Hung'S Mansion Hotel Taichung

... craze going on to a song called "Sorry Sorry" by Super Junior and a couple of us girls were on stage doing the "Sorry Sorry" dance! You can click on this link and you can watch the music video for the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDY1ng0S Xsk It is funny because all my students know the dance, even the little 3 yr. olds from school know it! Friday was a pretty late night so my Saturday turned into recovering from Friday night.
Taichung, Taiwan ashleysblog

... to be on a Sunday night. We got lined up at the volleyball court and we played a couple games against some Taiwanese high schoolers. We won our first 3 games and then lost our last 2. I had a lot of fun and it actually was a nice night. Normally it doesn't cool down much at night, it is just constantly HOT here. But tonight it cooled down and there was actually a cool breeze. I felt like sitting outside all night.

It has been a nice ...

... here!!

On Monday morning there was an earthquake felt throughout Taiwan. I was at school when it was felt but I didn't feel it. There were some teachers that were able to feel it. This was the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan this year. It had a 6.5 magnitude but in Taichung County it only registered as a 3.0. There was no immediate injuries or damage from the quake. Also there is a new tropical storm that has developed in the Pacific. As of ...

The days seem to just fly by. I can't believe that this week is almost over already. It has been a busy one. I was able to get out and see some more of Taichung.

In my last blog I forgot to write about my first Costco experience. Yes they have a Costco here! It is going to be a life saver this year I am pretty sure! :) We went on a week day and it was pretty crowded. There were lines to get the food samples. I guess on the weekends there are crazy long lines to get the ...

... a little while until we came to a waterfall with some cliffs that you can jump off. The cliff was pretty high but I figured I made the trip out there I might as well jump....so I did! It was a lot higher than I thought and I was hanging in the air a lot longer than I thought I would. I had a nice entry into the water, preventing a sore butt from landing wrong on the water like one of the girls. We did some swimming and exploring. Somehow I managed to slip on one of the rocks ...

... located in a glamorous six story building made for the rich and not the meat vendors, seemed like a perfect spot with only a two minute walk from our apartment. We purchased the internet card which would give us unlimited usage for a month for only sixteen dollars, bought a cup of tea, and found a cozy spot in the familiar coffee shop. Everything was the same. The same Starbucks cup, the same ...

... dampened the plans of many families to celebrate the Chinese holiday. Our staff was even invited to the home of our school's founder, Bih Huah, for a barbeque that had to be postponed to a later date. However, despite the rain, it has not stopped people from firing their fireworks. It is kind of odd to look out my window and see nothing but rain with the occasional firework going off in the distance. Only in Taiwan!

... place at the top of the tower (basically refusing to let go of the deck), the guide began to kick her and push her off the edge as she wailed and cried screams of terror. We all sort of looked at each other like, "should we do something?" Thankfully Bella made it down and had no animosity toward the guide for doing such a thing. I have a hard time believing that I would have acted so peacefully at the end. Finally came the zipline This exercise ...

... time. After watching a television show on the Discovery Channel the night before about a man who goes all over the world tasting weird and exotic foods, I stopped and ordered a snack for all of us on our way out of the town's market: grilled squid-on-a-stick. As expected, my offer was greeted with "ewes" and "I'm not eating that." However, all of us meat-eating teachers gave it a try and survived. It was very chewy and tasted like a soft sea-food version of beef jerky ...

My field trip expertise was called upon once again, as we were asked to chaperone two field trips this week. One involved taking the kids on a bike-hike across Taichung, while the other took us to a local museum and a trip to a farm. Tuesday's bike hike was a great time. We piled about 40 1st-5th graders into two vans and went across town to a bike shop, where all of them were provided with a bike for the afternoon and the Taichung Bike ...