My Taiwan Adventure

I had a nice Thanksgiving with my fellow teachers at Xin Hu this past Sunday. We ordered turkey, gravy, and stuffing from a local hotel. Everyone brought a dish to share: mashed potatoes, pies, cranberry sauce... It was pretty good. The week before I was smell-hallucinating about turkey and gravy. After we gorged ourselves, we played charades and talked about what we were thankful for. :) So I helped me feel better about missing Thanksgiving at home. (crescent rolls, green bean casserole!!!!!)

Friday evening we took a High Speed Rail Train to Hualien City and checked into our hotel for the night. I got to feel my first earthquake ever in the shower. It was so small I thought I was just remembering what it felt like in the train. Early the next morning we rented a scooter drove to Taroko gorge! It was raining since the day before so we wore ponchos and still got soaked. Here's the gate to the gorge: Our first stop was the Eternal Springs Shrine, dedicated to the many people who lost their lives building the road through the gorge. It was really pretty (but small). A spring runs underneath it, and it's had to be rebuilt three times because of rockslides. Then we headed to Bulowan, the aboriginal settlement in the gorge. It's all commercialized now, but the idea was still good. The tribe is called Atayal and they're famous for their weaving techniques. We got to see an old woman weaving inside their museum. Out behind the lower village we went on t...

This weekend was awesome! Very relaxing. I'm just really tired from the traveling. I'll tell you all about it in a day or two! :)

So today at my school there was a raid from the government, and, for some reason, it's illegal for foreigners to teach kindergarten in Taiwan. So everytime this happens, the teachers have to book it outside the back and wait until it's safe to come back inside. I didn't hear the announcement because I was in the bathroom so I come downstairs and someone gives me the hand motion that means-- go back upstairs there's a raid!!! So I hid in the bathroom for a while... and then I snuck over to an empty classroom and hid in the sliding cupboards where they have spare cots...and I took a nap. ;) Pretty crazy, huh? I love playing hide and seek.

Two weekends ago (I know I'm late to update!!!) Albert and I went to Ying Ge, a small town that's famous for ceramics and pottery. We went to a workshop where we got to glaze cups and actually use a pottery wheel! It was AMAZING! I've always wanted to try it! I tried to make a bowl and it was good until I kept experimenting. So the teacher kinda redid it for me. I love some cool pictures I'll post later!! The weather is really nice here right now. It's fall and it's cool but not cold. The rain's let up a little bit so I'm happy! This weekend we're going to Taroko Gorge (look it up on google!). It's really beautiful! Lots of hiking and nature. We've been meaning to go since mid-October so I'm glad we're finally getting there! Gotta run! Chinese class! Love, Rachel

So this past Halloween our school went ALL out to throw a party for the children and parents. We transformed each classroom into different acitvity rooms, such as eat a donut from a string, haunted house, DIY activites, etc. And the English teachers all had to dress up and dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. It turned out pretty well I think! I'll upload the video once I get it finished. But for now, here are some pictures!!! Enjoy! Teacher Ted, our host, as a pilot Teacher Kate as a donut queen! Me, as a candy girl Me and my Chinese co-teachers All of us after the show Teacher Katannya as the mummy in the haunted house Teacher Kate, Teacher Leanne (knigth in shining armor), and me Teacher Catherine as a pirate (sorry I didn't get the orientation right!) Teacher James as a sexy vampire, and Teacher Leanne