Monday, October 9th
You know, living thousands of miles away from home, away from face-to-face interaction, with those people who are closest to you, makes a person become somewhat dependent on alternate forms of communication. My roomies and I were discussing the fact that we are continuously wondering where the time goes…oh there’s never enough time, is there….well, we found the culprit…say hello to Mr. Computer, mainly google chat, skype, and of course, Facebook. We made a vow as of lunch today that none of us will check Facebook for one FULL week. If we cheat, we owe each roommate $2.00—cheap bet huh! Well, we’ll see how we do. Although we don’t feel as though we spend outrageous amounts of time on Facebook, it has become a constant time-filler in our lives.
Jimmy and Scott just get cuter everyday. Their new thing is waiting on me hand and foot, literally. Before entering the gym to play games, each child must politely ask to take off their shoes. Upon doing so, they take their shoes to the shoe rack where they are gently placed. Me on the other hand, I just slip my shoes off next to the door, leaving them at the entrance. Jimmy will have none of this. Today he stopped class to open the gym door and neatly place my shoes on the shoe rack with the others. It wasn’t until he came back into the gym that we could begin to play. Scott is also funny. I am always carrying around a bottle of water; today, Scott came up to me, grabbed my water and set it in the cupboard with all my other things. He then proceeded to close the cupboard door, making sure my water and other things were safe. Again, it wasn’t until he was finished that we could start playing. I can see these acts becoming another one of their daily rituals. Oh these boys.
Wait, there’s more…So, I reward my children using the point system. When they’re good, I give them points. When they get points, they get a prize…easy, right! Each day I write the kids’ names on the board and very cheesy-like, I say, “Who’s in Teacher Tanier’s class?” They reply, “Jimmy’s in Teacher Tanier’s class.” The kids also like to mention me, Teacher Tanier—“Teacher Tanier’s in Teacher Tanier’s class.” To be visual, I always mark points by their names. After the usual routine this afternoon, Scott and Jimmy ran up to me, they grabbed the marker out of my hand, and wrote one trillion points next to my name! They kept writing zero after zero after zero. Like I said, it’s a reward system…excuse my lack of humility, but I hope that means I’m a good teacher!!!
Tuesday, November 10th
Now that I don’t teach much on Tuesdays, I’m lacking in the ‘funny story’ area—not much here today.
When I walked out of my apartment this morning, I strolled over to the bike rack as usual to unlock my bike and ride to work. Unfortunately, my back tire was shot…yes, dead flat! There’s no way I was riding on that lumpy, bumpy, flat tire. I had to walk to work. Luckily, Tabbi walked out the door right about the same time; she was nice enough to walk with me! It’s nice people like her that make me smile! Sherry, my boss, said I need to bring my bike to school so Uncle Joe can fix it. That will be fun, walking my bike to school. Alright, I’m being very facetious, it shouldn’t be that bad. We just live about 15 minutes from the school—walking anyway.
Lady Business tonight! We did some very intense comparison analyses (not really, but sort of), and we’ve decided to cut out Penang and Langkawi. After consulting with our Malaysian travel agent, Tyson (he served a mission there), we realize that we won’t be missing out on much, and, so far, it’s just plain easier to fly using the inland Asian flight companies. We found a $35 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket on Asia Air—it’s a done deal, flying it is! Saves time and hassle, maybe not the green backs…..but, time is money!
Wednesday, November 11th
Teeth! So, I don’t know what it is, but the kids’ teeth around these parts are NOT so hot! As much as I enjoy their smiling little grins, I try to refrain from looking at their dreaded teeth. I don’t think half of the little ones brush their teeth on a daily basis. Their pearly whites, aren’t very pearly, nor are they white; rather, stained, snaggled, and rotting! Hanna has one student, YoYo, who may not even own a toothbrush. His teeth are horrible…nearly everyday, Hanna has to hand him a tissue and ask him to do a rubdown. Poor Flora, she almost looks mal-nourished, and her fangs, well…they’re basically slivers. I guess the parents are thinking their children will lose their baby teeth, so it doesn’t matter? I’m not sure.
Well, today, Jimmy had a wiggly little bugger that was ready to be pulled out! He kept moving it around with his tongue; it was kind of grossing Tabbi and I out. We decided something needed to be done. We called for our former Dental Assistant, Hanna, to help with the operation, AKA, teeth pulling. She grabbed a tissue, and while I distracted Jimmy, she ripped the sucker out…the tooth popped out rather willingly and Jimmy was such a big boy. He didn’t even cry. After the pulling was done, his eyes became wide as if he were in shock or something, but he bit on a tissue for a moment and was fine. I think Scott was more grossed out than Jimmy. Jimmy kept running after the boys carrying his tooth in hand, Scott wasn’t enjoying it. All Jimmy wants for Christmas are his two front teeth!
Thursday, November 12th
The joys of working at a cram school, we seldom have to work in the wee morning hours; however, we hardly take advantage of our mornings. Instead, we stay up late and end up sleeping in. Ah man, I wish I was more of a morning person.
Today, Tabbi and I decided to use or morning doing something a little more worthwhile than the usual. Joseph, our friend who teaches English at Feng Yuan, has been telling us about this amazing waterfall for months. Yes, he’s been telling us since we arrived in Taiwan, but we just haven’t been able to get there yet. You can only get there by car or scooter—seeing how Tabbi and I have neither, it’s been a bit difficult accomplishing our ‘waterfall’ goal. Well, today was the day.
We woke up early and left the apartment around 7:00 am. We met Joseph and our other friend Fenny at the train station in Feng Yuan—both of them were waiting there for us on their scooters. Before jumping on the scoots and taking off, we saw an older Taiwanese woman in the distance. She had a big grin on her face, but NO front teeth. Again, what is it with the teeth! She could have very well been a transient. Well, we made eye-contact. She kept nodding as she walked closer and closer. I finally made a little gesture by waving my hand toward her. It was at that moment that she raised her arm straight in the air, waving it back and forth. There was no mistaking that she was coming for us. When she got closer, she started jabbering in Chinese. Tabbi and I both nodded in agreement with whatever she was saying, and here and there, we muttered the few phrases we know. Fenny, who is Taiwanese, helped us translate. The woman asked us whether we were American, and then she carried on about how American’s are soooo SMART, haha! This lady was hilarious. When I hopped on Fenny’s scooter, she kept motioning for me to hold on to Fenny around the waist. Heaven forbid I hold onto the back of the scooter….I guess that isn’t permitted.
The drive to the Siannyu waterfall was a long one, probably 40 minutes. We went from Feng Yuan, into the city of Taichung, and then onto Tai Ping, and up the mountain. You can always tell when you reach the mountains…the air is clean and brisk, very different from the polluted cities here. I could also tell we hit the mountains when the paved road turned to dirt and I suddenly felt as though I was riding on a four-wheeling trail; yet, I was not on a four-wheeler, just a little scooter. Joseph, who happens to be an OVER-aggressive driver, was hauling up and down the narrow trail on his scooter. Fenny and I were struggling to keep up. The road began to get bumpier, and less well-kept. Our path became muddy and rocky. As Fenny drove through the mud, her back tire slid out beneath us and our scooter began to slide. With her quick reflexes, she was able to regain control, but it was at this time that I began feeling a little uneasy about the path Joseph was taking us on.
After going through the mud, we came to a rather large, rocky hill for a little scooter to go DOWN….I asked Fenny whether I should hop off, but she insisted we were fine. We began our descent…slowly, but not slow enough because Fenny’s breaks weren’t exactly working. We came to dead-man’s curve and we were down for the count. Yes, it’s true…it’s official…you can now say I am a true expat…I’ve been in a scooter accident. Coming around the turn, Fenny’s scooter couldn’t manage to stay up and we both went flying as the scooter went sliding to the ground. Tabbi heard us scream, when she turned around to see what was up, all she could see was Fenny and I, scooter position, lying on the ground. I’m sure it was a site to see. Luckily we were going slow enough that there wasn’t too much damage, just a little scrape here and there. Fenny rubbed her knee pretty good, but she didn’t want to loose face, so she wouldn’t show us and we couldn’t help her. Basically, we picked up her scooter and kept on a movin’!
When we arrived to the waterfall, we had to climb down into the canyon a bit. It was really cool—great big rocks, green trees and vines, rushing water…I loved it! We even saw a fellow catching his business for the day. He was using fish nets and the like to catch some fish and crawdad’s…pretty sweet!
The waterfall was smaller than usual (according to Joseph), but it was still beautiful. At the bottom of the fall is a great big pool of water, probably the cleanest you’ll ever find in Taiwan, it is fed by a spring straight from the mountain. Tabbi and I walked up and down the canyon a bit, and then Jospeh showed us the good spots to go cliff jumping—oh yes, we went cliff jumping!!! There was a 20 footer and a 35 foot cliff to jump from, exhilarating! I made Joseph jump first, but I did it! I jumped from both the 20 and 35 foot cliffs—it was so FUN!!! …maybe it’s a little scary looking over the edge, but you can’t psyche yourself out, you just gotta do it! Unfortunately for Tabbi, she psyched herself out. She wanted to jump, so together we went over to the cliff. She made me jump first. After jumping, I stayed in the pool below trying to coach her through it all, but the moment she looked over the edge, she couldn’t muster enough courage to jump. I probably counted to three 5 times trying to get her to go, but she just couldn’t make herself do it. She still wanted to jump so we found a solution—we called Joseph over and the two of them jumped together. Yeah for us, we both did it! Good job Tip!
We had a good time going to the waterfall; however, we barely made it back in time for lunch at the school, but we did…after getting off the train, we went straight to the school for a little grub, THEN we headed home to shower and get ready for a day full of teaching!
Friday, November 13th
It’s Friday, it’s Friday, my favorite day of the week! Mr. Cluff used to sing that over the load intercom every Friday morning at Woodward in 6th grade…his words are ringing true right about now! Weekends are sooooo good!
Tonight after work, the girls and I were all eating in the kitchen. We went and got gratin for dinner—you know, the Chinese casserole. We started talking Lady Business and Hanna realized she’ll need a new backpack for the trip, so with no prior plans for the evening, we decided to hit up clothes street to see what it had to offer.
Three chicks on a scooter! Instead of debating who got to ride with Hanna on her scooter, we tried our luck with three girls on a scoot: me, Tabbi, and Hanna. It was hilarious. I wish we would have gotten a picture; we may have to reenact the whole thing for pictures sake. Tabbi was sandwiched in between Hanna and me, good thing too, because she was the only one without a coat, and it’s starting to get chilly…it was freezing! …let’s see, I had both arms clutched around Tabbi and Hanna just to hold on…classic.
Hanna did find a bag she likes, but no purchase yet. Tabbi and I looked at all the new shoes coming out for the season…boots, boots, and more boats! Only $12 too…I’ll be gettin’ me some of those before I go home!
When we got home, Hanna and I watched ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.’—one of my favorite chick flicks. Hanna’s room has become quite the hangout these days…there’s talk of moving a couch into her abode, but it hasn’t been executed yet!
Saturday, November 14th
Let’s face it, my time in Taiwan is quickly winding down, and now is the time to be thinking of souvenirs. Where to get souvenirs….LuKang’s the place. LuKang is known for its many ancient temples, yummy Taiwanese food-sea food, aged architecture, and of course, traditional souvenirs! It’s pretty easy to get to LuKang, you hope a bus and in less than 30 minutes, you’ve reached your destination. LuKang is so small you can do everything in just half a day.
We got to LuKang around 2:00 pm and strolled throughout the old alley ways picking up little traditional trinkets here and there. I found the shop where I enjoyed Almond milk with Evance’s family months ago. I introduced the treat to the girls, but they didn’t find it quite as yummy, neither did I actually, but we still drank it all up. Grinding our own sesame to sprinkle over the top of our beverage was fun though. We also tried cows tongue…I know what you’re thinking, YUCK! No worries, it’s only a pastry—called cows tongue because it looks like a cows tongue—sure doesn’t taste like one. Cows tongue: basically sweet, flavored bread, sometimes with a filling inside. You can get strawberry, taro, or regular…we tried all!
Oh my goodness, as we were peaking our heads into each store, we found ourselves in another little wood shop. The lady behind the counter greeted us with a warm hello, but then she suddenly burped right in our faces. Ugh! She didn’t say a word, but just kept smiling as if nothing had happened. I looked to the other girls, trying to tell whether they had heard what I had heard, without being rude. Sure enough, they were just as surprised as me. We kind of chuckled to ourselves, and then…there the store owner went again, another burp. When I looked back at the owner, she was just still smiling. Is this for real? I thought. Again and again, she kept burping; yet, every time we looked back, she was smiling—I feel as though she had burping turrets…maybe the hiccups, eh, it’s iffy. Manners here are just a bit different than those in America.
We all found some great souvenirs. We got ourselves some fans, lanterns, bags, and other trinkets I’m sure we don’t really need.
Sunday, November 15th
At church today we had the stake come and speak to us. It’s always interesting when the stake comes to speak because the messages have to be translated. Sometimes the translation comes across a little different than you would expect, so we always enjoy a good laugh. Oh dear, our branch keeps getting smaller and smaller. It’s basically just the teachers in the congregation now. Every time I walk into sacrament meeting, the place is barren. I kind of wonder whether they’ll keep the branch going or not. I mean, we hardly have any elders. The missionaries pass the sacrament each week. The senior missionaries help out tremendously. If it weren’t for us ILP English teachers, there wouldn’t be enough people to fill all the needed callings. Sad.
It was the Dowse’s last Sunday today. I already miss them, but Tabbi and I are planning our road trip to American Fork to visit them when we get home. We joke that we’ll be standing on their doorstep, spoons in hand, ready to lick the cookie bowl that Sister Dowse has prepared for us. The first time we had dinner with the Dowse’s, Sister Dowse was whipping up some chocolate chip cookies, she held up a spoon for each of us and said, “Are you these kind of people,” asking whether we were bowl lickers or not. Sister Dowse didn’t need a verbal answer because Tabbi and I were both licking the bowl before she had time to hand us a spoon. The Dowse’s are such a cute couple—they will be greatly missed!
After church Sarah, Tabbi, and I decided to walk to the train station instead of busing it. It took us about 30 minutes, but now that the weather has cooled down, it's a fun little walk.
Well, well, well….I think that’s enough journaling for the week….until we meet again!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Chapter 20 Pictures!!!
Thursday night in Taichung!
Sarah and I took a train to Taichung to witness the Dan Jones Experience--Dan Jones was an amazing pioneer and missionary in the 1800's. Sister Dowse has been telling us all about the event, so we just had to come and see it. Basically, it's initiation for the new missionaries...poor guys, they have to stand up on this soap box and preach into the crowded streets--I know it sounds crazy, but it was really cool! First, all the missionaries gather around to sing hymns at the night market. Then one by one they make their way up to the Dan Jones box. After they speak their peace, they pair up with an older missionary and walk throughout the crowds talking to people.
Elder and Sister Greene: New senior missionaries taking over for the Dowse's
Friday at McDonald's with the Super Students!
Little Tim...yes, this is the one who's been ultra sensitive lately. He's just so smart. He knows everything. Tabbi and I always ask him, "Tim, where did you learn English?" "From you teacher," he says.....I don't remember teaching him any of the stuff he knows!
Scott, Me, and Jeremy. These boys really are Super Students!
Me, Flora, Ray, and Justin...getting them to smile was ridiculous...I think we took about 15 pictures...this was the best we got!
Saturday Trip to Ali Mountain!
We had a relaxing day going to the mountain. We took a free shuttle ride to the very top where we walked through the old alley's sampling yummy food and playing with little trinkets (the kind you find at a National Park...toy guns, cowboy hats, etc.). Unfortunately we weren't able to see the sunrise, which we hear is amazing, but we had a great time visiting the tea farms and making our way through the foggy streets.
Some pictures from our day!
Whoops! Who can say they posed like this in a tea farm....I can! It's not what you think.
Sarah and I took a train to Taichung to witness the Dan Jones Experience--Dan Jones was an amazing pioneer and missionary in the 1800's. Sister Dowse has been telling us all about the event, so we just had to come and see it. Basically, it's initiation for the new missionaries...poor guys, they have to stand up on this soap box and preach into the crowded streets--I know it sounds crazy, but it was really cool! First, all the missionaries gather around to sing hymns at the night market. Then one by one they make their way up to the Dan Jones box. After they speak their peace, they pair up with an older missionary and walk throughout the crowds talking to people.
Elder and Sister Greene: New senior missionaries taking over for the Dowse's
Friday at McDonald's with the Super Students!
Little Tim...yes, this is the one who's been ultra sensitive lately. He's just so smart. He knows everything. Tabbi and I always ask him, "Tim, where did you learn English?" "From you teacher," he says.....I don't remember teaching him any of the stuff he knows!
Scott, Me, and Jeremy. These boys really are Super Students!
Me, Flora, Ray, and Justin...getting them to smile was ridiculous...I think we took about 15 pictures...this was the best we got!
Saturday Trip to Ali Mountain!
We had a relaxing day going to the mountain. We took a free shuttle ride to the very top where we walked through the old alley's sampling yummy food and playing with little trinkets (the kind you find at a National Park...toy guns, cowboy hats, etc.). Unfortunately we weren't able to see the sunrise, which we hear is amazing, but we had a great time visiting the tea farms and making our way through the foggy streets.
Some pictures from our day!
Whoops! Who can say they posed like this in a tea farm....I can! It's not what you think.
Chapter 20
Monday, November 2nd
It’s NOVEMBER…and the countdown is on! In two months my teaching contract is up and them I’m off to backpack throughout Asia…I’m so stoked! ….but yes, I’m going to miss my kids so so so so so much, and this probably isn’t the last time you’ll hear that.
Oh my goodness…New Jimmy (the little one I frequently talk about) has started this new thing—eating teacher! He is so crazy, ha. He came up to me today and said, “Oh teacher, papaya…um, um, um”…and then he proceeded to bite my stomach, playfully of course. He’s also the boy who told me today, “Teacher, you are so COOL!” ….and I didn’t even have to bribe him to say it—he did it all on his own.
I’m so surprised how fast the children are picking up English. I love when I hear the children say something that I haven’t necessarily taught them, but it’s something that they’ve heard me continually say. For example, the kids are always jumping up and down, wanting to play this, or eat that. Someone always has to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, grab their coat, blow their nose….the list goes on and on. Usually I’m being pulled every which way, so I’m always saying, “Hold on,” or “Wait just a minute.” Well, we were getting ready to play in the gym today and Sarah blurted out, “Teacher, hold on…wait,” as she took off her socks. Just a few months ago, she couldn’t speak any English. I know this is such a small example to share, but I just love seeing the children improve—it makes me feel as though I’m doing something good.
Tuesday, November 3rd
Hanna, Tabbi, and I had our second official Lady Business Meeting tonight—the planning of our trip is coming along rather nicely! Our friend Manti came over to hang out for a little bit. We haven’t seen him forever; he got a new job and we’ve all gotten awfully busy. Anyhow, Manti brought us some black, goopy soup-like stuff that was filled with tapioca pearls, some beans, and other mystery junk. Man, my description of this not-so-tasty treat is horrible, but yes, it wasn’t that great! We tried not to make him feel bad, so we just kept eating and eating, but once he left, the spoons were down. YUCK!
After Lady Business, we watched My Sister’s Keeper. Man, talk about a tear jerker. Seeing how this was Hanna’s second time watching the movie, she wasn’t in as bad a shape as Sarah and I—we couldn’t stop blubbering, so sad!
Wednesday, November 4th
Once again, I can’t recall anything significant for today—must have been a blur. We did find out that one of our students will not be coming back to Maryland for awhile; New Andy. He was an SPE, so he was with all the younger kids. He had some emotional problems; frequently he would shut down or have fits in class. Some days he would start throwing things, or jerk his body this way and that crawling his way into a small corner and not coming out until the end of class. His mom doesn’t think he’s ready to learn—he just wants to play, and so discipline didn’t quite work for him. Poor kid, maybe he’ll be able to come back when he’s older.
Thursday, November 5th
Well, I made my first student cry today; as much as I didn’t want it to happen, I knew it was bound to happen sometime, and that time was today. We were in gym playing dodgeball. More often than not, the kids go wild and they start chucking the ball as hard as they can. Tim threw the ball across the gym at lightening speed, nearly taking off Flora’s head—my first reaction was to shout to him that he couldn’t throw the ball that hard, he might hurt someone. I wasn’t trying to hurt him or single him out, because all of the kids get playing and don’t realize how rough they’re getting. …Tim started crying (he’s been an emotional basket case these days)…I felt so bad. I went over to consol him and just as I did, I heard a gasp from Kerry. Sure enough, he decked Flora in the face with the ball. Ha, Tim was crying, Flora was crying, Kerry was scared, and Candy just sat there wandering what I, the teacher, was going to do. Oh the joy of being a ‘gym’ teacher. These events occur all too often.
Sarah and I headed to Taichung after work tonight. Sister Dowse had told me about this ‘Dan Jones’ Experience—it’s basically initiation for the new missionaries when they first arrive in Taiwan. I had never heard of Dan Jones before, but he was a great pioneer and missionary. He accompanied Joseph and Hyrum to Carthage Jail and fulfilled Joseph’s last prophesy that Jones would be a missionary in Wales. Sure enough, after Joseph and Hyrum were killed, Brigham Young called Jones to England to serve a mission, with little success, after one year, he was moved to Wales. When Jones arrived in Wales, there were just over 200 Ladder Day Saints. With Jones’ leadership, in just three years, 1845-1848, 3600 people had been baptized. By the time Jones left Wales, there were 4645 saints in Wales—can you say, amazing!
To help the missionaries get over there fear of preaching the gospel here in Taiwan, each new missionary gets to experience the spirit of Dan Jones. All the missionaries rally together in a busy street in downtown Taichung. The night markets are always happening so the streets are crowded with people and vendors. The missionaries gather around singing hymns, after which, they set out two small wooden stools that have the words, DAN JONES, printed across them. Each missionary takes a turn standing on a box, Book of Mormon in hand, preaching what they know to be true. It’s the sweetest thing ever. They all take turns, stepping up and down, shouting their favorite scriptures or bearing their testimonies. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s the coolest. After each newbie steps off a box, they pair up with a more experienced missionary and walk throughout the crowds talking to people—you should see their excitement.
As Sarah and I were watching the whole event, one sister stepped up to the box and started preaching, she looked scared and she was shaking. She began to cry as she was speaking, and within one second, she suddenly fell off the Dan Jones box and straight to the ground. The crowd all gasped—no one knew what had just happened, and no one knew what to do. President and Sister Hoer came running to her, seeing whether she was okay. Apparently she has heart problems and had a seizure. She blacked-out and was down for the count. I felt so bad, she hit the ground hard—it was the scariest thing ever. She got a couple skinned elbows, and knees, but she seemed to be fine. The new senior missionaries, who will be replacing the Dowse’s, also were at the Dan Jones experience; Elder and Sister Greene from Rexburg, ID. They seem like a sweet couple, and it’ll be fun to get to know them.
What is it like to be an islander? Well, you sure get used to natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. I can officially say I’ve been in a typhoon and, as of today, a ‘real-deal’ earthquake. It was 5:30 p.m. and my kids were just coming back to our classroom from library….all of the sudden, I felt a little dizzy and then the ground started to shake beneath me. I stopped for a moment, we’re having an earthquake, the shaking was getting worse and worse….I quickly told my students to get under their desks (I wasn’t sure what to do, but that’s what I remember being taught in school years ago). Then, in the blink of an eye, it was over…the desks stopped rattling and the shaking had stopped.
All of my kids were a little shaken, but for the most part, they were fine…they’re used to this kind of thing. Actually, we had nearly 20 earthquakes today; another big one hit Changua around 7:30 p.m. but I didn’t feel a thing because Sarah and I were in Taichung. The biggest earthquake today was a 7 on the Richter scale; however, we just felt a 5 in Changhua (so I hear). The earthquake today has been the biggest since 921, which was the Jiji earthquake—recorded at a 7.6. Ten years ago, when it hit, it killed 2,416 people, leaving 11,000 seriously injured. Luckily, there was no severe damage from any of today’s quakes. However, pretty sure Tabbi was terrified. All day she kept checking the internet for new quake updates. To put her at ease, us girls made an evacuation plan: if anything happens, we’ve decided to run, run, run….we live in a tall, skinny apartment building (maybe 20 stories, maybe more), so we don’t want to be crushed seeing how we live on the first, second, and third floors. We’ve decided to use the buddy system, Hanna’s got Tabbi and I have Sarah; our meeting place, the fruit market. Tabbi got Sarah and I a little freaked out so we slept with a little extra water and money near our bed, just in case we had to grab-and-go in the night. Tabbi put her computer under her pillow, sandwiched between two pillows. Oh we are sooo dramatic! Better safe……
Friday, November 6th
I think I mentioned that Tabbi is teaching my Friday 2A class for November—she’s making up hours for her time in America….well, may I just say the break from class has been wonderful. I’ve been able to catch up on lots of work that’s needed to get done. Thank you Tabbi!
So, I was in the teachers area grading some homework when munchkin Scott propped his rear-end right through the entrance way. “Ha, what are you doing Scott?” I asked laughing. He didn’t say a word…but he didn’t have to; he just started waving his hand back and forth over his tush, and quickly left the area. The little ‘fart’ was totally crop dusting me. I couldn’t believe it. If they’re not crop-dusting, then their picking their noses….there’s always a story.
McDonald’s—every child’s dream; every other month we get to take the ‘super students’ to McDonald’s. We play games, eat some greasy food, and crawl around in the jungle gym. It’s always a good time. Tabbi and I were in charge of the little ones this trip. We played Uno and had a blast! When the food came to our table, everyone started chowing down, but for some reason, Scott totally shut down and wouldn’t eat for anyone—and just two seconds earlier, he was starving! Not being able to fully communicate with Scott, Tabbi and I started calling out for a Chinese speaker. Penny, our secretary, came over to help us out. After a few minutes, Scott came to and started eating his meal. I asked Penny what was wrong and she just commented that Scott’s grandma never eats at McDonald’s so he wasn’t allowed to eat there either. He was so hungry, but he wanted to be obedient to his grandmother also; what a good little boy!
Saturday, November 7th
Alishan Day Trip! With the time we have left in Taiwan, us roomies are trying to hit those last spots that everyone has told us are must-see’s and must-do’s around the island. Ali Mountain is one of those places, but because of the typhoon a couple months ago, the main road and train have been washed out. Well, we had just found out that the road was fixed so we decided to make a day of it: me, Hanna, Sarah, Tabbi, and of course, our friend and secretary, Emily.
The best part about going to Ali Mountain is watching the sunrise in the morning, smelling the fresh air, and looking out over the valley that is covered with fog below. Well, the only way to see the sunrise is to catch the train; unfortunately the train still isn’t working. The government has set up a free shuttle service to restore tourism to the area, so we took advantage of it, but we still weren’t able to see the sunrise.
We got to Chiayi around 9:00 am to catch the shuttle. Our trip to the top of the mountain probably took us a full hour—it was a long, windy road….weaving back and forth and back and forth. Our driver was a nice young man…but an insanely crazy driver, as most Taiwanese are. He was weaving in and out of traffic like no body’s business. He’d sneak up on someone’s rear bumper, then glide to the side of them, passing just near a corner—I think he got a couple of squeals out of me and Tabbi when we saw cars coming straight for us. We kept telling him he was crazy, but he just kept responding in his Chinglish, “No, me, professional!”
At the top of Ali Mountain, there’s a fun, little alley way that we walked our way through. It was full of shops and eateries—all the wonderful touristy things. We were just sampling anything we got our fingers on. I felt as though I was at Bryce Canyon or some National Park lodge with all the wooden carved guns and cowboy hats we came across. Along our path, we also found our way to many tea farms, train tracks, and the like. I couldn’t believe how foggy everything was—we could hardly see 30 feet in front of us. Overall, the day was very relaxing and tranquil, just what I needed.
I don’t know how we got on the subject, but on our train ride home we started talking about all the ‘first’ things we want to do upon arriving in America. I know it’s just November, but the weeks fly by here, and time is winding down. Well, I’m pretty sure Café Rio and Pizza Factory made the list, not to mention, a haircut, color, and style—I’m in dire need mom!
Sunday, November 8th
You know, going to a church branch that has less than 30 people who attend regularly is always an interesting experience. Today the Greene’s came to our branch; along with the mission president and his wife….I can only imagine what they were thinking. First of all, we get a lot of visitors who come to our branch just to learn English. A second-time visitor stopped by today. Now, I don’t think this young lady had any idea what was going on. In sacrament she just kept asking me, “How long until a break?” Then in Sunday school it was the same thing over—relief society, the same. I kept telling her, “Just ten minutes,” or “Not too long,” but I could tell she was antsy.
Then we got to relief society…oh the story gets better. There were probably 10 sisters all together. Arwyn was conducting and I was presiding and also leading the music…we usually sing acapella because Tabbi’s the only musician in the branch, but she serves in young women’s. Well, word got out that Sister Greene is a beautiful pianist, so we convinced her to play the piano for us. Little did Sister Greene know, our piano isn’t exactly a grand, it’s one of those types that you can plug into the wall. You know the kind....it has tons of little buttons so you can change the tune to saxophone or folk. Sister Greene started to play The Spirit of God (or something like it), and some drums started busting a beat in the background, a little symbol chiming in here and there. We didn’t know how to turn it off, so we just went with it. I was trying hard to keep my composure throughout the song, and just when I thought I had myself put together; our young visitor friend pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of me as I was leading the music. I couldn’t keep it together, my rhythm was all off. I just kept chuckling to myself, looking at the mission president’s wife hoping she thought the whole thing was as funny to her as it was to me.
It’s NOVEMBER…and the countdown is on! In two months my teaching contract is up and them I’m off to backpack throughout Asia…I’m so stoked! ….but yes, I’m going to miss my kids so so so so so much, and this probably isn’t the last time you’ll hear that.
Oh my goodness…New Jimmy (the little one I frequently talk about) has started this new thing—eating teacher! He is so crazy, ha. He came up to me today and said, “Oh teacher, papaya…um, um, um”…and then he proceeded to bite my stomach, playfully of course. He’s also the boy who told me today, “Teacher, you are so COOL!” ….and I didn’t even have to bribe him to say it—he did it all on his own.
I’m so surprised how fast the children are picking up English. I love when I hear the children say something that I haven’t necessarily taught them, but it’s something that they’ve heard me continually say. For example, the kids are always jumping up and down, wanting to play this, or eat that. Someone always has to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, grab their coat, blow their nose….the list goes on and on. Usually I’m being pulled every which way, so I’m always saying, “Hold on,” or “Wait just a minute.” Well, we were getting ready to play in the gym today and Sarah blurted out, “Teacher, hold on…wait,” as she took off her socks. Just a few months ago, she couldn’t speak any English. I know this is such a small example to share, but I just love seeing the children improve—it makes me feel as though I’m doing something good.
Tuesday, November 3rd
Hanna, Tabbi, and I had our second official Lady Business Meeting tonight—the planning of our trip is coming along rather nicely! Our friend Manti came over to hang out for a little bit. We haven’t seen him forever; he got a new job and we’ve all gotten awfully busy. Anyhow, Manti brought us some black, goopy soup-like stuff that was filled with tapioca pearls, some beans, and other mystery junk. Man, my description of this not-so-tasty treat is horrible, but yes, it wasn’t that great! We tried not to make him feel bad, so we just kept eating and eating, but once he left, the spoons were down. YUCK!
After Lady Business, we watched My Sister’s Keeper. Man, talk about a tear jerker. Seeing how this was Hanna’s second time watching the movie, she wasn’t in as bad a shape as Sarah and I—we couldn’t stop blubbering, so sad!
Wednesday, November 4th
Once again, I can’t recall anything significant for today—must have been a blur. We did find out that one of our students will not be coming back to Maryland for awhile; New Andy. He was an SPE, so he was with all the younger kids. He had some emotional problems; frequently he would shut down or have fits in class. Some days he would start throwing things, or jerk his body this way and that crawling his way into a small corner and not coming out until the end of class. His mom doesn’t think he’s ready to learn—he just wants to play, and so discipline didn’t quite work for him. Poor kid, maybe he’ll be able to come back when he’s older.
Thursday, November 5th
Well, I made my first student cry today; as much as I didn’t want it to happen, I knew it was bound to happen sometime, and that time was today. We were in gym playing dodgeball. More often than not, the kids go wild and they start chucking the ball as hard as they can. Tim threw the ball across the gym at lightening speed, nearly taking off Flora’s head—my first reaction was to shout to him that he couldn’t throw the ball that hard, he might hurt someone. I wasn’t trying to hurt him or single him out, because all of the kids get playing and don’t realize how rough they’re getting. …Tim started crying (he’s been an emotional basket case these days)…I felt so bad. I went over to consol him and just as I did, I heard a gasp from Kerry. Sure enough, he decked Flora in the face with the ball. Ha, Tim was crying, Flora was crying, Kerry was scared, and Candy just sat there wandering what I, the teacher, was going to do. Oh the joy of being a ‘gym’ teacher. These events occur all too often.
Sarah and I headed to Taichung after work tonight. Sister Dowse had told me about this ‘Dan Jones’ Experience—it’s basically initiation for the new missionaries when they first arrive in Taiwan. I had never heard of Dan Jones before, but he was a great pioneer and missionary. He accompanied Joseph and Hyrum to Carthage Jail and fulfilled Joseph’s last prophesy that Jones would be a missionary in Wales. Sure enough, after Joseph and Hyrum were killed, Brigham Young called Jones to England to serve a mission, with little success, after one year, he was moved to Wales. When Jones arrived in Wales, there were just over 200 Ladder Day Saints. With Jones’ leadership, in just three years, 1845-1848, 3600 people had been baptized. By the time Jones left Wales, there were 4645 saints in Wales—can you say, amazing!
To help the missionaries get over there fear of preaching the gospel here in Taiwan, each new missionary gets to experience the spirit of Dan Jones. All the missionaries rally together in a busy street in downtown Taichung. The night markets are always happening so the streets are crowded with people and vendors. The missionaries gather around singing hymns, after which, they set out two small wooden stools that have the words, DAN JONES, printed across them. Each missionary takes a turn standing on a box, Book of Mormon in hand, preaching what they know to be true. It’s the sweetest thing ever. They all take turns, stepping up and down, shouting their favorite scriptures or bearing their testimonies. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s the coolest. After each newbie steps off a box, they pair up with a more experienced missionary and walk throughout the crowds talking to people—you should see their excitement.
As Sarah and I were watching the whole event, one sister stepped up to the box and started preaching, she looked scared and she was shaking. She began to cry as she was speaking, and within one second, she suddenly fell off the Dan Jones box and straight to the ground. The crowd all gasped—no one knew what had just happened, and no one knew what to do. President and Sister Hoer came running to her, seeing whether she was okay. Apparently she has heart problems and had a seizure. She blacked-out and was down for the count. I felt so bad, she hit the ground hard—it was the scariest thing ever. She got a couple skinned elbows, and knees, but she seemed to be fine. The new senior missionaries, who will be replacing the Dowse’s, also were at the Dan Jones experience; Elder and Sister Greene from Rexburg, ID. They seem like a sweet couple, and it’ll be fun to get to know them.
What is it like to be an islander? Well, you sure get used to natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. I can officially say I’ve been in a typhoon and, as of today, a ‘real-deal’ earthquake. It was 5:30 p.m. and my kids were just coming back to our classroom from library….all of the sudden, I felt a little dizzy and then the ground started to shake beneath me. I stopped for a moment, we’re having an earthquake, the shaking was getting worse and worse….I quickly told my students to get under their desks (I wasn’t sure what to do, but that’s what I remember being taught in school years ago). Then, in the blink of an eye, it was over…the desks stopped rattling and the shaking had stopped.
All of my kids were a little shaken, but for the most part, they were fine…they’re used to this kind of thing. Actually, we had nearly 20 earthquakes today; another big one hit Changua around 7:30 p.m. but I didn’t feel a thing because Sarah and I were in Taichung. The biggest earthquake today was a 7 on the Richter scale; however, we just felt a 5 in Changhua (so I hear). The earthquake today has been the biggest since 921, which was the Jiji earthquake—recorded at a 7.6. Ten years ago, when it hit, it killed 2,416 people, leaving 11,000 seriously injured. Luckily, there was no severe damage from any of today’s quakes. However, pretty sure Tabbi was terrified. All day she kept checking the internet for new quake updates. To put her at ease, us girls made an evacuation plan: if anything happens, we’ve decided to run, run, run….we live in a tall, skinny apartment building (maybe 20 stories, maybe more), so we don’t want to be crushed seeing how we live on the first, second, and third floors. We’ve decided to use the buddy system, Hanna’s got Tabbi and I have Sarah; our meeting place, the fruit market. Tabbi got Sarah and I a little freaked out so we slept with a little extra water and money near our bed, just in case we had to grab-and-go in the night. Tabbi put her computer under her pillow, sandwiched between two pillows. Oh we are sooo dramatic! Better safe……
Friday, November 6th
I think I mentioned that Tabbi is teaching my Friday 2A class for November—she’s making up hours for her time in America….well, may I just say the break from class has been wonderful. I’ve been able to catch up on lots of work that’s needed to get done. Thank you Tabbi!
So, I was in the teachers area grading some homework when munchkin Scott propped his rear-end right through the entrance way. “Ha, what are you doing Scott?” I asked laughing. He didn’t say a word…but he didn’t have to; he just started waving his hand back and forth over his tush, and quickly left the area. The little ‘fart’ was totally crop dusting me. I couldn’t believe it. If they’re not crop-dusting, then their picking their noses….there’s always a story.
McDonald’s—every child’s dream; every other month we get to take the ‘super students’ to McDonald’s. We play games, eat some greasy food, and crawl around in the jungle gym. It’s always a good time. Tabbi and I were in charge of the little ones this trip. We played Uno and had a blast! When the food came to our table, everyone started chowing down, but for some reason, Scott totally shut down and wouldn’t eat for anyone—and just two seconds earlier, he was starving! Not being able to fully communicate with Scott, Tabbi and I started calling out for a Chinese speaker. Penny, our secretary, came over to help us out. After a few minutes, Scott came to and started eating his meal. I asked Penny what was wrong and she just commented that Scott’s grandma never eats at McDonald’s so he wasn’t allowed to eat there either. He was so hungry, but he wanted to be obedient to his grandmother also; what a good little boy!
Saturday, November 7th
Alishan Day Trip! With the time we have left in Taiwan, us roomies are trying to hit those last spots that everyone has told us are must-see’s and must-do’s around the island. Ali Mountain is one of those places, but because of the typhoon a couple months ago, the main road and train have been washed out. Well, we had just found out that the road was fixed so we decided to make a day of it: me, Hanna, Sarah, Tabbi, and of course, our friend and secretary, Emily.
The best part about going to Ali Mountain is watching the sunrise in the morning, smelling the fresh air, and looking out over the valley that is covered with fog below. Well, the only way to see the sunrise is to catch the train; unfortunately the train still isn’t working. The government has set up a free shuttle service to restore tourism to the area, so we took advantage of it, but we still weren’t able to see the sunrise.
We got to Chiayi around 9:00 am to catch the shuttle. Our trip to the top of the mountain probably took us a full hour—it was a long, windy road….weaving back and forth and back and forth. Our driver was a nice young man…but an insanely crazy driver, as most Taiwanese are. He was weaving in and out of traffic like no body’s business. He’d sneak up on someone’s rear bumper, then glide to the side of them, passing just near a corner—I think he got a couple of squeals out of me and Tabbi when we saw cars coming straight for us. We kept telling him he was crazy, but he just kept responding in his Chinglish, “No, me, professional!”
At the top of Ali Mountain, there’s a fun, little alley way that we walked our way through. It was full of shops and eateries—all the wonderful touristy things. We were just sampling anything we got our fingers on. I felt as though I was at Bryce Canyon or some National Park lodge with all the wooden carved guns and cowboy hats we came across. Along our path, we also found our way to many tea farms, train tracks, and the like. I couldn’t believe how foggy everything was—we could hardly see 30 feet in front of us. Overall, the day was very relaxing and tranquil, just what I needed.
I don’t know how we got on the subject, but on our train ride home we started talking about all the ‘first’ things we want to do upon arriving in America. I know it’s just November, but the weeks fly by here, and time is winding down. Well, I’m pretty sure Café Rio and Pizza Factory made the list, not to mention, a haircut, color, and style—I’m in dire need mom!
Sunday, November 8th
You know, going to a church branch that has less than 30 people who attend regularly is always an interesting experience. Today the Greene’s came to our branch; along with the mission president and his wife….I can only imagine what they were thinking. First of all, we get a lot of visitors who come to our branch just to learn English. A second-time visitor stopped by today. Now, I don’t think this young lady had any idea what was going on. In sacrament she just kept asking me, “How long until a break?” Then in Sunday school it was the same thing over—relief society, the same. I kept telling her, “Just ten minutes,” or “Not too long,” but I could tell she was antsy.
Then we got to relief society…oh the story gets better. There were probably 10 sisters all together. Arwyn was conducting and I was presiding and also leading the music…we usually sing acapella because Tabbi’s the only musician in the branch, but she serves in young women’s. Well, word got out that Sister Greene is a beautiful pianist, so we convinced her to play the piano for us. Little did Sister Greene know, our piano isn’t exactly a grand, it’s one of those types that you can plug into the wall. You know the kind....it has tons of little buttons so you can change the tune to saxophone or folk. Sister Greene started to play The Spirit of God (or something like it), and some drums started busting a beat in the background, a little symbol chiming in here and there. We didn’t know how to turn it off, so we just went with it. I was trying hard to keep my composure throughout the song, and just when I thought I had myself put together; our young visitor friend pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of me as I was leading the music. I couldn’t keep it together, my rhythm was all off. I just kept chuckling to myself, looking at the mission president’s wife hoping she thought the whole thing was as funny to her as it was to me.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Chapter 19 PICTURES!!!
Tuesday, October 27th
We had our first official LADY BUSINESS meeting....we booked our flights to Singapore! YAY, we're going to travel SE Asia. I'm so excited!!! Buckee and a friend are going to come with us too! We'll start in Singapore, train up to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and then land ourselves on the beaches of Thailand....that's not the end of our travels either, just the beginning, but it's what we have for now. Wahoo!
Hanna Postma: Lady Business member. Getting down to business.
Thursday, October 29th
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Today we had our Halloween Party for all the kids at Maryland. Us teachers had a great time dressing up for the occasion and 'spooking' the children. We played Halloween bingo, made oreo spiders, told scary stories, and had a rockin' (very much makeshift) haunted house!
Me: Witchy T...I have the cackle to prove it!
Getting ready for the day...When we got to school Sarah and Hanna weren't as 'scary' as anticipated, so with limited resources, we scrapped some things together, and basically went as death for Halloween.
I had a pick + Sarah had hairspray + Maryland school had a blow dryer = deadly combination. Thank goodness for my professional hair-doing skills, a mom who is an expert stylist, and a childhood in southern Utah where I was able to learn all about the POOF!
It's the day of our Halloween party and Hanna still wasn't sure what she was going to be...Thanks Ray Ray for the inspiration (spider earrings). We turned Hanna into a black widow, well, sort of.
Before....
After...Like I said....she was sort of a black widow. Due to my novice skills, Black Widow met Kiss at approximately 12:00 noon.
Maryland teachers...Tabbi didn't get the memo we were going as DEATH...caught in a tornado.
SPE children...cute little things! They're teaching me patience, haha. I just love them.
Costume Contest.
Joe: Spookiest Costume
Karen: Cutest Costume
They really get into Halloween here, can't you tell??? ha.
...and here's another pic of Sara...she is so adorable! She's always bringing us teachers little treats!
Me and Tabbi's 2A classes!
The after party...we couldn't stand to just go home and not show off our fun costumes, so we hit up Max and Vivian's after work. Ha, we love eating at this place. You should have seen the stares we got, especially on the bike ride there. As if we don't get looked at enough. We definitely got the double takes.
Saturday, October 31st
Today all of us teachers went to Mingdao University with one of our students, Kitty, and her parents, George and Grace. George is a professor at Mingdao, and he needed a little help with an international event his department was throwing for their students.
Our job: Three minute presentation on our experience in Taiwan
The trade: We got to go paint balling, kayaking....and to dinner!
Mingdao Students + Maryland Teachers. Hardly any of the students spoke English, so it was a bit challenging to communicate, but nonetheless, we had a great time!
Paint Balling! I've always wanted to go, and I finally got the chance! Nervous? Maybe a little at first, but once the whistle blew, it was game time...all fear was brushed aside!
The battlefield...pregame.
Hanna and I...ready to hit the field...Bring it!
Hanna and I mappin' out our game plan!
War's tough..I got shot in the face. A little sting, no biggy.
Kayaking! Yet again, another sport I've always wanted to do, but have never had the chance.
Hanna and I getting ready to hit the water for the first time.
After a few go's, we finally got synchronized with our rowing. Champs!
Maryland Teachers.
George and Grace were so nice to take us out to dinner after the day's events. We went to a fun restaurant up the mountain near the high speed railway. We sat out on a patio watching the high speed train pass us by.
Great food + Great scenery + Great company = GREAT TIME!
Dinner at the high speed rail. We had a great view and a great sunset to watch as we ate and chatted.
Tabbi and I with our Fruit Tea! No worries, it's not 'real' tea...the Asians call every drink tea!
Bowling! It was our friend Emily's birthday (AKA...secretary at Maryland), so we had a girl's night out on the town. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!
Sunday, November 1st
...and this would be Mr. Furry Legs...RIP...we found him lurking on a plant shelf in our stairwell. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him when he was actually alive, but I couldn't bring myself close enough to the furry critter. Sarah and I kept screaming; really, if you had an eight-legged creature in your house, the size of your entire hand, I bet you'd be freaking out much like we were!
...the man who did it all! Thanks Sammy for bearing with us, taking one for the team, facing your fears, and smashing Mr. Furry Legs. Now I can sleep at night, sort of.
We had our first official LADY BUSINESS meeting....we booked our flights to Singapore! YAY, we're going to travel SE Asia. I'm so excited!!! Buckee and a friend are going to come with us too! We'll start in Singapore, train up to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and then land ourselves on the beaches of Thailand....that's not the end of our travels either, just the beginning, but it's what we have for now. Wahoo!
Hanna Postma: Lady Business member. Getting down to business.
Thursday, October 29th
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Today we had our Halloween Party for all the kids at Maryland. Us teachers had a great time dressing up for the occasion and 'spooking' the children. We played Halloween bingo, made oreo spiders, told scary stories, and had a rockin' (very much makeshift) haunted house!
Me: Witchy T...I have the cackle to prove it!
Getting ready for the day...When we got to school Sarah and Hanna weren't as 'scary' as anticipated, so with limited resources, we scrapped some things together, and basically went as death for Halloween.
I had a pick + Sarah had hairspray + Maryland school had a blow dryer = deadly combination. Thank goodness for my professional hair-doing skills, a mom who is an expert stylist, and a childhood in southern Utah where I was able to learn all about the POOF!
It's the day of our Halloween party and Hanna still wasn't sure what she was going to be...Thanks Ray Ray for the inspiration (spider earrings). We turned Hanna into a black widow, well, sort of.
Before....
After...Like I said....she was sort of a black widow. Due to my novice skills, Black Widow met Kiss at approximately 12:00 noon.
Maryland teachers...Tabbi didn't get the memo we were going as DEATH...caught in a tornado.
SPE children...cute little things! They're teaching me patience, haha. I just love them.
Costume Contest.
Joe: Spookiest Costume
Karen: Cutest Costume
They really get into Halloween here, can't you tell??? ha.
...and here's another pic of Sara...she is so adorable! She's always bringing us teachers little treats!
Me and Tabbi's 2A classes!
The after party...we couldn't stand to just go home and not show off our fun costumes, so we hit up Max and Vivian's after work. Ha, we love eating at this place. You should have seen the stares we got, especially on the bike ride there. As if we don't get looked at enough. We definitely got the double takes.
Saturday, October 31st
Today all of us teachers went to Mingdao University with one of our students, Kitty, and her parents, George and Grace. George is a professor at Mingdao, and he needed a little help with an international event his department was throwing for their students.
Our job: Three minute presentation on our experience in Taiwan
The trade: We got to go paint balling, kayaking....and to dinner!
Mingdao Students + Maryland Teachers. Hardly any of the students spoke English, so it was a bit challenging to communicate, but nonetheless, we had a great time!
Paint Balling! I've always wanted to go, and I finally got the chance! Nervous? Maybe a little at first, but once the whistle blew, it was game time...all fear was brushed aside!
The battlefield...pregame.
Hanna and I...ready to hit the field...Bring it!
Hanna and I mappin' out our game plan!
War's tough..I got shot in the face. A little sting, no biggy.
Kayaking! Yet again, another sport I've always wanted to do, but have never had the chance.
Hanna and I getting ready to hit the water for the first time.
After a few go's, we finally got synchronized with our rowing. Champs!
Maryland Teachers.
George and Grace were so nice to take us out to dinner after the day's events. We went to a fun restaurant up the mountain near the high speed railway. We sat out on a patio watching the high speed train pass us by.
Great food + Great scenery + Great company = GREAT TIME!
Dinner at the high speed rail. We had a great view and a great sunset to watch as we ate and chatted.
Tabbi and I with our Fruit Tea! No worries, it's not 'real' tea...the Asians call every drink tea!
Bowling! It was our friend Emily's birthday (AKA...secretary at Maryland), so we had a girl's night out on the town. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!
Sunday, November 1st
...and this would be Mr. Furry Legs...RIP...we found him lurking on a plant shelf in our stairwell. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him when he was actually alive, but I couldn't bring myself close enough to the furry critter. Sarah and I kept screaming; really, if you had an eight-legged creature in your house, the size of your entire hand, I bet you'd be freaking out much like we were!
...the man who did it all! Thanks Sammy for bearing with us, taking one for the team, facing your fears, and smashing Mr. Furry Legs. Now I can sleep at night, sort of.
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