Yippee - new shoes. They have so many wonderfully cute and impractical shoes here, and these fall into that category. I bought two pairs for about $15 CND, one practical pair of flat black dress shoes, a these little tweed kitten heels with black velvet bows and rhinestones. They don't fit especially well, and I think such petite shoes look better on petite feet, but they were so cheap I couldn't resist.

Me modelling my warm red J. Crew winter coat bought at one of the export stores. It's just the right size, and has a nice warm Thinsilate lining which isn't too heavy. Off-white fleecy gloves, and a dusty rose pink crocheted scarf, which I just threw over my shoulder so you could see the front of the coat.  

This is taken at one of the many "Ten NT" stores in the night market. 10 NT equals a little less than .50 cents Canadian, so it's lots of cheap stuff. I got some white tulips to put in the vase C. gave me, as well as some strong darning needles in preparation for binding my novel. These flowers just caught my eyes because, well how could they not!? 

Proof that I really went to Snake Alley, which is officially called the "Taipei Hwahsi Tourist Night Market" although we were the only tourists in a crowd of locals.  

WARNING : Long Blog entry - it's Tuesday, I have time.
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I was curious about what my church's approach to the tsunami would be. So on Sunday, I went to church with anticipation - because I think it says alot about a church when you see how it handles things like this.

Well, my church (which shall remain nameless) gets a failing grade, at least from me. The focus was on the sermon, which was on "What should our response be?" A good question, but the sermon itself was pretty much a rehashing of Job, trying to EXPLAIN why there is suffering. I was disappointed. It made me consider what I was hoping for.

My conclusions: It comes back to the whole modern / postmodern thing. I am not looking for a point by point explaination of why 150,000 people died. I do not need reasons or a rational explanation. I don't even think there is a way to understand such suffering, and I think we trivialize it when we try to fit it into one of our little boxes. Can't we accept that it's something horrible and painful and unexplainable? Can't we allow some of the mystery of God to remain? Must we make God fit into our understanding? According to my own meagre study, in basic terms, the 'modern' approach is a need for understanding, for undeniable truths to stand on. The 'postmodern' need is for an experience, an emotional connection. So my church took the modern road (as most churches do) and tried to explain what happened, and give us a step by step response of what to do. What did I want?

Well, last spring, Kathy and I went to a service in London, that we both felt was an incredible example of a postmodern response. (And, to clarify, this was not some radical church, it was a parish Church of England, with many families, small children and elderly. We went to visit one Sunday when we were in London, because I read the pastor's book in univeristy. We were expecting some big mega-church with a famous pastor, and instead found a small community in an old cathedral). It was the Sunday after the Madrid train bombing, which deeply affected many Europeans. There was no 5 point sermon, instead, they laid candles in the shape of a cross in the Nave, then they invited everyone to come quietly forward, take a rose and lay it around the cross, while a song of mourning played. It was deeply spiritual, very emotional, and had the element of mystery and majesty. It was an acknowledgement that something horrible and painful had happened, that we sympathazied and prayed for the victims, and that we called on God for mercy, even though we could not understand. I will forget a sermon in a week, but the prayers that filled that cathedral when we stood as the family of God in a circle around the candle cross and the 'fallen' roses, will never leave me.

So, while I left my church on Sunday disappointed in their response, I remembered the church in London, and I thought about all the churches around the world, who were in their own ways (modern or postmodern) were praying for the countries in S.E. Asia, and I felt peace that the body of Christ is still the body of Christ, in it's various forms.

I'd love to hear what all of your churches did on Sunday. What were the sermons about? Where did they tell you to send money? Was there any creative ways to mourn or pray? Please comment.
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I've been torn over where to donate money to tsunami relief, as I am sure many of you are.

But I got an email from World Vision Canada that I found very encouraging, it says:

The Canadian government has announced that it will match every dollar donated by individuals until January 11, 2005. To give a gift that will bematched, dollar-for-dollar, please click here.

Of course, World Vision is a very trustworthy organization to give money to, and I believe it is a good use of our resources if we can have donations matched by the Canadian government. So if you are still looking for a place to give, check out the link and the work World Vision is doing.

resolution #1

Hi folks - sorry I've been a little random with my blogging, I have good reason. See, resolution #1 is to stop being so passive. This was prompted by my sad lack of exploration of the wonderful city in which I now live. I live in the affluent northeast area of the city, with lots of great stores, cafes, and entertainment. My life has fallen into quite a rut, a rut which only takes me outside of my rich 'ghetto' for Church in the even richer foreigner suburb. This limited view of Taipei is probably the main reason I have yet to feel the slightest glimmer of culture shock or homesickness for Canada. And I've lived here almost 6 months, and still haven't seen the Taipei landmarks and highlights. I decided it was time to do something about it. See, I do have a really busy schedule, so I had to make a rule that every weekend I have to do one new thing. Sounds easy, but my weekends are stuffed with Saturday class and tutoring, then Church and Spinning class; so it takes a very concious effort to fight the urge of going back the apartment at 5 or 6 and calling it a night!

Anyway, what have I done, you might ask?

Well, Saturday I went to my tutees house as usual. I'm not sure if I mentioned him before, he (M.) is one of my grade 7 students. He and his family are very, very interested in miniatures. There house is stuffed full of really big, doll-house like buildings will all sorts of little furniture. You know how some people are obessed with a hobby and want to tell you all about it and you just have to smile and nod? Well, I'm very lucky I like miniatures! I have expressed much interest before, and on Saturday my tutee's mother insisted on taking me to the Miniature Musuem as a New Year's gift. Who was I to argue!? It was fascinating, we stayed about 2 hours, and M. walked me through the entire thing explaining it. Then they W., the Mom, bought me a souvienier at the gift shop, and insisted on paying for the postcards I wanted to buy. On top of that, they gave me a lovely tea set (normal size one, not miniature) as another New Year's gift. Being such a gift person, I was thrilled.

Which reminds me, thanks Mom, Dad, and Kathy. I got my huge, heavy box and opened it with much anticipation! Stickers! Wine Gums! Tim Hortons Advertisements! FLANNEL PJ PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Life is good. Thanks so much. I promised myself I wouldn't open anything that is wrapped until my B-day. It all looks so pretty, I'll have almost two weeks of anticipation.

Oh, and the second new thing I did this week: Snake Alley. For those of you who watch the Lonely Planet Show: "Pilot Guides" and have seen the Taiwan episode, you know what I'm talking about. Well, you know the snake guy who put the snake around Megan McCormick's neck. I recognized him - he looked exactly the same. I stayed far, far away from that booth. Actually, C. and I were trying to stay far, far, away from all the snake booths, which was surprisingly difficult in such a narrow alley. It was... an experience.

So now it's Monday, still REALLY cold in our apartment, but now quite nice outside. Go figure. I'm still enjoying my job - I hardly noticed it was a Monday morning. The end of this semester is so close, I can taste it. Then a little change of pace till February.

Well, my New Year's Eve didn't go exactly as I had planned. I had a 'to-do' list of reflections and writing and resolutions, and I planned on cozing up in my room to silently think and write for the last hours of 2004. My mistake was deciding I should put that picture of Burberry socks online. From there, I dedicided I should make a Carole's 2004 blog, and started looking for skins, and then thought I should turn on the TV just for awhile, and so on. Basically wasted New Years. This morning I was depressed that I didn't make the last part of such an incredible year the way I wanted it, but then I had a realization! Depending on your view of time - I've still got some hours to go! I mean I started 2004 on Eastern Time, and so I should finish it. Yippee! THis gives me about 4 more hours of 2004 in which to write and think and ponder and celebrate. Now, I'm going to stop blogging, and not touch the computer or the tv until I've sufficiently reflected. ALthough I probably will do a 2004 blog later today.

Kathy - I couldn't get a short story out of my novel, and although I tried starting a new one, I realized the futility, and stopped. However, I do have a character and my character has her own blog - I'll put the link up soon.

I am finding that blogging is addictive, and I don't think I have an especially obsessive personality or anything. But once you start it's hard to stop, I've found more and more blogs I read every day, and I keep thinking of new blogs I want to make, and what they should look like. They are the testing ground for new HTML codes that I can eventually switch into this - my main blog. Anyway, blah, blah, blog, right?

Here's a question for you to ponder, real or fake? The socks I mean. They are a Christmas gift from one of my grade 2 students, and the parents are rich enough for them to be real. I can't decide.

Ruth St. has nothing on this apartment in terms of draftiness. At least Ruth St. had heat! This is craziness, I tell you - I'm chilled to the bone. And the worst part is, every classroom I went into today had windows wide open on both sides, so it was just like outside. I asked the students why, on earth, did they leave the windows open. Answer? The teachers made them so there would be fresh air. I have to admit, I scoffed a little - I mean all those poor kids are going to get awful colds from sitting in the damp, cool air all day. I kept my winter coat, scarf, and gloves on!

The reason this entry is so random, is because I just cut and pasted all the little bits I wrote a different time about different things yesterday. Cohesive and poetic end of year ramblings should appear later today.

Happy New Year to everyone celebrating on the East Coast of Canada and the US who still have some time left in 2004!

The real or fake Burberry socks. 

A quick note, with some of the links I've been meaning to put on.

First, when the earthquake struck, the first thing I thought about was a childhood memory. The "Ring of Fire" Imax movie. It came out in 1991, so I think we probably saw it at Ontario Place one time during the CNE. Anyone else remember this? It obviously made an impression on me, I remember thinking "How could anyone live on the Pacific Rim and relax when they knew that underneath them the earth kept bumping into itself?" The movie showed the effects of all the volcanos and earthquakes, and it was talking about the specific part of the globe on which I now live - precariously balanced on insecure tetonic plates. Alas.

Second, I looked up that book on being a hermit (more of a memoir than a how-to guide). It's called Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing, and I really recommend it if the idea is at all interesting to you. I think it gave me the ability to recognize that time alone is valid, and I don't need to force myself to be social.

Third, a dream of mine has come true - I am ABC networks' person of the year. Yes, I have a ways to go before they recognize me by name, but still. This year Bloggers are the people of the year, so I say it counts. The article is on the ABC site.

And finally, I through out one last note about the weather. It is 10 Cel., and 50 Far. It feels bitterly cold. I am trying to decide whether it is because I have acclimatized or whether it is the dampness. Either way, I have to keep reminding myself that I like the cold and I will wish for it back once this cold snap week is over. Still, I wish there was heating in our apartment. When it's 10 outside, it's 10 inside, and I've been finding out there are limitations on what you can do while wearing gloves. I think I've found the solution though - I'll post a picture later tonight.

I'm eating leftover apple pie from Christmas for dinner. Yes, an unhealthy choice, but I really don't have any desire to go outside in the cold to get to-go food for dinner. I'm greatly enjoying the evenings at home this week - it makes a big difference just to be able to come home after work, and not have a mile long to do list or tutoring. Instead, I've just been reading, reading, reading. Oh to be a hermit! (Actually a consideration of mine after reading a book about the hermit life, something about "dead birds" - I'll have to look up the real title, because it was fascinating.)

Although I can't actually be a hermit, being a teacher and all, I have fallen into what I would consider deeply melancholy reflection. Not depression, but just the effects of navel-gazing on a choleric personality. It really was inevitable, I've been expecting it. I do usually feel like this at New Year's - partly because I get depressed after Christmas! But mostly I just hate to have to look over all the wonderful things that have happened and let them go. Obviously, this is not a problem I should be complaining about (and I'm not, really) when there are so many people who have had absolutely nothing good to let go of. Still, I must accept these feelings and perhaps allow myself to wallow for a day or two and get it out of my system. Forgive me!

I'll probably give you a little bit more in-depth look into my ramblings tomorrow. Tonight is simply the precursor. I still have one more day to live of 2004, and I don't want to miss #365 when #1-#364 have been so great. So, as not to ruin things, I'll postpone my year-end summary till tomorrow, when the year is actually over.

One little note from today: for a variety of reasons I was on my own for lunch today. I thought about just getting something to go and working through lunch- but I thought, Carpe Diem, live 2004 while it lasts, right? So I went to that perfect little Italian place, just myself and my book. And I was right, it is one of those wonderful restaurants where you can go by yourself and not feel like you're on display for pity. So I have a lovely lunch to myself, I even stayed almost an hour. Then I was trying to decide what to do: buy a worship cd at the Christian bookstore, or look for a new pair of grey cords. Toss up. I went to the Export clothing shop to look for cords, but there were none. They were, however, playing a British modern worship cd. Odd, very odd. I don't think they knew what it was. However, I didn't want to leave the store -it was great, although I'm still trying to put my finger on which band it is, I think I have the cd, and I'm sure I've seen it done live, I've been racking my brain all day. Anyway, that was enough to motivate me to leave the clothing store and make my way over to the bookstore, where I actually found a cd I've been looking for for a few years: The latest worship cd from the Church of Christ the King in Brighton (which I visited earlier this year) and whose worship is a mainstay from past year's Worship Together - mostly Stuart Townsend, Paul Oakley and Lou Fellingham. Anyway, it has 3 songs I've loved singing and never found on cd, so I'm a happy camper. You'll love it Kathy. So I'm singing to keep myself from going from melancholy to depressed:

"One thing I will ask of You, this will I pray:
To dwell in Your house, O Lord, every day
To gaze upon Your lovely face
And rest in the Father's embrace."
(You are My Anchor)

I just finished the loveliest book. I was going to avoid mentioning it on this blog for a few weeks so I could give it as a gift to Kathy for our birthday, but I can't wait.

It's called "Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman." I bought it on Christmas Eve, and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of reading it. It's about a woman who takes a 'sabbatical' from her career to travel solo through Europe. Many of her observations I couldn't quite relate to because she's in a different stage of life than I, but I found her journey as a single traveler inspiring. And she goes to all my favourite places in Europe: Paris, London, Oxford, Venice, and Rome. It simply is a 'must-read' at least for Jill and Kathy.

I found a wonderful quote that I will use when I write my final good-byes to the year 2004:

"Once in everyone's life there is apt to be a period when [s]he is fully awake, instead of half-asleep" -E. B. White

More melancholy reflections on 2004 to follow, probably much more than anyone other than I care to read, but that's the good part of a blog - you are under no obligation to read anything more than what interests you!

Well, goodness me, it's getting cold. The weather took a drastic turn today and has gone below the usual 15 degrees Celcius. Oh the horror - we might even hit single digits. Alas. I faced this impending doom by buying a scarf, which I am greatly enjoying. I will post a picture of my now complete winter ensemble tommorrow. So I had a lovely walk home, with a light hoodie, my new scarf, and a warm milk tea in hand (like the one pictured a few days ago).I've officially decided this week is 'vacation' because I didn't have one for Christmas, and I'm feeling the need for at least a mental break, if not a physical one. So although I am still teaching, I made an easy lesson plan, and I'm skipping the gym this week (otherwise what would I have to make new year's resolutions about). So I'm having a lovely time spending the evenings reading blogs and books. Currently in the middle of "The Essential 55" which is rules from the teacher of the year, Ron Clark. Quite helpful, although I think it's not designed for untrained first year teachers - it's kind of depressing how far I have to go. Although somedays I feel pretty good about my teaching skills (at least for my first year as a teacher) reading a book like that makes me feel very mediochre indeed. Oh well, now I know where I need to improve.I feel bad that I'm not putting more effort into this blog entry, but to be honest, one of my housemates just came home and took off their shoes, and the smell is pervading the living room where I type this. I am strongly motivated to finish this entry and retreat to my room where I can light a candle! He-he.

I read the news yesterday about the earthquake and tsunamis in Southern Asia, and have kept an eye on the internet all day as the death toll continues to climb. Tonight as I get ready for bed, it's at 21,000 dead, according to an AP article on Yahoo news.

It's odd - I remember the huge earthquake in Bam, Afghanistan a few years ago. It felt so distant and removed from my own experience that I couldn't relate or emphasize at all. This is much 'closer to home.' Perhaps it is my recent familiarity with earthquakes and typhoons in Taiwan, but the articles I've read have an emotional effect on me. So many dead, with no warning at all. The inconcievable loss of life and the massive destruction caused by a 'natural disaster' is made more painful, because unlike 9-11, there is no one to blame. I think I am still processing the whole thing. Oh, and it's also somewhat disturbing because the island of Penang was where the Tsunami's hit the worst in Malaysia. I'm staying on that island in less than a month, and the exact beach my hotel sits on was in the paper this morning because an entire family of 5 was washed out to sea there on Sunday. It may mean I'll need to cancel the beach part of trip and stay in the inland cities. But still, it's a reminder that our lives our frail, and still very much out of our control. I'll be praying for all the people whose lives are in turmoil because of this 'act of God' and remembering that my own life is much less secure than I think it is. (P.S. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, this means the chances of a big earthquake happening in Taiwan so soon after are next to nothing. Whew!)

I just woke up from a deep, deep nap, so the corners of my brain are fuzzy, my eyes are red, and my feet are tingly. It feels very good. I haven't had this luxury in months. All I have on my "to-do list" this evening is 'Blog entry.' So I sit down at my laptop, enjoying the last night of Christmas lights, my winter candle, and a cup of tea. This is looking like it will be a very long blog entry indeed. Are you ready? I'm going to intersperse the pictures and stories.


Christmas Eve day was lovely. All the junior high classes were cancelled so the classes could have their singing competition in the morning and their Christmas performance in the afternoon. I just embraced it as an almost day off, even though I had to be at school, I only had to teach 1 hour. And it felt very Christmassy, the students were sweet, I got many more cards than I expected, and they seemed to go out of their way to find me, and give me a genuine, huge smile and wish me "Merry Christmas." After this happened enough, I began to get downright sentimental! It's probably something most teachers experience, but I think I am especially lucky because I only have the advanced kids, and they are for the most part excited to be in my class and glad I am their teacher. So I feel a great deal of love from them, which made me romanticize in my head about being in a foreign country for Christmas and the different places we find love. This Christmas, without a doubt, was about the love I have for my students and they have for me. Awwhh.

Christmas Eve I went home for a 1 hour light nap, then back to school for the equivalent of a company Christmas dinner, somewhat reminiscent of Toronto Hydro (my one and only other experience with such a thing). So much food, it surrounded us on three sides of the gym, end to end buffet tables. But the good news (for the Gilroys at least) was that as soon as everyone had finished eating all they could, out came the take-home bags and boxes, and everyone started piling up a doggy bag. And it was completely culturally the norm. I got a lovely selection of Christmas cake ~ although I don't really need any more sweets after this weekend! The evening's entertainment was big screen Karaoke, which seemed excessively popular, we put in a request for Frosty the Snowman, but our song didn't come up before we left. (I wasn't exactly heartbroken ~ humiliation isn't that much better in a group).

I came home from Christmas Eve, expecting a quiet evening to myself, as I had opted out of the bar trip that everyone else was making. But then they ended up coming back to the apartment, so it was a group evening after all. I was disposed during the first part of the evening, because I had to do a through cleaning of my room. Why? You know those pretty snapdragons I had the picture of? Well, I left them a day too long. I came home to pick up something from my desk and find a caterpillar/worm thing on it. I did not scream, but I was close when I noticed that they were scattered over my desk, and climbing their way out of nearly every flower. Justin wasn't home to nominate as the male bug killer, but fortunately, Carolyn's boyfriend is visiting, and he offered to help without me even having to ask (I think my distress was clear). Even after he got rid of the flowers, I had to clean everything and sweep to feel safe going to sleep. Probably a good thing, my room really needed a sweep!

Christmas morning I slept in until 9:30, then walked out to get a coffee at Starbucks and a Taiwanese milk bun at the bakery. First I read through all my Christmas cards to think about all the people who cared about me. I'm such a card person, each time I got one in the mail it was thrilling - I got three I really didn't expect and they made my day. Thanks to: C.C., E. W., C.P., K.N., W. & D. .. Then I opened my presents. My family's box didn't make it in time (I will have quite the selection of Birthday presents, don't you worry). But instead, I had a surprise gift from Claire, an extra gift Kathy bought off Ebay from China, and gifts from students and teachers.

Claire's card said "This present may look a little familiar to you." I opened it, and found a pile of wrapping peanuts, or with a little imagination - snow! There was a wrapped box, which I pulled out, then tons of chocolate amidst the white, so it was like a treasure hunt to dig out all the chocolate! Then I opened the gift, and immediately recognized it, but I didn't know from where. Then after I thought about it long enough, I remembered it was one of the wedding presents that had been in a gift bag instead of gift wrapped. So we had snooped through a few, and I went on and on about how beautiful this vase was. Claire and I had agreed that it was very much 'Carole', and not especially 'Claire.' So she gave it to me! I was so happy - I really need a vase - I've been borrowing Carolyns. And it looks like it's also designed as a pitcher, perfect for iced green tea when the weather gets hot again.

Kathy ordered this gift from a woman in China, so I had the fun of Tiffany's, without the guilt of thinking it was really expensive. It came with each item wrapped up in a different colour paper, and a post card of the wall of China. A nice touch. It's solid silver, and the pendant has a nice weight to it. I needed a new necklace.

All my other jewellery is happy too, because it came with a cleaning cloth. See, everything that I wasn't wearing every day had tarnished. I was very sure that I had ruined all the jewellery that has so much sentimental value to me. But the cloth cleaned even the blackest piece right up, so I'm happy.

After I opened the gifts, played with them, and photographed them it was already 1pm! So I decided to walk over to Taipei 101, and see the craziness. It was packed, and there was some guy climbing the outside of the building (I think I recognized him from a documentary on the Discovery Channel. The one who got arrested for climbing buildings illegally.) He had a rope this time, so I wasn't afraid that he was going to fall on top of me or anything. This time it was sponsored and it looked like he had ropes. I thought about seeing a movie, but the lines were longer than you could imagine, I would say at least 1000 people in line. So, I ate lunch outside, because it seemed the thing to do when you live somewhere that's 22 degrees on Christmas day, then I treated myself to a taxi home, where I enjoyed my book and had a little nap.

Then I got all dressed up to go for dinner. It was supposed to be just us teachers from Fu-Hsing, and a guest each, but then it expanded to be 15 people, which is too many in my opinion. I invited Daphne, and neither of us had very much of a chance to get a word in edgewise amid the loud conversations going on throughout the room. We sat on the couch and listened and talked to each other occasionally. The food was great though, and it was Daphne's first Christmas dinner ever, her first taste of turkey.

After dinner we just all sat around and talked (my party games just didn't fit - I'm saving them). It was what I imagined a group of people my age would do in a foreign country for Christmas, although I am quite glad that Christmas means so much more to me than an excuse to get really drunk, which is what it seemed to be to everyone else. I stayed around till 1:30am, then when everyone else left for the bars, I left for home, and was quite happy to fall into bed.

Then this morning I woke up just in time for my parent's call. (I emailed them when I got home and told them when to call, banking on the fact that I wouldn't sleep any longer than 8.5 hours. And sure enough, I slept exactly 8.5 hours!) After a nice long chat about Christmas here and Christmas in Canada, I curled up in bed to read some more. That was pretty much the whole afternoon, reading and then a lovely nap.

So Christmas is over for another year. I'm not as depressed about that as I usually am in Canada, probably because it finally means the end of all the extra work at school! And it really helps that my birthday is in January. I have something immediate to look forward to. I do hope that my parent's package comes by then - it's been 8 weeks already. (Claire's package from the US took exactly a week.) And we're doing a group birthday party for me, Justin and Amin, we all have birthdays in the first two weeks of January. I'm excited about that - I don't like being the center of attention! I think we're going to try our hand at KTV, like from the Lost in Translation movie. We get our own room, and we get to sing. This is only fun because there are quite a few of us who have no singing ability at all, so it should be a hoot. But I am getting ahead of myself. I have two weeks of teaching left before the tests come, and I'm going to the gym everyday this week, because I haven't gone in two weeks - I've been so busy. I figure if I get my act together this week, I won't feel so much pressure when new year's resolutions time rolls around.

Goodnight to all. I hope your Christmas's were enjoyable, and warm and cozy. No one got stuck in a snow storm or stranded in an airport? I hope to hear all about your celebrations by reading your blogs, the Family Site, or a plain ole email (if you're still in the dark ages!) Here's a picture of my family celebrating Christmas in Toronto.

Early Boxing Day morning

I had all these grand intentions of writing a wonderful Christmas blog entry, and special Christmas emails to everyone. However, Christmas day filled up much quicker than I thought it would, and it's already 1:30 am on Boxing Day, and I just got home. So, I'll just postpone my eloqent ramblings, and tell you all about my day after I get a good night's sleep. Sleep is so important you know. I can think of nothing I would rather do at this moment. Sleep, ahhhhh....

Merry Christmas Eve!

I woke up this morning to my alarm, very unusual. I usually wake up before it, but last night I stayed up till midnight redoing my blog. (That was a geeky thing to say!) Then this morning, I got an email from Mom suggesting I actually call the comments "comments" instead of "0 people cared" and increase the font size. Done. Anything else? This is so much fun.

I treated myself to banana bread and hot milk tea for breakfast. I have one Grade 2 class this morning, and that's it. Oh happy day! I was talking to my parents last night, who seemed surprised at how happy I am to be spending Christmas here. Yes, it's not a mask, and I am very content with my little holiday here. The performance yesterday, the junior high performance today, have the same kind of feeling of reward after much anticipation - that opening a whole pile of presents under the tree does. And I will be glad for the big school 'feast' and then going to the Baptist Church for the carol sing. Then tommorrow, some time to myself (finally) and then hopefully ice skating before a big full turkey dinner with 12 people sitting on the floor. It will certainly be a memory! (Oh, and Daphne (old pen pal) is coming - I'm so excited!)

Although I am happy to be right where I am (and I hope all of you have the same feeling, wherever you are), I found an essay that I found really poignant for Christmastime. Read it if you have a few minutes. It's called A Wedding by Terry Teachout.

New, redesigned and stunning, right?!?

What do you think? Snazzy? I put a good two hours just into deciding on what 'skin' to put on my blog. Now that I know how easy it is to change - I'll be doing it more often. I know it means I lose some of the continuity of the identity of the blog, but it's just more fun visually. Tell me if you have any problems viewing any part of it or if it takes too long to load. By the way, the Chinese symbol means 'tranquility.'

Oh, and I did just realise I spelled 'traveler' wrong. I've had a long day (involving the final 3 hour Christmas performance this morning.) Now I'm officially in Christmas mode, and could afford to waste the time between getting home at 5 and going to bed at 10:30 on re-doing this blog. And here it is - remember to keep reading, I posted even when the site was down. Now, goodnight!

I thought she looked especially beautiful - I cropped this out of a candid shot. It's too late at night to remember her name, but I do know it!

A little impromptu moment after the Christmas performance. I was swarmed by my 'bad' grade 2 class once they finished getting their class photo, and they attacked the box I was holding like piranas! Nothing in it - that was the point of the skit - but they thought it was fun.

My tutee - Jasmine. She's a sweetie, but she has a short attention span. (= We only meet once a week for an hour - but it did mean she had a noticeable improvement on her last test - which made me thankful. 

At the end of the day - a nice cup of hot milk tea, which they put in a regular coffee cup, and then seal with plastic. I was happy that I got a seal with a cat on it (the pictures are different each time).

Uumm - what day is it?

I’m feeling a bit discombobulated.
I was thinking about all those big words we had to learn how to spell in high school with A Beka and thought I should throw one out.
Then started second guessing myself and had to look up what it meant and if I spelled it right…
Yup, usage and spelling correct. Whew.

It’s been a long day. Another 13 hours at school kind of day. Just the thing to put you in the Christmas spirit. But after tomorrow morning’s performance and four of my least favourite classes to fill up the afternoon, I’ll officially be able to stop and take a breath. My tutee told me tonight he has to cancel for tomorrow night, and I was more than happy to hear that I will finally be able to stop and think about the fact that Christmas is in three days!

The long day began with getting to school early (7:30) to be at the last grade 5 christmas practice. Then the rest of the morning was classes, ending with what I am now beginning to think is the Grade 2 class that belongs in a teacher horror film. An hour for lunch, back for the afternoon full of classes (Wednesday is my heaviest teaching load) followed by a 90 minute Grade 5 after-school class, subbing for another teacher who lost their voice. Then 15 minutes to run over to the other building, scarf down the leftovers from lunch (cold) and then tutor for two hours.
There was one good story from today. At lunch, I had free refills on my Diet Coke, and did my usual three. After lunch, I made sure to go to the washroom before my class. When it was time for my third class, I sort of had to go to the washroom, but I didn’t really have time. Started teaching my Grade 7 boys. Half way through – really had to go. At five minutes to the bell I was in agony. I was so distressed, I couldn’t even put my thoughts together. So I figured it was better to have the embarrassment of excusing myself than the embarrassment of peeing my pants! So I asked them what they could do for five minutes until the bell, and one of them suggested sleep. So I had them put their heads down, and told them I would be right back. As soon as I left the room, there was a general roar of laughter – but I didn’t care. I came back a minute later, rather sheepish, and was honest with them. They thought it was hilarious – and I was just glad it was them – my grade 7’s who are my favourites.

Oh – and me telling the Christmas story has been going over really well – of course tomorrow are my hardest classes and they are the test. But overall I’ve been amazed at how interested and engaged they are. Of course, there only knowledge of the story comes from the Christmas songs they are made to practice for ridiculous amounts of time in preparation for the Christmas performance.

Below are some pictures - of lunch today, and of some of my kids opening their letters from their penpals in Indiana.

Jillian and Justin goofing off at TGIFridays at lunch 

They seem equally excited about reading each others letters as they are about their own 

Most of my grade 7 girls with their pen pal letters