Anyway, it was pretty small inside, but instead of having booths they just had one stage with a clear glass circle in the middle that had a bouquet of flowers in it so there were flowers under your feet. I didn't think they would have any English songs, but they had plenty. They actually had a lot of old ones like "mr. lonely" and "my boyfriends back". When we came in there were a bunch of middle-aged people and one six-year old girl (it was almost midnight!) There was one loud old man who spoke some English. He seemed to like my roommate better because she was drinking alcohol and I didn't want any. I even tried to sing some chinese songs, with mixed results.
Anyway, I really wanted to watch porn with Tom that night, but Tom had worked in the morning and was too tired. He also seemed pretty reticent abount showing any of his collection to me. But we had plans for the next day, so I didn't push it too much.
On Sunday we met up with a bunch of Tom's friends from the tennis courts where we play, and from there we traveled in a big scooter gang to the Wellcome MART to buy food for a cookout. Then we travelled into the mountains of Sancha. On the edge of Sancha, all the buildings look a lot older, and there are a lot more Taiwanese "rednecks" (They swim in oversized t-shirts and burn garbage and chew betelnut, the Asian equivalent of chewing tobacco). We set up a barbecue by the river, and we all went swimming. There was only one other girl there, and she didn't really want to swim, so I got most of the attention. They were all laughing at me a lot because I was trying to swim up the current, but it was like one of those "endless pools" they sell for exercise nowadays, and they kept saying "HA HA you swim so hard but just stay in the same place!" Sometimes I wish I was like Xena warrior princess and all the guys would be amazed and terrified by my badass strength. But it was not to be. . .
Oh! Not again!
I just started my vacation this Saturday, and I kicked it off by buying a sexy sailor-style outfit with red stripes and a matching skirt so short that it needs built-in shorts underneath. This way I have something special to wear to the club this week. I don't really like looking like everyone else there, and it's not enough to be a different race, either!
Saturday was kind of a wasted day because Tom and I met up with his Vietnamese-Canadian friend who has been working in Hong Kong for five years. This guy was totally "bei-ai" which is Chinese for "pathetic". He was shorter than me, and no prize in the looks department (UGLY). And that's nothing I would judge him for, but he kept saying really judgmental things about girls' looks. We went to this really good Thai restaurant and he was like "well, at least the girls here are better looking than in Hong Kong" I was trying to make conversation with him because he was Tom's friend, and I was like "yeah, there are a lot of pretty girls here" and he was like "well, I mean, better than Hong Kong" and he went on to talk about how the prettiest girls were in Szechuan province in China bescause they didn't have "the asian figure" "if you know what I mean." He wasn't very friendly either, and he seemed like the type of ABC guy who is only comfortable talking to Asian people. Once we were alone together and he was like "aren't you going to get more food?" (we were at a buffet). But it was really boring and then tom was too tired.
Oh no! Internet time is almost up! I'll finish the story of this weekend later
The one good thing though was that when I told all the kids they had to have homework because some peoples parents wanted them to, all the kids were like "not me, not my mom!" except for maybe two kids, so I found out that instead of OMG ALL THE PARENTS! like the bitch manager made it out to be, it was actually just two parents tops, and the pthers thought it was nice I gave them a break. So ha! But. . . I was really angry for a while, because I put a lot of work into preparing the play for them to enjoy, and it hurt my feelings that all they could do was bitch about me to my boss. ugh. well, it's almost over.
So, it's day three of "listen to what the foot masseusse says" and I feel pretty great! My body wakes up on it's own in the morning, and I have so much more energy. Who knew chewing could do so much?
But, the only sour note now is the terrible dreams I keep having. I've been paying attention to my dreams a lot lately, and I keep having a succession of dying animal dreams. There's always one or more that survive, but the rest perish. First it was the pigs, in the dream I feel God sent me about not eating pork, or the meat of any animal with a complex soul who's life was filled with suffering. Then there was the dream where I was Brad Pitt and I was trying to escape capture for swindling by lighting a field on fire, but when I came out of the woods, a pack of wild horses was running swiftly into a clearing and some of the were on fire and they were all terrified. In last night's dream, one of my kittens had even tinier kittens, the size of seahorses, and I tried to give them a bath in an aquarium. Three out of four drowned. I wish I could have peace at night, but at the same time I feel there is something I need to be learning from them.
Oh, my minutes are almost up. Until next time!
We had a cookout at one of Tom's friend's apartments for American Independence Day. Things turned out awkward but mildly pleasant. For one thing, three men working together were incapable of starting a fire for over an hour. The one thing that was kind fo weird though was that I invited two of my roommates (the buxom Texas twins) and they brought one of their friends who is this cute English girl who says a lot of cute English things (I wish I could remember them, her everyday expressions really did sound creative, I wonder if they only sound that way because I'm not used to it. However, I never thought Australian expressions sounded too special.) But none of the guys there were talking to them. Or to each other, really. When I came down from cooking my fish tacos I was talking to the girls, but the four men were all hunched over in silence. So it was kind of like we were having a party by ourselves while our caveman servants cooked our meat for us. Maybe it was because two of them had girlfriends who were in the apartment having chinese girl talk time for hours, and they were afraid their girlfriends would come down and see them talking to other girls. But their was not a lot of friendly chemistry going on. Also, one of my guests wanted cheese on her hot dog, and nobody would help me find the cheese, and it was really dark. I just kept wandering around looking in bags and murmuring "where's the cheese?" I was like a ghost, and cheese was my unfinished business.
A went for a foot massage on Sunday with my friend from the conversation club. I felt bad because I don't think she understood me on the phone, and she wasn't expecting to pay for a massage. she looked uncomfortable and I ended up paying for part of hers. whoops. But she was really nice and translated what the reflexologist said. He said that I really needed to change my habits, because he could tell from my feet that I always go to bed too late, that I don't chew my food much, and that my heartbeat is weak. I was really excited this morning about chewing my food. It wasn't until I made a concerted effort to chew that I realized how little I did it before. Going to bed early is going to be the real trick. . .
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M
I know this has been seen a little on the news here, but it's better to see it uncut.
Apparently they all had to dance or they would lose priviledges. I wonder if the dancing really helps them. But I can't imagine NOT wanting to dance, and I wonder if most of them secretly wanted to do it anyway
I'm watching this puppet TV show, and all the voices sound like they're done by the same guy. I guess it's cool that it's traditional, but they also add these really cheap CGI ghost figures. It's actually a little boring. Maybe puppets are better in person. But I'm trying to listen to Chinese as much as I can.
The puppets are living in Ancient times and casting spells, and it's really funny.
There's a commercial that keeps coming on, and it shows how even though a girl is tossing and turning in her sleep, she won't fall of the bed as long as the bed is really long. It turns out it's a commercial for night-time pads. But it actually accomplishes the impossible feat of making periods look cute.
It is so much easier to recycle here! McDonalds even has pictures on the trash cans that show you what you can and can't recycle. I have a bin right outside my apartment door, and the recycling place takes just about everything. If it's cardboard, plastic or tin, they will recycle it.
Anyway, I haven't posted as much as I've wanted to because work is kind of kicking my ass right now. The school I'm with is really stressful because they have very specific requirements for how they want things taught. Also, with grading and planning, I spend at least twice the time I spend in the classroom just grading homework and planning for classes. I also have a "Treehouse" class which is like having your own elementary classroom, where you're responsible for progress reports and every class period, three times a week, you have to give them a quiz and write a note to their parents about how they're doing. It's kind of a pain. I am excited about making construction paper decorations, though.
I'm starting to have a lot of doubts about this company. They already made me cry at training, and my roommate, this really cool South African girl, told me that they are very harsh when they do their observations, and if you mess up, they bring up every mistake against you and tell you "you need to be different." I don't know if it's just the way this company works, or if it's a cultural thing where if you're expected to work really hard for no thanks, but it's a big problem if you slip up. I don't know. The school is apparently the industry leader, and so they treat their teachers like a regiment of soldiers. Although I hear it's really rare that they fire you. But I have to do so many "chants" that I wouldn't be surprised if I started to suffer from a phonics spirit possession.
Taiwan is a lot of fun, though. One of the Chinese teachers took me to a night market, (they have a lot of those here), and she ordered these really delicious snails in chili sauce for me to try. They have tons of food and clothes on sale and little carnival games. Last night my roommate took me to another one where we got an amazing foot massage where they go over all the pressure points. It hurts a little bit, but it feels really good and envigorating.
And the shopping, Oh my god the shopping. . .
Almost everything is cute, my size, and usually on sale for the equivalent of about 3-5$ US! Seriously, you would not believe it. I have to stop myself because I have to save my money for Chinese lessons and violin lessons. I really want to get good at both of these things as fast as I can!
Today was my first lesson, and I planned really well,
but they told me the wrong one. Luckily, the game I picked was a big hit, and my Chinese co-teacher who sits in during my classes was really helpful at making sure the kids didn't act up while I was fumbling with the teachers's guide.
I really liked Sunny, this chubby girl who was really smart and nice and who showed me a mouse while we were on break. And also Peter 2 (They get numbers if there's more than one of a popular name) and Saime was really funny and jumpy.
Tomorrow I explore the city!
I'm home alone now. My very Christian roommates have left on a vacation to teach church camp for a week. The place is pretty big for being here by myself, and I'm a little spooked. It is, after all, the day after Ghost Day. Perhaps I should have prayed outside of my apartment building with everyone else, and contributed to the folding tables with food and incense that extend tabletop to tabletop for a block. Apparently ghosts appreciate Oreos, Chinese style Ho-Hos and persimmons.
Men at work 
Grandma at work
The scooters are like swarms of buzzing bees. Friendly scooter man even looks like a bee. 
The pictures don't do justice to the beauty of Xinbeitou
I like this picture I took of you 
The view from inside my cubby at the hostel. The Chinese woman who ran the hostel didn't like me because she was a lesbian and before I realized that I was wondering aloud to someone there why it was so easy to notice gay men everywhere because of their distinct look, but that it was much rarer that you would notice a lesbian. But her partner was really nice, always smiling sweetly and looking very stereotypically like a lesbian. I never knew for sure they were lesbians, but I'm almost certain. 
The old man living next door to the hostel really likes communism, apparently. So I don't know why he isn't living on the mainland instead of Taiwan. He also apparently likes the swimsuit advertisements from newspapers. 
I will probably die under the wheels of a scooter. I am serious, these things know no law and they are EVERYWHERE.When I got to Taipei, though, it was much nicer. A man helped hold my cart so I could get my bags on, and then I practiced a little Chinese with the Taxi driver, who told me I looked really young. The hostel I stayed at before I got to my hotel had a very pungent odor. It smelled sort of like much of Taiwan does, but to the tenth power, and now everything in my suitcase smells that way. It was so sticky because there was only AC at night and it gets soooo hot here. I got a sunburn walking around at 9:30 in the morning.
We slept ten to a room in little wooden cubby holes with green curtains. They were cute and made me feel like I was living in a rabbit warren. The place was a bit gross, and the shower was just a hole in the bathroom floor, but overall it was alright, and there were lots of people from all over the place there. There are A LOT of people who come from beachy places here, like New Zealand and California. I'm a rarity because I'm seven hours at least from a beach.
I met a nice English girl there named Rosemary who was also joining my company, so we went on a day trip together up to Xinbeitou (it is 25 minutes from the mainstation in Taipei, because even though it is a city of 3 million, its really compact) a beautiful town nestled in green mountains that had a sulfur hot springs (and lots of wonderful baths.) The place was absolute paradise. There's a small national park there, and lots of more traditional homes that you have to walk up stone steps to get to. The baths were also wonderful, they were in these round, public stone tubs surrounded by nice flowers and bannana trees.
Taipei itself is crazy, there's swarms of scooters buzzing around constantly, and tons of neon signs in Chinese. people are really SUPER helpful though. I asked one woman where the pharmacy was and she led us there herself, even though it was BLOCKS away and she even showed us how to get this awesome mosquito cream for Rose's bites, and then the shopkeepers even opened up a new package of wipes and wiped the puss off of them (they were terrible!) free of charge. It was funny because the woman made her put the cream on right there in the shop while everyone watched.
More to come!
Next episode: Cinderella
wish me luck
People here are not as short as I was led to expect. Also, there is definitely a good way, and a terrible barf-inducing (I'm looking at you airlines) way to make scrambled eggs.
It is hot in the hostel where I am staying. It is annoying that I have to throw away toilet paper instead of flushing it, as it runs very counter to a habit I have had for years.
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