Splendor Taichung

After spending that past couple weekends traveling and being very busy. I took this weekend to relax and it was wonderful!

After a busy Friday at school I went out to dinner with some of the foreign teachers to celebrate a teacher's birthday. Though I was really tired and didn't really want to go, I was glad I went. We shared some good laughs and it was a good way to end a busy/stressful week. After a great dinner I was happy to get home ...

... is the equivalent to a dollar store in the states but everything is only $0.30! I love getting things for my classroom here. The kids love stickers and they usually have a pretty good supply at the store. Prizes for my prize bin are great too!

This past weekend we had a combined birthday party for all of the August birthdays. Two other teachers and myself have August birthdays so we figured instead of having 3 different celebrations we should just ...

... all ages ride on scooters. People will be holding a baby while riding on the back of a scooter. They also have little seats that younger kids can sit in that sits in between the drivers legs! Not much of a car seat!

3. I was walking home from school the other day and saw the strangest ladder. It looked like it was made of PVC pipe with black tape over it and the rungs on the ladder were connected with wire. All I can say is that I am glad I won't be ...

... a group of teachers went to see the new Harry Potter film. I enjoyed it even though I haven't seen all the movies yet. It was released here on Wednesday. It is fun going to movies because I feel like I am back home. The films are in English with Chinese subtitles and with the lights off I forget where I am....then I remember that I am one of the few Americans in the theater and that I am surrounded by Asians. But for that short while I do feel like I am home!

Friday ...

... just went from one flight directly to the other. I was able to get a little sleep on the plane so that was nice.

It was interesting to see how many people were wearing face masks when they traveled. Many of the workers at the Taiwan airport had them on as well. In Taiwan they even had a checkpoint where we walked by a camera that detected our body heat. If we looked "too hot" they pulled you aside and ...

... were largely unnoticed by those surrounding the party. I sat down and enjoyed the fireworks in the city street and reflected on the evening while a) holding my sparkler b) finishing a second round of grilled oysters c) washing it down with a cup of Oolong tea d) petting a dog that knows Chinese e) ...which was currently debating to urinate on my wheel of my moped I realized that, ya know what, I may just be adapting to this Chinese culture after all!

... I suddenly came to the conclusion that a) My camera was not in my backpack b) It is probably still in the cab c) The cab has not left the town yet Needless to say, I turned around just in time to see our cab driver turning the car around and revving the engine to go back to Taichung. Without looking, I ran into the street and held out my arm and yelled at the cab driver to stop. He smiled and waved as I quickly ran in front of the car so that he would have to ...

... middle and ending parts deal with the first two letters of my first name. The stamp does serve some importance other than as a cheesy tourist gimmick. It is my official Chinese signature whenever I need to sign important documents... or in some cases, letters to family and friends back home. One funny side note during our trip to the post office is that, while we were sitting and waiting for our turn to talk to the postmaster, I ...

... and found a school in Canada that had a somewhat decent earthquake drill for teachers to practice with their students. Apparently, you are supposed to do the following in the event of an earthquake at school: 1) Instruct all students to calmly get under their desks, crouch down, and put their hands behind their necks. 2) As a class, count to 60 as loud as you can. Counting allows ...

... me, my parents wrote letters, and even Vallary (our dog) wrote me a letter. Some of the gifts I received included my Mom's homemade cookies (which were such a treat considering you can't find cookies anywhere in this country that are not Oreo-ish), some Harley-Davidson stickers for my moped, a Kit-Kat Bar from Grandpa's candy bar tree, and some other items I had requested from home. It was such a great birthday present and really made me miss home ...