everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes

marriage!

2010-06-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

i got married. and made a "cute little married person blog" upon the husband's request. he told me tonight, "i am so proud that we have this. i secretly love it."

not so secret now.

anyways, visit us!

meandmisterc.blogspot.com

friends+paper goods=heaven

2010-04-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

thanks hugely to friends cassidy, steph, and sam--we stamped, stuffed, and finished [almost] all the invitations last night! they look great and i want to take pictures of them...but i have no clue where my camera is. my bet is that it's hiding under all the other wedding stuff piled on my desk/bureau/bed/floor.

but it was a lovely 2 and a half hour party with those girls and i am so glad that i have great friends who are so willing to help out. it helps that they are super funny and detail-oriented, so i wasn't [too] worried about the invitations getting messed up.

cass, adrianne, steph, sam, me at cassidy's house in livermore. p.s note my pillow over my legs, trying to cover up...hah.

the little things

2010-03-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

jc and i went to home depot yesterday to get wedding decor and guess what i convinced him to buy?!

SEEDS! it is a wonder to me how something so little can make me so happy.

as soon as i can, i am putting those little babies in the ground [aka pots on my windowsill] and we will have fresh carrots, tomatoes, and peppers! and i might have bought green beans, but i can't remember. while looking at the selection of seeds, i announced that in 58 to 72 days, we will never buy vegetables again! i think jc just looked at me like i was a crazy person...either way, fresh summer veggies here i come! now if only it would stop snowing in utah...

image from pepeka

engagements!

2010-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

we took engagements on monday with our photographer cody buell. it was kind of awkward at first due to my inability to be photogenic, but got a lot more comfortable as we spent more time. cody is super nice and we had a lot more in common than we originally realized. [he loves food, we love food!]

check out his blog...we are already up there!

a tribute

2010-03-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

to jessica may. after spending too much time trying on badly made wedding dresses and ridiculously well made wedding dresses that cost more than my college tuition, i decided to go with a custom dress. thankfully, utah totally understands the short engagement thing. other bridal consultants would feign sick when i told them i needed a dress in four months! i don't think jessica even blinked. she works right out of her basement and has an adorable bride's room! better yet, she is half fairy godmother, half edna mode.

anyways, we spent a LOT of time figuring out a perfect dress. like probably more time than jessica ever wanted to spend with a bride. but she helped me find something that i love.

i went for my first fitting for my wedding dress yesterday and it was glorious! my schedule is all over the place this semester and jessica has been amazing about weird consultation hours. i was at her house until MIDNIGHT last night. ahhhh the patience she has. i highly recommend her. there will be pictures of the dress up...but after it is done. no spoiling the surprise!

maybe i will buy her those glasses, just for fun.

yum

2010-03-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

as you might know, i am not a fan of cold weather. so i am really excited to move to arizona where cold weather just doesn't happen. i hear you can pick oranges YEAR ROUND. but one downside--no apple and pear harvests. aka no as many delicious homemade apple pie or rustic pear tarts. of course, i could buy these from the grocery store but that is sort of against my motto of buying locally grown food. but really, how much can you do with citrus!?

so you can probably guess how excited i was when i found this citrus tart recipe AND the adorable blog that featured it. there is something so comforting and beautiful about food photography. in my next life, [when i have unlimited time and money to pursue everything] i think i'll go into food photography.

photo by hannah at honeyandjam.com

i forgot

2010-03-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

IT IS MARCH!! which means only 3 more months till marriage. and sunshine! well, depending on utah's mood i guess.

i'll give you two guesses why i love this photo so much.

by jill thomas.

i am in love

2010-02-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

with this song and video. especially the cute older lady that dances! [remember this post on my taiwan co-worker's blog?] it makes me want to travel somewhere warm. and somewhere where dogs roam free and dancing happens in the streets. amy was always talking about puerto rico....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehu3wy4WkHs

p.s. i WILL incorporate this in my wedding.

p.p.s. did i mention that it took me 25 MINUTES to find parking this morning?? oh and i didnt even find it. after 25 minutes, i turned around and went home. i wish it was warm enough to bike everywhere.

layout drama

2010-02-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

after trying to decipher the "edit html" option, i realized i need help.

can anyone lend a helping hand/note/brain to fix the layout into something where at least the header is centered?? my mother would be so ashamed at my inability to format

some inspiration...
the rockstar diaries
a little sussy
oh happy day

home!

2010-02-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

goals for the weekend at home: find someone to make us a cake. i am thinking something like this--what do you think?

image from the bridal buzz, 20 worst wedding cakes

i'm back

2010-02-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

so. lots and lots and lots have happened since i returned from taiwan. and life has been going so fast that i have not written one thing documenting my adventures.

but i have decided to change! my life now is just as [if not more] exciting than taiwan-and i still have stuff to say. therefore, this blog is being reborn.

here are some life changes since my last post [eight months ago]
-i arrived safely in the states
-i fell in love. like real real love
-i changed my major/minor from elementary ed/tesol to psychology/family life
-i decided i want to go into occupational therapy or hippo therapy
-i got an internship at a family mediation center [acafs in provo] and at a hippo therapy barn [courage reins in highlands]
-jeff proposed! and i said yes. may 29, 2010=MARRIAGE
-we are moving to phoenix, az in the fall

whew. the next four months will be crazy busy and crazy fun. and the best part-i get to spend the rest of forever with someone amazing!

picture from taipei, taiwan 2009.

thanks hualien.

2009-06-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

this post is dedicated to everone who ever helped us. even when we didn't understand them. and they didn't understand us. they were unselfish, endearing, and generous. whether it was out of pity, necessity, or love--thank you thank you. i am sorry that i still don't know a lot of your names. i promise when we are in heaven and language won't be a problem, i will tell you exactly how cool i think you are.

ever thanks to...
the beef noodle man that smiled each time we left the night market.
the women who made our breakfasts
the crazy aborigine that made our first night hilarious.
the countless parents that said "hello" even when those where the only english words they spoke.
the aborigine teenagers that took us to the waterfalls
the bao tze man that remembered that i only like the veggie ones
the lady in the dress shop in taipei
the miso soup lady that knew we couldn't read chinese
yuling's dad for painstakingly taking care of the garden upstairs
the bbq man that expressed his love constantly
the many many public transportation workers that helped us lost weiguorens.

and more thanks to those whose names we knew...
to ronald who made us smoothies, [almost] always with a smile
to john who showed us true taiwanese hospitality
to president neilson. enough said.
to chinese jeff for being a good example
to yuling who indirectly taught me so much about myself
to foster whose flawless english gives me hope for my chinese
to teacher stephanie who reminded me that living the gospel is the same around the planet
to the missionaries.
to my family for letting me go
to john legend, lauren hill, and chrisette michelle for providing heartbreakingly real music
to teacher jane who showed me that there are different ways to love kids
to charlie for letting us give him an english name. and providing delicious fruit. and killing BG.
to aiya, the best preschool cook.
to the zhun, zhou, and lee family for being amazing examples.
to teacher michelle for being so skin conscious
to andy for being a ridiculous zhongwen laoshi.
to "monkey boy" for providing candy-like pineapple
to amy for being an amazing coworker, travel buddy, and friend
to trisha lee shappie who wrote the most helpful preschool curriculum books

and to thank you to inanimate objects like...
my scriptures that taught me what life is actually about
whole wheat spaghetti and brown rice that provided sunday meals
the trusty water bottle that went everywhere with me
my journal that helped me clarify my thoughts
skype for helping me realize it was possible to have a six month long distance relationship
byebye books for being glorified yearbooks
the mosquitoes for helping me test my self-control

there are more thanks. but that is all i can manage right now in between packing and cleaning.

see you in the STATES!

last day.

2009-06-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

10 minutes to get ...
18 kids into ...
4 giraffe heads
4 monkey tails
4 parrot wings
4 lion manes ...

all for a darling graduation program.

how else would you want to spend your last saturday in hualien?

yippee!

2009-06-18T05:29:00.001-07:00

a typhoon is brewing!

music

2009-06-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

the latest tunes.

張懸 My Life Will...

her english name is deserts xuan. band's name is algae. but just youtube her [by copy and pasting the chinese] and try to download her music. i love her already, especially 寶貝[in a day].

also, i am now convinced [after finding her and coeur de pirate] that the rest of the world is hiding good music from us. i am thinking of authoring some sort of conspiracy theory around it.

p.s the kids are singing one of her songs at their graduation practice and they are so darling that it brings me to tears. i got to leave the classroom when i started tearing up--unlike my coworker. she was literally bawling during her class. i think we might be a little attached to them...

p.p.s did i mention that amy is teaching them vitamin c's "graduation" song? oh vitamin c. you must make so much money this time of year.

my way of saying goodbye

2009-06-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

a whole day for myself, by myself.

meet up with the sister missionaries for brunch
go downtown with one of the YW
try to convince her to let me buy her a skirt [to no avail]
buy an amazing dress instead
head to triangle market
get delicious shaved ice
bike home
call america
have a distracted conversation
lie in bed thinking how nice it would be to take a nap outside
head outside
get bitten by twenty mosquitoes [who i swear just lay in wait for me]
come back inside and lay down for a mid-afternoon nap in my steaming hot bed
bring the other fan in my room
get comfortable with two constant air streams on me
fall asleep.

i am trying to figure out how to say goodbye to taiwan. 7 days left. any ideas?

the good kind of frustration

2009-06-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

i was sucking on quite the confusioniscle [like a popsicle of confusion] today while pondering WHY i am have to be so darn patient in waiting for the Lord's timing. can't ours be the same as His? especially when we are trying so hard to line up with Him? wasn't it Him who wants us to always be progressing? i couldn't fit it all together. and was getting mighty frustrated. and i still can't really figure it out.

minerva teichert's depiction of christ in the home of mary and martha. he was just so patient with both women in this story, especially the one that thought she knew better.

but it doesn't matter because the church is true. meaning that He is there and will always be there. in fact, He is everywhere. time has no part in His existence. so while i am being a dumb human, He is patiently attempting to perfect the seemingly unperfectable [me]. which is why life is a challenge. a delightful, scary, frustrating, happiness-filled challenge.

bring it on.

the ride home

2009-06-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

so there i was, kicking my way home.

let me explain. my bike frequently has problems. she is really a special spirit with a personality of her own. her favorite thing is to jam the chain while i am either freezing, tired, hungry, or in desperate need of groceries. ally and i had just gotten some delicious ice [my new favorite thing in taiwan] and i pull out to grab some bread and popsicles before heading home. and then ACCHHHKKK clunk. the chain slipped off and quickly jammed into the doohickey, for lack of a technical term. i still needed bread so ally started home while i stopped by the bakery on the way home. the lady asked me if i wanted to wash my hands because they were completely black from playing with the chain. i politely "meiguinxi"ed and went on my way. picture me kicking every so often against the street and then swinging my legs back and forth [like an overexcited three year old on a carousal ride] to gain momentum. all the while praying that the dogs wouldn't sense my inadequacy. thank goodness for downhill rides home. though i did get temporarily held up by some sort of slimy thing hitting my foot, i finally got home.

good news: i would easily win in a "move your bike as fast as possible without touching the pedals but still being on the seat" contest, my hip flexors are much stronger than before, and i laughed enough at myself to last at least one day.

bad news: i have no way to pick up popsicles tomorrow.

p.s. to prevent confusion--picture from biking down taroko when lover was still here. i can only wish that i owned a bike that nice. or looked like that after getting slime attacked and workin' out the hips. someday...

a riddle

2009-06-09T04:36:00.000-07:00

it can say nice things

and mean things
it can show happiness
or regret
or sadness
it can express love
or lust
it can sing silly songs
and sad ones too
it can smile
it can kiss
it can heal pains
it can whisper prayers
or shout them
it can teach children

inspired by ginny's homework tonight. i loved teaching her about riddles. and she was so proud that she read them out loud and [almost] stumped ally and amy.

i want to use my lips to be a better person.
and i am figuring out how to do that slowly.
thank you gospel for showing me how it's done.

pen caps

2009-06-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

annie stuck a pen cap up her nose today. and i was so impatient that i quickly pulled it out and directed her back to her workbook activity. and that is when i stopped to realize how funny it was. and i started giggling. hard. and the kids didn't really know what to do. it was refreshing.

reminders

2009-06-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

i was watching the kids today rehearse for their graduation program and i got a little present from heaven.

love love doesn't come easily to me. but i can't help loving the kids out here [even when i want to kick them out of the classroom]. maybe because i am beginning to know how much my parents, heavenly and earthly, love me. the more i am out here, away from the comforts and securities of home, the more i realize how much HF is there for me. and how much love my parents have for me. so much that i can feel it from 7000 miles away.

HE clearly knows what i need when scripture reading is humbling me...a lot.

i love these kids. and i love the gospel. and i am so glad to know the truths that i do. and the best part of it all--HE loves me as much as he loves the children i teach. what a marvelous thing.

a party!

2009-06-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

my university students had a lovely party for me on the last day of class. it included a magic show, a traditional chinese sport [diablo?] performance, and lots of good food. they appreciated my awkwardness as i tried to eat goopy messes of things. and i appreciated their kindness in scooping stuff up for me.

i really admire all of these students. they are so earnest in learning english. they have the fire that i need to have in my language studies. and they are so kind to me, even when i am the same age as them and have no clue what i am doing as i teach them. it was a growing experience. just like everything else here. and i loved it.

2009-06-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

this is my grandmother. running a red light.
i love her.
and san mateo intersection cameras.

the video is even better.

note to self: shred my license when i turn 60.

art time

2009-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

couldn't resist pulling the camera out. look at those rows of colored chairs and concentrating children. 6 months ago, that wouldn't have made me as blissfully happy as it makes me now. i will never again take a well-behaved classroom for granted. or a well-prepped art project.

bill

2009-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

he is crazy & ADD. and a 10 year old boy. but i just might miss his short attention span and insanity. and mostly his adoration of teacher jeff and his 10 year old perception of romance.

reflections

2009-06-02T05:56:00.001-07:00

when the inevitable goodbye comes, make it short. lengthiness just makes it harder.

when the fights come, let them come. they make you stronger.

when you forget about yourself, take a step back. you loose yourself. and then the self that they fell in [like] with is gone too.

when you just want to stay home and talk, do it. even if you are in another country.

the last of it

2009-06-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

highlights of friday
-eating swallow nests [made from their spit]
-seeing a baby elephant in a busy bangkok intersection
-eating a ridiculously tasty soup at a ghetto flooded restaurant
-seeing a terrifying snake show

p.s. reasons behind the lame posts=my computer has failed me and i am using jeff's PC. now i know how much of a mac person i am. PCs are too...personal.

afternoon.

2009-06-01T04:32:00.000-07:00

elephant rides and depressing monkey shows made our afternoon. then to a traditional thai massage where they moved and cracked our bodies in ways i didn't know possible. it was wonderful. then strip shows made the night...except we didn't go. i was too excited over the elephant rides and too relaxed from the massage to care that we had nothing to do. and i finally got to finish the book i'd been reading. [a long way gone, memoirs of a boy soldier]

morningtime.

2009-05-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

first we went to a lovely temple where we couldn't take pictures inside. or understand the tour. we think that the dalai llamas are buried there, but we still aren't completely sure.

then to a buddha mountain. start taking silly pictures now.

next to a winery, where we drank delicious grape juice and took plenty of stepford wife-esque pictures to match with the immaculate greenery.

and then an elephant show! one of the highlights of thailand, where i fell in love with elephants. one of the best parts was that these guys totally loved entertaining, which made me feel like they actually enjoyed their situation in life. jeff found a new girlfriend and i tried to take one home.

waterplay.

2009-05-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

wednesday was water day. we took a bumpy boat ride to an island of wood. it was like a huge dock floating in the gulf of siam. from there, we were hooked to a rickety (again with the rickety) parasail and literally swept off the ground by a fishy looking boat driver. the whole operation took about .5 seconds per person. before we could catch our breath, we were whisked off (okay, totally romanticizing that) to another real island where we jetskiied and banana boated for approximately 2 minutes each.

we played in the ocean for a while, ate the same meal as the first night [crab and bok choy] for lunch, and got kicked off a chair for sitting on it. who knew they charged you to sit in a chair! we met a nice iranian man that spotted us as american and came up to take a picture.

him: america!
us: yes!
him: iran! america! friends!
us: uhhhh yes?
him: bush.
us: ......
him: obama!
us: obama!
him: friends! picture?
us: okay!

love it.

after we took the necessary ridiculous pictures, we went back to the mainland and got lovely massages. wish i had gotten pictures of the silly suits they made us. [actually lack of suits...awkward see through underwear]

then we walked "the strip" of thailand. note how happy we were before we walked down it.

and then on to day three...

dreamworld.

2009-05-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

let's backtrack to the first day in thailand...
we had biked to the bus station at 130am on monday morning, sneakily locked our bikes behind a bush, and headed to taipei to take our 8am flight. after three hours of good airplane sleep, we arrived in thailand! we boarded our frilly laced-out bus and took a long bumpy road to dreamworld.

wait. dreamworld? what's that? let me tell you. think an imitation disneyland--thailand style. mickey mouse was replaced by a chipmunk. space mountain was replaced by space mountain [just a little more rickety]. costumed characters were replaced by elephants. splash mountain was replaced by super splash. and the castle was replaced by a giant's house. 2 hours was the perfect amount of time to spend there. and we got some great pictures thanks to ivan perez for giving amy her dream gift.

the phanties.

2009-05-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

ELEPHANTS. phanties, according to ally.
versatile creatures.
have silly hair.
hilarious.
seem to enjoy entertaining.
very distinct personalities.
can pick us up with their noses.
well-trained.
poop in the middle of their shows.
we can ride on their heads.
can tell the difference between money and food.
photogenic.
symbol of thailand.
will dance with all four legs..and their trunk.

my new favorite animal.

i'm back!

2009-05-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

elephants? check.
asian tourists? check.
beaches? check.
sweatshops? check.
monks? check.
fried bugs? check.
cool architecture? check.
transvestites? sadly, check.

and more to come later...

2009-05-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

off we go to thailand! be back in a week.

taken from friscdude's flickr. can't figure out how to site it better.

indiana jones

2009-05-18T04:10:00.000-07:00

ahhh! my computer has filled up and is not letting me empty it onto my external hard drive. meaning no room for any of the new pictures. this was the lone survivor of the saturday trip madness. dubiqi.

anyways...we headed to the bus station to see if we can take a bus to taroko, the national park here in hualien. [think yosemite in hawaii]. admidst the crazy parade, we find out that a bus is leaving in 5 minutes and we are shuffled to a line where a nice man kept telling up to wait one beat [weird english translation]. good thing we had a parade and a shiesty taxi driver to keep us amused while we waited. the bus came and we boarded without knowing what stop to get off on. we stayed on until the bus was stopped indefinitely. good thing it was at the visitor's center in taroko. we already knew what hike we wanted to go on but found out that it was an unwalkable distance from where we were. the woman told us we should rent a scooter. a quick phone call later, a man picked us up from the visitor's center and took us down the hill to his scooter shop. we signed our name, took a poorly-aimed picture, and jeff handed over his US license. $15 US dollars later, we were laughing our heads off as we tried to figure out how to drive a scooter up a mountain. once we got back up to taroko, we did a few of the hikes and finished with the baiyang trial. if anyone ever goes to taroko, do the baiyang trial. it was a series of tunnels--some pitch black and all amazing. they were dripping with water and at least one had a bat. i felt like indiana jones! the last tunnel had a water curtain [when spring water falls through cracks in the tunnel] that you could walk around or right under. of course, we played in it and looked like a bunch of crazy americans. imagine a dark tunnel with a thin waterfall in it. it was AMAZING. we scooted around some more and then had to head home after spending a good six hours in the park. our train was an hour later than expected so we backtracked and ate delicious beef noodle stew and then some disgusting mogi. found some puppies near the train, which i tried to get to come home with me, and then finally got on the train at 810. felt more like 1110. we took a taxi from the train station to the bus station and biked our way home. from the fact that i dont remember falling asleep [or what time or in what clothing], i'd say we had a good day. :]

saturday

2009-05-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

another saturday, another parade. this time it was some sort of campaign. this nice man translated what it was over his cell phone...as in, his cell phone had an english dictionary inside. the files were INSIDE the phone. probably 7 blocks of people in red hats rooting for a taiwan political figure. and this was only on the way to the bus station...more to come later. it was a lovely saturday.

these are my confessions

2009-05-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

about that picture below. it could have been taken as rude or offensive...

and yet, i felt somewhat of a desire to go into that store. [what is cooler than good kitchen utensils?] call me brainwashed, but i am so excited to head back to kitchen that has an oven...and eventually to fulfill my divine role of motherhood

and mostly, i love that i am surrounded by amazing examples everyday. like this family who remind me what the important things in life are. xiexie nimen.

"Walk with pride. Hold your heads up. Work with diligence. Pray with faith. You may never know how much good you accomplish. Someone’s life will be blessed by your effort." Gordon B. Hinckley [from this]

comments please

2009-05-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

i got it from my momma

2009-05-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

she gave me...
my butt
my like of reading
my nose
my little eyes
my dislike of smelly lotions
and much more.

i love you momma bear!

and i admire all the other mothers out there that are busy doing their thing...and doing it so well.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

the answer

2009-05-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

why stacey why? because now your classroom looks like a real preschool classroom and less like a jail. props to amy for helping me SO much.

&& HAPPY BELATED BDAY AMY.

finally

2009-05-05T05:39:00.000-07:00

and the countdown is finally over. 4 months and a lot of new experiences later, the lover has arrived.

p.s. the lame quality of picture is what happens when you steal them from facebook. sorry.

reading list

2009-04-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

inspired by my paradisaical adventures at BYUH where beach book reading occurred weekly [exactly a year ago!]

to read
Bottomfeeder
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Lolita

and to reread
Harry Potter VII [yes, i do still harbor a secret desire to be a wizard]
The Poisonwood Bible

thank you ctash for the picture. love you and the memories we made.

fantasies realized

2009-04-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

i had a two hour break between temple work and the reception so i decided to walk around taipei a bit. after unsuccessfully searching for an MRT station, i decided to look JUST LOOK inside a cute dress shop. my mistake. the minute i walked in, i was immediately helped by this nice asian woman who didn't speak any english. so i figured...since she is helping me already, why not grab a dress for the reception? easier said than done. picture me acting out a wedding ceremony complete with "walking down the aisle" and "putting on the ring". once she understood, the party started. she promptly took the dresses from my hands, saying they were bad colors and pushed me into a dressing room with a foreign looking object in my hands. [and by foreign, i don't mean a beautiful chinese dress, i mean an object most likely from outer space] my awkwardness grew as she threw more and more hideous dresses my way. it was comparable to being a princess that got to try on every single dress until she found the perfect one. except for some reason, all the cute ones were "bu hao!" and so i was left to try on space suits, pink belly-givers, metallic cover-ups, pregnancy dresses, and large velvet numbers. all made me look HUGE and gave me lumps i didn't even know i had. and that is when the camera came out. here are some of the atrocities. enjoy!

feeding frenzy

2009-04-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

after way too long without milk and cereal, i kind of went crazy this week

and as you know, eating produces dishes
dishes produce work
of which we have no time to do
hence the sink
and the four [now empty] cereal boxes right next to it

coincidences make life.

2009-04-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

went up to taipei yesterday to do some temple work. i walked on to temple grounds and saw a beautiful couple getting married. as i walk up to the temple doors i see SCOTT and JM. from BYUH. we all worked together at the PCC. did i mention i am in TAIWAN?! it was crazy. scott's mom is originally from taiwan and most of his extended family lives out here so they came out to taipei to get married-i just so happen to be at the temple while he and JM were getting married! they invited me to their reception and we all had a lovely time. they are staying out here until june and so we all agreed that a trip down to hualien was necessary. i am excited to see them again.

doesn't JM make a gorgeous bride?

why stacey why?

2009-04-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

so i had the genius idea of trying to recreate the solar system on one of my classroom walls. it is going to involve a very large sun [the sun does contain most of our solar system's mass!] and a large jupiter [the biggest planet], both decorated with small bits of torn paper. and then rockets, stars, moons, and all the other planets were going to be included. and that genius idea has gotten me as far as....

a half empty classroom wall [i couldn't reach the high stuff and it was pouring outside so i was scared of transporting the ladder from classroom to classroom]
a barely finished jupiter. which i am currently avoiding because i don't think i can rip and paste anymore bits of red and orange paper.
a bunch of stuck together moons because the kids stacked them while they were still wet with glue
a whole basket of kiddie scissors that somehow got slipped into my supplies
regret that there are no interns [aka mignons] out here to help me
an active imagination for how i am going to get all this stuff home so i don't have to do it again. ever.
a weird sense of pride in teaching the newest scientific facts--eight planets. sorry, pluto.

darn you preschool and all the prep work! good thing the kids are cute.

but good news, someone left a honeydew melon in my bike basket tonight! what a nice treat.

high fashion

2009-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

a slightly more glamorous version of the bike ride home with our newly acquired animals....amy rode with the cage on the back of her bike. and looked pretty much exactly like this model. too bad we have no pictures of that endeavor, or else i'd post proof.

&& i know that two blog posts in 5 minutes is a little weird, but pursuing the blog world {this pic being from this is glamorous} gave me the idea.

picture from editorial - and god created woman; model: abbey lee kershaw; photographer: max doyle; stylist: naomi smith; magazine: vogue australia may 2009 via starbucks and jane austen

the essentials

2009-04-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

want to start an english language preschool? make sure you have these things.
1. endless energy. and even more energy than that
2. willingness to look like an idiot everyday
3. really good dance moves [all songs need choreographing]
4. excitement over a $5 turtle only because you know how much the children will get from a live pet
5. enough craziness to buy the turtle, name it dennis, and create a habitat on your patio table
6. lots of time for prep work
7. copier so you don't have to hand draw everything
8. laminator so you don't have to tape everything for it to be protected
9. belief that you are making a difference in the lives of these kids even when they don't speak your language
10. understanding that a three year old and a five year old are HUGELY different.
11. magical drink that soothes your hoarse throat
12. ability to do one million things at one given moment
13. patience patience patience patience patience
14. love for stretching yourself too thin between prepping, teaching, and tutoring. and having your own life if you are adventurous.

i am still looking for numbers 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. if you find them anywhere, send them over to taiwan.

heritage

2009-04-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

so i have always planned on taking a life-heritage trip [an idea stolen from my sister]--going to hong kong and mainland china to visit the places where my mother and grandmother grew up. but then the whole john-legend-going-to-macau-for-his-concert insanity came up and we took the opportunity to boat over to hong kong while we were so close to it. and then my life-heritage trip brought itself to me.

we were able to hang out with one of my great aunts [my grandma's younger sister] and one of my uncles [her son]. they took us to their country club for delicious yum cha and we sipped on flower tea while catching up. they told me that my grandma would remember the country club and that i should talk about with her when i get back to america. and then driving around hong kong, my aunt kept pointing out things like where my mom lived, what buildings she would remember etc. then the real treat came when my aunt suggested tea time...british style. we went to the peninsula hotel and were treated like princesses. and it wasn't until after i had come back to taiwan from hong kong that my mom told me that my grandfather used to WORK there as a tour guide and front desk man. pretty sweet, if you ask me.

then we got to go the hong kong temple. it was sunday, so i didn't get to go inside but it was close enough for me. a year ago, that temple was my desktop picture in my byu freshmen dorm room. who would have thought that a year later, i would be taking pictures in front of the same temple.

pretty sweet how life works out.

next stop, denmark. who wants to come?

the real homeland

2009-04-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

i have yet to steal amy's camera to obtain all the good pictures from the insanity of our trip to hong kong and macau. but here are a few pictures to tie you over...

and check out her blog. she is much better at updating than i am.

i love bugs

2009-04-07T06:07:00.001-07:00

amy and i took way too many pictures of insects during our hike. probably because we had just done a unit on bugs with the preschoolers. and because unlike the MONKEY we saw, these bugs wouldn't attack us if we got up in their grillz. [i can retain gangster status even in taiwan]

it might have happened.

2009-04-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

i might or might not have dropped $2000 [NTD] on a pair of amazing shoes
i might or might not have done donkey kicks off dumb people proofers of yuli
i might or might not have bought tickets to see john legend in concert in macau
i might or might not have totally forgotten the only paperwork i do anymore
i might or might not have seen monkeys in the mountains while hiking
i might or might not have stayed up till 130 doing relatively useless things
i might or might not have almost stepped on a snake slithering across our path
i might or might not have forgotten to get an ecclesiastical endorsement
i might or might not have a hold on my account preventing me from registering
i might or might not have bought imported fruits for the 1st time in a long time
and i might or might not have felt horribly guilty about eating them

you pick.

ready. set. learn.

2009-04-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

just got back from a short trip to yuli-exhausted but SO glad to have gone. now i am all cuddled up at 3am to watch the latest general conference session. i am so pumped. pictures of adventuring to come.

teenage motherhood

2009-04-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

is not all it is cut out to be. i might have finished a year and a half in college already but none of that has taught me anything about how to be a mother...to a 5 day old kitten, abandoned in the back of our preschool. who knew a ball of fur could be so loud and whiny and utterly impossible to hate at the same time? i am trying to keep myself distant in case he does die. [mommy cats do have a good sense for survival of the fittest...not hard to figure out why he got left behind] but as for now i am enjoying almost every minute.

okay so more the minutes that he is asleep than any other time...

p.s. no name yet but i secretly have named him gabriel. don't tell!

taichung in all its glory and then some

2009-03-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

the captain figure man. chinese sistine chapels. boating adventures. jumping pics+short dress=censoring mandatory. $2 shoes. buddhism. taosim. confucianism. unadulterated southwestern food. adulterated mcdonalds breakfast. sun moon lake. ringing the victory [good luck?] bell. thank you cakes. thizz faced gods. what fun.

grammy. chinese style.

2009-03-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

who would have thought that hugging this little guy would make me miss my popo so much? i swear he smelled just like her--a mix of mothballs, herbs, chinese food, and love. sometimes i want to just hang out with her all day. and i want to be just like her when i grow up. too bad i will never be that petite. [at 5'4'' i am the giantess of my chinese side]

date night and some more

2009-03-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

what could be romantic than eating veggies from a plastic bag on your patio at 10 o'clock on a mattress that you recently dragged out in celebration of the hot weather?

and for some much needed depth to this blog [i look like a total loser compared to amy's blog] let me just share something that i have noticed since being in taiwan more than anywhere else.

it seems like when i am actually looking for answers, strength, whatever, answers are placed everywhere. i could go on forever about this. mostly i have noticed the amount of the Lord's presence and mercy in my life. He loves me and through Him, i am healed. moral of the story: i love my faith. and the love that HF has for me. and my ability to feel that so deeply because of Him. enough of me, down to the good stuff.

"this type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with the courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair" infinite power of hope. president dieter f. uchtdorf
1 cor 2:9
"sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome" come what may, and love it. elder joseph b. wirthlin
D&C 84:88
"get on the path and never, ever give up. you never give up. you just keep on going. you don't quit, and you will make it" the way. elder lawrence e. corbridge
Moroni 12:27
"The tests we face are going to be real. We will know them deeply and keenly and pervasively. Christ's cry on the cross shows that the very best of all His children found the trial so real, the test so exquisite and severe that he cried out not in doubt of His father but wondering why in the moment of supreme agony he felt so alone. We too at times might wonder if we are forgotten and forsaken. We might at times try to pray away an impending tragedy but is really an opportunity. At times, He will not be able to let us pass by that challenge because if he has, everything at that moment will be wiped out. It is because He loves us that He will not intercede." but for a small moment. elder neal a. maxwell. byu devotional address.

by the way, has anyone actually read corinthians? i am finding more treats in that book than anywhere else in the bible. it is amazing. i urge you all [christian or not] to read it.

a package a package a package

2009-03-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

mail mail mail mail i love mail. props to mama jo for sending a $46 package all the way to taiwan full of easter goodies for the children. we plan on bringing only the highly commercialized form of christianity to them. then i got the urge to create the other night and the package got put to even better use. what do you think?

p.s. if i am ever reincarnated, i would like to be a dog living in the rice fields where i can drag my belly in wet mud and stroll on the streets whenever i like. thanks.

doomed

2009-03-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

i am doomed to a life of computer illiteracy. as much as i want to have a cute blog with amazing banners and quirky pictures, it seems like i am just not destined for it. sorry fans. until then, it will just be bad formatted pictures and lame layouts. maybe if i ever muster the time or energy to spend hours of the computer learning...but that isn't really me, now is it?

here are some pictures from the last few days. amy had the genius idea of having the kids dress up [our theme this week was fairy tales] i contributed nothing other than the backdrop aka my bedsheet. the things you do when you are in a foreign country with little access to "proper" supplies. we got to go to the hot springs in yilan where we bathed in volcanic ash and different "flavored" pools, ate some freshly caught fish, and held some of the day's catch. the car broke down when we were almost home and we had to stuff 13 people in the van. what fun! and of course, took a lot of pictures. happy weekend. hope yours was as silly as mine.

note to self

2009-03-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

never leave the country without an appropriate supply of whole grains.

any kashi would work well. next country, my suitcase will be full of cereal boxes.

an ode.

2009-03-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

to true herbal tea.
to best friends discovered at a young age.
to kindness.
to mosquitoes.
to their deaths.
to cultural differences.
to a hacking cough.
to a repeating itunes playlist.
to asian children. to growth.
to learning a new language.
to be able to live out ninja fantasies.
to wearing the same outfit each day.
and to not caring at all.

make it two

2009-02-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Blogging Stacey. When your roommate "tags" you in a blog post, it means the same as Facebook. You must do it. I usually ignore the Facebook ones and figure I will be damned by the Facebook gods but who really cares? The Blogging gods on the other hand...

So here's to you, Amy.

1. Right now I am thinking about…if it is possible to have a teacher's meeting when the week went along without major destruction [to the classroom, children, or my pride]
2. Love is…terrifying
3. My first real kiss…so typical
4. My last kiss was…rushed
5. Marriage is…scary. and exciting. and so worth it [according to rumors]
6. I am listening to…Coeur de Pirate.
7. I'll always be grateful for…knowing the truths I do.
8. I love…being truly happy
9. I talk…too much
10. My best friend(s)…are irreplaceable.
11. When I wake up in the morning…I pray
12. Before I go to bed…I pray
13. Today I…will.
14. Tomorrow I will be…playing sports all day with my Taiwan ward
15. I really want to be…successful--however I define it at that minute

normal is so subjective...

2009-02-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

Has been 22 days since the last entry and I thought it had been like two. Sorry all you fans out there. Taiwan has clearly kept me busy enough to neglect [or not have anything good] to put in a blog. Everything here is getting more...normal. Like it has been second-nature to hold my breath when passing the vendors that use fish oil. consider it laxatives for your gag reflex. Biking past stray dogs that want to eat me doesn't seem so dangerous. Seeing squid and chicken heads just seems more an everyday occurrence...because it is. Sweeping the flies from our coffee table because they run into our lights and kill themselves is pretty chill. Planning lessons isn't as painful. Wearing the same clothes [more specifically, the green jacket] each week doesn't phase me. Having a crack in my mattress just makes sure I get up on the right side of the bed each morning. Going to a fruit market for my fruits and a bakery for my bread seems natural. Who ever dreamed you could go to one place to buy it all? And drinking low fat milk is not as gag-worthy as it might have been anywhere else. [I am all about the skim].

PLAYdoh

2009-02-04T03:01:00.000-08:00

Made playdoh today for the kids and had a little too much fun doing it myself. [You mean my hands are not suppose to be this color after work?] What was normally an innocent three snowman became a smashground for excitable four year olds while another girl put her playdoh snowmen "to bed". She actually made snowmen that were laying on the table. This little boy in the picture to the left is 3 years old and one of the brightest children I have known in my "career" of babysitting/nannying/teaching. He knows so much English already and it is his second language! And he just picks up everything so fast. The question is...what is in the water here and HOW do I smuggle it back to America??

And another happening of the day--our first critters in the apartment! [The cockroaches do not count...I pretend they just don't exist] Ahhhh the joys of warm weather in a tropical climate! I wouldn't trade it for anything. I named him Hermit. He probably will never replace Xavier or Skeeter of Hawaii. We fed them termites everyday and their new owners probably don't even know about their needs. May they rest in peace. [Or wherever they are] Hermit doesn't realize how great of home he just chose. See previous post.

destiny?

2009-01-30T03:58:00.000-08:00

so i never realized that i was an "animal lover". amy told me this factoid about myself today. granted i do comment on every single dog here [which is probably about 10 per day] and i do love my dog, we did adopt a kitten for our college apartment, and i try to hang out with horses.

BUT that doesn't put me in the "she is going to live alone with her animals in 20 years" category, right? wrong. today just made my future more clear to me and OH what a bleak future is it! we decided to visit the hot springs today and use the tickets one of our tutoring subjects had so generously given me. we get out of the bus, look around, and realize we have gotten ourselves to some sort of zoo. maybe most college aged kids would be deterred? not me. i was so excited to see chinese-speaking [yes, animals speak different languages] ducks, monkies, and birds. and even better-we got to rent this sweet ride and even do some minor offroading in it

we did figured out how to get to the hot springs but then got rained on. don't worry, we got a few dips in, some leisure reading, and on top of all that...got to wear swim caps!

and we got a peek inside childhood obesity hitting asia. or just my future children if i marry a taiwanese man? HAH. the rain turned off any chances that we might have at swimming more so we headed to the zoo and that is when i knew=i am destined to have more animals that my children will probably want. does that ever happen? amy caught me trying to kiss two animals including this mite-infested camel (he just needs some love) and this satan goat. he seriously looked just like the devil. and then we saw some ostriches whose faces only a mother could love. and yet i loved him. even though i am pretty sure he was trying to eat us [clearly misunderstood]

am i destined to be a cat [dog/horse/camel] lady? yes. and i am going to love it the whole time. take that!

oh and as for yesterday----poor legs. amy said it all too well [check out the link]

No gears? No problem.

2009-01-28T05:33:00.001-08:00

1000 ARISE (the beauty of being on vacation)
1100 skype
1230 leave for daily adventure
200 arrive at liyu lake, get stared at.
205 take pictures of the scenery, run into a student of amy's, get stared at.
210 start up the bike trial, laugh at some of the silly looking bikes, get stared at.
230 find a cool looking path...follow it. escape the staring.
300 halfway up the birdwatching trial
400 think my legs are going to fall off and my head might explode
430 reach the top, everything becomes worth it.
500 try to find dinner, unsuccessful. dejected, we head home. amy's gears aren't working quite right...get stared at.
610 get dinner at the night market. ronald and our aborigine pull through for us again. and get stared at some more.
630 home sweet home. thought about the stare downs today. couldn't figure it out.
700 yoga yoga yoga, remind myself that those who matter don't judge and those who do judge don't matter.
800 take a much needed shower
830 add pictures to facebook. inspect myself for any weird growths/colorings that might have made me look unhuman...find nothing.
900 blog.

[not sure why we got stared at so much today compared to every other day. people reacted to us like we weren't even humans or anything. they full on stared us down, even when we looked back at them. there wasn't any shame or embarrassment over the fact that they were caught staring at us. it kind of weirded me out to be honest. note to self: don't stare at people who look different than you. no matter your mindset, it makes them feel ostracized and self-conscious. like they have grown a large lump on their nose or something]

anyways, pictures aren't loading. i might try to post them later.

The international dateline?

2009-01-27T03:30:00.000-08:00

Somebody somewhere had the genius idea to create the International Date Line. Not like a hotline for dating (which might have been more helpful) but "an imaginary line which offsets the date as one travels east or west of it". Thank you, Wikipedia. Because of the big imagination of some child who probably had a great elementary school teacher, we missed New Years Eve. Now this didn't throw me off too much other than I was really sleepy after flying for 14 hours and then dealing with a 16 hour time difference. But I realized that I had never made any new goals for 2009 (because to me, it was not 2009 yet!)

Thank goodness we were able to start our 2009 with Chinese New Year. It gave me the time and the motivation to make some sort of resolution. I thought long and hard about them and realized that the resolutions that first popped up in my brain were just the typical "I make these every year and probably will for the rest of my life" kind of resolutions. So instead of re-making resolutions, I resolved to actually do them. Of course, this doesn't mean that I am going to...

loose 15 pounds
stop biting my nails
wear actual jeans more often
fit into my size 5 jeans
get a 4.0
stop cracking my knuckles
give up chocolate
write thank you cards for presents
make my bed everyday

Because not doing these things have become part of me! And maybe someday, completing them will become part of me.

But for 2009, I, Stacey Kathleen Mork, resolve to be more satisfied with life and with the unalterable circumstances that come up. I don't mean to give up reachable goals but more to love and focus on the important things. I intend to let forgive quickly, call home frequently, read continually, dance ridiculously, pray always, sing loudly, laugh often, smile more, exercise for fun, and to continue to work on my life list. [see below]

This was started a very long time ago while still in GATE in the fourth grade and continues to grow. Feel free to guess which ones are done, at work, and in the future! (And there is at least one that is never happening)

The Life List

obtain a pilot's license
climb Half Dome
visit Greece
read all the appropriate 100 best books
dive in a submarine
eat enough vegetables and fruits daily for at least a week
go to full-time GATE
be Student Body President
fall in love
drink enough water everyday
teach in a different country
try to surf
get a perm
own original artwork
play a famous work on the piano
own all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books again
and then read them all with my children
get married and love it.
be a camp counselor
wear sunscreen
get into Brigham Young University
build a house
be Prom Queen
hide a duck in someone's bathroom
make a Halloween costume
donate hair to Locks For Love
visit the Northern Lights
stop drinking soda for one year
become a mother
set off fireworks
train my own dog
visit the birthplace of my mother
write a book (even if no one reads it)
play a team sport
visit Canada
speak to my children in another language
own a house
visit the village where my grandmother grew up
go to a traditional Jewish seder
learn to scuba dive
fork someone's lawn
pass on my Chinese traditions
get a degree
sleep on a trampoline
cook like my grandmother
make my own pasta
get up on water skis for more than 2 seconds
fly in a hot air balloon
go skiing
put all my journal entries in a book
live in a French speaking country
ride an elephant
teach preschoolers
shoot a rifle and a handgun
sled
read every verse of every scripture
visit Denmark and Scotland
make over $50,000 in one year (a task for a teacher)
whale watch
fix my own car
compose a book of my parents' wisdom
pray everyday
go on a cruise with my sister
camp under the stars with friends
horseback ride on the beach
visit Hong Kong with my sister and mom
go orienteering
create an entire meal out of food I have grown myself

I encourage you to write a life list. And then go do it.

To 2009!

15 miles.

2009-01-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

So what have I not done in the past few days...

On Tuesday, we tutored and somehow ended up with seven children under the age of ten in our apartment. We didn't try to make this happen...an odd combination of parents being late to pickup, friends having friends over, our tutoring people coming a little early. Made me realize that I will never have seven children in a two-person apartment.

On Wednesday, all I remember is my wizard friend. He was hanging out at the Mr. Chang's bubble tea place. We love him.

On Thursday, I did nothing of consequence obviously because I cannot remember anything other than that I had some good lesson plans about colors and shapes. We even played with shaving cream! I wish I had got some more pictures of the kids but probably should be scaffolding them instead of taking pictures...that is what I am getting paid for, right?

On Friday, we taught our last day of school for a full nine days. I finished my tutoring session at 9pm and the party started! I got home after nearly being blown over by the wind and blown up by the fireworks...to an empty house. Amy was at a recital (attending, not performing). So I read and facebooked and did all sorts of time-eating things.

On Saturday, we celebrated the fact that it was our first non-Sabbath day without work. Of course, we had to attend a party....so we went to a Barbie party! I mean, what other way would we have had some fun? We got to get PlayDoh all over our pants, fed treats by our students, and have horrible pictures taken of ourselves by camera-loving four year olds. Then we tried to be active and went on a miserable bike ride. We tried to follow a pretty popular bike path and we were on it for a full three minutes before we hit a spot that had been ruined by a typhoon and was under construction. As in, if we had gone any further, we would have reached our doom. So we turned back tried to find food. First, I was tempted to set free a warthog. Too bad I hadn't, I am sure he was eaten the next day. We found a promising hotpot place and I got a dish of raw seafood that I still cannot quite identify and then went home but not before stopping to stock up on groceries because everything closes down for New Year (and we left our PlayDoh at the grocery store on accident). And heard lots of fireworks as we hung out at our apartment.

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to only Sacrament meeting. No, not because I am going inactive from Relief Society, but because it was Chinese New Years Eve and church was only an hour long. I finished a book and started a new one, talked my mom for a whole hour (which never happens with Jo Mork), took a nap, and celebrated Chinese New Year with our Branch President and his family. There, I ate "long life vegetable" that was the length of my arm in one foul slurp (now I am supposed to live as long as President Hinckley) and asked if I wanted to marry a Taiwanese man "on accident" by a missionary who was translating for us...turns out Sister Chen was just telling us something about the food. We got some "lucky money", took lots of pictures with our "lucky money", and did some KungFu with our "lucky money".

You know, just the usual lucky money ritual. Take note of the amazing dinner that was prepared by us by the one and only Sister Chen. (Okay, so probably not the only, but still, OUR one and only Sister Chen) We also stopped by the store on the way home to pick up the PlayDoh that we had left there yesterday. It wasn't there, but our consciences were eased by the fact that 1. it is either in the hands of a very lucky child and 2. that it wasn't mistaken as an explosive and we have not been taken to jail...yet. And then Amy and I spent a romantic New Years Eve together watching the fireworks from our patio for ten minutes then retreating into our rooms to read/watch Enchanted/talk to Jeffrey. And of course, to hear lots more fireworks.

Today (Monday) we went on a exploration ralk-a cross between a run and a walk-to the foot of the mountains, visited a temple, prayed to someones' ancestors, talked on Skype with the parental unit, rode 15 miles to the beach and back, found some sand volleyball courts, met some surfers on our way, ate a very large fish then ate two scoops too much of delicious ice cream, touched Taiwan ocean for the first time, discovered where all plastic bags go when people are done with them, saw a man approach some "niyou" (we think they were wilderbeast??) and then lead them presumably to the factory where they will be eaten, and to finish the day, I lusted after Amy's new comfortable bike seat. It was a great day and so far, a great break from work. Six more days to go! It is only 630pm here and I am excited to settle in for the night and listen to more fireworks. Someday, I might miss the lullaby of children potentially blowing their hands off. For now, I just turn up my music and pretend that it is really only licensed professionals setting those crackers of death off every five seconds.

And just some cheesiness to end the post. I am just so happy and grateful and content and ______ (insert adjective) that I get along so well with my roommate/coworker/only English speaking companion. My life would be either very boring or very dangerous if I didn't have her to go adventuring with me. And she takes wonderful pictures! I am so lucky to be living here and with her.

P.S to Amy: Now now, don't get too teary-eyed that I am scared of expressing my gratitude in person and thus have to do it on a blog. Hah.

Fold your arm, close your eyes. We say a prayer.

2009-01-19T02:46:00.000-08:00

Hualien Hualien Hualien. Anything bad I ever thought about you, I take it back. The people here are some of the kindest that I have ever met. I am finally getting settled in (who knows how many times I will say that) and starting to feel a sense of...community. I didn't even realize that was possible when I can barely communicate but it is happening and I am loving it. The ward members here treat us like princesses. Actually, more like malnourished missionaries. They are ridiculously nice and accomodating and most importantly, are willing to act out what we are about to eat. Should I be worried that I am eating stuff that needs to be acted out? Eehhh, I will consider it part of getting used to Asia.

This past weekend has been insane and rewarding and most of all SUNNY. There is too much to include all the details especially since I have to tutor again in ten minutes. But a short rundown...

Friday
9am-10am: teach three 20 minute lessons about "our houses being our homes"
10am-1040am: scramble to prep for three 30 minute lessons where we listen to these creepy songs and watch an even creepier video. the kids love it though.
1040am-1210pm: watch a hour and a half of a poor middle aged man trying to make a living by singing songs for 3 year olds to learn. and you might think I am weird...
1210pm-1230pm: eat delicious lunch that our cook prepares for us. yes, the kids do have a cook and she is wonderful and buys fresh veggies from across the street everyday! total hippie style and i love it.
1230pm-1pm: prep for my two 45 minute lessons
1pm-2pm: laid out on our patio because it was sunny and amazing. skyped.
2pm-3pm: lengthy teachers' meeting
3pm-430pm: teaching two 45 minute lessons, massive review of the home/schoolroom vocab
430pm-500pm: rush to the night market to buy dinner, we get a free (man tao) sweet steamed bread just because.
530pm-630pm: tutor this girl who hates learning english. we play hannah montana games in english for a treat for being "so good". the things you do for kids to like you...
650pm-900pm: tutor these darling wonderful children that are so smart and love learning. the five year old read an ACTUAL book to me in her second language. impressive, yes. and the mother made me a delicious meal with brown rice and good nonfatty meat and VEGGIES. and sent me home with two tickets to the hot springs and a thing of grapes, which are kind of pricey here. talk about hospitality, right? it gets better.
900pm-1am: journal, talk to people from home, email, read, listen to the CES broadcast which was amazing. and listened to President Holland's devotional to BYU. that was even better.

Saturday
9am-430pm: copy friday's schedule here.
430pm-530pm: scrounged up some dinner/snack
530pm-700pm: found a massage place where we could get a half hour massage for $18. we thought we were being all frugal and had found a deal and then later, Yuling tells us that we totally got cheated. boo for being too obviously american.
700pm-900pm: ward potluck/activity. we got there late and everyone starts scrambling around to get us bowls to eat out of. they don't use wasteful paper plates here...they just rewash their bowls and hand them to the next person. so people find us bowls and start beckoning toward the food even though amy and i were totally already digging in. then we eat, eat some more, go back to the table and engage in a conversation like this.
Branch President: *Does a weird flying motion*
Us: *Gives quizzical looks.* A bird?
Branch President: Mouse!
Us: Mouse?!
Branch President: Flying Mouse!
Us: Uhhhh
English Speaker: Flying Squirrel!
Us: Flying Squirrel. *uncomfortably scoop some on our plates*
Branch President: *Makes a shooting motion*
Yuling: *Points at our plates* Those are illegal.
Us: Illegal?!
Yuling: The aboriginees are allowed to shoot them. *Demonstrates a shot then bullets spraying all over*
Stephanie: Yea, be careful for bullets. I got one in mine.
Us: Bullets?
She picks a legit bullet out of her dish and shows us. We just start laughing so hard and pick some meat off the bones to get. It tastes like a combination of forest and fire and lack of flavoring. Not going to be my next meal but I am glad we tried it. Then we get some dessert which is this delicious Chinese cake (so much lighter than American cake because they have different flour). We think we are done eating...but nope. The ward members start cleaning up and soon our table is the only one left standing and has all the food on it, including the whole cake platter with cake still on it. We are told that we are not allowed to leave until we finish so...we dig in! I don't think I have been that full for a long long time. But the fact that they were all around the table watching us eat and giving us more food and acting out everything they wanted to say made it feel oddly homey and comfortable and like they really do love us here.

Sunday
Not sure what I did in the morning...slept in, read scriptures, enjoyed the sunshine etc.
100pm-400pm: Church. Loved it. Got to listen to a sacrament meeting translation courtesy of Elder Sandberg (thankfully NOT yellow fever Elder Butler) with these sweet mic thingers that made me feel like I was in the CIA.
400pm-500pm: scrounged some more food for dinner
500pm-530pm: attempted to figure out a map.
530pm-700pm: threw away the map, went out adventuring. we figured if we headed east, we would find the ocean. logical? yes. correct? no. but we did find the ocean after biking to some sketch places including but not limited to an empty warehouse looking thing that was oddly painted, a ghetto of taiwan, some sort of night entertainment place, down a few streets where we just got chased out by dogs (it is becoming quite a regular thing), over a bridge that led us directly back to where we started, into a creepy eerie night market that turns out lead straight to the beach. i practically peed my pants i was so excited. we finally found OUR beach. it was crazy and scary and fun and exciting all at once. still no lights on the bikes but all the better to see the stars. A trip during the daytime to the beach is a must. just need to find the daylight hours to do it in.
700pm-1000pm: Plan lessons, read more.
1000pm-100am: Let skype take over my life.

Monday
9ooam-430pm: School day. The usual.
430pm-500pm: Eat bread & jam, yogurt, almonds, and grapes for dinner.
500pm-630pm: Tutor a group of great eight year olds. so amusing. made them run around the room when they get too riled up. seems to work like a charm.
630pm-700pm: Waste my life blogging.

And now I must run. Thank you blog and various random viewers for helping me keep my sanity. I try not to think about the weirdees that might be reading this and it makes it a lot easier...pretending I am writing to someone who actually cares rather than just cyber world. Ha how sad to live in such an age. And how much of a blessing!

The Humble Abode.

2009-01-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

Kitchen. Love the paint color. And the kitchen gets an amazing amount of sun in the morning...when it is sunny, that is. Take note of the rain boot flower vase=our attempt at creating a home.

Other side of the kitchen/living room which we never use because we never have friends over and our beds are much more comfortable and practical than those waterproof poop colored couches. There have been thoughts of moving the couches outside on our patio for best sunray catchage. (Of course I will be lathered in sunscreen so those rays will just bounce off me. Take that, skin cancer!)

Bedroom. I love the mismatched bed covers and pillow and sheets. And for those of you who saw my Provo room, you might recognize the map above my map. It was a lot easier to bring that than my actual artwork. If we keep our bedroom doors open, we look directly into each others' room which lends itself nicely to talking when we might otherwise get something productive done.

Bathroom. Has really nice tile and no real tub...just kind of the floor and then a drain in the corner. Makes for wet feet the whole day if we shower in the morning.

Come, little friends, come!

2009-01-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

So the reasoning behind the title of this entry and many others--I realize that I have not really been explaining them at all so you probably all think I have been loosing my English while being here. (Which I have, but not that badly.) Most of the titles are direct translations of the Chinese I hear OR the best quotes of the mangled English that I hear. People love to practice their English on me which I totally love--it is the teacher in me--and I take advantage of the cute things they say by quoting them on my blog.

Anyways we went on a field trip today with the kids to some sort of firemen, EMT, policemen, cheerleading, facechanging extravaganza. In order to get there, we did the pretty typical thing of getting parents to drive except we were transporting preschoolers so I figured carseat galore. When the teachers were calling to the kids to get in the cars, I realized they were saying "lai, xiao pengyou, lai!" meaning "come, little friends, come!" It just sounds so...ridiculous when translated. And instead of strapping them in all safe and American-like (since we are all afraid of getting sued), we pile in the cars without even double counting the kids and NONE of them have seatbelts so of course, I am freaking out the whole time. I was assigned to be with the three year olds and we have 5 three year olds in the backseat and then a 6th on my lap. The people of Taiwan obviously haven't made any stupid court cases over spilled hot coffee. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. And I am still not really sure what happened for the two hours we were there. We were told of this outing yesterday so of course did not plan any of our lessons around it...not sure what the kids got out of it other than being scared to death of helicopters. (One flew directly over us and pretended to save some men "trapped" in a building but only succeeded in blowing a bunch of rocks into our kids faces and making them cry. Oh the joy in taking care of 35 upset preschoolers.)

So listen. We learned another thing about the culture which I love. You know how American parents are accused of living through their children? Well all you children born to Chinese people (me included) do not have to worry about this because Chinese people just live their own fantasies no matter their age. Or weirdness. Exhibit A--50 year old cheerleaders?? Exhibit B--Micheal Jackson wannabees. Like these people danced like a combination of Micheal Jackson and the artist formerly known as Prince. Does he even still go by that? (see pictures) Anyways not important. It was hilarious. Amy and I gave each other enough puzzled, pained, weirded out faces to last for the rest of the time in Taiwan. Which is 5 and half months, by the way. Maybe the best part...in an attempt at a wonderful, spectacular grand finale, the fire trucks sprayed their water hoses in the air and it essentially rained on all of us. Seriously, what a waste of resources AND i got wet. With two children on my lap. You can't really tell, but there are two little girls on my lap, hiding under my jacket from the water. And those boots in the picture? Firemen. That did not warn us we were sitting in the wet zone. Oh right, because I still don't speak Chinese!

And tonight I got the opportunity to teach English to ADULTS. You know, like those big people children become when they finish school? Yea, they are easy to forget about when you spend all day with people under 4 feet tall. Best part of it-they sat quietly and attentively for a whole 40 minutes and there wasn't even a craft involved. I was thouroughly impressed until I realized that my standards are obviously dropping quickly and substantially. Next thing you know, I will be impressed if they hold a plate with one hand instead of two.

I am loving this country more and more everyday. Don't mistake my dry sarcasm and blatant making fun of for being unsatisified. This place has enough to satisfy me, amuse me, challenge me, and make for interesting blog entries for AT LEAST six months. And I don't even have that much time here. Hope life in America is just as exciting! More posts later about last weekend, our first true weekend in Hualian.

Oh dear.

2009-01-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

**Disclaimer: To all the mothers, especially my own, that might read this--I reference getting lost and being chased by dogs. Just stop worrying and enjoy the fact that I am growing up!**

Sometime, someday I will get to know this city. We wanted some xiao long baos (steamed pork buns) tonight for dinner after a too hard, too long day. I think they might be becoming a comfort food? But we only sort of knew the directions so we made our way through Hualien into downtown Hualien and to our delight, it practically appeared right in front of us! I shouldn't say us, I would have rode right past it if Amy had not stopped right in front of me. They are supposedly the best xiao long baos in the city and they haven't raised their prices in years. For six pork buns, you pay 30 quai=about $1. And the place is open 24 hours a day. And not like Wendy's 24 hour drive thru but completely open, completely running all night long. Get this, there is not even a door. As Amy and I admired their skill in folding and steaming the baos, I got a major dose of gratitude for being as spoiled as I am. How thankful I am that I do not have to work 12 hour days stuffing and folding baos just to get by.

And another thing to be grateful for...we have been slowly figuring out that there is some sort of magic in Taiwan. Not sure how it really works, but whenever we comment on something not happening, it happens. And this is not a one-time occurance. A few days ago, I commented on the lack of bugs here. And I open my door, flip on the switch, and a cockroach scurries away. Tonight, we were thinking of which way to ride home so as to avoid the scary dogs and dogs come out from a place where they had never been before and CHASE US. We legitimately got chased by dogs. It was so scary and funny and scary (oh did I say that?) all at the same time. So if we ever don't want something to happen and make the mistake of saying it out loud, it will happen. I am sure I will have more examples to share later.

In six months, maybe I won't even be phased by waking up to a freezing cold room because the windows do not actually close, cutting a lot paper into triangles and squares for a craft, teaching children who don't understand English, repeating the "th" sound at least 20 times during tutoring, getting lost in a city with another young girl and no headlights on our bikes, and being chased by dogs. As for right now, it exhausts me. Zaijian, wo de pengyou! Goodbye, my friend! (I still don't know how to specify nighttime or to make something plural).

The darlings. Me&Jimmy, Jared, Leslee, Jay.

2009-01-08T04:51:00.001-08:00

chiang kai shiek memorial, taipei 101, the food we got when we couldn't read the menu, taipei night market.

2009-01-08T04:36:00.001-08:00

Pavlov Dogs?

2009-01-08T04:23:00.000-08:00

garbage trucks sing here. like the ice cream trucks in america. except every time i hear an ice cream truck coming down the street, i get excited. now, i just know that i need to bring down my trash. it is a disappointment every night. and they keep singing..and singing..and singing. i can hear them for about 2 hours every night.

but the first payback as a teacher happened today! it is no wonder teachers keep teaching. i was teaching the concept of "favorites" and i had the smallest ones color while i went around the classroom having small conversations with them. not sure if they understood what we were doing at that time, but they did understand the body parts that we learned yesterday! i knelt down next to jared, a darling boy that never really seems to understand anything, and he started pointing at parts of my face and correctly identifying them! it might sound trivial and weird, but when yesterday i thought the 3 year olds would never understand what is what--i mean, they barely know it in their first language much less their second. the fact that jared could tell me what what on my face and that shawn can now spell his name (remember, they are 3!) makes me ridiculously happy. life is good. we will see how much they remember tomorrow...

and amy just taught one of her tutoring subjects the salsa. yeeaaa bringing the latin to taiwan.

teacher, you is so pretty.

2009-01-06T04:56:00.000-08:00

did our first tutoring session tonight. guess what the kids brought us? wait for it...apples! totally living up to american-made sterotypes. so amusing.

even better-we met with an english professor at the university here and we are all set up to teach 25 college students once a week. we asked if we might be able to sit in on some classes like yoga or pottery or something that doesn't require intense knowledge on the language. so they offered us tai chi. if this all works out, life will be grand.

You will have many fun here.

2009-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

Highlights of my new life in Hualien, Taiwan. And this is only the start of it all!

meeting the children that we get to teach for the next six months

smartest kids i have ever met.

instant love for the teachers because they loved the ones before us

and our classrooms are darling--everything is mini, including the teacher chair.

dialogue every time we start class

me: Good Morning Class!

them: Good Morning Teacher Stacey. We Love You!

(and they do it when we dismiss them too.)

how could you NOT feel good about yourself when you hear that 16 times a day?

having a 2 hour break while the kids take naps on cots
bike riding at night in the pouring rain

almost getting run over by a scooter

then almost getting run over by other moving objects when crossing the street

amy wearing a pink, green, and blue ankle length poncho with a plastic visor installed.

pointing at pictures to get our dinner
admiring squid on a stick at the night market

and chicken feet

and chicken butt

and pig innards

and duck head

and chicken gizzard

hanging out with a legit Taiwanese aborigine

he comments on our weight, our skin, and my beauty mark

and asks us to come back for dinner tomorrow at eight.

yea, we got asked on a date by a 40 year old.

meeting Ronald ((who makes my heart go thump thump. according to aborigine man.))

he makes us delicious fruit smoothies

and gets jealous of our aborigine friend

and asks us if "poncho" is always a funny word

walking in to 7-11 at 830pm and being greeted by a "GOOD MORNING!"
trying to kill a cockroach...but not succeeding

that little shiester somehow escaped the wrath of amy

even after we moved my lego carpet and armoire.

realizing that we have to three lesson plans to prepare and it is 1100pm

crap.