Apples and Bananas

Okay so the song goes...

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas, I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas, I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas, I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas.

and then you change all the vowels as you go through the song to cover a, e, i, o, u, it sounds funny and is quite fun. I am not sure why I hadn't used it with my kids earlier in the year, I guess I forgot about it... ANYWAY

We sing the first verse and then get to the 2nd, change all the vowels to i so you get
I like to iat, iat, iat ipples and bininis... All seems innocent enough right, wrong Nini (said sort of like nai nai) is the kids Chinese word for breast, I guess it's like boob. My 6 year old boys lost it, they could just not get their giggles under control and I must admit it was funny. I vaguely knew the word as the boys have mentioned it before and I was not about to have a conversation with 14 boys about Chinese words for breasts, so I just ignored it and moved on with the day. Frankly I forgot all about it until today , I was certainly not listening for it in English song lyrics!
We quickly ended that song and moved on to Down by the Bay.

I signed up for another swap this week, well me and someone else are sharing the work but I don't want to give away my identity to a future secret receiver. It's called back-tack and I think it will be fun.

I have been tagged with a book meme by Rae at Live Love Laugh, go say hi. One of her munchkins is sick and I am sure she would appreciate a cheering section. Maybe I will get to the meme in the morning before I go to the dreaded annual work picnic.
Kids + teachers + no parents + Saturday morning = nightmare

I am going to bed so that at least I will be well rested for said nightmare.

BTW I remembered my camera and am looking very forward to International Pajama Day on Sunday April 24th. Pictures of me in pj's of course, the pup and maybe even a knitting project coming soon

Disappointed

I am sad and disappointed at the choice that the Catholic church has made. The last thing the world needs is more division and absolute moral purity. As I type I am listening to a right wing conservatives on the BBC. As Jackie said, I think I will go pound my head against a wall for a while. I am ( yes it is rare) speechless, I don't know what to say and so I am going to read the comments of the world t large and find comfort in the fact that I am not they only one who is devastated by this decision.

I survived

I survived the week the bad week at work, I developed a migrane on Thursday afternoon and it happily stayed until late yesterday. As I type it is contemplating rearing it's ugly head again but I have pain killers close at hand. Not to sure why I got this one, something hiding in Thurday's ice cream perhaps.

Anyway I did start feeling better yesterday afternoon and rode my bike to the LYS for some fiber therapy. I did not buy any wool although I was tempted they got more Jaeger and some other lovely things that I need to have and may not be able is find at home. I need to buy one Little People yarn from France jut because I love the name. But I am babbling now, I went out there to get some Chibi's for someone who wants them.

I had no idea they were as popular as they are and such a rip off on ebay. So if you want one, or any other cool Clover products let me know(the US and Japanese site have different products listed). I am not independently wealthy and so I can't gift them to all the people out there who want some but I am sure that we can work something out - trades or paypal. In the picture there is a pom pom maker kit and some cool stitch holders that come in variety of sizes. There are also lots of other cool things in the store although not all the things listed on the website.

I am off to work on my blanket, it's coming along. I contemplated striping it but decided not to and it will just be pink. Sine the little person is already here there is no worries about gender.

My mom said there would days like this even in Australia

Yes I am using lines from children's literature to title my posts, I can't decide if that is amusing or sad.

Yesterday was long, to long, inconsolable little girls, full oatmeal cans falling on heads, monsterish behavior and generally just a crappy day at work. Then I got a photo from Cooper, not a great picture, actually it's not even a good one but he wrote me a note on the back,

From super Cooper
to Ms. Kruz
your really good
Cooper

Ps I really love you.

moments like that make teaching worth it even if everything else is crap.

I want to ask a question to the peanut gallery about stripes or no stripes on the current WIP but I forgot the camera at school... it'll wait till tomorrow I guess.

Mark your calendars International PJ day IV is April 24th, more details tomorrow when I pay more attention and get the link.

Here are the treats

Here's the wool, I am in love with all of it. I feel some more felted bags being a part of my WIP's, buttonhole bags perhaps. My SP says she's a yarn snob, I love yarn snobs because they have such amazing taste!

This is the box along with the wool she also sent some bamboo needles, tea and....

a bone for Tai, you can't see her tail wagging as I made her sit but she could not believe her good fortune. She walked around the apartment with it in her mouth for about 20 minutes before she actually ate it, I think she was making sure I wasnt going to take it back.

Thanks again SP, you are the greatest! Sorry about the small photo size, I am playing with photobucket, but must go to work so I will have to play some more tonight.

She strikes again

More treats from my secret pal arrived yesterday( well I went to school yesterday, yes it was Sunday and they were there) , sadly I have been caught up in work and a working on a new baby blanket and thus there is not a photo yet, tomorrow I hope. I do need say that Tai loved her bone, I came home from work today and it was gone, I got a photo this morning though. I'll post it and other pictures soon. Thanks so much, your amazing.

PS the Hong Kong album is on hold, I feel the need to finish the blanket before the baby is walking and talking.

This is funny

Okay 1st I was Costa Rica and then I went back and said I prefered cool of tropical weather and this is what I got, I think I'll keep it.

I deleted the flag cause it was huge and messing up my formatting!
You're Canada!
People make fun of you a lot, but they're stupid because you've got a much better life than they do. In fact, they're probably just jealous. You believe in crazy things like human rights and health care and not dying in the streets, and you end up securing these rights for yourself and others. If it weren't for your weird affection for ice hockey, you'd be the perfect person.
Takethe Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Highlights o f Hong Kong

A photo album will follow shortly, maybe tomorrow at some point but more likely Monday or Tuesday. Until then let me tease you with these (I'll delete them when I get the photo album up so the free web host doesn't kick me off for exceeding my limit)



Hong Kong has it's own Walk of Stars, I had to take a picture of Jackie Chan's just so I could say I was there. This was the end of my day of walking in which I saw most Hong Kong Island and then crosed the bay to go to Kowloon, this was the last place I went.


This is the giant buddha on Lantu Island, it was cool to see but a bit of a tourist trap.


This is Nica and I on the rocks at Stanley, about 30 minutes from the city. I met Nica and Bergen at the hostel and we had a great day together, they were on their way to Nepal to go on a trek.


This is the harbor on Hong Kong Island, I liked the boats with the skyscrapers in the back, sadly I cut them off and you can't see how big they really are. I came here to see the noon day gun but missed it by about 2 minutes because I was waiting for an elevator. On a brighter note after leaving here I found Ben and Jerry's, chocalte chunk mint ice cream makes everything better.

Tired

I'm whiny, there is no other way to say it. Yesterday was a long day and when I finally got home with the grumpy dog (she was at the kennel) my landlord was here painting the wall in my room. Prior to painting he should of used some fans to dry the cement wall but he didn't and now the paint is peeling off. I was away all week and he waited until the last possible minute to show up and get some work done, I was a little annoyed. I was up until 12 while he painted and I was tired to begin with and not feeling well because someone secretly fed me MSG, bad restaurant.

Today I am just tired, it's that post vacation, I don't want to go to work on Monday feeling. As a result I spent day mastering contintenal knitting instead of doing the many things that need doing. Oh well, laundry, floors and groceries can wait until tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be a more productive day and I will get some photos and details up from my Hong Kong trip. However for an excellent synopsis of my knitting adventure go to kimberli's blog, she said everything I would of said and even put up pictures, one just of me!. Yes I broke "I am not buying any more wool until Canada promise" but let me sayin my defense, it was on sale, I needed it to finish something or it's for my secret pal. I can justify the purchases so don't give me any grief about having to move it back to Ontario.

I am taking my tired body to my bed to read my new Marian Keyes book. The Other Side of the Story (my sister got me addicted, she is really funny) and hopefully I will return in the morning less grouchy and ready to have a productive day.

On my Way

Just a short note as there are people waiting for the computer and I am on my way to the park. I just needed to say thank you for my first RAOK, I got a great gift certificate for some yummy tea. So thanks a million, I love tea. I think I will have to wait until I am in Canada to spend it again but that will be very soon.

I am off to Starbucks and the park before I head back to Taipei tonight. There will be photos and more news tomorrow when I am home. The week has flown by but it has been a lot of fun and I am really glad I came.

I am currently sitting in a coffe shop at the highest point in Hong Kong. It's called the peak and a few minutes ago I was 550 feet above sea level. To get here a rode a tram and then walked a path that led me to the actual top of Victoria Peak. It was beautiful, sadly it's foggy and so the photos won't turn out to well.

Last night I met up with a group of great women, 3 from here Marjorie (www.hkknitter.blogs.com), Siow Chin (www.yscmama.typepad.com/little_purl) and Eva(www.evashiu.typepad.com. (sadly the little link button is not here so I couldn't so the magic link trick that I learned last week, neither is the spellcheck the menu bar is MIA). The 4th person was here from New York, Kimberli (www.kimberlinewyork.blogspot.com). After a little intial confusion we found each other and went wool shopping! I got some great yarn for some baby projects that I need to get underway and some "James Dean" yarn for my SP. It was a lot of fun. After that we went for coffee and a little knitting... Sadly Siow CHina and Eva had to leave after coffee. Kimberli, Marjorie and I went out for some dinner in Times Square. It was a great evening and I am so happy that it all worked out.

This morning I wandered around the city a bit, I followed a walking tour route and saw some of the highlights. After I leave here I am heading to the Star Ferry to go across the harbour to Kowloon for an evening of more walking and sightseeing. I am hoping to make it to the beach and to see the Po Lin Monastery in the next day or two. I will let you know how it goes.

My coffee is done and my feet have stopped aching so I think I can safely move on. I'll try and post again in the next couple of days, I am back in Taipei Thursday night.

hmmm gotta go!

Just a short note because I have to finish the dishes and get out the door. I am heading to Hong Kong a day early so that I can meet up with some very cool ladies (links later) and an afternoon of my favorite thing - shopping, any shopping will do and today it is yarn.

I'll post from HK I promise and let you know how wonderful it is. By the way the link for RAOK (random acts of kindess) now works as I got into the ring yesterday. Yipee. Sadly the SP4 ring isn't working and I haven't had time to look into why.

Have a good weekend.

Yippee

She's coming, it's official and I am so excited. Who's she and where is she going you might ask ? Well, she is one of my oldest and dearest friends CJ ( we met when I was in jr. high and her oldest was a baby, her oldest in now 14 and has 2 siblings) and the place is South East Asia for a month in June/July. Anyway I have to get to work, it's Friday morning and I just got through tying the principals furniture together with fishing line. Happy April Fools Day.

PS don't forget to click the link in the post below this and go comment!

Secret Pal

Here are the coveted secret pal gifts, well I have shared a little bit. I got the very cool knit knack kit with 25 pattern cards and a book and some gummy candy. The 2nd bag of candy is hidden under the 1st because it is almost empty, I opened it at work and shared it with the other teachers. There was also a very cute chocoholic card, yes I am addicted I'll admit it. Thanks so much for all this great stuff, the other knitters at work are already planning projects with the new patterns as am I.

So exciting

My week just keeps on getting better and better.

I am going to Hong Kong on Sunday instead of Monday and thus get to knit and go yarn shopping with a bunch of great women. Yippee. I thought that changing my plans would be challenge but it was a breeze, Cathay Pacific has amazing customer service. To make a good day even better I got a package from my Secret Pal, and I must say a huge Thank You. It has some great treats in it and the other teachers and I are already contemplating projects that we finish before I leave in June. I will post a picture when I get home today... if I let the other teachers near the candy it will just be a photo of some empty bags, (that's not true but the supply will be decreased). Okay I am off for lunch.

knitters

I got this comment yesterday from Kimberli saying that they were getting together in Hong Kong to knit on Sunday afternoon if I was interested in joining in. Cool huh, well sadly for me I am not going to Hong Kong until Monday, no particular reason for that, life just happened that way. I decided to go from Monday to Friday instead of over a weekend. I told S and H about the comment when I came to work today and their response was well go to Hong Kong a day earlier, I am entertaining the idea. S and H are the other teachers that I knit with and they both think it would be great to meet up with new people in another country to hang out and knit.

This little world of bloggers and knitters is an amazing one, who would of ever thought that I would be entertaining changing my plans so I can go and knit in another country. Well I must go and contemplate as I get ready for my day with the little darlings.

Oh my gosh I am so slow sometimes! I just figured out how easy it was to add a link into my message. I have been blogging for almost an year and I thought it was hard and complicated and it is so easy. All you have to do is click the link option, oh well now I know how and can link you to all kinds of things in my messages without typing the address. So now the bold names are links, so great.

Okay I really have to go now.

Happy Easter

It is always strange to be in a non christian country on a christian holiday, Easter came and went without to much excitment. That's not true I celebrated with my kids at school and we even had an egg hunt at the park. But aside from that you never would of known that it was Easter, I had pretty low key day and met up with some friends this morning and this afternoon. I also spent some time working on my fair isle hat, sadly I don't think it is going to fit on my head...oh well.

On another note all together there is something you can do this week, on April 1st a blog I read is having a comment-a-thon to raise money for breast cancer research. All you have to do is go to www.californiahammonds.com and leave a comment. People have donated money for the comments and the more comments the more money raised. The author of the blog lost his wife to cancer a year ago and he is doing this in her memory. It's a great cause and it will only take a minute but you have to wait until the 1st for the comment to count in the fundraiser.

Okay I am off to bed, since Easter is not a holiday here there is no long weekend. I do have spring break starting on Friday though, lucky me, I am heading to Hong Kong for 4 days.

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by J at Scarfomatic.typepad.com
1. How much space is left on your Tivo or Comcast box? A what box? I barely even have cable and only 8 english channels

2.Have you ever bought a DVD of a TV series and if so which one? I don't have a DVD player but one day when I do I would buy/ will buy ER (especially the season that I have missed being abroad) and Friends

3. What was the last TV show that you watched before reading this message?
While you Were Out, old season shown in Asia on Knowledge.

4. List 5 shows you won't miss.

1. The Block ( shown here now even though it is over in Australia) 2. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy 3. CSI Miami (or Las Vegas but we only get old episodes here) 4. (If I was in Canada) ER . 5. Amazing Race, hopefully I will catchthe next season in Canada

5. Name 3 people to whom you will pass this stick.
Okay, most people I read have done this but there are 2 I know I haven't www.susanknits.blogspot.com and www.rgbilkes.blogspot.com

damn eggs

okay excuse the four letter word but it was the most gentle one I could use to describe the last 14 hours. I work 10 hours a day, 8 teaching, 1 for lunch (actually unpaid prep time) and 1 for prep time ( marking and classroom step up) as a result a lot of little things come home with me. Annoying work that has to be done but that there never seems to be time to do.

Today annoying work EGGS!
eggs bought on my way home from work 50
eggs boiled 49, one broke on way home
eggs cracked in pot while boiling 13
eggs broken because I was having a bad morning and did not pay enough attention to what I was doing 3

33 eggs remaining, number of students Ms. Kruz teaches 33 - okay all shall be well. I spoke to soon, Benson dropped his and it broke. If I ever see another boiled egg again it will be to soon. Those kids better love dying easter eggs and have HAPPY MEMORIES of kindergarten.

Anyone out there want 13 odd boiled eggs witha crack in the shell.....

a bad day gets better

Look I got treats in the mail today, lucky me! As you can see they have already been opened and tasted, I am in love with rhubarb custard sherberts. I was having a crummy day at work and nothing was going right and then at lunch time these arrrived and brightened my day. I got them from Jessmay at www.scarfomatic.typepad.com , I sent her some stitch markers that I made and asked for Marks and Spencer candy in return. Trading is so much more exciting than selling.

I am from

I am from a striped velour couch, from kool-aid and your the youngest sit in the backseat.
I am from the house with an open door, chaotic but caring, usually sharing a meal.
I am from the sand, the salt air and the fresh smell of cedar trees.
I am from 2 Christmas dinners, from J's, Mary's and I'm not Spanish we changed our last name.
I am from the clan of good cooks and no elbows on the table.
From eat your zucchini and onions and let's go swimming
I am from church, sung, not spoken and usually Ukrainian.
I'm from the island, perogies, and pasta ( often togethter).
From the basket of Nana's bicycle, shopping is for girls and be yourself, make every moment count.
I am from generations of strong and courageous people remembered now in black and white, hundreds of faces, never met them but will always know them.


It's based on Where I From by George Ella Lyons, someone thought it would be fun to adapt for a blog and I think they are right. Want to see the template, click the title and it will take you to the link.

I am off to enjoy a sunny Saturday, a long walk will make Tai very happy.

hey did you know

That it is Friday again already! Amazing how some weeks times fles and others it just crawls by. I has a fun week at work, I taught the kids about St. Patrick's Day and we made leprechaun traps to catch the ones were visiting our classroom. It was a lot of fun at at my parent teacher conferences yesterday I continued here how much the kids loved it. Some of what we did is on our classroom blog www.coolcatskindergarten.blogspot.com

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday, a huge envelope of foam letters and numbers for my class. My firend Lexi sent them, thanks Lexi. I am not sure what I will do withthem yet but I think that my kids are going to go crazy when they see them.

I have a another morning of interviews today and then I am off early... Yipee. I have a friend coming to visit this weekend, actually 2 friends and I think it will be fun. Okay well I have to get out the door, it is my day to open the school and thus I can't be late, plus I have a parent coming at 8!

Have a super Friday.

culture and knitting

My friends and I went back to Wisteria tea house today to knit, we went there last weekend to. It's fun to take your knitting and go sit in traditional asian tea house and drink tea made of real flowers. We spent the afternnon knitting. I sadly did not get to much done but Heather is finished the back of her sweater, she's never knit a sweater and neither have I... we make an interesting pair. I can read the pattern for the most part, so that helps and it looks good so far. Besides as we try to figure it out we are providing free entertainment for the staff and other customers as they enjoy watching us.

That was the highlight of my day. I have another cold and it started raining again yeterday. Figures, it was glorious all week, the weather wouldn't want to hold out through the weekend. No that would be to easy. I am heading out of the city on the train tomorrow, well let me rephrase I am suppossed to be heading out of the city but given the way I am feeling at this excat moment in time I may bail on them and stay in my bed instead. I'll decide in the morning.

I finally got around to taking a photo, the wool on the left I got from Susan at susanknits.blogspot.com in exchange for some of my stich markers. She really liked them and I love the wool. The ball on the right is one I just bought for my secret pal but I am liking it a lot, I think to much to send it to. I'll have to wait and see.  

I should be finishing my parent teacher conference paperwork but i was taking a coffee break (literally) and found this on another blog. I just about died laughing. It is based on a comic you can find at http://www.goats.com/archive/030808.html I just had to share it with you immediatley as this couldn't wait 

Jessica was the ringleader of this little adventure. She is loud and often drives me crazy, how very appropriate that she taped her mouth shut.

Patience, I need some

I have very little patience with cyberspace annoyances. I am not sure what happened on my blog the other day, posts were there and now they are gone, one that I did not delete has disappeared. I am tad perplexed but oh well life goes on.

I am, (as usual) looking forward to Friday tomorrow. I have the day to get ready for parent/teacher conferences. They are not my favorite way to spend a day but I am looking forward to a few of them. Today I gave my kids word tape as they did an excellent job on their writing. It is this bright orange tape with words like super and fantastic on it, it's easier than stickers. Well they started to stick it on their shirts and bags and then one of them had the bright idea to put it on their face. First it was on an eye and then on nose and finally Jessica( the loudest kid in my class) put it on her mouth. By the time they all figured out that it was funny to put it over your mouth it wasn't very sticky so they had to tape it on with clear tape. At ten to three I had kids walking around laughing as their mouths said words but they weren't talking. I took some photos and had a great laugh and then made them take it off before I sent them home. They waved their hands at me, no, no I want to wear it home their eyes pleaded. Yeah that is jut what I need you going home with your mouth taped shut... I can imagine the phone calls already. I will share the photos with the good humored parents and keep the rest for my own "need a laugh" days. Children really can be priceless.

I have plans to get out of the city on Sunday, it will be a nice little break from the smog! Hopefully the nice weather will hold out until then, not bloody likely but I will try to remain positive.
I will get a picture up of the cool yarn that I got from Susan, hopefully tomorrow. Maybe even one of the crazy children in my class.

strange

The missing post is here, the other one is here 3 times and even though I deleted 2 of them they will not go away. I don't understand!

Grrrr, growl like an alligator

Okay that is from a song my kids love but I am growling because I just typed a great long post and cyberspace ate it. It has happened before and I should know to save my work and not just post it. So I babbled about not remembering the things I want to write about, said happy womyn's day even though it's over here already and fact that spring has sprung and I am a very happy person.

And ( I know I shouldn't start a sentence with and) I told you about the ultra cool wool I got from Susan in exchange for some stitch markers and the fact my secret pal says that there is mail on the way, surface but on the way and sadly surface is jut part of living overseas.

No that I have had to type 2 posts I am definitely behind in getting ready for work and have to get myself out the door.

Sun, sun, thank god for sun

It has been a cloudy and rainy few weeks since I got back from the Philippines but then sun came out Friday and even though it is cold out it is sunny. I feel like if it was -20 that would be okay as long as it was sunny.

I am off to knit at a tea house with the other "sad teachers" from work this afternoon. (our motto is Happy Kids), sad teachers). I know it seem a little mean but sadly it is very true. Working 10 hours a day for little pay and heaps of annoying administration issues is less and less worth it as time goes on. I am looking forward to spring break, yes I just a vacation but happily I get another one in April and then after that there is only 7 more weeks. I have to work until the 17th of June but I only have kids until the 1st. The last 2 weeks are either spent doing paperwork and such for next year or working at camp. I am hoping I will get the paperwork job so that I can have a lazy couple of weeks to pack and such.

We'll see what happens. I haven't done to much this weekend so there is not to much to tell you about. Eat, sleep, fight off the newest cold that is trying to invade my body and play on the internet. I am off to knit.

Eat, sleep, knit, read.....

and watch the Academy Awards. That's what I did today. Not true, I also went to the Laundromat to dry my clothes and the grocery store to buy chicken. Ultimately though I spent the better part of my 3 day weekend doing very little and I loved every minute of it.

It has been raining here since the 17th, there has been a few hours of sun but that is it, not even a whole day just a few hours here and there. Hopefully with March here in a few hours things will improve. Needless to say the weather did not inspire me to do to much either. I did a lot of reading and finished a bunch of knitting projects. I was also working on a blanket but I decided that I wouldn't have enough wool so I pulled it out and am contemplating my options. I don't want to buy anymore more wool while I am here and would like to use up what I have so I don't have to pack it. I did start a Fair Isle hat kit today though, it's my first try (at carrying colours) but I think that I can do it.

I make it sound like I didn't do anything at all this weekend and that's not true, I went out for dinner on Friday, shopping on Saturday afternoon and then to Costco yesterday AND I cleaned my apartment, well all of it except my bedroom.

Not to much else to say, back to school tomorrow and happily it is only a 4 day week now. I am going to curl up and read for few hours before I go to sleep listening to never ending rain on my tin roof.

Simply Scarves

I rarely take photos of my knitting but since I that is virtually all I did today I thought that I would show it off. It's not to exciting, only scarves but that's what I've been up to latley. The one on the left is mine, knit with some velour I got in Canada. In the middle is one for a friend here and the last one is me using up scraps, local charities like knitted things so I thought I would use up my yarn before I come home.

i made it

It's Friday and I made it through the week! Yippee Next week is a short one, Monday is a holiday and then the week after that there is a Pd-day and then there are only 3 more weeks till spring break. I can make it.... I think. I am off to work.

Owww

Remember when I was at Teacher's College and got hit by that car and hurt my hand, well it hurts again! Yes the hand that wasn't broken - Stupid Doctor- that probably was broken, well I just whacked it on my dogs mouth, rather the dog whacked it's mouth on me and now I am typing with 8 fingers as my thumb and index finger hurt a lot. Hmm... to bad I am afraid to go to a doctor here. They would probably give me antibiotics and tell me to come back in 3 days!

On a brighter note I I started to type this post because I realized that I hadn't really acknowledged the existence of my secret pal. So, Secret Pal I love your comments... I totally appreciate them and I think your great, wherever you are.

Okay hand hurts to much to keep this up, we'll see how it feels tomorrow, I can't believe she actually hit me hard enough to hurt it, oh well, if it still hurts in a few days I will contemplate doing something about it. I am off to snuggle in my bed and try to keep warm, it's chilly here and it is never going to stop raining! Yes the first day back at work was bearable, thanks for asking. I really love my kids and am going to cry my eyes out when I have to say good-bye to them in June. They are a pretty sweet bunch.

Neverland

I'm sitting here with my tea on a very cold and wet morning. This is day 3 of solid rain and I am not to happy about it. I am in fact dreading the day, I have to head to school and get a heap of work done for the coming week(s). I am excited about by next theme, Neverland. We are going to learn about all things imaginary. I am dreading being back at work and the frustrations of working in another culture with support staff who seem to have in for me. But whatever, there is little I can do about it. It's a year and it is almost done and then I'm going home. The fact that we work 10 hours a day also takes it toll on my sanity and patience.

On a brighter note I saw Finding Neverland last night and really loved it. I have been passionate about Peter Pan for many years and it was really neat to see a slice of the story about the author's life. I know that it's a movie and many things probably changed in the process of making it into a script but I loved it anyway. I also spent the morning out and about showing a friends, friend around the Jade and flower markets. All in all it as good end to my vacation but sadly it's over.

Okay I must go get some food and get myself out into the rain....

Philippines Photos

I have had a busy 2 days. I managed to upload all my pictures and create a new photo album, click the title of the post for the link.

Not to much to say, I have been knitting and baking for the last 2 days. I went out last night with some friends for supper and to see the lights that are up from Chinese New Year - very cool. Today it is wet and rainy and I think that I will just stick around the house, have some cleaning and such to do. I have plans to go to the flower market tomorrow and then sadly I will spend Sunday at school getting ready for the next month! i have a lot to do. My next theme is "Everything Imaginary" we are going to learn about dragons, monsters, fairies and fairy tales. I think it will be a fun unit...once I finally sit down and plan it that is.

Enjoy the pictures.

Happy

I am home and although I am sad that my vacation is over I am happy that I don't have to be back at work until Monday. I have heaps to do for work though and will spend at least one whole day at school this week. Probably Sunday, it's best to put off all work until the bitter end, right.

I have decided that the Philippines is a great place and it sad that is gets such a bad wrap all the time. Most of the country is super safe and the people are so nice. The poverty is overwhelming and it is really hard to see little kids sleeping in the streets. When I was on the plane last night there where a whole bunch of young Filipino girls, I was sitting beside a few of them. They were on the their way here for jobs, highly coveted factory worker jobs. They were amazed that I was a teacher and traveling around by myself. I couldn't help thinking that I am so lucky I was born in a country were I had choices. I could go to university and be whatever I wanted to be (even if I will be paying for it forever). These girls don't have choices like that, they could stay in the Philippines and try to find work or they could come here and work in factory or as a servant and make more money. They work here and make enough money to send some home their families. Sadly they aren't treated very well here, many people treat them as second class citizens, especially the families who hire them as nannies and household help and yet it is still better than no job at all and so they come. It is amazing how different our lives are.

My last night in the Manila was good, I met up with a bunch of boys from St. John's (yeah Nfld) and we went to this bar called the Hobbit House. It is a bit of a landmark and it has been in Manila for about 30 years. It is run by "little people" (not sure what the PC term is) and they wear shirts that say "Small is beautiful" and "World's smallest waiters". It was pretty neat, they had all the required Lord of the Rings art on the walls. We heard this amazing singer, his name is Freddy Aguilar and he is a bit of a national icon. He was really good and I had a great night.

On Tuesday I went and got the the required Manila mug from Starbucks and then headed to the airport. It was a long afternoon of waiting in a very crowded airport with very few shops or services. Oh well, I read my book and knit a little. I made it home, went and got the dog and went to bed. Now I am off to pay the rent and go tot the bead store. MAybe I will work on that photo album today.... we'll see.

Guess Where I am

I am sitting in the "Blog Internet Cafe" in Manila, I thought that the name was a great and just had to come here instead of the cheaper one down the street. It costs 50 pesos an hour, about 1 US dollar. I think I can swing it.

Life is good, after a few days of a very grouchy belly I felt a lot better yesterday. I have left the beautiful beach a and am back in Manila. My friends have all gone back to work in Taipei and so I am here alone until tomorrow. I had plane to go on a sight seeing tour today but it didn't happen. I just decided to have a lazy day instead and spend some time at my favorite place.... the mall. I think that I might try to find some yarn stores... the online search is next on my list of things to do.

The last days on the beach where great. I met lots of great people. I think I can get used to hanging out on the beach in February. We came back to Manila on Saturday and it was crazy busy. They where having a huge street party as the main street along the bay was closed. The traffic was terrible and it took us forever to get to the hostel. Once we all met up ( I was waiting for some other friends to arrive from a different beach) we went to the waterfront to see what all the commotion was about. You'll never guess what it was, not a music festival or some religious event but a huge celebration of valentine's day called Loveapoolza! It was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. There were thousands of people and at midnight 25 000 couples where going to kiss and then switch partners 3 times in order to have a million kisses happen in a 10 minute period. It was the craziest thing. We didn't stick around to see the kisses as we were all tired but I imagine that it was quite the sight.

I had a great day yesterday, Rhea and I went to the most amazing mall here in Manila. It was so nice and they even has an Old Navy, it was an expensive Old Navy but it was fun to see none the less. Shopping here on the whole is pretty good, many things can be bought for a fraction of the cost elsewhere and the locally made stuff is super cheap. We had amazing Vietnamese food for super and I continue to be amazed at how great real vietnamese food. I can hardly wait until I make it there this summer to eat it all day everyday.

Another bonus of Manila, Starbucks has white chocolate mocha's... hot and cold! Taiwan so doesn't know what they are missing. I have yet to find the required Manila mug from Starbucks, they are hard to get a hold of but the Starbucks staff assures me I will have one before I leave tomorrow.

Everyone here is super friendly and it is really great to be in a country where everyone speaks the same language that I do. I am not looking to forward to heading home tomorrow but I am happy that I still have a few days off before I have to be back at work. I have so much to do though as I did zero planning before I left. Hey on a brighter note I only have 4 months and 3 days left until the end of my contract... very exciting.

Okay I guess that it is for today. I will head home tomorrow and as soon as I get organized there will be photos and such from the beach so you can all see what I have been going on about.

Yuck

Poor me, I am so ill, well that is not true I was so ill all night. I am not sure if it was food poisoning, to much disguised gluten/MSG or the green chilies but I was not a happy girl. Aside from feeling like I have been run over by a train today I am having a great time.

Yesterday we went on this very fun island tour and swam in these great fresh water pools and a lovely barbecued lunch. Lunch is always lovely when others make it! Then we went and saw a small local village and on the way home we hit a rooster, the boys stopped the jeep and got out to pick it up, free dinner. I was a little floored but I understand why they did it. Chickens and roosters wander free unless they are for cock fights and then they are kept closely guarded.

Today we are just going to hang out in the town and tomorrow we are going to see White beach. I am heading back to Manila on Saturday and then home to Taipei on Tuesday. Okay I need to go find some gentle food for my sad and overwhelmed stomach. Talk to you soon.

Yes I found and cheaper internet connection, thus the post.

Manila redeemed

Okay I just typed this great post and then lost my internet connection and thus my whole post so here are the highligts in point form!

- I stayed in a horrible neighborhood in Manila but yesterday throughthe help of some other travellers saw the better parts of it. I am looking forward to going back next week.
-I got sick on the ferry ride over, it was brutal!
- I am on a great island staying in a cabin with a view of the beach.
-went snorkeling today and saw heaps of fish, all the fish from Finding Nemo and more. I even saw a baby clownfish! It was very cool.
This is the world's most expensive internet connection so that is all you are going to get. If you want to see wher I am you can goole Sabang Beach. It is amazing. I will write properly when I am back in Manila on Sunday. Wish you were here.

Different

Well I arrived the Philippines Yesterday, all in one piece. It's hot and sunny and Manilla is dirty and crowded! I checked in to the hostel and after some frustrating reservation mix ups I got a bed. It was perhaps the smallest, darkest room I have ever seen, most of the rooms are pretty good but I ended up with a dud. I am moving into better space tonight and Amanda is arriving from Taipei.

Yesterday I went exploring to this very old part of the city and saw a church that is from the 16th century. It was neat and so old. The poverty in the neighbourhood was a little overwhelming. Children always have their hands out hoping a friendly face will give them something. It's a really different than Taipei.

I have all day today here and tomorrow I am heading to the beach, I can't wait. People told me not to stay in the city to long and now I understand why. Hopefully today will be okay and I won't fall into any puddles as I did last night in the dark, not to fun!

These are the very cool stitch markers that I have started to make. I think they are really fun. Everyone in the world will get some for a gift at some point.... eventually!

Okay here it is, Ms. Kruz with 100 elastics in her hair! I had to take them out by lunch though because me head hurt. I looked a bit like Pippi Longstocking. 

I'm the best

Isn't that so true, no self esteem isues here! Today is my class' 100th day of school and I (their crazy teacher) am currently putting 100 elstics in my hair, I won't leave the school all day as I will look a little strange but the kids will think it is great. Maybe, if your lucky I will take a picture.

Not to much elsse to say. I have been trying to get some stuff organized before my trip but I am not getting to far. I must get some laundry done and have 3 packages to mail. In order to mail the packages I must finish the letters that go in them. Maybe tonight.

Anyway, gotta get moving and go see the munchkins. Yesterday was a tough day, the new TA was there all day and they were so naughty, poor girl is never going to come back! Hopefully today will be better all though it is out party day and so expecting them to be good is silly of me. Oh well, it'll be fun.

Have a good Wednesday!

Lots to talk about today

On today's agenda for discussion,
1. Annoying cultural issues
2. A cool tradition
3. My Secret Pal
4. Have I told anyone that I am going to the Philippines in 5 DAYS!!!!!

1. On Friday night we went to a very posh Thai restaurant for a staff party to celebrate Chinese New Year, all employers do it for there staff at this time of year and it was quite the event. It's called a Wei-ah and to make a long story short it is a chance for the employer to thank their employees for all the hard work they have done over the past year with a great meal and some sort of a new years bonus. Sounds great so far right, well it would of been until they began the games. Instead of just giving everybody who works equally hard the same cash bonus they play a lottery game. So in the end some people home with about $20 (Canadian) and others go home with closer to $500. The difference is what bothered me, we all do the same job, we all work the same long exhausting hours and some people get so much while others get so little. I came out in the middle with about $80, great as far as I am concerned.
Apparently this is normal, the boss walks around with wads of cash (almost 4 grand in our case) and gives it away. She actually had all that cash with her and flashed it around all night. Every business does it differently and sometimes some people go home with nothing while another person goes home with a car. Maybe it's the teacher in me that finds this all so unfair, I think that we would all be better served if you just divided it equally among your employees. The Taiwanese teachers had no issues with it, just us foreigners who think that everyone should be treated the same.

2. On a brighter note I met with 2 of the other teachers yesterday for tea and knitting. ( I am working on a hat, and almost finished a scarf, but I am not happy with it and so I think I will frog it and start again... Long story) Anyway we went to this very cool Chinese Tea House. It was my first experience here, I had done the same thing in Korea but here it is really different. There is a tea ceremony like in Japan but it is not as rigid. We had so lovely fresh Oolong tea, picked from a local mountain. It was a great time and now I want to go back. The house itself has a lot of great history, many democratic "radicals" met there in the 60's and 70's when Taiwan was in the middle of it's political upheaval. Now it is a heritage house and really very cool. Come visit me and I will take you there!

3. As you know I signed up for secret pals 4 a little while ago and I heard from my secret pal today, I am so excited. I can't wait for some treats and I am really excited about ending some Asian treats to someone else. Anyway the person who has me wanted to know where I wanted to travel. The answer is simple, everywhere! I am heading the Philippines next week and have plans to see Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam this summer. I would like to go to Africa and see Europe at some point. While I am hear I have plans to spend a weekend in Hong Kong and hopefully another in Beijing. I want to see it all! As for things from home that I miss, some fresh air and open space would be great but I don't think you can mail those. I really miss chocolate with mint in it, not like peppermint paddies but actual chocolate that tastes like mint. I am not sure about mailing it though, Jackie said something about not being able to mail chocolate to some places, I think I have gotten it in the mail here but I can't remember. I also really miss decent gummy candies, like gummy bears and cola bottles and reeses pieces candies too. Yes, I just miss candy, actually that is not true but the other stuff I miss is hard to mail or difficult to explain and find. Since I have no idea where you are I'll just stick to things that are pretty universal.

4. I AM GOING TO SEE A BIT OF THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD ON SATURDAY! Just in case you have missed it I am going to the Philippines on Saturday. I am going to spend a few days in Manila and then head to a nearby island to see the rainforest, tribal culture and of course the beach. I wanted to go diving but I think that I will have to settle for snorkeling instead.

This ends todays discussion, although I did also want to tell you about the cute things the pup has been up to, the kitchen set up on the sidewalk and a really crowded restaurant experience but I will save those for another day. Have a great Sunday.

This is at the tea house, there is a process involved in serving the tea but it took me awhile to remember that I had my camera and so this after my cup has been poured.

This is Steph (a teacher), Thersea ( the boss) and Janus, (the accountant) showing off how they give money to their staff. It's unfair and Steph did really well but poor Sarah got almost nothing!

I need a little TLC

Okay I had a bad day yesterday and I need a hug! First my littlest friend who tends to drive me crazy was sent home because he was out of control and I had had enough. Well, the bell the rings and instead of just Grandma who I was assuming would be standing there I saw his DAD (who I have never met) had come to get him. I hope he gets the message that hitting teachers is not acceptable, maybe his parents will figure out that when you have a child who has special needs you need to look at your lives and adjust them accordingly. His mom is a flight attendant and he is often with his Grandma as a result.... It's a long complicated story but he is really a very sweet boy who needs a lot of attention.

Then at the end of the day I was on my way out of the school for a break before my after school class and I was stopped by someone who was with one of my kids. His neighbor had come to get him because his father had passed away during the afternoon. My heart just broke, this is a very sweet boy who has said nothing about his Dad being sick. I wonder how much he really knew, dad had cancer and he has been in the hospital all week. None of us had any idea. Poor kid, he is an only child and his mom is pretty protective so I imagine he has not been filled in on a lot of the details. What do you say to a 6 year old in a situation like this? I don't think he will be at school today but then I would not be surprised if he was.

Okay I have to get moving and go to work. Thankfully it is Friday!

Answers for Secret Pals 4

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I like just about anything but do tend to buy cotton based fibers unless I am planning on felting it
2. Do you spin? Crochet? Nope
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) I am not a huge fan of perfume and am allergic to smoke
4. How long have you been knitting?I I relearned about 2 years ago
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, sorry
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Vanilla
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, I love chocolate especially mint chocolate
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I scrapbook, cross stich a little and like beading
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like lots of different things, Indigo Girls, Spirit of the West, Jann Arden, most canadian groups in general.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I am big fan of red and puple but not usually together.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am single and have a dog named Tai
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To see the world, I am on my way but there is still a long way to go.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Anything soft, the softer the better
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't know
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Quick projects that are portable
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? hats, felted bags and I want to be a sock knitter but got stalled on my first one and have to frog it and start again.
17. What are you knitting right now? A scarf, baby blanket, felted purse and a hat.
18. What do you think about ponchos? I wore them when I was a kid, I am not sure if I want to wear one again
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? plastic or bamboo - the dog enjoys the bamboo ones though.
21. Are you a sock knitter? see the answer to 16
22. How did you learn to knit? My grandmother as a chid and then my sister and mom for a refresher course.
23. How old is your oldest UFO? what's a UFO, I think it is something unfinished but I have never heard the expression before
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? monkey's and pandas
25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
26. Is there anything that you collect? not really

Pictures

Okay nothing new in the last few hours but I did get the photo album finished, click on the title Pictures to go see the album.

Sunshine

The sun is shining and I am home with a nasty cold, sad, very sad. This is the first really nice day we have had all month. Not to much to say, I am home knitting and watching movies on HBO. Sadly they are not terribly exciting movies though. I am working on an online photo album and maybe it will be ready to go by the end of the day, I'll keep you posted.

Look my box is easy to carry ( and the dog wanted to be in the photo) we need these in Canada!. I went to buy a heater yesterday and they very nicley put a handle on it so I could carry it home more easily. It works and it made riding my bike all the way home with it much easier as I just held it in my left hand by the HANDLE.  

so

Well yesterday I could see my breath in my living room. It's not really cold according to the temperature but it sure feels it when there is no way to get warm. Well that is not true I can get warm but I have to stay in my bed. The sun is out today for the first time since I got back, there is nothing like 15 days of rain.

I went to the movies last night, I saw Flight of the Phoniex. It was pretty good. I also went grocery shopping and guess what the grocery store got....... GLUTEN FREE PASTA. I was over the moon with excitement. I just brought some back from Canada but this means it doesn't have to be as carefully rationed as it was before and I can eat pasta when I ever I want to. It's kinda expensive but so are all the other imported things that I like to buy. It probably will disappear off the shelves just as I get used to having it but I bought 2 bags and will by more on each trip to stock pile it.

What else can I tell you about, not to much. I am on my way to the laundry mat to dry my clothes (when it is this cold and wet they take days to dry!) This afternoon I am heading out to knit with the girls from work, I am working on a blanket for a baby that was born 2 weeks ago. She should get it by her first birthday. I am also knitting some scarves, one for me and one for a friends partner.

The washer just clicked off so I am going to dry those clothes. See ya

Corn Starch

My dog, is a little bit dumb, actually I call her special but anyway yesterday in her attempt to make mischief she discovered a bag of cornstarch on the shelf.... well I came home to a house full of cornstarch. Needless to say I was not impressed but I cleaned it up and moved on. Well the damn dog did it again today, I don't know where she found it this time because the bag is in the fridge now ( all open things go in the fridge so that there are no bugs!) but there is cornstarch all over the house again. I think that she stashed some somewhere so that she could play again today., regardless htere is cornstarch all over my apartment.... AGAIN and it is a pain in the @#& (this is a G rated blog) to clean up because it is so fine.

Anyway on a brighter note it's Wednesday night and that means 2 more days till the weekend and then 3 more weeks till the Philippines! WooHoo.

I signed up for this great cyberspace gift/treat exchange. It's called secret pals and you get a name of another knitter/blogger somewhere else in the world and then you send them some treats... or at least that is the idea. I think it sounds like great fun, if you knit and have a blog you can sign up http://secretpals4.blogspot.com/ All the instructions are there.

Here's to the coming weekend :)

It's chilly

Well after a very long week I have finally made it to the weekend! Jet lag and 5 year olds are not a good combination. Need less to say it was pretty uneventful week and the most exciting this I did was buy groceries. Oh and lose my wallet yeterday, luckily for me some kind soul returned it, Thank God, otherwise it would of been a nightmare to cancel all the things in it!

It has been cold and rainy since I returned, this is made worse by the fact that there is not heat or insulation anywhere, so it is cold all the time. I was even to cold to knit last night, sad but true. Not much else to tell I am off to the grocery store to get some banana's for muffins, yummy. Be well and enjoy your weekend!

Well

Ok so I said I would post again but really I don't have to much to say. Maybe that is partially because I feel really brain dead after working all day. Jet lag is always tougher at the end of a trip when you have little to look forward to.

Home was good. The munchkins continue to grow and are as adorable as ever. Time flies when your having fun and my time there was over before I knew it. It was nice to see my family and friends and sleep as much as I wanted. Shopping was a definite highlight as was being able to ask clerks to tell me where something was instead of wandering aimlessly through the store looking for it because of a language barrier.

It's cold and I am tired. There is no heat here or insulation and as a result I am chilled right through, so I am off to bed. Lots of bankets are a good thing! Night

just a quick note

I am back in Taipei safe and sound. I had a great vacation and enjoyed every minute of my time in Canada. I am also back at work, it's the same chaotic place that it was when I left. I am here but part of me wishes I wasn't, I miss wide open spaces and grocery stores with all my favorite foods.

My dog survived my absence although she has taken up the habit of howling when alone... it better of just been a temporary measure cause if it continues she will have to find another home! I don't think my neighbours will tolerate it for long.

Anyway I have to get moving and go to work but I will write a proper post after work today when I am a little bit more awake and with it.

SWANKY!!!!

Wow what a night. We had our Christmas concert last night at the American Club in China. It's a posh country club with high membership costs and stupid, elite rules. But aside from that it is very nice and I was so happy when it was all said and done. The longest 10 minutes was our class play. I am not sure who was more nervous, me or them! They did fabulous and everyone was suitably impressed. For those of you in Victoria you'll see the video, Steph taped it with her camera so I could bring it home! Thanks Steph.

Anyway I must get moving and head to school. I have another cold... and I am getting on a plane tomorrow, not a good combination. Oh well can't do anything about it.

By the way have I mentioned that the weather is fabulous here. When it's sunny (5 out of 7 days) it's about 20 degrees and then on the days it rains it's cold. Well colder, I could get used to this.

Be well
J

I will not wear it,  

Okay it's off, now what the heck did she put on my head? 

She's only sitting still because under her there are bars like the one that are behind her and she knows that if she moves the she will fall off the cardboard she is sitting on. I am am mean I know but it was the only way to get her to sit still. This is my dining room, see no walls or windows just the great fresh polluted air all the time. It works here but is alittle cold sometimes. The rest of the rooms have walls though.

Shopping at midnight

I was cycling home from a birthday party last night, it was late, almost 12 and I was thinking about the last minute things I needed to get before I leave next week. Dog food, stickers to finish the picture frame, shampoo and so on. Well as I contemplating these things I rode up to my favorite store and it was still open, at midnight! I was thrilled. It's a big (well big for here) store with 3 floors of almost everything you could ever need or want.

I got all the things that I needed and came home and now I don't have to go get them today. More time to finish those darn report cards! They will be finished this morning if it kills me!.

almost

Almost finshed.....

- report cards, 5 of 30 left.
- January calender for day program, just have to type it, ( just remebered I have after school one to do! opps)
- christmas shopping, one more gift.
-laundry, another load.
-my kids Christmas cards for work on Monday.
- packing..... nope haven't even started that.

The to do list is getting smaller and I am off to get my haircut. Since I haven't cut it since last Christmas I decided it was time.

3 more working days and 5 more sleeps!!!!!!!!!! very excited.
J.

ok

A week to go! I am sick, I have a brutal cold and my kids are sick and we all need a vacation. Not to much to tell you, still working, actually not working on report cards. Letters from Santa are finished though and Christmas ornaments for my kids are started and almost finished.

So I guess I am making a dent in the work. I spent last weekend shopping... but that had to been done to as all those munchkins on the island need something from Taiwan. I found lots of cool stuff, I still need one more gift but I have another weekend.

Okay it's time to go to work, Wednesday already. I came home sick on Monday and that has helped to speed things up, that and the fact that we are doing very little work and mostly just playing!

To those of you watching your mailboxes... Christmas cards are bought but probably won't be written until I am on the plane next week, then or on the ferry so they will be more like New Years cards, but oh well.

see ya
J.

oh well

The apartment is spotless, the dog had a great walk, I knit with my friends, ate supper out and took out the garbage but....... the report cards still aren't finished!!!!!!!!

Good morning

Good morning,

Well I am a little less whiny this morning although I am having a lot of trouble with my joints and that is certainly contributing to the whiny teacher syndrome.

On a brighter note its Wednesday and that means only 2 more days till Friday and 14 days until the Christmas break. Work yesterday was an absolute zoo, Santa came to visit and take photos with all the kids, it was a zoo as a result and then they left the Santa costume in the library and my kids saw it... some quick justicication about an extra coat in case one got dirty and we were okay again. Man it was a close call.

But the reason I was writing this was to tell just tell you about my adorable kids and their letters to Santa. I had them write them without asking for things as not all of them celebrate Christmas. Eric decided to ask Santa what kind of bells his reindeer wear and Nerissa wanted to know what kind of Christmas tree he likes. But my favorite was Felix who wanted Santa to know that he has a good brother names Victor, that was the whole letter, one line about his brother. He's a special kid and that just reflects how very special he really is.

Anyway that's it I have to get ready to go to school, have a good Wednesday.
J.

whine, whine, whine

I'm Tireddddd, I have to much work to doooooo, I'm cold and it's almost time for work againnnn.

It's Sunday n ight, tomorrow is Monday and the weekend just wasn't long enough! I have a million things to do in the next 10 of work and frankly not enough time to do them! The weather has finally turned and it is cool today, funny considering last Thursday was about 25. Everything is cool though as there is no heat or insulation.

We had winter typhoon/tropical storm this weekend, the first since sometime in the 40's. It wasn't to bad. Most of it happened on Friday night and so I was sleeping. I saw Bridget Jones last night, it was pretty good. Went wandering in Shilin today and then for supper, i had poutine... there are 2 place here where you can get it, tonights was the best by far. No chesse curds but oh well, grated cheese works too.

Okay I am off to try to finish the purse I am making for our staff gift exchange ( i made up the pattern myself and it is pretty, well I think it is), so much to do between now and the 22! Be well.
J.

17 days!

I just wanted to share how many more working days there are until the Christmas break, I can hardly wait. I am looking forward to an eggnog latte and long hot bath!

I had a good weekend, yesterday I went exploring to find some felt for work and discovered amazing yarn stores in the process, well they are actually bead stores that sell yarn. It is really funny to see, there are these signs in Chinese and then in English that say D.I.Y. (do it yourself). Like beading or crafts is up there with plumbing or some other trade, I don't think of a crafts as a DIY activity, just something that is fun to do.

Anyway after that I met up with the gang from work and knit for awhile, I love knitting! On Saturday night I went and saw Alexander at the theater, don't see it. It was okay but I found it to be rather slow, difficult to follow and disjointed. I had high hopes.... oh well I had fun with my friends.

Alright well that's it I am off to work , we are being PC this month and learning about winter celebrations, this week Kwanzaa, next week Hanukkah and after that Christmas. I just want to make potato pancakes and gingerbread for 3 weeks!

have a good week.

Happy (American) Thanksgiving

well it's Thursday here, thus if I was American it would Thanksgiving and since I work at an American school it is but we still have to work. We are having lunch today and I am looking very forward to turkey and cranberry sauce, 2 of my favorite things.

In other news... I have been knitting up a storm as Christmas is coming and it seems the whole world is pregnant too. I heard from a high school friend the other day, she is expecting in January, one of the teacher's at school is due in February and I have heard a rumor that one other person in Winnipeg is also expecting but that has yet to be confirmed. Thus the blanket and hat knitting has begun. I am also working on a few xmas gifts and something for the staff gift exchange. I have been branching out and trying new stiches and making up pattern as I go along, I am having fun and I guess hat's all that matters in the long run.

Anyway that's it, gotta go.
J

Okay just one more comment... I wrote that entry about no comments , over 40 people visited since then... that's it I won't comment on your silence. That's it, I won't say anything else about it, just needed to draw your attention to one last time.

Mysterious

My sister says it looks lonely here with no comments! (see her comment on the last post) I think she's right, I know that you are out there and that you read but you never tell me what you think. Thus the mysterious title... I was curious about if anyone ever visited this and so a few weeks ago I added a counter at the bottom, so now I know that there are people out there but they are very quiet people.

Speaking of quiet that is how I can describe my weekend, not much happened. I did laundry, took tai to the vet for her last round of shots, met a friend for dinner, knit and read. Oh yeah I walked the dog too. Not to much just life and such. I have a lot to do for work this week, report cards are looming in my near future and so is our Christmas play.

Alright I am off to make some dinner and tidy the apartment, the puppy had too much fun to day! She found a box with packing peanuts in it and a pen... both have been ingested and the remnants are scattered around the apartment, the packing peanuts anyway. The remaining pen is all over her! PUPPIES.

J.

the rest....

Okay so I have about 10 minutes to do this, it's going to be hard but I will rise to the occasion, at least I will try. The dog has decided she wants to play a rousing game of find the stuffed toy and I really don't want to play. She doesn't understand and keeps on putting her paws up up on the side of the chair... it's cute but I want her to move on and entertain herself for the next 10 minutes or so. I guess that is a lot to ask of a 6 month old puppy.

Okay so to finish the last post, on Sunday I went to Yinnge. It's a pottery/ceramics village that's a 30 minute train ride away. I went with some friends and we all had a great time. The shopping was good (very important) and there was a really cool museum full of great artifacts from the area. It was a great day and really nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there were lots of people but not as many as here.

I was just thinking that I should add some photos to this post and realized that my camera is at school... oh well I will add them later.

I also wanted to tell you about my zoo experience, this is a developed country and apparently has a great zoo. Well the developed country part is accurate but the zoo is really horrible. The animals live in cement enclosures that may or may not have plants inside. The koala's live in little cement rooms with a tree like structure and some leaves shoved into a canister. I saw pacing wolves and unhappy cougars. It amazes me that zoo's can get away with this. It is apparently hosting some international conference this year, maybe it will help. The grounds are huge but it is mostly just space for walking and taking photos on statues rather than space for the animals to move around.

Some times I really wonder why we bother to keep animals in captivity, I agree in protecting endangered animals but keeping wild animals in tiny enclosures just seems so wrong. Yet over here it is the norm, not the exception. Why is that?

Okay gotta go to work... Yippee it's FRIDAY.

So much to say, so little time

I have had an impressive time since I last wrote and I don't even know where to start. I meant to write here last night but it had been a long day and I had a headache so I went to bed instead.

On Saturday the director of my school took all the teachers out the this amazing dumpling restaurant for breakfast, yes they eat dumplings all day. I couldn't eat them but I did have a few so that I could say that I had eaten there and tried them. They were really good, think about the best wontons you have ever had and then think about something better, that's how good they were. The fillings were really good and wrappers were very thin and tasted great. Apparently the restaurant is on the list of the top ten in the world, the food was good but I haven't eaten any other dumpings here (just wontons from home) I have nothing to compare it too.

After that a few of the teachers and I went to the park and knit, it was an amazing day ( I could of had shorts on!), we attracted a bit of an audience, it was really funny. Anyway as we say and knit this lady came up and tried to help us because I guess she decided that we didn't know what we were doing. Sarah speaks pretty good Chinese and talked to her a bit and then she fixed the way that Steph was pulling her wool off her ball. I guess she doesn't like pulling from the the inside like I do! Anyway she was just one of many who stood and stared at us, I imagine for white chicks knitting in a park is not something you see every day here.

Okay i have to get moving so that I can go to work but I still need to tell you about Sunday and my zoo trip yesterday.... I will have to write again later.

J.

lovin the hat, they do wear them here and often put yellow and orange covers on them, just like the vests worn by people working on the streetss, very cute.

Whining children are universal

I saw the whiniest child ever the other day, I wish that I had a movie camera. She was about 8 and ready to burst, I have no idea what was happening but I think she should get a prize for the most annoying whine ever. Her mom was patient at first and then started to lose it when her daughter wouldn't stop. Then last night at school I had 2 grade fours who were tired and whiny too... so annoying.

On a completely different note, I found a place on the weekend to walk Tai where I could take her off her leash and actually let her play in the grass, she was very excited to be able to run around without me having to run along side her. The only downfall was that it was by the river and she managed to find a dead fish... yuck! It was pretty old though and as a result not to smelly.

Okay I am off to work... 1 more sleep till the weekend and starting next week I am getting to teach all kindergarten, all the time. They have hired a new teacher and so I have given up my grade 4 class (they are a really tough group) and will just teach Kindergarten. Woo hoo I am very happy about this. I also have plans to go out of the city this weekend on Sunday, to a village that specialize in pottery, that means new pictures and lots of exciting things to tell you.

Have a good day/night/whatever.
J.

knitting anyone

I am happy to say that helped a new knitter today (and refreshed the memory of another)... We will take over the world eventually. I made a scarf for one of the other teachers at work and some others saw it and expressed interest. So today we went off to the other side of the city in search of some yarn and found some! There is a yarn store in Taipei I think there is probably more than one but I was excited to hear about this one.

They had all sorts of exciting things, not a huge selection but enough for the new knitters to find some wool for scarves and also some cool merino and some other really soft fuzzy something that looked great . I don't need any wool at the moment but if I do I know where to go. Then we went to a coffee shop and got the scarves started, everyone is doing well and hopefully they will knit without to much trouble.

I was walking home after and all of a sudden there was this guy beside me and he started to talking to me... it was very funny.
him: Are you from France or England?
me: neither, Canada.
him: Ontario or BC?
me: Ontario, I guess
him: Toronto or Ottawa?
me: Ottawa
him: so you speak French?
me: no
him: are your descendents from England or Ireland?
me: neither my ancestors are from lots of places
him: Oh, Catholicism or Protestantism?
me: catholic
him: are more Canadians catholic or protestant?
me: neither, not to much religion in Canada.
him: so your English teacher
me: no not really just regular teacher.
him: republican or democrat
me: neither Liberal.

And on and on, and on it went until finally there was a spot where I could say that I was turning. It was so weird, apparently in his world there are only 2 choices for everything.

I am off to walk the dog.
J.

she is always sticking her tongue out when she wants something, I think that it is cute.  

No she is my dog!

Like a good dog owner I walk my dog each day, we usually go walk up towards the cemetery (on a hill behind my house) as the street is very quiet and I get to see things like gecko's and crickets.

On Thursday I was walking Tai and I was exhausted so I didn't take her as far as the cemetery just around the neighbourhood and all of a sudden this woman starts following me and then yelling at me in mandarin, I turned around so she could see I was foreigner (from the back I could be local) and told her I didn't understand. She kept on yelling at me and then walked away.

I made it around the next corner and she showed up again on a scooter with another woman, they got off and started telling me Tai was there dog, they spoke no English, they just kept trying to take her and calling to her in Chinese. Tai is really friendly and would go home with anyone so it was a bit of a problem. I kept saying no and trying to leave. Finally someone came by on a bike and luckily for me she spoke English. She tried to help me explain to these women that this was not their dog. The first lady got back on her scooter and took off and left me to deal with the second one. The English speaker was helpful but the lady was convinced Tai was her lost dog.

I finally told her where I live and that she could come to my house and would show her Tai's vet papers. I started to leave and the scooter lady showed up with 3rd person, they got off the scooter, she took one look at Tai and said, no that's not your dog to her friend. They said sorry, got on the scooter and they all took off. That was it, they ranted and raved for 10 minutes and then they were gone.

Looking back it was funny but I was rather frustrated in the moment, sometimes the language barrier is the hardest part of this experience. There was no I could make these ladies understand with my 20 Chinese words that Tai was not theirs. Some days I might give her away but I am rather attached.

OK that's all, a crazy little glitch just happened in cyberspace and I ended up with someone elses post inside this one, it was very wierd... I have removed it and now you can just see mine. Hope you are enjoying the weekend, have a happy Halloween.
J.

Olfactory phantoms and sick kids

Okay, remember first year English? Well I do and I learned about olfactory phantoms. I don't remember the book it was from but do remember the prof was nasty and thought that vocab tests were essential, that was on one. I got it wrong at the time but never will again. Memories that are are triggered by a smell, for me yesterday the smell was pumpkins.

When I was in 4th grade we moved to this little quiet street in Victoria, there were other kids on the street and this one family had a boy a little younger than me. His name was Adam he had an amazing climber in his backyard and every year had a pumpkin carving party in his basement. Heaps of fun and the smell of fresh pumpkins still makes me happy. So yesterday and today I carved jack o lanterns with my kids, 6 in total! A lot of cutting but fun none the less, they loved and so did I. I still have some roasted seeds too!

My monkeys and I had a great time celebrating Halloween, complete with costumes and trick or treating in our school. We all had a blast and I must say it was fun even if they were bouncing off the walls excited all day. It's funny how at home we move away from celebrating holidays in schools and here we celebrate them till we are blue in the face even though the majority of the culture does not. Halloween, American Thanksgiving and Christmas are all a very big deal at our school. Today we had a Halloween concert, there are pictures on my classroom blog.

On a sadder note one of my little monkeys is ill, he has leukemia that is in remission and has been home since last week with fever and such. Being sick here is interesting, they have many modern medicine practices but have a strange obsession with taking anti-biotics as soon as you show signs of an illness, any illness. Luke told me that he was going to the doctor this afternoon, but then my TA told me he was going to the hospital. Both of which could be the case as many dr's practice within hospitals. Regardless of that his mom told me he would be away next week and she only brought him today because he insisted on coming. Well of course he insisted, it was Halloween after all and we have talking about it for weeks!

Anyway I hope that he is ok, it sucks that little men like him have to deal with such big issues. He is a very sweet boy, that happens to be a picture of him with the dinosaur costume. Another one of my kids had one to but wouldn't wear it and so his mom gave it to me for Ethan, I asked where she got it and she said I could have it... rich and generous parents.

It's late and I am sleepy, tomorrow I will tell you about the crazy trio who tried to convince me that Tai was there dog and I stole her... funny in retrospect.
J.

Am I not the coolest Auntie in the world, I scored one of these great self-inflating dino's for my nephew today.  

photos, photos, photos

Okay if you click on the title it will magically take you to the photo album.

I'm off to bed with my fingers crossed that the typhoon last another day, not likely given it's current course but I am hoping none the less.

J.

Woo Hoo Typhoon Nock-ten

Did you know that Nock-ten is the Laotian word for bird, interesting name choice. Bird makes me think of something graceful and lovely.... not a typhoon that is threatening to blow me off the top of my apartment building! However the wind, rain and noise aside I am happy to be home today and if the storm stays on it's predicted course I will be home tomorrow too.

The last typhoon reeked havoc on my apartment because of the direction of the wind, so far the wind has been blowing in the other direction and my apartment has stayed relatively dry. It may change as the storm worsens through the day but it washes my floor for me so I can't complain to much. It's funny, this is typhoon number 3 (well the 3rd one in Taiwan but I only got time off in August, July's wasn't so bad here in the city) for me and I there were people here before me who never saw one in all the years (3) that they lived here .

Ok I am off to work on my November planning, later I will get to that photo album, I promise. By the way, if you click on the title of this post it will take to a weather page that shows you the path of the typhoon.

J.

Please, Please, Please

There is a typhoon brewing and I hope it hits us! I know mean for teh people who will experience flooding and the other nasty side effects but it would be a day off and I have a cold, I'd like to have a day off.

Aside from the long day of pouring rain things are ok. I made it through the second day of parent teacher interviews and didn't kill anyone, always better that way. A few parents drove me a little crazy but for the most part day 2 was easier than day one.

I have to go finsh my planning book for the coming week, I hope that there is no work tomorrow but I won't know till morning... I'll have my fingers crossed. You'll know if I'm home cause I will get around to finishing that online photo album... and then send out the link.
Be well,
J.

blah blah blah

Your child is doing wonderful... blah, blah, blah. Yes I did make her sit with 2 boys yesterday well I am sorry that she didn't like it but it was only for a cooperative learning task, not for the whole day.
No we are not going to have spelling tests in kindergarten, yes your son may be ready to practice his spelling and we can do that in other ways.
No your sons reading is just fine, he is right where he should be, yes he is not reading chapter books yet but that's okay he only just turned 6 last week.
Yes your son is bright and his english is good but he needs to learn the sound that letters make before he learns to read.

Blah, blah, blah, there will be more lovely comments after day 2! Wish me luck.

Over the legal limit

hmmm... I wonder what would happen if you got pulled over for riding your bicycle when you are over the legal limit? I mean at home when I am out with friends I would usually just take the bus home and go back and get my bike the next day... But last night I went to a co-workers house and had a number of glasses of red wine and then had to get myself home. Well I rode my bike there and thus needed to ride it home as I did not know how to get back on the bus. Anyway the point of this senseless babbling is that I found myself wondering as I rode home what would happen if I got stopped.

Now I wasn't falling over drunk or anything but I was certainly over the legal limit of being able to drive a motor vehicle, even here. But how does one classify a bicycle? I obviously made it home in one piece but it was a long ride and I was tired. Sadly all red wine does for me is make me want to go bed so as I cycled home keeping my eyes open was my biggest challenge.

So aside from an evening of carousing with a bunch of foreigners I had a pretty quiet weekend. Took the dog to the vet, bought groceries (I'd be lost without Costco!!!!!) and dog food and wrote parent teacher interview notes, exciting stuff. Now it is Sunday evening and I am waiting for the water to boil for supper, just some pasta and pesto (yeah Costco again) and then it will be off to bed as the whole cycle starts again tomorrow.

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.
J

snowsuits

Okay so it finally starting to cool down here, I have worn a sweater about 4 times and last night was cool when outside in just my cotton shirt. But it is hardly cold, it is lovely during the day and cool in the evenings and mornings. It reminds me of Victoria in the summer. I am quite content with the current weather, as I type it is 20 and raining, cooler than 35 but not cold right.

WRONG!

Locals and even some foreigners seem to think that is winter. I baby in a snugli last night on my way home and it had a snowsuit on, no I am not kidding a snowsuit like we would use at home. It was the funniest thing. The next baby was also bundled up and hat a winter hat on. It is crazy, yes it is cool but let's not over react. Yes I wore a sweatshirt this morning when I walked the dog at 6 am but just a sweat shirt!!!!!

People are funny. I wonder what they would do if they spent time in Ottawa or Winnipeg!

Must be off, hey if you are interested in seeing my classroom I have started a blog for my crazy over protective parents www.coolcatskindergarten.blogspot.com no kid pictures but classroom ones and I will update them so feel free to check back. they don't know about this site, nor will they so if you leave a comment don't mention this blog! I wouldn't be able to complain about them if they knew about it.

cheers
J

opps!

Alright so it wasn't some Asian super bug it was my own fault, I think. I think that I gave myself Salmonella from an egg, it makes sense, the symptoms match and it explains the joint pain. Oh well I am fine now, live and learn. So that's my big excitement for the week, food poisoning.

Yesterday I did laundry as it was a super sunny day and given that my laundry dries outside it has to be a nice day to get it done. So laundry, marking and house cleaning an exciting Saturday. Today is another lovely day but also a holiday, 10/10 day, a Taiwans birthday kind of day so I want to get out and see some stuff but I am not sure what yet. I'll let you know what if it is anything exciting.

Wishing the weekend was 3 days instead of 2!
J.

Tai in a tree 

ON THE MEND

I have been the unfortunate recipient of some nasty Asian flu bug and have been one grumpy lady for the last few days. I am still under the weather but feeling much more human and willing to converse with the world again.

I was fine on Tuesday, a long and tiring day complicated by an sad email from my mom saying that our family dog passed away. She was old and we all knew it would happen eventually, 14 years is a long time to have pet though and I'll miss her. So I was moping around the school contemplating whether I should joke about taking a grief day, lucky for me I didn't because it turned out I really would need a day off. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning sicker than I have been in a long time. I did a quick mental inventory of recent meals and decided that indeed this was not just because I had eaten some flour but I was indeed ill. To make a long story short, I was sick, everything hurt and all I wanted to do was sleep, so I did. I went into work for awhile yesterday but that was a mistake and then stayed home for most of today.

I am much better (touch wood) this evening and hope that is the last nasty bug I have for a long while. Okay I am off to walk the dog, take out the garbage and write in my kindergarten communication books. Ahhh a night at J's house, full of fun and excitement!

J.

Settled

You know that you have settled in somewhere when you spend the weekend grocery shopping, cleaning you apartment and finishing the work you were supposed to have done on Friday. Yes that is what I did this weekend, not terribly exciting. I did get out though, I went out for diner with girls from work on Friday night and then was supposed to go out on Saturday but my friend was not feeling well and so I made her stay in, no point in hanging out with someone who is not feeling well. The pup and I went for some lovely walks and I bought groceries.... not very exciting.

Not much else to say, well yes there is on Tuesday it was moon festival and I went with a friend who was visiting to Danshui, it's a boardwalk out on the ocean, it was nice to get out of the city, I took lots of great photos, they are in my computer but not an album yet, hopefully this week although there is lots to do at work as parent teacher interviews are quickly approaching. We'll see how effectively I manage my time and as soon as there is an album I will let you know.

Since I spent my weekend at home I spent some time contemplating my next port of call, not sure where I want to be although I with the rising Canadian dollar being here is less and less lucrative every time I go to the bank to send money home. It's a lot of hours and a lot of work and with crummy exchange it just becomes frustrating so I am contemplating my options as to where to go next, I really have no idea at this point, maybe I would even stay here and just work somewhere else, maybe the bottom will fall out of the Canadian dollar again and then all will be well. Patient, I must be patient.

Off to bed, well dishes and then bed.