grace

I've enjoyed all of the beautiful flower photos on visual-voice, and I was motivated to take more myself. However, all I have is half-dead orchids, and this one just fell from the stem. I thought it was surprisingly fresh and elegant. A blooming daffodil would be more appropriate for a warm spring day (this particular April day is a balmy 34C in Taipei!)

But, as always, "the fairest things have sweetest end"

Website Additions

Two new additions on the sidebar to draw your attention to: new books I'm reading and my personality profile.

My personality type is #5. You can click on the little icon to be taken to the website and try for yourself. I realized that its probably a good indication that you're a type 5 cerebral, reclusive, introvert when on a Saturday night your friends go out to a busy Salsa club and you choose instead to spend the evening strolling around the bookstore and come home with a "Self-Teaching Guide to Economics" and "Manage your Postgraduate Career." See, a #5 is always researching and predicting - believing that knowing as much as possible will be a protection against future ills. Not wanting to look silly in my first Master's class this summer - I'm going to read up to have a background in economics and a good handle on what to expect in my post-graduate degree. Plan ahead, I say!

Shall I call him Winifred?

The Taipei 101 mall is something to behold. It is supposedly still the tallest building in the world, and there's a really snazzy mall in the basement. There are all sorts of luxury stores: Prada, Escade, Tiffany & Co. (We had to pop in, Kathy wanted to point out some Christmas present possibilities.

A few stores down we saw this bear in a bedding store window. I thought it was really cute, so I checked the price - $19,200 NT or about $800 CND! Now I don't think of myself as especially cheap or provincial - but I found that a shocking price.

Another penpal program!

This was what I drew on the board for my grade 8 girls class on Friday.
The good news that I mentioned a week ago and never told you is that my Grade 8 girls class is one of 10 that has been chosen to be part of a special project.
According to the iEARN news website:

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2005 INTERNATIONAL PEN PAL PROGRAM. World Environment Day
is the flagship environmental event of the United Nations, created in 1972 as a
worldwide event raising awareness about ways we can all protect our global
environment. This year, it will be held from June 1-5 in San Francisco,
California, making this the first time that the event has ever been hosted in
the U.S. The City of San Francisco is sponsoring an International Pen Pal
Program that will link 10 classrooms in San Francisco with 10 classrooms in
other cities around the world, commencing on April 21-22, and culminating on
June 1-5. All classrooms participating in the Pen Pal program will receive free,
full color materials and certificates for students recognizing their
participation in this global event.

Isn't that great?! I was pretty excited when my supervisor presented me with the opportunity, and I know the girls will do a great job and hopefully really enjoy it! (For those of you who don't know, I already have my grade 6 and 7 classes in a pen pal program with students in my friend Claire's classes in Indiana.)

Saturdays are for...working

I'm sitting in my dark office at 1:30pm on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon. I am wondering why. "Just leave!" I yell at myself. But I am a slave of the computer, I tell you. There are just so many parts of my life that involve a computer, and I really miss having one to call my own. (Well, technically I do have that laptop, but no internet access, so it doesn't count).

This morning I sort of taught my Saturday class. See, they were required to go to a memorial ceremony for a previous principal, which ended up going way over time, so I only had them for 45 minutes instead of two hours. They were completely lost, so we just did a worksheet and a game. Bad teacher. But I've been having good conversations with students recently, I think they are comfortable enough that they can start to open up. I love that.

And two items of note. Claire, college roommate and all-around wonderful gal, is coming to visit me in June / July for sure! She bought her tickets, and I have begun to do what I do best, plan travel excursions. We're going to stay in Taiwan, because it's cheaper and easier. I'm just utterly thrilled that she's able to come, I mean, come on! I haven't seen her since her wedding in August, and now we have ten whole days to catch up. YIPPEE!

Other news note: my Dalhousie application hit a slight snare with transcripts, but seems to be quickly repaired. I still am quite sure my summer Halifax plans will work out. They better, or I might just have to cry.

Students who like to chat, anticipating a visit from an old friend, a summer of study and silence, a twin sister waiting to watch the "Amazing Race Finale" with me, and a sunny Saturday afternoon. Life is good. I think I'll leave the office and go live it!

A small foray into deeper thought

I've been thinking through what I want this blog to be about. It's a bit all over the place, eh? Some family update, some photo blog, some personal journal, some cute links, some news, some thoughts. Anyone have opinions on what they like or don't like?

Lately, I've been doing a lot of pictures and personal stories. Which reminds me, one of my new favorite blogs, Visual Voice, had an interesting article on narcissitic bloggers! However, I do have strong views on external issues and politics, I just feel that sharing my sometimes not fully formed opinions in such a public forum makes me vulnerable. No one can argue with the cute story from work, but if I start talking hot topics that I don't fully understand, I might put my foot in my mouth.

But I recently read a troubling article on CNN about the Conservatives 'Day of Truth' in response to the 'Day of Silence'.

Irked by the success of the nationwide Day of Silence, which seeks to combat
anti-gay bias in schools, conservative activists are launching a counter-event
this week called the Day of Truth aimed at mobilizing students who believe
homosexuality is sinful.Participating students are being offered T-shirts with
the slogan "The Truth Cannot be Silenced" and cards to pass out to classmates
Thursday -- the day following the Day of Silence -- declaring their
unwillingness to condone "detrimental personal and social behavior."

The whole article was troubling. I shouldn't get into it here, but I strongly disagree with the whole idea of a 'Day of Truth'. Perhaps if it was followed by a day against hypocrisy. "Just say Materialism is a sin!" Day. Or how about "Rich people don't get to go heaven." Let's remember the log and speck of sand story!

Then, after reading that article, I found an Ignite blog post that was quoted on Johnny Baker's blog. It speaks better than I.

We are the fragrance of God in the world, the hint of God, the poetry and prose
of God, not the propositions of God. We are the questions not the answer, the
aroma not the substance. Let us turn away from the times we have tried to compel
others and turn back to the ancient call by which we live beautiful, Christ-like
lives in the world.

I hope I can be part of the sweet-smelling fragrance of God as described above, instead of someone who tries to preach "the truth."

Urgh

I went home for my lunch break in hopes of catching up on email and finishing my introspective Orchid blog post.

The first email I read was from Dalhousie admissions office, with one very frustrating sentence concluding that I would indeed need to send all my transcripts, even the schools I only attended as a letter of permission student.

Urgh.

I then spend the rest of lunch trying to remember (a.) what schools I took classes at (b.) my student id numbers (can't remember any, did I even get one for abu?) (c.) how on earth to order all those transcripts.

I came to no conclusions, and stalked back to the office with a scowl on my face. When I got to the gates, I realized how deep my frown was and how angry I must have looked, so I caught myself before I scared students.

All that to say, no orchid post until I get over my peevishness.

An Orchid

An Orchid...to be continued.

National Concert Hall

This is the foyer of the National Concert Hall, with me in the center. Kathleen and I went out Sunday night to see the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. It was a wonderful evening, a 200 voice choir, the symphony, and three soloists. The programe was Faure's Reguiem, along with other pieces like the Russian Easter Overture. It was such a different experience, I was shocked by the fact that the audience knew when to clap. Not one person in the audience, not even the many small children and young adults, clapped before the entire piece was over. Wowee!
It was a lovely night, and we plan to go more often. There are so many classical music performances here, there are multiple options each weekend. And it was only about $15 CND a ticket, for great seats.

And on the inside we have

For those of you who feel the need for some closure on the Cherimoya story - here is a picture of the inside. It lived up to my expectations, and it was, as Mark Twain said: "deliciousness itself." Tricky to peel and de-seed, but otherwise enjoyable and worth $5.

The real thing

Now those are really impractical shoes, and the socks are just too white.
Picture from the Art of the Geisha webpage.

My Version

Whatdya think? The newest fashion trend? If I could single handedly start a fad, this would be it. I always thought geishas looked so cool in their kimonos and socks stuck in flip flops, but I wished they would wear ones that weren't so starkly white. But last night at the Japanese store, Muji, I found these socks in all sorts of colours. I look the monochromatic look, because on first glance it looks like regular shoes, but wait! No, it's flip flop socks. Well, at least I think it's cool.

Shhhh

This t-shirt suits me, don't you think? There are only three problems: first, I hate t-shirts. Second, I feel like it's showing my hand to every passerby. Finally, it's stinkin expensive, because it's made by an environmentally conscious company, Howies.co.uk.

Forgive me...

I hope this is not too offensive to my American friends. It's not you, it's me. I'd love to have this t-shirt, if only it didn't cost 20 pounds! It's a British company, Howies, that does such a wonderful job of clarifying the concerns of many Canadian and Brits.

Just wait....

The exquisite joy of waiting.

This is supposed to be one of the most delicious fruits. We have yet to figure out a name for it, but according to Carolyn and Steph, it is a creamy fruit that tastes like a mix of mango and pineapple. Sounds heavenly.

Now, all I have to do is wait for this heavy, giant dome to ripen. Once it's soft I will see if it is a good specimen. None of my housemates have found a good example of this kind of fruit in Taipei, only in the south. I am really hoping, partly because it sounds so wonderful, and partly because I paid $125 NT for it ($5 CND).

Endless Succession

Would you believe I still don't have anything interesting to write about?! Sorry, life "continues on in an endless succession of busy nothings." I feel some pressure, too, because according to my handy blog site meter, I get about 10 times as many new visitors on Saturday than on other days. Ahh! Must be creative and intelligent. Nope, not going to happen. "Surely" you must be thinking to yourself, "Carole will be able to think of some small tidbit of information or story to redeem this meanering and meaningless post!"

Some tidbits:
* My grandmother and aunt's cat, Riley, died today. According to the group email and the obituary on our "Gilroy Family Site", his death appears to be from heart failure, while taking a leisurely stroll down his favorite country road. Therefore, we can all assume he died peacefully from old age and obeseity. R.I.P. Riley.
* My grad school application has been somewhat bogged down by my own stupidity. See, they asked for a list of all the school's I've attended, and I listed all 4. However, three of those I attended as a "Letter of Permission" student and had the classes listed on my Huntington transcript. But because I put them all on the application, Dal wants 4 transcripts, and there seems to be a deathly silence in the admissions office.
* I was tutoring my little tutee this evening, who is quite a little whirlwind. We were doing "wh diagraphs" and when we got to whale, she pointed to me and said "Whale Teacher!" Yup. That's me. Thankfully, I'm past the point of taking my grade 2's comments personally.

Kathleen enjoying our new indulgence, Kindori Ice Cream. Funny story, this cute little ice cream shop is about 10 feet off the alley we walk down multiple times a day to get to school. I've lived here 8 months and never walked down the street! I'm kicking myself now, because this a real find. It's the equivalent of Yogen Fruz, you choose your fruit, and they mix it fresh. About $2CND for a cone. Kathy and I have decided to try all the flavors, we have 28 to go. There are alot more fruits to choose from when you've got the tropical ones added in. Mulberry, red guava, pomegrante! I think it will become a daily detour on the way home, thank goodness it seems relatively healthy! 

Our one excursion on our luxuriously lazy long weekend. We went to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, one of the main Taipei attractions. Pretty, eh? 

"Seeing Double"

This is the picture we used on the power point presentation Saturday, for Kathy's part of the poem. It's not exactly a great picture, but oh well. You can see how cute the grade 2's are. Just multiple by 4 or 5 and you have a typical classroom.
Sorry there's been so many pictures over the last few days - I had so many from the weekend, I was trying to spread them out.
Today being the first day back at work after the long 'weekend' I'm still feeling a bit tired and grumpy, so I don't have much more to say. I had an exciting new project given to me at work, I'll explain it tommorrow. Nothing earthshattering, but I'm excited.

Step in Time

These are the Grade Ones doing choreographed aerobics to music. They're pretty cute, and it's funny to watch the military boot camp precision of Fu-Hsing.