Howard Prince Taichung

... train for a race :) We finished in under 45 minutes. It was a good morning! I then came home and slept all day. That is way too early to be waking up!

One last note, there was another earthquake here in Taiwan. It was just Southwest of where I was last weekend. It could be felt here in Taichung. It was at about 2AM so I was sleeping and didn't feel it but many of the other teachers felt it. We are also waiting to see if either of the 2 typhoons that are in the Pacific ...

... that trail. Along the way we some some big bugs! I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen. It was as big as my fist!! GROSS!! We also saw a worn that had to have been almost a foot long!! After the first part of our hike we decided to grab a little bit of food. We found a little cafe' but they didn't have an English menu. One of the teachers on the trip decided to be adventurous and pointed to an item under one of the few English titles that said ...

... nicer to her. She just had little gifts hidden around her room. It has been a lot of fun to have them both back!

On Saturday the roommates all had breakfast together. We made French toast and hash browns! YUMMY! Then on Saturday night we had one last farewell party for one of the teachers. We went out to a bar called PJ's were she was going to be singing later. It was a beautiful night, though it was hot there was a constant breeze blowing through. It was interesting to ...

... these sounds were almost like that white noise machine for me now, as I had adapted well I thought. The newest noise was not one I was familiar with. One that could bring upon sudden flashbacks of a wartime urgency, sound waves imbedded into Baghdad’s buildings, a sound that would send a beach lover looming into the hills, a winding siren. Yes, that is right, an old style, hand cranked, winding, Tsunami coming, siren. I ...

... bar that many foreigners go to and then we went to Pig Pen, a dance club. There was a cover band there called the Hot Shots. They played all popular pop/hip-hop music from the states but with an Asian accent. It was really funny! It was a lot of fun to get a glimpse into what the night life is like here.

I also was able to go to the opening night of Transformers here. It opened a couple days later here than in the states. Many of the shows were sold out here. There is just as ...

... with a family in a local village and experience some of the culture that is not found in the big cities or the beaches. The tour is not booked yet, but is looking like a very strong possibility. We will then be returning to Taipei on February 7. There was a slight problem when I purchased my tickets with my credit union back home in Racine. There was concern about a large ...

... and very surprised to see my favorite team here on the opposite side of the world. They could've shown a Michigan football game. They could have easily had the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Ohio State Buckeyes. Nope, rather, they elected to go with the Wisconsin Badgers! It definitely made me feel great and I watched the rest of the fourth quarter before I headed to school. A little piece of home right here in Taiwan.

... given to men. Additionally, I noticed that most Taiwanese, whether you were an adult or a very young child, had a camera and was constantly taking pictures. You could not go anywhere without spotting someone posing for a photograph. Some sat in small patches of flowers, some stood next to the pond, while others even took time to ask the American tourists to join them in the photograph. It was definitely a fun experience. On our way ...

... my roommates, entered the apartment all bent out of shape. He had left for school early in hopes of getting some work done before the day began. However, he came in and stated, "There is no way I am going to school today. The water out there in the streets is up to my ankles. I took three different routes to school and all of them are flooded out." He was obviously rather upset to the ...

... summer enrichment program at Union Grove Elementary. I was in charge of watching over 3-4 youngsters on such epic field trips that included the Milwaukee Public Museum, Discovery World, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and even the Shedd Aquarium. It is an area of the teaching profession that I am very qualified in, and I took full advantage of the chaperoning requirement of the Summer Camp. The first field trip of the summer involved a "Field Day" at the ...