The the last 10 months have been a journey of self-discovery and though my time in Asia, will end in 4 short days, a new journey in America will begin, with many more unkowns to explore! I have had the privlege and opportunity to spend the last 10 months with some of the most interesting, humourous, ADVENTEROUS, intellegent, individuals! This is my last blog about our last trip we took to Green Island (a volcanic Island in the Pacific Ocean, where it once was home to many political prisioners, and forbiden to the public) for one last HURRAH ....thank you [View Full Entry]

---

---

clouds of white Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world. Hualien, Taiwan is located on the East coast and if I knew, actually first hand, how beautiful, peaceful, fresh, that city is, I believe a second year might have been possible!!! For those who have lived in this city for the past year, I now understand why you don't need a t.v., you don't sit at the computer, and you certainly have a REASON to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to see an amazing sky!!! I headed down to Hualien by [View Full Entry]

---

---

“Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!” Dr. Seuss hello. i get paid to speak English, travel, and shop...what more could a girl ask for!?! no. really though. my life in taiwan is pretty simple and easy..a life i am not sure why i am leaving, but it's time for a new adventure and i believe it will be just as great! My students had a Mother's Day celebration at school last week and it was very interesting to experience. There was song and dance. The students sang a very powerful Taiwanese song to their mother's. From what I [View Full Entry]

---

---

yes ladies and gentlemen if you went to baseball games as a child/adult in America you know what the certain tune is played at the end you YELL----CHARGE!!! WELL....in Taiwan that just isn't the case, there is pure silence expect for the crazy American girls who didn't fail to yell! After the many 'back and forths' on deciding when to go to a baseball game, Rach and I went ahead and took our chance while we were in Tainan. And for the front row seats on the home team side along the bullpin where i found my main squeeze of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ray and I headed on another day trip this time to Tainan (the oldest city in Taiwan) for a little culture tour...I enjoyed it since i only had to travel 30 min, she on the other hand had a nice 3 hour ride but we had a good time so i think it was worth it!!! We had not been on a 'road trip' since neither of us had come to Taiwan, sooooooooooo we decided to rent a scooter and have one. Since the Goblin provides me with 125 cc of power, rach had no reservation on driving all day [View Full Entry]

---

---

I have to say that I have never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but I am taking a wild guess that the small town of Dajia, Taiwan on the Saturday night of Mazu's departure might have resembled close to that! Mazu is known in Taiwan as the popular goddess and guardian of the sea (to be exact the fishermen and sailors that surround Taichung). Mazu rests in a temple called Chenlan Temple in Dajia, and then once a year, she proceeds to make her way south down into the surrounding Taichung countys for 8 days, stopping by over [View Full Entry]

---

---

The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. ~Author Unknown I sometimes find myself struggling at school with the simple fact that presenting not only my students with the Western ideals, methods, and philosophies of the Western education system, but also one of my older co=worker whom i will say lately have not been the greatest support system, especially since attending college in the states, she should have an accepting and positive idea on how I want to present my lessons---In Taiwan, the schools focus so much on using the books in the classroom and following p [View Full Entry]

---

---

The Taiwan possey and I headed over to South Korea for a trip to Seoul, and made room for a little 'soul' searching. I have to say the highlight of the trip was watching clips of 'Whose Line Is It Anways" on the plane --- ok so maybe not the highlight, but they were pretty damn funny! I had a short work week last week and headed to the Cat Man's on wednesday night where I hung out with him and had dinner and hit the bed early sinec we had to be up at like 530AM to get ready [View Full Entry]

---

---

and remembered how lovely it is to enjoy nature! "There’s something about the quiet touch of nature that untangles my thoughts, awakens my heart and reminds me how beautiful our world was meant to be." Rinehart The Blonde Bomber (Rach's new name ha) The Cat Man (Mike) and I headed up to Alishan Mountian in Chiayi for a day trip on Saturday. I loved it, frankly because I only had to travel an hour and a half ha! We arrived in the early afternoon, where we proceeded to try to get a bus up the mountain, well of course they [View Full Entry]

---

---

and though I have been waiting so excitedly for the day to get back on that plane and head home to America..I am now starting to get a little terrified. Like I have said once before, Taiwan changes you. You are not the same person you once came here as, and I believe for me, it has changed me for the better. I have grown to understand and accept a lot about myself as a person, I have found out what makes me happy in life , I have had opportunities in life that people wait a LIFETIME to explore! [View Full Entry]

---

---