Vamos San Calos!!!!!

Greetings from the EAST!!!!! I am currently in Luang Prabang. It's a beautiful town on the Mekong River in Laos. This place has managed to be a prime tourist destination without the overwhelming in-your-face solicitation that happens in almost every other tourist spot we've been. Our travels in Laos have been exciting so far. We started in the capital city of Vientien which borders Thailand where certain health problems on both of our parts kept us on a "low key" track (never too far from a toilet). From there we traveled to Vangvieng which could be in a world of it's own. Vangvien is quite famous among the southeast Asian backpackers as a party location, but the party takes place on tubes/ in bars along the river. After arriving, we were escorted to the "Bucket Bar" where the happy hour consisted of completely FREE BUCKETS of some whiskey concoction that could not have been good for our health. I was still on recovery road so the partying didn't get out of hand. We also wanted to save ourselves for the next day of tubing.

How to go tubing in Vangvieng:
1. walk, crawl, or stumble to tube collection point and get yourself, and your tube onto one of the waiting tuk-tuks.
2. Take the tuk-tuk up the river to the first bar where you'll leave your tube and consume at least one BUCKET of ummm.. green tea :)
3. a) if you're particularly brave/stupid/drunk, climb up the sketchy ladder to the rope swing or slide and make sure you don't let go over the jagged rocks.
b) if you've still got your wits about you, the best best would be to collect your tube and head downriver.
4) After about 1 min. on your tube you'll arrive at the next bar... drink another bucket (...of tea)
***repeat step 4 until you can't possibly drink any more (tea) and then climb out of the river and make your way back to town.

Although some people get stuck in this town for days and days, Kelly and I decided to head north to Luang Prabang after a day of tubing. We've been hanging out with a couple of Dutch guys, Lesley and Leonardo, who we'd run into almost every day since we got to Laos. They'd also befriended an Aussie, Alan who's been taking in on himself to teach us all how to properly drink Laos Beer. The five of us, and various others, have spent the past few days biking between different temples, swimming under waterfalls, and dancing with local youth at the Disco tech. I love this country!


ReCaP tImE - back to the Philippines

After leaving Palawan, we made a journey by plane, bus, and boat to the town of San Carlos which is on Negros Island in the Philippines. Our traveling bible, the lonely planet, mentioned a festival that would take place November 3-5th in this town and we decided to check it out. After arriving, we made our way to the tourist office which is exactly where the magic began. Because the town rarely gets tourists and because the locals are always incredibly nice, we were greeted with the warmest welcome. Joe, the head of tourism, spoke so excitedly about the festival but informed us that it wouldn't be for another two days. Our original plan was to stay here for a day, before heading to another town in the south but we decided to throw our plans to the wind and hang out in San Carlos until the festival.
When we informed Joe of our decision to stay, he immediately got to work. Within five minutes, he had arranged a hotel for us and invited us to join him and a film crew for a tour of some historic buildings in town. So we crammed our sweaty bodies and stuff bags into the waiting SUV and met the crew from the show Living Asia. We ended up spending most of the next three days with them as they graciously allowed us to join them on their filming escapades around town. On the tour, we visited the house of a 92 year old woman who had lived there since the war. Her house had been occupied by the Japanese during WWII and the architect was actually a spy for the Royal Imperial Army. She had a letter from him, written in English, asking for help after he had fled to the mountains to hide from the Americans.
The local transportation is quite unique in San Carlos because many people ride around on tricycles. The tricycles are actually sidecars attached to a push-bicycle. We got to ride them around the park, being filmed much of the way. That evening, Kelly and I went to the Miss San Carlos competition. The girls wore huge elaborate flower head-dresses and costumes unlike anything i've seen before. They all danced to the Pinta Flores song, which could be heard from morning to night all over the city. It's been stuck in my head for almost two weeks now.
The next morning, we joined the crew for a visit to Sipaway Island where we toured a fancy resort and then got a cooking demonstration by the local villagers. Kelly tried her hand at gutting a fish (she's got some practice to do before commiting herself to fish gutting) and we both ate these delicious coconut rolls, and drank local coffee. The villagers were so welcoming, and tt was an incredibly unique experience. We felt so lucky to have gotten this opportunity (not to mention, the entire thing was payed for by the city council!!!!! )
We got back to the island just in time for lunch. The meal was followed by a cooking demonstration of a local treat: Ulo Kandingh or Goat Head Stew. More or less, it consists of a goat head, in a bowl with various herbs and spices. When they finished filming the preperation, a beautiful table was set for two and then they asked Kelly and I to sit down and dine!!! Holly Jejomar (Jesus-Joseph-Mary) that was unexpected. We couldn't refuse, nor did we want to pass up the opportunity, so we took our places and began the feast. We showed no mercy on the goat but then it also showed no mercy on us. I gagged on an eyeball but found myself enjoying the most coveted part- the brain. That was by far the weirdest meal of my life.
November 5th was the big day: PINTA FLORES
We woke up, giddy as children on Christmas morning, to the sound of the techno theme song of the festival. After ordering room service (breakfast in bed), we hit the streets. The entire town was on crack!!! They must have though we were famous because literally hundreds of people asked to have their pictures taken with us. We couldn't walk ten steps without being stopped by another group. Our heads inflated rapidly, but we eventually made it to lunch at Apin's Inasal where the owner greeted us with a warm hello. He then told us he was going to call the mayor to get us VIP passes for the events. He came through quickly and we coudln't have felt more spoiled.

~~~~more on the festival soon.... I have to go for a massage appointment (hard life, i know)~~~

Secrets of the Philippines

There's nothing that can make you feel so alive as traveling. One of my best friends from JMU, Miss Kelly Abbott, came out to meet me in Taiwan on my last day of work. Since then, we have only been on the road for three short weeks but the amount of things we've done and seen is amazing. We started with a Taiwan tour that was the perfect end to an epic year. Some of my good friends from Kaohsiung met me at various points along the way so I didn't have to say all my goodbyes at once. We camped in the pouring rain in the middle of a beachfront restaraunt, rented a scooter and drove through the mighty Taroko gorge (also in the rain). We were literally driving through waterfalls with our huge backpacks and two people on a scooter. It was something of a spectacle. Needless to say we wound up with a wet bag full of wet clothes, but it was totally worth it.
It was upsetting and a bit nerve-wracking to leave Taiawn. I had made a home for myself there and despite excitement to come it's never easy to say goodbye. Things quickly got pretty exciting though.... i'll continue.
We left Taipei exhausted and dirty (a state we've been more or less in since). Our first destination was the beautiful island of Palawan. We latched on to a Dutch girl at our hotel and the three of us traveled north from Puerto Princessa to the spectacular El Nido. We found a homestay and paid the equivalent of $5 each for a room overlooking the ocean. The long balcony with waves crashing under us easily helped us to overcome the smell of wet dog and dried fish wafting from the lower floor. We were in paradise... and we intended to make the most of our time there.
The next morning we embarked on a private island hopping tour. The islands of the coast of El Nido are something you'd have to seee to believe. Limestone cliffs dive right into the ocean, but there are little treasures around every corner. At the "secret lagoon" we had to wade through the water fighting the waves before crawling though a little hole in the mountain. On the other side of the hole, completely hidden from the beach is a swimming hole. Even while we were floating in the calm water, it was hard to believe that this place existed. We dined on fresh fish and bananas and drank coconut milk directly from the source.
We made friends with the local musical talent. They attempted to teach us to play the bongos... It turns out my drumming skills leave a lot to be desired (earplugs for instance). My ukulele skills however are steadily progressing. I've been toting around the little orange intrument which is more an accessory. I'll be on the big stage soon, I'm sure of it.
We unsuccessfully attempted to leave Palawan many times. We planned to take a boat but then watched it leave the harbor as we were eating breakfast. We booked a flight but got turned away at check-in because the booking was rejected (after it was initially accepted). While stuck in town, we made another friend who joined us for a walk around the graveyard. The locals all gather at the cemetary on All Saints Day to celebrate the people of are hanging out on the lower level. We got to talk to some truly amazing people. We finally left for Cebu which is where a whole different adventure began. I'll save that for the next blog instalment because I can't possibly begin to write it all down now....
All in all we are living and loving our lives. I don't think it could possibly get any better than this.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”

With a handful of sunflowers in one hand, and an umbrella in the other, I greeted my family at the High Speed Rail station. It's weird to anticipate something so much and then have it finally happen. I'd been missing my family more than I realized until the moment I saw them. Then it came to me. These are "my people".... and I have to tell you, they rock.

A walk in the rain around Lotus Pond

I took these fine specimens back to my house where we reunited over a shot of whiskey and cup of coffee (It was about 10:00 am). I lead them to a little motel down the road which I believed to be a high standard location, however after seeing the love contraption next to the bed, I realized I'd lead my own parents to the local LOVE Motel. They kept insisting that they were only using it to hang their dirty clothes on... I kept insisting that I really didn't want another little brother or sister. Erik and I came over to meet up with the parental and after knocking on the door, we heard "coming!" then thud thud thud thud bang. Pappa took the fast route down the stairs- by way of his rear end. The following argument went something like this:

"Are you OK? Do you want to sit for a minute?" Erik, Mamma, and I chanted over and over

"of course i'm ok," insisted Svend, "Why? do you want to sit?"

"...well you just fell down a flight of stairs."

"are you guys ready, i'm waiting for you."

"it's ok... we can hang out. You're bleeding from the head!"

'It's fine... it doesn't even hurt. Let's go already."

"...but you're leaving a trail of blood around the room. Maybe we should wait till it stops."

After a few days of R&R in Kaohsiung, we loaded ourselves into a nice little Toyota (with a GPS of course) and began our Taiwan tour. Our first stop was the hot spring town of Guanziling where we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast named "How to Run a Successful Bed and Breakfast." We spent the afternoon/evening hoping between different temperature pools. There was even one full of little fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. Erik probably spent an hour there with his little piggies as fish food.

The next stop was Sun Moon Lake, which is a major tourists destination in the middle of the country. We went on boat rides to different places around the lake where we saw Taiwanese Aboriginal dances (they're much friendlier than the Aussie Abos), and little villages. It was a beautiful setting, especially when the cloud cover cleared.

The next day, we started a treacherous but absolutely breathtaking ride across the Central Cross Island Highway. This road was built in the 1950s and is frequently washed out after the Typhoons that come crashing through the island every year. After winding up for hours, we finally reached the peak of the range which was void of trees and completely above the clouds. While we were standing there at nearly 3,600 meters, with blue skies over our heads and a sea of clouds below us, we heard thunder. We were actually hanging out above a thunderstorm (which we soon met on our drive down in elevation). The final part of the road, is the most spectacular. It enters into what should be one of the world's natural wonders :Toroko Gorge.

From the Central Cross Island Highway

At the top of the mountains

Carved by the Liwu River, this gorge stuns even the most jaded visitor. After hours of driving through these wonderful mountains, our jaws still dropped and probably didn't return to their rightful places for the last half hour. Pictures and words completely fail in describing this place. We spent a day in Toroko: hiking, swimming in the aqua colored river, and visiting temples.

Good looking people in a good looking place

After Toroko, we headed south and wound up spending a night in the little fishing village of Shihtiping. It would have been easy to miss if we weren't hungry and sleepy, but the heavens were kind because we wound up at this stunning B&B right on the ocean. The family who owned the house were lovely, and ingratiated themselves to us right away. They lead us to a delicious restaurant, and were waiting with a bag of beer upon our return. We sat under the start that night, and competed over who could see the most shooting stars. Life was good. The next morning, we went snorkeling after breakfast and saw all sorts of sea life... right in the "backyard."

not so shity breakfast in Shihtiping... dragonfruit, mango, meat products,

fried egg, processed cheese, and a salad.

From Shihtiping, we made our way over to Green Island, one of the peripheral islands of Taiwan. Now a popular tourist destination, this island was once home to a famous prison camp where political opponents were sent while the country was under martial law. Despite the bleak past, the current state of the island is something along the lines of.... paradise. We rented scooters and rode around. I particularly enjoyed riding with my darling mother on the back. She wasn't hindered at all by her official role as the passenger. If she thought I should move right, she'd just take my body and turn it right. She seemed to think that my goal was to drive off the cliffs rather than turn around the nicely marked bends in the road... but I do have to giver credit where it's due: she did get on, and put her life in the hands of her daughter.

Riding Dirty

After seeing all the fish we could see, and eating all the fish we could eat... we eventually made the journey back to Kaohsiung. We spent a few more days doing things locally. We visited the huge Buddhist monastery of Foguansan, which is supposedly home to one of three teeth that were left behind after the Buddha's body was cremated. Time passed quickly, as it does when things are going well, and we soon had to say our goodbyes. We'll all be together again at Christmas in Boston, so I'm looking forward to that now.

Nothing but Smiles

"When you look back on Taiwan, you should think of this moment and smile."That was the advice from my good friend Julie this morning as we sipped our coffee on the roof of the hot spring hotel in Guanziling. This weekend, my birthday weekend, has really helped show me how fortunate I am right now. It's been a culmination of things that have just gone right recently. My family came and we had an amazing trip around the island. I've been wanting to share this experience with then since I got here and it was one of my biggest highlights so far, but I'll save those stories for another post.

Pappa bear, Mama bear, and Baby bear at Sun Moon Lake

On Friday we had a BBQ at the apartment and the house was packed full of old and new friends who have become a significant part of my life in Taiwan. We entertained until the sun was a major part of the skyline and eventually turned-in for a few hours of rest before the Saturday adventures. After a late breakfast of leftover burgers, prawns and mashed potatoes, a hungover but heartygroup of seven headed for the train station. We didn't have much of a plan as far as exactly howto get there, or where to stay but things seem to have a way of working out if you let them. Wecaught a bus from the train station and were entertained by a boy who was keen to practice hisEnglish skills as well as his magic tricks. It started to rain on the way, and when we arrived in Guanziling there was little hope of staying dry. Despite the fact that it has been rainingalmost every day for a few weeks, there was only one rain jacket and one umbrella between the seven of us. Needless to say, we were soaked before we even had a chance to see the hot-springs. Like wet dogs, we scurried into the shelter of the magnificent Reiki hotel. After a bit of arm twisting, we managed to convince them to let the seven of us stay in a 4-person room that was fit for royalty. It was ultimate luxury. There were four beds, two couches, and a private hot spring tub in the bathroom.

I could spend the rest of my life in these tubs

A walk across the street took us to the hotel's spa. There was a jet pool, one with green water (which we affectionately called the JELLO pool), one filled with mud, a few cold pools, a sauna, and a steam room. We scurried around for hours occasionally breaking for a mud slathering. The only thing that could get us to leave the spa was the promise of another mud bath and a cold drink (or two) back at the room.

Trevor, Nick, Joel, Julie, Me, Sarah, Amy

and LOTS of mud.

We eventually settled into the room and I was able to enjoy the company of six wonderful people. They kept me in stitches and the highest of spirits. The next morning we were treated to a breakfast buffet overlooking the mountains/valleys. I never expected how deep this place and these people would have crept into my heart.

Another update:

I've recently been accepted as an AmeriCorps NCCC team leader. From Jan to December, I'll be working with a group of about ten people on different service projects in the Northeast of the USA. Many of you know that I applied for this position last year and despite being the first one on the "alternate list," never made the final cut. It threw a wrench into my plan, but lead to a detour that I wouldn't trade for the world. I originally only wanted to take one year to do something "non-academic" but have decided that what I really want is to "do it all" ... so that's exactly what I'm going to do. AmeriCorps: here I come.

A Wedding Production

I recently had the opportunity to join a Taiwanese wedding. It turned out to be an event that completely outdid my expectations. My friend Jean had a grand celebration in the 85 tower (the most significant building in the Kaohsiung sky-line. A coworker, Leah, and I were the only foreigners invited and we were in shock and awe the whole evening. After taking a taxi to the tower, we realized that neither of us knew Jean's Chinese name. How many weddings could there possibly be in one building right? We were soon informed that there were three weddings on different floors and our best bet would be to pop in to each until we recognized someone. Luckily we ran into our favorite person- Dora, the accountant (I say favorite because she's the one who hands over the paycheck every month). She didn't know exactly where to go either, but I felt safer knowing I had Chinese-speaker on my side... and sure enough she lead us through the maze and into the wedding.

The wedding gift is something entirely different here. You wont find the couple's wishlist at the local shops nor anywhere else for that matter because everyone gives the same thing. Money. The amounts vary but every guest brings a red envelope containing cash which is immediately taken and accounted for before entering the hall. The amount given is pretty important too. It has to be an even number (because odd numbers are unlucky for couples) and because the Chinese word 4 (si) sounds like the word for death, the amount can't contain the number 4. All this was made pretty clear to me by numerous Taiwanese friends.

After forking over the cash envelopes, we entered the beautiful hall which would be the site of the intimate gathering of nearly 700 people. We went downstairs to visit Jean before she came out. It is traditional for the husband's family to ado

rn the bride... and let me say, she was ballin'. She had gold rings on every finger, a big gold necklace, tiara- the whole nine yards. And the current dress was one of three she'd showcase that evening. After leaving Jean's room, we stopped to look at the wedding book. This professionally

crafted book was surreal. It was huge and contained pictures of the happy couple all over the city in more outfits than I could count. The book itself was surrounded with feathers, petals, and balloons.

The wedding book

During the wedding, we dined on about 12 courses of food. All the Chinese staples made an appearance: fried rice, roasted duck, pork, chicken, fish. I was pretty surprised to see "shark fin soup" on the menu because it's always seemed like a big cultural taboo. I tried a bit but couldn't get beyond the inhumane industry involved with acquiring shark fins.

Of course there was some karaoke. The best act was Jean's husband, Frank, who sang to her as they walked down the isle after a wardrobe change. Overall, I'd say that the evening was quite successful. I got the chance to experience an important part of the local culture and see one of my favorites on her wedding day.

Jean and I after the wedding. This was her final dress of the evening

Welcome to the Rainy Season

You know you're right in the middle of a good storm when the thunder seems to be coming from all directions at once. I woke up this morning to a battering of thunder but a complete absence of rain. It took a few minutes for the precipitation to catch up, but once it did, it hit with full force. If you know me at all, you know that I love storms. They're so powerful yet strangely comforting. The perfect excuse to stay in your pajamas, curl up on the couch and do some solid vegging. It's pretty ideal for my "in-city" weekend because I don't feel guilty about doing a whole lot of nothing.

Recent trips have been pretty exciting. I went to an island called Xiao Liochiu with my friends Sarah, Trevor, and Joel. It's a completely coral island off the southwest coast of Taiwan. We got to the peer in Dongang just an hour before the last ferry was scheduled to leave and decided to grab some dinner before the boat departed. We realized we were cutting it a little close so started hurrying back to the peer when we were intercepted by a guy on a scooter who told us to run. I never figured out if he worked there or if they just sent some random man to look for foreigners on the street. He drove ahead to let them know we were coming and we were hurried along on by all of the fruit/veggie stand workers along the road. I guess everyone in the town was meant to pass on the message of our tardiness.

Traditional Chinese graveyard

The highlights of the island included some amazing convoluted caves and trails that you can get through if you don't mind contorting you body in all sorts of weird angles and drinking outside a little temple on a cliff overlooking the ocean before setting up camp down at the beach. We also had an interesting karaoke experience with some locals. You can imagine how extensive the English collection was since our first and arguably best song was "Doe Re Mi". Trying to get home was a pretty epic adventure in itself. We started at the wrong pier, practically drowned in the rainstorm that followed, and then almost got separated when the guys loaded the bikes onto the boat while Sarah and I waited with everyone else. They stopped letting people on but luckily Joel came to the rescue and ran back in through a side entrance and led us around the hoards of people waiting to get onto the boat. We ran on just as they were about to remove the ramp and then feigned innocence while people argued in Taiwanese (which almost always replaces Mandarin when tempers are raised). Luckily they let us stay but the sea was less forgiving than the ferry workers. Our last minute boarding meant we got to stand outside with the bikes while the wind and waves rocked us. There were a few instances where I could clearly imagine one of the huge waves sweeping us right off the deck.

My next trip to the hot spings at Chihben was quite different because we were able to partake in some serious pampering. We stayed in a nice hotel with hotsprings built on the side of a mountain overlooking a river. My biggest concerns for the weekend were whether to go into the 26 or 29 degree pool, whether I wanted to sit in the bubble chair or head to the massaging jets. Yes. Yes. Y-E-S. Yesss

I think they feed a mixture of cocaine/steroids to these coy

Follow the White Line

I made the mistake of telling a few people how I had somehow developed a sense of direction since being in Taiwan. On a recent road trip with my friends Sarah, Luke and Joel, I realized how deceived I was. We spent over 6 hours to get somewhere that was only 2 hours away. During the final stretch, we were driving through twisty half washed-out mountain roads with “Eagle-eye” Joel behind the wheel. Luckily, the Taiwanese are infinitely helpful, even when the language barrier is unsurpassable. We eventually stopped to ask someone for directions thinking that Luke and I would be able to piece them together. The first person we asked kept talking and talking until we had to interrupt him to tell him that we had no idea what he was saying. Then he just motioned to follow him as he sped off around the mountain roads. Finally, we got to a turn where he stopped, got out and pointed to a white line. We gathered that we were meant to follow the white line on our right… and keep following. Easy enough you’d think. It seemed almost too easy so we repeatedly stopped to ask for further instructions, making half the mountain run through hoops to get us the same directions. A girl was walking down the street when we stopped to ask her. She told us to wait a minute as she literally ran to her house, ran back and told us to follow the white line. Another man, when asked the same question, went to retrieve his daughter who came out and told us to follow the white line. My favorite instructions came from the man who made us dinner. We lucked out because Luke somehow has celebrity status in Reili. When we picked this random place to eat they came outside and shouted with glee… “Luke’s here!” The owner spoke a bit of English and knew the place that we were trying to go. Here are his directions : “Follow the white line until you get to a fork where you can hear dogs barking on your left (the man barks repeatedly to make sure we understand what we’re listening for)… turn right there.”
We finally got to this camping spot where we slept on top of our tents in a little gazebo. My feet got rained on, and ants marched across my face but I couldn’t have cared less. The next day we hiked/ climbed/ slipped to a river where we spent the afternoon swimming and exploring. You can’t image how breathe-taking it is to work your way down a riverbed and find yourself at the top of a 200 foot waterfall. The water level was low because the dry season is currently ending so we could sit in the river at the dropping point and gaze into a huge valley. It was hard to leave but as responsible teachers, we eventually had to part from paradise and make our way home.
It’s a little disconcerting to realize that I’m on the last half of my stay here. Coming to Taiwan was something I had never expected for myself but the hardest part of the journey was deciding to do it. Since then, the roads have been (figuratively) well paved. It’s a good life and I’ve had opportunities to do things that were distant longings before. The apprehension over going home is something I’d never imagined to have. But now that I’m settled into a good life here, it’ll be hard to return to the unknown. I am excited about finally entering the health care world which is something I’ve craved since youth.
My family’s coming! They’ve finally booked their tickets and I can’t wait to act as an island tour guide (and show off my Chinese skills). It will be wonderful to have people here who know me outside of this little island. I love visitors! (*hint hint to anyone else who’s thinking of circumnavigating the world). So today I’m hoping to get another driving lesson. This time on a motorcycle! I was inspired by a Swiss couple I met in Borneo who bought motorbikes in Vietnam and drove around the country for two months… I do have a few free months coming up!

The Sights and Sounds

It seems like i've developed some weird allergy to Kaohsiung on the weekends. Every weekend i've gone off to some amazing little adventure. I've traveled up, down and around the island of Taiwan. As much as I like Kaohsiung, I couldn't bare to stay here all the time. The air is thick and gray, the buildings are high and concrete, and the trees are sparse. I mantain my sanity by escaping as soon as I can.

Here are some of my recent excurssions:


I joined a group of people who were camping in Maolin, a scenic mountainous area about 2 hours north east of the city. I bought a new/old scooter in the morning and then my roommate Amy and I loaded it up with camping gear and head out in a little scooter caravan. The first night, there were over 40 people camping at this remote place on a dried up river bed. The next night, only 2. I think my highlight of the weekend was while we were driving around the twisty mountain roads and passed a little building with public toilets that were right next to a house. The family was sitting outside and when they saw us, they invited us over for a quick little karaoke. Until you've been here, you can't possibly understand how much the Taiwanese LOVE their karaoke. There are few things they like more, but if I had to pick something it would probably be Michael Jackson. You can just imagine the pure extacy that comes by combining the two. I was the translator of the group and got to say over and over "you girls are so beautiful, so pretty, your voices are so wonderful..." You can always count on lots of compliments from the Taiwanese.


About a month ago, A bunch of my girlfriends traveled to another city, Taizchung, to see a production of the Vagina Monologs. I was vey sad to have missed the Harrisonburg production of the play featuring my dear friend, Kelly, but the replacement show was completely entertaining. It half Chinese and half English so my vocabulary was expanded in ways that weren't covered in the classroom. After the play we put on our dancing shoes and head over to a bar that was having salsa night. Somehow, i found the only Latino man in the country (or so i've decided) to twirl me around the floor for a few hours... I knew those salsa nights at the Doger would pay off eventually. The next morning, we went to the campus of a huge college and wound up playing in the fields for hours. We climbed trees, did gymnastics, got our pictures taken with numerous Taiwanese people to whom we were a complete novelty.


My biggest excursion was to the island of Borneo with my friends Luke and Katie. This place captured my heart. We stayed in Malasian Borneo, which is the northern part of the island. Malasia is a Muslim country, which I hadn't realized before I got there. The people are conservative but incredibly kind and welcoming. We landed in Kopa Kanabalu and got to town around noon. I was floored when the bartender at a little restaurant on the water "read my cards" with a regular playing deck we were using to play a game. He told me about my past relationships and left me speechless. I still can't get my head around it.


Later, we made friends with a Taxi driver named Baktian and he ended up meeting us after his shift. He took us to an outdoor food market where we got some local delicacies like stir fried fruit, and Avocado shakes. My personal favorite was the ABC shake. The ingredients included, but were not limited to: fruit, ice, tapioka balls, peanut butter, cornflakes, and gummy worms. He played Shania Twain the entire time we were in his car. We started to measure distances in terms of Shania Twain songs. I think it took us about 3 'You're still the one's to get to the bus station.
The next day, we took a bus to a nature reserve in Sandakan where we saw Orangutans in the "wild". They're so human-like; I couldn't draw my eyes away. After the orangutans, we traveled to another town from which we were transported to a little scuba diving place on an off shore island. This was my best scuba diving experience to date. When i'm diving, I feel like i'm transported to an entirely different world. Everything is different: the way things move, the colors, the animals. You have to conscously do things that are completely natural on land... like breathe.


After returning for a whole week of teaching, I had another long weekend. Most of the other teachers were stir crazy and making fun travel plans.... so what can you do but join them right? I ended up renting a car with my friends Sarah and Trevor from which we explored the east coast where guge magnificent mountains plunge right into the Pacific Ocean. We camped on the beach the first night, then explored numerous little fishing villages before heading into the mountains. The second night was pure luxury at a hot spring hotel. Hot pools, cold pools, even the jacuzzi tub in our room was fed by hot springs.

Human Bottle Rocket Targets

Let's Get Ready to RUMBLE!

Imagine walking down a little street in Taiwan: neon lights everywhere, food stalls, Chinese lanterns. There are fireworks going off in the distance which is a nice sight, and then there are fireworks going into crowds of people hopping around like Mexican jumping beans. All of the above were part of my adventures last night at the Yen-shui firework festival. This event originated over a century ago after a devastating cholera epidemic wiped out most of the people in the town. The survivors, hoping to drive out the evil spirits that had caused the disease called on Kuan Kung, the God of War, by carrying around a statue and lighting off swarms of fireworks. Shortly after this desperate cry for help, the disease subsided. The tradition has been faithfully celebrated by hundreds of thousands every year since, in an attempt to warn off deomons.

I made my way to this town with a group of friends, and we could immediately tell that this was something spectacular. While we were on our way to the center of all the action, we passed a a man (sporting a thick raincoat and scooter helmet) who was being rapped by a string of explosives. We all stopped short and watched as his companion lit the fuse and dashed for cover. A few seconds later, the first bang went off near his feet and then it was rapid fire all around his body for the next 10 seconds. Then, he simply walked away as if he hadn't been in the middle of Armageddon.

To protect yourself from the explosions, you had to be totally covered. We all dawned our layers, gloves, and helmets with towels around the neck. Any revealed skin was at risk of incineration. There were people and fireworks going off everywhere, and we eventually found our way to one of the many streets of sheer chaos. A HUGE cart (the size of a dump truck) had been wheeled out to the intersection. There was a massive tiger on the top, with explosives hidden within its body; something like the Trojan Horse of Taiwan. Minutes passed as we stared at this massive beast. My resolve to be in the foreground shrank as the anticipation heightened. I was having second thoughts about standing near a car which I was convinced would explode sooner than later. Eventually somebody lit a fuse and the sea of helmets began doing a nervous dance. Then the wall of bottle rockets was unleashed into the crowd- they were flying in all directions and exploding everywhere. My helmet was completely fogged up but I remember seeing my friend's back smoking so I patted him down. People were doing the same thing all over. After about 20 seconds, the bottle rockets subsided and the tiger lit up as fireworks shot into the air from its body. Another 20 seconds and we were left with a huge cart full of holes with a flaming tiger on top. That was just the beginning. The crowd moved down the road a little (lead by dancing men carrying Buddha carts (in protective plastic cases) and came to rest in an area of nothing but closed up shops. I couldn't figure out what we were waiting for until one of the shops raised its gate and wheeled out another huge cart of bottle rockets. People oohed, Buddhas danced, and the explosives began again. We stayed for over an hour as wall after explosive wall was wheeled out of these otherwise inconspicuous shops.... only in Taiwan

CAUTION: For continued cochlear health, turn down your volume before pressing play

After we'd had our fill of inhaled sulfur, we grabbed some noodles and dumplings and decided to try to locate a bus to bring us back to Kaohsiung. The ladies at the restaurant gave us directions and told us it was about a 20 minute walk to the bus station. After 30 minutes of walking with no bus station in sight we stopped in a 7-11 to make sure we were headed in the right direction. They assured us we were, but offered to drive us the rest of the way. So one of the workers emptied out his car and took the 9 of us (in 2 trips) the rest of the way.... If I had a dime for every time we said "Only in Taiwan," I'd be a very rich woman by now.

Dreams Come True in THAILAND

Sunrise walk to the Ferry

The beautiful ocean blue

Big Fish

Paradise

There's something about the unknown future that sits like a spark inside you when you're travelling. I felt it when I first arrived in Taiwan, but since then i've made a home of this distant land. Although in September, I never thought it would happen, I've become accustomed to the sights and sounds of Kaohsiung. I've finally gotten a chance to "feel it" again on my recent trip to Thailand. On the day of my departure, I found myself sitting at the airport watching the reunions and goodbyes of so many people. It's not often you truly realize that other people's worlds don't revolve around you.

So my first impression of Thailand is that it's completely catered to travellers- that feeling was only further concreted after spending two weeks there. I spent my first night on Kosan Road in Bangkok which is the launching point for almost all backpackers around south east Asia. It's an in-your-face place where you can purchase anything you'd ever desire; clothes, music, college degrees, prostitutes, massages.... none of the above would cost more than about $20 (although I didn't investigate them all extensively). After exploring the Grand Palace- a collection of buildings and Wats (temples) that took my breathe away, I began my first of many tuk-tuk adventures. A tuk-tuk is the cheap man's taxi. A driver came up to me and said he'd take me to a bunch of different tourist sights around town for only 10 baht (about 30 cents) if I stopped into a tailor shop, because they give the drivers free gas for bringing people in. Somewhere along the line, he asked me to check out a second shop the which I politely declined. That was the first time I was abandoned at a Buddhist Temple.

An overnight bus ride from Bangkok got me to the ferry station in Chumphon around 4:00 am for a 7:00 am boat to Koh Tao, a little island that turns out more divers than the rest of the world. I fell asleep next to the ocean watching the stars and woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever experienced. It only got better because once in Koh Tao, I checked into a resort where I spent the next 4 days diving (SHARKSSHARKSSHARKS) and reading by the beach. One of the coolest dives was at night. The boat left around sunset and it was totally dark by the time we got to the dive site. We jumped in with torches and pounding hearts to explore the deep blue by night.

I left the island and found my way back to Bangkok where I met up with Robyn (after a long struggle to find each other). It was awesome to finally see a familiar face- the first one from home in almost 5 months. We went to China Town for a Chinese New Year celebration and then took an overnight train to Chang Mai which is a really unique city in the north of Thailand. There's a huge prevalence of Buddhist monks in bright orange robes and an abundance of elaborate temples. We took a Thai cooking course- because there's truly no better ethnic food in the world. We also did an trek in which we rode elephants, visited hill tribes, slept in the jungle next to a waterfall, went bamboo rafting.... the whole sha-bang. One of our tour guides, Gun, caught a 2 meter long rat-snake which we ate in a curry dish for dinner. So delicious.

After the treck we immediately went to the train station for an overnight ride to Bangkok. We decided a bottle of wine would go well with the train ride so we grabbed one and began our journey. Somewhere along the line we decided to head to the food cart for dinner where we were greeted, like a slap in the face, with blaring rap music and a bunch of Frenchies dancing around their table. Could it get any better? We danced the night away around the food cart with travelers from all over, because everyone who came in for food immediately got sucked in to the chaos. That was pretty much the last hurrah of my trip because once we arrived in Bangkok, I only had enough time for a fruit smoothie and a quick massage before heading to the airport. There's so much to say about Thailand. It was a bit surreal to go somewhere that's been in my mind for so long. It's the land of smiles and delicious food. I have no doubt I'll return before long.

Class 1 Famous

Today, I went on a little outing to a nearby city, Tainan which was the capital of Taiwan from the 1680s until the 1880s. While still a big city, it’s got a different feel from Kaohsiung. It’s older and I think that the temple to resident ratio is about 1:1. I went with my roommates and 2 Taiwanese friends. My Chinese was put to the tests since one of them doesn’t really speak English. It got a bit complicated when I was trying to explain the classic game “would you rather”…. It was a little tuff so I opted to say funny phrases from Sarah’s lonely planet phrase book instead. One of the first things you’ll learn from the Taiwanese is that everywhere has a specific “famous” dish. You can’t possibly have any credibility in a conversation if you say you’ve been to some city without eating their famous dish. That was the main theme of our Tainan tour. We went to a temple- then ate the famous “coffin cakes.” Went to a castle- then ate the famous bean jelly dessert. Went to the beach- then ate the famous shrimp rolls. You’ll also quickly learn that you can’t possibly live a day without at least one trip to 7-11…. So that’s exactly where we ended our excursion, sipping some of the best coffee in town outside of the “sev”.

My scooter’s shot to hell. It broke down again about 2 weeks ago and instead of calling the mechanic again, I opted to leave it where it was and had my friend rescue me from the parking lot. It’s not the first time I’ve been forced to abandon a vehicle either. On a brighter note, I recently experienced the magic of Monkey Mountain. It’s less than a 15 minute drive from my house and is pretty much all my dreams come true. The mountain has a ton of paths winding all over it and more monkeys than you can shake a stick at. The biologist inside of me was a little appalled because they’re totally accustomed to human presence. However, the side of me that loves monkeys and dreams of having one as little sidekick was in 7th heaven. I was walking up the trail as a few monkeys were coming down. They didn’t even bat an eye at me. Unfortunately I forgot my bananas at home that trip otherwise I think they really would have liked me (or accosted me- can’t be sure).
I’ve been trying to minimize my expenditures this past month in an attempt to save my pennies for Thailand. I leave in 2 weeks! As of now, I’ve got the first week by myself. I have no clue what I’ll be doing. I imagine I’ll spend a lot of time with Leonardo DeCaprio eating pad-thai on a deserted beach. After a week, my friend Luke’s coming from Taiwan and Robyn’s flying over from Hawaii so we’ll have some grand Thai adventures.
Teaching’s going well too. I’ve finally got something that may resemble control of my wild class of 20 ten year olds (15 of which are boys). I use the word control very loosely because within the last week one of the boys was pushed down a flight of stairs, I’ve kicked 2 people out, and half of them are failing their tests. My baby class is the most entertaining. For 2 full hours there’s usually one little girl attached to my leg and a boy, ironically named Willy, who runs around trying to either kiss or wrestle the other boys. The funnies thing is when I actually try to teach something… like the letter “A” and someone starts singing the 3 little monkey song. Once someone starts, there’s no hope in teaching until we’ve all sung the song at least twice. If you can imagine playing charades for 2 hours when you’re the only person acting, then you can imagine my two entry level classes. I started a new one Thursday and got blank stares from the questions “What is your name?” and “How are you?”
Well, I just convinced my roommates that we should watch West Side Story….so I’m being beckoned by some choreographed gang fights now. My thoughts and love are with all of you. I want to know what’s going on in everyone else’s lives too so shoot me a message!