Sydney and Melbourne - Mountains, Ghosts, Zoos and so much more

Tues Apr 22 - Day 15
I’ve been in Oz for 2 weeks now, and it has flown by. Today I did laundry and a bunch of internet stuff. Then in the afternoon I went on a walking tour of Sydney. It was cool. I saw some of the historic stuff, as well as the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and the Botanical Gardens.
It’s a little weird to be on my own again after spending the last few days with people. It’s good though. I need some time by myself to relax and regroup. It’s harder to meet people in the larger hostels, though.

Wed Apr 23 - Day 16
I took a day trip to the Blue Mountains today. It rained and was also foggy. I believe the phrase used is a "pea-souper". Before the rain started we went to the Olympic village from fthe 2000 games. It was cool to see the complex and it was really great how they made it a "green" (as in eco-friendly) Olympics. The entire roof of the main stadium was covered in solar panels.
After the Olympic stadium we stopped in a little village on the mountain called Leura, which is the aboriginal word for lava. It was little and quaint. And I spent a lovely time in the smallest café I’ve ever seen in my life. There were literally 6 tables for 2. I think the whole place was about 10 feet across and maybe 20 deep. I also stopped into an old fashioned candy shop, but it wasn’t as fun as you’d expect. It is truly autumn here, though. Between the leaves changing colour and falling and the weather, it felt like November feels at home.
The highlight of the day was Scenic World Rainforest park. We took a cable car across the valley to view Katoomba falls. Then we took a train that was in the Guinness book of World Records for the steepest incline at 52 degrees. It was really cool. We got to walk through the rainforest on a raised wooden walkway. There was tons of information about when the mountains were used for mining. Then we took a cable car back up and moved on.
Most of the lookout points where we were supposed to stop were whited out by the fog. We were able to stop at Echo Point to view the rock formation known as the Three Sisters. There’s a really interesting myth behind the naming of the rocks, too. While we were there, we saw an aboriginal performing with a dijeree-doo. I got a picture taken with him and it was pretty cool.
We came back to the city via ferry. It was a cool experience. Sydney has ferries as part of their public transit system. They’re pretty sturdy, so I didn’t feel too sick. Amanda, my friend from Coff’s arrived in town tonight, but she was meeting up with someone else, so I’ll see her tomorrow.

Thurs. Apr 24th - Day 17
I spent the whole day with Amanda. We did the City Sightseeing tour. It’s basically a double-decker bus that goes around town and you can get on and off as many times as you like. It was really cool. We went around Darling Harbour and The Rocks (which is the first settled area of Australia). We got off the bus at the Opera House stop. Amanda is in love with it, so we had to take about 9 million pictures. Then we went inside and wandered around a bit. Didn’t do a tour or see a show cuz it was too pricey.
The weather was really changeable. One minute it was sunny and the next, rain was pelting down. So we didn’t get off the bus too much more. We rode the entire circuit and then got off for the last time at Darling Harbour. We went to the Harbourfront Center, which is basically a big mall and did some shopping. I picked up some souvenirs for people, as did Amanda.
We split up when I had to leave for my Ghost Tour. Amanda went back to the hostel, and I headed into the Rocks. I love the Rocks. All the buildings are restored original and it’s like a rabbit warren of little alleys and twisting streets. You can just feel the history when you walk through it. And the tour was great. My tour group was full of Aussies. I was the only one from overseas. The guide had props for us all and he really knew his stories. I got to wear this crazy medallion and I was "the clairvoyant". It was fun and not really so scary.
When finished I just went back to the hostel to hang out with Amanda. Then went to bed.

Fri Apr 25th - Day 18
Today was a public holiday called ANZAC day. It’s like memorial, or rememberance, day. And it was jam packed full. Amanda and I used the last of our tour tickets to go out to Bondi Beach. The weather was crap, so we didn’t stay, just took a couple pics from the bus. It looks pretty much the same as every other beach that I’ve seen.
When we got back from Bondi, we went to Taronga Zoo, where I finally saw... A PLATYPUS!!!!!!! It was very, very exciting. And I actually saw two. There were also these canine-type things called dholes and meercats. We saw all the other animals too, the lions and tigers and bears - oh my! I even dragged Amanda into the reptile house and we looked at lizards and snakes and frogs. I love the reptile house. For the whole day we were just like kids. Running here and there, taking pictures on all of the statues. It was a long day though. I think we spent about 5 hours at the zoo and the day didn’t end there.
One thing we both wanted to do before we left was go to King’s Cross. So we went there for a Friday night out, with Amanda’s roommate Annabelle (she’s from Belgium). Dinner was fantastic in this cute little restaurant. Then when we tried to go to a club, where we got id’d. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m a moron and didn’t think to bring mine. Being 25 and with a 37 year-old (with the drinking age 18) I didn’t think I’d need it. But they wanted it, so we had to go back to the hostel to get it.
Once we were back in the central part of the city we decided to go to a different bar (where we wouldn’t have to pay a cover). We started at Scubar, which is the backpacker’s bar. It was full of teeny-boppers and it was supposed to be retro night, but the dj was awful and the music sucked. So we left after a drink.
We ended up at an Irish pub called Scruffy MacMurphy’s. It was so much fun. The drinks were cheaper and there was a live band. They played great music, everything from Livin’ on a Prayer to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Greenday and a bunch of other stuff too. We were there until 3am, just dancing and having a good time.

Sat Apr 26th - Day 19
Today was the laziest day. We all slept in. Once we were up and moving we went shopping in the Rocks. I found all of my Garth Nix books and bought them. I have to figure out a way to pack them, so that they’re safe. I think they’re going to stay in my carry-on, right next to my laptop. We had lunch at a little bistro in the Rocks and it was pretty good.
Because we were so late, I didn’t have much time to hang out with the girls before going to the Bridge Climb. I got to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was so cool. It actually wasn’t as thrilling as I thought it would be. I mean, the view was spectacular, but there was absolutely no fear about being so high up. I guess that’s for the best, but still...
The guide was spectacular. She knew tons of stories and she obviously loved her job. My favourite story was about the only guy to "fall" off the bridge and survive. He was an Irish highdiver and he knew how to hit the water properly. He broke a rib and had to have his boots surgically removed from his feet and legs. But otherwise he was fine. How cool is that?

Sun Apr. 27th - Day 20
I was up before the butcrack of dawn today. My bus left Central station at 5:40am. I caught it and got to the airport early, which was good because I’m a moron and went to the wrong terminal. I did catch the shuttle and made it to my plane to Melbourne on time. The flight was short and I dozed most of the way. The temperature in Melbourne is 10 degrees, but it’s nice and sunny, so I don’t mind.
The hostel is outside of the city center. It’s in a suburb that’s like an impoverished small town. All of the shops were closed, either because it was Sunday or just closed down completely. I discovered this on a desperate search for contact solution. I eventually got the receptionist at the hostel to direct me to a grocery store in the city center so that I could get some.
I actually did a lot of sightseeing, in spite of being sick. I mean, I’m only here for a day, right? First I went to Queen Victoria’s Market. It’s similar to the night markets in Taiwan, but it’s huge! There’s a series of open air sheds that take up an entire block (country sized, not city) and they’re filled by vendor after vendor, all selling different things. I managed to finish my souvenir shopping.
Right outside the market is the bus stop for the free tourist bus. So I got on that and rode it around the entire loop. It went through the garden district, and the arts precinct as well as by all the memorials and museums. It’s another hop on and off service, too. I didn’t feel well, so I only got off at one stop.
That one took me to the Dutch Orange Day festival down by the river. It’s the day that all the Dutch celebrate the queen. Everyone was wearing orange. The festival was small, but there were booths for food and other things. One had tulips and another had clog slippers. There was even a performance for the kids. It was just like a street fair at home.
I also started Across the Wall. It’s a novella and a bunch of short stories by Garth Nix. It is fantastic. He covers pretty much every genre, but usually with a fantasy twist. One story is a parody of the "choose your own adventure" style and it is absolutely hilarious. I garnered more than a few odd looks as I read it, because I was reading it with my dinner and kept laughing out loud.

Mon Apr 28th - Day 21
Today is my last day in Oz. I catch my flight to New Zealand tomorrow, after a 12 hour bus ride. My bus doesn’t leave until 8, so I have all day to kill. I’m going to store my luggage at the station and then do the touristy sightseeing stuff that I didn’t do yesterday. I feel a little bit better, even though the temperature is only about 8 degrees. It’ll be even colder in NZ though, so I guess I should get used to it.

The Gold Coast - Byron, Coff's and Port Macquarie

Mon Apr.14th - Day 7
I’ve arrived in Byron’s Bay. The weather is... not ideal. It is raining super hard right now, as it has been off and on all day. I’m in the common room of the hostel with a few other people. This afternoon I managed to get in a swim between rain showers. I also walked a long way up the beach. I was trying to get to the lighthouse to watch the sunset, but there’s no lighthouse access from the beach and the clouds made any sunset viewing impossible, no matter where you were.
I like it here, though. It’s more mellow than Surfer’s. There’s an elementary school on the same street as my hostel. There are more residences around as well. The whole pace is just slower and more relaxed.

Tues Apr. 15th - Day 8
I’ve decided to stay here an extra day. I really like the hostel and I couldn’t get booked into the tour that I really want to do until Thurs. So I’m here until Friday. For today I’m just hangin’ out and doin’ some laundry. Maybe I’ll hit the beach later, maybe just the pool. BTW the pool is filled with ocean water. There’s no chlorine and it tastes like salt. Crazy.
Tomorrow I’m going kayaking with my roommates. They’re 3 girls from Edmonton and they seem really cool. They kayaking trip is to see dolphins and other marine life. It should be really good. We’re going in the morning, cuz apparently that’s when you see more things. I have no plans for the afternoon, yet.
Then Thurs I’m going to this hippy village called Nimbin. We just stop there for a bit and then go on to the rainforest. We even get to go swimming in a pool at the foot of a waterfall and there are places from which to jump.
So the showers have been happening on and off all day. And normally, I would be cool with that, but the wind that has come with them is making it chilly. I am also getting desperate for a new bathing suit. And this isn’t just me hoarding suits. My favourite bikini broke just before my surf lesson on Sunday. I’m going crazy with only 2 suits here. And everything is either super pricey or skimpy. And I don’t particularly like either of those things.

Wed Apr. 16th - Day 9
Well. Australia has left its mark on me. But you should see the rock that I hit. Actually, I didn’t even see the rock, I had my eyes closed because I was under water at the time. Kayaking in the waves is fun! We fell out 3 times and I only got hurt the last time. And to put you all at ease, I’m not hurt all that badly. It’s just a little cut at my right eyebrow.
I tried to go to the beach yesterday, but it started raining right after I got there. And it was coming down hard. As I was gathering my things, though, I saw a beautiful rainbow. By the time I grabbed my camera, it had already faded away. It was spectacular and huge.
I had a cup of soup for dinner and ate with my roomies. They’re really cool. They’ve decided to stay for an extra night, too. We’ll all be in the same room until Friday. We went kayaking together today. 2 of them are not strong swimmers so they both got to be in the boat with the guide. But the other one and I had our own boat. We even saw some dolphins in the distance. It was only their backs and fins as they were diving, but still super cool.
After kayaking, in true Aussie style, we went to a bbq with the guide at a friend’s of his. I even ate meat, cuz there was no veggie option. It hasn’t upset my stomach yet, but I think that all the gross grease dripped off in the bbq, so I may be ok.
We may be going out tonight, but maybe not. The roomies all have activities booked super early in the morning. One is going sky diving and the others are going snorkeling. I, meanwhile, am off to the hippie village, Nimbin.

Thurs Apr 17th - Day 10
The day at Nimbin was so much fun. It was really a hippie village. There were rainbows and flower power graffiti on everything, even the legitimate businesses, like the tax office. After the village we went to a swimming hole and then for a bbq. The inland topography of Australia is really mountainous. It was kinda like driving through the country in Northern Ontario, only with higher hills.
On the bus, I met a lot of other people. Most of them were Irish. There was a group of boys and one girl (not with the boys, just also Irish). She was cool and we hung out together for most of the day.
At the bbq spot we went on a little walk through the woods. It was really lovely. At least, the spots when we weren’t worried about slipping in the mud an falling on our asses were. In addition to veggie burgers (which I was thankful for) the guide served kangaroo burgers and emu sausages. Everyone seemed to love them.
The swimming hole was beautiful. There was a waterfall and everything. Very few people went in, though, because it was so cold. Also, the only way to get in was to jump from this rock at the top of the waterfall. In spite of the cold, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t jump in. So I did. The water was so cold that when I got out, I felt super warm, even just in the air.
When we got back from the tour, I went out to dinner with the Irish girl that I met on the bus. We went to this backpacker’s bar called Cheeky Monkey. It was cheezy and fun and the music was entertaining. Also, there were contests every ½ hour or so. Things like Throw the hacky sack through the hole, and Which Paper airplane will go the farthest. They were good fun. I also saw my very first (and probably last) wet t-shirt contest. I was done watching when the 18-year-old removed hers completely and the entire bar got to see her melons.

Fri Apr 18th -Day 11
Today I had to catch my bus to Coff’s Harbour. The rain did not make that an enjoyable experience. The sky opened up just as I was waiting to load my luggage onto the bus. Ans of course there was no cover there. Everything got soaked. I tried to shield things as well as I could with my body, but that only did so much good. My laptop is fine, but my copy of Sabriel got wet. I dried it once I got to the hostel and I just hope that it doesn’t mold the way Abhorsen did when it got rained on. I’m hoping that Lireal manages to make it home safely without acquiring any water damage from the boat.
Anyway, when I got to my hostel in Coff’s, my new roomies gave me a very warm welcome. The weather was still crap though. One of my roomies was actually travelling in the same direction as I am. We’re even on the same bus staying in the same hostel.
After settling into the hostel, I decided to make the most of my time, and set off immediately for the Pet Porpoise Pool. They’re this interactive marine park. You can pet the dolphins, as much as you like. You can feed one of the sea lions, the little blue penguins, and the sharks and sea turtles. And you can get kisses from a dolphin and a seal. I did all of the above, except for the sharks and turtles. I looked at them though. I got pictures of my kisses. The seal was my favourite, because she didn’t feel rubbery and the whiskers tickled.
They also have this really funny show. It was great to see. And for once the weather worked in my favour. There weren’t many other people there, because no one wanted to venture out in the rain. The show was interactive, too, and informative. It was a really great activity. Although, sadly, they do not have any platapi, so my search continues. I’m hoping that there will be some tours, or a zoo, or something in Sydney, so I can see one before I leave.
After the show I went back to the hostel. I met some Irish boys in the common room, playing chess. They let me play with them and I lost, because I’m crap at chess. There was also an all you can eat pizza night, so I ate well.
A while after dinner, a couple of my roommates wanted to go out for a coffee, because everyone was moving on the next day. It was only about 9:20 when we went out, but nothing was open. Everywhere we tried to go was in the process of closing. It was ridiculous. We ended up back at the hostel drinking tea in our room.

Sat. Apr. 19th - Day 12
I had a lot of time to kill between checking out of the hostel and catching my bus. The weather continued to be crap, but it cleared up enough for me to walk down to the harbour and across to Muttonbird Island. It’s this breeding ground for a certain kind of bird. It’s the end of the breeding season now, but I managed to see a couple of them. The view of the beaches and the harbour and the ocean from the top of the island was spectacular.
The walk itself was quite a workout, so I decided on the way back, to reward myself with some ice cream. There’s a little shop, right by the marina, that sells homemade ice cream. It was thick and creamy. I was full after just one scoop. Let me tell you, cinnamon ice cream should be the 32nd flavour. It was superb.
The bus ride was pretty basic. Some nice scenery. Some parts where I had to close my eyes, so as not to get sick. A meal stop (where I had a banana muffin with chocolate custard in the middle and chocolate drizzled on top). And a shuttle from the hostel met us at the bus stop and brought us here. All of my roommates, except for one arrived today. They seem pretty cool.
The hostel itself is like a big house. Where other hostels have felt like hotels or motels, this one feels like a university house. There’s a kitchen, living room, and "dining" room all within the same space, separated only by one wall. The bathroom (with one stall and one shower) opens off the kitchen. And all of the bedrooms open up off of the other rooms. There are additional bathrooms outside with extra showers.
I went for dinner with Amanda (the girl I met in Coff’s) at the Irish Tavern. The food was spectacular. And they make a mean white russian. There was a band playing too and they were pretty good. They played a lot of 70's folk rock, like CCR. And after dinner they made me a spectacular hot chocolate and Bailey’s. I was a little chocolated out by the end of the day.
We made our way back to the hostel after a quick stop at the grocery store. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out in the room with the rest of the girls. They’re a really good bunch. All of them are from the British Isles. 2 girls, Tina and Jacqui are from Manchester, Amanda’s from Hartfordshire(just outside London) and the other girl, Barbara is from Glasgow. I’m the only North American here. But my knowledge of geography is improving every day.

Sun Apr. 20th - Day 13
The weather continues to be difficult. It was pouring this morning and then cleared up. Then it decided to pour and clear up again. It makes it so difficult to plan. I mean, you don’t mind staying in when it’s raining, but when it ends up staying dry for a few hours, you feel like you missed out, by not going and doing something.
This morning a bunch of us decided to wander around and look at some of the shops in town. We found the shopping mall and a few cute little stores. This is a small town, though, so a lot of the stores were closed because it’s Sunday. While we were in the shopping mall, the skies opened up and we decided to hang out and look around for a bit. I was able to replace my broken bikini top. I didn’t have the bottoms with me, but I managed to match them pretty well.
This afternoon, after tea in the hostel, we went to the Koala Hospital. It was really cute. There’s no cuddling or petting, but the tour was really informative. Random fact; the most common killer of koalas (not counting humans or human activity) is chlamydia. There was all sorts of info about koalas, most of it I’d heard at Lone Pine, but some was new. And the other girls took some cute koala pics. I didn’t because I already have about a million.
I just made dinner here at the hostel and I think I’m going to join the girls in town for a drink. We all leave tomorrow. Amanda’s headed in the same direction as I am, but while I’m going straight to Sydney, she’s stopping in Newcastle. The other girls are all headed north.

Mon Apr 21 - Day 14
I started this morning with a swim at the beach. The weather was fantastic for about 20 minutes. Then a gigantic black cloud moved in and I got back to the hostel just as it started to rain.
Once the rest of the girls were up and moving, we went to the Pancake Place for breakfast. It was delicious and a really nice last meal together. After brekkie, I got an Australian SIM card for my cell. So now I have an Aussie phone number, which will be useful for booking things when I get to Sydney.
I spent most of the afternoon chilling at the hostel and reading. Then at 5 I got on a bus for 6 hours to get to Sydney. The trip was uneventful and I arrived safely. This hostel is very much like a hotel, through the foyer and rooms. The lounge/internet/kitchen areas are all more laid back and informal. Much more like a "hostel".

Learning to Surf in Surfer's Paradise

Sat Apr. 12th - Day 5
Surfer’s Paradise lives up to its name. The beach is beautiful, but there are about nine billion high rises, because everyone and their grandmother want a ‘beach view’ apartment. Of course half of them are blocked from seeing the beach by the other half.
My hostel is cool. I’m in a room with four other people. So far I’ve only met two. One is actually my bunk mate (in bunk beds, no less and I’m on top) and her name is Sophie. She’s from the UK. I actually didn’t catch the other lady’s name, but she seemed nice.
I spent the whole day shopping and at the beach. I bought some gifts for the little people stuck at home. Also, I bought a towel. I realized that my sandy towel from the beach is not going to dry me off very well after my shower. So now I have 2 towels.
I have a surf lesson scheduled for tomorrow. I’m so excited. But really, other than the surfing, there’s not much to do here. It’s just like The Bend, only nicer and with surfing. There is this one cool section that’s a pedestrian mall and it goes right down to the beach. That was where I shopped today.
I’m out of here and heading to Byron Bay on Monday. I plan to spend a little longer there. Apparently there’s tons to do, so we’ll see.

Sun Apr 13th - Day 6
Surfing is awesome. And hard. Really, really hard. It’s kinda like tobogganing where the hardest part is getting to where you can do the fun stuff. Let me tell you, walking in waist deep water against the current while trying to direct a 7' long, floating object is not the easiest thing to do.
However, all difficulties aside, I did manage to catch some waves on my own and I got up on the board. There is even photographic evidence to prove it. It was great, cuz there were only 3 people in my class and the two other guys (from Denmark) both had class yesterday, so they were catching their own waves from the beginning. So the instructor could help me a lot and I needed it.
I am so sore. I have bruises on top of bruises and all of my muscles ache. And my legs are in bad shape. I had some time to kill before my lesson this morning, so I went out to chill by the pool. I slathered myself with sunscreen and thought I was fine. But I forgot to do my legs. Then I went surfing, where the fronts of my legs were constantly hitting the board, which was covered in sand and salt water. Imagine rug burn, but with salt, on top of a sunburn. That’s how my legs feel right now.
My tan is getting nice, though. And I’m getting buff from carting around my luggage constantly. I cringe to think about how sore I’d be if I hadn’t been building up muscles this past week. Surfboards look light, and sure, they float, but they are long and awkward and difficult to maneuver.
I think I’ll try surfing again in Byron’s Bay. My instructor gave me the name of a really good school down there to try. I’m finding, though, that I’m doing my trip backwards. Everyone I meet has gone Sydney to Brisbane and I’m going Brisbane to Sydney. It makes it really difficult to make friends, when I’m only in each place for a night or 2 and no one is traveling in the same direction as me.

The Australia Zoo!!! Fri Apr. 11th - this one's long

Fri Apr. 11th - Day 4
Holy crap! The zoo was massive. I saw so many things, but I’ll just do the highlights. First (actually, last chronologically, but most exciting) I got to feed an ELEPHANT!!! I fed her a piece of cantaloupe. It was super cool. I’ll try to do the rest of my day chronologically.
For starters, the bus was late. But it came eventually and got me to the zoo, so I’m not too upset. On the way there, we watched a special on Steve Irwin. It was kinda sad, cuz it was made before he died and he talks about what he wants to be remembered for.
Once at the zoo, I started with the koalas and roos. They were cute, like always. There was another roo heaven, where you can go in and pet them. It’s a little weird, but I’m getting sort of blase about it. You know, like ‘you’ve pet one kangaroo, you’ve pet them all’ kinda thing. They’re still super cute and some of their mannerisms are just like people. I also got to pet another koala, but I didn’t get to hold this one. Also, I finally got to see the echidnas. They were right next to the kangaroo area.
Next I wandered through the aviary, which was really cool. It’s just this whole section of forest that’s under nets. As you walk through, the birds fly right around you. And they’re not particularly shy, cuz they’re used to people. Of course, the birds of prey are in another enclosure, which you are not allowed to walk inside. Most of them were nocturnal, so I couldn’t see many. There were a few kingfishers, though.
Wombats followed the birds. They are big, ugly rodents. I didn’t stay with them for too long. I moved right along to the snakes. They were divided into 2 sections; venomous and non-venomous. I love the snakes. They are just so cool with their slithering, and writhing, and smelling with their tongues. I spent a lot of time just looking at the different snakes.
I saw a bunch of crocodiles on my way to the camels. Being The Crocodile Hunter’s Zoo, all of the crocs have names and most of them have their own enclosures (sometimes shared with a significant other). So 5 crocs took up a whole lot of space.
I couldn’t see the camel, cuz she was in the middle of a show somewhere else. But I did get to see the fox, in the habitat next door. It was asleep at the top of a waterfall. I wasn’t surprised that he was sleeping. It’s what nocturnal animals do during the day.
Next we have some more Aussie animals. The Southern Cassowary is a flightless bird, almost as big as an emu. It’s way prettier than an emu, though, cuz it’s head is bright blue. Sadly, they are endangered. But the dingoes, which I saw next, aren’t. They’re just like dogs. And I think the ones at the zoo have been somewhat domesticated, so they don’t even have that fierce look that other wild dogs have.
The Tasmanian Devils, being nocturnal, were sleeping. But there was this cool viewing chamber that showed the inside of the nest, so you could still see them. They’re really cute. A little later in the day, I saw one of the trainers walking a Devil on a leash around the zoo, just like it was a dog.
When I ate my lunch, I got up close and personal with a few of the birds. They aren’t part of the exhibits, they’re just wild birds that like the easy pickings of the zoo cafes. One walked right up to my foot and another was watching me from the table behind me. Cheeky birds.
After my lunch, it was time for the otters to have lunch. And the cute trainer made them do tricks so that I could take pictures. Except that the shutter speed on my camera isn’t fast enough, so the movement made all the pictures blurry. Still, the otters (and their trainer) were cute. Before they were fed, they chased each other in a circle around the pond in their habitat. Over and over again. First one would chase, then the other. It made me tired just watching them.
Moving along, I came to the American alligators. They look pretty much like any other alligator I’ve seen. Then I saw another few crocs. It’s kinda like the kangaroos. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Except, one was moving around, and that was super cool to watch.
Then it was time for an animal show. It was in the Crocoseum. There were snakes, birds and a crocodile featured. The whole message of the show was conservation. Most of the animals were endangered species and there were tips throughout about how to be a ‘Wildlife Warrior’.
For the snake part, they brought out about 6 different snakes (one of which was a water python and they put it right into the pool) and did a snake bite demonstration. It was all quite funny, cuz it was aimed at the kids, but it’s still good stuff to know.
The bird show started with green wing parrots. They swooped right above our heads, way closer than at lion safari. Then there was a comedic interlude where some of the audience members made fools of themselves and then there were more birds. Cockatoos came out first followed by something else and they were followed by lorikeets. By the end of the bird demo there were about 20 different birds flying across and around the amphitheatre, all of them making their calls. It was super noisy and awesome to see.
Last, they brought out a croc named Murray. He was the very first croc at the zoo. They did some safety tips (i.e. how not to get bitten by a crocodile). Then the trainer fed him and made him do a tail walk. He was super cool. Random crocodile fact; Crocodiles as a species have not evolved in over 60 thousand years. They are the closest living link that we have to the dinosaurs.
That was the end of the show, so I moved to the Southeast Asia section. "Elephantasia" was where I got to feed an elephant a piece of cantaloupe. And the tiger temple contained - big surprise - tigers!! There were some cubs and then they brought out a mama. The sun was reflecting off of the glass, so I couldn’t get any pics of the babies. Got a cool one of Mama, though, just as she was coming out of the water. The cool thing is, the enclosure is just for display. The tigers actually live (and eat and sleep) somewhere else.
I saw lizards, too, including a Komodo Dragon. Those things are huge. I swear it was the same size as me. And at one point he came right toward me and stuck out his tongue. I think I looked like lunch. There were also monitors and skinks in enclosures, but some of the coolest lizards were wild ones. I took a lot of pics of them just stopped on the road. One even tried to scare me away. I saw him leave the bushes and froze to watch. He froze and puffed up his neck frill, then he quivered his jowls and ran a few steps toward me, before freezing again. I didn’t move and he repeated this a bunch of times, until he was past me. It was really cool.
Just before I left, I found the reticulated pythons. They’re separate from the other snakes, cuz they’re so big. They grow to about 5m. In an enclosure nearby, I also saw more kookaburras. These ones had been injured by cars and couldn’t fly. It was a little sad, but also happy, because they get to live at the zoo and don’t have to starve to death.
The bus ride home was uneventful. As was the walk from the bus terminal. I’m on a bus tomorrow for Surfer’s Paradise. I’m really excited, now. Today was the first day where we actually had the weather I’d been expecting. It was hot and sunny. And yes, I did remember sunscreen. I spent all day outside and didn’t even burn.

Tales of Oz - Brisbane

Tues Apr 8th - Day 1
The grand adventure has landed in Oz!!!! I can breathe! And my bed is soft. And no one stares at me just for existing. And I can understand when people talk (mostly, sometimes the Aussie accent gets a little thick)!!! I’m in love with the city already.
Thanks to an issue with the navigational computer on the plane, we were delayed 2 hours in leaving Hong Kong. Then there was an overturned truck on the only road out of the airport, so what would normally have been a $35 cab ride actually cost me $50. But after long delays, the Grand Adventure is coming live from Australia.
Luckily, with the delays, I got here closer to check-in time and my room was ready for me. It was a shoebox with a bathroom attached. So not worth the money. After I dropped my bags, I went right out to walk around the city center. My travel guide is so good. Everything in it is right in the area. I found almost everything in my first wander.
The architecture here is really interesting. There’s some modern mixed right in with Victorian and everything in between. I took a bunch of pics of buildings and stuff. One of the buildings is the Treasury Building, which is now the Treasury Casino. It’s beautiful. I haven’t gone, because I didn’t measure up to the dress code. It’s super swank.
I didn’t really do much tonight. I did manage to find a room for the next 3 nights at a hostel. It’s called Palace Backpackers and it’s nice. I have an individual room (which, again, is the size of a shoebox) but it’s less than half of what I paid in the other place.
After booking my room, I just came back to the hotel and watched "Bring it On" on my computer. Because, of course, it’s just my luck that on my first night here in "the sunshine state" it rained.

Wed Apr 9th - Day 2
This morning I moved into the hostel. Luckily, they had my room ready for me early, so I could move right in. Of course, the elevator is broken and my room is literally on the roof, which is 5 stories high. It was not fun dragging my super-packed luggage up all of those stairs. Well, to be honest, I only dragged it up 3 floors, then a nice boy carried it the rest of the way for me.
This morning I went on a river tour that took me to the Lone Pine Koala Reserve. It was amazing. The mansions along the river are spectacular. More of that crazy mix of architecture that makes Brisbane awesome. And a lot of them have really interesting histories. At one point on the river, we passed this island, which is the natural habitat for the largest fruit bat colony in the world. The bats are huge, too. You can see them hanging from the trees in huge groups.
The tour ended at the Koala Reserve and ticket prices included admission. The first thing I did was wander around and look at the animals within enclosures. There were a bunch of birds, including lorikeets and kookaburras. Also, they had a few fruit bats, so we could see them closer than we could on the river. There were dingoes and wombats, too. But I couldn’t find the echidnas.
I went to the snake exhibit. There were some cool venomous and non-venomous snakes. My favourite thing, though, was the water monitor. It looked like a little dinosaur. It was just swimming back and forth across the aquarium.
After I saw the lesser animals, it was time to get up close and personal with a koala. Lone Pine is the only place in the world where it is legal for humans to handle koalas. So you pay for a photo package and that’s like your admission to cuddle. While you stand there (very still) the keeper puts the koala in your arms. In theory, they latch onto you like you’re a tree. My koala, (whose name was Gandalf) however, didn’t like me. He refused to come to me at first and when he finally did, he decided that he had an itch. So he was grooming himself the whole time I held him. It was cool, though, cuz the keeper waited until he was finished grooming to take him back.
After koalas, I decided to check out the kangaroos and wallabies. They were in an open reserve, kinda like the deer at marine land. You could even buy food from the store to feed them. It was super cool. They kangaroos were super mellow and had no problem letting you close (most of them were napping). Even the moms with little joeys let me feed and pet them (not the joeys. You’re only allowed to pet the moms). The wallabies on the other hand were way more skittish. They weren’t so big on people. And the emus, which were supposed to be contained and weren’t, were really curious. They’re so big that they’re a little scary close up.
Near the kangaroo pen there were crocodiles (there were enclosed and little). There was also an iguana (not enclosed). He was such a mug, posing for pictures and turning his head this way and that. There were also a vulture and a peacock roaming around loose. It was really cool.
By that time, I had to get back to the boat. When I got there, though, before we cast off, I got to feed catfish. There were so many of them. It was crazy! They were kinda gross, though, and greedy. I’ve decided that I don’t really like fish.
After the boat got back, I took another wander around. I found the greyhound station and confirmed my ticket to leave here on Saturday morning. When I returned to the hostel, I talked to the travel guide and it turns out that he’s from Calgary. Small world, eh? (He he he I’m Canadian and I said "eh?") He helped me book my trip to the Australia Zoo for Friday. He also booked my hotel in Surfer’s Paradise for me. It’s super cheap, but I’m going to be staying in a dorm. It’ll be a little weird, but I think it’ll be good.

Thurs Apr 10th - Day 3
Last night I went to the club in the basement. I was expecting a pub-like atmosphere, but it was definitely a club. I intended to have 1 drink, hang out for a bit and then head back to my room. But clubs have dancing. So, I stayed a little longer than intended. Then a guy started dancing with me, and bought me a drink and it was super late by the time I finally got to bed.
I got my hair cut this morning. It’s ok, but the layers are shorter than I had wanted. I went to the hairdressing school, so it was pretty cheap. Of course, the whole reason I waited until I got here was so that there would be no difficulty in communicating. Wouldn’t you know that the student I got was Asian and English was obviously her second language. Luckily, one of the teachers is there at the beginning to make sure the student knows how to do the style and then again at the end to check the cut and smooth things out. It took forever, though. Over an hour, start to finish, for a trim.
Today, I was one busy little tourist. I have the dead camera batteries to prove it. After my haircut, I went to Brisbane City Hall, which houses the Brisbane Museum. There’s not much there. It only took me about 15 minutes to see the whole thing. There was a lot of info about immigration to Australia, but I’m not so interested in that. After the museum, I grabbed some breakfast and went shopping. I need some new undergarments, which are impossible to find in Taiwan in western sizes. I found a couple of things that I liked, but it’s SO expensive.
After a bite to eat, I headed across the Victoria Bridge to The Culture Center on the South Bank. That’s where the Queensland Library, Museum and Art Gallery are. Today I saw them all. Well, technically I saw the Library yesterday and didn’t stay today because it was so busy.
The art gallery was first. It was alright. I didn’t like any of the paintings. There was a lot of modern abstract, which is just... blech. But there were some super cool sculptures and some neat realist/ naturalist paintings, which weren’t so bad. There was even one whole exhibit of "message posters". They covered all sorts of themes; from women’s lib, to gay rights, to HIV awareness, to Australian politics. That was pretty cool, even though I didn’t really get some of the politics ones, cuz they referenced specific people and events.
The last stop in the cultural center was the museum. It was way better than the art gallery. There was an exhibit about Queensland icons. Some were cool; some not so much. But the best part was the special exhibit called Museum Zoo. There were skeleton pieces and so many stuffed animals it was like a taxidermist’s wet dream. It was actually kinda creepy, but in a cool way. The whole exhibit was designed for kids, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. There was also a whole exhibit about Queensland’s endangered animals. That was interesting, but it made me sad. All those poor little bilbys and turtles.
After the museum, I walked along South Bank. It’s a really pretty riverside walk with some interesting sights along the way. The first thing you come across is the rainforest - complete with raised wooden sidewalks, and tropical flora. It goes on for about 200m and it’s really pretty. Shortly after the rainforest you get to Street’s Beach. And it’s right on the river’s edge, but there’s no swimming in the river (due to the propensity for shark attacks and the fact that it’s gross) so the "beach" is actually a swimming pool. There’s sand around it, and it’s bigger and more naturally shaped than most pools, so it’s pretty cool. I was going to swim today, but it was windy and rainy (and windy + rainy = cold, even if the temperature says it shouldn’t be). So instead I continued my walk.
After a while South Bank meets up with a pedestrian bridge across the river. It’s high and long and I walked across that too. The view from the bridge is so amazing. Once I got back to North Bank, I walked a long way around a bend in the river to get to the botanical gardens. They were pretty much the same as any other botanical gardens I’ve been in. But they were pretty. One thing they did have were spectacular fountains with water lilies. Also, a million different birds. I saw a kookaburra in the wild. Also there were a few different kinds of duck (I think) and maybe a heron of some sort. Opposite the botanical gardens, is the Parliament house. I didn’t go in, but it’s a beautiful building, so I took a picture of the outside.
Anyway, I’m exhausted. Late night + early morning + walking all day = super early bed time. Especially because I have to get up early for my Zoo trip tomorrow. Crikey! I’m really going to the Crocodile Hunter’s Zoo!!!

Wrapping up the Taiwan Chapter

Fri Mar 28th
I officially only have 1 week of work left. I’m so excited. My replacement comes next week, so we’ll see how he works out. I don’t think the kids really get it yet, though. It may start sinking in on Wed when the new guy teaches for the first time.
Not much else has happened this week. I shipped home my big suitcase with a bunch of clothes inside. The post office was crazy strict about the weight restriction. I was 1kg over and they wouldn’t make a deal. I thought maybe I could pay extra, like you do for a flight if your luggage is over, but they said no. So I had to take out seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy and Heroes, which just for the record was exactly 1 kilo.
I never made it to Luxy, cuz T bailed on me. But I called in the favor and got him to carry my package to the post office this afternoon. When everyone else finishes work, we’re going to Forkers for dinner. I haven’t been in a while and I love the desserts there.

Sun Mar 30th
We did have dinner at Forkers Friday. And I did have a fantastic dessert. Yesterday I read a book and had a tennis lesson. After my lesson I came home and watched a few movies. It was pretty boring. Today I read a book and had brunch at the Diner with Michelle, Cullum, and Brent. I was supposed to have another tennis lesson, but (surprise, surprise) it’s raining.
Isn’t my life a roller coaster of excitement?
Mon Mar 31
It’s opening day!!! And so, I’m sitting here at 12:10am waiting for the stupid afternoon game to start. But I’m so excited!! And depending where I go for dinner tomorrow, I might be able to see some of it, cuz they’re playing the Yankees. And right now I’m listening to an interview with Lloyd Moseby.
Oh yeah, and work is fine. The new guy is going to be ok with my kids. He already has a favorite. And she’s mine, too. He also kept saying how cute they are. My fears have been eased. I teach my last class tomorrow, and he’ll take over on Wed while I’m still there to help with prep and stuff.
It’s weird, though. I’m not feeling very social for my last week. I’ve been isolated in my room, reading. The new Mercedes Lackey novel will be available as an e-book tomorrow. So, I’ll be purchasing that one.

Sat Apr 4th
I did buy the new Lackey. It was really cute. I also became more social as the week went on. I hung out with Sam pretty much every night after work. We watched movies; Blue Crush, The Untouchables, some British gangster movie called Number 1 Gangster and The Big Lebowski. Other than watchin’ movies and reading, I didn’t do much.
Wed was Jason’s birthday so we did dinner after they all got off of work. I didn’t stay long, cuz it was kinda late for me. Thursday was Ladies’ night at The Brass Monkey. It was also my leaving party. It was so much fun. Before we went to the club, Emily, Sam and I went to a really nice Indian place for dinner. Then Em and I wandered and did some window shopping. She surprised me by popping back into a store to buy me a necklace that I liked as a going away present. She’s such a sweetheart and I am going to miss her.
The club rocked. It was the weirdest mix of music that I have ever heard outside of a high school dance, but I loved it. The only problem was the cigarette smoke. My throat is still raw from breathing through a cloud of smoke for 5 hours.
Yesterday was a national holiday here and all of my roommates are taking advantage of having a 3 day weekend to go away. They’ll all be back before I leave, though, so I will get a chance to say goodbye. I took advantage of the empty apartment to have a bath this morning.
I think I’m having lunch somewhere with Michelle, later. I’m not sure where, but I don’t really care as long as I get to eat. And then tonight I’m going for sushi. Sam apparently found this amazing restaurant that he’s been talking about all week. So we’re going there tonight for dinner, which is just as well, because I’ve finished off all of the food that I had in the apartment.

Sun Apr 6th
So I had lunch at the Thai place with Michelle. Then we were going to get henna tattoos, but she was getting her hair done and it took 4 hours to do, so I had to leave to meet Sam before she was finished. The sushi was fantastic. I even ate a lot of fish, which wasn’t bad. Turns out I don’t dislike fish, I’m just a snob and dislike bad fish. After dinner we ended up at Forker’s for dessert. It was a really nice, relaxed evening.
Today I plan to pack everything that I don’t need tomorrow. I’m almost finished, even though it doesn’t look it. All surfaces are still cluttered with things, but I’ve gotten everything out from inside of things. And there is some organization... kinda. Then I need to sweep the room.

Mon Apr.7th
I’m in the airport awaiting my flight out. After a layover in Hong Kong, I will be on my way to Oz. Yesterday was a great "last day" (today didn’t count, b/c it was all packing and stuff). I spent the day with Michelle, Diana, Richard, and Brent. Robert showed up too, for dinner.
The food that I ate during my last few days in Taiwan was anything but traditional Taiwanese, with the exception of the strawberries I bought to eat on my way to the airport. They’re served on a stick, but they’re dipped in hot sugar that caramelizes around them. They are delicious.
But back to yesterday, we had lunch at a Mediterranean place. I had hummus and it was really good. After lunch we took a walk to the Jade market, but couldn’t find it, so we ended up at Big Tom’s for ice cream. Then we took a really long walk through Taipei to get to Tandoor, which was the Indian restaurant where we had dinner.
I think we were served by the owner and it was so much fun. He was by far the pushiest waiter I have ever had in my life. He forced us to order Tandoori Chicken and would let me order bread until after everything else had been ordered. And even when I ordered the bread, he told me I was wrong and brought something else. The food was beyond my scale of spicy, but it was delicious.
Today I did the last minute packing and travel prep. It took 5 boxes to ship the of my things home and my luggage is stuffed. I did manage to squeeze in lunch with my (now, ex-)co-workers at Casa Della Pasta. It was a good time. I even managed to rope Sam into helping me carry boxes to the post office.

Counting down from Taroko

Sun. Mar. 23
Taroko was spectacular. The whole day was just great, even if it started super early. At 4 a.m. I woke up itching all over. A mosquito had gotten into my room and had a feast. I counted 12 bites on my arms and face (everything else was under the covers). I finally had to apply bug spray and pull the covers up over my head to get back to sleep. But after that everything was gravy.
We met at the MRT at 7 and then caught a train from Taipei Main. The trip was about 3 hours, but it passed fairly quickly. The scenery on the way to Hualien was beautiful, as long as we weren’t in the cities. I forgot my gravol, so I had to just close my eyes whenever there were too many things passing too close to the train.
In Hualien we caught the tour bus right outside the train station. The first stop we made was at the beach. The waves were spectacular, but because the drop off into deep water is so close to the shore there’s never any swimming. It did make the water look different colours though, which was really cool. There was also no sand. The entire beach was made up of different sized rocks, worn smooth by the water. I picked up a couple that I think will look fabulous on a chain.
From the beach we went to a fishery museum. It smelled horrible. They actually had a little factory where they dried the fish, right there. There was a store where they sold fish products too. My favourite things were the aquariums where they actually had live tropical fish. I saw a seahorse. There were a bunch of different kinds of clown fish and some really cool phosphorescent fish that looked like they were under a black light, even when they weren’t. And there was one big aquarium that had live coral and sea anemones with all of the fish. It was super cool.
We had lunch at the museum. Or, more accurately, everyone else had fish lunch at the museum and I had a peanut butter sandwich when we got back to the bus. From the museum it was about a 20 minute drive to get to Taroko National Park, which is the home of the gorge. The bus drove us into the park and stopped often so that we could get out and take pictures. There were entire sections where we got dropped off and got to walk along the gorge to meet the bus farther along. Of course, being so in awe of the scenery, we were usually the last ones back to the bus. A couple of times we even had to run, because we didn’t want to annoy the driver, by being too late.
We spent about 2 and a half hours making our way through the gorge and there’s not much I can write about it. I could try to describe the magnificence of the scenery and the way you get completely dwarfed by the mountains, but I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. It’s one of those places where a picture is really worth 1000 words. And I took about 200 pics. Luckily Adrienne and Emily both had their cameras, too, because my batteries died right at the end. And we each have a ton of pics of each other. Adrienne even took some video. We’re going to put the pics from all 3 cameras onto discs for each of us.
It was just a super fun day. We were so exhausted by the end, that we fell asleep on the train home, even though it was only 6pm. I was supposed to go out last night, but I didn’t make it. I read a little and then watched Leeches again, probably for the last time.
Because I was in bed so early, I woke up really early this morning. It was ok, cuz I was supposed to have a lunch date with Emily, but it was cancelled because of rain. I’m kind of hoping that our tennis lesson tonight will be called due to rain as well. I just feel like being lazy today. I just finished reading The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammet. I quite enjoyed it, although I had to put my inner 1930's slang translator to good use.

Mon Mar 24th
Today was such an awesome Monday. It started with a phone call home to wish the baby bro happy birthday. We chatted about random things, but mostly it was just good to talk to him. I was also up and awake quite early, so I got to take my time getting ready. I love that.
School was actually pretty good. The chick from head office wasn’t there and the incompetent one doesn’t speak to us, so we pretty much had free rein. We started a new unit which has millions of nouns for vocab, so it’s really easy to teach. I’ve already finished my lesson plans for the rest of this week. And my replacement is currently in training - at another school - but will apparently be at our school sometime next week. I suppose that’s good, since next Thurs is my last day. First thing in the morning one of my students told me that he loves me. In English. That’s huge, because I haven’t taught them that. It was also really cute.
At lunch Sam and I watched the first hour of Order of the Phoenix, which he seemed to enjoy, in spite of never seeing any of the other movies. We’re going to finish it at lunch tomorrow. And after work, I played tennis with Emily. Not a lesson, just practice, but I needed it.
Tomorrow should be good as well. I’m determined to be optimistic, cuz I officially have 8 days of work left (not counting the weekend, cuz I don’t work then).

Wed. Mar 26th
So yesterday, my student who knows "I love you" in English upped the cute factor. He told me he loves me and when I said "I love you, too" he said, "I love you three." It was just too precious. How am I supposed to leave that behind?
I found out more about my replacement. He will definitely be at the school next Monday to observe me. On Wed he starts teaching for himself, with me there to help, if he needs it. I’m a little concerned, cuz he doesn’t want to teach kids. He was originally hire in the adult department and he's just here for the money. I’m afraid that he won’t play with my kids, or know how to handle them. And they need to be handled, otherwise they’ll chew him up and spit him out.
As of today I officially have 5 days of teaching and 7 days of work left. And then the party starts.
My day at work went really well. We went to the park in the afternoon. It is such a workout for me. When I wasn’t lifting children onto the jungle gym, I was chasing them (or being chased) around. And, yes, I did actually run. It was super fun, though.
After work, I read a new e-book. Since it was T’s birthday, we all went to Friday’s when they got off work, for dinner. It was a good time, but kinda late for me.
That’s nothing compared to tonight, though. We’re supposed to be going to Luxy, which is this really posh club. We’re going mid-week, because it’s ladies night, and I will get in for free. Free rocks.

Also, I've added a new album. These are the pics from my Taroko trip. Some are from Adrienne's camera, some from Emily's and some from mine. Mostly it's just shot after shot of spectacular scenery (and the three of us, of course). Enjoy.

Lots of New Pics

Okay guys. I've added a super long post and also a ton of new pics. There's a bunch of new stuff in the Random Stuff and Taipei Zoo albums. There are also completely new albums called Temples and Old Stuff and Kaoshung.

So Much Time and so Little to Do

Sat. Feb 9th
This week is Chinese New Year. It has been loud. But time off work is always nice. Even if the people around you keep changing plans and being all coupley. It would be even better if I could see the sun. Just once. Just one day without a constant drizzling rain is all I’m asking. I’m so sick of being cooped up. Even when we go out, we find a restaurant (or yesterday it was a mall) and stay cooped up there.
Work last week sucked. Every time I’m away, even for the weekend, I think "sure, I can last the next six months". But then I go back in there and I’m ready to walk out any minute. I really do love my kids though. And I like my co-teacher. I’m afraid that if I leave, the incompetent one will come down on her.
We get another little holiday on the 28th and since Scuba fell through for this week, I’m trying to see if I can go that weekend. At least I’ll get something out of this, right?
I met Katy around 3 and we went to the Fine Arts Museum. It was cool. There was this exhibit of the paintings and poetry of a German poet, called Gunter Glass. There were some super cool things. There were also some disturbing things. But each painting included the words of the poem that it represented, in German, of course. There were translations underneath.
There was also an exhibit of surrealist art. I really don’t like it. I much prefer the impressionistic stuff. But it wasn’t all true surrealism, so there was some stuff that wasn’t too bad.
Afterward, we went to 101 for dinner and some window shopping. Then home. We ran into Thaddaeus and Patrice on the MRT. It was kinda funny.

Wed Feb 13th
Today seemed so long. It was supposed to be a half day, but I’ve agreed to sub a bunch of classes, so I spent from 2-4 teaching and then from 4-6 prepping for the classes that I’ll teach on Fri. Nothing like coming back from vacation to work an extra 8 hours in 4 days.
Work hasn’t been too bad. It’s not any better, but it hasn’t gotten worse. And I thought I was losing one of my favourite students for this semester, but apparently not. He’s been there both days this week. I also got a new student, who’s still a little terrified of me, cuz I’m foreign. But my kids are so cute and they were so excited to see me after the break. How could I leave them?
I found out that I’m not going scuba diving. There are no classes the weekend that I want to go. I am going down to Kaoshung (pronounced Gao-shung) with Katy on Saturday. It’ll be my first time south of the Tropic of Cancer. It’s quite exciting. Of course, it’s also exciting that it’s warm down there. No month long rain in the south.

Sun Feb 17th
I have a sunburn!! I’ve never been so excited to be sunburnt in my life. Of course, when I got up to catch the train yesterday morning, the sun was shining in Taipei, too. But at least it was warmer in Kaoshung. I felt bad, though, because with the nice weather I would’ve had a tennis lesson, but I was expecting rain when I planned the trip. It worked out, though, cuz we’re going to have the lesson tonight.
To get to Kaoshung, we took the highspeed train, so at one point on the way there we were traveling at 290 km/hour. It was even better on the way home, because we got up to 299km. It was super neat and I didn’t even feel sick. The train station is actually in a suburb of Gaoshung right near a place called Lotus Lake.
We walked around the lake, which in itself was kinda disappointing, cuz it’s been drained for a big construction project. There are a bunch of temples all around the lake, though, so we went and looked at them all. It was really cool because they’re all different. The pics are pretty great. One of the temples had 2 towers that rose about 5 stories, so I went to the top of one and Katherine went to the top of the other and took my picture. It was fun, cuz we were yelling back and forth between the tops of the towers. And for lunch we ate in the café that was inside the Confusionist temple. I had crispy water caltrops (which actually means deep fried water chestnuts). They were pretty good.
After our temple tour we went into Kaoshung proper and the first thing we did was check out another temple. This one was called SenFeng (which means 3 Pheonix). It was pretty much your basic temple, but they still had all of their Chinese New Year decorations up, so it was kinda cool. If you had never seen another temple before, it would’ve been really impressive.
Then we went up to the Love River. We wandered up the river for a while. We decided not to take the boat tour because it was a little boat and the wind was strong and I didn’t want to chance getting sick. So we made our way back down the path, where we found a huge Lantern Festival display. We wandered by the river looking at all of the different lanterns. They were really awesome. There were all sorts of different ones, some were cartoon characters, one was a really cool dragon and one was the baseball player, Wang. And these things were huge. The one of Wang was actually lifesized.
We had dinner at a restaurant called Easy House (which is a chain and I love the one here in Banciao). When we came out, it was dark and the river was all lit up. The paths along both banks were strung with lights and there were lights in the trees. Even the bridge was lit up. I took a picture of it as we walked back to catch the bus. The rest of the day was just transport to get home.
Since it was only 10pm when we got back, we met Jason for a drink at 0204. The downstairs was crowded, but we got our regular table upstairs and it was nice. It was funny, though, cuz another group of foreigners came in and when they didn’t sit with us the waitress was really confused. She looked at me and said "not together?" I told her we weren’t and she was even more confused. I get it though. All the foreigners are supposed to know each other and hang out.
As for the rest of my week, I worked a lot. I subbed 8 hours worth of kids classes. It’ll be nice come payday, but I’m getting sick and could use some rest. The only night I didn’t sub, Katherine and I went into Taipei, to 101. There’s a new cheap video store. So I bought 3 movies for the equivalent of about $3. We grabbed dinner there as well and then came home. I’ve been so busy, though, that I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the movies. I’m only subbing 1 more class this week and then I should have time to relax and catch up on my videos.
My school has been pretty much the same old thing. Sam’s still away, but Corrie’s back from her Chinese New Year trip. Everything seems to be settling into a holding pattern and I’m not sure if that’s good or not. Nothing’s really terrible, but it’s not good either. I do love my kids, and I’ll stick things out as long as possible for their sakes. My new student is less afraid of me now, but he’s still not quite with the whole "school thing" yet. Oh well, it’s only been 4 days. He’ll come around.

Sat Feb 23
So this week.... I don’t even know where to start. Work is all bollocks. Everything’s crazy, nothing’s getting better, and a few things have gotten worse. I got another new student on Monday who is being coddled and catered to more than anything I’ve ever seen before. On Tuesday his mother was still at the school at 10:30 cuddling and placating him while he cried. Thursday he was allowed to sit at the desk and look at books and I don’t know what else. He didn’t even make it into the classroom until after nap time. And even then my assistant has been designated his personal caretaker. If he didn’t like something, she had to find something to placate him. And did I mention that he’s a giant? Literally, he’s bigger than most of the kids in Hippo class (which are the oldest in the school). I think he weighs as much as my CT. He’s also way more developed (mentally and socially) than any of the kids in my class (and I can assure you, this has not come from anything his mother is doing).
On top of all of this, Katherine’s going home in 2 weeks, so her replacement’s been around. And she didn’t even realize that the incompetent one was the director until a few days ago. I feel bad, cuz I don’t want to scare her away, but I want to be honest. And she keeps asking me all of these questions... so far, I’ve been telling her the nicest version of the truth that I can.
I’ve also been sick, which doesn’t help. Being sick makes work harder, and the stress of work is making me more sick. I can’t stand it. And it’s not just me. My CT and assistant are both sick as well. In spite of being sick, I have managed to do some more touristy things. With my departure date uncertain, I’m trying to do all of the things that I haven’t done yet.
Jumper was the movie of the week. We went to see it on Tues. It was pretty good, lots of explosions, but the story was a little thin. Hayden Christianson did a better job than anticipated, though.
On Wed, Katherine and I went up to the top of Taipei 101. It’s 400m tall, which is about 1000ft. It was really cool. Because of the rain, visibility sucked. But we could still see all of the little ant-like people. One observation deck is inside and made up of all windows, but the other one (one floor up) is outside. Of course there are these huge bars and a chest high concrete wall to stop anyone from getting any ideas.
We spent the afternoon having tea, while we waited for dark. It was the first night of the Lantern Festival at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. Some of the lanterns were spectacular. We spent way more time looking at them then at the ones in Kaoshung. They were also way more impressive. I took pics of the most impressive. Because it was the first nights, there was also a laser display and fireworks. But one thing I’ve learned about being here, they love any excuse for fireworks. And at least if there are lights, I don’t mind the noise.
The firecrackers around the apartment are still driving me crazy. I’ll be so glad when Feb is over and I can finally have a decent, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

Sun Feb 24th
E books are a dangerous invention. Here I am, all alone and not feeling well, with an entire day to kill. So what do I do? Fire up the internet and then buy and read 3 books. All without leaving the comfort of my bed. I keep justifying it by telling myself that the more books on my computer, the fewer I’ll have to carry with me when I travel. But this little habit could get expensive.

Sun Mar 2nd
I’m so glad it’s March. Feb was quite possibly the worst month ever at work and that carried through to everything else. But everything fresh and new for a new month. A new month also means one month closer to going home. 5 more months at the absolute most until I am home again. Which probably means it’ll be about 6 months from now when I’m ready to leave home again. (Not likely).
I haven’t really been up to much this week. I’ve worked my way through about 6 chick-lit novels that I bought (for cheap) online, plus 1 and a half Jane Austin novels. Thursday was a blessed, blessed holiday, so Katy and I went out on Wed night. We tried to go to the Monkey, but there was a private party, so we went to Friday’s instead. Same thing happened last night. Both times I consoled myself with the biggest ice creamiest mudslide imaginable. It was spectacular.
Friday night we went to see 27 Dresses. It was superb. I loved it. It’s the best romantic comedy that I’ve seen in ages, bar none. There’s even a scene where they sing Bennie and the Jets (and argue about the lyrics) and then dance on the bar while they’re singing. Superb!
I’ve also been little miss fitness this week. I finally located the stadium near my apartment, so I tried to go running. Of course, my body had other ideas and due to the pain in my joints, I just walked, but still - exercise. And I had tennis lessons last night and tonight. I’m so tired.

Thurs Mar 6th
Well, I’ve decided. I quit. I’m going to book a flight for Mar 31st and have my last day of work on Mar 28th. I just thought about the pros and cons and there’s nothing worth staying for. I love my kids, but the incompetent one is making it impossible for me to do my job.
Sam is back at school, so that makes things a little easier to deal with. I didn’t realize how much I missed his sense of humour until he came back. His friend from home is here, too. Another Mac grad. It’s so weird. They both came to Katherine’s going away dinner on Monday. Sandy was there, too. Which was fine, because the incompetent one wasn’t invited. She really has succeeded in completely uniting the staff. Of course, it’s because we all have a common enemy, but still.
That was the party that the Chinese teachers organised (just for the preschool staff). Saturday is the one with all of the upstairs foreigner staff. It should be fun. We’ll be at the Monkey, which is always a good time. And everyone is going to be there. They’ve even R.S.V.P’d, which for this group is amazing.
What else is going on....? Not much. Bought an Australian travel guide, which I’ve been reading. I’ve been gathering info about Thailand, too. I’m so mentally checked out of here already. Oh, I did buy a new pair of contacts. They were supposed to be brown, but they were really just hazel. They changed my eye colour a little. You had to look really, really closely to see though. And, the coloured part actually interfered with my vision. It was like having a cloud in front of my eyes. Totally not worth it. Luckily, they were cheap though.

Sun Mar 9th
Well I gave my notice at work. I feel a little bad. Emily and Stephanie are really upset that I’m leaving. I half expected it from Emily, but Stephanie caught me by surprise. Due to a stupid clause in my contract, though, I have to stay an extra week. So I’ll do it, but I’m gonna skip the Thailand part of my trip. I’m so sick of Asia, I just want to be somewhere where I can speak English and not have to worry about being understood.
Last night was Katy’s going away party at the Monkey. It was crazy. Everyone invited showed up and then some. It was a really good time. Then Sam and his roommates were going to a club called China White and Emily and her roommates, T, a couple of new guys, Michelle, Ty and I met them there. It was fun. They had 2 for 1 tequila shots every hour and Sam got me SO drunk. But the dancing was awesome, in spite of rotten music (I think the tequila helped). It was just a really great night, until the puking. And of course, because I drank tequila it was followed by the hangover to end all hangovers. I still feel like crap and it’s 10pm. But it was worth it.
Friday night I watched The Bucket List (so sad) and Cars (finally) with Sam and his friend Amir, from home, at my place. Then I met Emily to practice our tennis. And of course on the way to the court it started to rain. We tried to play for a little bit, but it was too wet and slippery. So then I came home and watched Titan A.E. with Jason. I love that movie.

Thurs Mar 13th
This week has been busy. Work is pretty much the same. They did talk to me and try to make me change my mind. And it worked... NOT. I am so outta here come April 7th. Sam’s teaching me how to play pool. Like more than ‘aim for the ball and shoot’. I’m actually getting pretty good. I’m even getting to the point where I can leave the cue ball where I want it after a shot.
I also spent a lot of time with Katy this week, cuz it was her last one. Her flight left today. We just did dinner and went for walks. Last night we went out to dinner with everyone else at Swenson’s. I also played counselor (as I do) and listened to all of her travel related neuroses. But in 12 hours she will be at home and travel worries will be a thing of the past. Also, before she left, Katherine gave us all the rest of her movies. There are literally over a hundred and most of them seem good. So, I’ll have plenty to occupy my last few weeks here and I’ll be able to save some money.
Also, on Sunday I’m going bunjy jumping (off of a bridge) with Sam and Emily and some of his friends from home. And it’s going to happen this time, because I was there when he made the reservation. We’ve even set a meeting time and place. I’m so excited. And after jumping we’re going to an amusement park in Taijong.

Fri. Mar 14th
I bought my ticket!!! And my first night’s accommodation in Brisbane. I’m getting super excited. I officially only have 3 weeks left of work, too. Packing’s going to be crazy and I still don’t know how I’m going to get my luggage home, but these are all problems I’m thrilled to be facing.
Emily is so cute. She seems to have taken it upon herself to show me all of Taiwan before I leave. We have a tennis lesson tomorrow. Then Sunday we’re going to Taijong (which is actually an all day thing, so it throws off the bunjy plan). It’s ok, though cuz Sam’s supposed to go too, so he’s trying to change the jump to Saturday. Next weekend we’re going to Hualien to see the city and Turoko gorge. It’s all very exciting.
Tonight I’m subbing for Jackie. This is my last kids class. I’m not subbing anything in the next 3 weeks. Unless there’s an emergency, but I don’t think there will be.
Tues Mar 18th
Well, thanks to a lovely little bout of the stomach flu, I didn’t get to go to the amusement park or bunjy jumping. I barely made it through my tennis lesson Saturday night. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that the rest of the evening wasn’t pleasant and that I was in no shape to meet Emily at 6:45am. I still felt like crap yesterday, but luckily I had already agreed to switch my half day, so I got to come home at 11:30.
I managed to do some packing on Saturday, before I got sick. So I’m making progress there. And I’ve watched about a million movies over the last couple of days (thank you Katy). Some were good, others not so much. I still love Sky Captain, and Hitchcock is always entertaining.
I feel much better this morning, although I’m still a little queasy. There’s also a supreme thunderstorm happening right now. I can hear the rain pounding and the lightning is so bright. Looks like there’ll be no park today, which is good for me. Moving around always unsettles my tummy. I feel bad for everyone who has to come a long way to work, though. It’s nasty out there.

Wed Mar. 19th
Yesterday was some high drama in the preschool and also Diana’s birthday. So even though I had felt better, by the end of the night I was right back at square one. First, I found out that the incompetent one has told my partner not to tell the parents that I’m leaving. I don’t know what she thinks this will accomplish, but she’s just going to end up with a lot of pissed off parents on her hands. Also, she had one of the new teachers from the adult department come down yesterday afternoon to "get a feeling for the preschool". She says she has no intention of making him a new full time teacher, but why else would she bring him. She can’t go poaching from other departments like that, either. That is just a good way to get bad blood all around. Soon it won’t just be her staff that’s fed up with her.
For Di’s birthday, we went to this bar called Bravo. It was ok, but we didn’t get there until nearly 10 and then it took forever for our drinks to arrive. I’m glad I only ordered a ginger ale. As it was, I didn’t even finish it. It was 11 by the time I got home and into bed.
Today everyone else had a half day, but I have to work the whole thing. It’s really weird being there when no other foreigners are. Also, head office is trying to screw me out of rent money. I’m really annoyed. And I’m stupid, because I didn’t save my rent receipts. So at 4, I have to go upstairs to deal with our accountant and head office’s accountant to see if I can straighten everything out.
I plan to spend this evening sitting on my behind watching movies. And possibly sleeping. I can’t believe I still have 2 more entire days this week.

Thurs Mar 20th
So, last night Di and I watched "Gone With the Wind". It is so freakin’ long. I can’t believe I sat through four hours for "After all, tomorrow is another day." Before that, we watched Sniper 3. And yes, it was as good as it sounds. Meaning, not very.
Today, work started ok. We had a meeting this afternoon and things are not getting better. They do seem to be making some effort, though. They brought in this guy who is the trainer at another school to go through the new unit with us. He seemed nice enough, but it’s a little ridiculous to bring someone in for only 2 hours.
I’m trying to get the rest of my stuff in order before I go. I went to the tax office today and I got my paperwork for my last pay. I just need to finish getting my rent sorted out and then all of my finances are complete. I’m really excited.

January - the month of movies

Sun Jan 6th
Went to Yingge and Sansia with Emily today. We walked down the historical street and looked in a million different shops. I managed to buy only a pair of shoes (for the equivalent of $8 and they’re really comfy) and a mug for myself. We also went to Ju Shi Miao temple. It was amazing. I took a billion pics.
Last night was Jackie’s birthday party. We started the evening at a ridiculously expensive restaurant. The food was fabulous, but the Entrees started at about $25 each. After the restaurant, we went to a bar called People’s for drinks. It was a really interesting place. The atmosphere was cool and they made the coolest drinks. Stuff I’d never heard of, but they all looked amazing. The prices were about average, but thanks to the cost of dinner I didn’t have much left to spend so I left after one. It was a huge drink and took me about an hour to drink (and I still didn’t finish it) but I still left after 1.

Thurs Jan 10th
So... It’s been a while. I have been an absolute harpy at school this week. And it doesn’t seem to matter how much I yell and scream, my kids still love me. It’s weird. None of them even stay upset that long. And even when I’m the one that upset them, they still come to me for comfort. I don’t get it.
Monday night I subbed for Jackie. I felt like hell, but the extra money will be nice once pay day comes. Her classes were both good. No trouble at all. And she left me the most detailed lesson plans I’ve seen. It was a pleasure to sub for her.
Tuesday night, K and I went for dinner at Global Mall. After food, we went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was SO cute. I mean it was super cheezy but I defy you to look at those cute little chipmunk faces and not go "aawwwwwww". Also there was singing, so I was happy.
Yesterday was Jackie’s actual birthday, so we spent some time with her. In the afternoon, before Jackie finished work, I went to the doctor to get my wrist checked out. It was still swollen, bruised and sore after my fall down the stairs 2 weeks ago. So we did the x-ray thing and there’s nothing wrong with the bones. I’ve now been diagnosed with tendonitis by doctors on 2 different continents. This one was my left wrist, though. So he gave me some topical pain reliever (aka A5-35) and that’s that.
Once K and I met up with Jackie, we wandered through Taipei. Then we took her to Kafee Amadeus for the best hot chocolate ever. Of course, since the café is right next to the bookstore we all decided to do a little browsing. And I might have done a little buying. I figured since there are books in my Christmas package, the best way to ensure that it comes is to buy more books. However, my plan was flawed and nothing came. But the book I bought was really good. I just finished it.
I was supposed to have my first tennis lesson tonight. Emily signed us up. But it ended up being this huge comedy of errors. First we got lost on the way there. Then we found the place, but the coach wasn’t there. So Em calls the coach and he’s at a different court. So he tries to give us directions. After we drive around a little more (seeing none of the landmarks that he told us to look for), Em calls him back. She gets shuffled around to about 4 different people, before she realizes that they think we’re in Gaoshung, not Taipei. The reason we didn’t discover this sooner is that every town in Taipei has a Chang Kai Chek boulevard, or road, or street. It’s kinda like "Queen Street" at home. So after all of this hulabaloo, there wasn’t even a coach in the area available for our lesson. We thought about just practicing on our own, but after an hour of driving around in circles, neither of us felt much like playing.
Now I’m just waiting for Stardust to finish streaming so I can watch it before bed.

Sat Jan 12th
It's about 3am and I am awake. I took an antihistimine for my allergies and decided to have a nap at about 7. I woke up from my 8 hour 'nap' about 20 minutes ago. I tried to watch Stardust, but it was a really bad copy so I gave up about 15 minutes in. Now I’m trying to watch Hot Fuzz. I’m hoping to grab a little nap before "morning" so I don’t throw my schedule completely out of whack.
I watched a few eps of Buffy and then just drifted in and out of sleep until Mom called. I don’t know if it was the antihistamines or just my messed up head, but I had some seriously weird dreams.
I spent most of my day doing laundry and watching Buffy. This evening I met Katy and Adrienne for dinner and a movie. We saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It was stunning. The whole piece was beautiful and the acting was fabulous. It is totally my pick for at least 5 Oscar nominations. Also, I may be in love with Casey Affleck (even if his character did have a weird man crush on Brad Pitt).

Thurs Jan 17th
This has been one crazy week.
Sunday Katherine, Keiko and I were going to go on the Gondola up the mountain. But it was so busy that we couldn’t even see the end of the line up, so we decided to go to the zoo instead. It was drizzley and gross weather-wise, but that meant that weren’t too many people there. It was actually a really fun day. Then I was supposed to have a tennis lesson, but we had to cancel because of the rain.
Monday was your basic day at school. We had Casa Della Pasta for lunch and the kids were fine. Monday night I watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which was surprisingly good.
Tuesday morning we didn’t work. There’s this huge drama with the H classes. The afternoon was fine. My kids were glad to see me. In the evening I watched a Bond movie with Sam and then exposed him to Leeches (the movie, not the animal). After Sam left, I watched a movie called Juno. It was really good.
Yesterday was my half day. I talked to Mom in the morning about this whole Canada Post disaster. Hopefully they’re doing something. Classes were the same old, same old. In the afternoon, K and I went to the gondola. It was another grey day, so there was very little line. It made me SO sick. Stupid motion sickness. I didn’t even see anything, cuz every time I looked down I got sick. So I saw a lot of tree tops, which was fine, but after 20 minutes, it gets a little old. At the top, though, we found this really cute little tea shop where we spent the entire afternoon.
We met Jackie once we left the mountain. The three of us went for dinner at the Rice Café. I love that place. I always order the same thing, but it’s delicious. Came home and did the e-mail/ facebook thing, then went to bed.
This morning, the apartment phone woke me up at 7:30, but it was the post office (I think). I understood just enough Chinese to know that he was checking the address, so I think at least 1 of my packages has arrived. I’m so excited. Now I’m off to work.

Sat. Jan 19th
Everything arrived!!! My Christmas presents were at the school by the time I got there. Then the other 2 care packages came after lunch. Everything is fantastic. I was in such a good mood that day. I have been stuffing myself with candy and cookies. I took a lot of mom’s candies to school to share and everyone loved them. That night I watched John Tucker Must Die (thanks Jamie) with Diana. It’s such a fun movie.
Yesterday, my good mood was tested greatly by the little hellions that I teach. It’s a good thing they’re so cute, or I would probably be doing time for homicide. For the last class of the day, though, I decided to let them make constructive noise. I brought a bunch of percussion instruments down to my class. They loved it. After work I went for dinner and then drinks with Katherine and Sam. I thought Jackie was going to meet me at the Brass Monkey when she finished work, but she bailed cuz she had to work today. So when Katherine went home after a couple drinks, Sam and I watched a movie at his place with his roommates.
Today I finished the first of the books that Daddy sent me for Christmas. It was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. I read almost 6 hundred pages in 48 hours. I’m just going to spend a leisurely day, possibly do some laundry, before a tennis lesson tonight. Then I might be going out with Jackie and some others. We’ll see.

Tues Jan 22
So Saturday night, we did make it to the bar. Once there we watched The Chelsea game on the big screen. They managed to beat Birmingham 1-0, in spite of me cheering for the wrong team for 20 minutes. But really, Chelsea’s supposed to wear blue and white. How was I supposed to know that Birmingham would be in those colours and Chelsea would be wearing gross neon yellow uniforms? But regardless, the Brass Monkey has some super mixed drinks. I had one that tasted like a strawberry milkshake (but was slightly more potent).
Sunday, we were supposed to go to a movie, but I started reading another of my new books and couldn’t put it down. I finally did get a text from Jackie, but they were going to the movie at 10, which is too late for me anyway. So I just read until I had to force myself to stop (I think I may have a problem). I finally finished the book after work yesterday (over 600 pages in a little over 24 hours). But first I watched a movie with Corrie. Jet Li and Jason Statham make an interesting team. Even though the movie was crap, those two were enjoyable to watch.
I also found out yesterday that my boss is quitting. Probably within the next couple of days. I have a feeling it’s gonna suck. The person they’re looking at as her replacement is someone at school already, but she’s useless. Literally useless. I’m pretty sure you can’t run the business end of a school when the most common phrases you use are "really?" "Um...." and "hm." For real. In English and Chinese. If this happens, we are so boned.

Wed. Jan 23
Apparently yesterday was my boss’ last day. And it does look like her replacement will be "the incompetent one". It’s so ridiculous. The entire situation is stupid.
Today’s the half day. The kids were all good during morning classes. For this afternoon, I had wanted to go skating, but no one else who is free wanted to go. I may be spending some time later with Jackie and/or Katy, though, so that’s ok.

Fri Jan 25th
K and Jackie were both into dinner on Wed. So we went to NY Bagel. It was decent. We spent a really long time just sitting around, making conversation. Then we went to this amazing ice cream place call Cold Stone Creamery. It was super good. You can pick your ice cream flavour and the stuff you want inside and then they mix it all together. We sat and chatted there for quite a while too.
Work is ridiculous right now. The preschool is currently being run by the incompetent one. But she never makes a decision on her own. With all the drama, we’ve had the director for all preschools at the school and she keeps deferring to her. For everything. We are all SO fed up. The kids are fantastic. All of this upheaval is affecting them too, but they don’t really understand what’s going on, so they’ve been more lovey than ever.
Last night I went to dinner and a movie with K and Adrienne. We saw August Rush. It was aurally spectacular, though the story was a bit thin on the ground. Well worth watching, for the music and, surprisingly, all of the performances. Robin Williams and Freddy Highmore are amazing and the others hold their own.
Tonight, Sam needed to drink after dealing with the incompetent one about vacation time that he had already had approved. He and I went with Katherine to dinner. We went to the Brass Monkey. Good food, good drinks and good fun was had by all. After dinner we went to see Sweeney Todd. It was far more graphic than I was expecting and the story was... not as idealistic as I like. But it was visually stunning (of course, it’s Tim Burton) and the music was phenomenal (of course, it’s Stephen Soundheim). Johnny Depp was so fantastic; he just keeps outdoing himself. And apparently, I’m a film critic now.

Tues. Jan 29th
I am the most boring person on the planet. Saturday I read a book. Literally, that’s all I did. It took me about 11 hours to read 700 pages and I forgot to eat, but it was worth it. Luckily, my tennis lesson was cancelled due to rain, so I didn’t have any interruptions.
Sunday I took K and Jackie and Ty to the cake buffet. Seriously, all you can drink tea and all you can eat cake! We had a good time. From there we went to the fine art museum. We didn’t get there until 5 and the museum closes at 5:30, but we got in for free and we got to see the special exhibit on Japanese models. Like, small (or not so small), build it and paint it yourself models. There were some Sailor Moon ones, as well as Dragonball Z and about 20 different Godzillas. It was pretty cool. It was perfect for me too, because half an hour’s about all I can take of stuff like that.
Work is still.... in upheaval. One of the mothers said that if the incompetent one is still the director by March, she’s pulling her kid out of the school. So of course this caused another big bru-ha-ha. Meanwhile, we’re all still just doing our jobs and refusing to go on field trips.
In my free time, I’ve been watching millions of movies. Most of them are crap and I’m glad I didn’t bother to even rent them. But, the Death and Life of Bobby Z was pretty good. I also watched 2 horror movies yesterday and the protagonists in each died at the end. It was not a good day for happy endings. Today I’ve watched The Invasion with Nicole Kidman. It was decent.
Chinese New Year is next week and we all get time off together. It’ll be nice just to be away from all of the drama. I’m also trying to arrange a trip to go Scuba Diving for a couple of days, so I can get my certification. I’m really excited. I hope I can make it work.

Thurs Jan 31
Today has been odd. School was fine. The incompetent one is still swanning about like she owns the place, but we found out that she hasn’t officially gotten the position yet. So there’s still hope. Other than that, the kids were insane. It’s been raining for about 3 weeks straight, so they’re a little stir crazy. I even let them run around (during PE) for half an hour and after, they were still rambunctious enough to make me want to kill them. It wasn’t just my kids, either. They were all like that.
At lunch, I came home for a break and to start my laundry. After I started the first load, I made some tea and I spilled tea on my laptop. I mopped it up as best as I could, but my space bar is still sticking. Stupid, delicious tea.
After work, I finally got fed up with the draft coming in around my AC, so I decided to tape up the gaps. Of course, it was so dusty that the tape wouldn’t stick, so I had to clean it. And once I started cleaning, I just kept right on going. My room hasn’t been this clean, or organized in ages.
I made dinner here and watched Stardust while I ate. It was better than I remember the book being. That’s right, I said it. I like the movie more than the book. It was splendid.
I always finish my laundry at the laundromat (jeans don’t air dry well in cool, damp weather), so that’s where I went after the movie. When I got home from drying my clothes, the
power was out. At first I just thought the elevator was broken, so I had to cart my laundry up the stairs. But then I got into the apartment and the lights wouldn’t come on. I’m so glad that I use the alarm on my cell phone (which I just charged last night). Also, I could not have picked a better time to go on a cleaning binge. I wasn’t even worried about tripping over stuff when I walked into my room.
And now, with the battery on this infernal (and well loved) machine dying, I’m going to do the only thing one can when faced with complete darkness and nothing to do. I’m going to bed. Alone. But at least I have my cow to cuddle.

Fri. Feb 1st
So of course our power came back on just as I was drifting off to sleep last night. And I had forgotten to switch my light switch back to off, which means that I ended up with the overhead light glaring right in my eyes. It was fine, though. I shut it off and got a good night's sleep.
We found out today that the incompetent one is officially the director and manager of the school. But we'll see how long it lasts because none of the teaching staff (foreign or Chinese) is happy. They also tried to make us sign an addendum to our contracts today, giving them the rights to fine us for leaving early (more so than it already says in our original contracts). I haven't decided yet if I'm going to sign. I think probably not.
So tonight ended up being another Brass Monkey Night. K, Sam and I all needed to unwind. We had a great time. Afterwards, K and I walked up to 101 and then caught the MRT home.

Christmas and Then Some

Fri Dec 21
Tonight was the school’s Christmas party/show. My kids did so well. I’m so proud of them. It’s the first time they’ve been up in front of parents and they were so cute. They sang Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I got Corrie to take video of it on my camera, so it’s preserved for posterity. They also sat so quietly while the other classes preformed. There was no misbehaving at all. I was seriously impressed.
Otherwise, my entire world has involved gearing up for Christmas. In school we’ve been making decorations and cards and all sorts of Christmas-y stuff. Outside of school, I’ve been shopping a lot. I decided to buy my roommates presents. I also found a store nearby that carries yarn, so one of my roommate presents is actually a scarf. I know it seems ridiculous given that the temperature last night was 20 degrees Celsius, but Diana’s always cold, so it’ll work for her.
The warm weather is so weird. I wore open toed shoes and a skirt (with no stockings) today, quite comfortably. I miss snow. And stupid Sam actually gets to go home for Christmas. He flies out tomorrow, but he’s been rubbing it in all week.

Sat. Dec 22
Michelle had a small gathering tonight. It was sort of a Christmas/going away party. She's heading home to South Africa for the holidays. It was a lot of fun. I got some cut pics of everyone. We all had a little bit to drink, and ended the evening by watching the Lion King. T and I turned it into a sing-a-long. He actually knows all the words. It was great.

Tues Dec. 25th
Christmas Day was even less Christmas-y than I had expected. It was a great day, tons of fun, but not exactly brimming with traditional Christmas things. The most traditional thing happened this morning, with my roomies opening their presents and the mad rush to get ready for brunch. The mad rush was due to the fact that T and I went out last night after Mass and both wanted to sleep in.
Mass was actually pretty boring. And I don’t know if it’s just that I’m not Catholic, or something about the Church here, but I just didn’t feel the spirit (or whatever it is that you’re supposed to feel). It was interesting from the point of view of something I’ve never seen before, but I was a little disappointed. I wonder if a Mass at home would feel the same way. After Mass, we were going to go to a club, but by the time we got there, neither T or I wanted to go, so we saw I am Legend instead. It was superb.
Brunch this morning was fabulous. The food was amazing. There was even salad, with real lettuce (which is practically non-existent here). And I’m not even going to start with the desserts. The whole thing was over 10 hours ago, and I’m still full. We were a little disappointed, though, because as good as the food was, there was nothing really traditionally Christmas-y there. No turkey, or stuffing, or potatoes. Nothing. But pretty much everyone was there, except Katy, and she joined us later at The Shannon.
I think everyone should include an Irish pub in their Christmas day activities. We had so much fun. We spent about 5 hours there and no one had more than 3 drinks. Of course, we started with a round of shots, to toast Christmas. But then it was just like any other time in a pub. We talked and laughed, and napped. (The benches were really comfy and there were a lot of extra cushions.) They even had a traditional Christmas dinner. But it was expensive, and we were all too full for another big meal so we eventually went to a different restaurant where the others could get a bite to eat.
The group had been gradually decreasing in size throughout the day. The few of us left decided to head home after dinner. We were going to watch a movie at Michelle’s, but after talking to my family for a while, I decided to bail. I figured I’ll need a good night sleep, because I work the rest of this week and T and I are going clubbing tomorrow night.
It was great to get a chance to speak to everyone. As homesick as I am, and missing the family, I’m trying to make myself feel "the spirit of the season". So I’m listening to Bing, which is close to making me cry. I forgot that "I’ll be Home for Christmas" was on this disc. I was having a hard enough time with "White Christmas". I miss everything about Christmas at home, but I’m doing my best to enjoy the experience here.

Sun. Dec. 30th
Christmas is officially over, with the exception of me actually getting any presents. None of my packages have arrived. We finished the Christmas unit at school on Friday. On to the next. Right now, we’re trying to figure out what to do for New Year’s. The rest of the group wants to go watch the fireworks of 101, but I think we should go to a party or something. Oh well, I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Yesterday I went to the National Palace Museum with Emily. It was amazing. The building itself was massive and beautiful. We didn’t even see the regular exhibit that they always have. We went to the special exhibit with Baroque art. Some of the paintings were kinda boring, but some of them were fantastic. I couldn’t take pictures inside the exhibit, but I took a bunch around the grounds and stuff. That was the other thing. The museum has the most spectacular garden.
Emily also introduced me to a couple of traditional Taiwanese foods that I had never tried and taught me some more Chinese phrases. The food was this weird pancake/egg thing that was really good. She taught me the name of it, but I can’t remember.
I’m healing up well from my fall down the stairs on Wed. I’m still covered in bruises, but they hurt less. And the swelling in my wrist is almost gone.

Wed. Jan 2 ‘08
Well, I survived New Years. Didn’t get to see all of the best fireworks, but I did convince the group not to stand around in a park. Also, it didn’t rain. It was a good night, and far more like at home than Christmas was, although we never did have a countdown.
We went to a place called Forkers for dinner. It’s yummy gourmet burgers (or chicken breast for those of us who don’t eat red meat.). The desserts were good and the artichoke and spinach dip is to die for. I even had a cherry beer, which was pretty good for the first half, then the beer-y aftertaste started catching up and it was not so good after that.
From dinner we went and stood on one of the main streets to see the fireworks from 101. I got a couple of pics. Then in the other direction, the Living Mall also had fireworks. I got video of those. We had gotten split up on our way to the fireworks, so we had to wait until our cells had service again before we could meet up and move onto the next stage. The next stage involved a Japanese bar where we all did 1 shot of Tequila before going on our way.
After the Japanese bar, half the group decided to go home, and the rest of us went in search of a different bar that wasn’t too packed. Because there were 9 billion people trying to get home from the fireworks, we decided not to wait for the MRT, but to walk to a different area. Luckily, 7/11 is open 24 hours (selling alcohol) and there are no laws against drinking in public here, so the party continued while we traveled. We eventually ended in Ximen-ding and had one last drink before heading home.
The next day, we were going to do dinner as a group (knowing that no one would be up in time for lunch) but then laziness struck. Instead of going out to dinner, Di, T and I decided to just stay home in our pj’s, order a pizza and watch movies. It was such a great day. We goofed around and it was just one of those days where it felt like I was back in school and cutting class (which I never did).
Today was back to school. I got a new student on Monday. He seems like a good kid, but he doesn’t know all the routines yet, so he’s a little disruptive. I keep reminding myself that it’s not his fault, but it’s really hard not to release the inner harpy. Since it was our half day, Katherine and I went to a tea house in Shilin. The best thing about this tea house is that from 2-5pm, you pay a set price (of about $8) and get all you eat and drink of cakes and tea. And the cakes are fantastic. It’s my new favourite place.
I’ve received 1/4 of my Christmas packages. I’m hoping that the others will arrive over the next couple of days. I love the bookmarks that Lucas made. They’re so cute. I seriously almost cried when I opened the card. Yes, I am that much of a loser.

Fri Jan 4th
I should be done for the weekend, but I’m subbing for Michelle tonight. Her class is pretty good. I subbed last week too, so now they know me, at least. I’ve also agreed to sub for Jackie on Monday, so yay money.
Today was such a long day. Art days are always a ridiculous amount of work for me. I either have to do a ton of prep beforehand, or I have to watch the kids like a hawk and hear "Teacher Val! Help me please!" 9 million times. Plus my boss has been on my case lately. And it’s not even anything I’ve done. It’s just that Sam (her favourite whipping boy) has been away, and apparently I get to be the scapegoat in his stead. Thank God he’s back on Monday.
Yesterday was pretty much same old, same old. Watched a movie. Learned the Chinese word for peanut butter. Dropped my laptop on the floor. It was ok though, no damage. All and all it was an ok day. One of my girls saw me snap my fingers, so she’s been trying to do it all week. She finally made a sound yesterday. She was so excited. But she wants it to be loud like mine, so she’s still practicing.
No packages again today. I’m holding out a lot of hope for Monday. I just hope that the last 3 don’t all come at once. That would suck to have to carry home and T’s not even subbing anymore to be able to help.
Went out for drinks after work with T, Jason, and Richard. 0204 makes a spectacular tequila sunrise. So much grenadine.... mmmm.... We only had a couple of drinks, and now I’m at home, about to watch National Treasure 2.
I’ve tried to post the videos of the Christmas show with this entry. I don't think it's worked. At least, nothing said it worked... but then again, nothing said it didn't. So, if they're here; Yay! If not... *shrug* I guess I'll try again later.