"The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page."

On Sunday we were invited to a formal brunch at a 5 star hotel in Taichung. The restuarnt was on the 13th floor and had an amazing buffet style line up of all types of food. The new teachers and I introduced ourselves to the staff and we were supposed to share a fun fact. The one I shared with the room was not very "fun," however it led to a great table conversation with the older teachers. Then is was time for the more important part, the goodbyes of all the leaving teachers. Again more tears.

Later in the evening, my mentor Sarah, took me to a great pizza place. Getting western food is not as hard as I was told it would be.  Really you can get anything you want, just not all at one store like back home. Another plus, to the already cheap food, is that tipping is not allowed. It is even thought of as rude, or they would be very confused by it.
Sarah also took me to the Jade Market. It was very neat and very clean. All sorts of things to bargain on from fans, tea pots, Buddhas, jewelry, wall art, salt rocks, and more. I purchased two bracelets with dragons on them. Two dragons together mean 'luck in wealth.' You never want to get one dragon alone, it is some sort of evil symbol.

The Taiwanese are very superstitious. Blonde hair, blue eyes are usually thought of as ghosts and the streets in the markets are full of random steps because ghosts are supposedly not able to use steps. They will also wear jackets and use umbrellas a lot to hide from the sun. The paler you are is a sign of high class. When you are tan, it usually means you work in the fields all day.

Kelly, my roommate, also has a great mentor named Holly. Holly showed us where we would be living since for now we are still shacked up in a hotel room sharing a bed like a married couple. We ate at a great little place were they cook the food up in front of you, only $4!! I did make the mistake of eating something red that was in the sprouts, it was so hot that I was in pain for almost 5 minutes afterwards. Holly shared all the wonderful places she has visited during her first year in Taiwan. Her favorites were Cambodia and Bali, she did not recommend the Philippines . I have put riding elephants in Thailand, the Great Wall of China, and Bali at the top of my to do travel list.

Monday night I went with Laura (from Chicago, lived in Spain), Angela (whose from South Africa), and Brittany (Indiana) to spend an evening with ChiMing. ChiMing is a friend of Laura's, he is from Taiwan originally, but will be leaving us to go to Duke University. ChiMing took us to another amazing restaurant in the "green mall," a few of the mentors nicknamed it that because there are beautiful green plants growing all the way up it. Again our meal was only $6, when in the states it would have easily been $20+ tipping. We walked over to the "people's park" and listened to some live music, watched children dance, and enjoyed the dogs running around. The two men playing music asked where we were from and then played three songs for us.

We ended the night by going to Feng Jia, the largest night market in Taichung. We walked around for over an hour and did not even make it through the whole place. Taiwan is very colorful, tons of people, lights, food, clothing, ads, jewelry, and definitely a lot of smells, good and very bad. Most things are very cheap at the market. I plan on getting a whole wardrobe before moving back to the states and I'll only spend 1/3 of what it would be back home. 

I've tried many different types of teas, including a bubble tea that originated in Taichung. Today I had mango over shaved ice, mango is in season right now so it's delicious. One of the best foods I have ever eaten.

Tonight a group of us decided that after school we would ride our bikes till we were good and lost, find a place to eat and then make our way back. It was such an adventure. It can be scary though with so much traffic, huge buses and no stop signs in some intersections. I think it will be the best way to learn the city though.

The people here are so beautiful and beyond welcoming. They are so fascinated with foreigners. They rush to greet us at the hotel and bow every time we come and go. I get compliments all throughout the day from random people in the streets. They would go out of their way to help you and there are no parts of town that we have to be worried about. Nothing is ever locked up and nothing is ever stolen. It's incredible.

At school, I have come to find out I am the "special case," although others would use a different word for it. In July I will teach a mixed 2-4th grade class and a 7th grade grad class at the Shang An Campus, which means I will also have to live on the other side of town. So for one month I will live in the Palace with two other girls. It is in a wealthier part of town and has an amazing pool. The students will be called the Unicorns and we will learn about street dancing and martial arts. Haha, what a kick. In August, I will move to my actual apartment with Kelly and teach New Ja Ban at Nan Men Campus. New Ja Ban means they are a kindergarten class that has zero English experience, they are called the Beach Babes. Finally, in September I will get my two 3rd grade classes, the Stars and the Skyscrapers (the only name I chose was Stars). I will teach at Little Cornel which is not even a campus at all, it is a small two classroom building which I will share with one other teacher. Whew! So many changes, it's all about being flexible they say. I actually see it as a good thing, now I get to experience a little bit of everything. --Thanks for reading -- KMLS

Open Arms

The first 24 hours of my adventure consisted of  rushing to the airport in Omaha, meeting the gang of new teachers in Chicago, enjoying the 13 hour flight to Tokyo, a 6 hour layover due to a delayed flight, an in and out of consciousness flight to Taipei, a two hour drive to Taichung and finally a 2 a.m. arrival to our hotel which we will live in for our first week here!! Phew! I thought the transition of changing to a time zone 13 hours different would be much more of a challenge, but hardly sleeping for 48+ hours made it unnoticeable. It was 82 degrees when we arrived at midnight so it was a quick, uncomfortable welcome to the heat and humidity that was yet to come. My body was also quick to notice the difference in food I was taking in.

I have been delightfully overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people here and I could not explain in words how amazing the girls I came here with are. Majority of us being from the Midwest, excluding Kelly, my roommate, whose from New York State and Angela who is from South Africa! 

 After another short 4 hour rest we had our first breakfast which consisted of noodles, cabbage, eggs, watermelon, espresso, and other things I wouldn't know what to name. We left in a van that is normally used by the kindergarteners at Cornel, the school we will all teach at. 

We had a busy day of getting photos taken for our ARC (alien resident card), getting a health check at the local hospital, and touring the Nan Men Campus. Cornell consists of two campuses, Nan Men which I believe means North Gate, will be where I will work. During our tour we had our first glimpse into the classrooms and the students. No one wears shoes inside so right off the bat you feel free and also a little indifferent when you think about what you could walk on. Every single one of us already adored the students and I don't believe I've ever met students so excited to meet their teachers. It was such a thrill. The 10 new teachers and I had a lunch with all the teachers from the previous year, whom were all of our mentors, and the administration team. For the limited hours of sleep I had by this point, I felt very awake and every conversation I had I was completely engulfed in to. Immediately I knew these people were incredible and I had made one of the best decisions of my life choosing to teach in Taiwan. 

Our health check took quite awhile. It consisted of paperwork, eye exames, height/weight, blood work, X-rays, and of course more espresso! On our way back to the hotel we were actually pulled over by the police! Yeah, day 1 and already getting in trouble. Sadly the school got a ticket for having "too big" of people in a van made for "little people."

Later in the evening, all of the mentors picked up their mentees on scooters and drove us through town to a restaurant called Banana Man. The restaurant was beautifully decorated after a movie from the 1940s. The menu had some extreme foods like crispy large intestine and pig intestine fried with silk ginger. Luckily, our table ordered sweet and sour pork and kung pao chicken. I also tried some hot fruit tea which was very tasty! Hot tea is very popular here, actually almost any hot drink is popular from water to milk. Our group took up 3 tables of 8 people each. The conversations and stories continued to flow well after the meal. We talked about nightlife, the markets, food, traveling, teaching and more.

My mentor Sarah and Banana Man!

The scooter ride was very exciting and frightening at the same time. I loved it, getting to take in the atmosphere and be apart of everything going on around me, although the fumes and the closeness of all the vehicles is quite intimidating. It will be awhile till I am comfortable driving one myself. Taichung reminds me of an Asian New York City, big advertisements, huge buildings, loud- in your face signs and people everywhere. There are not many rules when driving either, but one or two that will get you in some trouble, or even get you hurt, if you don't obey.

Today we were picked up again in the kindy van and taken to the Taichung Cultural Center for the graduation of Cornel's highest level of kindergarten, Sho Ban, and the 6th grade classes. The ceremony lasted for almost 3 hours, which may seem extreme, but we enjoyed tons of singing, dancing, and acting from the most adorable students and the staff.  

At the end there was a surprise performance and dedication to Jilda, the women who hired us all. Jilda is retiring from Cornel after 11 years. The performance had many people in tears, including myself. 

I knew I had wanted to teach overseas, however even I am pleasantly surprised with just how happy and changed I already feel being here. The bonds and connections I have made here already are indescribable. I know I will cherish them forever. I have already experienced so much here, including squatting over a hole in a public restroom, that it is hard to fathom what will come next. Taichung is extremely fast paced and it is overwhelming to think that I will be teaching in just one week, though I must say I am truly enjoying every minute of it! 

The West is calling

My grandmother is where my love for travel and many other aspects of my life come from. She has taken me and my other 5 Lamp cousins on multiple trips throughout all of our lives. This Summer, before I head off to Taiwan in 17 days, we took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. My younger cousins Riley (11) and Spencer (7) also joined. We left on a Wednesday, drove 518 miles to Cheyenne, WY. Thursday we headed northwest all the way to Grand Teton National Park. The Teton mt. range was described as the energetic teenagers of the Rocky Mts. I would have described them as pure beauty that you'd never believe existed until you actually saw it. We had planned on camping most of the trip, but since we came late May/ early June it was still pretty cold, so my grandma bought a cabin for the night. The four of us played charades for entertainment and it ended up being a highlight of the trip. 

The mountains and the whole area was majestic. I took plenty of pictures, there were multiple signs to be "bear aware," and we stopped at many gift shops. Riley and I were the only ones to hike around the area. Day 3 we took the 18 mile drive north to Yellowstone. We spent the entire day in Yellowstone. We saw Old Faithful go off, drove around the Emerald pool and Sunset Lake, we saw mule deer, big horn sheep, bison, and an eagle. Unfortunately we were not lucky to see any grizzly bears or my favorite, the wolf.

Mule deer

We left Yellowstone through the east entrance, still hoping to run into some bears. Never happened. We drove through the windy roads, high cliffs, and "falling rocks" until we reached Cody, WY. Cody is known for their large rodeos and their remembrance of the legendary Buffalo Bill. In the morning, we attempted to go to Buffalo Bill's museum, but we felt that our money was better put to an hour of horse back riding. Both of the boys had never been on a horse and it had been several years for me. 

At the last minute we decided to put South Dakota into our trip, so we headed off to SD. We made it about 80 miles from the boarder of SD and decided it was nice enough to finally camp for a night. We spent a good half hour trying to get a fire going, when we finally did we roasted miniature marshmallows, cooked chicken noodle soup, and heated up some peas. 

Day 5 we packed up our camping gear and drove 30 miles north to see the Devil's Tower.

On the way up we saw a prairie dog field and had quite a laugh watching them chase each other and jumping up into what looked like a prayer stance.

We hit the road again finally making it into SD. Since Riley and I were the only two to suffer through the 39 degree overnight weather in a tent we fell asleep quickly in the car. 

Next on our list was Mount Rushmore. I had been a few times before, but it was the first time I took the Presidents trail that went much closer to the monument. (It helped to burn off some of the boys' energy).

In the evening, we spent a good amount of time in Wall, SD where the famous Wall Drug is located. I enjoyed it just as much as I used to when my mom would bring us up every summer. It was the boys first time and they liked it at well. If you've never heard of it, the town was made famous by giving out free water to traveling settlers back in the day. Nowadays there are between 2-3 blocks full of shops of all variations; leather, Indian art, glass sculptures, wild life mounts, kids toys, etc. They also have homemade ice cream, many sets/statues to take photos with, and musical singing westerners.

We drove another 20 miles to Badlands National Park and camped there for the night. When the sun set there was a program about the American Black Footed Ferret, how they are endangered and the story of bringing them back into population. After that, they brought telescopes out to look at Venus, Mecury, Saturn, and other star constellations. There was a 22 mph wind that night so we did not stay for that part. 

Monday, day 6, we left the Badlands with the attempt to make it back home. We stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the worlds only Corn Palace! We had drove about 200 miles that day and had another 300 miles to go so the visit was brief, consisting of some photos and a 15 min clip of all the details and history of the Corn Palace's significance and uniqueness.

After a round trip of 2,205 miles, hundreds of pictures, strong memories, and plenty of buttons pushed we made it home at the end of day 6 around 6:45 P.M.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go on a trip West with family that I love and to experience so many historical wonders and natural beauties of this country and this planet! 

 -KMLS