A Ghetto Encounter and A Taiwan Haircut

Well, I am so bored today I decided to blog. Wednesdays I only have half days so I came home after lunch and accidentally feel asleep for 5 hours. oopps, guess I wont be falling asleep for a while. I have exhausted every option of online tv watching and theres only so long one can spend looking at myspace and facebook over and over again. i even decided to shave my legs since i had nothing better to do. when i complained to my mom of my boredom deliema she said isnt there something to do in your town....well i told her unless i wanted to go play pool by myself, go to the casino by myself, go shopping or go eat, NO there is nothing to do here. although i could stalk the cram schools when classes are over so i could meet some foreigners, but then they might think i am crazy, and they cant know the real me yet. so i will share about my past week and weekend for what it is....uneventful.

last week we celebrated halloween at school. i dressed up as a black cat since it was easy. i taught all the kids "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" they had to say this to me to get a piece of candy. it was a crazy fun day, the kids loved it and they kept following me cause they wanted more candy.

friday was an interesting day casue i new business opened up across the street from my office and as i saw they have many traditions and rituals when a new business begins. they began by setting up an alter and they gave offering and incense to the gods. then they burn paper, then as i found out the hard way they set off fireworks. this event happened as i was giving a midterm to my 4th grade students. the fireworks started to go off and suddenly everything in my mind was going slow motion, i moved very quickly to the floor.....thats right i thought the school was getting shot up. obviously i have spent too much time in the ghetto where this occurence is entirely possible. the kids were dying with laughter, and of course they dont understand what the ghetto is, and they really dont understand that people have guns and would shoot others. here in taiwan guns are illegal and only people involved with gangs have them so they are very rare, where as to me they are completely normal. just another cultural difference. i tried to explain to one of my teachers that my brother, dad and friends all have a number of guns and i enjoy shooting them. haha this is a foreign concept to them.

over the weekend i headed to kaoshiung to see mary. muoy joined us too. friday night we went to see the guardian, there were only 5 people in the whole theatre. we enjoyed the movie and we each had a fun size peanut butter m&ms pack compliments of my mom. we savored each tasty bite. who knows when we will be able to have more. saturday we went to eat at tgi fridays, oh yeah western food, it was delicious. we indulged in potato skins, mot sticks, wings, and then our entrees. too bad i am craving lasanga now and i have no idea where to get it. after lunch we went shopping, of course. what weekend would be complete without shopping???? we hit up my favorite store NET. i bought a sweet winter coat, some shirts, pants, a sweater and a skirt. it was a very sucessful trip. we shopped around some more then i decided i wanted a hair cut. we had dave take us so he could translate, too bad hes a guy and doesnt get the whole thing of how important my hair is. well i tried to explain to him and he tried to explain to the hairstylist. she nodded and then i was headed for a wash. let me tell you, i could get a wash every day, it was amazing. we headed back to the washing area and the lights were dim and i layed down in the comfy chair and i was covered with a blanket. then i put my head in the sink with a soft waterproof pillow so your head doesnt hurt. for the next 20 min they washed my hair and massaged my head. it was the best 5 bucks i have ever spent! then we went back for the cut. i showed her about how much to cut off then she got started. oh boy she started and kept going. at one point i about hyperventilated cause she was cutting so much off, eventually she stopped but my panic and anxiety continued. i am obviously very attachted to my hair. well once i got home i was able to style it the way i like and the new style has grown on me.

on sunday we were lazy bums and watched movies then headed to get something to eat by the train station and we stumbled upon possibly the best restaurant for dessert yet. we werent too sure what we were gettin when we ordered but i was in heaven when it came. it was a huge bowl of ice cream on the bottom with shaved ice on top of that, then mango syrup, then whipped cream with rasberry sauce and fresh mangos then more whipped cream and a cherry. it was THE BEST THING EVER, it is my new obsession. after that muoy and i headed home.

nothing exciting has happend this week, the students are preparing for sports day on saturday. thats right you thought one saturday school was enough, oh no we have another one. but at least i dont have to teach and my friends can come to this. sports day is essentially a glorified field day back home. the students will have races and compete but they will also be performing songs and dances. it should be a hot time and i will be sure to take lots of pictures for your viewing pleasures, im not quite sure what to expect at this point and as far as i know i have no real part in it. suprise suprise once again im not included but i still have to be there so the kids and parents can see me and stare and say oh look a foreigner, then the kids can touch my hair and take some of it as a souviner. oh yeah i had some first grade girls do this, they love to touch my hair cause it is so soft, too bad i cant find any hot guys who want to touch my hair, ha!

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