It's a little different here

Clearly not claustrophobic

Last day of training (for now anyway). Lunch:I bought a coffee from Starbucks, and at approximately $2.50 Canadian, it seemed perfectly reasonable. It's not uncommon for it to cost a dollar more than what I paid today.

Ghetto light fish

Training in Hsinchu resumed. The first workshop dealt with attitude at work, and we watched a documentary about Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market.
Real fish are beneath this bit of greenery:

Hsinchu training / Ghost Festival

I caught the train to Hsinchu this morning. I spent the day at the school headquarters training for the upcoming semester.
The unisex bathroom:
A guy unwittingly locked the bathroom entrance door while I was in a stall. He must have been surprised when I appeared, washed my hands, then walked past the urinal he was using.

When I got back to Zhongli, I saw, smelled, and heard people in the streets with their paper money, incense, and firecrackers. Suddenly the air is so smoky.

Chopped alive / It's magic!

I took the train to Taipei by myself, and I didn't get lost. I had a quick look through some of the shops at Taipei Main Station. I found people being chopped alive - or, if you must say, massaged. If you look closely, you can see the deadly cleavers in that man's hands. I spotted this man mysteriously levitating this table only by holding the limp table cloth corners. Things are not as they seem.
My reason for going to Taipei was not only to practice my navigation abilities, but also to meet with a local for conversation/language exchange. That took place at a coffee shop.

Tea house, etc.

With a co-worker, I caught a bus to the small town where her grandparents live.

We passed by a betel nut vendor: Then there was the visit to a nearby port:
I saw so many dragonflies there. A big mass of them were flying together above one small sheltered area.

A beer festival was underway in the hot afternoon. You could get a free sample of beer, but the line was long, and it didn't seem worth the wait. We went inside here instead and got snacks.
Back to the grandparent's house. As we were leaving, a small parade in celebration of the upcoming Ghost Festival swept by us.

We drove to a mountainous area in Taipei (Ooh Lai, as I'd type the town's name). There's a market, restaurants, and hot springs. We ate dinner at one of the restaurants.
I drank sugar cane juice:


Then everyone, except for me, went to sit in the hot springs. I didn't quite feel ready to sit naked in the hot springs with them. I guess that particular Taiwanese experience will have to wait. While the group were enjoying the hot springs, I walked through a nearby street. I'd have taken more pictures, but it was too dark. I imagine it's beautiful there in the daytime. There are bridges, a river, mountains, and buildings built into them. I could hear a restaurant goer KTV-ing near an open window. I also saw a store vendor trying to whack this toad/frog out of her store. It kept coming back. Maybe it's one of those creatures that likes abuse.
Another drive through Taipei took us to a very cool tea house. It was pouring rain by this time, but it complimented the atmosphere of the place. The tea house is in a wooded area, and you need to follow a downhill path to reach it. It's open 24 hours. People were sitting outdoors in the rain at tables with big umbrellas to keep them dry. We sat inside though, ordered tea (we steeped the tea ourselves) and snacks, and played card games. I learned a few new ones.

We were driven home. I got back to my place sometime past 3am.

Last day of camp

It's been so busy at work lately. Everyone is preparing for the new school year, which includes new decorations in the classrooms and office. I'm still unclear as to whether there'll be an actual renovation, or if it'll just be paint touch-ups, new white boards, etc. In any case, I had to pack up my room and stow the contents away for the time being.

Today was my last day teaching camp, and I'll be spending next week at training sessions and preparing lessons.


I've seen a number of cockroaches here. Surprisingly, they're not very big. Maybe they have to be on the smaller side so that they can weave their way through the crowded city streets in Taiwan.

'Broadway' Theatre

I left work an hour early today to go to Hsinchu with several co-workers. We went to a performance put on by some of the students who attend two branches of our school in Hsinchu. We took the fastest of the three regular types of trains.

The train station in Hsinchu is the oldest one:We had some time to kill, so we visited Burger King before catching a cab to our destination.
The plays:
-Seven Foolish Fishermen
-Romeo and Juliet
-Jack and the Magic Harp
-A Mid-Summer Night's Dream (fairy below)

The plays were over by nine, but by the time we got back to the train station, we realized that we'd need to wait until 10:30 for the train we wanted. On top of that, we caught the slow local train back. I don't think I got back to my place until midnight. All of us were pooped, and dreading waking up early for work on Friday.

Close to officially official

I paid for my plane ticket and hotel for two nights, three days in Hong Kong. In a few days my ticket will be ready for pick-up! It'll be a short trip, but for my wallet and taxation purposes, it's for the better. I need to get cracking and start thinking about exactly what I want to do while I'm there.

Travel Agency

I went to see a travel agent today about booking a flight to Hong Kong at the end of September. It's not official yet, but it looks like it's going to happen :) I've already started planning where I want to go during my winter holiday too.

Yesterday I had yet another passport photo taken (the third one within a handful of months) and put onto a cd. Apparently that's the norm here. The lighting makes my skin look dewy, yet lifeless. It also gives me the appearance of a person about to go on a safari.

Oh, I forgot to mention that when some of the kids saw the 'stethoscope' yesterday, they thought that it was to be used with something we'd be drinking in class.

Proof that I have a heart

I made a stethoscope for use in Science class today.

According to this device, I do have a heart. Or, I'm a robot with a pacemaker. Or still, I'm a brain in a vat that is being fed the idea that what I hear is my heart beat. One of those explanations is probably right.

Little Haagz

Look how tiny the Haagen-Dazs ice cream containers are.


Back to work tomorrow. The upcoming week is my last week teaching camp, and then I'll begin preparation for the regular school year.

Moody skies

I stayed inside for most of the day today, except when I did my laundry and when I went to the rooftop of my apartment building. It rained lightly, and was very windy. When I poured my laundry detergent, the wind directed it away from the washer and onto the wall.

Some locals repair their wind-mangled garden construct:


I was eaten alive by the mosquitoes at Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm. I have between 15-20 bites. Parts of my leg feel like braille.

Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm

The field trip to Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm actually materialized. We left Thursday morning, and returned Friday afternoon. It's kind of funny that we ended up going, because typhoon Sepat is the strongest typhoon out of the three that have threatened our trip. Sepat is also probably the furthest north (and nearest Zhongli) that any of the three typhoons were/are headed.

It took about four hours each way. Now I've passed through several more counties. This also marks the furthest south I've been in Taiwan. One could easily drive from one end of the country to the other and back within a day. How tiring, though.

We stopped twice on the way for bathroom breaks. The rest area in Taichung is very nice, and we stopped to eat and look around at the small shops there.

I took this picture while on the bus. I like it because it looks like an old photograph.
The children KTV'd along the way. Each of the teachers also led a game for a period of time. I chose I-Spy, since I don't know many car games (especially for a few dozen ESL kids of varying levels).
We were late leaving, and late arriving at Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm. After checking our bags and selves into the hotel, a trolley whisked us off to a show. The performers were like acrobatic jockeys. Each took turns balancing their body on their horse as it trotted around the ring.
I think the group is from Kazakhstan.
The next few hours were for the kids to swim. It started to pour, but luckily it stopped before we left our under cover seating area.

The tiny lizard in our hotel room. Really, tiny. It didn't last though, because of one of the kids decided to "game over" it. Later at night I saw two more of the same type of lizards outside clinging to a wall. They move so quickly it's kind of creepy.
Two gardeners in front of our hotel:
Starfruit litter:
Part of the farm's scenery:
For dinner we had a barbecue. That's my hand with the lighter.
We cooked until it was late and dark out.
Next, we went for a guided insect watch in the dark. The students were told to bring their flashlights. We didn't really see any interesting bugs. I saw one firefly, and nothing else out of the ordinary. I did spot two frogs (or toads?).

After the "insect watch" my class split off from the group of other students, and we played games. What a long day. Time for bed.

In our hotel room we heard a small noise, and the kids guessed that it was a mouse. It was probably some type of bug. Speaking of bugs, there was a small cockroach-like critter on the wall.

Something shit on my towel after I'd let it hang to dry. Maybe on of those lizards. Intruders! :(

My bed wasn't comfortable, but it was better than the one I'm currently using. I had a real pillow and blanket, and there was more to the mattress than I'm used to (but still not much).

Morning:
Breakfast. Then, the first DIY: sun-darling:
Here's my painted Rhino Beetle:
Next DIY: steam buns:

Apres, DIY: pot a plant:
After all the DIY, we went to a SIY, a see-it-yourself, or a show. Dancers and clowns. The dancers appeared and seemed to feel very out of place and performing for the wrong type of crowd.
The clowns. I was sitting in the front row and was asked to inspect an 'empty' paper bag, then say "ee yoh" over it. Magically, a hunk of something came on out. A small boy from the audience was asked to go onto the stage, and one of the clowns sat on the boy on his shoulders, then rode around on a unicycle that was extended further from the ground.
There are two cats on top of the pole he's balancing.
We ate lunch, then got on the bus to go back to Zhongli. A little KTV, but I think everyone was tired. It rained part of the way:
When we arrived back at the school, I was allowed to go home an hour early because the school was going to be shut down due to Sepat's approach. Several of my co-workers told me to be careful because this typhoon is very strong.

I dropped my bags off at my place, then went to RT-Mart. Expectedly, it was busy there.