The View

This is what I was looking at while pondering. I climbed down off the main road to find a big rock to sit on and listen to the river gushing. The rocks were really really big.

My 'toursit' lunch

I gave in and had a 'tourist' lunch at the hotel in the Gorge. It was a much deliberated decision, and I was going to put the whole thought process on here, maybe later. Anyway, it was lovely, a tuna sandwich and Earl Grey Milk Tea.

The tunnel

The scariest part of the trek was this tunnel. There was no going back, so I had to just walk into the darkness and keep walking. I was very much freaked out, and kept expecting someone to jump out and scream at me. I just walked slowly, with my hands shielding my face, and waited for the proverbial light at the end, which did come eventually.

Japanese Trail

this is the trail I took - left over from the Japanese occpation when they used it to transport soliders and canons and stuff. The trail is kind of hard to see, it's just a little railing about half way up the mountain. It made my stomach flip when I looked down. They definitely have different safety standards in Taiwan.

on my way

Well, in an hour I'm off for a mini-break! It's pretty mini, but still I need it.

I'm taking a three hour train ride down the coast to the city of Hualien. When I get there, I call the hostel and they pick me up at the station...nice! The hostel is new and clean, and I am the only person booked in the dorm room, so basically it's my eight bed room with private bathroom! Yeah.

I was going to do lesson plans all weekend, but now that I have such good curriculum, I think what I really need is a weekend away! So I'm taking lots of books, my journals, cameras and cross stich. I plan on spending lots of time sleeping and a lot of time sitting on some rocky beach on the coast, thinking and freezing my butt off.

I might be able to blog, might not. Either way, I have high hope of writing this weekend, stuff that will be a little bit more shall we say creative, to put on this blog.

Well, happy end of semester and mini-break to me, and happy inaguration to Bush, and happy January 20 to the rest of you.

Breakfast time - decisions, decisions. A glimpse of some of the choices at the Japanese bakery, Yamazaki. I chose the coconut raisin bread on the left of the second shelf. 

This was our 'working tea' at a new restaurant we tried called "Sweets Kitchen." The tea was your choice of salad, soup, bread, your choice of dessert and your choice of drink. Quite lovely. This is my fresh fruit hot tea, and the new curriculum I bought today for next semester's special interest classes. Sadly, I seemed to like the most expensive book in the store, and had to pay almost $50 CND for it. But the school may reimburse me, or I do feel it's worth it to save myself re-inventing the wheel. 

This is the product of a 90 minute 'working tea' and three hours in the evening. Well, this and a four page lesson plan. On the right we have the menu for the restaurant "Animeals", on the left is a worksheet where the kids draw the food and write a description. Then finally, we made a Play-doh model of our example dish: "Grass Noodles with Snuffle Eggs and Berries." 

Once again I find myself at the end of the day feeling very sick, very tired, and very boring. I can't think of anything interesting to write about today either. So I'll just post my pictures, and explain my day through them.

Oh, of note, I did finally visit the export store my housemate was raving about, and I got an Eddie Bauer flowered cordory blouse, a light blue cotton American Eagle blouse, a pair of mauve track panks, and Anne Taylor The LOFT dress cords with a great cut, all for about $40 CND. It was quite a find, and I LOVE everything I bought. That made my day.

I also found the perfect curriculum book for next semester. Now I have a really good handle on what I'm going to do for both my Advanced English special interest classes and my writing class. Good curriculum that is fun for the kids and easier for me makes me feel so much more excited about the planning I'm doing this weekend.

Other than shopping, about all I did today was proctor tests, which is mind-numbingly dull. Oh, and Carolyn and I created a 3 hour lesson plan to do with 'Food' for the winter camp, which we are quite proud of. See photos.

How to make a novel (well, I mean after you spent a month writing it): Start by printing out the pages in 'signatures' so that about 20 pages fold together to have the front and back sides in the right order. Then make a pattern with the holes evenly spaced and punch thrown the center crease of each signature. 

Kathy sent me some embroidery floss that I am supposed to coat in beeswax, but in a tight fix, I figure any old candle would do. So now, my floss smells like the Ikea winter candle from rubbing it back and forth across the hardened wax. 

Then, I take one 'signature' of pages at a time and sew from inside to outside, over the ribbon, inside, to outside, etc. Then on the ends, I do a sort of gathering stich to connect each signature to the other. 

The finished project! 

sick and sleepy

My apologies, but I can think of nothing interesting to write. I really think it's because I am sick - a sinus cold is a real creativity-killer. Fortuately, it has not been a very trying day, only one class in the morning and one in the afternoon. Then I sat on my bottom all evening to 'cut and paste' lesson plans and curriculum from online sites onto my disk. See, the plan is to take the train down to the cozy coastal city of Hualien on Thursday. Then I'll have almost three whole days of uninterrupted alone time to do some lesson planning for the new semester and some pleasure reading. But before I can do all my planning, I want to get all the internet information onto my laptop so I can read it over the weekend, without an internet connection. Wow - this is one boring blog entry, I should just stop before I put as all to sleep.

I'll try to perk this site up a bit tommorrow. Sorry, folks!

Post B-Day

Well, my birthday is over, no matter what time zone you are in. It was quite lovely. Starting with the Dinosaur dinner with crickets last week, then with more fun yesterday.

I started the morning by opening my card from my parents, which had a beautiful pair of Silver and Rose Quartz earrings inside. Then I opened the jewellery-box shaped gift to find a lovely set of gold earrings and a pink-gold ring with little diamonds in a leaf design, from Kathy, from Kazakhstan, right? I didn't have time to open any more presents, before setting off to work. I made a point of not telling people it was my birthday, but J. and C. did a very good job of making the fact known, and by the end of the day I had many wishes for a happy birthday. Lunch was at TGIFriday's, although I couldn't taste any of it, because I am coming down with a whopper of a sinus cold. That came in handy later, though, after I finished my classes and an hour of tutoring, and I met up with the gang for dinner. We went to an all you can eat Thai place, where you order as many dishes off the menu as you like ( much nicer than the usual buffet all you can eat places). There was a lot of spicy stuff, which would usually probably reduce me to a teary eyed mess, but had just the right level of zip when I was all stuffed up! We had a great time, with lots of conversation, and a few occasions of laughing till we cried (this happens often when eating with J., it's a combination of a klutzy eater and a youngest child syndrome!) After dinner they surprised me with a chocolate mousse cake and Hagaan Daas Ice Cream back at J. and A.'s.

Then we decided to watch a movie. The girls stayed home, and the boys went out in the cold to fetch a DVD. (It was supposed to be the coldest day all winter, below 10!) I said no killing kinds. What did they come back with? The Village! Can you imagine? I decided to work at the computer typing in grades, because watching a movie like that would give me nightmares for a week! So I did my usual half-watch, half-work, and it was actually a great movie. Yes, very scary, but I just looked at the computer for that part. And the usual M. Night Shamalyan twist was incredible, and made the entire movie worth watching for me.

C. and I went home together, and once again I was reminded by the fact that two people who are scared by scary movies should not walk home together after! We were jumping at every little thing. I got to the door, put the key in the lock, and turned. Nothing. After 15 minutes of trying unsuccessfully to either get the key to turn, or come out, we had to give up, call and wake up a housemate to unlock the door from the inside (which fortunately still works). My key is still stuck in the door, anyone know what to do?

So, we finally got into the apartment, and it was close to 1. Sitting on the coffee table was a card from Aunt Dorie and Grammie. I was so excited, and it came right on my birthday! I loved reading Grammie's letter, it's so sincere and heartfelt, I read it with a big smile on my face. Then I jumped in bed and went to sleep!

Then on Saturday morning, I woke up, went out for coffee and orange juice, blew my nose multiple times, then settled down to open my presents. Here is a picture. Although I think only Kathy cares, and she picked most of them out, so it's rather unimportant to put on this site. In fact this whole post seems better suited to my journal than my website. Alas, can I blame it on the sinus medication?

My birthday gifts, calendar, cross stich, Zoe puppet, stuffed animal (cow or dog? with lady bug), a letter from Grammie, chocolates, earrings from parents, jewellry from Kathy, magnet with my favorite quote, and my new Cashmere gloves from Carolyn. They are beautiful, with delicate stiching, beads, and a little button! She has lovely taste.  

My birthday dinner at Mae Rham, the all you can eat Thai Restaurant (notice the number of plates, and this was about our third round of dishes). The teachers of Fu Hsing. I'm the only one who likes this picture, but it was the only one we got, it's my birthday and my blog. Sorry, guys. 

My Birthday Dinner. Oh, silly J. and C. I threatened to put this on my blog, and I think I will, just to serve them right for making funny faces in my birthday pictures. Oh, and the reason I am holding my hand in that rather forced manner is that you can see my ring. But you can't. ( =  

birthday

well, it's 1 am in the morning, and I really want to go to sleep. So I think I will. Tommorrow morning is technically still my birthday in Eastern Time, so I'll follow the pattern set by New Years, and pretend like Jan. 15 AM is Jan. 14 PM like it is in Canada. I'll blog then. Because I'm obviously not making sense now.

Birthday Morning.

My little cellphone started to alarm at 5:59 and I was tempted to roll over. However, I didn't - mostly because my dreams were so weird. A combination of the Alias I watched yesterday, and Tim Hortons (because I was talking about working in a coffee shop at lunch). It ended with me in a ladies washroom, on assignment, while Tim Hortons employees were sitting trays of donuts in between the sinks while they washed their hands. I was so enraged, in my dream that I got their names and a comment card to fill out! Yah. Waking up is better than that.

And I like the feeling of getting up early sometimes, not too early of course, because then you get the airport feeling in your stomach.
Now Alias is finished, I am going to go open some presents, make a coffee and read until it's time to leave for work. Nice.

I didn't take this - I found it on the internet - but it captures a rainy day in Taiwan. Actually this is an intersection I walk through most days - the green sign on the right is the post office I use (106 is our postal code). It looks like it's of a guy wearing a scooter helmet and raincoat, pushing a food cart. There must be a story. 

Raining Dogs

It's been raining here for days. However, I've discovered I like the Taipei version of rain for two good reasons. First, the rain is light, so it feels almost like snow and does not get you soaking wet, even if you forget your umbrella. Second, there is no grass (at least not outside of the small square surrounding the trees implanted in the pavement). So when it rains, the sidewalks are worm-free. This was the main reason I hated the rain in Indiana – it meant unbelievably large earthworms covered the sidewalks, and you couldn't go from building to building without squishing them. Well, those are my feelings on rain.

I was walking home in the aforementioned rain, when I saw the funniest sight. To preface, I don't like dogs, in fact, I borderline hate them. However, I firmly believe if one must have a dog, one should follow the Asian tradition of treating the dog as a doll. Tonight was an excellent example. I passed a young woman walking her three dogs. Each dog was decked out in a Burberry rain jacket, complete with clear plastic shield to cover their face. It was quite the sight, I wished I had my camera (it's on loan to J. for her drama class).

One other thing I learned tonight, from my tutee. I was born in 1982, so I always thought I was the Year of the Dog. Turns out, if you're born at the beginning of the year, you are still part of the last year (you know how Chinese New Year comes late Jan. early Feb). So I technically fall under 1981 and the year of the Rooster. Well, the year of the Rooster is coming up in less than a month, so I thought "Good, that must be special or lucky or something?" Turns out that the Year of the Rooster is especially bad for people who were born in the year of the Rooster. It doesn't seem right to be. Good thing I don't follow the Chinese calendar, eh?

I am excited about tomorrow for a number of reasons: it's my birthday, it's payday, there's an Alias on at 6am I haven't seen (and yes, I feel it's worth getting up an hour early to watch), I have a little pile of presents from my parents sitting on my chair, and thank goodness – it's Friday! It should be a lovely day overall - although I'm 99% sure it will be a rainy one! At least it's 15 C not -15 C!

This was our own little floor of fun at the Indian Restaurant. By Indian - it was a Native American versus Dinasaurs theme. And the theme was elaborate and extensive. We had a great time, 11 of us celebrating 4 birthdays. 

Here's a glimpse into the scope of the dinasaur theme. There were skeletons everywhere!

There had to be something memorable so I could distinguish this birthday from others (I seem prone to forgetting things). So why not do one of those 'traveller's stories'? Eat a cricket. It was on my to-do list. THis is a highly unflattering picture, but it captures the moment (I did a fisheye effect so the cricket really jumps out at you!)

Jill, practicing her crazy Survivor face - and enjoying the crunchy taste of Cricket. 

And down it goes - Happy 23rd! 

Dinasaurs vs. Indians

It's official, today is the day I've realized for sure that I have a caffiene addiction. I've been dancing around the issue for awhile. But this morning I didn't have time for a coffee before Saturday school, so by the end of the class I had a horrible headache creeping up from my neck and the back of my head. Fortunately, good old "Be U Cafe" is right on the way home, so I was quickly fixed up with a truly delicious coffee. Mmmmm. But still, I'm upset that I'm so dependant on it, but it seems to be a neccesary evil, for an introvert who works with children all day, do you know what I mean?

Today is 'our' birthday party. No, not Kathy and I, but Amin, Justin, Nina and I. I'm very glad to share my birthday party again, I don't like being the center of attention and feeling bad that everyone has to spend money and time just on me. The group birthday came about because our four birthdays are all in a span of about 3 weeks. So to save time and money, a group birthday was proposed. We're going to an Indian Restaurant, but by "indian" they mean Native American, not Indian! Supposedly they have a huge theme going of Indians fighting dinasours, and there are dinasour skeletons everywhere. Odd, huh? But it should be fun.

Friday night fun! After a long week, it was time to let my brain go. So we went to the Living Mall to see The Phantom of The Opera movie. While wasting time before hand, we explored the kids floor, which included this amazing invention. The store is laid out in a circle, and they have these large stuffed animal cars, of sorts, for kids to drive around on. What a lovely idea! I had to get a picture - maybe I can bring this new invention to a mall near you! (By the way, they don't move very fast, and you can steer, so there seems to be little chance of shoppers or children being hurt. 

A Crafty Carole is a Happy Carole

I'm still working on my 2004 summations. I think it's somewhat symbolic that I am unable to complete this last task of the year, some deep subconscious emotional need to hang on to the fading light. However, if I don't finish this weekend, I'm just going to go with what I got, and the highlights will be on the site. But most of my summations will not be available for the public, because then I would have to be too careful to censor who I talk about, what I say, etc.

Oh, just a note, Kathy I think I got your most recent package before the other one. The one I got has a lovely pink plaid / lace card, and the things I need for making my novel. Thank you kindly! I loved the card, went right out to get matching paper for the ribbon, and put the chocolates and presents under the proverbial tree, by that I mean onto my b-day presents chair.

For the rest of you, I should have pictures of my novel-making adventure this weekend. I'll even take a few how-to shots, so I'll be able to remember how to make a book in a year. Otherwise, with my memory... I've decided that was what was missing in my life. I was feeling a little tense, and wondering why, because things are going fine in all areas of my life. Well, after a little introspection, I put my finger on it. I miss handicrafts! I've been doing crafts in my free-time since I was very little (I can't remember when, you'd have to ask my mom), and it's the most relaxing thing I can think of. Knitting, painting, cross-stitching, book-making, scrap booking, etc. are an important recipe for my mental health. So I am happy to have the necessary supplies to get my hands busy again. First, making the book for my novel. Then, there is a cross-stitch wrapped up on my b-day chair (I can tell because I can feel the hoop). Finally, I bought myself a 2005 Paint by Number Calendar on sale at the bookstore this week, because it includes one of cats, one of Venice, and one of a floral arrangement. Oddly enough the fourth paint-by-number is a wild west scene. Hmm.

But crafty Carole will likely be a good deal more relaxed than "work all day and fall into bed" Carole. Here's hoping!

P.S. I have some very good news, but "I'm not at liberty" to say anything yet. So you'll just have to wait and see. Maybe you can guess, but keep it to yourself!

First Year Teacher Lesson #24

I've just dragged myself home from another long day at school, staying late for tutoring means my day gets really tiring. And I feel like I've had a mini-migraine for 48 hours, although I've brought it upon myself by making a final exam writing assignment that involves in-class work. They've done better than I expected, although trying to get grade 6's to talk in groups quietly is kind of like trying to get toothpaste back in the tube.

But, something new today. My grade 6 class had a little 'incident.' They were working in their aforementioned groups, and I was working my way around helping each group, when I got to one group, there were two kids sitting on the same chair, and as I was asking one to move, suddenly, he swung his rather large pencil case at full force towards the head of the boy sitting beside him. I mean, he whammed it! I was shocked, and then noticed that both boys were crying now, and obviously something had happened, so I took both their arms and lead them outside to stand, a safe distance from each other. They both looked so miserably sad and they seemed too upset to communicate to me in English what had happened. As I was pondering what to do, one of the Grade 6 homeroom teachers walked by, and was as concerned as I was. She offered to help, so I left them in her hands. The kids inside said it all was just over one kid grabbing the other kids book. Oh well, it all turned out fine. They came back inside, and a few sniffles later they were working with their groups.

The whole event just made me more tired. It's amazing to me the direct correlation between the amount of sleep I get and my mood. When I start spending too long at school, and not getting enough rest, I start feeling exhausted and meaningless. I realize I really need a vacation - I've been used to having Christmas vacation since Kindergarten, and this whole, "work through Christmas, you get a week of in February thing" is just too long of a semester. I'll make it though, the end is in sight.

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.