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Published: January 16th 2007
Wow. So, for lack of a better reason than being busy and unmotivated, I am not going to make any excuses this time for not writing as much. I'll just jump right into before my battery dies in this little cafe I'm in.
Since the last entry looks like it was made in mid Septemeber, I'll have to relay these past few months via superseed. Honestly, its a little blurry for me, as every small side trip I've done just kind blends into a smoothie of curvy cliffhanger roads and neon signs. However, I have done my fair share of exploring, and for the few comrades that have stuck with me during my brief abscence...here's what you were missing.
Over the Moon Festival Holiday in October a couple buddies of mine convinced their boss to let us borrow his oldest, crummiest school bus for a wild Taiwanese-style road trip. First, we headed down to Kaoshiung, the mega-port city down south, and picked up Mike (nicknamed ???, which translates perfectly to BIG MAC) and his Taiwanese girlfriend Sunny. After a memorable night there, we boarded a ferry that led us to a group of tiny islands to the west of
The Dolphin Class
The one on the far left in the blue is everyone's favorite.Taiwan (yes, directly in the line of fire from Big Brother's 700 ballistic missles pointed at us) named Pung Hu. Sunny, who's grandparents were some of the original settlers there hundreds of years ago, still has a small house in the middle of the historical village, which is now swarming with tourists ready to snap their countles pictures. So, for the next few days, we spent the night in the smallest, ruralist house I have ever been in. Exploring the island itself took a matter of 35 mins on a scooter, so we really relaxed. To step it up a notch, we met a guy who does green turtle research there, and he invited us to watch them scamper down to the water from their nests one day. It was fascinating.
November's big trip led me to a small diving paradise in the Phillipines. Santa Galera on the island of Mindoro if you're interested. 5 days, 3 clouds the entire time, 12 dives, gorgeous women, incredible food...it was the total opposite in so many ways. I got a massage on the beach during sunset every day after diving with turtles...what more can I ask for! To make it a
Checkin that list twice...
I got Jimmy a "beatle card"; a huge hit here! little more interesting (can't seem to do ANYTHING normal anymore...), I went with my good friend Miles (Univ of Colorado grad like me) and 11 other Taiwanese people who couldn't say "How are you?" in English. With the Philipinos speaking English the entire time, Miles and I were the the Chinese translators for every big meal, activity, and event. It was quite the scene come dinner every night....
December 1 was the start of something I like to call "absolutely nothing but Christmas" at my school. I was no longer an English teacher, but a Chirstmas specialist for 3 solid weeks. I was very good at Silent Night on the Xylephone, which I taught my Dolphin class to play, and "Up on the Housetop", which I correagraphed a killer dance to with my Watermelons. I even taught "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" to my older kids, who continue to sing it even today. The climax, of course, was a wild and crazy Christmas show that went very well. And being one of two males in my school, I took the Santa Claus duties as well. As some of the pictures show, the belly turned into a mild case of Elephantitis.
And now the present. I'm planning a trip to Cambodia over Chinese New Year in February. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Phenm Phen... And upon returning I will only be working part-time at my kindergarten while taking a full-time Chinese course at my local university. I look forward to the change, as I often work so hard at my school that I end up just going to bed to the same thing the next day.
The parents are living it up in Moscow, and I look forward to May or June when I plan to visit them for a couple of weeks! Mom, get that enchilada sauce ready, because I'm dying for some of your sweet home cooking! Dad, I'm killing you in fantasy golf because you still don't really know how to play. Carly, study...and come visit me.
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William Earl
non-member comment
Moving pictures ?
Are there any videos available for the shows ?