Last night I spent an hour or so with a very kind cable/internet installer -who spoke not a lick of English- and my associate from the office (mentioned previously on my blog), Emmy.
I have not necessarily been missing cable TV (maybe just one or two shows in particular...) but I have been using the internet on a regular basis (clearly) and had finally scheduled to have both installed at my apartment. If you want high speed internet, it is provided by the cable company, so they are a packaged deal. Up to this point, I have been using free wireless internet when available - and going without when it is unavailable : /
So, for +/- $36 US per month, I am now connected to the fastest cable internet service that Taipei has to offer... yay! [I'm sure all of my loyal followers are relieved to hear this ;) ] My speed has changed from a range of 0Mbps to 48Mbps at it's best moments previously... to now 100Mbps running steady. I also now have somewhere shy of 100 cable television channels including +/- 10 channels that air consistently in English, including HBO - I think the cable package sets me back about $17 US per month. I knew that the cost of living would be lower here before I came, but sometimes I am still shocked and awed by the affordability of everyday conveniences like this! The price definitely beats what hubby has to pay for the same services in Texas...
That being said, there is one additional bonus to having cable television in my apartment - and no, it is not catching up on Grey's Anatomy, or whatever other shows are all the rage back in Texas this season! (they don't air here) - the bonus is that now I can watch Chinese TV. Even though, it does seem a bit daunting to me, one of my coworkers mentioned that he originally began learning English by watching English cartoons in the morning... he suggested that I might do the same with Chinese cartoons to start listening to and being able to recognize some basic language. I agree! *Here's hoping that I learn something!*
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