My Valentine

I wasn't expecting anything this happy heart day. I never end up having a boyfriend between the months of January and April to find any significance in the day made by Hallmark. This year though had a small surprise. I recieved a rose from Leo's mommy.
Leo was a student of mine, one of my favorites, but right before Chinese New Year they decided to get him a private tutor. He's smart enough that that might be a very good fit for him. The last time I saw him would have been Feb. 1, so the random rose 13 days later made me a bit sad because I miss him and happy because they thought of me.

Afternoon Delight

This afternoon of fun actually happened Feb 10th, but with vacation over and school back in full swing I'm very slow :P I met up with Ping Jia and Vickie after I went to church with Gretchen that Sunday. We met around 2pm (Vickie was a bit late because she went to temples with her mom) and we went to a Japanese restaurant for a late lunch.


I was apprehensive about Japanese because my first thought is Sushi and I have a hard time shoving all that food in my mouth at one time, but it wasn't so bad after all! In fact it was really really good! Mom, Dad, Megan - this might be a dinner choice that even Dad will enjoy!

Ping Jia has a mirror that looks like a chocolate bar..I thought that was awesome!!She also has this really weird camera with 4 flashes.

This is when I just got camera happy :)

Bored, but on vacation!!

So I'm sittting here at quarter to 5 on Saturday thinking I'm kind of bored and what can I do for fun? Then I realize I still haven't blogged about vacation :D

February 1st Gretchen and I finished work at 4pm, the whole day was hard because everyone was looking forward to vacation, especially me!! At 10pm that night we met up with Franny, our co-worker and the mastermind behind our little weekend trip. We took a cab to the Yingge train station and took a short commuter train ride to another train station, where we had tickets for the midnight train to Kaohsuing - which resulted in a very bad night of sleep. Arrived in Kaohsuing at 6am and got on a 7am train for Taitung, our first official stop. We got there about 9am on Saturday and someone from the hotel met us and drove us out. We stayed at the "East Sun Spa Spring Garden Hotel," beautiful views, feet biting fish, and decent food was found there. In the afternoon we attempted a bit of a walk that turned into a very long walk to find this Natural Education Center. I guess the nearby areas are wildlife reserves and protected because they have so many different species of animals and different ecosystems, it was very interesting and fun, they even had an english video for us to watch, I've never heard so many scientific names in one sitting before!

Sunday morning Franny had arranged some of the hotel people to take us around Taitung, we were going to go bicycling but the weather was to dreary. In the car she asked us if we wanted to buy some fruit, no clue what kind of fruit, but I love fruit in general so I said ok. Eventually I figured out it was my most favorite fruit in the world!! It's native to Taiwan and doesn't really have an English name, although most call it "Buddha's head" because it looks like the hat thing he wears - anyways, it's SO GOOD!! I bought a basketfull (literally) and a special hybrid with it and pineapple, yummy!

After the fruit buying we went to a park and walked around, more beauty to see, then to XiaoYiLiu, which is related to YiLiu - a place in Northern Taiwan. Both of these locations have very interesting rock formations near the sea. From tectonic plates, limestone, salt water and erosion all coming into play to make these beautiful stones. It was very interesting because you were allowed to climb all over the place (a dream for me!) and it was right next to the Pacific Ocean. So I throughly enjoyed my large rock jungle gym and my 4th visit to an ocean.

At 1pm we were on a train from Taitung to Hualien - our original destination and popular city because it is right next to Toroko Gorge. We arrived there at 5pm, got to our luxurious hotel and after enjoying a Chinese Kung Fu movie on TV, went to a night market area in search of food.

Monday morning was the day! We got up early, packed our stuff and were in a van to Taroko Gorge. According to most travel books on Taiwan, Taroko is the must see hot spot. It has marble-walled canyons (which we saw), lush vegitation (which we didn't see so much since it's winter), and cliffs so giant-sized they block out the sky (which we definately saw). Two main attractions we saw were: Hsiangte Temple, named after a Buddhist monk who prayed for the safety of the workmen who were building the main highway, but I guess because of natural disasters it has been rebuilt three times; Tunnels of Nine Turns, which is one of the most senic parts of the main highway and the best place to see marble deposits in the gorge, it's been closed off to cars because of many accidents and is now a 30-40 minute walk. We spent all morning at the gorge, the van would drive us to cool spots and let us out for pictures, then drive us around a bit more, worked out well.

At 2pm we got on our final train (Sidebar: I'm pretty sure the last time I was on any sort of train was 1998 in Europe) to head back to Taipei, arrived at 5pm back in the drizzly weather and huge crowds. With my basket of fruit and other items I did not want to attempt the subway in rush hour/holiday traffic, so we took a cab back, took over an hour and I started to feel a bit carsick but it was worth it.

Mom and Dad are visit Grandma this weekend and asked me for a way to show her pictures without internet, so I created a video slideshow for them and I'm putting it up here (hopefully) for anyone who wants to see. Between Gretchen and myself we took over 200 pictures, so to narrow the shots down was hard, and it's still like 6 minutes long and moves pretty fast, but you get a glimpse into Taiwan :D

And I now realized that I could have been loading it while I was typing this insanely long blog, so I shall sit here waiting.....

In other news, I will return to work on Tuesday. It's weird having been gone so long, but a much needed break. There's only 2 or 3 weeks left in this semester. I don't think there's much difference between semesters except that my K1Gorillas will become K2Gorillas and there will be new students for some and some kids changing classes, general stuff, but nothing specific. I'm hoping for less art classes. Although I did talk to my supervisor about the toddlers having Art only twice a week and story time the other 3 days, she was okay with that (YES!)

Since we were home on Monday I've been pretty lazy the rest of the week. Wednesday, Gretchen and I headed into the city to go to Ikea to buy a rug for the living room, these hardwood floors are ice cold! I then took her to my favorite bookstore, Eslite, it's 4 floors, it pretty much beats out Barnes and Nobles back home! I bought three new (and probably not needed) books....my name is Marisa and I have a reading addiction. My collection here in Taiwan is up to...*counts her book collection*...25, give or take a few that I brought with me and some manga. I just finished a book last night (or in reality at 4am this morning) that took place in Japan, #9Dream, very weird and I didn't know till the end that that was a John Lennon song...made it even weirder. Now I'm working on Snow White and the Seven Samurai by Tom Holt, a comedic writer. I'm already half way through it but that's because I started it awhile ago an then stopped to read some others, it's amusing.

After the bookstore, Gretchen and I departed and I met up with Angela (former rotary exchange student who lived in Wayne last year) and had dinner with her family, which included: her, mom, dad, 2 sisters, 3 cousins, 2 aunts with husbands and one uncle. Her mom's side of the family. Dinner was in the hotel one of the aunts was staying at, there's some pics at the end of the video.

Speaking of the video...it's loaded! So I don't have to keep thinking of things to write about :D

Bye bye

Newest Mood

So, occasionally I get in certain moods, or phases. I've had many religious phases where I was considering going to Seminary (still a possibility) and I've had the normal teenage phases of being a punk or brat, and there's my permanent nerdy phase :) and all the other moments where I've been really passionate about something.

Right now I'm in a save the world phase, which is another semi-permanent phase because I always want to do stuff to make a difference in the world, but don't always act on things. I donated to two people on kiva.org, a fruit and vegetable seller from Viet Nam and a goods distributor from Tajikistan. Have you donated yet?

My next thing....global warming. I don't know a lot about it, just know things aren't going to be good the way we are headed. There's a website: www.earthhour.org with this global event to have everyone turn off their lights for one hour. March 29th at 8pm (your local time). Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour. I think it's a great, creative idea. Although by trying to make it global and yet having people go by their local time, we won't all be doing it at once, but it will still make a difference.

So that Saturday evening in March I will be turning off my lights and everything else unimportant that takes electricity (yes I mean my computer...oh the horror!) for one whole hour. No tv, no lights, no computer....maybe I'll read by candlelight...or take a nap lol. I'm hoping to get Gretchen in on it too, not sure how she'll feel on the idea. I'll let you know, and you should plan to do it to!

Homework time!

I started an online graduate class through WSC and we have to do weekly discussion postings on certain subjects from our book and this weeks had to do with the organizational culture in our workplace. You may not know anything about organizational culture, but I talk about work (I actually vent a bit), so I thought you might be interested in reading :D


My workplace currently consists of 8 'foreign' teachers (America, Canada, and South Africa) teaching English in Taiwan, a Chinese culture. This causes many issues to answer these questions. Reading about Wal-Mart stores in Germany on page 82 and understanding the attention needed to cultural differences around the globe is something I definitely relate to. What is "normal" to me in businesses and in schools in the US is very different from here. I'm at a small privately owned school that tries to follow American customs and include Chinese traditions, which honestly doesn't always make for an easy work day. Another problem is that this isn't a job that has much long term potential. Most of the employees (Chinese and Foreign) are on one-year contracts and few continue after that year. At the moment the organizational culture whether compared to other Chinese or other American businesses is not very stable. There have been a lot of recent issues mainly involving communication between owners/supervisors and subordinates which concluded often with toes being stepped on and misinformation. As for it being effective right now, I would have to say not really. Americans focus on the product and the customers. Our product is education and to me the customer is the student, but at school the main focus is making the kids look good for the parents since the parents pay the money. That entails re-writing students homework and making art projects with the kids name on it. I understand it's a private school and the parents pay a lot of money to send their children there and I also understand that most of the kids are between the ages of 2 and 7, which makes me wonder why they even have a school just so the kids can look good. And I apologize if this is more of a rant, it's been a long day!

I am following most of the steps to be socialized into the school. There is a organization called Reach-To-Teach that finds teachers for a specific school and it was through them that I applied and then had a long phone interview. After RTT accepted me I had a few options for schools and then the school I like called and interviewed me to make sure I would fit into their company. After I arrived in Taiwan I had three days of training and then was just thrown into teaching (no previous experience necessary). There wasn't a humiliation step since I just went straight into my normal teaching schedule. I have the job mastered to the point where I can understand my class and the best way to get the information across that I need to for that day. And after 6 months of work you are evaluated with the possibility of a raise. One thing I do like about the school for rewarding performance is you get a set performance incentive every month that is only decreased if you miss days of work or are repeatedly tardy, it's not much but it makes a difference each month. Adhering to values is tricky because the owners I think are still trying to figure out what their core values are, they try to say it's about the kids and education, but sometimes it tends to focus a lot on the parents. A biggest concern is punishment since hitting the students (slap on the hand specifically) is still allowed in Chinese culture. Some parents want their child to be punished this way and some are completely against it. The school won't make a stand one way or the other, so we end up with "special cases" of kids that can't be punished in any way and others that are supposed to be punished. It's hard to work for people when they don't take a stand on their values, or even tell you what those values are. And don't worry, foreign teachers, like me, are not the ones that do the punishing, we're not allowed (not that any of us would). Stories and folklore mainly follow past teachers experiences and ideas passed down.

I would definitely work better in a more structured environment. I agree with Lois on working in a place that is well-established and has a dominant culture. I don't mind a changing organization and this one is always changing. An organization should know it's values and tell their employees what they are so that they can be carried out. This school is not specific on what it wants and is not very good at keeping the lines of communication open. There is always someone to talk to about specific situations or issues, but you don't always know whether or not anything will come from the talk and eventually you just stop communicating altogether. It makes me sad because this could be a good school, it has a total of 300 wonderful students, but because of management decisions, no one is planning on continuing work once their initial contract is over and that's more upsetting to the kids than anyone else.

Instructions for Life

I have a book of quotes a friend gave me a long time ago, and I continually add to it. I love quotes and sayings and things and there's a list she pasted in here called "Instructions for Life" with 45 rules? guidelines? suggestions? You decide and see how many you've accomplished or follow :D

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. (check - I work with kids..I'm ALWAYS cheerful!)

2. Memorize your favorite poem. (check - Emily Dickinson)

3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or loaf all you want.

4. When you say "I love you," mean it.

5. When you say "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. (I definitely understand this one lol)

7. Believe in love at first sight.

8. Never laugh at any one's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

9. Love deeply and passionately. You may get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely. (I believe that 100%)

10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives, or by the life they were born into.

12. Teach yourself to speak slowly but to think quickly.

13. When someone asks you a question you don't' want to answer, smile.

14. Take into account that great love and great achievement involve great risk.

15. Call your mother. (Definitely a check on this one, right mom?)

16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. (Check)

17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. (I'm a sore loser, so that's sometimes hard)

18. Follow the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.

19. Don't' let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. (Another one I truly believe)

22. Marry a person you love to talk to. As you get older, his/her conversation skills will be even more important.

23. Spend some time alone. (Check)

24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

26. Read more books. Television is not a substitute. (I think we all know this is a big CHECK for me!)

27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

28. Trust in God, but lock your car.

29. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.

30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

31. Don't just listen to what someone is saying. Listen to why they are saying it.

32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality. (Somewhat of a check, not finished yet obviously :))

33. Be gentle with the earth.

34. Pray or meditate. There's immeasurable power in it. (Something I need to work on)

35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.

36. Mind your own business. (Something I'm sure everyone needs to work on a bit)

37. Don't' trust anyone who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss. (So true)

38. Once a year, go some place you've never been before. (Think that's a pretty good check so far)

39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. It is wealth's greatest satisfaction.

40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

41. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. (:D:D)

42. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

44. Live with the knowledge that your character is your destiny.

45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

I'M SORRY!! and kiva.org

I'm bad at writing letters, I'm bad at making phone calls, I'm very bad at responding to e-mails, I'm usually not this bad at writing down my thoughts. This should be easy, I think a lot so blogging should be a piece of cake. But then of course you get busy and tired and it's easy to make excuses....but NO!! Not any more!! I am going to start blogging regularly, at least once a week I promise and if I don't I will apologize profusely and you can all yell at me.

Anyways, I will update on past events like thanksgiving, Xmas, school activities, random activities. And I do have some pictures, so don't worry, it's coming. But right now I just want to talk about me in general.

I have been in Taiwan for 150 days (I have a count up on Facebook hehe) and I like to think about how much I've changed in such a short time. I realize every event in a person's life can potentially change them, even the little things, but moving across the world was a bit of a monumental event in my life, especially since it happened right after college graduation when I was thrown out into the real world. Obviously thinking of being 'thrown' into the real world was a scary thought, so I thought of the one place I would be most happiest, and here I am, and I don't regret my decision.

I love working with kids, I couldn't ask for a better job. Despite my complaints, tiredness, and occasional anger and the kids that choose not to listen to me or anyone I love them so much. I already know how sad I'm going to be when I leave, whether I'm going home or going to a different school in Taiwan, it will be hard. But having this job has taught me how to figure things out for myself, be resourceful and be more creative, along with probably many other positive traits that I cannot think of right now. Just being in Taiwan has helped me to grow up, yes I still call Mommy often, but it's more just to talk about things going on and ask a general question or two rather than for her to solve all my problems :) Being here has also allowed me to explore more about myself. Not that I couldn't have possibly figured these things out in Wayne, but it's like a friend said to me before I moved: she knew how right this was for me and that Wayne was just to small, she told me how I was meant to travel and see the world and be in a city where I would have room to grow. And I think she's right, although I have learned that I like to be very lazy on the weekends!!

I feel like I'm figuring myself out all over again, which I actually do often. I like to evaluate me and see what I can do to improve. And recently I think I've been doing pretty good. I teach Monday - Friday 9-4 (or 9-9 on Thursdays and Fridays), I have private Chinese lessons for two hours every week and I started my first Graduate class online through WSC. I have an extremely productive life at the moment, so when people ask what I did over the weekend and I either say "slept" or "as little as possible" for once I don't feel ashamed or embarrassed of those responses :D

Recently I have been "youtubbing" a lot. Just watching random videos for fun. I have some favorites right now. There are two brothers that started a project last year where they made a deal to communicate without any text, so no e-mails, online chats or letters. They mainly do video blogs (on YouTube) or phone calls. Now, this project ended once 2008 began, but their still doing videos and I've started watching all their past videos. These are to very passionate guys and...very nerdy! So I love them, being a fellow nerd! They actually call themselves Nerdfighters and have a website for fellow nerdfighters :) One of the brothers, Hank, is very eco-friendly, he runs a website (ecogeek.org) and discusses environmental issues often. The older brother, John, is a young adult writer.

Anyways, in some recent videos I watched the brothers had a family reunion in the Dominican Republic where the experienced some of the poverty there. Afterwards the brothers were trying to think of ways to make a difference. One of them came across this website: http://www.kiva.org/, which is a place where you can give money, but unlike charity, it's more like a loan. You pick the specific entrepreneur to lend money to and how much money, and after 6 to 12 months you get your money back. During that time you get updates on the progress of this person(s) business. I am very interested in this project, and although I'm saving as much money as I can, I don't mind sparing some temporarily to help out other people. I like the idea of giving money knowing it's going for a specific purpose, like starting a business. I challenge everyone who reads this to go to kiva.org and lend money, then let me know about it :D