October Updates!

It's been a while since my last entry. Last weekend the ETAs were invited to Taipei by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in a grand celebration for "Double 10" (10/10), Taiwan's National Day. We arrived late on Friday afternoon and the girls gathered in one hotel room to do hair and makeup. We met with the other Fulbright grantees in our hotel, and headed over to the Guest House for the reception. It was by far the fanciest party I have ever been to. Important people from all over the world were dressed in their finest, and some of the best chefs in Taiwan were preparing local specialities. Guests enjoyed treats like Din Tai Fung soup dumplings (小龙包), Haagen Dazs ice cream with topping of their choice, scallion pancakes, mini cakes, mango smoothies, and foods from Taiwan's ethnic minorities. Local artists were invited to perform their special talents--weaving, paper cutting, straw weaving, calligraphy, etc. President Ma was there, making his way around the room and shaking hands with guests. It was fun to dress up and attend such an important event in Taiwanese culture, although it was a little intimidating to be in a room with so many distinguished people.

On Saturday I took the MRT over to Taipei 101 to see it for the first time. The weather was cloudy and the attendant advised me that it wasn't worth the wait or the money to go to the top that day, but I had fun walking around and window shopping. I also learned the valuable lesson of not trying on any shoes unless I know for sure I want to buy them. I tried on a great pair of mid-calf black suede boots with a wedge heel at Nine West, but I just couldn't spend that much on shoes after springing for the discounted spa package this month (also, Shana has informed me that Nine West and a few other American shoe brands are more expensive here compared to the U.S.). As soon as I told the woman I would be interested in ordering them from the store at a later date, her face fell and she looked like she wanted to stab me. I thanked her over and over and then after I finally left the store, made all efforts necessary for avoiding walking past it again. Although, when I actually thought about it, I said I was just looking, she was the one who insisted I try a pair on!

I did come across a very friendly saleswoman in a store that we also have in Kaohsiung, and very close to our apartment too. I didn't bring a winter jacket with me because I won't really need one, but I decided a light-weight jacket would be good to have. I tried on a few different black ones, all cute, but the cut not quite working right. The saleswoman remembered there was one other I had not tried yet, and when I slipped it on, I immediately loved it. Mid-trench length, A-line, European style with double breast buttons, I just love it! There was also a sale on, so I chose an emerald green scarf that was basically included for free and still the price was lower than the original. They also gave a choice of an LED lamp that changes colors and comes in four different animals. Of course, I chose the cute little frog one!

That night I met with Vicky and two of her local friends to go for dinner at a rice soup (粥) restaurant. We were able to choose dishes of our choice to go with an unlimited supply of the soup with chunks of sweet potato. It was delicious and much needed after a long day of walking around. I caught one of the last trains back to Kaohsiung after the meal, and spent that night and Sunday relaxing.

The school week was busy, but a great deal of fun! On Monday I met with a sixth-grade student in one of my classes who is very eager and willing to learn English, but struggles with letters and phonics. Monday was our first meeting together, and we practiced writing the alphabet and saying the sounds of each letter. He asked me if he should come to meet me on Friday as well, which was pretty amazing since he is giving up his naptime to put in extra practice with me. On Friday we went over some letter combinations and I taught time how to sound out words. He's making good progress and he's trying so hard! He's a very smart boy, and he is also willing to talk freely to me, something many students are too shy to do.

On Tuesday I started learning the Chinese traditional flute with Yang, a homeroom teacher at Wen Fu. He is a well-known professional flutist, having played in many orchestras before he decided he wanted to be a teacher. This past week we worked on a traditional Chinese song, which he also taught me how to sing. He gave me my own flute to practice at home in between each lesson. He told me he'd treat me to soup dumplings for dinner, but when we got closer to the restaurant he asked if I would prefer sushi instead. I told him either was just fine, and insisted he pick since I had never been to either restaurant. He said we'd have soup dumplings first and then sushi, so I just assumed he meant next time we'd have sushi. Not the case. He ordered two hot and sour soups and a pan of soup dumplings, saying we couldn't eat too much because we had to leave room for sushi! I was full after the soup and the dumplings, but still we walked down the street to the sushi restaurant and ordered eel, salmon, scallop, and squid sashimi. He had ordered some sort of scallion pancake with meat wrapped inside for me to take home for a midnight snack, but I could fit nothing more in my stomach, and gave it to Shana instead. She was quite happy :)

This week in class we finished "The Owl and the Pussycat," and I played new games with the students. Some of the classes were a challenge, but a lot of the students who were causing trouble before are really starting to engage in class activities and that makes me incredibly happy. Julianna and I announced our Halloween competitions this week: a costume contest, and a scary story contest. I taught the kids jumping jacks during EV time in the sports station, and they giggled like crazy!

On Friday I went to the animal clinic to pick up the big cage I had ordered for Leo. The doctors and receptionists are all incredibly friendly, and let me play with whatever pets they have there at the time. I got to hold two baby sugar gliders, probably one of the cutest things in the world! They climbed onto my hands without fear and began licking the salt on my hands. After I played with them for a bit, I went outside to play with the big black lab who was beginning to look nervous after a big boom of thunder. I scratched her head for a while, and she seemed to be in puppy heaven, making she sure she nudged by hand with her nose if I became preoccupied with someone who talked to me when entering the clinic. The receptionist told me that Dr. Chiu had ordered special food dishes for me and wanted to give them to me as a gift to see how they worked for Leo--I have to use heavy dishes for his food, otherwise he tips them over when he's eating. I got home and set it up, only to find when I got home later that night, that Leo was on the other side of the cage. Although his body looks much too big to fit through the bars, he is much like one of those squishy cylinders filled with water--squeeze it and it'll wiggle out of your hands. I put him back in his cage and watched as he stuck his head through the hole. I thought "ha, ha! Try to get out now!" before I saw him elongate his body and squeeze through the rest of the way while looking directly at me. I have now clipped the towels I put on the floor to the sides of the cage in attempt to keep him. Last night I discovered he had escaped yet again and was curled up in my bag that I bring to school with all of my books. I needed to give him a bath to moisturize his skin and clip his nails, since the trimmer in his wheel doesn't seem to be working too well. He is the biggest baby ever! He hissed and wiggled and crawled up my arm before trying to crawl into the nook next to my neck and around onto my back. Look up "bathing hedgie" on youtube if you want to see some videos of what is pretty much the ritual Leo and I have.

After my stop at the clinic on Friday, I went with two other ETAs to a dinner party for Roger, one of the people who has been helping us run English Village at Ling Zhou. His mom and dad made an amazing meal for us, Selena (another helper in the EV) brought drinks, and Sheila, Billy, and I brought a cake for dessert. After the meal we walked to the nearby Rui Feng night market and browsed for a bit before going to the Hanshin Department Store. Sheila looked for shoes (I decided not to take a chance at having another angry encounter), and went to look at the clothes instead. I came across an uber cute hat, and after going back three times to try it on and looking at other places, I decided it was the one for me (Shana and I have devoted many a time to finding the perfect hat with no luck).

On Saturday I went to yet another wedding banquet with Julianna's family. This time I knew the groom a little, so it was especially fun to see he and his bride together and congratulate them. The decorations were very beautiful, as were the two dresses she wore. At this banquet they had the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle with the flower girl and ring bearer before the bride and groom entered. I tried to get some good shots, but everyone was lined up on the side trying to snap photos. There were also many young children at this particular banquet. The table behind us had a little baby boy who communicated through squealing and high-pitched cooing, and the table beside us had a little boy of maybe three, who was being taught how to toast with people. On the way home from the banquet we stopped by Chengching Lake for some fresh air and the view across the water. There was a beautiful traditional-style pagoda that housed an exhibition and a restaurant on the water which I'd love to go back to some time.

Today I met Julianna and her family at a high school to watch Kaohsiung City high school bands perform for their friends and family. Vicky, Julianna's daughter, plays the guitar, and we all went to support her. It was a lot of fun to see a lot of the bands perform English songs by artists like Green Day, The Killers, and Avril Lavigne (who is crazy popular here). The bands' friends and classmates formed a crowd in the front, and jumped up and down and screamed when they performed and worked the audience.

Next week will be another busy weekend. I'll be meeting my new friend Claire for the first time for shopping and quality hanging out, and on Sunday I'll be going on a biking trip with my host family. More to come then!