Probably my favorite photo from this week :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Psst...
I'm still alive over here. I don't have any new Taiwan photos for you.
But here are some lovely UTAH photos.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
I've Missed You
So, probably I am the biggest slacker the world has ever seen. I apologize that I haven't posted in so long. I would list some excuses, but none of them are very good so I don't think I will. But I have been in a bad mood lately so maybe it's better that I haven't written anything in awhile.
Remember how I used to love Sundays? And how I used to love going to church? Because it was my break from everything else? Well, I kind of dread Sundays now. For because I got called as a primary teacher. And maybe I acted like a total brat that whole day. Maybe I stomped around and even growled a little bit (or perhaps a lot). And probably I was as close as I could get to crying and/or screaming. And possibly I felt like breaking things. Because now I get to prepare a lesson for every day of the week and I get to be around kids that make me want to pull my hair out EVERY FREAKING DAY OF THE WEEK. Obviously not all of them make me feel that way. Some of them are really cute, but you know, there are still those few who, when I even think about having to be around them, make me want to curl up in the fetal position and sob. I have thought, and it has been pointed out, that one day I will probably have my own kids and I won't get a break from them. Only there is a difference, because those who have pointed it out to me mean it as in "you are getting good practice!" but I think of it as "I shouldn't have to do it NOW. These aren't my kids. I don't have to love them." Also, can I just say that there may be a few adults who I would like to strangle for having completely ruined their children. Like, really, if I ever get the chance I just might do it.
Here are the girls in my primary class. They all look like angels. Looks can be deceiving. I dare you to guess which one makes me really hate life.
Yesterday I made myself be more positive because Thursday was not a pleasant day. I really, really, really wanted to go home, and that was all I could think about. I kept wishing very hard that it would be December 23rd. That attitude on top of my Thursday schedule made for a not good day. So yesterday was much better. I actually wrote in my journal "Today I loved teaching AK." I don't think that has happened before. I usually dread AK more than anything. But we have 16 kids in there now. It does take a lot of energy to keep them under reasonable control, but it is so much more fun with so many of them.
Front to back: Kyran, Oscar, Derrick (they are definitely some of my favorites)
Coco. She's really quiet, but really smart. And she's one of the few that actually answers me when I say hi. She's really cute.
Jack and I. He wanted to make silly faces. Pretty epic photo if I do say so.
The other day I made playdough for our activity so that they could take it home. The blue was a little bit sticky. I turned around and the child who has had the biggest part in my dreading going to AK every day had squished it all over his hands and his desk. Mind you, he is seven and he knows better. I told him to go and wash it off and if he did it again I would take away his playdough and he couldn't keep it. Well, he went and washed his hands, came back, and squished it all over. I was like "okay, you don't get to keep the blue," and he was like "I don't want the blue!" Brat. Of course he wanted the blue, it's his favorite color of everything. When it was time to go home he was really mad at me because I wouldn't give him the blue playdough. Evil. Child.
But playdough was still really fun! I found a really awesome low salt recipe, so it was really smooth. It looked pretty. I kind of wanted to keep it all for myself...or eat it, but I refrained :)
Daniel
Immy
The other night I walked to the bakery with Kendra and Rachel and on our way home we walked past a pet shop. But not just any pet shop! This pet shop had bunnies and squirrels and raccoons! The squirrel was by the window and it kept licking the bars of its cage. I really want a pet raccoon now.
Awesome? Yes, I think so.
Remember how I used to love Sundays? And how I used to love going to church? Because it was my break from everything else? Well, I kind of dread Sundays now. For because I got called as a primary teacher. And maybe I acted like a total brat that whole day. Maybe I stomped around and even growled a little bit (or perhaps a lot). And probably I was as close as I could get to crying and/or screaming. And possibly I felt like breaking things. Because now I get to prepare a lesson for every day of the week and I get to be around kids that make me want to pull my hair out EVERY FREAKING DAY OF THE WEEK. Obviously not all of them make me feel that way. Some of them are really cute, but you know, there are still those few who, when I even think about having to be around them, make me want to curl up in the fetal position and sob. I have thought, and it has been pointed out, that one day I will probably have my own kids and I won't get a break from them. Only there is a difference, because those who have pointed it out to me mean it as in "you are getting good practice!" but I think of it as "I shouldn't have to do it NOW. These aren't my kids. I don't have to love them." Also, can I just say that there may be a few adults who I would like to strangle for having completely ruined their children. Like, really, if I ever get the chance I just might do it.
Here are the girls in my primary class. They all look like angels. Looks can be deceiving. I dare you to guess which one makes me really hate life.
Yesterday I made myself be more positive because Thursday was not a pleasant day. I really, really, really wanted to go home, and that was all I could think about. I kept wishing very hard that it would be December 23rd. That attitude on top of my Thursday schedule made for a not good day. So yesterday was much better. I actually wrote in my journal "Today I loved teaching AK." I don't think that has happened before. I usually dread AK more than anything. But we have 16 kids in there now. It does take a lot of energy to keep them under reasonable control, but it is so much more fun with so many of them.
Front to back: Kyran, Oscar, Derrick (they are definitely some of my favorites)
Coco. She's really quiet, but really smart. And she's one of the few that actually answers me when I say hi. She's really cute.
Jack and I. He wanted to make silly faces. Pretty epic photo if I do say so.
The other day I made playdough for our activity so that they could take it home. The blue was a little bit sticky. I turned around and the child who has had the biggest part in my dreading going to AK every day had squished it all over his hands and his desk. Mind you, he is seven and he knows better. I told him to go and wash it off and if he did it again I would take away his playdough and he couldn't keep it. Well, he went and washed his hands, came back, and squished it all over. I was like "okay, you don't get to keep the blue," and he was like "I don't want the blue!" Brat. Of course he wanted the blue, it's his favorite color of everything. When it was time to go home he was really mad at me because I wouldn't give him the blue playdough. Evil. Child.
But playdough was still really fun! I found a really awesome low salt recipe, so it was really smooth. It looked pretty. I kind of wanted to keep it all for myself...or eat it, but I refrained :)
Daniel
Immy
The other night I walked to the bakery with Kendra and Rachel and on our way home we walked past a pet shop. But not just any pet shop! This pet shop had bunnies and squirrels and raccoons! The squirrel was by the window and it kept licking the bars of its cage. I really want a pet raccoon now.
Awesome? Yes, I think so.
Friday, July 29, 2011
This is the story of how I [almost] died...
Movie reference! Ten points if you can name the movie. Twenty if you are the first. You might be thinking "Pft, 20 points? Who cares?" Well, I'm just saying that you should care. See, I am going to have some pretty cool stuff by the time I croak. And probably I'll be rich too, so you might want to get in on my will, right? Welllll...I might have a nifty little notebook. And in this nifty little notebook I might have my favorite people listed. And I might just keep track of how pleased I am with those people by using a points system. You know, that just might be how the booty is divvied up when I kick the bucket. A little something for you to ponder. But, I digress. Back to what this post was meant to be on:
When you look at these you may think of environmentally friendly transportation, or a good work out, a leisurely Sunday ride, or perhaps even Lance Armstrong. There was a time when the sight of a bicycle conjured up these same magical images in my own mind. But those days have come to an end. I am here to tell you that these...these...things, are really instruments of death.
You may be laughing at me right now, but I assure you that I bring this subject up in all seriousness. I'm pretty sure the Fates have decided that I will suffer death-by-bicycle. I have stared death in the face approximately 62 times in the last week. If you are wondering, it's a little less scary after the 11th time, and after the 23rd time it just becomes downright hilarious.
Okay, so maybe that is a gross exaggeration, but I really do think danger follows me when I am on a bike. Have I told you about the Tunnel of Death? Well, there is a Tunnel of Death here. I think that most of us here in the teacher dorms at Berhan find this tunnel to be appropriately named. To get to the other side of the train tracks you must ride your bike through the Tunnel of Death. This tunnel is very narrow. There is part of this tunnel where you are temporarily unable to see very well at all. And best of all, you often must ride your bike through this skinny, dark tunnel with a line of scooters in front of and behind you. And the noise from the scooters echos. And you really do have the feeling that you might die at any second. There is a separate tunnel for cars and yet another tunnel for foot traffic. So obviously you do not walk through the actual Tunnel of Death, right? RIGHT? I would say it is pretty obvious. Well, there seems to be at least one suicidal/homicidal person in Feng Yuan who does not seem to understand this, because she happened to be walking through the Tunnel of Death when Rachel, Kaylee and I were riding through on our bikes. And then, in the darkest part of the tunnel, she decided to stop in front of my bike. Really? REALLY?! Who is that stupid? Well, unfortunately no one got hurt. It would have been more exciting. But I did hit my brakes hard and the back of my bike slid forward so it was horizontal and blocking the tunnel. And it made a really cool screeching sound. It kind of made me feel like a stunt woman. Fortunately for me, and Miss Airhead (who just kept walking and acted like nothing even happened), there were no scooters this time.
The same night we were riding through on the way home. This time I had a cake roll...thing in my basket. It had been a lovely evening and I had nearly forgotten about my previous tunnel experience. Kendra and Rachel entered the Tunnel of Death before me. I saw a scooter coming so I stopped and let it go in first, but then I had to hurry so that I could catch up to the other girls at the other end. So, I was speeding and bouncing along (I forgot to mention previously that The Tunnel is also poorly paved) and the cake roll thing was bouncing around violently in my basket, and I kept thinking, "it's going to fall out, it's going to fall out" but I couldn't do anything about it because I was bouncing and speeding enough that I needed to have both of my hands on the handlebars and you DO NOT slow down in the Tunnel of Death. If you do that the name automatically changes to the Tunnel of Certain and Inescapable Death. I was nearly to the intersection on the other side of the deathly tunnel and just as I thought, "maybe it won't fall out" I hit a really uneven piece of pavement and the beautiful, yellow cake roll thing flew like a kamikaze angel right into the middle of the street. At the intersection (what is it with me and intersections?). I was going so fast that, even though it flew forward, I passed it before it hit the ground. And then I screamed. Really loudly. It's a reflex. It's just what I do. And it's ridiculous. Anyway, it got Kendra and Rachel's attention. I slammed on the breaks again, half flew, half leaped off my bike, dropped it, and sprinted to the cake before the light changed. Like saving that cake was the most important thing I would ever do. I sustained minor injuries...to my pride. Also my hand was bleeding. Okay, so it was just an itty bitty scratch.
Anyway it was all rather exciting. And I feel that I have adequately proved my point about the dangers of bicycles, even though those are only two of my many bike stories.
^ my bike
When you look at these you may think of environmentally friendly transportation, or a good work out, a leisurely Sunday ride, or perhaps even Lance Armstrong. There was a time when the sight of a bicycle conjured up these same magical images in my own mind. But those days have come to an end. I am here to tell you that these...these...things, are really instruments of death.
You may be laughing at me right now, but I assure you that I bring this subject up in all seriousness. I'm pretty sure the Fates have decided that I will suffer death-by-bicycle. I have stared death in the face approximately 62 times in the last week. If you are wondering, it's a little less scary after the 11th time, and after the 23rd time it just becomes downright hilarious.
Okay, so maybe that is a gross exaggeration, but I really do think danger follows me when I am on a bike. Have I told you about the Tunnel of Death? Well, there is a Tunnel of Death here. I think that most of us here in the teacher dorms at Berhan find this tunnel to be appropriately named. To get to the other side of the train tracks you must ride your bike through the Tunnel of Death. This tunnel is very narrow. There is part of this tunnel where you are temporarily unable to see very well at all. And best of all, you often must ride your bike through this skinny, dark tunnel with a line of scooters in front of and behind you. And the noise from the scooters echos. And you really do have the feeling that you might die at any second. There is a separate tunnel for cars and yet another tunnel for foot traffic. So obviously you do not walk through the actual Tunnel of Death, right? RIGHT? I would say it is pretty obvious. Well, there seems to be at least one suicidal/homicidal person in Feng Yuan who does not seem to understand this, because she happened to be walking through the Tunnel of Death when Rachel, Kaylee and I were riding through on our bikes. And then, in the darkest part of the tunnel, she decided to stop in front of my bike. Really? REALLY?! Who is that stupid? Well, unfortunately no one got hurt. It would have been more exciting. But I did hit my brakes hard and the back of my bike slid forward so it was horizontal and blocking the tunnel. And it made a really cool screeching sound. It kind of made me feel like a stunt woman. Fortunately for me, and Miss Airhead (who just kept walking and acted like nothing even happened), there were no scooters this time.
The same night we were riding through on the way home. This time I had a cake roll...thing in my basket. It had been a lovely evening and I had nearly forgotten about my previous tunnel experience. Kendra and Rachel entered the Tunnel of Death before me. I saw a scooter coming so I stopped and let it go in first, but then I had to hurry so that I could catch up to the other girls at the other end. So, I was speeding and bouncing along (I forgot to mention previously that The Tunnel is also poorly paved) and the cake roll thing was bouncing around violently in my basket, and I kept thinking, "it's going to fall out, it's going to fall out" but I couldn't do anything about it because I was bouncing and speeding enough that I needed to have both of my hands on the handlebars and you DO NOT slow down in the Tunnel of Death. If you do that the name automatically changes to the Tunnel of Certain and Inescapable Death. I was nearly to the intersection on the other side of the deathly tunnel and just as I thought, "maybe it won't fall out" I hit a really uneven piece of pavement and the beautiful, yellow cake roll thing flew like a kamikaze angel right into the middle of the street. At the intersection (what is it with me and intersections?). I was going so fast that, even though it flew forward, I passed it before it hit the ground. And then I screamed. Really loudly. It's a reflex. It's just what I do. And it's ridiculous. Anyway, it got Kendra and Rachel's attention. I slammed on the breaks again, half flew, half leaped off my bike, dropped it, and sprinted to the cake before the light changed. Like saving that cake was the most important thing I would ever do. I sustained minor injuries...to my pride. Also my hand was bleeding. Okay, so it was just an itty bitty scratch.
Anyway it was all rather exciting. And I feel that I have adequately proved my point about the dangers of bicycles, even though those are only two of my many bike stories.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
I've Got a Dream
For those of you who don't know (and I think that a lot of you do), Tangled is my favorite movie ever. As in I could watch it everyday for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. At least I am 98% sure of that. It is super cute and colorful and funny, but what really sealed the deal and made it my all time favorite was the lantern scene.
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a youtube video of a Chinese lantern festival and thought I just might die. It was so incredibly beautiful. Hello, can you think of anything more magical than thousands of lanterns lighting up an inky night sky? I'm not sure I can. Seeing those lanterns in person became the first item on my bucket list.
Guess what? There is a little town in Northern Taiwan, called Pingshi, that holds this festival.
Guess what else? It's during Chinese new year. A month and a half or so after I am supposed to come home.
I keep telling myself, "Only if I stay six months. I could stay a year." Sometimes things like this pop up and make it so hard to do what I know I should :(
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a youtube video of a Chinese lantern festival and thought I just might die. It was so incredibly beautiful. Hello, can you think of anything more magical than thousands of lanterns lighting up an inky night sky? I'm not sure I can. Seeing those lanterns in person became the first item on my bucket list.
Guess what? There is a little town in Northern Taiwan, called Pingshi, that holds this festival.
Guess what else? It's during Chinese new year. A month and a half or so after I am supposed to come home.
I keep telling myself, "Only if I stay six months. I could stay a year." Sometimes things like this pop up and make it so hard to do what I know I should :(
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I Want More Taipei! (Taipei part 2)
After everyone was done at the temple Saturday we all got back on the bus we had rented just for our branch and went to Taipei 101! Some of us went up to buy tickets to ride up to the observatory (because, just in case you didn't know, Taipei 101 is the second tallest building in the world). Only a few from our group decided to wait in line to go up to the observatory, and I was not one of them. The rest of us had a really good time exploring the mall that took up the bottom five stories of the building though! Okay, so I actually didn't appreciate the mall experience so much, but hanging out with Heather, Kylie, Sara, and Veronica was tons of fun! AND Kylie and I got Cold Stone from the food court. Soooo good. I have never appreciated real ice cream so much. I haven't been much of an ice cream fan since I first tasted aggie icecream because nothing measures up to it. However, in search of familiar foods I have tasted several different brands of ice cream here and....well, just...wow. Taiwanese ice cream really sucks. Cold stone was heavenly. I am so glad we decided to get some. I was so focused on consuming its goodness that I didn't take a photo, but we all know what ice cream looks like so its no loss.
This is part of our group.
Jessica Stoker, Veronica, Kendra, Heather, Sara, who you can't really see, Kylie, Jessica, and half of Kaylee
Taipei 101 from the bottom:
Me with my gross, frizzy, air-dried chlorine hair, but next to a really cool and colorful picture of Taipei 101 at night! (thanks for the shirt Susie :) I'll make sure I bring you home another cute shirt to replace it).
A display at Tiffany's. This mall only has really pricey stores, like Prada and Mui Mui, and Fendi. You know all that over priced stuff :) I thought this display would have been really cute...if the note weren't so fake, haha, but the little picture was adorable!
We also found the world's most ridiculous (and possibly most hilarious) mannequin:
LOVE it! They have really funny mannequins over here actually. There are these amazing light-up ones which they like to put lingerie on. Oh! I've also seen a couple maternity ones (as in, light-up maternity mannequins). Wearing maternity lingerie of course. So strange. This place really entertains me.
Part of the mall:
Outside Taipei 101:
Heather, Kylie, and Sara:
Kylie with Brother and Sister Liston:
The Liston's are awesome. Our branch temple trip consisted of them, the ILP teachers, and President Baclayon. We got on the bus and were like "this is it?" Haha, we do make up almost a third of the branch though. Last night I asked Jenny what the branch does when we're all gone on a trip because we fill half of the branch callings and Jenny is relief society president and Jessica is primary president. Apparently they combine all of their meetings and just hold church for two hours. I thought that was kind of funny.
We met up with the Liston's and President Baclayon at the church building for the Chinese-speaking ward in Feng Yuan to get on the bus. I had assumed that we would be walking, but we ended up riding bikes. I was wearing a pencil skirt. Hmm, let me tell you, that was a real adventure. For one, it was rather hard to get on my bike in the first place, then we had to stop at an intersection and I had a hard time getting going because of my stupid skirt so I lost control of my bike, ran into Jessica's bike, then lost my shoe, which Kaylee accidentally ran over, then had to make a circle in the middle of the intersection to get it back, had a hard time getting my shoe on, had a hard time getting back on my bike and moving, was screaming and laughing the whole time, and then looked over to see a guy at one of the food stalls on the street laughing at me too and realized how comical the whole thing must have been. I'm pretty sure by the time I leave here I will be know as the crazy foreigner girl. Knowing myself well enough I can tell you that this definitely won't be the last time something like that happens. Then on the way home my tights got caught on the gears. I was like "Aaaaaaaah! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! Pedal backwards, pedal backwards, don't fall over, pedal backwards, don't crash into Heather, PEDAL BACKWARDS!" Don't worry, this isn't a posthumous post. I survived. I even managed a perfect dismount when we arrived home. I do now have a gigantic hole in my tights unfortunately. You may go here, to Kendra's blog, to see a photo of me on a bike in a skirt, pre-accident. Don't worry, no adult content ;P
We've been doing "family" dinners together every Sunday, taking turns cooking, and the Liston's set up family home evening for us too. It's awesome. I love these girls. They are beautiful inside and out, and funny to boot. I'm so glad I that I have six months to get to know them.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Taiwan: 026
Today was Saturday! Hoooooraaaay! Okay, so the day started off a little rocky. My alarm went off and then I fell back asleep and my eyes snapped open 2 hours after I had meant to get up. Whoops. But it's okay, it's not like my day was ruined. My class this morning went fast and I really love those kids, so it wouldn't have been too awful anyway.
And you know what the best part of the day was? Go on, guess. Really. Try to guess. I want you to try to guess....
Did you guess?
If you guessed that trying red bean ice cream was it, then you are completely wrong.
The best part was that we all got to go to the Taipei temple! So awesome. It made me really miss the Salt Lake temple though. I love that place more than anywhere else, but hey! I am super super super glad we got to go because it was wonderful. And beautiful. And peaceful. And all that other good stuff. It was really small. Holy smokes, the baptismal font was so teeny. And there was almost no temple grounds. I'm not complaining, just stating fact :)
Me, Veronica, Jessica Stoker, and Kendra. Please pardon our hair. We had just finished with baptisms.
And you know what the best part of the day was? Go on, guess. Really. Try to guess. I want you to try to guess....
Did you guess?
If you guessed that trying red bean ice cream was it, then you are completely wrong.
The best part was that we all got to go to the Taipei temple! So awesome. It made me really miss the Salt Lake temple though. I love that place more than anywhere else, but hey! I am super super super glad we got to go because it was wonderful. And beautiful. And peaceful. And all that other good stuff. It was really small. Holy smokes, the baptismal font was so teeny. And there was almost no temple grounds. I'm not complaining, just stating fact :)
Me, Veronica, Jessica Stoker, and Kendra. Please pardon our hair. We had just finished with baptisms.
The stake center/distribution center next to the temple
Afterward, all of us that did baptisms went down the street to get something to eat. I got this really good mango shaved ice with kiwi, strawberry, mango, and Taiwanese pudding on top. Mmmmm :) AND we ate at a tasty dim sum restaurant too! I didn't take any photos of the food, but here are some of the street we walked down:
Jessica Stoker. She teaches at the other ILP school on the other side of Taichung from Feng Yuan.
Miss Heather
Okay, confession: you know how as a kid the world is just amazing and everything in it is interesting and magic is real and every single thing in existence has it's own special kind of beauty? Well, I never really grew out of that, and I feel a little bit drunk with so many new things to see and touch, and hear, and smell, and taste and...learn. Everywhere I go there are so many amazing things to see (colors, new plants, people, architecture, food, clothes, shops, culture, etc) and my brain is on overload. Even at home where so much is familiar I get so excited over the smallest things, so I feel like a little kid that has just been given free reign of a gigantic toy store/ice cream shop. It's wonderful and I am completely enchanted by this place.
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