laughing at life

2008-05-30T02:28:00.000-07:00

well... some people have gotten on my case about updating... sooo... here's what's been going on my life. I've still been enjoying my time in Taiwan, but I have been really homesick lately and have been exploring my options in states... so... as of today at 12:05 I am officially going back to the states on Aug. 3! I'm really excited and am looking for various jobs (most likely around the elkhart area). I have a couple job opportunities in the works and am looking for a good place to live. The school responded okay to the news that I'm leaving. Obviously they want me to stay, but I'm pretty firm in my decision.

Other than that monsoon season is finally here. It's nice, but also annoying. It's been raining and sunshiney goodness almost everyday. It's still very hot. I'm still getting used to island weather that changes soooo quickly. It can change from bright sunshine to down-pouring rain in exactly one minute. It's actually very fun to watch. But riding a scooter in the rain is not my favorite thing to do.

So.... that is my life as of right now... I will try to update this again this weekend and put more pictures up for you to see.

chau all!

One sunny day...

2008-04-27T03:53:00.000-07:00

One sunny day... Martin, Leigha and I decided to go for a scooter ride on the mountains near Chiayi. We were supposed to start at 10 in the morning, but due to everyone not being ready... we didn't actually get on the road until 10:30. We drove up the mountain... took a wrong road... got caught in some construction... bought the most expensive cup of coffee... drove down... stopped at the golden buddha... and got a sunburn... most of which are shown by the following pictures... :)

We stopped at a big bridge on our way up the mountain... this was actually near the top...

There was supposed to be a river running down... but, as usual here in Taiwan, the river was mainly dried up except for a little trickle going through...

This is my roommate Leigha on the bridge.

I took this when we stopped for the 160 NTD cup of coffee... the top of the mountain was really foggy.

On the mountain is where the tea is grown, as shown in this picture...

This is the golden buddha in Bantianyan

Martin wanted to see if there was a good camping spot behind the buddha... so we hiked around a bit

All-in-all it was a fun way to spend my Saturday... I'll put up a post sometime soon with pictures from the Chiayi park, which is really gorgeous...

The insect museum

2008-04-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

first of all... here are a few pictures of me on my scooter. Kathy took them for me today when we were leaving the insect museum (more on that later). I know they are very posed, but it's the best I could get for now...

What do you think of the full motorcycle helmet? My scooter is I think 120 cc (though I don't really know what they means... but it has something to do with the power). One of the things that everyone always comments on is the bright red "carpet". Everyone jokes that I'm on the red carpet or something like that. It's really funny.

And now for the insect museum...

Here is me next to a giant metal spider...

the entrance- they just opened a new butterfly exhibit this past January.

that's Kathy- the girl I went with.

Obviously I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but there were tons of displays of all kinds of insects that can mainly be found in Taiwan. Then there were a few live insects like a hercules beetle and these big stick looking creatures. Kathy got to touch some of them, but I chose not to since they were a little too freaky for me. There was also this new enclosure that was just flowers and beautiful butterflies floating all around. They were all around Kathy and I and it was awesome.

Here are some pictures of Mini-Olympics for those who didn't see the album on facebook...

This is me and the my elementary Chinese teacher Naomi... she's pretty much the best. Here we are displaying the lovely garb that the school forced us to buy and then wear. (note the sarcasm)

This is me an little Joy. She is an adorable girl. Whenever she sees me she always runs over to me to give me a hug.

Here is Mina and Joy getting ready to push the big ball (one of the activities)

In front of the school they blew up this really wierd thing, but it was kind of cool... (note the hearts with wings on the top)

This is foreign teacher Eric... he was leader of Blue team... needless to say most of my kids cried when they saw him this day because of his face paint.

And finally... the other weekend Freda, Kathy and I went for a picnic by the Lan Tan Lake.... Here are some pictures....

Here is Kathy and Freda next to a sign about biking around the lake...

Tai Chi is common by the lake in the mornings. We found these rocks which you are supposed to walk on that will push the pressure points. This picture was taken before I knew you aren't supposed to wear shoes on the rocks...

the path we walked to get to where we ate...

a view of a pagoda across the lake.

And finally... our delicious meal set out on the table...

Driving

2008-04-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

I did not realize it had been so long since I'd posted! I'm very sorry for that. So this for those who complained to me about not posting anything.

Things here continue to go well. I feel more and more comfortable in every day life despite not knowing the language. Fortunately momst people know a few key phrases and a lot can be said with mono-syllables and hand motions. Mini-Olympics went fairly well. The only issue is that my students are too young to understand anything that is going on. Instead most of my students cried for the morning because they were so scared. It wasn't until an hour and 1/2 into the morning that they actually agreed to get some "face paint" (crayons) put on. But that was after they wiped all of mine off because they were scared of mine (although all I had was a B on one cheek and a T on the other for Blue Team). The Chinese teachers blasted music which made me laugh and gave me a headache. I'm not sure why, but they chose almost gangster rap/ hip hop to play. It was NOT school or kid appropriate. Songs like "I want to be a gangster" with a lot of swearing involved is not good for little kids to hear. But our Mini-Olympics did make it in the news apparently. I didn't actually see or read it.

I was looking forward to when Mini-Olympics were over because it was so much work and all of that. But it seems like we go from one big event to the next. Next month we have public speaking/ open house. It's already such a hassle and I want it to be over. I have some problems with the way they get things done here, but I just have to remind myself that it's their culture and if that's the way things are done I just have to deal with it.

Okay... now onto the driving aspect of Taiwan. I think I've finally got a handle on how things are done here. And I'm not surprised that in North America we consider Asians to be "bad drivers" because, according to our standard... they are. But it makes more sense once you stop and look at the driving. I've had a scooter now for about a month. It's taken me this long to get semi-comfortable driving during rush hour. First of all... scooters rule the roads. Cars may be bigger and faster... but there are more scooters. Usually when there is a red light the scooters just dodge between the cars to the front. It's actually fun to do that. I like being first as Sarah W. can tell you. One thing I really like about intersections here is that there is usually a counter by the light to let you know how much time you have. If it's red you know that you have to wait that long until it's green and if it's green you know that that's how long until it turns red. It's really nice.

One thing I noticed when I first got here is that nobody stops at intersections unless there's a stoplight. You never know when someone will just pull out in front of you without looking. I've had to dodge a few cars and scooter that just pulled out in front of me. At first I just thought this was ignorance and impatience. It really frustrated me. But when I looked closer I realized that there are NO stop signs here. None. At all. So people just keep going because there is no reason to stop. I actually stop because I guess that's what I'm used to... although I have occasionally done the rolling "stop". I at least look both ways before going, but that's not what I could say for most of the drivers here. It kinda adds a sense of mystery to driving because you never know when someone will just pull out in front of you. When you drive here you ALWAYS have to be alert.

It is also not uncommon for people to drive the wrong way on the street. People here will do whatever it takes to get where they want to go in the least amount of time possible. It surprised me the first time because I was following this scooter which suddenly swerved to the left. It was then I saw another scooter coming directly at me from the wrong direction! That hasn't been the only time that happened. Like I said before you HAVE to be alert when you drive here.

One nice thing about scooters is that you get to park on the sidewalk. I'm totally not kidding. When you go somewhere, to like eat or something, the parking for scooters is always near the building (or in front of it) on the sidewalk. The curb is "reserved" for cars. I've learned to manuever my scooter in some very precarious and tight places. It's pretty cool.

Scooters here are a way of life. Most people don't even need a car. Some might ask what happens when you go to the store and have a lot of things to take back to your place. The answer is simple. You put it on your scooter. You can drive with anything on your scooter... I have seen tons of things from small children hanging onto the mirrors to golden retrievers. I have personally driven with a hamper, a mop, a stool, and $30 USD worth of food. Pretty impressive, huh? I have seen families of 4 fit on a scooter smaller than mine (mine's bigger compared to others)

That is a picture of an average scooter here. So now you can imagine all of the things that are carried and packed on it. It's actually not as bad as it seems. Quite comfortable.

Alright... well I think that is all I have to say right now. I welcome comments anytime. chau all :)

Mini-Olympics and 7- eleven convenience stores

2008-03-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! Things here continue to go well. Tomorrow is a Saturday that I actually have to go to work. Every year in March Noble has a day called Mini-Olympics. It's basically a track and field day with different activities. The main issue is that there is an opening ceremony where the students dance and perform and shake pom-poms... all of which are difficult for my little babies. But they are cute when they try. I'll see what I can do in terms of pictures and videos tomorrow, but my camera has been acting wierd...

The opening ceremony is very elaborate and funny to us foreign teachers. We first start out jogging onto the big playground to the song "We are the champions". We are divided by sides- red team and blue team- with the smallest students closest to the front. After that the students drop their pom-poms-which match their team color- and a march song comes on. Then there are student drummers and flag holders who parade in while everyone marches in place. The last to come in are four students carrying the Noble School flag. Then we have warm-up exercises which are "dance" routines to two songs. First we dance to "Barbie-girl" by Aqua and then we dance to this butterfly song. Both songs are not really appropriate for young kids, but they're in English, so I don't think it matters. "Barbie-girl"- for those who remember it- has so many sexual innuendos. For example... "you can do my hair... undress me anywhere"... or us foreign teachers' favorite "touch me here... touch me there... hanky panky"... it's kinda funny to see the young students singing along when they have no idea what their saying... the butterfly song is about searching for a samurai... after the opening ceremony we begin the games. With small classes we do three activities... 1. push the big ball 2. obstacle course 3. parent activity- throw balls into upside umbrella. It should only be a 1/2 day, but it's still my Saturday that's being used... and we had to buy these wierd shirts and a bright red hat. The shirt says "I *heart* Noble". We all had to by 2. I'm not happy about wearing it... but I have no choice... I'll be so happy when it's over because it is taking so much time to practice... We practice at least an hour every day and this week it's been more (today, for example, kindergarten practiced 9-10, then 2:30-3:30 and then elementary practiced from 4-5... so I was pretty much in Mini-Olympics Practice all day)...

Ok... now on to the importance and immenent take-over of 7-11 convenience stores. I remember one of my first thoughts of Taiwan was that there were so many 7-11's. There is usally at least one every few blocks. 7-11's here are part of a way of life. They make it so much easier on everyone, and that's what I enjoy about them. You can pretty much do and get anything at a 7-11. Not only do they have hot and cold food (as well as packaged food), they also sell alcohol like wine. It is very cool that I can actually get a decent wine bottle at a convenience store. Also at 7-11's you can buy tickets for almost anything. They sell all the tickets for transportation (except high speed train) as well as sports games. So if you want to go to a baseball game you go to 7-11, buy a bus ticket as well as the game ticket. Very cool. The last reason that these stores are so wonderful is because you can pay the bills from your apartment there. All you do is take in the bill (which has a barcode thing on it) and they scan it in, you pay, and that's all you have to do... no mailing... no going to the building... it's pretty cool.

alright... I'm going to go watch a movie right now. Poseidon is on HBO and I wanna see it. I love cable t.v.... leave me the comments... chau all! :)

Life in Taiwan...

2008-03-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Things here are continuing to go very well. We finallly have a new principle, which means a lot of changes to how things are done. But so far it hasn't been unbearable... although... who really likes change?

I'm sure that many of you are curious about Taiwan, and life in Taiwan... I realize I haven't put too much of that in my blog (besides saying what I can't get- a list which seems to get bigger each day). So each time I blog I will discuss a different part of life here in Taiwan... for today: the importance of a bakery...

I'm sure many are wondering how important a bakery can be, since there are bakeries in the states... bakeries here are a necessity of life. I was trying to explain to some people in my family, but I'll try to explain here as well. When you want a loaf of bread in the states, all you do is go to Walmart or K-Mart or another supermarket. When you go in to the bakery section there is a wall of generically made bread, right? An average loaf of bread costs, what? $1 US... the wall of generically made bread is non-existant in Taiwan (as of yet to me). One of the first things I was told when I came was to find a good bakery. You can't get bread unless it's from a bakery. And it is all homemade (or at least smells that way). One of my favorite smells of Taiwan is when I open a loaf of bread that I just bought. It makes me think sunny days and meadows... It also happens that in every supermarket there is a bakery. So it's not even possible to just pick up a generic loaf of bread because even in supermarkets they are homemade. I have now become so spoiled because bread is a must in my life and now I can have homemade bread anytime I want. A loaf of white bread here usually costs between $30-35 (or about $1)... so I pay the same for better quality...bakeries don't usually put out their best stuff until 4 in the afternoon, because everybody stops on the way home from work. I have 2 bakeries that I like right now. One is called Lai Lai and the other is Minami... Every time I go to a bakery I usually end up spending $100-200 NTD (or $3-6) and it lasts me for a couple of days... so I guess I usually go to a bakery 2-3 times a week.

Alright... I will write more soon... next time I will discuss the importance and immiment take over of 7-eleven convenience stores... :)

Guess what?!

2008-03-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

Guess what?! I HAVE THE INTERNET! It's been so great to have this last week... and it was such a hassle to get.. but it's here now. anywho... i started to upload pictures here, but they were taking a really long time to load... so i put them on facebook and i will give you the link to go see them.

to see my new apartment... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007214&l=6c59a&id=98700599

to see my school... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007236&l=43491&id=98700599

i can't get you a link to my videos... but i'll try at some point to put them up here...

chau :)

no internet... not yet...

2008-03-04T00:28:00.000-08:00

well... i know it's been awhile... but we still don't have the internet in the apartment. and i'm able to write right now because i have all the planning that i want to be done completed and i still have 30 minutes before i can leave for the day.

the whole issue with the internet has become a big headache. we found out that the reason we couldn't get the internet was because the bills weren't paid, but when we explained the situation about matt and leigha's friends leaving, our plan got cancelled. so now we have to set up a whole new connection, but in order to do that we have to have a guarantor that has to be a taiwanese person. this person signs the contract in case leigha or i decide to leave the country without paying our bill. we have yet to find someone to sign for us. but we've been asking around. each day i hope that by the next day we'll have the internet, but so far... no such luck.

i still can't wait to get pictures up here... trust me... they'll be worth it... i have pictures of the new apartment (which isn't really new anymore), the area around the apartment, the school building, my classrooms, people, and the yen shui festival. so many! i can't wait to start showing them to others who aren't here with me.

let's see... what's new... i got a new koala student. her name is Joy and she is an absolute delight. she loves to sit on my lap while i pretend to read the books (they're in chinese so i have to make it up from the pictures!). All of the students have warmed up to me and love to give me hugs and play peek-a-boo with me. favorite song of the week: the counting song... which counts from 1-7... they call it 1,2,3... i'll say "what should we sing?" and they respond "1,2,3! 1,2,3!" (except the 3 is pronounced 'tree'. very cute... but i'm sick of that song... at least 5 little monkeys was fun and had hand movements... oh well...

a couple of weeks ago i went to this festival in yen shui. it was a fireworks festival. leigha mentioned it to me when we were cooking dinner one night and she said she was going with some friends that thursday night. i said i would consider going, but didn't think i would since i have issues with crowds, loud noises, fire, and staying up late on a school night. but then kathy invited me and i caved. so she told me that i needed to get the equipment. the equipment involved layers of clothing top off with rain gear, a towel around the neck, and a full face motorcycle helmet. this may seem odd to wear to go see fireworks... but i quickly found that it wasn't... most of the fireworks were not shot straight up in the air... most of them were shot out into the crowd! it's supposed to be a cleansing ritual and harder you get hit, the more prosperous you will be... since i'm afraid of pain i stayed farther away (by farther away i mean not close enough for the fire to burn holes in my clothing), but i still was hit... the taiwanese man who went with us kept coming over to me looking me over and saying "you will be poor! you will be poor!" i finally told him that being poor is okay with me because i've already come to peace with it... which he just tsk-ed at me and walked away toward the next fireworks display. we were at yen shui from 11 until 2:30 in the morning... and then got back to chiayi and my apartment around 3... got up at 7:40 the next morning and made it to work... it was great to experience a festival like yen shui, but i don't think i'd go back... it was absolutely terrifying for me! unfortunately, due to work and being slightly sick, i was not able to make it to any of the lantern festivals which happened these last few days... but my roommate went and showed me pictures and it looked absolutely beautiful.

well... i think that's all i should write right now... i don't want to hog the computer much longer... i love reading e-mails and finding out what's going on in the states (besides lots of snow which made it on CNN world!)luv and kisses to all! :)

2008-02-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all!

I've sent e-mails out to some of you, but if I've forgotten to send one to you, let me know and I'll see what I can do about it. :)

Life here has finally gotten into a routine and I've gotten to know my classes much better. I still miss my Tiger class, but the Koala's are really growing on me. I have a total of 8 students in my Koala class, but usually there is at least 1 missing. But that's a lot of little kids! They cry on a whim, but they also give the best smiles I could ever imagine. They are so adorably cute. One of my students, Julie, doesn't understand yet that I don't know Chinese. So even though everytime she talks to me I give her a blank stare or a simple "uh-huh" she still comes back and talks to me. Little Samuel (or Sammie) is so tiny, but he loves when I play peek-a-boo before I leave at 12. He gets under his blanket and he'll peep out at me until I go over and take the blanket off and say peek-a-boo! He always laughs so much. Mina is the one that always answers the questions. She is the one that is up in my face when I'm showing them a book (One of their favorites is 1,2,3... to the Zoo by Eric Carle) always pointing things out. Wellson (sounds like Wilson) is always quiet during the lesson and hardly ever talks, but when he does it is usually to say some really difficult word like Saturday or beautiful (it always catches me off guard). Vincent is one of my "trouble" makers. He is always up and running and pushing other kids aside, but it's usually so he can get to me to play. Wilbur is my conspirator. He rallies the others at playtime so they all throw their balls to me at the same time. He's a leader. Little Jerry is one of the youngest. He has one of the chubbiest faces, but he goes crazy on the slides at the playground. He loves to run over to me or when I stand at the bottom of the slide and tickle him when he comes down. Ok... so it's only 7 kids, but it feels like a lot more than that. I usually spend half of my morning sitting on the floor while they play, either singing to the music or throwing balls back and forth (and sometimes both at the same time). We always start our lessons with songs. Their favorite is 5 Little Monkeys. I think today we sang 5 Little Monkeys at least 4 times... maybe 5. But as long as they are happy...

My afternoon class is pretty much a typical class. I'm down to 13 students (still a good size). I haven't had much trouble with them and they are great and smart students. I have come to realize that the way I was taught to teach... and the Chinese way of teaching are very different. Every day it is a struggle to balance between the two. The Chinese way of teaching is much stricter than I care to be. I was told, for example, that if a student yells out in class (like says the answer without raising their hand) that I should make them go stand in the back with their arms above their head for a couple of minutes. It's a very strict form of teaching routines and manners that I'm still not comfortable with (and don't know if I'll ever be). I set up a reading corner in my classroom which is something that hasn't really been done here before. The heads of the department liked it so much that they said all elementary teachers need to have a reading corner. I was amazed that such a simple idea that was promoted in all of my education classes has become such a novelty for the Chinese teachers.

Some people have asked what I miss from the states. In terms of material things I can get almost anything here. There are big supermarkets (the main two are called Carrefour [carreefour] and Nice Plaza). For more western types of food I can go to the M store which is just a little convenience store, but it is the only place I have found actual potatoes (not sweet potatoes) for sale. I was also able to get yeast, baking powder, flour, and chocolate chips. There are also tons of restaurants that serve western food (usually better than in actual western places). They have gum, but not Winterfresh which is my favorite. But thanks to mom and dad I now have a good supply of that. There are plenty of Oreos, Pringles, Doritos and M&M's here. Most places you can get little candy bars and such. One thing that I really miss is toilet paper on a roll. There is no such thing here. Instead they are in little packs like Kleenex's (just not a hard box). Not so much fun, but it works. Most places that I go have sitting toilets, but usually there is an option for a sitting or a squatting toilet (which is actually much easier to use than it seems). So most things I can get here and prices are usually about the same (my mind has finally gone to NTD and I can convert like crazy!) Gas here is much cheaper at about 90 US cents per gallon. You can fill up a scooter for about 150 NTD. An interesting fact is that Taiwanese money has no change. When you get a little brown coin back that says 1... it is actually 1 new dollar-not one cent. It is nice to not have to worry about things costing $9.50 or $10.99... instead it says $32 or $50... it's very nice.

I think that's about all for now... I hope to be able to put up pictures soon, but that's still being worked on. Love and kisses to all! :)

2008-02-11T01:12:00.000-08:00

Well... today is the last day of my "freedom" aka vacation. School starts tomorrow, although I won't be doing any teaching. Tuesday is planning day for the elementary teachers and the kindergarten doesn't start until next Monday. So I'll be here at the school planning and hanging out from 12.30-5 tomorrow. I like my elementary classroom a whole lot. I went in today to start setting it up (although I don't have much to set up)and it was so exciting.

I'm no longer the newest member/teacher at Noble (thankfully). There have been new teachers coming in during the vacation. I'll get to meet everyone tomorrow since there is a meeting at 12.30. I was surprised to find out, though, that I am the youngest foreign teacher here at the school. And by a couple of years too. I know that a couple of years don't make much of a difference, except now everyone keeps exclaiming "oh my god! so young!"

My roommate, Leigha, isn't back from her vacation yet. I forget the exact date she said she'd be back. It's been nice to have the apartment to myself, especially while getting settled in, but it'll be nice to have company there since it's such a big apartment.

The internet is not working at the apartment yet (we have all the cables and the box, but it still won't work). But at least I'll be back at Noble for the next week or so to get on the internet while I wait for Leigha to come back and fix the problem.

I have officially been declared "proficient" on a scooter. For those who really know my feelings about scooters and motorcycles, you may commence to gasp in surprise. Leigha left me the key to her scooter to use and practice on while she was gone. So I've been moving around the city going to stores and such (mainly supermarkets). But last Friday Martin, Kathy and I went for a scooter drive to the ocean. It was frigidly cold (my exact quote to Martin being: "Now this is the winter I'm used to")and we got such a late start that by the time we drove the hour there, it was already dark. So we spent about 5 minutes looking into the dark ocean and then decided to drive the hour back to Chiayi and go to PizzaHut for supper. It was so nice to sit in PizzaHut which was so nice and warm (and three stories tall). The pizza tasted great as I have been craving it since I got to Chiayi. I took my camera on the scooter ride so that I could get pictures, but my camera is acting very dumb and won't turn on at certain points such as at the shore (but it worked perfectly fine later that evening when I was trying to assess the problem). So you will have to wait for a while to see a picture of me on a scooter. But you may imagine it as much as you want. I wear Leigha's helmet (as I haven't bought one for myself) which is a big biker helmet that covers the whole head with a plastic cover that comes down over the face. And as I've assured both of my parents... I am a very safe scooter driver.

Well... I think that is all I have to say for now. I can't wait until I get internet in the apartment and won't have to type so quickly. But if you have questions about my life in Taiwan or Taiwan in general give a shout out. And as always... keep the comments coming! luv to all! :)

My new place...

2008-02-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

hey all! it is official... i have finally moved in to my new apartment. unfortunately i have not gotten the internet to work, but the apartment is still very very nice without that. yesterday (Sunday) connie and kathy came by at 10 to help me move. since i haven't been here that long and haven't had the money to buy a lot of stuff it was fairly simple to move everything. connie was gracious enough to drive me and all my stuff up to the new place so it was all over in about 15 minutes. and then i had to unpack and clean a LOT of stuff.

i took the downstairs bedroom and bathroom since leigha wanted the upstairs ones. the room was pretty messym but i didn't have a problem cleaning it since i actually enjoy cleaning. so i cleaned it and emptied it of everything but my stuff. then, when i was walking around the living room organizing things, i smelled this horrible smell coming from the kitchen. so i went to check it out and found that a lot of the food on the counter and in the fridge were moldy. it was disgusting, but i got right to work and organized and cleaned everything in the kitchen (except washed the dishes). it looks a lot better now that that's done. there is a bunch of stuff around the apartment, but i can't really go through it because i don't know if it was the people's stuff before us or if it's leigha's. so i'm gonna leave most of the rest for when leigha gets back.

today is my first official pay day as a career woman! it's a great feeling. i just thought i'd throw that little fyi in this blog.

well... i should get going... i took some pictures of the apartment, but i'm going to wait until i get internet in the apartment to post them so that i can just get them from my computer.

love and kisses to all!

Changes...

2008-01-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

So... it is going to be an interesting two weeks.

This week is the last week of classes for this semester. And then I have two weeks off for Chinese New Year! This Friday we are taking part of the school day to have Chinese costume and shopping day. I can't remember if I already explained it on here, but I'll explain again. I am renting a traditional Chinese dress from a costume shop because the teachers are supposed to dress authentically. Then we, the teachers, perform a little something for the students. And then we each have stalls where we'll have food to "sell". The students are given fake NTD money and then they go around and buy whatever they want. I heading up one of the 2 candy stalls. I've coordinated it with Eric, who is the other candy stall, and he is going to be the Candy King and I will be the Candy Queen. It should be fun.

So next week my vacation starts, but I will most likely be moving into my new apartment! I'm uber-excited about it. I still need to talk with my landlady, Miss Chen, but it shouldn't be a problem. Leigha told me today that she officially told the landlord that we'd take it and she is moving her stuff in this Friday, but she is going away to Thailand for Chinese New Year and won't be back until the 17th of February. So I will most likely move in next week and have a week or two by myself to get used to the place and the surrounding area.

This afternoon I have to give a teaching demonstration for some parents who are considering sending their child to this school. I'm really nervous, although I don't actually know how much English the families know. I'll have about 6-7 students. I'm so nervous because what if I teach it badly? I dunno... I guess they had enough faith to hire me as a teacher, so I shouldn't be worried. But I am... okay... enough thinking about that (mainly because it's in about 15 minutes)...

Another change that will be coming up is my position at Noble. After Chinese New Year I will begin two new positions. One is teacher of the Koala class which are the babies of the school. My oldest will be 3 and my youngest will be 1 year 8 months. So pretty much a babysitting job, with some songs thrown in. I'll teach that class in the morning and then hop to the other side of the school to teach Grade 1 in the afternoon (which is why I have to do this demonstration). I've been studying up on curriculum for both of the classes, plus managing to teach my own kindergarten class right now. I'm getting better at multi-tasking...

So... those are the main changes I see coming up in the future (those and that we will most likely be getting a new principle since the current one is leaving tomorrow [thursday]). Other than those everything has been going well and I seem to be adjusting to life here in exotic Taiwan. luv and kisses to all!

2008-01-22T00:40:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update. Unfortunately Matt, the man in the scooter accident, died this morning. He was 27. His parents have come to Taiwan and they are trying to sort everything out. The other girl involved died last week due to head trauma because she wasn't wearing a helmet. and the surviving man is not expected to make it. This has hit everyone at least a little bit and has made us all a little more aware of the danger we face when we ride on a scooter. All thoughts and prayers for Matt's family are appreciated.

2008-01-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

I'm still alive and doing well here in Chiayi. It's been an interesting week and there is a lot to say... but I don't have a lot of time.

Tensions at the school are kind of high right now due to some people being fired, but I'm okay with my job. I just have to be careful who I talk with. Possibly more on that later.

Class are going great. I absolutely adore my students and have been able to have some really special moments with them. One cute thing is before they eat there's a mantra that they have to recite. One student is chosen to be the little teacher for the day and s/he helps distribute the food and all that. Then h/she gets up in front of the class and says this:

LT= little teacher
S= students

LT= everybody hands up!
S= up!
LT= everybody hands down!
S= down!
LT= everybody hands back!
S= back!
LT= 1...2...3
S= yummy, yummy I like to eat. Thank you teacher. May I eat now? Yes, you may eat. Thank you teacher Hannah and Thank you teacher Jane and Thank you little teacher (student's name).
LT= you're welcome. you may eat now.
S= thank you little teacher (student's name)

and then they all start to eat. It's really cute.

Yesterday (Sunday) I had my first official scooter driving lesson. And actually drove on a road! Fortunately not a busy road, but it was a road none the less. By the time I was finished I was sweating so bad and my hands hurt from holding on so tight. But I didn't fall and I didn't crash... which I consider good. In about 2 weeks I'll get my own scooter. Meanwhile, Martin and Kathy are planning to take me for my second lesson this coming weekend. I actually got up to 40 km! I was proud of myself....

Well... I've gotta go walk home. Just fyi... I might be moving again... More on that later...

p.s... the guy that was in the scooter accident, Matt, is not doing well. He had an ecg (ekg?) done yesterday and was pronounced brain dead, but he showed some conciousness today. They were going to do another one because they think the swelling in his brain maybe messed up the results. He broke his neck. He has an esstimated 2% chance that he will use his body again. We heard about the people who crashed into him. It was an engaged couple and they are not much better than Matt. Matt's parents are here and he will be going home sometime soon (they're hoping this week, but don't know yet)...

anywho... I love and miss you all! Keep the e-mail's and comments coming! I love to read them!

hannah :)

From 1 to 1000

2008-01-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

I'm pretty psyched because I have officially started to learn Chinese. Before I was just existing here in Taiwan. But thanks to a new teacher, Candi, I have learned how to introduce myself, tell how I am feeling, and count 1 to 1000 (albeit slow)... I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment. It is so much fun to speak Chinese. I had no idea. I can't wait to learn more. The local university has Chinese classes that you can sign up for. But that costs money. So I've been trying to listen everywhere I go. Here's 1-10 phonetically... ee, are, san, sih, woo, leui, chee, baa, jo, shih... obviously I can't put in the tonal differences, but you get the point.

I now have the address for the school I work for. It's actually safer to send mail there than to my apartment. Although it's okay to send letters to the apartment. But if you have something bigger than a letter then here is the address to send it to.

Noble American Children's School
Hannah Myers
850 Section 1, Ta-Ya Road
Chia-yi, 600
Taiwan

If you send it here, I will get it. Not too much has happened. The new teacher, Candi, is now staying with me for a week or two because I have an extra bed. It's kind of nice having a roommate. But it's also nice that it's temporary, because my apartment is one big room, so I can't really stay up to watch movies if she is asleep.

I had originally planned for tonite to be a movie nite for other teachers at my apartment. Almost like a potluck. But none of the guys could come (some have to teach evenings outside the school). So I thought it would be a girls nite with me, Kathy, Candi, and Leigha. But I found out this morning that Leigha's friend Matt was in a really bad scooter accident yesterday and is now in a coma. Prayers for him are appreciated. She has been at the hospital with him all night and all day. And then Kathy told me that she can't come because she has some extra planning that she has to do. So it's going to be me and Candi. But we will have fun and watch a few movies and all that. And I told everyone else that I'd plan another one since this didn't work. They all seemed fairly receptive of that idea. So... I just have to find the right day.

Well... it's about time to leave. I hope that this update has helped some people procrastinate as much as they wanted... and if you need to procrastinate... write me an e-mail! That can take a lot of time.

I love you all and miss you bunches...

Hannah :)

Me...

2008-01-15T00:42:00.000-08:00

hey all! sorry it's been awhile since i've updated. my internet got taken from the apartment so i am now without easy access until next month. my life here continues to go very well. i absolutely love my tiger class. they are all so cute and wonderful and as one girl said to me "teacher hannah... i lub you" (roughly translated as "i love you"... i am constantly amazed at my ability and influence as a teacher. i know that sounds egotistical... but it's not. i'm really surprised with how much the students listen to me. i tell them to be quiet and they are quiet. yesterday was my best moment. the students were going crazy while playing and started screaming. so i stopped them (in a stern teachery voice) and told them that since they had started screaming (which is not allowed)they were going to sit for 3 minutes quietly. and it actually worked!! that's right... i got a group of 9 kindergartners to sit without talking or making any noise for 3 whole minutes! that is how i know i've reached my stern teacher voice...

but the students are so much fun to play with. i don't want to paint a picture that i'm this really strict teacher. i'm only strict when they do something they're not supposed to. it's kind of sad to know that in 2 weeks i will be changing classrooms. i love my tigers so much... but that's the way it goes. when the next semester starts (in february)i will be with the koala class in the morning (the little little kids... like 2 year olds) and i will be with the penguin class in the afternoonn (grade 1). i'm not overly looking forward to the koala class, but i am totally psyched by the penguin class. i can't wait!

in other areas... i need to make a decision about next months paycheck. i need to choose between: 1. buying a scooter, 2. buying internet for the apartment or 3. buying both and living very meagerly for the next month... i'm leaning toward number 3...

well i've gotta go. it's time for me to walk home... chau peeps

2008-01-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Ni-hao! Ni-hao ma? (Hello! How are you?)

First of all... sorry no pictures of my school or walk right now. I just don't have room for my camera in my purse to carry with me right now. I need to wait until I get a teacher bag so I can carry everything.

Yesterday I bummed a ride from Kathy to the supermarket. It was very exciting. There were a few things that I really needed and a couple that I didn't, but managed to get anyway. I mainly wanted eggs for breakfast (which I haven't been eating) and to put into my rice because it'd be nice to spruce it up a little. (I've been eating just rice with soy sauce for supper for the last week). I was also looking for rolls of toilet paper. Those, however, apparently do not exist in Taiwan. I'm sure that somewhere they do, but in terms of Chiayi, the two places I have been have not had rolls. Instead they use these tissue like things.

Ever since I have come I have had a craving for oreos. Until last night I was not able to find any! But I found a small box of oreos that I splurged on (about 49NTD). I had some last night and they were so good!

It was interesting to be in the supermarket. They had sales associates posted around trying to sell items. You'd walk by and they'd be pointing to a product asking if you wanted it. They were pretty good at it too... I almost bought milk and that's not what I wanted to get. But I held strong.

Chinese New Year is approaching really fast here and everyone is getting excited! The teachers are mainly excited because it's a two week break for us! We have about 2 weeks left of classes and then we have a long break which I will take to recoup, look through curriculum, and enjoy Chiayi. On Tuesday I was finished with class so I was walking through the courtyard/big playground to clockout when this older man (a student's father maybe) said hello and called me over. I didn't want to be rude even though he was not related to one of my students. When I reached him he said that he wanted to give me something. I was a little wary, but watched as he pulled out this bright red paper with gold specks, a paintbrush and black paint. I then watched as he drew on the paper. He wrote "Good luck to you" and then wrote the Chinese symbols. It was so cool. I found out from other teachers that it is a sign that you are supposed to hang in your house to help bring you prosperity, especially around Chinese New Year. Let me take a picture of it now and post it because I hung it up when I got back to my apartment.

Isn't that cool. Well... I need to go get ready for school. I now can't wait to get a scooter because it means I can sleep longer and leave later. But all that will come, probably next month.

chau everyone!

Teaching

2008-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

They always said.. the first year of teaching is the hardest... It's kind of coming true... I've been teaching for about 4 days, I have no idea about the schedule, the students are crazy, and they won't listen to me... and I lost my voice. I noticed it going yesterday, but decided that I could just go home and drink some tea and it would be better this morning. But I woke up this morning and it's worse than yesterday. Fortunately today is a planning day for Kindergarten, so I don't have to teach this morning (the students have Chinese class with their Chinese teacher). But I will have an hour and a half this afternoon that I will have to teach themework... It could be interesting.

FYI, my internet is being taken from me (or rather... Steven is taking his internet with him) so for the next few weeks I won't have internet in the apartment. Instead I'll go by whenever I can get a computer at school (there are only 3 for all the teachers and those who have planning to do get them first). but I'm planning next month to get cable and the internet into my apartment for good... so bear with me the next few weeks and if I don't write to you don't stress... it's probably just that I don't have access to the internet.

Well... gotta go get ready for school! Have a great day everyone!

Scooters

2008-01-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

So after this weekend and yesterday I have finally come to realize that scooters are actually pretty great things. I'm starting to think that maybe next month when I get paid I will start to look for a scooter. Saturday it would have been nice to have a scooter instead of riding on the back of Kathy's. Then yesterday I walked for an hour at lunch and did not find the place I was looking for. So now I have to bum a ride off of someone today at lunch. And I need to change some of my money so I also need a ride for that. Then I went out for a drink after school and it was dark by the time that we were done. Fortunately Steven offered to give me a ride otherwise it would have been another 30 minutes walk back for me. It would be nice to just have my own scooter and I can go where I want when I want and not have to worry about inconveniencing someone to take me.

In other news the weather here has been absolutely wonderful. It's been hot and very sunny! I love it! I also think that next month I'm going to pay to get the cable and internet in my apartment. It's been so nice to have the internet, but any day it will be taken away from me since it's still Steven's. Well... I need to go get ready for my school day. Thanks for all the prayers and e-mails. I love hearing what's going on on that side of the world!

Love all!

if you want to see some more pictures you can go to this website...

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30196505&l=72b23&id=98700599

The Pictures

2008-01-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

here are the pictures. for more of an explanation see the post before this. i just couldn't get the pics onto the same post. but here they are... sometime this week i'll try to take pictures of my walk to school as well as of the school and my classroom. hope everyone is doing great! lots of love! :)

My life now...

2008-01-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ni-hao all!

it's my first weekend in chiayi! and so far it's been great... i have officially been in taiwan for more than one week! :)i feel slightly better after yesterday in becoming more and more acclimated to the culture and way of life each day. i cleaned off the balcony yesterday. the guy who lived here before me apparently never swept or mopped it. it was this dirty brown. and then i swept and mopped it and now it is gorgeous. i will put pictures of my balcony at the end of this post. it is the main reason that i chose this apartment.

in terms of teaching at the school everything is going really well. i walk to school everyday which is about 30 minutes (mainly because i'm a really slow walker as sarah wilson can attest). but on the way i pass by many shops and restaurants, a LOT of dogs, palm trees (yes... palm trees!), and big banana trees! it really is a beautiful walk. my day is very laid out and is a really nice situation. i know some of you already know this, but for those who don't, here is my daily schedule.

T/Jane- Teacher Jane, the Chinese teacher i am paired with. she teaches Chinese to the students one day a week and the rest of the time she takes them when they eat and play and sleep.

7:00- 7:50 am. wake up and get ready for school
7:50- 8:20 am. walk to school
8:20- 8:50 am. whatever needs done
8:50- 9:00 am. i have to be in the classroom while students arrive
9:00- 10:00 am. teach (either theme work, phonics, art, or math)
10:00- 10:30 am. T/Jane takes students for morning snack
10:30- 11:30 am. teach
11:30- 12:00 am. T/Jane takes students for lunch
12:00- 1:30 pm. my lunch time
1:30- 1:50 pm. whatever needs done
1:50- 2:00 pm. i have to be in the classroom while the students are waking up from nap time
2:00- 3:30 pm. teach
3:30- 4:00 pm. T/Jane takes students for afternoon snack
4:00- 4:30 pm. i have to be in the classroom while the students are picked up
4:30- bedtime whatever i want to do

so in all i teach about 3 1/2 hours a day. also, i don't teach the same thing each day. for example on monday between 9 and 10 i might teach theme work but on tuesday between 9 and 10 i might teach phonics. it changes daily, but i know a week ahead of time. the lesson plans that i have to write are not three pages long! the children are so cute and special too! i absolutely adore them!

so yesterday i wanted to do my laundry (since i have a wahing machine on my balcony), but i didn't have any soap. so i set out with my purse to find a store. fortunately there is one about one block away from my place. it's not like a walmart by anymeans, but it had what i needed. i just guessed which one was good since i can't read the package. i also bought some hangars because that is what they do here to dry their laundry (you'll see in the pictures).

and then in the evening kathy came by and asked if i wanted to go supper with her and some friends. i said sure, not realizing that i was going to have to take a ride on the scooter of death! a.k.a. kathy's scooter. i had to ride on the back as she zipped along. and then she almost hit a parked cab... she wasn't looking that direction and we just kept going straight for it. i was so freaked out! but kudos to kathy for being the first one here to get me on a scooter. but i say give it another month or two before i even think of getting one. i'll for sure have one by the time josh gets here.

i think that's all for now... i'm gonna go take some pictures... and make a new post next with the pictures...

More pics

2008-01-01T14:38:00.001-08:00

Sorry... the last post wasn't so hot... but those three pictures that were supposed to happen all the writing are of my hotel room... here are some more...

The last picture is of a rice bowl as they call it... It was what was served to me for breakfast everyday. It came in a plastic bag and had many different things other than rice in it... It was not very appetizing for me. But I was hungry so I ate most of it except for this crunchy brown stuff.

Now my apartment in Chiayi.

There will be more pictures to come. My apartment is one big room, but it has an amazing balcony and it comes with a washer. Those are next to be pictured.

I hope everyone is well... I will update later today with more chit chat on what I've been doing the last couple of days...

Picture of my life so far...

2008-01-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

After a LOT of hard work I was finally able to connect to a wireless internet connection from my apartment! But it's very touchy so I don't know how long it will last... I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures now. I will explain them as I post but they are mostly of the three places I have stayed so far...

1st... The Fuh Chun Hotel in Taichung

Passing Time

2007-12-29T01:03:00.000-08:00

Well... I'm finally here in Taiwan after those few weeks of waiting. It's been very interesting so far and my emotions have been everywhere, from complete happiness to complete despair. It's interesting how the different locations of the city affect me. Right now I'm in Taichung staying at the Fuh Chun Hotel. My room is on the inside of the hallway, so I get no natural light. It's a little depressing to go back after being out in the sun, but it's a little overwhelming to leave for a long time. So I'm trying to find the balance. I don't think I could keep this up for a long time, but fortunately on Monday I will be leaving Taichung to go to Chiayi to meet the principle and other teachers of the school and to get my apartment.

It's going to be interesting going on the bus to Chiayi, because I did not pack light. I actually packed a footlocker. One of those really big hard cases that hold a bajillion things. Mom and dad insisted on it and I know they were right, but I've already gotten looks and comments from the cab drivers. The people who saw it immediately asked me if it was my first time to Taiwan. So I think that they think I'm an overly cautious American. Which is kind of funny if you think about it. They didn't know enough English for me to explain that I will be here for a year and I didn't have the patience right then to try to explain. So I decided to let them think what they want.

The hotel is clean and nice besides the no natural light thing. For a budget hotel it's better than I expected.

Well... I've got to get going... but I'll update this as soon as I can.

First Part of the Rest of My Life

2007-12-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

Okay... I just wanted to quickly put in a post so that this will effectively end the Guatemala part of this blog and start the new part... my life in Chiayi City, Taiwan. I leave on December 26th and will be there for at least 1 year. Once I get settled I will try to take pictures and upload them here so that people can see where I am and all that. If anyone wants to visit, just let me know and we can work it out!

Peace all! (and Merry Christams)

mañana...

2005-11-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

mañana is the day!! i'm coming back!! yeah!!

just me... once again...

2005-11-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

hey all!

HAPPY POST THANKSGIVING! since i didn't get to say it too most (or all?) of you... there you go... my thanksgiving was very good... i had the house to myself in the morning... so i watched parts of annie and part of the sound of music... and i also read a short book... and then caz came back from antigua and we walked to eric and heather's house for thanksgiving dinner... we had dinner... and everybody there has a cell phone so they were calling their families and their families were calling them.. and it was making me sad and homesick... and then tara asked if i had talked to my family... and i told her no because i don't really have the money to spend on it... i mean.. i could buy a card.. but that's Q45... quite a bit when you're living on my budget right now... so she tells me that they have a phone in their house that this guy from denver installed... and the phone thinks it's in denver or something like that... so they can get calls to the states really cheap... and on top of that they don't have to pay for any of the calls.. i think the guy takes care of it... and she said that she hadn't used it at all that week.. so she let me call my parents... and i got them when everybody was still around... so i got to talk to my whole family... it was an excellent way to end thanksgiving...

so now i'm in antigua at an internet cafe since no hay clases hoy... y tengo mañana y domingo libre tambien... tengo mucho tiempo para hacer nada... entonces patricia y yo decidimos venir a antigua para almorzar y cualquiere (¿es eso la palabra correcto?) mas... pero necesite mas dinero.... entonces fuimos al cajero... y ahorrita estoy esperando para patricia y despues vamos a almorzar en un restaurante... possiblement un cafe... pero no se... ahora voy a publicar este entrada y escribire (¿si?) a mis amigos... entonces... ¡adios!... ¡y solo cinco (5) dias mas!... ¡adios!

it's official...

2005-11-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

alrite... thanks to all for your... ummm... support? during my possible trauma of lice... i did have lice... but i have been officially declared... dum dum dum... LICE FREE!... that's right... i have no more lice... (at least i don't think so)... maybe i'll still do another shampoo just in case...

anywho... on to bigger and better things (although not much bigger)... ... bedbugs... yep... my bed has 'em.... i just saw one the other day... i was wondering why i had big red bites all over my body... now i know! so i've resorted to sleeping under one of the three blankets they gave (i guess i think i can trick them into thinking i'm not there or something like that...)... so i'm now cold when i sleep... but it's ok... only 1 WEEK until i'm back in the states!... that's also translated as 7 DAYS! yep yep... you heard me right.... 7 DAYS! get the party ready... :) well... that's all for now... chau!

umhmm... life as i know it

2005-11-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

well... it's final.. i have lice... but before you go running and screaming in the opposite direction let me just tell you that it is being taken care of... i'm using the special shampoo and comb... and it's gonna be ok... i will live there is no need for alarm... i just need to be careful during the next week... but other than that... all is well... heather and eric took me out for lunch today which was a really special treat...

funny story of the day....

so i was riding with heather to the lunch place (eric was driving the kids in the other)... we pull up to the restaurant and i look at her and say "are you sure this is ok?" meaning "are you sure it's ok that i'm coming to lunch with you and you're paying?"... she looks at me and says "oh yeah... nobody's gotten sick from this place yet"... hehe... oh the things that are on the top of your mind when you're in guatemala...

well all... i'm gonna get going... 13 DAYS UNTIL I'M BAAAAAACK!!!!

yeppers...

2005-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

alrite... i actually don't have too much to write.... my life has been fairly predictable lately... but i guess i can talk about my past weekend... my friend lindy is still in the city at CASAS taking spanish classes... so we decided one weekend we wanted to meet... so on saturday morning she rode a chicken bus up here to san lucas and then we met at the texaco... then i showed her around the lily and she met some of the girls which was great for her and for them... and then we went to antigua for the day... it is only a 15 minute bus ride from san lucas to antigua which is good because the bus was PACKED... it reminded me how much i really really don't like the buses here... anywho... we had an absolutely gorgeous sunny day... and such a fun time just walking around the market and the streets... i bought A LOT of stuff... and i finished all my gift buying... which is good... at the end of the day we rode the bus back to guate and had a movie marathon at CASAS... first we watched "chasing liberty"... then we watched "the prince and me"... and then we went to bed at about 2... got up... and watched "paycheck"... "love actually"... and 3/4ths of "the incredibles"... by then it was 5 and i had to get going if i wanted to get back before dark (which i didn't)... so that was my weekend... last night i went to courtney and mary's house and we watched "the sisterhood of the traveling pants"... it was good but i'm definitely glad i read the books first...

in other news... found out today that some of the girls have lice... so yeah... we'll see how that progresses... i hope i don't have it too... that would suck... but we'll see... i'm gonna go back and check and even if i don't i'm going to take a very very good shower and prolly wash my hair twice...

welll... that's my life right now... exactly two weeks (14 days) until i am on the plane heading back to the united states of america... definitely praying for focus since i've still got work to do here and yet i know i'm sooo close to leaving... oh! and a prayer was answered! i got invited to the director's house for thanksgiving supper! i was so afraid i was going to be eating frijoles y pan for my thanksgiving... but i know we're gonna have something good... yep... things are definitely going to end well...

muy bien... muy bien...

2005-11-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

yeah... there is only one reason for writing this right now... but i have to share my good fortune... i... have... hhott... water... for... my.. .showers!!!! commence hyperventilating.... yeah... i cried the first time i took a shower here... and i continue to dream about the next time i'll take a shower because it is soooo cold here... that the only time i'm really warm is when i'm in the shower... yeah... that'll do... that'll do...

bring on the service!

2005-11-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

hey all!

i know it's been a while... so i have a feeling this one might be long... so hang on to your seats... and you will read every word i have to write! (hehe... just kidding... but not really) :) alrite.. so... let's talk about my last week... which seems like a lifetime...

monday was our clausura for spanish classes... justin and i got together and did a really great monty python skit. and then we gave everyone candy so they loved it... monday we moved back into CASAS for two nights... monday night nothing exciting happened... tuesday was a holiday (all saint's day)... so we spend the morning sleeping in... and then justin, lindy, and i went to santiago, sacatepequez which is known for their kite flying in the cemetary... so we hop a chicken bus... we knew we had to get off in san lucas and take another chicken bus to santiago.... so we get on a chicken bus for antigua since san lucas is on the way... so justin and lindy sit together... and i sit next to this guy which is prolly about 40 something... so he starts talking to me which isn't unusual... but then he starts getting wierd on me... and definitely hitting on me... and it was disgusting! he kept asking me if i had a husband... and i was seriously about to make one up... or at least a boyfriend... but we got to san lucas... so i just said i was sitting next to lindy next time... justin can deal with someone else... ok... so we hop a bus to santiago which is apparentaly really close like only 10 minutes... but the bus kicks us off because of the traffic... so we start walking.. we walked sooo far we actually started doubting the existence of a cemetary.. but we eventually got there... and it was incredible! like nothing that would ever happen in the states! people just sitting on the graves... there was cheering and people selling food in the graveyard.. it was wierd! but in a fun way... so we were watching the kites... and i looked down to make sure i wasn't standing in anything disgusting (you never know in a cemetary) and i see something sticking out of my purse... so i look closer at my purse... and someone had slashed it with a knife! yeah!it was sooo scary to see and think about how my purse had been right by my side... so we quickly covered it with a scarf i happened to have with me... but i was a nervous wreck until we sat on the bus and i was able to look through my purse and make sure nothing was taken.. fortunately i was holding my camera... and my money was in a special pocket.... so all the person got was one candy bar... which i hope they enjoyed... i was just too relieved that nothing else got taken... yeah... that was my day...

alrite... wednesday all of us students split up for our service projects... allison and brian went to honduras... shanda went to monterrico... justin went to santiago, atitlan... ashly and lindy are in the city.... and i am here in san lucas sacatepequez... it's definitely a different experience than my time in the city.... here i have soooo much free time i have no idea what to do! my usual day goes like this... leave for the oasis with the girls at 8.... 8:30 school starts with a game and devos... and then classes start... i'm with the youngest kids ages 4-11 and they are adorable! they have science then math, then english, then language arts... there is a break in there somewhere... and then classes end at about 1... and then i'm free until the next morning... oh! and i also have the weekends off... yeah... it's definitley wierd going from moving constantly and having to worry about something constantly to knowing i only have to work about 5 hours a day... i'm treated like a guest in the house so they won't accept my help with anything... and if i don't show up the minute a meal is served they bring it to me in my room on a tray... but usually they don't announce meals... so they just kinda show up at my room with a tray.. and i'm also known as tia hannah or aunt hannah... isn't that kinda cool? i've only been here for 3 days... but i already love these girls and know it's gonna be hard to leave!... yeah.. so that's my life now...only 3 and a half more weeks until i'm back in the states! leave your thoughts! love and miss you all!

stupid computers...

2005-10-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

don't worry... this isn't going to all be about stupid computers... but it doesn't look like i'll be able to put anymore pics on here... since the comps were down for a few days and the one comp with my pics is still not working... and i leave on wednesday for my service placement... so everyone is just gonna have to deal with me writing and you'll have to wait to see my pics...

this week was a great week... last weekend i stayed by myself in the city... justin and lindy went to santiago, atitlan... shanda, ashley, and allison went to el salvador... i only met up with brian on friday... it was a great weekend... i went to movies... finished up buying all of my gifts except for one and a half and spent time with mi familia... i also bought two pirated movies (national treasure- in ingles con subtitulos en espanol- y la bella y la bestia- solo en espanol- no hay opcion para mirar en ingles..)... so monday for class we didn't really do to much... we played uno loco con lindy y su maestra... el martes i convinced enrique to let me watch la bella y la bestia...el miercoles termine el gramatica necesario para mi clase... so the second half i went and watched because of winn-dixie en espanol con subtitulos en ingles con brian y lindy... then hoy cocine para mi maestro y lindy y su maestra... i made hot dogs with mashed potatoes and cheese... it was good... lindy made fudge brownies... and we had a fun little lunch...

justin came up with a great idea for this week... this week has been pronounced "¡semana divertida!" or "fun week!" since it is the last week of classes... tomorrow is my spanish final... so to celebrate ¡semana divertida! we are going out to eat every night except for tomorrow because that is when i'm going to cook for my family... so tuesday night (the official start of ¡semana divertida!) we went to Europa bar and restaurant... then last night only justin and i went to peco's burgers which is in our colonia... tonight we are going to cafetalito for supper... tomorrow i am cooking for mi familia... saturday we are going to zone 10 and then out to eat somewhere... no se donde... and sunday we will eat with our family's since that is our last day with them... yep.. it's all set... well i actually need to go to the bank to change some money... so yeah.. leave comments as if your life depended on it! i love hearing from everybody... sorry about the pic situation... anywho.. .chau...

pics from tikal...

2005-10-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

my traveling buddies, brian and justin, on top of temple 4...

the view from temple 4... that is the back of temple 1...

another view from temple 4...

these are the stairs that we had to climb up to temple 4... none of the original steps are open to climb... instead they think it's safer to climb rickety-old wooden steps... which it probably is...

(start singing ) da da da daaaa daaaaa da da da daaa daaa... da da da daaaa da... dum dum dum dum... yeah... this is the star wars scene...

this is a view of a temple through the forest that we had to walk through...

coban and such...

2005-10-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

alrite... so this past weekend the CASAS group went to Alta Verapaz... during our two months here there are two weekends that are planned travel weekends... this was the last of the two... so anyway... we had class on friday and had lunch and our debriefing time from the week.. and then we left at about 2:30... i immediately took a drammomine (is that how you spell it?) since i really don't do well on the roads here... it was a 4 and a 1/2 hour trip... we stayed at this school called Bezaleel which helps k'eqchi children learn spanish yet keep their heritage and it's really cool... so we got there in time to eat and go to bed... in the morning we traveled to Betal which is a little mennonite community of about 8 families literally in the jungle... Rob is one of the MCC-ers there and he was leading us around... so as we're driving he was trying to explain where we were going and how remote it is... his quote is... "ok... so we'll go to the middle of nowhere... then turn right... drive for an hour... then turn left... and drive for another hour..." so now i can tell people i went beyond the middle of nowhere... he was also trying to explain the road situation... "well... we're on pavement for about 25 minutes... and then we go on a better dirt road... and then we go on a worse dirt road... and then we try to go on the worst dirt road which i'm not even sure we'll be able to pass with this van... so we might be walking..." yeah... we had to walk... i only brought sandals for the weekend... and it rained ALL weekend.... and it was all muddy and so i pretty much ruined one pair of my shoes... yeah... we started walking in the jungle and i stepped in mud that was up to my ankles... so i yelled ahead to carina (our director) that i wasn't liking it very much and she said i could go back to the community... but the damage was already done... and the kids laughed at me because my shoes and feet were completely covered in mud... of course... they had rubber boots on... yeah... so we drove back to coban and went to eat dinner with a k'eqchi family... and jose maria told us stories from oral tradition... it was incredible! and then we went to sleep... the next morning we went to a k'eqchi church service.. the music was horrible! i feel bad saying that... but it was... there were three guys playing instruments and they were turned up so loud that they weren't even playing the same song.. yeah... then we ate lunch at the pastor's house... so to get to the church and the pastor's house we had to walk through corn fields.. and i was wearing flip-flops... so i decided to take them off to make it easier for me... but i still fell hard twice... and took out some corn on my way... the others thought it was pretty funny...yeah... so then we went back to coban and left for the four and a half hour trip back... we got back late... which is pretty funny because our whole time system is all messed up now.. since 7 is really late for us...

ok... some fun facts.. to say thank-you in k'eqchi you say "bantiox" (banteeosh (the 'o' is a long 'o')).. and to introduce yourself you say "ine la (your name)" or if you are a boy "ine ach (your name)"... ok.. here is my favorite part... they don't say "hello" as their greeting or anything like it... instead... if you want to ask someone how they are you say "ma sa s'a la ch'ol" which is literally translated as "are you happy in your heart?" so if you just want to say "hi" to someone you say "sa s'a la ch'ol" which means "happiness in your heart"... isn't that cool? i think i might start using that... anywho... necesito almorzar... pero no quiero la comida aqui porque no me gusta mucho... posiblemente es algo delicioso... entonces me gusta un poco...si... bueno... esta bien... ¡adios mis amigos!

breakdown moments...

2005-10-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

alrite... this entry is dedicated to the couple of breakdown moments that i have had since being here... some are funny... some aren't... but they are part of my experience...

ok... breakdown number 1: in the airport walking down the terminal that my parents were not allowed to come into...realizing i was all by myself (commence singing the song)...

breakdown number 2: the first thursday when i met my family... that night i cried myself to sleep because i missed everybody...

breakdown number 3: in antigua... realizing that there was no hot water when the guy told us there was... it was more a breakdown of disappointment because i really wanted a hot shower...

breakdown number 4: when i got sick... i think that's enough said...

breakdown number 5: in a cafe... my teacher suggested a cute little cafe in zone 1 called cafelito... we went and ordered drinks and i got a hot chocolate... we had to wait for our drinks to come so i decided to go to the bathroom.. it was such an incredible bathroom.. the best one i've seen since being here... and i sat on the toilet and thought "man... if they only had a shower"... and then went back to my table and took a sip of my hot chocolate made with milk (keep in mind i hadn't had chocolate for a while) and tears just started rolling down my face...

breakdown number 6: last tuesday.... we went to cafelito again and got hot chocolate... but it was just lindy and i... and when we left we tried to catch an 83 bus... we waited for 1/2 an hour... and it finally came but it was packed... but they kept telling us we could make it on... so we decided to try... i ended up hanging out of the door of the bus... fairly certain i was going to die... fortunately some guys were watching out for me and made sure that at the first possible moment i got inside the bus... and then i was surrounded by people... so i had a panic attack... and started crying... and there was this drunk guy next to us...

breakdown 6 and 1/2: last wednesday... once again on the bus... well our first bus broke down.. so we had to get off... and then the 203 wasn't running very often... so there were so many people on our bus there was actually someone riding on the front of the bus hanging onto the windshield... and the bus was majorly leaning to the one side... yeah... i started to have a panic attack but lindy started singing and got me singing and then i started to be ok.. we definitely sang 606 on a crowded bus in guatemala city... yeah.... so that was only a 1/2 breakdown because it didn't go the whole way...

breakdown number 7: today... i received two postcards from my parents, a handwritten letter from dana, and a package from my parents.. as i was unpacking the package (while everyone was standing around watching) i started crying because of the things in it... it had teddy grahams (cinnamon, chocolate, and honey), peanut butter and honey crackers, easy cheese, wheat thins, shortbread cookies, and 5 packs of winterfresh gum (which is not usually sold here and is expensive)... yeah... made me cry... so we immediately broke out the wheat thins and cheese... and i gave my teacher some honey teddy grahams... so thanks mom and dad if you ever read this!

yeppers... there you have it... 7 major breakdowns in a month and a half... excellente...

just fyi... on monday i'm going to see the place where i might be next month for my service project.. it's an orphanage called Kid's Alive... you can be praying about this... because it is a new contact for CASAS which means that nobody's gone there before.. and pretty much we're going to make sure that everybody likes everybody else... so if they don't like me or don't think i'll be very helpful i'm pretty much back at square one with my service project choices... because this is really the only place i really want to go... yeah... more about that laterz... keep me updated on all! i LOVE getting e-mails and comments and all that... yeppers.. have a good one!

my free travel week...

2005-10-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

we started on tuesday afternoon after lunch... we took a bus to zone 1 where we were going to catch a fuente del norte bus... well it was pouring rain and i read the address wrong so we ended wandering around for about 2 hours looking for 17th avenue when there isn't one... so that was a crappy start.. but we had 9 hours to dry off.. we got into Flores about 12:30 am... fortunately we had already reserved a room in the hotel so we didn't have to wander around any more than to just get there... went to bed about 2... got up at 9 to catch the San Juan bus to Tikal... forgot to factor in time for breakfast and hadn't really eaten since lunch the last day... so we went about 29 hours on a small bag of chips, two water bottles, and a gatorade... i know it sounds incredible.. but that's what happened... (for our whole trip we only got one meal a day)... soTikal was awesome! i loved it!... it is literally in the jungle... and it was soooo hot... and it was such a long climb up temple 4 (which was the highest temple)... but it was totally worth it.. i got lots of pics including the star wars scene... justin and brian laughed at me when i started singing the star wars theme at the temple... yeah... so then we took the bus back to Flores for the night... and left the next morning for Belize... i LOVE Belize!!... it is absolutely gorgeous and the atmosphere is really caribbean (of course)... yeah... so we got dropped off by the bus at the water terminal and so we got a water taxi over to Caye Caulker... once again... incredible! the whole island is sand... so you can just walk without shoes and places don't mind if you walk in without shoes... yeah.. we met some really wierd people.... most were trying to help us find our way so they could get a tip... the "hotel" we stayed in was the cheapest on the island...and it was obvious... it was semi-funny when a guy (pop-eye.. yep...that's his name) took us to the hotel and when he told the lady there were three people who wanted rooms she didn't believe him... he kept saying "yah man... come to ya window" over and over... so that was encouraging... but we took the rooms anyway since they were the cheapest... so we walked around the island a little bit trying to find the public beach... but apparently the lonely planet guide lies because there wasn't a public beach... so we ended up just going and sitting on the pier looking out at the ocean... it was gorgeous... so then we were walking on the island again and a lady stops us and starts talking to us about these sailing tours you can take from this place called ragamuffin tours... we told her we weren't interested and started walking away... but then we realized that it actually sounded pretty fun... so we went back and the lady convinced us to go on a snorkeling full day sailing adventure... well i forgot my swimsuit...so i got a discount since i wasn't going to go snorkeling... but justin and brian had never gone before so they were pretty excited..so the next morning we get up and go pay and get to the sail boat...it was awesome! the sky and ocean were sooo blue it looks fake in my pictures... well i took a book along and just layed out on the top of the cabin, talked a little with the crew members and had an incredible day sailing on the atlantic ocean... we made three stops for snorkeling since it was an all day sailing thing (from 10:30 to 5)...and at the end justin and i got to taste our first alcoholic beverage... since the legal age is 18 in Belize... the crew on the boat mixed up some rum punch for us... well... it was awful! i hated it.... so i gave half my cup to justin who had 2 1/2 glasses....yeah... so it was gorgeous... we got back to the island and got some pop and went and sat on the pier again for a couple of hours... and we decided we would leave on the 10:30 water taxi in the morning... i went down to brian and justin's room in the morning and brian was waysick like throwing up all night... so we ended up waiting until the12:30 taxi... and then we had the 41/2 hour "bus" ride back to flores where we stayed the night... and then sunday morning we were up early to catch the 7 am. fuente del norte bus for the 9 hours back.. but we ended up missing the 7 am. so we got on the 7:45... it was a horrible bus ride back... but we made it... so yeah... that's pretty much along overview of my free travel week... yesterday classes started up again... so i'm on my last three weeks of study before i head off for my service project... yeah... well... i'm gonna get going...keep me updated oneverything that's happening! i'm going to try to get my pics on a cd and on this site from my free travel week soon... so yeah... keep checking back!

the last of my pics for now...

2005-10-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

ok... so here are the last of my pics...

this is the central fountain in antigua in el parque central..
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this is mixco viejo... it is an old mayan ruin site on top of mountains... probably the most gorgeous scenery i have seen yet while being here...

this is on top of one of the temples...

if you look closely lindy is standing next to this tree with two temples in the background...

looking from one mountain top to the next...

temples...

the view of the mountains... it was incredible!

yep... once again... one mountain to the next...

ok... this is mishi curled up on my bolsa.. i left my room to go to the bathroom and when i came back this was how mishi was... it was sooo cute..

this is a semi-bad picture of Kusi... she is our dog and is adorable... yeah...

more pics...

2005-10-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

that's one of the volcanoes in the distance... the mountains surrounding guatemala city is absolutely gorgeous!

once again... cute Mishi...

this is the city dump... it "provides" work for about 10,000 people.... behind me when i took this was the national cemetary... very interesting...

2005-10-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

this is a shanty town... in the ravines of the city people build houses... the farther down in the ravine the poorer the family is... this is because of the war...

another shanty town with the mountains in the distance...

antigua...

2005-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

antigua was the capital of guatemala once.. but earthquakes kept destroying the city so it changed to guatemala city... this is a church that was ruined...

this is one of the three volcanoes surrounding the town...

these are just some of the mountains around the town...

this is lindy, justin, and brian... my usual traveling buddies where ever we go... lindy and justin also live in zone 6 with me while brian lives in la brigada...

this is another old church in antigua.. i just thought it was gorgeous...

ok... more pics to come laterz... chau everyone..

more pics

2005-10-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

ok... so here is the deal... thanks to dana i found this place... i'm gonna unload all my pics here since it's free and it doesn't take as long... so yeah... here we go...

this is the national palace... it is not in use anymore as a palace, but we got to go on a small tour of the inside... it was gorgeous... this is in zone 1...

this is my room... to take this pic i was pressed against the door... yeah... not very much room... but cozy none the less...

for this pic i was against the wall.. where the one dresser starts is where my bed ends...

here's my room again...

this is above my door... there is netting to keep bugs out since there is space between the wall and the ceiling.. however the netting is broken so there's really no point in it being there...

this is lindy in her bedroom.. i usually go over there to study since i have trouble staying in my room for long periods of time...

this is our gatito... her name is Mishi... she is the cutest kitten EVER!

ok... i'm gonna make another post...