Chapter 26

Monday, December 14th

It was old Jimmy’s birthday today…he just turned six year’s old. I can’t believe it. I always think he is so much older because of how well he speaks. He’s been in SPE’s for a bit longer than the other students, so he knows a lot more than everyone else. Well, because he was the birthday boy, I decided to take his class on a little fieldtrip—we went to 7-11. The kids were so excited! They all decided to get bubble gum; I guess that’s a real treat because they don’t get it very often. Oh Jimmy, he is just so cute (his new nick name: JIMBO…he can wiggle his little Dumbo ears, adorable; thus the name, Jimbo)—I just love both Jimmy’s….I want to stuff them in my suitcases and bring them home to America.

Tuesday, December 15th

I started doing something new with my SPE students. As they line up at the door before class, I have the first person in line make sure everyone is folding their arms, and being a ‘super student’ before they can go in and sit down. It’s been working quite well—the kids are behaving great. They always want to line up first, so they can act like ‘teacher.’ Well, Mimi was first in line the other day. I bent down toward her and said, “Mimi, is everyone folding their arms and ready for class?” She turned around, looked at everyone, and made sure they were behaving themselves….everyone seemed ready. Her response, “No, everyone is NOT ready.” “Who’s not ready?” I asked, a little confused, thinking she may have misunderstood me….everyone looked ready to me. Then she said, “Teacher, you are not folding your arms!” Haha, I guess I should practice what I preach. Oh the children…also, now that I’ve started giving out warnings to the children (3 strikes and you’re out…to time-out), the kids now give me warnings if I do something wrong. They keep me in check.

Wednesday, December 16th

Tim has been a bit difficult to teach lately. I mean, the boy is brilliant….seriously, Tabbi and I have a hard time stumping him with anything. He knows his stuff, and he can read too! We just don’t know where he’s learned it all. Well, although he’s Mr. Smarty Pants, he sucks it up during gym time. He’s not very athletic compared to the other children. Every time we have relay races he complains, because Candy is too fast—gym is the one thing he can’t ‘WIN’ per say. Because he gets so frustrated, he doesn’t always get as many points as the other students, but like I said, he’s smart….so today he tried to make a deal with me, “Teacher, if you give me more points, I’ll give you some of my crackers.” Haha, instead of giving him more points, I countered his offer and let him be the teacher in kitchen instead. It was great. He sat in the ‘teacher’s’ seat, gave out instructions and asked all the kids questions. Because he was the teacher, I acted as the student….he called me ‘Student TEACHER Tanier’….so cute.

Thursday, December 17th

The 12 days of Christmas….this whole week, New Jimmy (keep in mind, he’s seven-year’s-old) has been handing out little gifts to the teachers, just random nic-nac’s that he’s managed to find—you know, the kinds of things you find in between your couch cushions….shirt pins, safety pins, pogs, patches, keychains, candy, etc. etc. He even brought a special gift for his NEW girlfriend, Flora. Yup, they’re dating. Jimmy and Mimi are no longer an item…well, according to our source (Secretary Emily), Mimi never really liked Jimmy, so Jimmy decided to move on to the next best thing…haha. Flora is in a different class, so I’m not sure how their relationship is blossoming, but he brought her a flower today. My little lover boy has a new girlfriend—I can’t believe it!

Friday, December 18th

MY BEST FRIEND and COUSIN is home from her mission! I was in Alabama when she left, and now I’m in Taiwan when she’s getting home. By the time I see her again, we’ll be just a few months shy of a two year reunion. I LOVE YOU KEESH!

Frank (Martin and JoAnna’s Dad) picked me up after work tonight. The Ko’s promised me one last dinner with them before I left, so tonight was the night. I told them I wanted Helen (mama Ko) to teach me how to make dumplings, so that’s what we did. When I arrived at their home, the kids were still at cram school. Helen had all the materials prepared for our dumpling night; we just had to put them together. She’s a great teacher. Frank told me it was Ladies hour, so I washed my hands and got to work, while he took pictures for us. I had a great time preparing dinner. We had dumplings, rolls, pork, fruit, cashews, peanuts, soup, and…..are you ready for it….CHICKEN FEET! Yes, chicken feet…Frank brought the feet to the table, started gnawing on a toe, and asked me whether I’d like to try one or not. As much as I was grossed out, I can’t ever back down from a challenge. I know Frank was just being funny and testing me to see whether I’d really eat the chewy, boney little feet…I couldn’t give him justice by shying away, so I manned up and ate one foot! I told Martin if he’d eat one, I’d eat one, sure enough, he ate one….so I dug on in. I would never buy the feet on my own, but it wasn’t all that bad.

After dinner we sat around chatting. Martin played the guitar for us and Frank kept trying to talk me into getting my MBA at Taiwan’s University. Haha. As we were chatting, I realized how much I’m going to miss this family. They have been so good to me. They are always bringing me yummy treats (I got another papaya just last week), and they’ve helped me with so many things. It’s unreal how fast time is winding down. I’m going to miss my kids. I love them. I’ve felt a little disconnected lately because I’ve been preoccupied with plans for my traveling in January, but this week, as I realize I’m going to leave soon, I’ve relaxed a lot and just had fun with the kids….I wonder sometimes whether I would have stayed for a year if I wasn’t going on this trip throughout Asia in a few weeks….the answer….it would definitely be a tough call.

Saturday, December 19th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I have the best mom ever. She is the greatest, and I love her so much! She has supported me 100 percent—with everything I do. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s such a babe and I’m glad we’re BEST FRIENDS! I LOVE YOU MOM!

I feel as though I’ve traveled all throughout Taiwan, but there was still one place I hadn’t been, and really wanted to go: Taroko Gorge. It’s near Hualien, on the East Side, so it’s a bit of a trek to get there, and a little expensive, but what the heck….when am I going to be in Taiwan again. Me, Hanna, Sarah, and Emily all decided to go. Emily is great. She’s our tour guide—she got us our train tickets, hostel….basically everything. I can definitely trust her with anything, she’s the best!

To maximize our time in Hualien, we left early on Saturday morning…Emily came to pick me up at 5:50 am for our 6:12 train…SO EARLY…the sun wasn’t even up yet. The trains are nice, but so uncomfortable. We had about a five hour train ride, and us girls were freezing the whole time. We tried to sleep on the train, but because it was FREEZING, we had a hard time. Hanna and I brought our neck pillows, so at least we had some comfort.

After arriving in Hualien, our hostel met us at the train station. They took us to the place and we checked into our room…Yeah, we were ready to tour the town…just then, the owner of the hostel came to our door. She said a better room was available for us whether we wanted it, but it wasn’t in the same building, it was about a one-minute scooter ride away. So, we packed back up, rented some scoots, and went to our new place. It was more of a home stay. We had the whole place to ourselves….it was so nice. Our room had two double beds with canopies—I’ve always wanted a canopy bed! Oh my gosh, the beds were so soft too…a little taste of home…fabulous. We were in heaven.

After dropping our bags, we went to lunch at a great little dumpling shop nearby; then Emily had us up and at ‘em for our tour around Hualien. We didn’t exactly know where we were going in Hualien, so we got lost along the way, but it was fun!

Hualien Day One:

First Stop: Japenese Art Museum. We went to this old Japanese building that has now been turned into an art museum. We had fun taking pictures and enjoying the coastal view surrounding us, but it was freezing. A cold front decided to come through. We found a little café at the Museum and bought some hot chocolate…most expensive hot coco I’ve ever had, US$3….I couldn’t believe it, but at the time, I’d do anything for warmth.

Second Stop: Beach, fish museum, and winery. Emily found out about this cool place where you can watch the sunrise, so we wanted to find it the day before, just in case we were to get lost. It was right near the beach….again, beautiful as always, but freezing! We then headed to a fish museum (weird)…the museum was about catching fish and eating them…not necessarily about all the beautiful fish in the sea. After that, we hit up the winery for who knows what for…but it was fun exploring!

Third Stop: Night Market. We went to about three different night markets trying to find some yummy food, but nothing was working out for us. We finally found a ‘famous’ place at our last night market: stuffed French toast. Stuffed French toast sounds yummy right, how about French toast stuffed with some sweet and sour chicken? Peppered beef? Seafood salad? …interesting, yeah? Well, Hanna and Em went with the French toast. I tried it, and liked it, but I was feeling a tuna crepe instead. Em also got some chicken blood and squid, which I tried….tasty!

Fourth Stop: Home. Because we were freezing, and it had started to rain, we decided to go back to our hostel where we could get warm. We got ready for bed and turned on a movie, Stardust. Just when the movie began, our canopy beds started shaking, then the door started rattling, the lights were swinging…..EARTHQUAKE! I looked at Hanna…Hanna looked at me. We just sat there trying to decide whether the quake was going to get worse or quickly die out….It just kept going. I jumped up out of my bed and told all the girls to get in a door frame or find a corner. Just then, Emily came screaming out of the bathroom, “EARTHQUAKE, EARTHQUAKE…” I just kept saying, “It’s ok, it’s ok.” At last, the quake ended….probably the longest 45 seconds ever! Hanna was just laughing…she wanted to stay in bed. It was crazy, but kind of fun too! We were all laughing. Luckily, we were only on the second story of our hostel. We turned on the news right after the quake….’Breaking News’ headlines were flashing across the screen. The epicenter of the quake was right in Hualien, where we were….it was a 6.8 on the Richter scale! That’s pretty darn big—luckily no one was hurt and there was no ‘real’ damage. Em tried to call her mom, but the phones were down…once she got through to her mom, all her mom could mutter was, “scooter, scooter!” making sure we weren’t out driving when the quake hit. We were blessed!

Sunday, December 20th

Day Two:

First Stop: Our hostel ran out of hot water, so we got free coupons for breakfast. We got up early, around 7:30 am, and went to breakfast before heading out to Taroko Gorge. Before leaving our hostel, we put on about every item of clothing we had brought for the trip…IT WAS STILL FREEZING. I wore my pajama pants underneath my regular pants. I had on about three shirts, a light jacket, and a raincoat. I was still cold.

Second Stop: Taroko Gorge—The Grand Canyon of Taiwan. We rode our scooters to the gorge, and then through the gorge; it was about an hour drive. We covered ourselves up in scarves, hats, and gloves, trying to stay warm, but somehow, the cold still got to us. When we arrived at Taroko, we took a ton of pictures. The gorge is huge and beautiful! We marked out some of the must-sees, but come to find out, most of them were closed because of the earthquake…rocks and debris had fallen to the ground all around us—it was crazy! We still had a fun time though. I drove the scooter and Emily took the pictures…at one point, Em was yelling, “SLOWER, SLOWER!” I guess I’m a bit more reckless than she’d like me to be. I mean, my driver’s ed instructor, Mr. Hiatt, did tell me I have a lead foot.

The girls and I enjoyed our time at Taroko Gorge. The large marble canyons were amazing; even though it was freezing, the trip was still worth it. After touring around the gorge, we drove back to Hualien, ate at the same dumpling shop, and then hopped on our train home. What another fun weekend trip….I’m so glad Emily could come with us, seeing as this was our LAST weekend trip in Taiwan!