Teacher Michael Jackson

As Katy Perry blares..

As Katy Perry blares in the background, I write to you all. I am doing well, thanks for asking. How are you all?

I have survived the typhoon and my apartment only leaked a little. However, thanks to Taiwan magic/ the stifling heat, all the water in my house has evaporated. Yippie!

Lately, I have been thinking about my life and where I am/ what the hell I am doing with my life. Big stuff, I know. I had planned on moving overseas after graduation and even while I was at MC. However, it still surprises me that I am actually here putting my degree to use (well not the Spanish part) and enjoying it. It usually hits me when I am riding my bike home after work and just looking at my surroundings. That includes street vendors, caged birds on the side of the road, scooters EVERYWHERE and the occasional "Hello!" from a Taiwanese local showing off their English.

I read this amazing article about the benefits of traveling while you are young today, and it was like a gift from the gods bc they could see me doubting/ thinking too hard about my life choices.  Professors, parents, and even strangers have told me to travel your ass off while you can. If I think about it, all of those people were really just telling me to leave them the hell alone and that I should leave the country to do so.

So, as I sit in my first big girl apartment, paying real life bills and dressing in work clothes EVERY day, I try to remain calm that I was TRICKED into coming here by people who just wanted me out of America. Just playing, I wanted to come here and this year will be an adventure four shore.

Pardon the nostalgic post, however I will leave you with a wonderful video of a boy dancing at the weekly dance competition we go to after Sushi Sunday. It is my fantasy that after attending these weekly dance face-offs, the MC will point to this white girl (imagine I am pointing at myself) and yell " Your turn. Show us what you got." When that happens, I will die of pure joy.

That's a good inch of water outside my front door.

NEW BIKE! For FREE. 

Rice fields 

Tea harvesting as a family.

That's a tank. 

So is this. 

PingPongSaola

Not a typhoon, her name is Tropical Storm Saola. Heading to the coast of Chia now.

Also, after days of channel surfing to get the Olympics, I finally found it. Too bad it is ping pong.

Typhoon days< snow days

There is a typhoon outside. Typhoon= heavy rainstorms that make my apartment building leak. My roof is leaking outside my front door so I have to walk through a little lake before exiting my residence. There is also a waterfall trickling down the wall in my balcony. I can nothing about either of these problems but tell myself it is just water and I can mop it up when the rain stops.

Good news is that they canceled school today bc of the typhoon. This couldn't have come at a better time bc Thursdays are my busiest days. My manager, Hannah texted me last night to tell me, bless her heart. That mean typhoon celebrations. Maria, Claudia, and some of her friends met us at Bar FLy and then we met up with some of our TA's at a dancing club. I danced my face off again and left the club in the early hours of the morning.

Some interesting highlights from last night
1. Met a magician
2. Despite the typhoon, Taiwanese still like to go dance clubbing on a Wednesday night.
3. I still am having trouble hearing from last night

As you may have noticed, this is not a video. I decided that today I was not going to shower and not leave my apt since the only thing open is the 7-11 (which is where I had my lunch). I have been resting and watching my apt fill with water, ahha just kidding sorta.

I have a new phonics class and it is smaller with only 9 kids this time. I absolutely adored my last phonics class so these kids have a lot to live up to. I also passed my head office observation so all I need now is my ARC (Alien Residency Card) and I am all set.

That's all for now!