the mundane

I am busy. I have not posted the adventures of the last two weeks because I feel guilty when I write this instead of grad school applications. Here's the short of it, which will probably be very long. I will try to write more later.

The personal first: I am busy. I'm probably not that busy; I don't know if I am even working forty hours a week, but I have a bit of a commute, and it seems like I am always working. I grade homework in the mornings, go to work about 3, plan lessons untl 4:50, teach 2, 2 hour classes, stay for an hour and a half grade homework and organize my head. I get home about 11, when Josh and I waste time doing cross word puzzles and playing Uno. Buying a deck of Uno cards has been excellent for our relationship - a little strategy, a little sitting around, face to face time talking, and some laughing when we get royally whomped. I taught the word whomp to my kids the other.

On Friday we had a halloween party and we took the kids trick-or-treating. They were adorable and it was lots of (unpaid) fun. I was a pirate and I think I earned some major points because I was the only native-speaking teacher in costume.

Grad school applications are due soon, but I still don't know what I am doing. I am waiting for some responses, I have to send some more. I am feeling quite behind. I've had some dissapointing conversations: I want a degree in policy, not in a specific discipline. Most of the time these students are a bit older because it takes them a while to realize that the disciplines need to work together (this I was told by the director of a program). This means that many programs require a masters: goodbye Yale, Harvard, Michigan, etc. The good news; I have been talking to a prof at the University of Washington since August, and he told me last week to apply and he would make sure to tell the committee to take me. Guraunteed funding for three years (no debt!) and then we would work together to fund my PhD writing. Anyway, I was really excited to be applying to the best schools in the country-for someone who is continually not good enough for herself, it was exciting to think I might maybe perhaps be good enough for an excellent program. But alas I am not because I can't afford to get my masters first.
Josh did not understand why I was so upset about the Masters requirement until he realized that a PhD IS PAID FOR...and saves me two years of schooling in the long run. I want to work at a university- a masters is insufficient.

Okay, so the school thing is happening maybe. I hope to have some more finished by the end of this week.

I'll write the adventures in another post. Just thought it would be good to say what I'm actually doing here, other than getting purposefully lost in the mountains!

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.