Public Notices

I finally found out what these are:


I asked Naomi. She said they can be notices to tell you that someone has died or for basically anything else. You rent them (around NT$500 for one) to display a notice. So if a friend or family member has achieved something, like getting elected into the local council, or opening a business, or anything, you can rent one or however many you like and display a notice.

Pretty cool to know :)

Tax Madness

Well thank goodness Naomi was with me at the tax office. She is such a great friend to stay and help me! First off, I would have gone to the wrong place (as in the wrong building in the wrong part of town). Then there was a specific area for foreigners. Then I had to photocopy loads of stuff. And I had filled out the wrong part of the form...the list goes on. It's still not over as I had to get a proxy form, take it to my branch, get them to fill that in (in case i'm not here when i'm meant to get the tax refund in December) and take that back on Monday.

The tax rebate is only for a couple of thousand...fair enough that works out to about £40. But still, a lot of hastle over so little. Mind you, the amount goes down after an international transfer. Still, enough to pay a bill.

Before that we went to Jongshan village. It was so nice and peaceful. I took a couple of pictures of her dog Momoko.

Thursday Tea

Yesterday I met Naomi. We've not been doing much study, more meeting for tea and chatting. Which is really nice. It's good to have a catch up once a week.

We're meeting again today. She's bringing her dog and we're going to go to a park in Jhongshing village...not far from Nantou. After that I have to hand in my tax form of doom! I won't get any money back for it because it's for the last financial year and because I wasn't in the country for the 180 day minimum I don't get any tax back. I still have to submit the form though.

I just hope people in the tax office speak English. lol. Could be a mini adventure.

I got up at the crack of dawn to fill it in with the intention of taking it before meeting Naomi, but I couldn't find my bank book...it took me ages but I found it. Huzzah! :D

Rain Rain Rain and movies

This past weekend was spent hanging out with Renee, Geoff and Zach.
I took Saturday off work so I went to Chunghua on Friday night. Which was nice. It was strange having a full weekend off. On Saturday we checked out a food and music fest in Taichung by the Art Museum. It was alright, but not really my scene. I suppose I couldn't be bothered sitting around doing nothing. lol. That's what a weekend is for surely :)

We went back to Renee and Geoff's and watched a movie...which I can't remember what. haha.

On Sunday we were planning on going on a mini adventure but it was pouring down the whole day. boo. But it is needed so it must be accepted :) We chilled and watched movies. We watched 'a license to kill', the Americans were not impressed with James bond. lol. Oh well.

So a weekend of not doing much and watching many movies.

Relaxation in the Hua

This past weekend was spent chilling in ChungHua. It was so nice to not have set plans at certain times, so we could relax and not stress about having to be somewhere on time. I definitely prefer not having to keep to a schedule. Without one I am so calm, with one I get stressed about meeting people on time. And I am notoriously late. haha.

On Sunday evening we headed up to the big Buddha to see the fountain show. Apparently it's a regular thing at night. It was a beautiful evening. Apart from the bugs.

Matt and Lisa having a show down.

Mother's Day Activity

This past Sunday 9th May was Mother's Day in Taiwan (and in America). I found out it's different in the UK. I completely missed Mother's Day, I found out having called my mum and she told me I was a couple of months late. I'm such a terrible daughter. I never remember such things.

Anyhoo. At work on Saturday morning we had an activity for any kids who wanted to come. Most of them were my Tree House kids. I taught them how to read a couple of poems to their Mother's and then we made paper flowers. They're made by drawing around your hand and cutting that out...as well as other bits. They were pretty cool!

After that we had a KTV competition where the kids had to sing a song chosen by the branch (Skidamarink) and then one they chose. They were given a list of songs (with lyrics) and a CD the week before so they could practice.

It was so much fun. I was supposed to be a judge taking notes but all I did was record some performances and take loads of pictures. Here are a few.

Jeff and his little sister Zoe wandering around the stage. She is so cute!


Frank. Great outfit for one of his songs :D


Wilson didn't do much singing but his dancing was awesome!


Eric




The kids playing with balloons before they went home.


Wilson's awesome dancing. It was magnificent :D

Tunnels and Waterfalls

On Saturday Zach and I went to Taichung to meet Renee and Geoff. We went to fatty's on Jing Cheng Road (in the little Europe part of town) to have some Italian food. It was so yummy!

After that we headed back to watch the original 'Italian Job'. lol. The Americans thought it was so boring, in fact Zach fell asleep part way through. haha. Geoff and I loved it! Admittedly, it is a little bit of a snooze fest until you get to the getaway.

On Sunday we ventured out to explore the bat caves. There was no cavern, which I had read about online, but only tunnels. Still great fun. I felt like I was Indiana Jones in search of something cool, but with the added frustration of getting my flip flops stuck in the gross mud and having to root around to get them.

An old lady had taken the opportunity to go with us as she had not brought a torch (Renee, Zach and myself had one each). She gave me a bit of a headache as she was shouting down the tunnels to her family. Apparently she was the only one brave enough to do it. lol. Still great fun.

After we navigated through them, there were a couple of dead ends, we relaxed a little. I snuck back in to take a couple of pictures because the first time I was busy trying to see where I was going.





We were rather mucky when we got out. I felt so sorry for Zach and Renee, who are much taller than me and had to crouch a lot. I didn't...one perk to being short.

Then we went in search of the infamous waterfall. We literally drove past it last time. When we had breakfast at the Early bird in the morning I bumped into a few fellow HESS folks...one told me about how to find the waterfall. The best thing was to stop at a restaurant, which we found, and ask for directions, which we did. First we had some tea though. The girl was so nice, she drove her scooter to show us. It was very close to where the restaurant is... very handy. (i'll post more helpful info later or in a separate post).

We went down the path that took you to the bottom of the waterfall. In all honesty it was rather small. We had to climb over a lot of rocks to get to the pool.





Our route


When walking back to the scooters Zach saw a snake...A bamboo viper (the Chinese green tree viper). We had Geoff to instruct us to make as much noise as possible to frighten it away. They are venomous so I was making a lot of noise. Geoff knows all about the animal kingdom, our resident Dr Dolittle in Taiwan :)

Bamboo vipers are identified by their green colour (go figure) and they have red on the tips of their bodies. Definitely one to avoid. They won't kill you, but apparently you have a 30% chance of dying from the venom. So getting to a hospital is a good idea if you get bitten.
(A picture pinched from a google image search).


Once we were back at the scooters we had a rest then headed back to Taichung. It was such a hot day and we were disgusting from traipsing through tunnels we all had a shower...separately of course. lol. Zach and I returned to ChungHua and went to Anthony's for film night where we watched a rather strange animated movie called 'Drawn Together'. It was rude and incredibly crude. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as the lads.

Surprise gifts

I have no idea what i've done to deserve to have such a wonderful boyfriend :D I arrived in ChangHua on Saturday to find Zach had bought me the most gorgeous bunch of flowers. Not only beautiful but blinkin huge! I unfortunately spoiled the surprise because the bus let everyone off behind where he was, so I saw them sitting on the scooter...much to his annoyance. lol. But that didn't stop me being over the moon.

I had never expected anything like that.

This picture does not do them justice. It was taken Tuesday when given on Saturday, so they are a little wilted. Also, they came with a cute little teddy bear that has a pink tutu. haha. I love it! So Taiwan :D

General Election Madness

I must admit that even though I am not in the UK I am rather nervous about the elections. I have to go to work soon but as it stands...
Conservatives: 36.4%
Labour: 28.7%
Lib Dem: 22.7%

There are 78 seats still to be declared and the Conservatives only need 51 to win. I know a hung parliament can't be a very good and efficient one but perhaps that would be better than an all out win by the cons.

I await the results. eek.

Crazy Snow White

One of my favourite classes had a performance day. This is the last class of the level where they put on a performance for their parents. Not all levels do this. But this class is going from level 12 to 13, and there are a lot of changes. So I do a teaching demo to the parents showing them what's different.

It was great fun. We had a lot of laughs in the first hour preparing for the performance. Then in the second we invite in the parents to watch.

This class cracks me up. I love them to bits.

Daniel, Jim, Stan, Debbie and Elly.


Jim: Snow White, Stan: The Queen as the old lady, Ben: The Hunter


Jim as Snow White


Elly as the Evil Queen


They also had conversations as part of the performance. Bertin is getting help from Billy because he's hurt himself.


Jim is a doctor taking an x-ray of Stan's arm to see if it's broken.






Bertin was a pizza delivery boy in the Snow White performance. Snow White woke up because she had ordered pizza and was hungry. haha.




Also, some kids from my other favourite class came in during break time. So we took some photos.

Alice and Jacky


Joey




Joey, Penny and Alice


Bottom: Penny, Alice, Nikki, Sally, then Me and Joey (Jacky took the picture)

Mandarin Phonics

My friend Naomi is teaching me Mandarin phonics. There are 37 symbols. It's pretty tough, I can't seem to manage the fourth tone. Once I learn them though i'll be able to read things (if they have the b,p,m,f at the side of the word- that's the phonics). But it will help me with my pronunciation so I don't keep confusing people by asking for stuff in the wrong tone...because then it's a completely different word.

I bought a book that little kids use to learn :D hehe. It's snoopy. So I feel like a child. But it's all part of the learning. This is my workbook. You can guy them anywhere. Bookstores, stationary places and $10 stores have them.

Lukang greatness

Saturday was the usual of hanging out in Chunghua.

On Sunday, Megan, Anthony, Zach, a new friend Mike and I went to Lukang. Megan drove us. haha. It was so funny. Her poor car couldn't handle three foreigners in the back. So we tried having Zach and Anthony in the front seat...that was impractical for Megan driving, so Zach ended up driving.

It was so funny.
Anthony and Zach in the front seat.


Once getting to Lukang we had a bite to eat. Some of it was delicious, other things, like the Oyster Omelet was not so tasty. But I was told it wasn't very tasty for those who know it. So i'm glad it wasn't just me. I was put off by the not so tasty gloop that was in it.

The dish in the front was the oyster omelet. Behind that to the right was deep friend lobster, a bit greasy but yummy. We also had some tofu and veg like stuff that was very yummy.

In Lukang there must have been some kind of festival happening[Edit: my friend told me it was Mazu's birthday-She is the goddess who protects fishermen and sailors]. It was amazing, there were so many 'parades' going on. They had various dancers, drumming, the folks in the big suits. I also saw guys who had hit themselves over the head with a sword, they were bleeding, but it was a trance like thing so the Gods were with them.

We were outside one of the most famous in Lukang (Mazu Temple), a temple I have visited before, when they had really cool stuff going on. Awesome costumes etc. Unfortunately i'm a bit too short and was too far back to get really great pictures. I'm hoping Zach had more luck and I can pinch his for posting here.















My unfortunate view of the celebrations.


After that we wandered around and looked in what I suppose is meant to be a house of wonder. Like at a circus when they have the freak show. It was quite entertaining, but there were animals kept there in conditions that made me upset. There was nothing I could do though.

A poor Pelican in a small cage.


They had a case of Santa in different outfits. Here is a female santa.


From the house of wonder.


Then we went in search of Longshan Temple, one of the most famous temples in Taiwan. It was really peaceful there. There was an old lady who tried to talk to me. She was amazing! She was so friendly and wasn't bothered at all that I couldn't talk to her. She had such a wonderful spirit.

Awesome doors we spotted on the way to Longshan Temple. It was a building used by a group of writers who get together.


Longshan Temple.












The music they were playing was beautiful. I recorded some, I shall attempt to upload it here.


















You can just about see the lovely little lady who spoke to me.






We then went to 'Breast touching lane'. This is the narrowest street in Lukang. It is called Mo-Lu lane. It has it's name because you have to 'touch breasts' (I think that is an antiquated term that can be giggled at by youngsters) with people if they are walking from the opposite direction. There were old houses along the street that had been abandoned long ago, so you could see through windows and look at the rubble. There was one new door...so folks may well still live there.

Mo-Lu Lane


Zach and I




A very wealthy temple we popped into on the way back to the car.


A quite scary face on a suit that folks wear for various celebrations. Then they look like a giant :)




Then we headed back to Chunghua. Zach and I went to Anthony's for movie night. First we watched some crazy TV then watched 'Momento' a particularly bizarre film but I really enjoyed it and I think i've seen it before.

That concludes the weekend. It was really nice to relax with good friends and see some beautiful temples and witness May Day celebrations. Which i've been told it's Mazu's birthday.