I love me a song with a banjo.

a Hsinchu Christmas!

If I think about the last Christmas that I spent away from home and away from my family, I am taken back to Vietnam. It felt nothing like Christmas where we were but we made calls home from some internet cafe, anyway, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas even though it felt a bit surreal to be saying those words to anyone when it was surely 40 degrees outside without any Christmas music or movies to accompany the festive season.

Aside from the blow-up snowmen we had seen the day before, the real feeling of Christmas was just not quite in the air in Vietnam. This time around, however, it has felt a bit more Christmas-y; lights strewn all around our neighbourhood, our school's winter performance on Christmas eve, wine, mamosas, soju (!), food, friends, dancing, presents under the Christmas tree, Home Alone and lots of christmas music, of course! It truly has been a great Christmas, despite being away from home, I was incredibly lucky to spend Christmas the way that I did.

Here is a picture of my students performing "If All The Raindrops". They were adorable!

another day, another 'quake.

In case I had forgotten, for a second, where in the world I was living these days, I would say that big time earthquake that happened last night was enough of a reminder. We've had a few little ones here and there, but none that made me feel nauseous (and a bit scared for my life?).

I was only slightly nervous because Beth and I happened to be shopping at the time this was happening, and we also happened to be in an aisle where a LOT of large items could have fallen on our heads had they wanted to. It was... interesting, looking to the top shelves of these aisles to see all of the giant boxes wobbling back and forth. We found comfort, however, in seeing all of the other people going on with their business, as if nothing was happening...

To help paint a better picture(at least of this earthquake's magnitude), we came home to Beth's bathroom ceiling partially collapsed-- but fixable, and the water from our fish tank splashed half way across the living room floor. Luckily, no fish were injured (or humans, as far as I know!).

brrrrrrrr!

... it's 12 degrees in Hsinchu today. Perhaps the coolest it's been so far this year? It feels like -70 (okay, okay, I'm exaggerating). But we've been extremely spoiled thus far, so this is a bit of a shock!

I am learning that is helps to wear your jacket at ALL times (no heating in our school...), and borrow the kids' napping blankets if you get really desperate! Also, I was given some "Little Hotties" hand warmers which I think will be coming in hand-y (pun, totally intended!) prettttty soon!

This has got me wondering: cool-ish temperatures with no heating? or snow with fireplaces and heating? Not that I have much of a choice at this point, really. It looks as if I best be nuttin' up!

dang.

I guess links don't work on my blog anymore? I did, however, find out how to "embed" links so that videos will be able to play right from my page! Oh, how exciting is MY life?!

Sweet beard. Sweet tune.

flickr: updated!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeliza/

'tis the season...

I've heard that it is Winter and almost Christmas elsewhere in the world? Could have fooled me. Last week-end I went downtown to do some Christmas shopping. I felt warm all day and this sign helped me figure out, why, perhaps, I was feeling so hot... in December! It's been silly here; way too nice. These temperatures, however, do not help me get into the Christmas spirit at all, but thankfully there are lots of Christmas lights hanging off of surrounding balconies and people (like the guards at our apartment building, who wear Santa hats) help us to remember what time of year it is! We are also quite proud of our $6 artificial Chritmas tree... proudly displayed in our living room, without lights on it or gifts underneath, but we're getting there. Baby steps...

a venus fly trap garden?

When my students were asked "what kinds of things would you like to grow if you had a garden?", some of the responses were as follows: carrots, corn, cabbage and turnips. Sure, these were the answers I was looking for BUT they were all a bit "safe", too. However, one student had to throw VENUS FLY TRAPS into the mix... likely just to see what my reaction would be? It is worth mentioning that this was the same boy who said that magma was a resource that we could not live on this earth without--enough said.

there's no such thing as a cuter song than this one.

so romantic; in love with the lyrics/music/video/band...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHKuB85EgnI

overwhelmed!

It seems as if I keep stumbling across all of these really great songs lately. I am not complaining, of course, but how is a girl meant to keep up? Seriously!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKXujEphWS8

(the real video is something else, but's it's not PG... so, just playin' it safe!)

a first...

I got to experience my very first "American" Thanksgiving, and what better place to do so than in Taiwan! Now that the week-end is over and the eating has come to a hault, I can say that my first American Thanksgiving was very similar to the Canadian Thanksgivings that I have celebrated in the past.

On a related note, at the second Thanksgiving meal that I attended, we were asked to write something that we were thankful for. I decided to take a less serious route and write: "I am thankful to be swine-flu free, naturally". H1N1 is all of the rage in Taiwan right now, which is also why earlier in the day we were forced to wear these masks as we volunteered at an event with our school. They are just not fun to wear in any way (but we certainly did a good job faking it for a picture!).

the long way round.

I am so thankful to have remembered my sister telling me about this documentary. It has taken over my life-- for the time being, and I have no complaints or regrets. I could watch these two guys travel around the world on their motorcyles all day/night long (it's sort of what I have been doing, actually!). I am quite envious of their friendship, their adventures, but hope that one day I will find that perfect travel mate to also travel around the world with (maybe not on a motorcycle, maybe so?).

If you can, watch Long Way Round (the first trip, where the two lads travel from London, England to New York in about 3 months). Then, you could always get into Long Way Down (their second trip, that takes them from Scotland to Cape Town).

In a nutshell, their journeys are truly inspirational and "real". I won't waste time writing because there are certainly no words to express how I feel about the whole thing. But, I will say, what a world we live in!

Watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk_Qkz_5ti8&feature=related

just try!

This song is so contagious. Just try to dislike it... impossible!
(thanks for coming through again, Trent!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyU7udQhBr8

how to name your kids... the asian way.

While outside on recess duty today, a little girl introduced herself to me. I have been in Asia long enough to know that kids' names can be interesting from time to time. I had a boy named Rock, in Korea, and now a  girl named 'Tree', in Taiwan. I said, "Tree?", and the little girl pointed to a near by tree. I thought "right...". She said there was one difference between her name and the tree she was pointing at and that was, HER name was spelled with a capital letter 'T'... to which I replied "of course it is, because that's your name!" (I could have gotten into a whole lesson about proper nouns at this point, but held back! It was recess after all).

Although my intrigue began in Korea with 'Rock', this incident has made me wonder how on earth do parents come up with names for their kids in this part of the world? I am going to go ahead and say, some parents must have their child, look out a window and name it after the first inanimate object that they see. There is just no other explanation (of the logical sort), in my opinion!

dig these dudes.

http://www.mtvu.com/video/?vid=454602

some funny things...

I went out looking for boots tonight and some funny things happened before and after the actual shopping commenced. First, I know that in one of my posts from way, way back, I mentioned that garbage trucks in Hsinchu blare Beethoven from them as they drive through the streets. I have since found out that this is not to make the streets sound more "classy", or to make the duty of collecting garbage seem more luxurious. Nope, these trucks play this familiar song so that people can hear it from miles away and prepare their garbage for pick up. A pretty hilarious/ingenious concept in itself, right?

Well, tonight I got to witness a really great garbage truck moment (how often does one get to say this?). I was waiting outside of the store and I hear "the song". I see a scooter pull up swiftly to the curb beside me. I think "this woman (or man?) means business!". S/he hauls this oversized, clear bag of garbage off of their scooter and onto the road. The song is getting closer. The person goes away for a few seconds, and returns to JUST get the tail end (most important) part of the truck. The truck does not slow down, maybe it gets even faster around the corner? This person literally tries to throw the giant bag of  trash on the back of this speeding Beethoven-mobile, only to miss it... by a tiny bit. So close.. but yet so far! ha. They don't give up though, they keep chasing after the truck and picking up the bag with every miss! It takes a few more tries until the bag is safely in the back of the garbage truck. Success! Garbage disposal is not an easy task around here, but if you're looking for a challenge... wait to hear that Beethoven!

Shopping is over with. I found some boots and I am on my way home. I find a taxi and a young driver greets me as I hop in. I hand over the card that has my address on it. He looks at it, pulls his car off to the side of the road and calls somebody, apologizing to me and saying "wait". I say "okay!". It takes about 5 minutes for the guy to sort out where I live and even still, I don't feel like I've gotten myself into the most promising of situations, but adventures can be fun! He apologizes again and tries to explain to me that it is his first night on the job (of course it is!). I laugh as I try to piece together any recognizable fragments of the english language coming out of his mouth. He is trying so hard, it is actually pretty sweet! He tells me that I look young, and from this point I don't really care if we get lost-- I like this guy! We talk about English music because he has a sweet pop mix on. It's playing some of my favourites: Nelly, Akon, Gwen Stefani and Beyonce. Cab drivers are so funny here: "ohhh white girl... she must like shitty pop music! yeeeah, I'll put that mix on repeat!". The ride is entertaining as we try to teach each other some basic English/Chinese. He is much better at learning than I appear to be! At one point, he asks me "is this the right road?". Thankfully, I know the area a bit now and know that we are on the right track! We get there safely and I pay my $175NT. I tell him to 'have a good night!' and he happily repeats it after me with a big smile of satisfaction on his face.

... I love this place.

a gem.

No beating around the bush this time. Just another great Canadian artist, covering a fantastic song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2dJ1ZoTCKk

a lot of talkin'

I am proud to say (sort of), that this morning was the first morning since being in Taiwan that I was able to see the sunrise (I should point out that this was not done intentionally, nor was it because I was so incredibly ambitious and motivated to wake up at 6am to see such a sight!).

Despite feeling totally consumed while I dragged myself out of the taxi at 5am, it felt good knowing I wasn't alone and that it had been a pretty good evening. After a really great dinner and some more bowling (probably 2 rounds more than we should have been allowed to play), the three canucks and our Texan friend decided to go to the only familiar place in Hsinchu (sort of like 'Cheers', except not half as cool).

We drank and talked, but mostly talked. In the midst of all of this conversation, I was able to have a pretty solid chat about music with my friend, Tommy. We got talking about how each generation has had its' innovators-- each generation before us has had a new and refreshing approach to making music. There was always someone, some band, challenging what was popular or familiar; reinventing. So, how would our generation be remembered? What singular bands would define us? 10, 20, 30 years from now? We sort of left the conversation with a question mark at the end of it. What we ultimately concluded is that a lot of today's music is "recycled", or bi-products of the past. Maybe this is good? Bad? Maybe we're on to something? Who's to say, really.

I really just wanted to have a reason for putting this video/song/band on my blog. I am trying to substantiate my pop culture rants, somehow, with stories from my travels. Sneaky, I know.

One of the best Canadian bands around!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CE5rQd5D14&NR=1

too cute!

Sometimes, my students are just way too darned cute. Today, I was working with one of my students while the other two boys worked on a writing assignment. They weren't meant to be working together, but one of the boys really understood when I said I'd be busy working with the other student, so he took it upon himself to help out. I noticed what was going on out of the corner of my eye and had to smile. One of my boys was making sure that the other was skipping every line in his notebook, even helping to erase and start a new. He also suggested to the boy (who had been sick all last week), that he should really stop "working" and take a drink of water, which he did so obediently.

If you're reading this, you may be wondering 'why on earth is she taking time to write about such uneventful things!'. To those people, I should readdress my main reason for being in Taiwan in the first place (despite the fact that most of my blog has been devoted to pop culture ramblings and week-end fun updates!). I am a teacher and I love teaching. Some days are better than others and with each day that seems to be complete shit, you just have to nut up (to put it eloquently), and realize that no one is perfect, especially first year teachers. Other days are gems and you have to take these days and really save 'em up in your memory for a later, and bound-to-happen shit day, if you will. Today was a gem, which is why I had to write.

Currently listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A7OruAFESw (way, way, way too catchy!).

Sidenote: Not sure what I think of the album, as a whole, quite yet--but this song is a-okay. If nothing else, a good one to dance around in your living room to! (that never happens in our apartment... never!). ha.

30 degrees? in November?

This past week-end, it hit me (as it does from time to time), that I am not living in Canada anymore BUT in subtropical, beautiful Taiwan. We guessed it was about 25 degrees, but soon found out from a neon sign that it was, in fact, 30 degrees. Wild. It IS November, right?

This week-end was fabulous because:

a) Beth and I drank wine, talked about life and watched a Justin Timberlake DVD.

b) Beth and I, later, met some really nice Germans!

c) I found my way home (by myself!), maybe for the first time? Yes, Miss Independent. ha.

d) Austin took me on his scooter and I shopped on my
own for the first time! I think I did pretty well, but certainly realized the value of having company around while shopping. I also realized I don't want to die here, so I will continue to take rides with Austin. Being the passenger is too much fun anyway!

e) We went bowling! And in Taiwan, as opposed to Korea, you can have a few drinks while playing (the 2 should almost always go hand in hand, in my opinion!). I got a few strikes, too! So, overall a really fun night.

f) We spent the day today, in a little town by the coast called Danshui. We took some free shuttle buses, some trains, some more buses and another train to get there. It was sunny all day and we were by the water, for a change, so it was wonderful!

....only 5 more days until next week-end.

halloween in hsinchu!

Now that Halloween is over for another year, I can look at my costume, and the evening, in retrospect and try to figure out "would I be a robot again?". The answer would be, yes. BUT, although it was a pretty sweet costume and for about 10 minutes at the party we went to we were treated like celebrities, I would say, being in a box made it sort of difficult to do the things you take for granted on a daily basis.

It seemed as though no matter how big I cut my arm holes, it was still quite difficult to drink/eat, take pictures, bend down and most importantly, be self aware of your size and shape. Although this had its' perks, too. You could run into people (by accident, of course!), and they just simply could not be angry with you when they looked over to see a robot. Who gets mad at robots? No one.

Having to scrub silver paint off of my body the next day, and finding bruises and scrapes on the left side of my body would indicate to me that it was a successful evening. It was good we went home when we did, though!
Thank you, Beth. Good decision!

a touchy subject.

I have yet to see Where the Wild Things Are and I am pretty unhappy about the situation. The girls in my film class tell me they have looked and it MAY be coming to Taipei in November (good thing November is just around the corner... wow, really?).

Anyway, in the meantime, I have gotten myself well acquainted with the soundtrack-- this should not come as a surprise to my dedicated readers! Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), is responsible for the entire album, and knowing this I felt excited/hesitant at the same time. Especially knowing that the movie is considerably 'dark', I was wondering what Karen O, or any artist for that matter, would have to bring to the table for a 14 song movie soundtrack.

With all this being said, the songs are brilliant. The kids chanting along on almost every track is way too cute (put this on the list of things that make me well suited to be an elementary school teacher!). I am adding links for a couple of songs (no actual videos, so you can load it and just listen), but really, the entire album is so good. When listening to it the whole way through, you can grasp the general mood and direction of the film itself. And, for people like ME who have yet to see the film... I will take what I can get!

Track 2- 'All is Love' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Jy1F7XR9Y&feature=related
Track 4- 'Worried Shoes' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQMcA0Q4T6c
Track 5- 'Rumpus' (this one reminds me of the Go! Team) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Jy1F7XR9Y&feature=related

away we go.

I had to watch this movie twice to really appreciate it, and not because I didn't realize how well done it was the first time around but I can't say I have ever seen a movie like this one.

Uncomplicated; about two people, just trying to figure out where they belong and what they are going to do when they get there. Perhaps a bit reminiscent of Garden State, in the way that the characters just seem to be realizing that life is happening to them whether they like it or not. There's no so-called climax. The characters are seemingly normal and their lives are far from rivetting.

Overall, a really well executed film. Not to be challenged, in my opinion, for many reasons-- namely the people behind the film, Mendes and Eggers. Not to mention, the soundtrack, my "boyfriend"...

Simply put, just some darn good filmmaking.

facial hair and well written lyrics.

are only 2 of the many reasons why I adore this band. To say I am really looking forward to hearing their new album is a complete understatement.

Their new single is out on November 16th, in most parts of the world. Here is the video, too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzjERZU3wbY

two of the best.

an oldie, and a cover of an amazing band's song, by another amazing band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqo8sxQ5puA

holy f....

f.... foreigners galore! Apparently, who ever was having their birthday party downtown Hsinchu on Saturday, knows how to bring ALL of the foreign population together at once? It was sort of strange/refreshing to be amongst such an abundance of "similar folk". We took this opportunity, of feeling like we fit in, and managed to stay out until 3:30am (at one bar!).

I have about a thousand bug bites to show for the evening, as well as a new appreciation (sort of) for downing a bunch of water before bed, and even taking some bee pollen tablets!? Thanks Drew. Desiree, thank YOU for the cookie dough and welcoming us into your place at 4am!

It was a hilarious evening, to say the least. I am realizing that Texans and South Africans are just about everywhere in this city and that sometimes, you can meet really nice people outside of filthy bathrooms.

A picture from the evening. After I saved the life of one of my coworkers and tried to figure out (with these two fine, four-eyed ladies), who could have drugged the betel nuts that he had just consumed...

over and over...

I could listen to this song/watch this video all day long.
So bizarre. So good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjecYugTbIQ

lunch meeting, turned entire day trip...

Yesterday, I had one of my best experiences since being in Taiwan. A mother of one of my students had asked me last week if I could meet with her and her husband for "lunch" on Sunday. She said that her husband could speak better English and he really wanted to chat with me about a few things regarding their son. First of all, I am not sure if this sort of stuff would fly back home, as a teacher? Anyways, the fact that our school is so relaxed, I didn't even have to hesitate.

Initially (and especially on a morning after a late night at KTV), the idea of meeting with parents and one of my students on a Sunday wasn't ideal. Beth had, I guess, tried to warn me that this would not simply be a lunch date but rather an all day sort of deal. She claims this is the Asian way of doing things? Well, she was right! (sidenote: Beth was also invited to this meeting, as she teaches my students a couple of subjects-- the fun ones! and I am so glad she was there...)

As we were walking out of the apartment, Beth was annoyed that she had forgotten her camera. This took me by surprise because, a) she never has her camera with her, and b) I really was under the impression we were going out for lunch, and why would you need a camera for such a thing? I was soon to find out that lunch, doesn't really mean lunch in these parts.

We got picked up, in a BMW. My student greeted us from the back seat. We drove for 30 minutes or so, I felt car sick, gulped some water and was happy to get to our destination when we did, for more reasons than one! They had taken us to a place called Neiwan (in Hsinchu county) out in the mountains. Immediately, I knew that I was really going to regret not bringing my camera along! We decided we would eat first then go and check out the very well known market across the bridge. The food was great, everything was great. We were surrounded by mountains, everything was lovely.

Beth and I were excited to check out the rest of this traditional village. Much to our stomach's dismay (Beth's reasons different from mine!), we had to cross this pretty wobbly bridge in order to get to the market. Although I was definitely trying to spend as little time as possible on this bridge, it would have been ignorant not to acknowledge the surroundings. Under the bridge were mostly rocks, swimming dogs and lots of people, apparently having picnics! Fun. When the water is up a bit, people will tube in it! So neat... this place was also abundant with kid-friendly fun! Arcades, bumper cars, trampolines and a simulated earthquake machine! Only in Asia...

We walked... and walked, my student's parents now becoming more like tour guides! It was great to have them around and ask them questions about some of the interesting sights of the village. I feel like I learned quite a bit about local traditions from this excursion! We went into this bizarre animal museum? It may have been like Ripley's Believe it or Not-- it was strange. There were weird things like a 2- headed piglet, just sitting in the middle of a room, in a box filled with water... or something. A 4- month old, gigantic rabbit from Australia? A giant model of an elephant's 'junk', just hanging out of the wall? Simply put, some unusual stuff.

I should add, that whenever it was possible, Beth would give me a time update. As the day wore on, we realized that lunch was, in fact, turning into a 4, 5, 6,.... yes, 7 hour day trip! But what a day. We'll be going back for sure, this time with cameras and more money!

I debated writing about this trip at all because I knew I wouldn't be able to add pictures with the stories, but I couldn't resist after having such a great day and realizing, not for the first time, that Taiwan is going to be a really, really hard place to leave...

magma?

In a discussion today with my four students, we were brainstorming 'things on the Earth that are important to us'. Some responses were food, animals, shelter, water and electricity/oil (with a bit of prompting!). Of course, there had to be an answer that stood out in this discussion. The winner: magma.

Yes, one of my students figures that magma is really important to our well-being. I wasn't about to argue. That answer would have taken some serious thought!

music.

Regina Spektor was on SNL this past week-end. She's adorable, and I love her. Her new album is called 'Far' and it's pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Pete Yorn (fabulous), Scarlett Johansson (mediocre, as a singer?). Together, they actually sound really good! The album is called 'Breakup'. It's pretty cute/happy with lots of clapping!

Old news, but worth mentioning because of their overall awesome-ness; Fleet Foxes. As I was watching SNL, I was thinking about really great performances I had seen and remembered from the show. Fleet Foxes' self-titled album is one of the best albums out there. Get it, listen to it, love it!

my kind of field trip!

Today, the majority of HAS went on a field trip to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. If it wasn't enough to just be going to an Art Museum in itself, we were going to visit the Pixar: 20 Years of Animation Exhibit! To me, "Pixar" means some of the best: Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, Wall.E and Up! (yes, I actually enjoy these movies-- keep in mind, I teach Gr.2 and have a couple of pretty awesome little dudes at home whom I have to keep up with, and stay 'cool' for).

The exhibit was quite neat. It was laid out in a way that showed viewers how Pixar films are created-- from the very start (an idea) to the finished product (moving pictures with sound, essentially). In doing this, there could be no denying that the entire process of 3D animation truly is a form of artistic creation and expression. It was amazing to see all of the steps involved in making these films. After seeing this exhibit, I definitely have a greater appreciation for these "silly kid's movies"!

Overall, it was a really interesting and fun day (at times, exhausting!). I wish I could have taken more pictures, but alas, Art Museums can be stingy about that kind of stuff...

another week-end...

This first picture tells you how me and my wonderful housemates spent our Friday night. It may or may not have started with a race to the wine section in a 7-11? Perhaps it may take some explaining, but I'd actually like to leave this one up to all of you and your imaginations...

We finally got ourselves to Taipei for the day! I took a number of pictures, but this one stood out the most when it was all said and done. A condom claw game (it said you had to be 18 to "play"?). I wonder who is checking those ID's? Some things can only be seen in Asia... enough said.

sunday afternoon: my train of thought.

Simply put, this is the pop culture geek coming out in me. I guess I owe it to myself to enjoy pop culture since I paid a lot of money to have an "education" in the silly stuff!

Here goes my Sunday train of thought...

I am a sucker for celebrity gossip and I am not ashamed to admit it. I always justified this to my Dad by saying "I studied this stuff, I need to buy this magazine to analyze it!". Right. Today, I was reading that Michelle Williams is going to marry Spike Jonze. Once I heard Spike Jonze's name, I thought "Where the Wild Things Are!!!!!!". I remember hearing that Where the Wild Things Are was supposed to be coming out in October some time. I also remember being so, so, so excited about this and hoping that I'd remember to check when/if it would come to Taiwan while I was here. Well, it's October now and for some reason, today, I remembered all of this remembering that I had tried to remember. Ha. So, in case you're interested to know, this film is coming to Taiwan on October 16th-- the same date as in the US. Once this was determined and marked in my calendar, my mind then went on to think "oh, Dave Eggers. What a guy. He did the screenplay for this movie. He reminds me of Korea. And Korea reminds me of reading this really great book called The Road. Oh, wait! That book was also being made into a film! I should look into that. Yes! It comes out soon, too!".

The point of this whole post is to share with anyone who may be interested, three trailers from movies I KNOW I won't be missing. The third one, well, if you have read my previous ramblings you will know why I am thrilled about seeing it (brilliant!)

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsZXKLtDb-k
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY (read the book!)
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-cIjPOJdFM

poor little guys.

to market, to market...

This afternoon we ventured downtown Hsinchu to get some meat/veggies for our Moon Festival dinner. The market was a plenty with fresh fruit and vegetables, as well, it provided me with more than a few opportunities to take some 'interesting' photos. Here is one of my favourites. This was around the same time that a shrimp, or something like it, had jumped from its' bucket onto the ground in front of us. Ewwww. The lady noticed that this had happened (likely by my reaction?), smiled, and happily picked the creature off the dirty ground, and placed it back where it had presumably escaped from.

love, love, love!

I love Zooey Deschanel, a lot, and as I anxiously await for her film (500) Days of Summer to finish downloading, I am listening to the soundtrack for said film. Get this: Simon and Garfunkel, The Smiths, Black Lips, Feist, Doves AND Hall and Oates (to mention a few...)!

Even if this movie tried, it wouldn't be able to disappoint me. My number one "girl crush" and some of my favourites on the soundtrack? I am looking forward to writing a bit of a review once I have watched the film, but I can guarantee that I'll be gushing! I'm a sucker for romance, good music and adorable people, I guess you could say. So, all together...? Sign me up.

your digestive system; a lesson in poop.

If you know me at all, it will not surprise you to hear that I took teaching the digestive system as a chance to talk about poop to my 2nd graders! Their reactions were hilarious and brought me much joy as well (coming from someone who loves life's little pleasures, like the word "poop" and "duty" -- because it can be another word FOR poop, only spelled a bit different). Maybe I belong in the 2nd grade still? I blame my brothers for making me have so much fun with such topics. But honestly, it has been a riot in my class lately. I wonder what these kids go home and tell their parents? Likely that I am the funniest teacher alive (I'd put bets on it!).

Also, my students HATE Social Studies and especially do not like learning about the American Government. SO, today, we made posters. On one side I had them draw a picture of a classroom with "order" (we're talking about the importance of rules/laws), and on the other side they were to draw a picture of a classroom without any order or rules. Boy, do these kids have imaginations! I had to cut the kids off after one suggested "there would be monkeys ALL over the place!" and "there would be kids just pooping in the corners!" (you can imagine how hard it was for me to have a straight face and pretend to be disappointed about this one...).

Anyway, the lesson that I learned today was: when in doubt, just talk 'poop'. And for goodness sake, try to be mature about it.

weird = good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ZPTFfpO40&feature=channel

not bad?

I know I have taken and posted numerous photos from my bedroom window, but tonight I just couldn't resist. The weather was a bit off today: rain, sun, overcast but when it was all said and done, this is what we could see from our apartment. The sun was ridiculously bright as it was setting and the colours changed with every minute. I guess I am a little bit lame for finding so much excitement in a silly little sunset.

a birthday.

On Friday, we had our first birthday 'party' in my class. The kids skipped their naps and ate Sponge Bob cake. The cake eating was the direct cause of one of my students "projectiling" in the hallway an hour or so later. Oh the joys of teaching a Gr.2 class. Not to mention the previous day I was taking care of hives and the week before that was helping to deal with a pee-er! But, I can still say that I love my job!

missin' em big time.

Just because we've done this distance bit a thousand times, doesn't mean that I am getting any better at it! I just received a whole whack of pictures from Erica and Ferran's wedding day, to which I was so thankful to be a part of! Seeing these pictures made me miss both of you... a lot. I am so sad to be missing your 2nd (!!!) wedding, in Spain. What will you do without your one and only MOH?! That question is directed at both of you, of course!

This is one of my favourite pictures of the bunch, along with the picture of you, Erica, and myself in the bathroom (toothbrush in mouth!). I feel like these sum us up perfectly.

I miss you guys! Are you certain you have to go to Brussels? No time for a stop in Taiwan?! When can we be neighbours!... can't wait for that day. xo

zombies with accents.

I just finished watching 'Shaun of the Dead' for the 1000th time. This movie never gets old for me. Never! There is just something about a bunch of Brits running around smashing and bashing zombie's heads in with shovels and paddles. What more could you ask for in a film, really?

Favourite scene? While the group of those not yet zombified seek shelter in the Winchester, they put Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' on the jukebox and then proceed to smash and bash in sync with this amazing song. Perhaps now it's safe to say you really couldn't ask for more in a film... in my opinion!

To me, this movie (and Ricky Gervais) prove to me that the Brits really know best when it comes to most aspects of popular culture.

Although I am apparently a huge fan of zombies and British pop culture, I am pretty confident that if you don't consider yourself a fan of either of these things, you will still find some sort of pleasure in watching this movie. If you haven't seen it, you should. If you hate it, I am too far away from most of you for you to be mad or hold my suggestion against me. So, I really have nothing to lose here!

A fabulous movie. The end.

flickr.

in case having a blog isn't enough of a distraction from work, I have taken it upon myself to also maintain my flickr account! This means I can add more pictures for all of the folk back home to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26670129@N04/sets/

I hope the link works. I am new at this.

a view...

This is a view from the big walk I took yesterday.

maybe the luckiest?

What I am listening to: Frightened Rabbit (so many thanks to Trent!)

My Sunday: Wake up. Find a song to play for Austin. Go for a swim, bathe in the sun. Come home. Eat Nutella. Shower, get dressed. Try to figure out something to do with my hair (even though there is no point at all). Get camera/music. Enter the outdoors. Walk... and walk. Find some interesting things. Take some pretty neat photos. Realize my life is pretty darn awesome.

Unrelated: Grasshoppers are HUGE here.

just another saturday afternoon...

...trying my hand at furniture assembly! Thanks, Dad for showing me how to get the job done (I guess it paid to move a million times and have to put together numerous pieces of IKEA furniture). I learn from the best.

such a fun song and video.

love these two!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgBeu3FVi60

I am almost certain that this picture (or any picture for that matter...) won't do our projector set up justice! Also, what seems to be a show about 2 girls walking in the rain in this picture is not actually the case! If you have not seen the show 'Hung', start watching. It's pretty well done.

I figured I would also start adding what music I am listening to while I write these posts. Currently (and quite often): Phoenix's, ' Lisztomania'.

This is the view from my room on the 10th floor. I should really have taken a picture from my other window-- surrounded by trees! You can sort of see the little park at the bottom of the picture. There is a basketball court, playground, maybe tennis? Haven't ventured down there yet.

Finally!

So after almost 4 weeks of living out of suitcases and sleeping on mattresses laid out on floors, I am finally into the new apartment! To celebrate, I went for a swim tonight. I met one of my neighbours on my way down. She was with her daughter, Michelle. Michelle didn’t say much to me then but was keen to stare as I lapped my way back and forth in the pool. I don’t blame her, it’s her country. I’m just swimming in it! There were some cute little frogs and lizards kicking it in the water with me, too!

I should also add that I am learning there can be many perks to having housemates (good ones, anyways!). Mine happen to come fully loaded with fun! Beth and Austin mean business when it comes to how we watch TV shows or movies. The projector is now set up, and watching anything on it is a dream. Like we’re in a movie theatre ALL the time and that movie theatre is in our “living room”. Not a bad deal.

As I walked to work this morning, I couldn’t help but think about how easy it is to be a foreigner and to live here. The people here continue to amaze me. Everyone is saying ‘hello’ and ‘good morning’ as best they can, while I try my luck at saying ‘ni hao’ from time to time! I should just say that if you are considering a visit to Asia, come to Taiwan! Unlike my experiences in Korea, people rarely gawk here. Everyone seems to be so incredibly welcoming and happy to see foreigners around.

Although...

we aren't moved into our new place yet, signing our contracts gave us the rights to check out our apartment's pool! As if I will be living here for the next year. I guess it'll have to do...

Grocery shopping! (sort of)

We were meant to move into our new apartment today but when we went to check it out we realized that we'd prefer it to be 'cleaner'. So, we're in the dorms for another night. We're all packed up with nowhere to go (for now!).

Since we still don't have a proper apartment and therefore we are also without a proper kitchen, we did a little grocery shopping at the local OK Mart!

This is Beth getting all of the necessities.

For all of those who have never been to Asia, this is a squatty potty. Not all look this dreadful, but I had to photograph this one because it disgusted me so much! I prefer western style toilets. These ones take too much coordination!

This must have been a Monday (looking pretttty tired). I took my kids out for a Science lesson, we looked for leaves!

Downtown Hsinchu- a whole family on one teeny scooter

settling in...

So, I have been in Taiwan for almost 3 weeks now. My said feelings from my first entry have not changed! Hsinchu continues to be a beautiful and safe place to be. Not to mention, I have started to meet some wonderful people who have made this transistion much easier! There doesn't seem to be a lot going on in this city, but I suppose I will need to have some money in order to explore anyways. So I am fine, for now, with laying low and enjoying what is close enough by walking (this includes such fine things as an OK Mart, similar to 7-11 and our school). This is literally all there seems to be up on the mountain. Apparently they are going to get a shuttle bus going from here to Costco soon, though! Exciting.

I am half way in to my 2nd week of teaching and things are great. I really couldn't ask for a better school to be working at. I am teaching a 2nd Grade class (but it's more like a 1/2 class with all of the different levels of learning). I certainly can't complain though. What with only four students, I figure this will be a good crash course for next year before I get into the 20+ students per classroom back home!

I am really loving it here. It hasn't even gotten close to being a comfortable temperature here, but besides that, no complaints.

This is the view from the 4th floor-- where Hsinchu American School is located. We are lucky to be up on a mountain and somewhat away from all of the hustle! You can also hear crickets at night and feel fresh air! Crazy for such a packed little city...

it's Tuesday morning...

It has been quite interesting to have all of this time and freedom at my expense. What with all of this time to myself I have been a) sleeping and b) sweating. Of course, when my tired body gives me a chance to do some wandering, I have been able to discover that Taiwan is a wonderfully beautiful country and the people here are just the nicest.

I have been welcomed with open arms by the people of Hsinchu (pronounced Shinju, actually). Help is always just a smile away! There are no sidewalks here, quite similar to how I remember the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam looking like. Scooters are everywhere and it is fairly common to see these machines weave in and out of traffic with their entire family (pets included), somehow holding on tight for the ride. Perhaps it won’t surprise anyone to see me write that I am hesitant about purchasing a scooter, although I am aware it’s a must!

I have spent a few days at my place of employment for the next year, Hsinchu American School (HAS). It excites me to be working for such wonderful people and in a very supportive and open environment. I have my own classroom with 4-5 students to occupy it next Monday (all of these things a first year teacher couldn’t even dream of attaining in Ontario!). So, I am considering myself quite lucky. I think that I have landed myself in a pretty gosh darned good position for the year.

Some interesting things to point out: earthquakes happen once or twice a month here (considering myself warned?) and the garbage trucks in this city play Beethoven from them. Why wouldn't they, right?