"Are you feeling the typhoon?"

Yes I am. It rained off and on today, and it's been extra windy. It also seems to get darker sooner. Despite that, our field trip is still scheduled for the end of this week.

I looked at the Central Weather Bureau's website, and the forecast seems to show the typhoon heading South.

Stormy weather

"Tropical storm Pabuk formed today, Sunday, in the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan. The name Pabuk, a type of large fresh water fish, was contributed to the regional list of names by Laos.

According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency tropical storm Pabuk is currently located 1100km south east of Okinawa with sustained winds of 40 knots or 46mph. The storm is forecast to move west northwest and threaten northern Taiwan as a typhoon in three days."

People in Taiwan like typhoons because it means a day or more off from work or school. Yeah, that's kind of a foreign notion to me. A day off due to snowfall - yes. Typhoon? Um...

This tropical storm just may interfere with a school field trip planned for this Thursday and Friday. I was really looking forward to our overnight trip, but it may have to be postponed. If that ends up being the case, then my lesson plans for this week are all screwed up too. I patted myself on the back for planning my lessons for this week in advance, and I did my best to cram 5 days worth of material into 3 days. Now, it's a waiting game.

More local wanderings

I saw this small temple a few weeks ago, but didn't stop by until today. It's a few blocks away from my apartment.

What I saw inside:Flowers, flowers, everywhere!

Chung Yuan Christian University

I took a walk to nearby CYCU:Very quiet on a Saturday. From this angle, the building on the right reminds me of SFU. The street is busy beyond though.

Corporate rain

It was stormy this afternoon. Thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. How tropical.


This evening I had to attend a school conference. Conference is such a serious word. So anyway, the conference mainly consisted of a presentation to parents of K students who have recently graduated, and who are considering enrolling their kid in upper echelons of the school.

Brooklyn accent & my blood type

Lately, the way a few of the students have been saying 'journal,' it's as though they have a Brooklyn accent. Quite amusing.

I just found out that I am the carrier of blood type A. According to an article online about blood types and evolution, my descendants are closer to a chimpanzee than to a gorilla.

Garbage in Taiwan

Have I mentioned anything about the garbage trucks here? Every evening they weave through the city collecting the - mostly pink - garbage bags. The trucks sing a tune to let you know that they are near. I've heard that some foreigners are reminded of ice cream trucks when they hear the tune.