Always an Adventure...

Inevitable comparisons arise for me, between these two lands that are often confused by others (on the bright side, I can now answer the question "how's Thailand?"). But what is Thailand like compared to Taiwan? As they like to say here, is it same-same? Or is it different? Money - the exchange rate is almost 1:1 here making it really nice for me. BUT in general, things are a little cheaper here than in Taiwan. For example, a plate of noodles is 25 or 30 (a dollar) where it might be 50 or 60 in Taiwan. Stuff in the markets is pretty cheap too, like silk scarves 2 for 100 (about 3 dollars). Taking orders now... Food - I love Thai food! I've had pad thai 4 times in 6 days. Their food is often spicy, but with a little sweet and sour mixed in. One of the tastiest things here is the mango sticky rice, which has coconut milk poured over it. BUT I do have to say that Taiwan mangoes are better. Transportation - People drive on the "wrong" (left) side of the road he...

Here I am in Chiang Mai, which is in northern Thailand. Before coming here, everyone said to me, "Oh, you'll LOVE Chiang Mai!" and it's a nice place, full of delicious food, friendly people, and places such as "Golden Finger Massage" and "Washy Mashy Laundry" It's quite touristy here, and very international, but it's always nice to see greater diversity. It's also been fun to see my cohort again (by the way, I love that word) after a semester in our respective countries. We are all enjoying a break from winter, though those from more northern countries even more so. I've been finding some time for fun among my studies, and managed to get a pedicure and two massages so far (all good textbook reading activities). I'm thinking of taking a Thai cooking class on my last weekend here. There are inevitable comparisons between here and Taiwan, one big one is that shops close MUCH earlier here. Taiwan is really the country that never sle...

What a year it was...it kind of seems like a blur now. Jan: It all started with getting accepted into an MA program and scrambling to register for the first course (which I managed to do, only a few weeks late). Feb: Jeanine visited me from Korea during Chinese New Year! March: Watching the final Olympic hockey game at an insane hour of the day April: brought a delegation to Yilan for my birthday May: did a 3km swim in the ocean. 10 years since high school graduation. June: yea I have no idea what I did in June, must have been stunned by the aftermath of the final season of LOST, but I do remember saying goodbye to Hope after a fun year of her being in Taipei. July: first Canada Day in Canada in 6 years, began my master's classes in LA, discovered Target...July was an exciting month! August: Kenting trip and said goodbye to a wonderful roommate, Ashley Sept: Started the crazy schedule of work and school, plus found out I'd be teaching in Hualian this semester too Oct: big typho...

Here I am at Starbucks again, which probably sounds wonderful to you, but I have to tell you, I've been logging a LOT of hours at local Starbucks and other coffee shops this semester. I just handed in my last assignment for one of my two courses, and boy does it feel good. I still have 3 assignments for the other class, which are due at the end of the month. So yes, my blog posts have been few and far between, but I am getting pretty good grades ;) I have a 2010 reflection post in the works, but for now, a little on teaching with passion (from a book discussion in one of my classes) I love the term “dynamism” on page 136. I agree that a passion for teaching is important. The writers note that this means not only an enthusiasm for their subject, but also a love of teaching itself. It’s true that “If you are not excited about teaching, then why should students be excited about learning?” (136) I find if I’m getting bored while teaching, then my students must be bored, and if they’re ...

I decorated my Christmas tree tonight ! Click the link to see pictures. I like getting into the Christmas season with friends and students. Most people here don't put up their own tree, though that is changing, and there are Christmas decorations all around the city now. And Starbucks has my favorite drink back: the toffee nut latte! It's still been quite warm out until today, when it finally dropped to 10 degrees. Now it really feels like winter! My updates have been quite scarce I know, but I did write in my Chinese blog last month. I've also been to two weddings this month, which was interesting. One was a Christian/international wedding and the other was a very traditional Taiwanese wedding. Weddings banquets are an extended affair with a 10 or more course meal. Sometimes there are interesting/exotic things like sea cucumber, intestines and the like. There's usually a lot of meat and seafood. And at the international wedding I went to, foreign guests were even se...

I don’t even remember what day it started raining. I do know that it came down steadily, impossibly. Every time I looked outside, it was still pounding the same rhythm. The news reports came in, Typhoon Megi was devastating the Philippines , but would probably miss us and head on to China . We’d just get more rain. And more rain. And more rain. I kept looking for a break in the downpour, but it never came. Usually I leave Yilan for the (sometimes) dryer streets of Taipei on Wednesday nights, but not this week. This week I was scheduled to teach in Hualian on Friday. That meant working from home on Thursday. I ran out for groceries in the morning, bypassing the underpass near my back entrance, as it was starting to fill with water. My friends had offered to pick me up in their car at 12:30, still pouring. I noticed a car stuck in the underpass, lights flashing. Too much water. We heard rumors of a typhoon holiday and school cancellations, but weren’t sure. At three when they were dri...

Ok, so it's officially been 2 months since my last post. I don't know if I still have any readers, but I know it's time for me to make a new post! I've been working hard on my schooling, which means a lot of hours in Starbucks (not so bad, right?), but also means I've been even busier than usual. I'm enjoying the coursework so far though. I'm already looking forward to going to Thailand in January. In fact, part of me wouldn't mind skipping the rest of this year and moving straight into 2011. Here are some exciting things happening: 2 visitors (possibly a classmate in January, and my grandma in March) A trip to Thailand (thank you APU for scheduling the classes right before Chinese New Year, so I can stay there for some vacation time too!) 2 new babies in my family! (My aunt Carol in February, and my sister in April!!) Here are a few things I've been doing besides schoolwork: Teaching a Saturday kids camp, fun but exhausting... but the kids were sooo...