time at the airport? Shopping, shopping and shopping. So we went to the duty free shops again. It was not so temptating as we wanted it to be. Not even single bill was gone for anything, for me. That was some kind of achievement, wasn't it?
The second part of the flight was about ten hours, I'm not sure. It was not that tired, perhaps because of the repeated movies and because of the companion from Vanessa. We didn't do much except sleeping, watching movies, having little chat, going to the ladies room, and, most important of all, eating. Drinks, meals kept served. I felt I was a pig to be fed. At least, that made the trip easier.
After few hours of flight, we finally arrived at San Francisco. It took us a lot of effort to get our baggages. Putting them on the carter and on the carousel, back and forth, that was killing us. We became superwomen after the training. Vincent, Vanessa's friend, picked us at the SFO. He even prepared a poster with our name on it. =___=" But he is really a nice person. He took us around, providing as much assistance as he could. We had our lunch in the city that Vincent used to stay. He helped us to open our account and took us to do geocery shopping. He was really a good helper.
This is my trip to Monterey. What will my days be at Monterey? I don't know. But I'm sure it would be quite an advanture.