Travels

I haven't blogged in the last little while because everything is going pretty well. Teaching is so much easier this semester, and it's nice to have a friend who is a part of the community to show me around and teach me Chinese (even though I'm a bad student).

Joanne has taken Erin and me to unique places around Taiwan, like the the Toilet restaurant, which had delicious food. I thought it was funny to order the curry, just to see what it would look like in the toilet bowl...as if I didn't know. ^_^

The Science Museum in Taichung, which had an entire building (with three floors!) for people to try out different science contraptions to test theories. This is us in the optical illusion room ^_^ Finally! Once I'm tall!!!

And a few weeks ago, Joanne, Erin and I went to Kenting, the beach, and Alishan, the mountain area here in Central Taiwan.
It was absolutely gorgeous, and fun. I think I'm going to post mostly photos here because just words wouldn't be adequate.

Alishan

The trainride to Alishan was more scenic than necessary. But it was beautiful, fields of yellow flowers and the old countryside, going up the green mountain from tropical to temperate plants. The train ride was 4 hours, the bus ride back was 2.

Alishan National Park, in the clouds.Some of the trees in Alishan were breathtaking, looking almost fake.So, besides the hiking, the main reason why people travel to Alishan is to see the sunrise. There had only been one morning since Chinese New Years where it was too cloudy to see the spectacular vision...guess what day that was... ^_^ Yup. But it was a beautiful view regardless.

Kenting
One of the beautiful sunsets in Kenting.
We stayed at the Ohana Inn, run by a guy from Oahu...however, we never met him, just his wife. They also gave surfing lessons. We weren't in Kenting long enough to do everything we wanted, but I plan on going back. We were the only guests at the hostel, so even though it was built for 10 people, were were the only three there for both nights.
The beach was just amazing. It wasn't the hottest time of the year to go, but it still was warm, even in early February, the temperature at about 22/23 degrees C.
At one time, Kenting was underwater, the rocks were once coral or lava.I really like to climb things, so poor Joanne and Erin had to humor me while I tried to climb everything I could. We spent a good portion of the day in Kenting National Park, hiking around.

We went to two caves, they were a little small-ish, but were a lot of fun. We scared ourselves by trying to not think about zombies while going through dark crevices...A giant maple tree, thought to be over 400 years old, gutted by a infection of fungus. However, the tree is still alive and fruitful.I thought this was just a cool picture. I swear that one tree is trying to strangle out the other one...I took so many photos, everything in Alishan and Kenting was beautiful, it's hard to pick which ones are the best.

Right now, Feng Yuan is going through an unusual heat spell. It is really nice though, and it's hard to teach in class when all you want to do is play outside. ^_^

My Best Friend.

I remember getting Dex in Alaska because his owners were just going to drown him. They didn't want him. He came with us from Alaska to Colorado to Hawaii. He was such an active pup with funny quirks -- always on the move, loving to chase things and hating when I'd dress him up.

He died on January 16th. I'm still sad that I didn't get to see him in his last few years. I cried when I heard he died. I called my parents when I got the news, and was in tears when I taught the rest of my classes that day. My parents took such good care of him. This is the email my dad sent to me the day he died. I miss him so much.

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Dex left us peacefully this morning. He hung on for so long, just for us. Despite his suffering, he knew that we wanted for him to stay with us longer. Through it all, he never complained of the pain that he was going through. He never growled at us, as some dogs do when they're dying. He was always gentle and polite, and very dutiful, keeping guard of our land until the very end. Barking to keep away the bad guys. His bark got weaker and weaker as the days wore on.

He died in the service of his master. It all started when he sprang up instinctively when he heard an unexpected sound in his yard. The electric meter reader had come into our yard unannounced, and Dex was on him, snarling and barking like a rabid wolf. Later, I noticed that he was limping. He had hurt his hip when he jumped up too fast for his ancient body.

The limp got worse and worse, until eventually he stopped using his right rear leg completely. Mom worked with him, massaging is leg several times a day, until he let Mom know that it hurt too much to be massaged. He did this in his usual polite manner, either by putting his chin gently on his leg, or by getting up and limping away.

Pain medication seemed to help for a while, and at times we could see that same goofy smile come out that he had as a pup. But then, he was always a pup. We took x-rays and found multiple tumors in his leg, which were spreading to other parts of his body and his lungs. The tumors were probably already there to start, but probably contributed to and were exacerbated by the injury and non-use of his leg. The doctors recommended amputation or euthanasia. This was about six months ago. Another visit about two months ago to a surgery and acupuncture specialist at the animal clinic concluded that nothing could be done. We were just to try to make Dex as comfortable as possible. Dex would let us know when it was his time to go when he stopped eating.

By this time, Dex lost use of his right rear leg. He would just drag it on the ground, and it became a raw and open sore. Mom tried to keep bandaging it, but it always came off. It must have hurt to drag it, raw and open, on the cement and rocks. Dex began eat less and less. Eventually, he would not come to the patio for meals. Instead, he would go to the far end of the yard, and just lie there all day, and all night. The sand was probably easier on his open wounds.

We had to bring food and water down the hill to him, and feed him by holding the dish up to his face. Mom thinks that he was visiting with our neighbor's dog down there, which was chained right on the other side of the fence. It is actually very peaceful and breezy down there. The trees and bushes sway and rustle their leaves in the wind, making a very gentle and soothing sound, almost like ocean waves. I told Mom last night, as we were feeding Dex, "this would be a good place to die."

This morning I went down the hill to feed Dex. He wouldn't look at me. His eyes were mucus-filled, his body was drawn and sunken, and his bad leg was moist and infested with flies. I was reminded of how Blackie looked before we left her to die. She had maggots on her body. Dex wouldn't look at the food held in front of him. Tried water. At first he wouldn't look at the water, but eventually, he began to slurp. The water seemed to pick him up, but he still would not take the food. Mom called the vet to see if we could bring him in for possibly a last consult.

Upon hearing the word, "ride", Dex would normally jump up, ears perked, eye wide and alert, full attention, tail wagging, prancing, and have that big goofy smile on this face. This time, he seemed to perk up a bit, but looked very tired. He could not stand up. He was too weak from not eating much, and a disease-ravaged body. So Mom and I put Dex in a blanket, and lifted him into the wheel barrow. He enjoyed the wheel barrow ride up the hill, and stuck his head up over the front, as he watched the yard go by.

We transferred him into the backseat of the Toyota, all windows down, to give him one last ride to the vet. I followed by truck. Mom said that he seemed to enjoy the ride. He always did.

At the clinic, we carried him into the examination room where the doctor came to look at Dex and discuss our options. We decided that he had suffered enough. He was hanging on just for us. As always, the dutiful, unconditionally loving, forgiving, and loyal companion. All the way to the end.

They gave him an IV painkiller overdose, which put him out in about a minute. It seamed very peaceful, like going to sleep. We were by his side when he left his mortal, diseased body, which will be cremated by the Humane Society. I can now hear him barking his head off and chasing angels like he did in his prime, creating terror and havoc in that eternal realm.

Let's all remember and share our memories of Dex in his prime. For that is how he is now and forever.

Love,
Dad

Oh, Asia

Ah, Taiwan.

Where the air is always heavy with incense.

Where the smog of the city makes the sunsets all the more intense.

Where the garbage trucks sound like American ice cream trucks.

Where it's cheaper to eat out than to make your own food at home.

Where hip-hop dancers can share the same plaza as a Tai Chi group.

Where there's a 7-Eleven on almost every street corner.

Where they have a strange fascination with poop.

Where the girls are cute and fashionable, and the boys are cute and fashionable (where you can see couples wearing matching coats, shirts, etc).

Where you often see a jazzy along side scooters.

Where restaurants, clothing, kid's clothing -- have marijuana leaves on them.

Where you can see a girl riding a scooter side-saddle, or a girl in four inch heels driving a scooter.

Where gambling is everywhere, but really doesn't exist.

Where you often see three kids on one scooter, or a dog riding with its owner on a scooter.


Where you can transport a huge Costco cake on a scooter, then eat it with chopsticks.
Where you'll find lines of 20 or more people at the sample stand at Costco.

Where you can find seaweed flavored lays potato chips, or put dried noodles on your 7-Eleven slushie.

Where, to prove their unending love, young people write their names on a lock, then lock it to the bridge above the train station, and throw the key down onto the train tracks to symbolize a commitment they can't take back.Where clouds of smells -- stinky tofu, sickenly sweet smells of fermented fruits, and smog -- linger in the air carelessly, waiting for the next person to enter its domain, and be confronted by the immense wall of smell.

I love it all.

Some pictures from the last day of school.

Dustin dressed up as Santa Claus for Morning Kindergarten, and the kids were amazed, mystified, and confused by this strange old man in a red suit. They loved him.
Rex and Cooper (below) had no idea who Santa was, and both were very confused/scared of him. It must've been his long white beard. ^_^

I did the Kitchen rotation for the Christmas activities for Morning Kindergarten. It was a lot of fun. Jessica had made over 100 ginger bread cookies the night before and we decorated them. The kids loved it. They especially loved eating the different body parts, laughing gleefully when they ate the gingerbread man's head, legs, or arms. Kids are vicious. Below is Cooper, saying his favorite phrase, "oh no!" as he ate the gingerbread man's nose.Kbr and their gingerbread men.
Below is Sharlene "reading" to Cooper and Cindy from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.Megan and me after our performance with Afternoon Kindergarten.Megan and her student on the last day of classes.Lindsey and Jasper, the child she believes is half vampire.Sharon. In real life, she's a tank. But she's absolutely beautiful.
Julia and Nathalie. They both are adorable. Julia is Santa, and Nathalie is Rudolph. ^_^
Jerry is a very photogenic child. ^_^
Jemmy, playing "the Grinch!"

Christmas part 1

We survived the Christmas Program! I'll have to post details and pictures later (I'm heading for Singapore in a few hours), but I really wanted to show a little bit of the program. The first video is of Afternoon kindergarten. Yes, that's me in the frumpy Ms. Claus suit...just ignore me. The kids are too darn cute. Watch the little girl on the far left...she'll do the splits at the end of the second song. lol. Megan (the one in a santa hat and green shirt) and I didn't notice until we watched the video for it. They did a great job, they were so cute!

Okay, this next video is amazing. This is Miss Lindsey's class. She's a dancer, and she worked miracles with these kids and their dance routine. They did an amazing job.

Sorry this post is so short! More to come!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Ah, the last week of school.

I feel like a kid again, counting down the days until the holiday break. Only three more days until the last day of school. Only two more days until we do our Christmas Program. (An adorable picture of Dream below, she looks like an angel, but is quite sassy in real life) For me, it'll be the last three days I have to teach Morning Kindergarten five days a week. Yay! But I am going to be head teaching Morning and Afternoon Kindergarten next semester, so I'll probably be up in the morning anyways planning (at least that's what I tell myself ^_^).
I just realized the Dinosaur group -- pictured above -- is going to be leaving Morning Kindergarten and most of them are graduating into KbR (Kindergarten Basic Reading) next semester. I'm really going to miss them. (Left to Right: Owen, Aden, Louie (jumping in the background), Weslia, (front row) Jenny, Brandon, Corey). *sigh. They are all very smart, and most of them have been in the program for almost two years. They grow up way too fast.This is John, as Rudolph today. He is the newest student we have, but is hilarious. He's very sharp, even though he giggles a lot and speaks mostly in Chinese.

This is Jemmy being very goofy as he "ho-ho's". Dream also got into the act and started doing some martial arts as Santa...all WAAAY too cute. Stanley and Felena look on. I love this group. They are the Dolphins group, and for a while, each one wanted a new name. Jemmy wanted to be called "Dinosaur!" and Dream wanted to be "Dora," Felena wanted to be "Boots" and Stanley wanted to be "Diego," Cast of "Dora the Explorer" anyone? ^o^ Well, of course, except for Jemmy, who is, in all awesomeness, just Jemmy.
This is Stanley, I believe he's in the middle of a "ho-ho" in this picture. He was very intent on being a good Santa...and so when we made a make-believe "sleigh," he wanted to make sure all the Santas KNEW they had to say "hi-yah" to make the reindeer go.This is the Cars group in their "sleigh." Cooper is in the front, Cindy and Sharon in the second row, and Jerry and Sharlene as Santas. I had to give all the reindeers red noses, otherwise they'd throw a fit. So now I'm pretty sure they think all reindeers have red noses.This is Jennica in the Santa hat. How big the hat is on her just goes to show how little these kids are, even as they're already learning their second language.And of course, itty-bitty Jemmy in the Santa hat. He is an adorable kid. Always puts on a good show. ^_^

This is the Cars group singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Okay, Okay, it's actually mostly me singing, but that's just because they're our youngest group (just try to ignore my voice). They're trying to sing, but I think they were distracted by smiling for the camera... ;) ...just because they know they're adorable...