"The Most Important Thing Is To Enjoy Your Life- To Be Happy- It's All That Matters." - Audrey Hepburn

"10, I give it a 10!"

This past weekend was spectacular! 

On Friday night, after getting done with school at 7:10, I joined the rest of the girls for an "Oh, CANADA!- Canadian Tuxedo" themed party. The theme was in honor of our only Canadian teacher's 25th birthday. A Canadian Tuxedo is wearing all denim.

Left Krista the Canadian, Right Michelle the American

Three peas in a pod!

Surprisingly, everyone had a lot of denim attire. I wore a jean vest, but it was salmon colored, oops! The Shang-An Chinese staff even came, including my summer teacher, Glory! 

T. Glory~ Unicorns!

Katie and I, with Moose Angela

I went home a little earlier than the rest of the gang so I could go hiking in Dakeng in the morning. The first time I went on trail 6. This time Laura, Kelly, Rhonda, and I did trail 9 and 10. It is always a great feeling to get up early and take a 20 minute scoot ride out of the city to hike up in the mountains. There are so many types of trees, I wish I knew even half of them.

We saw about 5 different spiders, which were as big as my hand, resting in the middle of their webs that had to be 4-5 feet around. My nightmare, literally. There are tons of little lizards running around Dakeng. We saw quite a few banana trees and picked some to try later. At the top, we were offered some local fruit, and on the way down we communicated as best we could with another local along the trail. I am told there are monkeys in Dakeng, but I have yet to see any. 

Praying mantis, see him?

Kelly Picking bananas!

Not many places you can see this much green and city.

Unfortunately I did not wear any bug spray and I wore shorts, so my legs are COVERED in bug bites. I'm talking 30-40 bites just on my legs. >_<

We spent a good 15 minutes trying to find a Greek restaurant called UZO once we made our way back into the city. We found it down a side ally and it was closed, so we ate at Early Bird. The very foreign occupied joint that plays NFL football. 

Saturday night, all of the teachers were invited to our head boss, the owner of Cornel School, the infamous Bih Hua's (pronounced Be wah.) She lives in the suburbs of Taichung, in a big marble house with her husband. Her house was extravagant, but beautiful. She is also a professional ballroom dancer, and her house is almost a shrine to her many years of dancing. We spent the majority of the evening in her back yard where she had prepared loads of delicious food! We ate steak, potato salad, mac and cheese, lasagna, brownies, and more. She prepared so many "home-style" dishes. She even made vegetarian dishes and a gluten free dish for the teacher's who can't eat meat or bread.

Bih Wah explaining her entrees

Some of my closest friends :)

Afterwards, we were brought in for homemade ice cream, a slideshow of her trip to China, and two videos of her ballroom performances where she won 1st place. Watching the dancing video's has been said to be a tradition, meaning she plays them every year for the new teachers. Before we left she gave each of us a 500 NT gift certificate to a shopping center that I have not yet been to.

New Friends at 'Luna See'

A handful of us left Bih Hua's to go to "Luna See," basically live music in the mountains. It was a lot of fun to see many of the same people we had met from the first time we went to "LuvStock" and of course to meet many more. It was a bit pricey to get there and back since it was a trek up the mountain.

Again went home earlier than normal so Kelly and I could join Gina and Matt for an all day adventure in her smaller district, Dajia. We were not sure what was planned, but boy did we have one of the best days yet!

Kelly and I took the city bus just outside of Taichung to meet Gina. After hopping off the bus we started walking towards the bridge that we'd meet her at, then an elder woman with white gloves on was walking towards us. She held up both of her hands and slowed down to a complete stop just in front of us. She had our attention so we had also stopped, and each raised a hand up to hers. We stood there, Kelly holding up her right hand, me my left, and touched hand to hand with this woman. She smiled a giant smile at each of us, nodded, and walked away.... 


While we waited we bought some fruit, mango, waxed apples, dragon fruit, and guava. Then Gina showed up in her nice red car and we took off to pick up Matt. When I showed her my bug bites she insisted that we stop at her house for medicine first. (The Taiwanese genuinely care about the well being of everyone around them. How do I leave this kind of place?) To relieve the itching they use a Mentholatum, a clear gel like substance that smells like icy-hot.  

Gina shared with us that is has been the hottest and longest summer in Taiwan in many years. I must say it is very strange to have Summer weather here, when everyone back in the states is talking about colder weather and changing leaves. 
 
  

God is being brought ran into temple after dance to fight off demons.

Daoist guardian generals

We arrived just in time for a Taiwanese traditional celebration of The God, Mazu, meaning Goddess of the Sea. (Gina had told me it means Mother of Ancestors) The celebration consisted of music, costumes, dancing, and the burning of 'ghost' money!

 

After watching the performance we headed inside the temple to take some photos. Any woman on her 'time of the month' is not allowed into the temple. The 'waste' leaving the body is not good for the God. 

Lighting incense to burn in the temple after tribute to MaZu.

 

Where the incense are placed.

Water chestnuts looked just like mustaches!

We had a delicious shrimp and noodle soup lunch for only 40 NT ($1.20)! Then we tried a few of the samples inside the many dessert bakery shops they have. On the streets they were cooking many things, as usual, but this time I did see intestines being cooked! Gina said she likes intestines.

 

Sign behind us says do not touch in Chinese.

Then we went into a secluded area where had previously been one of the first schools in Taiwan. Now it seems to be another temple, and a storage place for many of the guardian generals weapons and costumes. Kelly and I posed for photos with many of the props, although we probably should not have.

Kelly took a picture with the green demon guardian and I took one with the red demon guardian of MaZu. I found this piece about them... "a pair of green and red-faced demons whom she had previously subdued, and who then became her most trusted guardians, A thousand Li Eyes (Qianliyan) and Favourable Wind Ears (Shunfeng’er). Her two guardians are so called as one can spot a seafarer needing help from a thousand li,6 while the other can hear the cries for help as fast as the wind can. As her loyal guardians, they clear the way for the goddess’ journey."

Qianliyan, MaZu, and Shunfeng'er

 We then went to the Jin Hua Shan MaZu Folk Museum. Past the first floor we were not allowed to take photographs. The entire musuem was dedicated to MaZu and her guardians. On the top floor were her costumes, statues, paintings, wood carving, etc. 
   

Ideal length was 3 inches.

We also saw the miniature shoes that woman would wear after binding their feet throughout their entire life. The bones would break, and their feet smelled horrible, but because the men thought it was highly attractive, woman would do this to be beautiful and worthy of a husband. This was also done to limit the ability to take part in politics or have a social life .YIKES!

Next we were off to see a landmark that has not been touched since it was built during the last dynasty, Qing Dynasty. The structure had been built for a woman who remained 'pure' until her death. She was first married to a family at the age of 7, at 12 her husband died. She never remarried and died 'pure' 70 years later.  





 

Just before sunset, we headed to the coast. The Taiwan Straight coast that would face west towards China. The view was beautiful. Wind turbines lined the coast, and empty wetlands covered the majority of the area. Everyone was allowed to take the boardwalk down to the very shallow waters, but much of it was roped off to protect the hundreds of miniature white crabs and their homes.

Lastly, we ate at Torii Coffee. The cherry on top of our Sunday, haha! Especially at night, pictures could not capture the view we could see. The restaurant is away from the city, and higher up in the mountains so the view was splendid. 

I have heard over and over that hot pot is a favorite food from many of the locals. I finally had my first. You choose the meat you want, and they bring you it raw along with a fire lit pot full of vegetables of all sorts and some seafood.

Matt and Gina!

Just before getting on the city bus to go home I bought a shirt in the night market. I was exhausted, but ecstatic about my day in Dajia!
 
Check out more Taiwanese secrets here! ^_^

Thanks for reading --K  

Lights, Cameras, Philippines!

"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house, on that cold, cold, wet day." - Dr. Seuss.

Taiwan, Formosa, leaving for Philippines.

Instead of a house, it was Eagle Point Resort in Mabini, Anilao, Batangas. Now it is quite depressing to see the pictures on their website of all they have to offer when the sun is shining and there is not a typhoon named USAGI hanging around for three days. 

Iron Man & I at the airport ^_^

Nonetheless, the girls and I really enjoyed our stay, but it was nothing like we predicted. 
We left Taichung early on Thursday morning on the infamous Ubus that runs 24 hours all the way from Taipei (North) to Kaohsiung/Kenting (South). It took two hours to get to the airport, followed by a two hour flight to Manila, the capitol of the Philippines. We had wanted to fly to another island, but because of the time we had we decided to stay on the same island. We had previously been warned by former teachers of the dangers in Manila, so we headed as far south as we could until we hit ocean.


We were provided a shuttle service from Manila to our resort. This was a 3+ hour ride by a Filipino man who may or may not have been driving for the first time in his life! Went a bit like this, acceleration- break - foot on the gas, off, on, off, on, break, acceleration. We were all nauseated. 

I was however fascinated with everything I saw around me. Philippines is always thought of, or advertised as, white sand beaches, scuba diving, gorgeous woman, etc.  And while the resort offered this and more. I would have never predicted the state of the country we drove through. What looked to be scraps of old fashioned cars made into public transportation buses covered the muddy streets. There were also 'tricycles,' which consisted of one man riding a bike with a cargo-like seat attached for one or two more persons. 
 
We were driving through Batangas during what I would assume to be rush hour. Hundreds of working men poured out into the streets. I peeked my head out of the window a few times and the looks on their faces were priceless! There were children with no shirts on, some with no shoes, junk yards, shack like shops, run down schools, and random chickens. The buildings were painted bright colors, perhaps to make up for all the mud that consumed the area. Instantly, we all had a much greater appreciation for all we have in Taiwan.  

 
We finally made it to Eagle Point. After almost 12 hours of traveling we refreshed ourselves and headed to dinner. Inevitably, the day we had just spent traveling also happened to be the best weather we would see in the Philippines.

Raymond

Throughout the weekend I heard the phrase, "Yes, Ma'am" and "Yes Maddam" more times then I have in my entire life.  The staff was exceptionally nice and the group of us quickly took one of the resort's staff, Raymond, under our wing. Along with other greetings we had a spider in our room that was almost the size of my palm. 

The resort offered four different pools. Of course we all decided our favorite was the one furthest from our room. We went for a late night swim and rested up. 

Happy in the storm ^-^

Friday morning (Happy 3 Months in Taiwan) the Typhoon was well underway. The hotel provides kayaking, a ferry ride over to a secluded white island, scuba diving training, and snorkeling. All of which we could not partake in because of USAGI! However we DID get to snorkel in their ginormous salt water pool. There were tons of fish and even cooler, SHARKS! My personal favorite was the sea turtle. After a quick lunch, we each received a relaxing 1 hour massage. 

Later Friday night, the resort set up videokee, basically karaoke, for the guests. Overall the guests included us, a handful of others, and what we soon would find out, a whole cast and crew of a Filipino reality T.V. series. The resort also provided a 'Make Your own Cocktail' for 280 Philippino Pisos. (1,000 Php = $22, 1,000TWD = $33). We sang, we danced, we made friends. Ended the night with another late night swim and adventures on the rocks. This was not a great ideas with the high tides coming in. 

Our 3rd day, and still a no go on any ocean activities, we decided to get the good times rolling early. On our way to the pool we were asked to compete against each other in a videokee contest. We agreed, signed our names, and headed into the Bay View Room where it would all take place. 

Camera setting up.

Shortly after we began practicing our beautiful voices, a swarm of camera crews, light technicians, mentors, and a director came into the room. They "asked" us to be extras in their T.V. series Pantaxa, which means fantasy. 
Pantaxa is a series where 7 girls are put up to a variety of challenges, which they are eliminated from, until there is one overall winner!  

Kelly, Steph & I with JayCee the mentor and 4 of the Pantaxa girls.

We watched and conversed with the mentors of the show as the 7 girls performed their videokee songs and tried to impress the judges.  Later that night we had a wonderful time hanging out with the cast and crew of the show while listening to live music. A huge plus to going to the Philippines is that they all speak English very well. As a whole, much better then in Taiwan.

The language of the Philippines is called Tagalog. It is spoken by most, but not all. It sounds very similar to Spanish, but one of the ladies I met said it's very different. Mah-gen-dah means Beautiful. Salameth means Thank you. Plah-cen-cha means Sorry.  

Early Sunday morning we took the shuttle back to the Manila Airport. Kelly and I would be leaving while the other girls stayed an extra night in Manila. Our flight was postponed 4 hours. I was so revealed to be back in Taiwan! It never felt more like home. 

Update on school: Grade reports are due this week, I hope the parents don't get angry with me. Reading comprehension overall was brutal. I have gotten my students to produce one good piece of writing so far and I am working on creating my first bulletin board, which I must say is looking pretty darn good so far!
So much to do, so little time!

Haiku poems my students wrote about Fall.

My rambunctious twins had their 10th birthday on Wednesday. I have a new student in my grad class who studied for over 3+ years in England. He is quite the character! 

Now that I have health insurance, I officially bought MY scooter! 
In other fabulous news: I purchased 2 headbands, 2 scarves, a long skirt, an orange jean vest, and earrings all for $35!

--Thanks for the love! - K

 

"Be the most Brilliant COLOR in the box!"

Last weekend I took a sporadic trip to Kaohsiung with another teacher, Michelle. It was completely a last minute decision, however it was another incredible experience. Earlier in the day I was at a Rock Music Festival at one of the larger parks in Taichung, Wexin Park. They had two stages of music and another amphitheater with the bigger bands. 

Taiwan lady rockin' it- holding a rainbow flag!

I spent most of my time looking at all the art, jewelry, and random assortment of knick knacks all throughout the park. I bought a pair Taiwan flag earrings, a necklace with Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc, two scrunchies (oh yes, I'm bringing those back), and some postcards. 
 
When I finally stopped to enjoy the music with the others, that is when Michelle presented me with the opportunity to go to a ColorPlay concert in Kaohsiung. 

We took the HSR, High Speed Rail, to Kaohsiung. By bus the trip takes 3 hours, by HSR it takes 50 minutes. Then we took the MRT, a subway, to Dream Mall. Dream Mall is the largest mall in Taiwan, it has a miniature amusement park on top of it which includes a Ferris wheel!  Of course we took the time to ride the Ferris wheel. 

View from the top of Ferris wheel at Dream Mall.

Afterwards we met Michelle's childhood friend, Tessa, as well as her roommate Ria. (It is quite amazing to me that four of the new teacher's know someone who lives in Taiwan. Crazy considering how most people in the U.S. don't even know Taiwan is an island.) We went to a local spot called Brickyard. Brickyard had some great live Latin and reggae music combined with an assortment of people I have never seen before in one place. We met people from Japan, El Salvador, South Africa, China, and Russia- and I'm positive there were many other ethnicities mixed in. I danced with some real Latin men and women and met quite a few other colorful people who had me smiling ear to ear. I really enjoyed my time there.

One of the many harbors surrounding Kaohsiung.

We left early to prepare for the fun-filled festivities of the next day. Sunday morning we met some of Tessa's friends outside of the University where the Color Play would take place. Tessa has been living in Taiwan for two years. I was in shock and awe at how well she could speak Chinese. She communicated very well with the taxi drivers, restaurant owners, scooter shop people, and even the locals at the concert! We were with a group of about 6-9 people. YouMing and his sister Ria (2nd Ria), Show, and James all spoke very good English and just as predicted, beyond nice and welcoming to Michelle and I. 


Upon arriving at Color Play, which took place on a beach, you receive 3 bags of powdered color, two tattoos, eye glasses, and a mask for protection.  They also greeted you by tossing color on you as you walked through the main entrance.  We arrived JUST before the first "color-off." We ran up into the main action where we reciprocated throwing color at everyone, balloons full of color exploded, they shot color off the stage, had people in the crowd with color guns shooting people all over the place. Complete colorful madness. 


D.J.'s took control of the music throughout the day while the fun continued. They had a "bubble party," also known as a foam pit, going on for awhile. Half way through the day we went for a swim in the ocean, which led to us getting clean. I decided to venture off on my own to get colorful again, take some pictures with locals, and dance next to the stage. I wore my glasses the entire time, unfortunately not my mask which I'd later regret. 

Relaxing; Top: Tessa, Show, Ria. Bottom: Me, YouMing, James, Ria

The group of us relaxed for a bit on the beach, watched the sunset, ate, and had a conversation about the war in Syria. It was during this time that Michelle's bag was hijacked by a very...let's say.. whacked out individual. Luckily, I put the pieces together and realized who took the bag about ten minutes later and retrieved it. (This comes into play later.) 

All those boxes full of Color!!

Michelle and I had not left with much money and by Sunday night we were both out. We were relying on her credit card to get us HSR tickets back home to Taichung. Since the HSR ran until 11 P.M. We decided to stay for at least one hour of the live music, 8-9. 

The last hour was by far the best hour of the whole day. New arrivals had shown up in white clothing, however they had no color yet. I suggested we go 'attack' them with color and it was on after that. Five of us ran around throwing color on anyone who looked too clean, then we ran across the front line throwing color. The reactions were what made it so thrilling. Everyone had just been waiting for the color tossing to start again. We got everyone riled up, throwing and attacking with color all over again! 

About to get hit with some yellow.

Michelle and I sadly said our goodbyes just after 9 o'clock and headed to the MRT to take to the HSR. The walk would have taken 30-40 minutes to the MRT, but by some guardian miracle, or just the dumbfounding consideration of the Taiwanese, two young men who spoke zero English offered us to scoot us. It was after that we realized that her entire wallet, with the credit card, was missing. We had just enough NT to get to the HSR. Arrived at 10:55, as the last train for Taichung left at 11:00. We considered ourselves stranded. Luckily, we were saved by the Taiwanese friend I made a few weeks back, Sam. He had a friend in Kaohsiung who gave us enough to get to the bus station that ran all night. At 12:45 we boarded the bus, arriving home at 3:50 A.M. QUITE the experience back home.  School on Monday was a bit rough. 

Evening Stars

Speaking of school, my schedule changed slightly. I now only have my 3rd graders, split into two classes, Stars and Evening Stars. Then I also teach a Grad class twice a week. The Grad class is 13 year old boys, getting them to crack a smile or share anything is a challenge in itself. Baby steps. 

Stars

I really enjoy my 3rd graders. We work on a lot of spelling, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing, and comprehension. We had a birthday this past week. Birthday's are a big deal. A triple layered cake is always provided for the entire class, denying the cake is not acceptable. 


I now have a Visa Card for Taiwan, as well as a Taiwan cell phone! 

Michelle and YouMing wearing their masks!

Sadly, I have not felt 100% and have had quite a bad cough since not wearing the mask at the Color Play party. I assume my lungs were coated with powder and the lack of sleep led to my sickness. Almost 3 months living here and still no health insurance, even though going to the doctor here takes 15-20 minutes tops and even without insurance is so inexpensive, it makes me a little sick to think what we pay in America for a doctor to tell us to take some Ibuprofen. 


I have been scooting on my own, finding my way across town and not getting lost! So proud ^_^  However, one evening the scooter I am borrowing died and I had to walk it home. (Just a few blocks.)

This weekend was the Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon Festival. Mooncakes are a big deal! Huge tents were set up outside of our apartment for the surrounding community to enjoy a supper together on Saturday night. The festival is to celebrate gathering, thanksgiving, and praying. 

Supper for Moon festival, RIGHT outside of our apartment.

Random fact that makes me happy: Here, Buddha is considered a God and his big belly represents all of our sins he takes and how he is full of forgiveness. Buddha reminds you to BE TRUE TO YOU!

Kelly, Brittany, Stephanie, Amy, and I leave for the Philippines in 3 days!!!!

--Thanks for reading ^_^ K