What Just Happened

I just went to the park near our house to do a little mountain hiking. After a bit of walking on some crazy cement/tree root stairs I ran into two older men sitting with their dog, resting. One was very friendly, and started to talk to me immediately. He quickly learned that I couldn't speak Chinese, but managed to invite me to hike the rest of the mountain with him. So we did, pointing on butterflies ("hu tie"), stopping to take pictures, and stopping so that he could rub his butt on a tree...this I have yet to figure out.

When we got to the top, there were several other (5) retired men and women who also quickly learned I didn't speak Chinese. I'm pretty sure they were asking me about my spots (freckles). I was able to communicate that I was American, a teacher, drove a scooter, was 22 (he guessed 30). One woman told me I had beautiful eyebrows.
Then my travel guide took me up a couple more steps to a small temple. He lit incense and gave me three. We prayed at each bowl, put incense in, and then prayed again. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but it was a really cool experience. High in the hills above Fengyuan, praying to a god that I don't know, the smell of incense wafting from the bowl that I placed it in, and interesting Chinese music floating up from the village below.
I finally communicated that I had to leave, and the man offered to walk me down (how could I say no?) So we hiked down, again stopping so he could rub his butt on a tree and to practice saying "butterfly" in Chinese. I saw a new bird, that the man, I think, wanted to throw something at. Although probably only so it would fly for me, I made it clear that throwing things was not an option.

Finally I got to the bottom, where I tried to buy jewelry but it was too expensive. The street vendor and another street vendor, I think, found me quite interesting. I asked if they would be back tomorrow, he said yes. Then the tour guide man showed up just in time to remind me to wear a helmet and that the fine for going without was 500 dollars. I waved goodbye, he yelled "Thank you!" for perhaps the hundredth time...this was the only English he knew. Overall an interesting start to the day. I pulled up to our apt. building just as Josh was getting home from work. We said hellos, he is off running, I will go do some work things, and then we will have lunch.
Wednesdays are great because I teach one class, at 6 pm, so I don't need to leave Fengyuan until 4:30 or so. Excellent excuse to go hiking. Hiking is an excuse in itself. I am quite happy.

Puzzle Promises

This is my beautiful puzzle. We worked on it a lot last week, but this weekend we didn't because we went adventuring! That post will be up by Monday night EST hopefully.

Fruit Flies Like Bananas

Today "ended" another week of school. I teach one class tomorrow from 10:30-12:20 and then Josh and I are going to Sun Moon Lake. It's late here because we went out tonight with some friends from work and sat around in a smokey bar listening to some very awful KTV (aka karaoke). I dropped my phone at work and the screen broke so now I have to drop another chunk of money on a new phone. The puzzle is coming along. There is really nothing else to report. I feel like my whole life is consumed by my job, so I can't really find the motivation to write even more about it here. Most of the kids are totally cool. Some of them are a bit crazy. I teach a lot of upper level classes in which the kids don't really want to participate so that's always a challenge. I think they are starting to like me. I am getting used to being greeted with "hello teacher." That's always nice. Nap time now, more to come after I get back.

I'm Still in Taiwan, Sucka (This Title was Josh's Idea)

This weekend we stayed home. Saturday we went to the mall and had Japanese for dinner. We took the newspaper and a chinese characters book, and studied, read, talked about the news, etc. So relaxing and wonderful. Sunday we worked on the puzzle, read more news out loud, discovered food from a nearby vendor, and worked on personal statements. We attempted to go to the clinic because I have been sick for over a week. The hospital was closed, so we bought some medicine, and I am feeling better. Last week I was seriously achey, had a fever and chills, and a cough that still won't quit.

Yesterday I had my "2 week" observation. It went as expected-some things were great and some things need to be polished, and some things need to be better. I am solid for the time I've been here, but ultimately, there is more I can do. I've been wound waaay too tight since being here. Always afraid of screwing up or being awkward. That is particularly why I love Josh-he's the only thing that, at points, I can be totally relaxed about. Mostly because he know's I'm awkward and got over it.

Sometime I'll write about what I do for school, although not too many details. If you are interested, e-mail me. News from "home" would be great!

Piece by Piece

Last Thursday, Josh and I celebrated 1 year of dating with dinner. After work (at 9:20), Josh picked me up and whisked me off to a restaurant that we found out was closed :0). So instead of the very fancy buffet at the top of a high rise, we went to little Europe and ate Mediterranean. I was really pleased with this change of plans, as I have been having a craving for baba ghanoush and ceasar salad for weeks. We ate tons of food for much less money, sat outside, and had a quiet corner where we could play a guessing game. Josh's gift giving plans were thwarted when he went to the store and found out it had been permanently closed. So I asked relentless questions until I was no closer to figuring out what my gift was. Saturday after work we went to a huge mall that also had a store that sold "el mystery." By the time we left the mall, I knew it was "sort of" made of paper, I couldn't wear it, it had nothing to do with music, it wasn't Asian, it wasn't a bird book or a guide book for trees, and it came with a promise. As we got on our scooter to come home so I could open it, I shouted "It's a PUZZLE! of something in Germany! and the promise is that we're going there!!"

It is a puzzle of a beautiful lake village in Austria, and as part of our trip back to the US, Josh has agreed to go to Germany :0). He bought me the lonely planet guide, relinquished control of our travel plans, and we are thinking Berlin and Munich, with a trip into the mountains. I have been working on the puzzle too much in the last few days, and it is nowhere close to being finished. It was the perfect gift, as it provided us something to do that wasn't grading homework and making fun of students, it was constructive; it was meaningful. You may think I am a dork, but I think he's adorable.

Little Liuchao

Another holiday here in Taiwan. On Saturday, the island celebrated Double Ten Day, the fist day of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911. The Uprising led to the end of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912. In 1949, at the end of the Chinese Civil War, the ROC government moved to Taiwan while the People's Republic established it's communist regime on the mainland. So, the celebrations were a little crazy.

To celebrate Double Ten (and by that I mean to take advantage of the day off from school), Josh and I went to Kaohsuing, which is in the south. Our one year anniversary is this coming Thursday, so this trip was our primary gift to each other. After watching our train pull away from the Fengyuan train station without us at noon, we caught the 1 o'clock train on Saturday and enjoyed a 3+ hour train ride through Taiwan. Our hotel was directly outside of the train station (so easy) so we dropped out things off and took a cab (I know, ritzy) to the port. Kaohsuing is the fourth or fifth largest port in the world, and my water and ship obsessed boyfriend and I walked the pier passed the fishermen, trying not to slip on seaweed and fall in. We watched the sunset from the pier, watching enormous tankers enter and exit the port, anchored out in the straights or emerging from the port after unloading or picking their goods. We watched as a few adventurous senior high Taiwanese boys (one wearing a pink polo shirt, the other a shirt that read "nip and tuck season 3" on the back) jumped down onto the cement monstrosities protecting the coast from the continual pounding of waves. Laughing as the tide came in, they made it back to their group of friends who had been taking cell phone pictures the whole time.
After we had sufficiently drank the sunset, we went to the Love River, a converted rags-to-riches river that has become the pride of Kaohsiung. Five years ago the river was a mess, but now it is lined with paths, trees, and street vendors. We took a 20 minute boat ride tour of the river, watching the neon of the city and the neon of the boat mix with the neon of the bridges and the echos of fireworks. Hungry and without food, we went to one of two restaurants we could find-Outback Steakhouse. We sat by the river after dinner and then watched movies until we fell asleep.
Sunday we had a traveling adventure. Four different bus stations finally got us a bus to the south, where we going to catch a ferry to Shaoliuchao Island. When we got to Donggong (the place with the ferry), I was famished...some of you know that kind of hunger in me means almost throwing up, so it was crucial we found a place with recognizable food (for me) and air conditioning (for el Joshua). Finally we did, and the noodles were delicious (although when the Tainese say juice they mean something like watered down Tang). THEN, to the ferry (which, had I not eaten, would have been BAD news) and to the island. We rented a scooter and got, as quickly as we could, away from the throngs of people. We had three hours before we needed to be on the last ferry that left the island. After stopping a few places to take pictures and breath fresh air (finally!), we found a little cove which people were leaving. For a few brief minutes, we had the cove to ourselves or shared it only with a couple or two. The water was warm and greenish blue and the waves were just perfect. The "sand" was broken coral and so interesting. Here I am, a white girl in a bikini, hoping to get just a little sun, and here are pretty asian girls, in long pants and and jackets over their head, hoping to stay as light as possible. Our cultural ideas of beauty are weird.
After swimming, we got back on our scooter and drove around the rest of the island. The whole thing was beautiful. Exquisite temples for what we estimated was every three people. The whole drive would take 30 minutes in one shot. Island navigation, as pointed out to me by the driver, is easy. Just keep the water on the left and stay as close to it as possible, and we'll get back to the boat. Indeed we did, with time to spare (12 minutes. Josh would call this too early. I call it three minutes late. We're working on our timing.)
The ferry ride back was crowded with scooters, but we got a spot along the edge and watched the sun set as we traveled back to the mainland. Upon our arrival, we were greeting by a parade (probably 10/10). Lit temple-types being pulled and pushed and connected to a generator, rocket fire works being lit at our feet on the streets, and groups in paint and costumes. Incredible celebrations on the streets. We caught the hour and half bus back to Kaohsiung, and then caught the 3.5 hour train back home. Hopped on our scooters at the train station with our bags balanced at our feet, and were home by midnight-thirty.
It was an adventure definitely. Josh likes the thrill of rushing to a train, etc. and I like the thrill of having everything planned in advance, so it is an interesting dynamic with the two of us. but ultimately traveling with him is wonderful because I'm allowed to like birds, or sit when I need to, or eat when my body gets angry, and once our schedule is figured out and I relax a little, we laugh and learn and explore and now I've been swimming in the Taiwan straights.

Up Before Dawn

Yep, we were up before dawn yesterday. Waaay before. We left the house a little after 5 and headed to Taichung. As Josh got ready for the race, I watched some hilarious warm-ups led by a 20+ woman with a microphone and followed by some scantily clad older runners. I am now an excellent counter to 8 in Chinese. The gun went off and I searched the 9000 runners for a bearded foreigner with no luck, and I spent the next hour on the scooter driving around Taipei trying to find a place where I could watch the race and/or the finish. I was having no luck until I would take off my helmet, the cops would see a hopeless foreigner, and let me go around the cones to the next cop who would do the same thing. Finally I got a few blocks away from the finish and walked there to watch Josh finish. With a final burst of speed (so fast that as I was running back to the finish line to get a picture, he passed two guys and signaled he was finished with a resounding grunt). He took 109th out of 2000 and I am very proud. We stayed to watch the Kenyans finish the marathon (insane) and we met a few expats.
Then home for a nap, to lunch (teppenyaki again!), flower buying and cloth shopping (our walls are two white), and then home to watch a movie. Josh's boss invited us to dinner last night. She lives on the top of a Mt. Washington-esque overlook of the city in a beautiful house. Dinner was chicken and mashed potatoes and vegetables and extra delicious. The perfect post-race meal for Josh and the perfect I-know-what-I'm-eating meal for me.
Overall a good and exhausting day that leads to Monday which is a work day. I didn't grade any homework or get any applications under way, but it was a great weekend.

The Week in Review

This week I spent in Taipei training. I met some wicked cool people and had lots of fun adventures. Learned much about my new job and about relationship building. Wednesday night we went to a night market, but it started to pour so we took shelter in an arcade and played games all night. Thursday night we sang KTV which is Karaoke in a private room with lots of food and drinks and friends. Took the train home Friday morning, taught two classes Friday night, and then crashed big time. Today Josh and I went to lunch at teppenyaki and then buying, but somehow ended up without the four most important things on the list (including contact solution and cheese).
Then home briefly and to the mountains outside of the city. In five minutes we were in the jungle. Somewhat frightening scooter ride to the top, pausing on the way to watch the sun set. Then home and to dinner. A slight detour on the way home because of hilariously incorrect t-shirts. I now own a shirt that says "recycle, reuge." This was the least of the problems. A good chuckle, a purchase of some actually cute t-shirts (50 NT each...the exchange rate is 1US:32NT) and to get the contact solution we couldn't find the first time around. Now it is off to sleep. Josh runs in a half-marathon tomorrow morning which starts at 6...which means up at 4...which is now less than 6 hours away. An exhausting day that will be surpassed by tomorrow.