maryNtaiwan

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 my friends for taking this amazing adventure in Taiwan with me!!! “Of journeying the benefits are many: the freshness it bringeth to the heart, the seeing and hearing of marvelous things, the delight of beholding, ... read more

“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 was told in English, it was about how the students should never forget how much their mother does for them/ sacraficies for them to have a better life as they grow up and to never ... read more

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 in the city---the power of the 125 compared to her 90 was a little thrill haha. As we venture off to our first destination, following the map, as i was the navigator (tho do not ... read more

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 page by page, word for word, and to be honest you can see how much the emphasize this because when I want to steer away from the book, for even a short mini lesson, the students ... read more

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 were sold out, so then we were going to think of renting a scooter ( thank god we didnt because after seeing those curves-yeah i might not have been here to write this today ha) ... read more