Always an Adventure...

The rumors are true. I'm heading back to Canada this Saturday for a visit! Definitely looking forward to seeing friends and family, and meeting some new family members, most notably my little cousins and my sister's fiance. I'll be in BC and Alberta for the next two weeks. No SK this time unfortunately, but maybe next year!

Wandering around downtown last week, I came across a little import store. They're always fun to look around, and sometimes contain treasures... like the salsa for NT$50 that I found once. Most of the stuff in this store came from Indonesia, and there were a lot of instant noodles and curry powders. There were also some amazing mango candies that I'll bring home to share next week. Now, I know Islam is one of Indonesia's major religions, but I was a little surprised when I noticed a book on one of the shelves. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the Qur'an, written in Bahasa Indonesia, and ironically placed just above the beer. I managed to snap this quick picture with my cell phone, just to prove that I really did see it!

YILAN CITY - English conversation class became more memorable than ever when a section of roof paneling collapsed onto students at approximately 9:30am this morning. In the middle of a reading activity, there was a loud crack as a 4X4 chunk of wood fell from the ceiling onto unsuspecting 10th graders, damaging a computer screen in the process. The teacher removed the broken pieces of wood from on top of students and desks as the rest of the class looked on in shocked silence. Only one minor injury was reported, and Candice Huang, 15, was sent to the nurse's office to get ice for the bump on her head. Upon further inspection a second loose panel was spotted and all classes have been transferred to The Room Next Door until further notice. In a further development, the teacher now knows how the say "The ceiling just fell down" in Chinese.

I was taking the bus in Taipei city last night, just minding my own business. I had earphones in, and finally got a seat about halfway through the trip. There was a teenage girl sitting next to me, and after about 10 minutes she tapped me on the shoulder and showed me her cell phone. On it, there was a message that said something like: "Hi, what is your name? Can I make a friend with you?" I was a little confused at first, so I just looked her. I wasn't sure if this was a message she received and didn't know what it meant, or why she was showing it to me. Finally I asked if she had typed it. She nodded. I tried to chat with her a bit but she didn't really speak English, so I spoke with her in Chinese. I invited her to bible study, gave her a card, and fortunately, it was almost our stop. After I got off, she followed me a little ways, and I said "bye-bye" in a very friendly voice, phone in hand as I was meeting someone and needed to call them. Then she a...