Living a life lost in translation

As in, I am super freaking out! FIVE DAYS until I leave Taiwan... I might be freaking out more than when I left to come here! I think leaving all these great people is taking it's toll on me. I mean, I like Taiwan, but I totally prefer America. The fact is, I might never see some of these people ever again, and that's driving me to tears. When I came to Taiwan, I knew it wouldn't be forever until I saw the people I love again. I knew I could see them relatively easily. With everyone I've met here-- it will be hard to see them. Only a couple live in the states, and even so, I don't see them going home anytime soon. Others live in Canada, South Africa, and many of them plan to travel to another country after Taiwan. I'm basically saying goodbye, not knowing if I'll ever see them again. That sucks.

What sucks even more is everyday I am meeting with people who want me to stay, and not with the people who are wanting me to come home.

Well, the countdown has begun. Right now, SIXTEEN days until I'm back in The States! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Haha.

I'll be back in the US on the 12th of July, but I won't be back in CL until July 18th. I decided I'm going to go to MUUSA, the camp I go to with my family every summer. I had totally accepted that I wasn't going this year, but since I will technically be home in time for it, I'm going. I can't wait to spend time with my nephews, the rest of my family, and all the other people I haven't seen in a year! I wonder what I'll be like after flying from Taipei, to Tokyo(layover), to O'Hare, to STL. LOL-- probably grumpy as hell.

Yesterday was my last day at my Language School, and it was a lot more emotional for me than leaving my Grade 6 kids. I just feel so much more attached to the kids and staff there. I've met some really great people here in Taiwan, and it breaks my heart a little thinking that I'm leaving them... okay, I'm going before I start crying.

So I talked to my boss yesterday and it looks as though my return date is now back in July! Can I take a moment and say -- Holy Cow! That's less that two months away! I'm so excited!

Just to show you how subconsciously excited I am: a story.
Every Wednesday, the language school teachers have a meeting and in this particular meeting we were trying to help our boss think of a new slogan for the school. We were doing word association to come up with ideas. Here's what happened:
Laurence: I'll think of a word, you work off of the word the person next to you gives. *whispers to Michael, the teacher next to him*
Michael: Education.
Marissa: Hmm...teaching!
Marianne: Uhh... happiness?
Me: *thinks for a moment* America.

Oops! Hahaha. I guess the secret's out.

My official return date, people: July 12th, 2009.

So, many of you reader's already know this, but I have a second job now. I am working Mon-Fri in the mornings at an International school. I teach 5th and 6th Grade Social Studies and English. I love how different it is from the language school I've been teaching at. It's actual teaching, instead of just playing games and filling out workbooks. I have been there for four weeks now, but I just wasn't sure I was up for the task, so I've been keeping it on the DL. I have to say, some days I come home completely exhausted, but I'm all right :o) The kids there are really great. I'm teaching kids from all over. There are kids from Korea, Japan, India, China, America, and of course Taiwan! It's only a sub position, technically, so I don't get a lot of the perks (like a paid summer vacation!) but I am making sooo much money. I've never had so much money before! I can understand why some people stay here just for the money. LOL.

On Friday I took a day off from the lanaguage school to go on a field trip with my 6th graders (I'm the home room teacher for 6th grade, so I spend more time with them) to a place called Green World. Very cool. I posted all my pictures on my Flickr account, but here's one of my class (minus three boys who decided not to come):

So I took my first real scooter trip with some new friends I have made at the Language School. It was so amazing! Jeremy was right, it's easier to appreciate how far away you are from home if you see things you wouldn't see there. I saw the most gorgeous waterfall, drove on winding roads through the mountains, and spent time around a campfire at the top of a mountain in Taoyuan.

Driving a scooter through the mountains is really quite surreal. It's a trip with friends, so on the many stops along the way, I was able to talk, relate, and express my awe with people I like. At the same time when you're on your scooter with a helmet on and people going at various speeds, it's a solitary experience. There were so many times when I looked around me and thought, "There is no way that Illinois and Taiwan can exist in the same world." It was like I was exploring some distant planet.

The waterfall was probably my favorite part. I'm not sure I remember ever seeing a waterfall so up close! It was amazing. Looking at trees that have never been touched by human hands, and realizing there were probably trees beyond that no one has ever even seen... I was truly in awe. No better words to describe it.

I'm so happy that Marianne invited me, and that I met someone so kind.

On a random sidenote... I have to mention that just ten minutes ago I saw a Chinese man dressed as Jesus dragging a huge cross through the rain on a busy road. Haha.

Well, I've been avoiding updating for a while because I've been having a hard time. I don't want any of you to worry about me. I'm not sure what's wrong, but I think it was triggered by my Canadian friend, Bradley, leaving Taiwan. Now both he and Lindsay are gone-- which leaves me with no one to talk to. I have friends, but none of them are close with me, and don't have any real need/want to see me. Which means I'm back to a point in my life where if I want to do something besides sit at home and watch movies I have to initiate it. I find myself tagging along a lot.

I'm definitely at a low point here. I feel like my life here in Taiwan has become distorted. I haven't even left Hsinchu since that run I went on! Hsinchu is nice but it's not exactly fascinating. Quite boring after you've explored it. I'm mad at myself for not making the most of my time here, but the truth is, I'm not the type of person to travel to other cities alone. I mean, look at what happened in Hong Kong. Can we say, disaster?

I feel like a child saying it, but I want to come home. There's no way I could stay for another year. I don't regret coming here at all, but I'm just not sure I'm the type of person who can live so far away from home. I hope that I can find a job in the U.S.... I'm going to stay until August, when my contract is up with the Language School, and then move back home.

I decided that I wanted to take on a run through a scenic part of Taiwan.
I met with the people hosting it.
I said hi to Jonas, XiaoWei, Chris, and Andrew.
I got in a car with an angry guy named Eddie.
Very angry.
Swears a lot more than necessary.
We cut across a highway to help people who don't know how to get to the run.
We don't die.
We get to the run.
I am told how to follow the markings for the run.
Walkers are told to start.
Jonas, XiaoWei, Chris, and I all start walking.
Within five minutes I am out of breath.
Within ten minutes I can feel my muscles crying out.
Within fifteen minutes I have lost Jonas, XiaoWei, and Chris.
I walk through an orange grove.
I rest.
I walk through a bamboo forest.
I fall on my ass.
I find someone to walk with, who tells me she cheated on her first run and took a taxi to the meeting place.
I come to a canal.
I try to scale down the canal.
A Taiwanese guy named Robbie helps me back up to the top.
I climb down where appropriate.
I climb up where appropriate.
I am exhausted and only half-way done.
I take a Beer Check.
I meet Bonnie, Jason, and Tim.
Bonnie and Tim are Taiwanese. Jason is Australian.
I walk with them the rest of the way.
We walk through someone's yard.
We see chickens.
We walk through farming land.
A lady tells us in Chinese we're going the wrong way.
We go the right way.
We drink more beer.
We climb up.
And up.
And up.
We see the meeting point.
We climb down.
We are second to last, only to a couple who were taking pictures.
I see Jonas, XiaoWei, and Chris.
We drink beer.
We drive home.

My thighs have never been as angry at me as they are now. Dancers are not hikers. Dancers are trained to keep all their weight on the balls of their feet. That's insanity for a hike. I have learned my lesson. Will I go next month?

Hi everyone! I am happy to report that I have a new job! Today was my first day and it went really well. The kids are all the same age (some a little older) but it's a language school so I'm only teaching English. One thing about teaching Kindergarten that I didn't like was teaching science and math so really this is a much better fit. Everyone there is ultra nice, and my kids seem really sweet. It will be fun to get to know them. They have tons of curriculum at this school, so I'm just trying to keep up.

I'm so happy to have things to do now. I have been idle way too long for my own comfort. I still have no idea how long I want to stay in Taiwan. I had to go through quite a process with this school to get a contract for just the remainder of the school year. They usually only hire people for a minimum of one year. My negotiation was that I will give them an answer about next school year by May. Part of me wants to stay, and another part misses my life back home...

For now, I will enjoy my time here in Taiwan :o)

So apparently today is a big deal in Chinese culture-- the first full moon after the New Year! Traditionally people use this day to carry around Lanterns and see who has the brightest :o) Also, parades with dancing dragons to bring about good luck are common. It's 8:15pm right now and for the past hour people have been lighting off fireworks like it's their reason to live. Which, it might be for all I know. Haha. I would love to see a parade but I don't know if that will happen or no... Hsinchu is a small city so maybe not. I'm sure Taipei is going crazy. If only I had known, maybe I would have made a trip there.

Instead, today, I made a trip to the impound. No joke! I was walking around one of the markets earlier and came back to where my scooter was parked to find instead a bunch on Chinese and a telephone number scrawled on the road. Apparently, I had parked in a no parking zone. Oops. This nice Chinese guy saw me looking distressed-- trying to reach people who might know how to get my scooter back, and offered to give me a ride to the impound. Just another thing that would have NEVER happened back home. Common response in America: "What? Your car got impounded? Sucks for you!" Here in Taiwan: "Oh, silly foreigner! Please, let me help."

Well, I think I am going to go mime to my doorman about whether or not there will be a parade. Before I go, I should say that tomorrow I have an interview! It's only a part-time job but it's with a school that is really hard to get into. I will let you all know how it goes. Wish me luck!

I MISS HOME!!!

I cannot stress this enough :o)

So Collin is coming tonight! Well technically Collin is coming right now. He's somewhere over the Pacific probably watching a movie he's seen before and eating food that really doesn't taste all that great.

I am so excited for him to come because it means 1.) I get to see a friend from home and 2.) I have a traveling buddy! I plan on taking him to a hot spring up in the mountain, to Taipei for New Years, and maybe down south where it is supposedly warmer. It's 50 here and overcast, but I know I shouldn't be complaining-- especially to the people who read this that are from Chicago.

Collin is staying until the 30th which means he won't be here for my birthday, but I'm sure we'll celebrate it anyways. Haha. I can't wait to share how crazy Taiwan is with him. I wonder if I'll see things go through his head and think, "Yeah, I remember that feeling." Of course, it's all a bit different when you're just visiting. Eventually he will go home to Lux.

As for me, not much to say. I'm still searching for a job, but I have a couple of leads that I think might happen. I told a lot of you but not all of you that I had an interview a couple weeks ago. I guess they went with someone else. It's not that big of a deal; my heart wasn't really in it. It sounded like a huge challenge. I am okay with getting a job that will challenge me, but maybe not right now. I'm already being challenged because I'm in a strange place.

On a side note, one of the only kids on my floor has taken to screaming very loudly at random intervals of the day. She's doing it right now. What are you so upset about honey? And why don't your parents explain to you that screaming really isn't the best way to get what you want? Kids.

So this month I learned that I had overstayed my visa. This sounds like a serious offense but I promise that it's really not a big deal. So I booked a ticket to Hong Kong to renew my visa. I knew it would be a challenge to go to a big city in a foreign country ALONE, so I took my time in researching where I would stay, what I would do, and how I would get around.

Well, I might as well have gone on a whim because everything that I planned was thrown right out the window. I managed to make small mistakes like losing my printout of my ticket, but I bounced back from those fairly well. What I couldn't overcome was that fact that, little to my knowledge (or my travel agent's knowledge), there was a huge expo going on in Hong Kong this week. So that nice hotel I picked out? It didn't have any rooms. All the other hotels in Hong Kong? Charging a monstrous amount of money because they could get away with it. I managed to find a "deal" of only $100 American which ended up being a tiny room barely bigger than my bed.

Renewing my visa went... fairly well. I don't know, I'm taking it well, but potentially it's not that great. Basically, I went to all this trouble to get various documents together, even figured out the subway system in HK, only to get to the visa office and have the lady tell me, "You know the visa you got in the U.S. is a multiple entry?" In other words, I didn't have to come to this office. The only thing I HAD to do was leave Taiwan for a day because I had broken a rule. I could have effing gone to the Phillipines people! Oye. Wouldn't I give for a sunny beach.

ANYWAYS, after all of these problems a few more-- I decided to cut my losses and leave Hong Kong earlier than planned. It's funny how once I decided this things started going my way. I can boldly say that I didn't particularly have a good time in Hong Kong, but at least I learned a few things. I'm back in Taiwan now, and that's really all that matters.