tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40763239911517714242024-03-13T15:39:45.955+08:00blonde in taiwanmeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.comBlogger477125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-9459584665584977392009-08-22T11:16:00.003+08:002014-07-13T11:09:27.293+08:00deep in the heart of texasi'm home! matt picked me up at the airport wearing a t-shirt from high school, gray thai fisherman pants and loafers. i was so ill by the time i got to austin i could barely talk without coughing. i already had a cough in taiwan but it just got worse and worse breathing that dry air in the planes. anyway i'd prefer not to think about all of that traveling.<br />
<br />
when i got home, my mom had piled up all of the stuff i've sent home over the last 9 months on my favorite chair in the living room. it really was christmas. dresses, necklaces, cookbooks, shoes, masking tape! i haven't opened the regular mail yet but i know my non-expired debit cards are in there somewhere, too.<br />
<br />
ripley found a baby opossum. i don't think she killed it.. it looks like she just licked it. i guess we'll see if it's there in the morning or not.<br />
matt bought me taiwanese lychees from HEB! i love matt. i love lychees. i love taiwan.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-24912991702430750752009-08-20T13:11:00.008+08:002009-08-20T13:52:35.027+08:00很喜歡台灣12 hours ago..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqebLSqZeBj4XVXOnfDW3Z4rZ7Mg8snzcRQcqNLepxLiXuYtHKSPLf30LBl5i8eKMJQrA7k7nRM9QqwdcrRsPEZBexUWkfjaxMkNJdC2RxX0KzBD9ZHglRDygjj2Fa1LZylbzVJCkx8gA/s1600-h/packing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqebLSqZeBj4XVXOnfDW3Z4rZ7Mg8snzcRQcqNLepxLiXuYtHKSPLf30LBl5i8eKMJQrA7k7nRM9QqwdcrRsPEZBexUWkfjaxMkNJdC2RxX0KzBD9ZHglRDygjj2Fa1LZylbzVJCkx8gA/s320/packing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371914920766556690" border="0" /></a>well, i managed not to cry in the car even as mr. kuo dabbed at his eyes without saying a word, but i haven't really stopped crying since i walked through security (and i haven't even read what the people in the dorm wrote to me in my goodbye book). it makes me think of the first time i was in this airport, crying my eyes out because i didn't know what anything said, everyone was staring at me, and i didn't know how to get to my house or have anyone there except those friendly taxi drivers, who didn't understand a word i was saying, to help me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfxWw01GYnoPzRWNGZjmPwE_pvANq3ClLFvwioh06-QjVyekTvrMf9YmeWSPZMk3o2GR0SA75OgRgyVPGL-YnVj_zraKLgdmw2vS5HIp1NUYOuEaoCo4i6z42ZXzeHOZ-gh-__mZVCs3S/s1600-h/bras+on+sidewalk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfxWw01GYnoPzRWNGZjmPwE_pvANq3ClLFvwioh06-QjVyekTvrMf9YmeWSPZMk3o2GR0SA75OgRgyVPGL-YnVj_zraKLgdmw2vS5HIp1NUYOuEaoCo4i6z42ZXzeHOZ-gh-__mZVCs3S/s320/bras+on+sidewalk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371914866602269682" border="0" /></a>(bras on the sidewalk in front of carrefour).<br />now i can ask for help and talk to the people around me. sometimes i can figure out a sign even if it isn't in english. i've swum illegally in taroko gorge, gotten $3 massages in the philippines and learned to dive in thailand. i've eaten squid balls, pig intestine soup, sheets of seaweed and fried durian.<br />i'll miss the stares on the street and people who talk to me through giggles just because they think i'm pretty. i'll always remember all of the things i've done and seen, all of the people i've met and things i've eaten. it's been an awesome year and a couple of months.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4YEnzwdSAVgyCanubjgomdfXftDkcS4HUY8fIBXJpuFaEWlQLw7m1cCWAibh6quzbg3FHPCQqV2c0XoKpyAOax6mF57ibXctfMU8r8Luo2_w9ViTPbcT3AxIozrRGgDjFho3KOAN0cLq/s1600-h/cute+postits.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4YEnzwdSAVgyCanubjgomdfXftDkcS4HUY8fIBXJpuFaEWlQLw7m1cCWAibh6quzbg3FHPCQqV2c0XoKpyAOax6mF57ibXctfMU8r8Luo2_w9ViTPbcT3AxIozrRGgDjFho3KOAN0cLq/s320/cute+postits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371914880193918754" border="0" /></a>(asian-fab post-its).<br />even though i have blonde hair in blue eyes, i'll always feel a little taiwanese on the inside. i already find myself wishing i wasn't hearing the english around me. i've gotten pretty used to everything in chinese and i always looked forward to seeing the little change in people's faces when i started speaking chinese to them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoCuyyttCqPyzvHJ6YTnMRtGzRSVQiF4Sj_3zNGp9m5pcqcZCsW0vQmiFb9fWa4HtsILj1cHBaR3nxjqcVooYUw7E29f4OMTPvObZtad8ayGptuDQlFBSsvycI-ROr4UuXYxVQbDzXRhQ/s1600-h/carrefour.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoCuyyttCqPyzvHJ6YTnMRtGzRSVQiF4Sj_3zNGp9m5pcqcZCsW0vQmiFb9fWa4HtsILj1cHBaR3nxjqcVooYUw7E29f4OMTPvObZtad8ayGptuDQlFBSsvycI-ROr4UuXYxVQbDzXRhQ/s320/carrefour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371914905021060322" border="0" /></a>(entrance of carrefour.. which isn't usually filled with shopping carts).<br />time to get on the plane! all i brought in my carryon is my laptop, a book i had all of my friends/kids sign, my blanket and some shorts. and my pillow. first stop: honolulu. i asked for an exit row seat. here's hoping whoever sits next to me isn't a germaphobe because i still have a pretty annoying cough.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw58XoDaHIS7TFQnjM3WcEOJFjNuwIW2GrfG5npHeZ7gXIiCpdVMHnL8p5WcqS6m5Hg8E2E27PKnw62o9iIl8iLsNIG2lFihmmgVWb272lWbCFE_jG2J39LcRJ7Hx0_RrnFABKMywMSCvC/s1600-h/fruit+stand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw58XoDaHIS7TFQnjM3WcEOJFjNuwIW2GrfG5npHeZ7gXIiCpdVMHnL8p5WcqS6m5Hg8E2E27PKnw62o9iIl8iLsNIG2lFihmmgVWb272lWbCFE_jG2J39LcRJ7Hx0_RrnFABKMywMSCvC/s320/fruit+stand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371914893850251042" border="0" /></a>(fruit market).<br /><br />thank you for following along with me for however long you've been here. even if you've never commented, i know you by your city from my hits tracker. from dumfries to sunnyvale, grandville, rockville and denver, columbus and brampton, the netherlands, hong kong, finland, france, sweden and beyond.. it's been nice to have you along for the ride and i hope you come with me wherever i end up!meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-11361262536733173542009-08-20T01:00:00.003+08:002009-08-20T01:14:18.593+08:00goodbye taiwanit's my last night in taiwan, in this bed, in the dorm, listening to clinking poker chips through my paperthin door (in a good way). most everyone hung out in the common room for a while and i got to see everyone who doesn't live at the dorm which was really nice. i can't imagine not seeing all of these teachers for several hours a day anymore! working/living/socializing with the same 30 people really brings you together in a unique way.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLls3-CmiwxiqtBlE5ICMGDZI-8n1iLuwZkn6OJZVHNUFmbzmFusII4Z4AU5WMsfGBjHxLHoQ1fpr0Yb_lP71FMbfoDn5-7hGEC-VEpW88MIBCz2FV3EcMJK17vvRKeRUPoVwpHyOIVDTy/s1600-h/muggle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLls3-CmiwxiqtBlE5ICMGDZI-8n1iLuwZkn6OJZVHNUFmbzmFusII4Z4AU5WMsfGBjHxLHoQ1fpr0Yb_lP71FMbfoDn5-7hGEC-VEpW88MIBCz2FV3EcMJK17vvRKeRUPoVwpHyOIVDTy/s320/muggle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371723931599233458" border="0" /></a>i've been going going going since i woke up this morning. jimmie and i changed the scooter into her name, i turned in my books, took pictures of everything/everyone in the whole country, saw the doctor for one last almost-free checkup, went to dinner with allen, showered, visited with the spa and coffee shop, chatted with everyone, raffled off my matress. it was busy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SLpFVDzMcezAyOneGWx6z2ve7_fgkpAPL886soMbGpcpfLMIhQKOqvR86LmobWq-xP0uhMReTyLvujD5zM1PMrkPsf2t72scG7W3sNHrb2SFspxpwW0W2uNTUQip8G-hL3pDsDisR29M/s1600-h/flashcards.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SLpFVDzMcezAyOneGWx6z2ve7_fgkpAPL886soMbGpcpfLMIhQKOqvR86LmobWq-xP0uhMReTyLvujD5zM1PMrkPsf2t72scG7W3sNHrb2SFspxpwW0W2uNTUQip8G-hL3pDsDisR29M/s320/flashcards.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371723921159094786" border="0" /></a>(flashcards outside of the stationery store).<br />time for bed so i can get up tomorrow and finish everything. i have a looonnnggg travel day [and a half] tomorrow, so i'll post the rest of the pictures from various airport lounges. goodnight!meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-70271137932117871542009-08-19T18:29:00.006+08:002009-08-19T19:02:37.631+08:00some people i want you to meetthese are the people that i look forward to seeing every week. funny they're almost all food related. i guess when you don't cook, the people who make your meals become very important to you.<br /><br /><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/07/had-to-run-from-you.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">tsong dra bing</span> </a>lady who always sees it's me and then just nods and makes my food because she knows how i like it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk34tlcKgo62aPPjvdfpj3NbqN9lwWmXKQNlEeL0xD1xBfgWuVEmR4tUeA2gekpr_ktZKwfj-KKojXiYMi7oxQ0T2iHcsNyGp6F59ZvsD8QEdlEtdWI160uYFBg-YYhut74jNEmeBStFP6/s1600-h/tsong+dra+bing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk34tlcKgo62aPPjvdfpj3NbqN9lwWmXKQNlEeL0xD1xBfgWuVEmR4tUeA2gekpr_ktZKwfj-KKojXiYMi7oxQ0T2iHcsNyGp6F59ZvsD8QEdlEtdWI160uYFBg-YYhut74jNEmeBStFP6/s320/tsong+dra+bing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371625388307402258" border="0" /></a>the people who make my <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/07/give-it-to-someone-special.html">stamps </a>in guei shan<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8rTt9Gmi6piH9AgmMSpzk3SWg6U0GR4H7uZQAxFFKuDhA5C5QyV7uSklY_cnjknOLcWQTf_q9u-vx11Q2Oe97xiNea3eU6WeGD6xeh3qXpE_15gJ-lthoRKuQzGkQFRvXgaUxFG7_UvE/s1600-h/stamp+people.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8rTt9Gmi6piH9AgmMSpzk3SWg6U0GR4H7uZQAxFFKuDhA5C5QyV7uSklY_cnjknOLcWQTf_q9u-vx11Q2Oe97xiNea3eU6WeGD6xeh3qXpE_15gJ-lthoRKuQzGkQFRvXgaUxFG7_UvE/s320/stamp+people.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371625381429387394" border="0" /></a>tea people in guei shan. there's one more woman but she works when the other 2 aren't there. i see them every monday and friday<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBU9y4HESWnJI4j-0x6OQXZrBqviWQjnZmaoB53lS0a-duyUXn_Xahlvzx_v9hZ6gtkhyphenhyphengdzWztDjPIVjaS_MMZtK4ufx8FnggigvV3Nqs1gwLXFs9FxGqto9OAOyleKlLAhuOvNYJ9bEN/s1600-h/tea+people.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBU9y4HESWnJI4j-0x6OQXZrBqviWQjnZmaoB53lS0a-duyUXn_Xahlvzx_v9hZ6gtkhyphenhyphengdzWztDjPIVjaS_MMZtK4ufx8FnggigvV3Nqs1gwLXFs9FxGqto9OAOyleKlLAhuOvNYJ9bEN/s320/tea+people.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371625374968891986" border="0" /></a><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/07/start-at-very-beginning.html">linda</a>, my chinese teacher<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRvOtKg6QtMM-9jINLMbDXBEciSK_MMXqGJe8uDT3q5cZ_nhu5nKf7COlFuJqSx1faKlwpoSEFcyBXpIuqtoZWch9G5VircUfknN25PvcbXT37RhTfwxNpqWTugRfgp4DVTxPubsw6rKA/s1600-h/linda+meg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRvOtKg6QtMM-9jINLMbDXBEciSK_MMXqGJe8uDT3q5cZ_nhu5nKf7COlFuJqSx1faKlwpoSEFcyBXpIuqtoZWch9G5VircUfknN25PvcbXT37RhTfwxNpqWTugRfgp4DVTxPubsw6rKA/s320/linda+meg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371621434435927762" border="0" /></a><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/06/can-you-grill-turkey.html">tina coffee</a> ladies<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhLFVSrKFZSKxNvpiOhjVUdRaG5Nf9HfTPT1Td6Y_3woYMfD1CWRAaatNSe0-XAM7EMnB6t1iuQ78ztXSMdZ_gP_BE3QCSFuPHud_SpHr5V9bDke8S2eo0H9ZZaKSZlRZPXd4RnXXWncY/s1600-h/tina+coffee+ladies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhLFVSrKFZSKxNvpiOhjVUdRaG5Nf9HfTPT1Td6Y_3woYMfD1CWRAaatNSe0-XAM7EMnB6t1iuQ78ztXSMdZ_gP_BE3QCSFuPHud_SpHr5V9bDke8S2eo0H9ZZaKSZlRZPXd4RnXXWncY/s320/tina+coffee+ladies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371621428732059122" border="0" /></a><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-colder-day-by-day.html">ching xin</a> tea shop people where i pick up green tea almost every day<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoAYd9cWcsEqbmrM5iFqaDTaUxqKr96wfn92GEqdS4Uxid4AvCzpPjbr7I3-XiD7O6gy240rSsB-StXwA7Imhc3deftgWxQRgiYKZ414cn1e93jR7QFHhgoiVupJKnn_a-H3JiD3CD8wY/s1600-h/tea+shop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoAYd9cWcsEqbmrM5iFqaDTaUxqKr96wfn92GEqdS4Uxid4AvCzpPjbr7I3-XiD7O6gy240rSsB-StXwA7Imhc3deftgWxQRgiYKZ414cn1e93jR7QFHhgoiVupJKnn_a-H3JiD3CD8wY/s320/tea+shop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371620919956323362" border="0" /></a><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/04/with-dignity-and-grace.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">ji dan gao</span></a> woman in carrefour. we always smile and wave when i go to/leave carrefour, regardless of whether or not i buy ice cream or cakes from her.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lHQRXVjqMQU7-zfPf5MwvgDItPbCv_yNltEK7VH4Vrdu84C0w2BLwN7TDb3aLZ3VyBFC1QFaTtB5S-yJf6KPBqkO_2sp8Su_9-YGUP8Kgniprb7N4cmve9sw5TMK_IDzAHWukX8ZU4ZZ/s1600-h/ji+dan+gao+lady.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lHQRXVjqMQU7-zfPf5MwvgDItPbCv_yNltEK7VH4Vrdu84C0w2BLwN7TDb3aLZ3VyBFC1QFaTtB5S-yJf6KPBqkO_2sp8Su_9-YGUP8Kgniprb7N4cmve9sw5TMK_IDzAHWukX8ZU4ZZ/s320/ji+dan+gao+lady.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371620912675241666" border="0" /></a>..you've seen these three before. look how cute bobo's haircut is!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKnewHhWkhsqKY80sgUO7E43t3Ghihfx_Hxvt7OvWum9wdjUJSv1pmn3hgEQZSpEYXML9d_XAVMcSbflVuN4yOdYhz5_HdeQZz9L6AuYn1s3ZXMxAxB1ielWdRqDQvP3MylUhkr-IVDbA/s1600-h/happy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKnewHhWkhsqKY80sgUO7E43t3Ghihfx_Hxvt7OvWum9wdjUJSv1pmn3hgEQZSpEYXML9d_XAVMcSbflVuN4yOdYhz5_HdeQZz9L6AuYn1s3ZXMxAxB1ielWdRqDQvP3MylUhkr-IVDbA/s320/happy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371620901197310802" border="0" /></a>grandma of <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/07/give-it-to-someone-special.html">grandma's</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVdYeSCLs1iZFxZM1SMa8dK1tqnv1U391kUpbj12-G2bWMGzQgqUCi2uVGgCf54GJIRJtrPjbY2my15RgFBVHqeD49QoJjB8JfSbApQM99X7zYrrVK4Exk7u1JchXXrJV09o8QSn_aw94/s1600-h/grandma.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVdYeSCLs1iZFxZM1SMa8dK1tqnv1U391kUpbj12-G2bWMGzQgqUCi2uVGgCf54GJIRJtrPjbY2my15RgFBVHqeD49QoJjB8JfSbApQM99X7zYrrVK4Exk7u1JchXXrJV09o8QSn_aw94/s320/grandma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371620892236802290" border="0" /></a><a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-fingers-wrap-around-your-words.html">fruit market</a> ladies. the grandma gives me a new fruit to try every week.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr47LmTXCtSQgi4MHCLQVvVdBKwempUTeYiGQ2kIDc2hb6w8zb1zZ9pma0mcmNSjI_sivPV7uLZirWyrc4Iqojyjf6TiJA8N125Kh8YlXpfrBgmGmoX9qFigl8EoleJbsD8DSFwfN07hf/s1600-h/fruit+ladies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr47LmTXCtSQgi4MHCLQVvVdBKwempUTeYiGQ2kIDc2hb6w8zb1zZ9pma0mcmNSjI_sivPV7uLZirWyrc4Iqojyjf6TiJA8N125Kh8YlXpfrBgmGmoX9qFigl8EoleJbsD8DSFwfN07hf/s320/fruit+ladies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371620883645242642" border="0" /></a>time to go to dinner with allen but i have about a million more pictures to upload tonight if i can find a spare moment. halfway down the to-do list!meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-76539795192656283252009-08-18T23:11:00.007+08:002009-08-19T00:17:17.414+08:00goodbye tuesdayalex and i picked up the stuff we made at ying ge this morning and i just realized i never managed to get a picture of it! the glazing job they did was amaaaazing. they're blue and silvery with all different shades. i gave the mug to the kuo's even though they saw my blog from when i posted the pictures. they liked it a lot.<br />they also said they stayed up until 2am last night translating my blog into chinese with babelfish! i would kill to be a fly on the wall for that.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9wKD7WUfOthBxnaScvUGFS3otSAlVY-BbwgRAsWpvQ2vbZwRSk86tIZews-jAXEM-uvzODKtjMLXR4RtRSVBi1nsybw07FjVg0Spewnu0B_IAY1l4At0-pmMfiIjNk93chZCltqN_JZB/s1600-h/tina+coffe+fav.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9wKD7WUfOthBxnaScvUGFS3otSAlVY-BbwgRAsWpvQ2vbZwRSk86tIZews-jAXEM-uvzODKtjMLXR4RtRSVBi1nsybw07FjVg0Spewnu0B_IAY1l4At0-pmMfiIjNk93chZCltqN_JZB/s320/tina+coffe+fav.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371327153356541186" border="0" /></a>after ying ge, alex, dawn and i went to tina coffee for lunch. this is my favoriiite<a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/06/can-you-grill-turkey.html"> tina coffee woman</a>. she always sneaks me little things and we chat about her daughter and our lives. she asked if my friends would still go there. i said yes but they really want an english menu!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6UfnmgmEg11miS5PeDRU6_zPjHLu4ETVnpHV41qg5dVEjiTTDv3NJ6Yg3mhzIQrRhISBsC7IjqFUYwRw1YECXegUT_qyf1xPYONrax7CDfB5TjT-QJLR5zf218XDL_geP_ZKRhpBbxhY/s1600-h/alex+waffle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6UfnmgmEg11miS5PeDRU6_zPjHLu4ETVnpHV41qg5dVEjiTTDv3NJ6Yg3mhzIQrRhISBsC7IjqFUYwRw1YECXegUT_qyf1xPYONrax7CDfB5TjT-QJLR5zf218XDL_geP_ZKRhpBbxhY/s320/alex+waffle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371327145628044418" border="0" /></a>my fav: a waffle, fruit, panna cotta, a pot of milk tea and a scoop of the most delicious strawberry gelato. $7.<br /><br />tonight was my last night at school in taiwan! i love my tuesdays but today the vibe was a little bit off because i have the flu so i couldn't be really loud. they were all kind of calm since i was being so calm. not our usual crazy selves, but still fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1w4AEK51OxNodYchBs1lFbrUmhlCtDDzkJfxcyHrFdpoFCFCVc1E2LNdxkmoaQFtyBs9HdXMg21vk8FjdQF2G7CJOYq7TLhMTN9nhBOFKFYfnNl_zVs9SYuJA-ph0dwpfh7Sp4guZz1x/s1600-h/sherry+left+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1w4AEK51OxNodYchBs1lFbrUmhlCtDDzkJfxcyHrFdpoFCFCVc1E2LNdxkmoaQFtyBs9HdXMg21vk8FjdQF2G7CJOYq7TLhMTN9nhBOFKFYfnNl_zVs9SYuJA-ph0dwpfh7Sp4guZz1x/s320/sherry+left+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371327136603814274" border="0" /></a>we had a nice last day in my first class. i wrote them all messages in their QA books, which i've been doing for all of my classes, and helped them translate them. and they all got double stickers today which was a big deal for them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu4gWIMQCJc1McZryWmbEhUGLFWzdbogd4RI6hhioyZjl3YI1u5lqPRdygWdMAua5LAvf4Sav-juKuDJDMk9JRI391vzfNawJHpzKyf5jgxkFwpnu2nmwQg1AQSH8VntwAG2eLESJ5a0e/s1600-h/sheryr+right+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsu4gWIMQCJc1McZryWmbEhUGLFWzdbogd4RI6hhioyZjl3YI1u5lqPRdygWdMAua5LAvf4Sav-juKuDJDMk9JRI391vzfNawJHpzKyf5jgxkFwpnu2nmwQg1AQSH8VntwAG2eLESJ5a0e/s320/sheryr+right+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371325911244493090" border="0" /></a>so cute.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHBpp_5iuoDuUtJcuVZrjtgUjbKU4NUx7LbrAFNtKLT9nvj58DoGFmktkJVtPmuKI9ZU9cTUSA1FZ_MU-yp-zz9RjJBxeJ-4XrsIsJk1yfptjk__wNbgT9f6kanQ3ck1P1yzGOls9kYOC/s1600-h/sherry+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHBpp_5iuoDuUtJcuVZrjtgUjbKU4NUx7LbrAFNtKLT9nvj58DoGFmktkJVtPmuKI9ZU9cTUSA1FZ_MU-yp-zz9RjJBxeJ-4XrsIsJk1yfptjk__wNbgT9f6kanQ3ck1P1yzGOls9kYOC/s320/sherry+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371325901864649106" border="0" /></a><br />my second class was a little off tonight. we just lost our old native teacher and they don't quite know what to make of the new teacher. she doesn't have a mean bone in her body, so they're pushing her limits. i couldn't really do anything today since i was so ill, so i just gave them the disappointed mom speech. 'you guys are so fun, please leave me with good memories of you. i don't want to remember you misbehaving'. and it worked. i think it took them half the class to realize that they'd never see me again.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjib4bBGDhAwUn4JcPKiLngo95RqUodNe7HpOI4JKRryplvAA7VRS0XlfMOX9QzLDSG6n57v2WF_b3RyZFHw-sAWdUlr6qsALiAVCBhzm-qlNrz2pgln0ZBBMm7_c3YX6zVTG00XuzF6KEP/s1600-h/meg+bill+lisa+ruby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjib4bBGDhAwUn4JcPKiLngo95RqUodNe7HpOI4JKRryplvAA7VRS0XlfMOX9QzLDSG6n57v2WF_b3RyZFHw-sAWdUlr6qsALiAVCBhzm-qlNrz2pgln0ZBBMm7_c3YX6zVTG00XuzF6KEP/s320/meg+bill+lisa+ruby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371332973455653314" border="0" /></a>one kid wrote 'megan you is a good teacher' at the top of the page in the book i've been asking them to sign, so a bazillion kids copied them and now it looks like all of my kids are dummies! ahhhh!!! it's kind of funny though. if you aren't their teacher.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXEO7-DINumAsHEg3UQODLOK7rE0_inPWss0RYv2n7k-d7sRbwS06KzRAxjJYvUKh1EIvTKQNmWSDpgomaK_OAp7mnckIcSbmthLggn_lfy7DwEsIQFV7FGK7UpV2OpxOzRrQLILU8QlG/s1600-h/left+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXEO7-DINumAsHEg3UQODLOK7rE0_inPWss0RYv2n7k-d7sRbwS06KzRAxjJYvUKh1EIvTKQNmWSDpgomaK_OAp7mnckIcSbmthLggn_lfy7DwEsIQFV7FGK7UpV2OpxOzRrQLILU8QlG/s320/left+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371332964948873298" border="0" /></a>right at the end of class when we were getting ready to leave, kevin 2 (below, front middle) blurted out 'megan you are pretty!' like it was his dying sentence. it was so sweet. it's funny how you can't help but get to know the kids who sit in the front a little better than the others.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO842_iT-GR0tUciJ27y6FJtbrA1kh47TQ1WRRydh699Z9Gbsi8PoILW5HpeksjadCCbmJsDPknz-dQwFiwiX65s2QjC0qViqPWdK2qLyMf3i6GC9oceZkeBh3XH0lWEy72Wf5EzGvSy8e/s1600-h/right+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO842_iT-GR0tUciJ27y6FJtbrA1kh47TQ1WRRydh699Z9Gbsi8PoILW5HpeksjadCCbmJsDPknz-dQwFiwiX65s2QjC0qViqPWdK2qLyMf3i6GC9oceZkeBh3XH0lWEy72Wf5EzGvSy8e/s320/right+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371332954877669282" border="0" /></a>the kids who smile biggest in all of my group pictures are the smartest ones in the class, and vice versa. jeffy and i were chatting earlier and he said next time i should just take a picture of my classes on the first day and i would know who's smart and who isn't. space cadet kids. in any language, if someone is taking a picture, don't you know you're supposed to smile?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqkrjaeOdBUv-FBq1_EuI5wNzjV5snmnZ78gVTqTJ4KHLEeZNVQOVbmzumVIxsaL5Wq00prru236HIPq68vSykihaM5LxtMOXX1bfUBAySkKI4mbvinXV3BKYW9yL0dI1WI-VueEN7JdC/s1600-h/cute+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqkrjaeOdBUv-FBq1_EuI5wNzjV5snmnZ78gVTqTJ4KHLEeZNVQOVbmzumVIxsaL5Wq00prru236HIPq68vSykihaM5LxtMOXX1bfUBAySkKI4mbvinXV3BKYW9yL0dI1WI-VueEN7JdC/s320/cute+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371325895216873474" border="0" /></a>goodbye front desk ladies!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsqPYBNnvNQHW6n_UHH7t_qP5KxGJRnxyEvxgD4NIw7bWPhwf0ULw6uQeSVxtsLn5wDHHWedBYyQHM41Kko47D3O4Og8CDMvtt4CN9BwJvYQ43raimGZS9IvUqtTgpJx1Ek61rTXUVSUs/s1600-h/da+chu+front+desk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsqPYBNnvNQHW6n_UHH7t_qP5KxGJRnxyEvxgD4NIw7bWPhwf0ULw6uQeSVxtsLn5wDHHWedBYyQHM41Kko47D3O4Og8CDMvtt4CN9BwJvYQ43raimGZS9IvUqtTgpJx1Ek61rTXUVSUs/s320/da+chu+front+desk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371325885526652242" border="0" /></a>mrs. chan gave me some chinese medicine stuff for runny noses and headaches and it worked like a charm. my kids were pretty amused when they saw it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I1Z8uBSHaBbVYZKALPvZoPdh6TAUtNJ8p7I8BadiBMkRIgdwq4uoaSeb7i1iTwqWoTYxj7ffUyPYl8SO-ZKN3kocdHnP19QCYKm7x2ymoXBZtW5YgjJrf_-WW7jduKjijI3uiM4apUfp/s1600-h/chinese+medicine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I1Z8uBSHaBbVYZKALPvZoPdh6TAUtNJ8p7I8BadiBMkRIgdwq4uoaSeb7i1iTwqWoTYxj7ffUyPYl8SO-ZKN3kocdHnP19QCYKm7x2ymoXBZtW5YgjJrf_-WW7jduKjijI3uiM4apUfp/s320/chinese+medicine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371325884120858578" border="0" /></a>i am so busy tomorrow. i'll post a bazillion more pictures at the end of the day once i finish my million errands.<br /><br />p.s. happy 25th anniversary, mom and dad!meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-11231805942374454052009-08-17T23:21:00.006+08:002009-08-18T00:16:27.697+08:00goodbye mondaygoodbye secretaries..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tLN59zGgm5w1lGfdGNhHxdJ3ZC8Zzt7egU2kRfiXGb2NDDWBzq1Xpgyv2OsxH1gi6SAaCdDxrGNwCmMYBCwC2QDxpjfWuYFfWV6vC26KStMPSxdmCWDaRQkjKxI_gyjwsiDBdbuFCVwO/s1600-h/secretaries2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tLN59zGgm5w1lGfdGNhHxdJ3ZC8Zzt7egU2kRfiXGb2NDDWBzq1Xpgyv2OsxH1gi6SAaCdDxrGNwCmMYBCwC2QDxpjfWuYFfWV6vC26KStMPSxdmCWDaRQkjKxI_gyjwsiDBdbuFCVwO/s320/secretaries2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370959160567118802" border="0" /></a>goodbye jasmine's class! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeykk90o1ehIKM45SQQgk_IoE4SXrQ2ltMtQCSxFPg4NklbA_X1BP8TryohrVSHGho55oID9PIpBmpzOENg_eGyhNRqzyVtTJAVRIRYOrdRFHO70CxocwES5wxOdrpsEcPVVZeAHfBgm-G/s1600-h/jasmine+class+crazy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeykk90o1ehIKM45SQQgk_IoE4SXrQ2ltMtQCSxFPg4NklbA_X1BP8TryohrVSHGho55oID9PIpBmpzOENg_eGyhNRqzyVtTJAVRIRYOrdRFHO70CxocwES5wxOdrpsEcPVVZeAHfBgm-G/s320/jasmine+class+crazy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370960169263343458" border="0" /></a>teddy and isabel moved to daxi so they were gone. we kept saying 'teddy!' and then pretending to cry. he was really a joy in our class. they said if anyone else leaves, they're just all going to go on strike.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEO0WV7dBSiJNp2UTD4aTJWG86CstOFLP534pWmR0-9Vf6fIgGlB93XOe2O-XHwkorukxduRM-9ZLh6zai0t8ooQEDQAYykGbz6hIZAh2XgwT5VeyhxUB5Lpwhlp8YFAV-4yEMKmwZ6Gx-/s1600-h/girls+and+jeff.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEO0WV7dBSiJNp2UTD4aTJWG86CstOFLP534pWmR0-9Vf6fIgGlB93XOe2O-XHwkorukxduRM-9ZLh6zai0t8ooQEDQAYykGbz6hIZAh2XgwT5VeyhxUB5Lpwhlp8YFAV-4yEMKmwZ6Gx-/s320/girls+and+jeff.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370960164104099154" border="0" /></a>i'm going to miss those girls! we were like a little group of girlfriends, gossiping and discussing fashion and boys. i always went to class 15 minutes early so we could chat.. half in chinese, half in english. kitty, the one hanging off of me, was louder than the entire class. she and eason would scream at the top of their lungs when we read.<br />we started off on kind of a rough note but we turned a corner when she entered the speech competition and i went to watch her. we would exchange nervous glances before it was finally her turn.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkt-S6sH5-2SJWcSCNMC65oO8-Xyb9cp9m92UtZK6I_l-p7c8crijgZSnVYLXKR5S9KUxmyMxeKdk1Ou_VBTrgmGjPibqZG5k0yC15t4_nKj3rl7BMrw2DqGBGqL-Tr3YX9mQ22mRmrRz/s1600-h/boys+cute.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkt-S6sH5-2SJWcSCNMC65oO8-Xyb9cp9m92UtZK6I_l-p7c8crijgZSnVYLXKR5S9KUxmyMxeKdk1Ou_VBTrgmGjPibqZG5k0yC15t4_nKj3rl7BMrw2DqGBGqL-Tr3YX9mQ22mRmrRz/s320/boys+cute.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370957801263129458" border="0" /></a>crazy boys. eason, in the middle, is so outspoken. his old teacher, jameson, called him 'poo poo man' so he would say it 10x a day in our class.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3WFLHjiCbh226h4y01CW8pWEtLNJ4ghVu0BIRqdvEe-rTO-RxKKrr_Pp0eClXz3wrNoGBvJoki_xGyrVGSLg6SLj2ORNQHu0uz_ehb7-qZc0xNUJ-UBswNZ6w7fBPfkHTuvHJf-_GKaW/s1600-h/left+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3WFLHjiCbh226h4y01CW8pWEtLNJ4ghVu0BIRqdvEe-rTO-RxKKrr_Pp0eClXz3wrNoGBvJoki_xGyrVGSLg6SLj2ORNQHu0uz_ehb7-qZc0xNUJ-UBswNZ6w7fBPfkHTuvHJf-_GKaW/s320/left+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370957781613196258" border="0" /></a>this is my view.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsLzuJChOf1m6vttGsAbmCldaVUC56hrx9Az5evuQ_ShwoG6v_nfgvprLJkQmKyTw3fqds0G18zqe7LcDG4KOug4WFaf47KBm5hNCalpV-NSDXJDPQdi-xRNPv3iI32lseUA9vnxi_-UV/s1600-h/right+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsLzuJChOf1m6vttGsAbmCldaVUC56hrx9Az5evuQ_ShwoG6v_nfgvprLJkQmKyTw3fqds0G18zqe7LcDG4KOug4WFaf47KBm5hNCalpV-NSDXJDPQdi-xRNPv3iI32lseUA9vnxi_-UV/s320/right+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370957772191218962" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS1EIrWze20kLSozYFOR3VzNL6r8zYvHHFLhl6e_fRwqMiy7zdcfAb2QYSS7H5g2KUvYUmded_zYoWuVOJlsxigTat-pPpiBr2iU4cpgBrjonnPXh1bUJNc15-11q9pgwjt_PCCCqS6J3/s1600-h/messy+hands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS1EIrWze20kLSozYFOR3VzNL6r8zYvHHFLhl6e_fRwqMiy7zdcfAb2QYSS7H5g2KUvYUmded_zYoWuVOJlsxigTat-pPpiBr2iU4cpgBrjonnPXh1bUJNc15-11q9pgwjt_PCCCqS6J3/s320/messy+hands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370955593877313698" border="0" /></a>in my little kid class we did the shaving cream spelling game again. they went insaaane. i had shaving cream all over one hand, so i took these pictures with my left hand and my right arm, which is why the flash is kind of screwy.<br />bill and debby..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglINfxNwUsG9Fn2lmgYvXdspksq-VQyypMFnfvq94mNtA5BPUDuHdyszDj6duZNDzU-M47kKjpOZ2R9osK6S-93I6AHjsc7EUDu9Zq8ZT-pxkMNDiP4xZP8UihhiYoNfbw1vvuLl8gj-9f/s1600-h/bill+debby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglINfxNwUsG9Fn2lmgYvXdspksq-VQyypMFnfvq94mNtA5BPUDuHdyszDj6duZNDzU-M47kKjpOZ2R9osK6S-93I6AHjsc7EUDu9Zq8ZT-pxkMNDiP4xZP8UihhiYoNfbw1vvuLl8gj-9f/s320/bill+debby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370957759466278178" border="0" /></a>neil and becky<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFgzRSSRXjBQ1I63uLt4oOmDbuRuILYD5xpH1rU7SNYPNUf5TAti37nbWVrIoMt0hEPWyuYKPY4Qe-qKTE0XoYfqssUSBhSMlTQlT9XnRe9EKXEfdA-PGprttp-nSKOYOFxSb3OBm2NPp/s1600-h/becky+cute.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFgzRSSRXjBQ1I63uLt4oOmDbuRuILYD5xpH1rU7SNYPNUf5TAti37nbWVrIoMt0hEPWyuYKPY4Qe-qKTE0XoYfqssUSBhSMlTQlT9XnRe9EKXEfdA-PGprttp-nSKOYOFxSb3OBm2NPp/s320/becky+cute.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370955624436445506" border="0" /></a>look how sweet those boys are! could they be any cuter? far left, jerry (formerly jellyfish), bill (formerly tiger) and scott were the three who would always run away from me and then let me hug them. the kid right in front of me is neil. he's been in our class a few months and he and i have become besties. the one on the far right is ethan, who would break into spontaneous dance.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfYM3pk2rKksC3DA7Z78lR3woSAsdkVamQb5IVcjiPlk3kCQw11nwE4aI_o86GU1h-5SdgE8T30O4FEVWXgH5GVlrwBUT1Afsl3KHl-SfezqyVY2LVByaub0Urzs3dlNwRdCB1lvjWzr9/s1600-h/carol+boys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfYM3pk2rKksC3DA7Z78lR3woSAsdkVamQb5IVcjiPlk3kCQw11nwE4aI_o86GU1h-5SdgE8T30O4FEVWXgH5GVlrwBUT1Afsl3KHl-SfezqyVY2LVByaub0Urzs3dlNwRdCB1lvjWzr9/s320/carol+boys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370955612060205154" border="0" /></a>happy girls. we never bonded like the boys, but they are so fun. so smart and giggly and fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl7JhxtC_mK5OrEilu5klWa11euYTjf1QulzfbJ2j-Q1ZkeKnN4yaU-Df8z_1SAyIBUJxgkTqR8xkLIBPSsWPy5LbceNy5vqFnL2nw1nN3vjYVz3UmSMQacmxAUIwaC0Tpaw0eg3LmxMh/s1600-h/carol+cute+girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl7JhxtC_mK5OrEilu5klWa11euYTjf1QulzfbJ2j-Q1ZkeKnN4yaU-Df8z_1SAyIBUJxgkTqR8xkLIBPSsWPy5LbceNy5vqFnL2nw1nN3vjYVz3UmSMQacmxAUIwaC0Tpaw0eg3LmxMh/s320/carol+cute+girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370955604708415202" border="0" /></a>week 2..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Mw_o8Q4clJwZEyuWtMJ38iA0yhBiwFCFatMTB5mG5rcHy9hlhl8BWjNptP4GwNMeZT9562u0RvoFiEjzEq1IoLnZ2eGBhg3njqqK48Yb0uXMhQnRrmfp34NRTI0ziWY1ZJVLtsEP5cW8/s1600-h/gloria+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Mw_o8Q4clJwZEyuWtMJ38iA0yhBiwFCFatMTB5mG5rcHy9hlhl8BWjNptP4GwNMeZT9562u0RvoFiEjzEq1IoLnZ2eGBhg3njqqK48Yb0uXMhQnRrmfp34NRTI0ziWY1ZJVLtsEP5cW8/s320/gloria+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370960155847786818" border="0" /></a>week 62. look how much jerry has grown! he used to not even come up to my shoulder and now he's past it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKdbyQEvCNaATU7Tzy5e7JRiLuLJr_ayW3D39JEjS3wrD64guajEY3-mCcFQCc2d8I0IVTRiJSUmF7W7kwcUKcrNvyHBoGSNnF-d3vOIAJUPBf3wib1Y7ghInO5H0_i-IygWDPyQDAi6C/s1600-h/cute+babies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKdbyQEvCNaATU7Tzy5e7JRiLuLJr_ayW3D39JEjS3wrD64guajEY3-mCcFQCc2d8I0IVTRiJSUmF7W7kwcUKcrNvyHBoGSNnF-d3vOIAJUPBf3wib1Y7ghInO5H0_i-IygWDPyQDAi6C/s320/cute+babies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370955584994619314" border="0" /></a>i stood by the door and hugged everyone and they left, and jerry came back through the line 3 times. and neil stuck around to help erase the whiteboard and asked what i would be doing in america. i told him i'd work at the white house. he kept saying <span style="font-style: italic;">the real white house</span>? and then he followed me downstairs to the secretaries to ask them if i was serious. he asked me to write them a letter from america. i think i will.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-91024096152494537022009-08-16T23:43:00.007+08:002009-08-17T00:36:13.680+08:00i've found my strength in youthese are some random pictures from the last couple of days.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXnl_-QoN-Y4SRDjwFokotmoXcaH7PenUXX92X9by3W3kDL8-lv8VGQZzFF-dIQMMeJU-szWfav9R4VXtgMmhrAcjKYzITN9NXKFbSb3vD3ETci2gMSuFj9iupokhiuy7DPFqHQKcflPL/s1600-h/da+chu+sunset2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXnl_-QoN-Y4SRDjwFokotmoXcaH7PenUXX92X9by3W3kDL8-lv8VGQZzFF-dIQMMeJU-szWfav9R4VXtgMmhrAcjKYzITN9NXKFbSb3vD3ETci2gMSuFj9iupokhiuy7DPFqHQKcflPL/s320/da+chu+sunset2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370589361971893970" border="0" /></a>i have the creepin crud (scratchy/cruddy throat, achey body, chills, headache) so i went and got a 2 hour massage today at the spa one last time. margaret is 4 months pregnant now! her tummy is pretty big. we had a conversation half in chinese and half in english today! she didn't know i was leaving, but she's very excited. she's going to send me pictures of her baby (we're hoping for a girl) and i'm going to send her pictures of me in DC.<br /><br />the massage was fantastic. i managed to keep my mind from wandering for the majority of the time, which is always a struggle. every time i go, they've added some more things you can customize. which kind of oil for your foot soak (orange), which kind of spray for your room (nameless chinese stuff), which music (anything without birds), which oil for your body (lemon), which kind of tea (rose).<br /><br />text message from mr. wang. it says miss megan.. something something america.. something something. mr. wang.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dLxE8WI8y1f5o01xuJjIbGRL9hYCOap9b4BB-5Yl_ZwB351HYMaD_bg788dzUjsFcpGrXnQUTmQKy4I01TE7zyPK7KAawq4DB98vYc4UtHI9IfpiEOlD5qO4_Lbe98EWn-YM7Qfzcygy/s1600-h/wang+text.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dLxE8WI8y1f5o01xuJjIbGRL9hYCOap9b4BB-5Yl_ZwB351HYMaD_bg788dzUjsFcpGrXnQUTmQKy4I01TE7zyPK7KAawq4DB98vYc4UtHI9IfpiEOlD5qO4_Lbe98EWn-YM7Qfzcygy/s320/wang+text.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370589353612232802" border="0" /></a>benny drying himself off after he took a bath in the sink after daisy creamed him with tin foil full of shaving cream.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE2wSZjfhQAbLU2CGXkC_nTG0BsUqJQJhGS-SP-osYixtOnyPngaRnTJaJTWTQ03M0O1PxRXX8dB8jWc5zKq2hNdjRBZY9x-6BgaLEhPChzwgFTrTQUlwKgNIG3NPZYUJc_6IcX0KgtVC/s1600-h/benny.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE2wSZjfhQAbLU2CGXkC_nTG0BsUqJQJhGS-SP-osYixtOnyPngaRnTJaJTWTQ03M0O1PxRXX8dB8jWc5zKq2hNdjRBZY9x-6BgaLEhPChzwgFTrTQUlwKgNIG3NPZYUJc_6IcX0KgtVC/s320/benny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370589348117769138" border="0" /></a>then tonight, a whole bunch of us went to taipei for indian food at this really authentic restaurant down some little side street off of the jungshan denhua stop (exit 3, take a right, take a left at family mart and then right at the next little road. it's on the left). it was kind of my going away dinner. we had a nice time.<br /><br />the bus ride home was pretty strange. we were the first ones in line for the taoyuan bus and they let the 10 of us on the bus and then stopped the line, so we were the only ones on the bus, even though there were still 20 or so taiwanese people in line. then the bus driver stopped at a light to walk back and count us. then he stopped to ask if we had seen any glasses. then he stopped to show us he had found them, so we all clapped. he was laughing. it was odd. we thought for a minute we were being kidnapped.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjUejeGjNMT3gaOihnfB-XHdl9z8nYUGM0B0gzyPRvFXccP8Zbk6xcxVey_tQKo4s5FPcOpeUgW4UrD5RC5yuiBb0nadRVM4uMzS1utqVtk8XfePRMqY8eQhywQktB3A21nqWNudlfbU7/s1600-h/taiwan+emily.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjUejeGjNMT3gaOihnfB-XHdl9z8nYUGM0B0gzyPRvFXccP8Zbk6xcxVey_tQKo4s5FPcOpeUgW4UrD5RC5yuiBb0nadRVM4uMzS1utqVtk8XfePRMqY8eQhywQktB3A21nqWNudlfbU7/s320/taiwan+emily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370589337944205474" border="0" /></a>that's emily in her taiwan-fab top. she bought me pants from the same store. they're cream colored with red, blue and green polka dots all over them aaaand bows.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRfZvA-V-ids5Kwe4BdpXQbRpi1PbQnnWWBW_7tuGJyWdw206dpyY83INf-RGWqzpeM6au5ET1c8ggZ3YSj3JRyTMnsXR7AlvohLO62pOYi61A19_-cK1KG3rpv30PN9qbq-zfM463AFo/s1600-h/mr+everyone.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRfZvA-V-ids5Kwe4BdpXQbRpi1PbQnnWWBW_7tuGJyWdw206dpyY83INf-RGWqzpeM6au5ET1c8ggZ3YSj3JRyTMnsXR7AlvohLO62pOYi61A19_-cK1KG3rpv30PN9qbq-zfM463AFo/s320/mr+everyone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370589328727477394" border="0" /></a>i'm still mostly feeling bummed about leaving. i'm sure once i'm home i'll be excited, but for now i'm just sad i'm leaving. i'm proud of myself for getting to the point that i wasn't missing america or my family really since we talk so often. there's been a lot of reflecting on how far i've come this year. i'm just trying to feel my feelings while i'm here so i don't get home and then freak out. done that once already!<br /><br />p.s. <a href="http://zachtracker.com/">the kid who walked from florida to washington</a> to raise awareness for childhood homelessness emailed me back. i'm going to help him get a letter to the president's desk. it should be easy enough, right? there can't be a bazillion 11 year olds walking up the coasts of america for a cause.<br /><br />aand <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcjKKXfBo5c&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwillows95988.typepad.com%2Ftongue_cheek%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=56">this is a video</a> of corey from tongue in cheek on the back of a motorcycle with her husband. if you've never been on a scooter/motorcycle before, you should watch it. he has more guts than me taking those turns so tight. i'm always way in the middle of the road.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-42157663547961653402009-08-15T15:55:00.009+08:002009-08-15T17:04:08.079+08:00goodbye saturdayi am getting so tired of this whole not ever seeing my kids again thing! enough already! i'm glad tomorrow is sunday so i can take a break. i was the first foreign teacher for both of these classes, so they've only known me so far. i'm not sure it really clicked with them that they're going to have a new teacher next week.. but we did have a lot of fun today.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrilx7DPAFvnYAF24cDn8x6AyyExCZtAoNUDcPfagioMw9NqtklzP2fbJU3rWK0AtGZ0qKdpb7fgHODVTMTYyCZdYQrQex15MzpTGn_RTQT4mtV-VT7k_rtvGGVYAc8PmyG_caOWgRhDja/s1600-h/dailsyy+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 304px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrilx7DPAFvnYAF24cDn8x6AyyExCZtAoNUDcPfagioMw9NqtklzP2fbJU3rWK0AtGZ0qKdpb7fgHODVTMTYyCZdYQrQex15MzpTGn_RTQT4mtV-VT7k_rtvGGVYAc8PmyG_caOWgRhDja/s320/dailsyy+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370102500634558034" border="0" /></a>i brought all of the stickers i have left and stuck them all over everyone. there were stickers on the floor, walls, kids, desks, lightswitch.. (this is neely).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI9a5tXNtD9iWTWeoIPqw7tL9ILGHN2CDZNUqt60ikxfSCDRaGAP7sm0Oebf2OpY74h4sAOngfEexn1k3zDBtX6OJB_oKgoD7oB3SiM8Zs9IU4PCUXk8iRxWG7xXdkGce2P5Ors3X1XU-/s1600-h/neely.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI9a5tXNtD9iWTWeoIPqw7tL9ILGHN2CDZNUqt60ikxfSCDRaGAP7sm0Oebf2OpY74h4sAOngfEexn1k3zDBtX6OJB_oKgoD7oB3SiM8Zs9IU4PCUXk8iRxWG7xXdkGce2P5Ors3X1XU-/s320/neely.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370102497124814722" border="0" /></a>daisy! her wish came true: their next teacher is going to be a guy. phil. he's new/awesome. they'll love him.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwL1jC_Rf4ogZrgGxxV7hN9P1LXd962byi3tM2ocFekuH5Hkb-TSFqNIEJ_zeEsDNCa2SoeD9Wn-qRaCznNgkW84M3IVOPhk_3V36BGy4EqGkTMOWqGGhsmNw11J38IFh3qctVeDxWy0J/s1600-h/daisy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwL1jC_Rf4ogZrgGxxV7hN9P1LXd962byi3tM2ocFekuH5Hkb-TSFqNIEJ_zeEsDNCa2SoeD9Wn-qRaCznNgkW84M3IVOPhk_3V36BGy4EqGkTMOWqGGhsmNw11J38IFh3qctVeDxWy0J/s320/daisy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370099211116081490" border="0" /></a>phina and kiki spelling words in shaving cream.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfi4ju5VEJgDODXR2U9QBlqm2CHGPTHT8qz0so7gNsBqawJR3khFW7nNr2VUciHb_vbwARgQaBTDqQWXcsPkbEOdjo35NlxvAtHFKHxa2y-SAmMmhYhKGBAPAgpL5OwrTVzq65Jbjpasx/s1600-h/phina+kiki.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfi4ju5VEJgDODXR2U9QBlqm2CHGPTHT8qz0so7gNsBqawJR3khFW7nNr2VUciHb_vbwARgQaBTDqQWXcsPkbEOdjo35NlxvAtHFKHxa2y-SAmMmhYhKGBAPAgpL5OwrTVzq65Jbjpasx/s320/phina+kiki.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370099197060731234" border="0" /></a>daisy nailed benny in the face with a whole sheet of shaving cream-covered tin foil as i was taking the picture of their messy hands!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOLfNhw4VVxMJv7h14M741Q4BsdJTTH_mwp1t6xVvXad6axVLuTO8Mcuso2TXUvT9T8BZbvy0OUs_StPRkKZXWCQU_JOL_4NKMlxBJJlpKSNyCKljff4zrtR8_mz2lTH0B73Y5Fw2FGob/s1600-h/messy+hands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOLfNhw4VVxMJv7h14M741Q4BsdJTTH_mwp1t6xVvXad6axVLuTO8Mcuso2TXUvT9T8BZbvy0OUs_StPRkKZXWCQU_JOL_4NKMlxBJJlpKSNyCKljff4zrtR8_mz2lTH0B73Y5Fw2FGob/s320/messy+hands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370108055669066098" border="0" /></a>he was not thrilled.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVadQAIW28B2Vphvv1OF4jgTqFq5Ak4nEfdjSU0mQ7R8Vx059h8y6UdihLcyS8fFNT9uYGTdc6CFeLw7J_2LiWra3ih23-D3JPUiE_9NEdW5XWLeojiZwS8IcUyYI6Eo0JVnn5P1WSFuVX/s1600-h/messy+benny.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVadQAIW28B2Vphvv1OF4jgTqFq5Ak4nEfdjSU0mQ7R8Vx059h8y6UdihLcyS8fFNT9uYGTdc6CFeLw7J_2LiWra3ih23-D3JPUiE_9NEdW5XWLeojiZwS8IcUyYI6Eo0JVnn5P1WSFuVX/s320/messy+benny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370108065172124274" border="0" /></a>we made a biiiig mess in the bathroom. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUEJZMubbshr5xwz20QPmddu6f7saTGhFpzEyZKFjdm39VhjOo6jthC-8OOStp1Ufwwrf7KzRV81g8dPOAcoppiJhTOARJrnSqUsOBv5eGC_tFV5G6oflH81nfXDkofcs1LLNwpXUL-bZ/s1600-h/washing+hands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUEJZMubbshr5xwz20QPmddu6f7saTGhFpzEyZKFjdm39VhjOo6jthC-8OOStp1Ufwwrf7KzRV81g8dPOAcoppiJhTOARJrnSqUsOBv5eGC_tFV5G6oflH81nfXDkofcs1LLNwpXUL-bZ/s320/washing+hands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370102514608718706" border="0" /></a>dora's class was one of my favs because it was all little girls (and ian, in the middle). most days, every single kid was wearing something with some pink on it. and vivi always had her bear.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXkHi6zUuDf0nS37CcLNYpkIDv6jIOym_hn12nK7HrevDrmNmsMiMBD3xZMajr_heE6oUSkG9xp_BoljY8-OcredRYPjr3-ca0irbJlGm0O9ILq2Mr3yPe6dJ9H7aPfUfPm8VGWixxy8S/s1600-h/doras+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXkHi6zUuDf0nS37CcLNYpkIDv6jIOym_hn12nK7HrevDrmNmsMiMBD3xZMajr_heE6oUSkG9xp_BoljY8-OcredRYPjr3-ca0irbJlGm0O9ILq2Mr3yPe6dJ9H7aPfUfPm8VGWixxy8S/s320/doras+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370099193333397970" border="0" /></a>sammy and sandy. try saying their names 3 times fast. we also had vivi and vivian.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwahwIn52C8Vy8Gh_pUBQ90AWla7Zl0B6vHabKOLOURujaS3zgW8z9vLK3ZzJrC8EWHgu_90xXWDeqG9H9XGFO2Bx-wkxk09SObUu6Ho_c1r2iYvCeC_KyNCmdqKGodvuHZ1gV9A5TUMXs/s1600-h/sammy+messy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwahwIn52C8Vy8Gh_pUBQ90AWla7Zl0B6vHabKOLOURujaS3zgW8z9vLK3ZzJrC8EWHgu_90xXWDeqG9H9XGFO2Bx-wkxk09SObUu6Ho_c1r2iYvCeC_KyNCmdqKGodvuHZ1gV9A5TUMXs/s320/sammy+messy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370099185184923458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UjHjyL5ovxG3T7_jlSJT6ochezS4yqdUi6WqSVDzjUqbaIpFjfNGzKple97Roz0E-mtXUl5ptA16MnL83Cp_7QWtqUcWE5EX2V-XTpvGwOmCodeS2NLSuKd359Exw17TPoag3hWUet_w/s1600-h/girls+messy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UjHjyL5ovxG3T7_jlSJT6ochezS4yqdUi6WqSVDzjUqbaIpFjfNGzKple97Roz0E-mtXUl5ptA16MnL83Cp_7QWtqUcWE5EX2V-XTpvGwOmCodeS2NLSuKd359Exw17TPoag3hWUet_w/s320/girls+messy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370099175341591474" border="0" /></a>messy hands!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7uCx1b-WN26TLzc3W6Whss3B1461tz9QH_kRueEMuAoGL27nTNV3u1qJBdOo9FbIRxJCjuQwyAz4vAs7mhBzZDFL4QJOihdgzJq7UHrRt6VHMKoFKtcikKGE5yIv92FnAOsDGTVlyr0c/s1600-h/dora+messy+fingers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7uCx1b-WN26TLzc3W6Whss3B1461tz9QH_kRueEMuAoGL27nTNV3u1qJBdOo9FbIRxJCjuQwyAz4vAs7mhBzZDFL4QJOihdgzJq7UHrRt6VHMKoFKtcikKGE5yIv92FnAOsDGTVlyr0c/s320/dora+messy+fingers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370096702558368690" border="0" /></a>after that, i spent 3 hours at the kuo's hanging out with mr. kuo, mr. chen and mr. wang for the last time. i'll see the kuo's on tuesday, but not the trio. if anyone had told me that my best friends in taiwan would be 3 drunken taiwanese men, i'm not sure if i would have believed them. they're the best though.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfY2eOhrfTur-JgpmfrtTYxlFBtFzbwUh9bQAD72bPO5ZwyiM_-CNK3EwsyFeiFm9msbW5epMVQ0sYCYdfBwy4TIyoocCrIoJsjhuWLsXM3Kg9oPYVz232gcaAjP0gxpAXiVFtYvB_zt_/s1600-h/three+misters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfY2eOhrfTur-JgpmfrtTYxlFBtFzbwUh9bQAD72bPO5ZwyiM_-CNK3EwsyFeiFm9msbW5epMVQ0sYCYdfBwy4TIyoocCrIoJsjhuWLsXM3Kg9oPYVz232gcaAjP0gxpAXiVFtYvB_zt_/s320/three+misters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370096676312916226" border="0" /></a>mrs. chan is all business, but she's great. she's always walking around on a mission and jumping up to make people food and get business done while her husband is laughing and saying hello to everyone. today they kept wanting me to drink and i said no no no, but when she went and got a bottle of wine out of the fridge, i had to. i've never see her drink a sip!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUQIqey6-jBsGcXeHSCQkQ-D4Mv2Pu2fTdSy3MAsoAWsqKXlG2ayQJjJi40VUJQEtH3AEPv6FCNVYuBrQVnjBEn6zSWJzn-6wdasKqSzzSr0a6UHj6Gcl9srCIaykNAhkPL0O_zgBPgj7/s1600-h/mrs+chan+meg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUQIqey6-jBsGcXeHSCQkQ-D4Mv2Pu2fTdSy3MAsoAWsqKXlG2ayQJjJi40VUJQEtH3AEPv6FCNVYuBrQVnjBEn6zSWJzn-6wdasKqSzzSr0a6UHj6Gcl9srCIaykNAhkPL0O_zgBPgj7/s320/mrs+chan+meg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370096684927785122" border="0" /></a>and a saturday without cake is no saturday at all. we had spaghetti that mr. chen brought, green tea, beef stir fry, guava.. and just when i thought i couldn't eat one more bite, mr. chen disappeared for a bit and came back with a bunch of cake. there was no way i was getting out of there without eating the cake, so i just stuffed it into an already full stomach.<br />they boss me around and make fun of me and hit on me and spoil me. what am i going to do without them?<br />this is the official megan's favorite cake. cake around the outside and strawberry whipped cream on the inside. yummm!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGHMF7HHw3n56g00yUAGd3f4x846Qzgez_sKPFEeucUTrUeEaSNbqp3c_qFtpQ3AOyL3KvfxHXmc51I7LEgUkZ1ODm3oLRx-S031zzk42fpZ9Q6fCZQlWldFmc1yTG5MOe24giV6OOk6o/s1600-h/cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGHMF7HHw3n56g00yUAGd3f4x846Qzgez_sKPFEeucUTrUeEaSNbqp3c_qFtpQ3AOyL3KvfxHXmc51I7LEgUkZ1ODm3oLRx-S031zzk42fpZ9Q6fCZQlWldFmc1yTG5MOe24giV6OOk6o/s320/cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370096692200003506" border="0" /></a>it makes me teary just to think about not coming back here every weekend. we've had such a good time. (that's mr. kuo's little sister with the pool from the other week).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8BWPuE31bUs1iN_NSnKxHCazSnN_CI_hdCh-vV9oF4nD1EPZTeDaWcHqIjpa_WGOF8khxKMUeeZnPNe7SdkJrEYIfcLd9VGZLFCzqxZujUyPcHudXlIyxdbxSAbkSzLbMC2gwIroBOnt/s1600-h/five+of+us.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8BWPuE31bUs1iN_NSnKxHCazSnN_CI_hdCh-vV9oF4nD1EPZTeDaWcHqIjpa_WGOF8khxKMUeeZnPNe7SdkJrEYIfcLd9VGZLFCzqxZujUyPcHudXlIyxdbxSAbkSzLbMC2gwIroBOnt/s320/five+of+us.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370096663153964690" border="0" /></a>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-23701428315591801862009-08-14T22:48:00.007+08:002009-08-15T00:56:33.428+08:00goodbye fridaygoodbye friday! "what happened last week? right, we had a typhoon. well, i was supposed to tell you last week, but i have a new job in america, so this is our last week together." not the ideal way to let my mostly-boys class i'm leaving them. but i don't think they cared tooo much.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk0vtL2o2Sw-CnFia_eeCMgnaz1YIEer161zekPiD_Dq4lIYLyGGxLb5GJC2PfiNejRo-M6hzhf7iAdBJvRlJLTMGUCOXDO20zRGOuLQDa2g15Opz17LiUrZjcGOSTYxJgDR3aPyITyLq/s1600-h/genes+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk0vtL2o2Sw-CnFia_eeCMgnaz1YIEer161zekPiD_Dq4lIYLyGGxLb5GJC2PfiNejRo-M6hzhf7iAdBJvRlJLTMGUCOXDO20zRGOuLQDa2g15Opz17LiUrZjcGOSTYxJgDR3aPyITyLq/s320/genes+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369837216089070898" border="0" /></a>cindy was the only one in there i really got close to. during break, she stands beside me and lets me listen to one earphone of her ipod and she plays her favorite songs for me. during class today, she made an improvised going away present.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jSage1ff4YKUJPu_HuMlwfoTXpbTOAIauae-tHm21ul3VcxH5fYTy4yiyeDW6dvMaLcYaIxyJmHCVvnZH32VwLCO3YGF20a7bX-NMUTSzswt2I21OeAXyycJKEAxU2M1hYy5Djq5e124/s1600-h/cindy+preset.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jSage1ff4YKUJPu_HuMlwfoTXpbTOAIauae-tHm21ul3VcxH5fYTy4yiyeDW6dvMaLcYaIxyJmHCVvnZH32VwLCO3YGF20a7bX-NMUTSzswt2I21OeAXyycJKEAxU2M1hYy5Djq5e124/s320/cindy+preset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369839454584374514" border="0" /></a>it's a pin, the best note a teacher can receive from a student, and some drawings she ripped out of her QA book. the bottom one is me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgJasEaIJ4h2b-swova6gpx2ahDSPHBWBe-MGFMdtAGfISm-7rX-fTMgzRwpDM_MaB_6ewPquV9M-tqDRRLQmOU-7jZUrLw4UjiV6KjyDLC_eRQFZAuq8Ab4bJAEwyyS1HvrzEp0kwIf7/s1600-h/cindy+presents.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgJasEaIJ4h2b-swova6gpx2ahDSPHBWBe-MGFMdtAGfISm-7rX-fTMgzRwpDM_MaB_6ewPquV9M-tqDRRLQmOU-7jZUrLw4UjiV6KjyDLC_eRQFZAuq8Ab4bJAEwyyS1HvrzEp0kwIf7/s320/cindy+presents.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369839449019569138" border="0" /></a>cindy and shirley. shirley has TWO lazy eyes. that makes sticky ball games kind of difficult.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDnOWgsjy1cW9-eyOOBDd9reGcd5lKtG2RXtYaJuTMgubtfSoTl0w4wy3bxACo0fj5eyp9Scgb_7dmW7OMl6zCsAb3MGJX3fPMf84VGPiw1PIiOSbkqdFpYsVagaUWCgNaOsgPgNv0Pjo/s1600-h/cindy+meg+shirley+cute.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDnOWgsjy1cW9-eyOOBDd9reGcd5lKtG2RXtYaJuTMgubtfSoTl0w4wy3bxACo0fj5eyp9Scgb_7dmW7OMl6zCsAb3MGJX3fPMf84VGPiw1PIiOSbkqdFpYsVagaUWCgNaOsgPgNv0Pjo/s320/cindy+meg+shirley+cute.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369837224608714946" border="0" /></a><br />my second class had a demo tonight. we love our demo's in there. we've done 3 together. this is one of my faaavorite classes because the kids are super sweet, eager to learn, and elaine keeps them in line so i just get to be the fun one. don't tell anyone, but eunice, sally, vanessa, jessica, paul, ryan, joseph, kendrick and i used to speak chinese like crazy before class every day.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8LJcXtnqlD_FBlAIeaKLUModXrqlD81eKgjJLhiIjRd5yQYPeb2-2MGz_fVFNSXDuHlhJ0vCJE0yyIU9a2ffUX0aawyPFSNSlYp36LdQLG9Tf7ATS-hetmw5q71F0oWGn6K3m1p3t2QZ/s1600-h/elaine+class+pretty+cute.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8LJcXtnqlD_FBlAIeaKLUModXrqlD81eKgjJLhiIjRd5yQYPeb2-2MGz_fVFNSXDuHlhJ0vCJE0yyIU9a2ffUX0aawyPFSNSlYp36LdQLG9Tf7ATS-hetmw5q71F0oWGn6K3m1p3t2QZ/s320/elaine+class+pretty+cute.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369835846618537298" border="0" /></a>sweet girls! every time they saw me they'd run up and say MEGANNN!! and we walked in a gaggle upstairs to discuss the previous week.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7micGoEWZ8Io4NRLjvFpOigMDDn9A9REilDSotqEuayrP0pGwBqot7X69UjOgYBQ4owhJbe9h25YvvphtFSLCIIYaPZQTbqMpNTZjEEQIjhmnaTZVk274wmB5szAPiOtSdo7iJ3gildvp/s1600-h/girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7micGoEWZ8Io4NRLjvFpOigMDDn9A9REilDSotqEuayrP0pGwBqot7X69UjOgYBQ4owhJbe9h25YvvphtFSLCIIYaPZQTbqMpNTZjEEQIjhmnaTZVk274wmB5szAPiOtSdo7iJ3gildvp/s320/girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369837208094938594" border="0" /></a>during our demo, they had to try not to blink. these are their 'non blinking' faces.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAhebxtvG4cggewWaQdPjUhM1BSPUaReyZ59D4Z-QBT4NOUEzAjR0TckJyos46NYDGncmxhsZNBwxgZ_dIulOHr0jBJEWU8PGjgcu29JY6zDkIO-sMXLk_vI2jbeug0Gt-EJxR2zka_Bt/s1600-h/no+blinking.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 118px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAhebxtvG4cggewWaQdPjUhM1BSPUaReyZ59D4Z-QBT4NOUEzAjR0TckJyos46NYDGncmxhsZNBwxgZ_dIulOHr0jBJEWU8PGjgcu29JY6zDkIO-sMXLk_vI2jbeug0Gt-EJxR2zka_Bt/s320/no+blinking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369837199734948642" border="0" /></a>"wake up, billy! you are late for school!"<br />"there's no school today, mom! it's a holiday."<br />"LAAAAZYBONES!"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkykmtxpXGujLK8tCniE5bhTckbAO7EwtMwsMT0rrjUo__KBUl1-I40GSRBwsSxbiZEg47qIo_xQWCoyefvI4Nb5eHurmYF7fjSOA0rKUDlR_nySxxka8xovjjcsjWRwhX9Jh4dfzhQEDr/s1600-h/wake+up+billy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkykmtxpXGujLK8tCniE5bhTckbAO7EwtMwsMT0rrjUo__KBUl1-I40GSRBwsSxbiZEg47qIo_xQWCoyefvI4Nb5eHurmYF7fjSOA0rKUDlR_nySxxka8xovjjcsjWRwhX9Jh4dfzhQEDr/s320/wake+up+billy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369835865808223842" border="0" /></a>i couldn't pry them away from the snack table so i just hugged them from behind while they stuffed their faces with shrimp chips and cookies.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogyeJk0yjM7LJnlEFhWaWX3LFpJy-SrOjM3L4jr9xwXuVhBJitAaO0Plb9y3Lx4DPVobzRhXOICu28wpQgusvW3_1phS2iwCmP2Vi-1u9Vt2sJirAuYr-0Ms8Ae9rGcNImxygX5c7JWoh/s1600-h/eating.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogyeJk0yjM7LJnlEFhWaWX3LFpJy-SrOjM3L4jr9xwXuVhBJitAaO0Plb9y3Lx4DPVobzRhXOICu28wpQgusvW3_1phS2iwCmP2Vi-1u9Vt2sJirAuYr-0Ms8Ae9rGcNImxygX5c7JWoh/s320/eating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369835855484161282" border="0" /></a>ryan, total teacher's pet (in the cutest possible way) made me a card :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOiPTBwymciGi990Q9Sw6TxzoRSw6ZedH-bV5bwpKUp5CIS3xuL7aNWHsF0Ar4XyGBMDFKF50nI3m4UfhQcXmT0-13XOoCgW4XFvRXmKrJFmk59dm1vUFmX4cGLKyln6DBRHXRNwh0LTL/s1600-h/ryan+note.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOiPTBwymciGi990Q9Sw6TxzoRSw6ZedH-bV5bwpKUp5CIS3xuL7aNWHsF0Ar4XyGBMDFKF50nI3m4UfhQcXmT0-13XOoCgW4XFvRXmKrJFmk59dm1vUFmX4cGLKyln6DBRHXRNwh0LTL/s320/ryan+note.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369835835041638210" border="0" /></a>i subbed his brother's class <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2008/06/arms-wide-open.html">literally a year ago</a> in the first few weeks i was teaching, and he remembered me because we played spoons. they're really fluent in english so it was just like chatting with friends.. a welcome surprise when you're a new teacher.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxOIZog5cVL2wtxOQpZ0tRSefBZ0ViEgivl2GlbWLFIGDgRigq6WoOMgLt3B4dQTyt4UqukgkOA6VFcgv9dFicaUqMgeU6UMQAE3IHH7oBuBJC8xt1Ke6WTVG_nmJ7UpPNK3lsl5GVs4H/s1600-h/billy+note.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxOIZog5cVL2wtxOQpZ0tRSefBZ0ViEgivl2GlbWLFIGDgRigq6WoOMgLt3B4dQTyt4UqukgkOA6VFcgv9dFicaUqMgeU6UMQAE3IHH7oBuBJC8xt1Ke6WTVG_nmJ7UpPNK3lsl5GVs4H/s320/billy+note.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369835822729191362" border="0" /></a>i almost cried a million times during our demo, but i knew if i started, i probably wouldn't be able to stop. i'm going to miss that class so much. we would just laugh and play games and have fun the whole time. they always wanted to tell me about their lives and show me their new things and ask about my life at home. they're all super smart and just good-natured kids.<br /><br />p.s. corey over at tongue in cheek wrote <a href="http://willows95988.typepad.com/tongue_cheek/2009/08/when-riding-a-motorcycle-or-i-should-say-being-the-passenger-there-are-few-things-to-take-into-consideration-trust-the-one.html">a really perfect description</a> of what it's like to ride a scooter, or in her case, motorcycle. she and her french husband are currently on a tour of europe on their motorcycle. she lives in provence but she's an american. i love her writing and spirit.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-35403563944608651422009-08-14T14:33:00.003+08:002009-08-14T14:43:44.569+08:00ying ge with alexthese are the pictures from when alex and i went ying ge and made some pots. his camera is the same as mine but he has some ridiculous zoom lens.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP39DHQFNTGQaYuw7YSqKvnxcNpypY3c54QKpZu5HQQli2EIjMSrClvdQ1c9iVB7eDUe6MnHDeZFzMAfLlH9AAzKk9FjoPb2WgYT6gkAvnbp6YCIXWnO2vTF0mtA20Q_lSafSIDMjEEINh/s1600-h/alex.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP39DHQFNTGQaYuw7YSqKvnxcNpypY3c54QKpZu5HQQli2EIjMSrClvdQ1c9iVB7eDUe6MnHDeZFzMAfLlH9AAzKk9FjoPb2WgYT6gkAvnbp6YCIXWnO2vTF0mtA20Q_lSafSIDMjEEINh/s320/alex.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369705235012956818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVsOjuEzEJBE9xh_KjIg-KVv-fcACTVw6RiSulCtFuB2eagBSGAmatXiC2P7ub54NK17afzZuCAoyALFP5M8WGfYP_J935W2quevZCCxl-Ag50R7BAVYzBY9rhkqsG9ybobcleL_MDYWc/s1600-h/alex2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVsOjuEzEJBE9xh_KjIg-KVv-fcACTVw6RiSulCtFuB2eagBSGAmatXiC2P7ub54NK17afzZuCAoyALFP5M8WGfYP_J935W2quevZCCxl-Ag50R7BAVYzBY9rhkqsG9ybobcleL_MDYWc/s320/alex2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369704802039006050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi452usSYda8ZHFDjQ02C7JyZmt3LyL5_4Os7ZJCj0xYWbX84359Q3Xfp7mV_sOyO6GotCTuFkRMHSQAwCyn0nP-URMaiUA9oesDvflt00K3DxxFgs_V87Zr7gu_Rfth7TuhcyyRiYejQiD/s1600-h/pottery.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi452usSYda8ZHFDjQ02C7JyZmt3LyL5_4Os7ZJCj0xYWbX84359Q3Xfp7mV_sOyO6GotCTuFkRMHSQAwCyn0nP-URMaiUA9oesDvflt00K3DxxFgs_V87Zr7gu_Rfth7TuhcyyRiYejQiD/s320/pottery.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369704795450784242" border="0" /></a>(are you singing aaaaabbaaaaa, aaaba pooottterrrr.. [how does it go, maj?]).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwyzhdMkpCM31ll0aU2oLQ5lN86fNRHf1ohVT2e8ShZc97_zBfyK9EylHPpqxCG4c9bW8g7VKTY1M_oUVn4qrWHeeoddhbeMQkem4T8iZjh0G6jzF9ogd6FTLhUK5bxMoNv8TsccHBQxL/s1600-h/handle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwyzhdMkpCM31ll0aU2oLQ5lN86fNRHf1ohVT2e8ShZc97_zBfyK9EylHPpqxCG4c9bW8g7VKTY1M_oUVn4qrWHeeoddhbeMQkem4T8iZjh0G6jzF9ogd6FTLhUK5bxMoNv8TsccHBQxL/s320/handle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369704784778709122" border="0" /></a>youuu are the pooottterrrr... and i am the claayyyyy.<br />oh, metaphysical church songs from my childhood.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Z711Zb0mht5C-sUiMSaYD9DEJKQ1Zp4WVFUteqG3sPfEKnACdMMKWJ3mIHZxPzskenIX56FtearTvC_myfnvI3udHITY23ULqhYki46mPenaX-I24f-GmOPsprkRTWd4qPA1IK84yGNs/s1600-h/meg+pottery.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Z711Zb0mht5C-sUiMSaYD9DEJKQ1Zp4WVFUteqG3sPfEKnACdMMKWJ3mIHZxPzskenIX56FtearTvC_myfnvI3udHITY23ULqhYki46mPenaX-I24f-GmOPsprkRTWd4qPA1IK84yGNs/s320/meg+pottery.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369704775513394226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDo1DTOBOhf_V7xgbWhu18eU5Cb4fmxjinqwIeepuaLLR9HRr81TR219A5xXi1FW8DlLs5uAvt2cLONJt34n-nHUXMEaJnrHtKb0PcFSl5UYCWjo57uf_BgV2HPFgc2DnRLjfnNCG9b91/s1600-h/meg+alex.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDo1DTOBOhf_V7xgbWhu18eU5Cb4fmxjinqwIeepuaLLR9HRr81TR219A5xXi1FW8DlLs5uAvt2cLONJt34n-nHUXMEaJnrHtKb0PcFSl5UYCWjo57uf_BgV2HPFgc2DnRLjfnNCG9b91/s320/meg+alex.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369704768231386514" border="0" /></a>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-3320383335598724692009-08-13T22:38:00.008+08:002009-08-14T00:57:02.228+08:00goodbye thursdaygoodbye mr. wang! thank you for the cake, tea and company. "do you love me?"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GI_wFA5dPxJzrxiULONXZ11BdiFjrr68mFovOPgxWQF5bnH5oKTRK3qcXPU9M4tboxirWIMDoGociOBNSS3wBTdCZy4-S-XW2D9T_W6VaqHwcnyWJFIeKz3mVkdpxgDKtyABG6OXRWFS/s1600-h/meg+and+wang.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GI_wFA5dPxJzrxiULONXZ11BdiFjrr68mFovOPgxWQF5bnH5oKTRK3qcXPU9M4tboxirWIMDoGociOBNSS3wBTdCZy4-S-XW2D9T_W6VaqHwcnyWJFIeKz3mVkdpxgDKtyABG6OXRWFS/s320/meg+and+wang.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369460346466123442" border="0" /></a>goodbye thursday yellow book class! crazy pronunciation, following emily's rules, exchanging funny faces when no one was looking, voices that no one could hear, slow writers who became the fastest in the class, judy 1 and judy 2, unhappy moms.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMQE4OS9JCP6w1XRUaEXnpzL3giMAXSNIBnUU6D1QDRp2kRFJsUG3Olx9CqF1nBdkGMq2JPv-LrwdgzVSG1fxQ3TR2_UXiOdwsI78TgsSPsB4EtAxvG6-pVC-DT97XlLtU15a9VreizWK/s1600-h/emily+yellow+book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMQE4OS9JCP6w1XRUaEXnpzL3giMAXSNIBnUU6D1QDRp2kRFJsUG3Olx9CqF1nBdkGMq2JPv-LrwdgzVSG1fxQ3TR2_UXiOdwsI78TgsSPsB4EtAxvG6-pVC-DT97XlLtU15a9VreizWK/s320/emily+yellow+book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369460337320235282" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a_44MonbpAeEW0l2IW3m9Y4BMIZxMNGvR41nQ4XOkaMS8Sa_L8FrJl84Rz9Q7umI8Vhk488mbo8slJ5g8p0dlfDNCid0i-ryzwTuqHX4FS9rN_quDySSvF-BLbJVK6Vcc2RuNX75HkpI/s1600-h/emily.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a_44MonbpAeEW0l2IW3m9Y4BMIZxMNGvR41nQ4XOkaMS8Sa_L8FrJl84Rz9Q7umI8Vhk488mbo8slJ5g8p0dlfDNCid0i-ryzwTuqHX4FS9rN_quDySSvF-BLbJVK6Vcc2RuNX75HkpI/s320/emily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369462969053887474" border="0" /></a>left to right: outspoken mandy, strong wendy, inaudible elaine, funny face angela, sweet angel, clueless kelly, coming out of her shell judy, focused bella.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMwIo5Ypki_XJ6ztXccI48CNHXthLtIBTK4-pEKsGfYeSIHsW5eU90GNH6KlQFOVezU8ylFPxLh_rHcu6YPH4nBRqU_f0jIhXjX313oKoy8IpVlDwafO3kiXCUEpzrFT0x0YYiEXxTemI/s1600-h/emily+girls2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMwIo5Ypki_XJ6ztXccI48CNHXthLtIBTK4-pEKsGfYeSIHsW5eU90GNH6KlQFOVezU8ylFPxLh_rHcu6YPH4nBRqU_f0jIhXjX313oKoy8IpVlDwafO3kiXCUEpzrFT0x0YYiEXxTemI/s320/emily+girls2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369458667929879346" border="0" /></a>sweet, crazy boys. spaced out ryan, "i don't know" danny, slurred sean, ADD jason and quiet kevin.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBj7JJD9XhgWOAASGuHhSLurrb5mp-EwEA-qGG6Onh4B9yVyCwvXvi8OjWv7QkcVaphQjvY2O83UyvkzTE4veSvokvZK6_3rS1TF8e3Ox80uQYzG8-E1nfi0ofpz4Hb0oRfVHvhlc8Pea/s1600-h/emily+boys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBj7JJD9XhgWOAASGuHhSLurrb5mp-EwEA-qGG6Onh4B9yVyCwvXvi8OjWv7QkcVaphQjvY2O83UyvkzTE4veSvokvZK6_3rS1TF8e3Ox80uQYzG8-E1nfi0ofpz4Hb0oRfVHvhlc8Pea/s320/emily+boys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369458659482858162" border="0" /></a><br />goodbye GL2! it was a victory just to get everyone to sit down at the same time and stay seated. you can't read with your fingers on the words (or read at all, i think), but you're super sweet and you'll get better with time..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmv13jdRMclbKrRGdV9FN1t6npq4RrwIG_zdJQ56JdOL6j5MWs0DSWtZzyND7zfREq448ZJ0EPovoiva_5l0my8AWUjaW-kUBNf7NmVuwHUDiBfa7x2aGwdaCjxF2AeB3MYrHQw1CaTxe/s1600-h/gloria+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmv13jdRMclbKrRGdV9FN1t6npq4RrwIG_zdJQ56JdOL6j5MWs0DSWtZzyND7zfREq448ZJ0EPovoiva_5l0my8AWUjaW-kUBNf7NmVuwHUDiBfa7x2aGwdaCjxF2AeB3MYrHQw1CaTxe/s320/gloria+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369458647500925890" border="0" /></a>wendy during our reading/writing relay.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w3LdtJdAF27s9Nl-Kx6JZyLf8ZkyCPnLsc6aJuIu1FEfjYu_S5K7QeDuLjqA0CdXqpyu3bozDX-rt2UNs65J-sa3Dr4ESt_UIriErdWmWRbYqj9XK3VAW7qvqSeE36_9BVh3YSdtLbl2/s1600-h/board.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w3LdtJdAF27s9Nl-Kx6JZyLf8ZkyCPnLsc6aJuIu1FEfjYu_S5K7QeDuLjqA0CdXqpyu3bozDX-rt2UNs65J-sa3Dr4ESt_UIriErdWmWRbYqj9XK3VAW7qvqSeE36_9BVh3YSdtLbl2/s320/board.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369458650494107538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqLZ7jTIpJyyvDcJ_QIHcZ6VuUhM8bM13EACfw3eMaaBktg3rygivkMmxSTJWbR4B9VLI63wA0nnXnqaUJYkhb0lSqPTGyG-EFfsYgC96vSGf7JD8kMwYVl4RrVxga2Zsxk6bRgwaxCqx/s1600-h/gloria2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqLZ7jTIpJyyvDcJ_QIHcZ6VuUhM8bM13EACfw3eMaaBktg3rygivkMmxSTJWbR4B9VLI63wA0nnXnqaUJYkhb0lSqPTGyG-EFfsYgC96vSGf7JD8kMwYVl4RrVxga2Zsxk6bRgwaxCqx/s320/gloria2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369462964127681618" border="0" /></a>charlie and i paper scissor stoned before/during/after class and once i introduced jerry's "claw", he started coming up with his own variations. the bird, the double claw, the dog. wendy, sherry and charlie demonstrate:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdmXAgeB-QGj7J0_r6C3Ov2totM8z0STnjSTuTjZATXb5vxWmlgE1pG9qIhANMjHWmN11IM4M856Nyf-YAL8gD2Pm6wXBQ07hldjUU7NuYivKJTDoXafKz-N4SW0ZuwbsSgt3sY7119C-/s1600-h/pss+hands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdmXAgeB-QGj7J0_r6C3Ov2totM8z0STnjSTuTjZATXb5vxWmlgE1pG9qIhANMjHWmN11IM4M856Nyf-YAL8gD2Pm6wXBQ07hldjUU7NuYivKJTDoXafKz-N4SW0ZuwbsSgt3sY7119C-/s400/pss+hands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369461665468386514" border="0" /></a>cutest, tiniest boy in taiwan. i'm going to miss that sweet face (and <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/07/pink-and-brown-but-not-just-pink.html">the snail</a>)!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqmc-EHSHBNTWU8TDMe-tUx1WZ5144dQhGGULIL_7vwNtruDqa5xTAQ7pGpUzmhi1mH4LQekXX-vDcRrF2IxIbLxavXELavuWVh4Lq8vjXRxlaaDpDRSkxAh7KgNsWgw5CtuA1bsf9ts7/s1600-h/bunny.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqmc-EHSHBNTWU8TDMe-tUx1WZ5144dQhGGULIL_7vwNtruDqa5xTAQ7pGpUzmhi1mH4LQekXX-vDcRrF2IxIbLxavXELavuWVh4Lq8vjXRxlaaDpDRSkxAh7KgNsWgw5CtuA1bsf9ts7/s320/bunny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369458635807310034" border="0" /></a>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-59379138505074854942009-08-13T15:59:00.004+08:002009-08-13T16:06:12.794+08:00pictures of da chu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEeHvVbEJMwxy7_h6mWx6kpAZwLpbwmD0iAJRO45S-IN0oZI66tZ1q6hV5h5cjs-WhVnCtaEm_o38unLntKHSl9EP-oPpvRE8R3pPcqtoueNMq7AAPXMgSddyXlw8zHaBM7nAMKMZbDxF/s1600-h/da+chu+sunset.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEeHvVbEJMwxy7_h6mWx6kpAZwLpbwmD0iAJRO45S-IN0oZI66tZ1q6hV5h5cjs-WhVnCtaEm_o38unLntKHSl9EP-oPpvRE8R3pPcqtoueNMq7AAPXMgSddyXlw8zHaBM7nAMKMZbDxF/s320/da+chu+sunset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369355385519394546" border="0" /></a>driving to da chu on wednesdays is my fav because the sunset is so pretty. ..nevermind that this pond smells like raw sewage. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfK9X021XuhQuvSZUCFJPmdu5RLoXDSROLPK56Js_kL-T9TDOERzPufsMSOcgIAXf25R94CuDQ2mrgdkbM0d_4BTCbV7139XvN6zIc1MtSWUoml0gv0B8HyDo8HpOqDqaKjaV2WyNiPvAj/s1600-h/da+chu4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfK9X021XuhQuvSZUCFJPmdu5RLoXDSROLPK56Js_kL-T9TDOERzPufsMSOcgIAXf25R94CuDQ2mrgdkbM0d_4BTCbV7139XvN6zIc1MtSWUoml0gv0B8HyDo8HpOqDqaKjaV2WyNiPvAj/s320/da+chu4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369355378702408226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHmSxCRQOy2LDu3Jvk8bWiEEnnomxT1QTwi7-u5O50hrVBcWHYDgUEn9jE9L649PQ98dTO56cdu9sJ6ceI9M63Dj3y-6BmVbEfjugyediwbiBWTCyR4wlzJbkhKm9NMw1lGxXh2Z8l5iS/s1600-h/da+chu2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHmSxCRQOy2LDu3Jvk8bWiEEnnomxT1QTwi7-u5O50hrVBcWHYDgUEn9jE9L649PQ98dTO56cdu9sJ6ceI9M63Dj3y-6BmVbEfjugyediwbiBWTCyR4wlzJbkhKm9NMw1lGxXh2Z8l5iS/s320/da+chu2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369355373870293570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaOnCawIjt5G0aTiKONjcrJiRjxdKLKDmODkn8zhE4Uo239lES1gAxZGpMpEqgIBQkiWj3LebYWmpwrqXIsXkIgjNrS8cIEIuMn-GDNnPF48xOQC7ND8geUccSs-tpRNydUZXPPO54vVd/s1600-h/amanda.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaOnCawIjt5G0aTiKONjcrJiRjxdKLKDmODkn8zhE4Uo239lES1gAxZGpMpEqgIBQkiWj3LebYWmpwrqXIsXkIgjNrS8cIEIuMn-GDNnPF48xOQC7ND8geUccSs-tpRNydUZXPPO54vVd/s320/amanda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369355361076470306" border="0" /></a>amanda had a daaaate so she had <span style="font-style: italic;">jie mao gao</span> (mascara).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjGlupDN-ek7Gt1QrqpXcYFZFl-gdQ6AGOPmqxqjo0mtObW4pz-DignlSrnQwpYGyRnLD69-lmBeGwsE_n6JDeig_p-Ueppt76SkReTvZg4NN7-X8vbHkXN8LGqfx2kSPC9xD3FrLDea7/s1600-h/dinner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjGlupDN-ek7Gt1QrqpXcYFZFl-gdQ6AGOPmqxqjo0mtObW4pz-DignlSrnQwpYGyRnLD69-lmBeGwsE_n6JDeig_p-Ueppt76SkReTvZg4NN7-X8vbHkXN8LGqfx2kSPC9xD3FrLDea7/s320/dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369355350584755490" border="0" /></a>the kuo's had fried dumplings yesterday with sauce his mom made andd i got to use the family chopsticks for the first time!! usually i get the disposable ones. another milestone reached.<br />random mom: <span style="font-style: italic;">did you make those dumplings?<br /></span>mrs. chan:<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> no, we bought them. i'm just frying them again so they're crispy<br /></span></span>mom:<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> the teacher is eating with you?<br /></span></span>mrs. chan:<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> she teaches across the street but she eats dinner with us four nights a week and she loves these dumplings. they're from blahblah, you should try them<br /></span></span>mom:<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> interesting<br /></span></span>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-2537360349919025812009-08-12T23:49:00.012+08:002009-08-13T00:36:03.920+08:00goodbye wednesdaygoodbye wednesday class. i'm going to miss how you spoke mostly chinese all year and then once you found out i understood some of what you were saying, you started speaking it just to test me. i'll miss how you're too cool for me because i'm all sunshiney and augusta is your favorite because she's strict and strong.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlltNRMOY5mYmCLzkue66whPvaXCfq8Nz0Vh0HIpdYWbbE6g-P9fvXcblnKpPJyf7cMJhOQqmplB1qSPC3l4Ao8AXvVc3r8XrawwAWAMsyl8mH8QEzSJzuVIz65_Nnrql-ZndRtRZ6cZF/s1600-h/meg+girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlltNRMOY5mYmCLzkue66whPvaXCfq8Nz0Vh0HIpdYWbbE6g-P9fvXcblnKpPJyf7cMJhOQqmplB1qSPC3l4Ao8AXvVc3r8XrawwAWAMsyl8mH8QEzSJzuVIz65_Nnrql-ZndRtRZ6cZF/s320/meg+girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369105663094202018" border="0" /></a>i'll miss that mindy and tina, the mean girls, actually started showing small signs of friendship with offers of chips and candy even if it was done by yelling across the room in chinese during the movie. i'll miss nicole and jane's sweet notes during QAs. i'll miss joyce 1 and joyce 2 even though i never learned which was which.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiao-53GtuYABsnJvtcRGxldY_bMycrMYwh6l_99lYbnfBh7ejRv2-qaVqud0dgN3G5woXp53Z1NVZOCxsqJsOJfA8ROlaxI68NbaAc2Jz0kyULbYcWuIwD9SACdCaIfoWNxamjIxmz6z3/s1600-h/meg+boys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiao-53GtuYABsnJvtcRGxldY_bMycrMYwh6l_99lYbnfBh7ejRv2-qaVqud0dgN3G5woXp53Z1NVZOCxsqJsOJfA8ROlaxI68NbaAc2Jz0kyULbYcWuIwD9SACdCaIfoWNxamjIxmz6z3/s320/meg+boys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369105650083667154" border="0" /></a>i'll miss how aaron even said 'i don't know' in chinese and how justin was a jerk in front of the class but really sweet one on one. i'll miss harrison's grandma who gave me a ride when i was new. i'll miss ben and how everyone picks on him just for being the smallest.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKBLwahSneMuL9hMx71aKW9MzlH0f_64Ee4iT51EynLl6mSjnOO8sD-BcSIYrE1gh3ougOtMyVYxb1V0WVuKvAbWjWVtrnfKO_oBFyutHi25Qj9x6gLwJzfbgpVkKGPlkAgL5VVtid80S/s1600-h/augusta+class.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKBLwahSneMuL9hMx71aKW9MzlH0f_64Ee4iT51EynLl6mSjnOO8sD-BcSIYrE1gh3ougOtMyVYxb1V0WVuKvAbWjWVtrnfKO_oBFyutHi25Qj9x6gLwJzfbgpVkKGPlkAgL5VVtid80S/s320/augusta+class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369105641223732482" border="0" /></a>jane gave me a present! it was wrapped with shiny pink and silver wrapping paper that said 'i will miss you' all over it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEhnihpEUPOEU-8VrGjZ5TRuxT4hZAU_8BoF48NkbJqTw_QKqcsRKacR1ni8nq4VhMQ1mKzz1x2NTZlIHV7ybPie3KHRrFD0AC1RUv7glWkAHOlqf6w0nvnHUnbkJfW8o9pYo2DAjMDqs/s1600-h/jane+present.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEhnihpEUPOEU-8VrGjZ5TRuxT4hZAU_8BoF48NkbJqTw_QKqcsRKacR1ni8nq4VhMQ1mKzz1x2NTZlIHV7ybPie3KHRrFD0AC1RUv7glWkAHOlqf6w0nvnHUnbkJfW8o9pYo2DAjMDqs/s320/jane+present.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369108777002013122" border="0" /></a>and hooray for sweet notes. they make the world go 'round and jane was my favorite so it really means something extra special.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ymeKRuOv2Bp-VbvTPgSJdp2aoSO9d5xA8tvAc9pWfmbC9uZotd1qPVOaLSHkamYh1CS-UfkRwijQ8YCmvB9s_1IANKyF5hM88W93lUXoDsn-UeSAeDmeizOaS8ULMHtYQk_0dfla1Gkt/s1600-h/jane+letter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ymeKRuOv2Bp-VbvTPgSJdp2aoSO9d5xA8tvAc9pWfmbC9uZotd1qPVOaLSHkamYh1CS-UfkRwijQ8YCmvB9s_1IANKyF5hM88W93lUXoDsn-UeSAeDmeizOaS8ULMHtYQk_0dfla1Gkt/s320/jane+letter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369105681484247218" border="0" /></a>p.s. wouldn't you try to marry a taiwanese person just for <a href="http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=AugustaWang&book=9">these wedding photos</a>? the next 5 minutes will be the highlight of your day, seriously. look how lovely my coteacher is!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zIil0nctt18KNJ8OCbpBUf09AU1HrfPfvCsR9ZvdhXb4Azun8KiBaJH7hyRVCt-V5WmFZTuaKWjtXGFl-Tbtk16Gv-TB_D30-I78SvEaE1XD_F5nWSkacQqb9zE3CJC5axmj0nG-F8s4/s1600-h/augusta+wedding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zIil0nctt18KNJ8OCbpBUf09AU1HrfPfvCsR9ZvdhXb4Azun8KiBaJH7hyRVCt-V5WmFZTuaKWjtXGFl-Tbtk16Gv-TB_D30-I78SvEaE1XD_F5nWSkacQqb9zE3CJC5axmj0nG-F8s4/s320/augusta+wedding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369111658643848306" border="0" /></a>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-69765400886475398362009-08-12T16:19:00.002+08:002009-08-12T16:38:24.452+08:00hei se de mian bao..megan walks into love cake wearing a drippy rain jacket, picks out some bacon garlic bread and some normal garlic bread. at the cash register, there's a sample with black bread under the glass cover.<br />megan: <span style="font-style: italic;">why is this bread black?</span><br />woman: ummm.. [hands megan a flier]<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0nPweQIScHajuV-uyDIaMW8YCi57uMZOQwOwRbl_NR-DWdr5Ssksl1DOKEH5ThlpGWKIO-3vd6Z3eZzLvFempG6Kbauj74C4jfTVVi6YZ0P3bBF2s-h8LHZuvt-Cy2BWHHphmyyk5eZa/s1600-h/cuttlefish+bread.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0nPweQIScHajuV-uyDIaMW8YCi57uMZOQwOwRbl_NR-DWdr5Ssksl1DOKEH5ThlpGWKIO-3vd6Z3eZzLvFempG6Kbauj74C4jfTVVi6YZ0P3bBF2s-h8LHZuvt-Cy2BWHHphmyyk5eZa/s320/cuttlefish+bread.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368990490452923170" border="0" /></a>... this is why it's important to always ask. it didn't look like that picture though. it was like a jellyroll with cheese inside but i couldn't tell what the other bits were.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDbr85hRJXpOrpJpDLYfjixj0QhyphenhyphenCDr6mrVdu1WGhGo7f67eH7jFDlt2oqRJMaiE1qCA67WoT7X4DJzOiH45OVqExr3emIAJkGg1EJiLOpD5brMPLkW-547QPShfizhb5SghGKZiZ_C0F/s1600-h/cuttlefish+bread2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDbr85hRJXpOrpJpDLYfjixj0QhyphenhyphenCDr6mrVdu1WGhGo7f67eH7jFDlt2oqRJMaiE1qCA67WoT7X4DJzOiH45OVqExr3emIAJkGg1EJiLOpD5brMPLkW-547QPShfizhb5SghGKZiZ_C0F/s320/cuttlefish+bread2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368990482839985186" border="0" /></a>anyway i ate half of it and then decided that fishy bread just isn't my thing.<br /><br />they do a bunch of birthday cakes. birthday cakes in asian bakeries are all this funny bubble shape. all the better for cutesy designs!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGDoHZ8MA27OOcrAuSLCUchbkdI5WY3rHQettj6PmGPz-wQtvmXZEEH_774RWtntQncZcMIZpEGvrmUtR5q4sdiUwhy4JQbJ9mGWfr7B-NDMDcsdMgBIL-L2FZUvBXKYC2IfMrKaySnf3/s1600-h/birthday+cakes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGDoHZ8MA27OOcrAuSLCUchbkdI5WY3rHQettj6PmGPz-wQtvmXZEEH_774RWtntQncZcMIZpEGvrmUtR5q4sdiUwhy4JQbJ9mGWfr7B-NDMDcsdMgBIL-L2FZUvBXKYC2IfMrKaySnf3/s320/birthday+cakes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368990471144900306" border="0" /></a>..and not so cutesy designs.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3I6cQXHgJsKzssnrOofvKB_mKjfc1rVxig_IBR84etFWoxXs1VeUZXAAkf_h1w6qhcFxKmkbufkEIsWSACT-h-u9tZKLVXd8ZRTud2tdCE7PoJozdV2TD7Pb4cKAI0_dg6dLi9dtiTHq/s1600-h/funny+cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3I6cQXHgJsKzssnrOofvKB_mKjfc1rVxig_IBR84etFWoxXs1VeUZXAAkf_h1w6qhcFxKmkbufkEIsWSACT-h-u9tZKLVXd8ZRTud2tdCE7PoJozdV2TD7Pb4cKAI0_dg6dLi9dtiTHq/s320/funny+cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368990460579870722" border="0" /></a>the flier itself has the censoring. oh, taiwan. i'm going to miss you.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-16407416491645482222009-08-12T00:55:00.002+08:002009-08-12T01:05:53.230+08:00which way homegood news! the apartment i was crossing my fingers for emailed me back and they want to chat! they stood out as the kind of people i'm looking for, in a nice area, for the right price. so i'm hoping that works out. international apartment hunting is no fun. i guess all apartment hunting is no fun. i've emailed something like 30 places now. it will be nice to have it figured out. so here's hoping that the cool house picks me. they seem very my style though. i think it'll happen.<br /><br />today was a whirlwind. i taught little tiny sweet babies this morning with zero planning. when i walked in.. they all told me their names/ages and then i had them stand up and i had no idea what i was going to have them do. we sang some songs until i thought of something. man they were cute though.<br /><br />i had to tell my favorite kids that i'm leaving next week. kevin 2 didn't let me check his QA book because he was so upset. tonight was the coteacher's first class ever. she was kind of treating them like babies and she just repeated everything i said. they were all sneaking glances at me and i sign languaged for them to just be nice.<br /><br />alan and natalie took me out for dinner tonight because they're leaving for thailand tomorrow afternoon. they are so fun, i'm going to miss them! i can't believe it's been a year already. it really feels like the end is near.<br />i'm way behind schedule. time for bed.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-45457137450267471602009-08-10T23:07:00.009+08:002009-08-11T01:06:29.163+08:00these vagabond shoesi feel like i've kind of failed at showing you pictures of what taiwan actually looks like. i have a bunch of pictures of food but hardly any of anything outside of the big park or this dorm. in the last week and a half, i'm reaaalllly going to try to suck up my foreigner-shyness and take my camera with me everywhere i go. i'm definitely going to get the fruit market, tea shops, guei shan and da chu areas, the train station, etc.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhE3b5cmEeAmktZTl53aQ2gjetlCXCpWO8ZZoplge6PU48xE5oz5gG2_4JzKAd0qVcHNTpeBK3c-15NLuIWO5zF4VvNp_JM01XcrX4lNr23B0jDydQi4nw6uIAY_5jl-ciN_d9-8_juqIo/s1600-h/meat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhE3b5cmEeAmktZTl53aQ2gjetlCXCpWO8ZZoplge6PU48xE5oz5gG2_4JzKAd0qVcHNTpeBK3c-15NLuIWO5zF4VvNp_JM01XcrX4lNr23B0jDydQi4nw6uIAY_5jl-ciN_d9-8_juqIo/s320/meat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368366281631445522" border="0" /></a>food is easy. it's right inside my house and it can't make me blush. this was dinner tonight. deeeelicious skewers of pork wrapped around mushrooms or scallions ($1 each), and some grilled bell peppers and green beans with a little bit of spicy sauce from a BBQ stand in guei shan. can't beat $4 dinners.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfR0sHk0lO5lD3Twrq9LONlLHD1p1Ud3c6Afj37FPBC-n9nxRh_quksiXOIKWxx_wClWOdhYC10FShecFKsjHl6bI_DzldvSLirZXY5LtCpvnKPT8SsIEzbmOjz-VrdxpBksrrOAba9B0/s1600-h/beans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfR0sHk0lO5lD3Twrq9LONlLHD1p1Ud3c6Afj37FPBC-n9nxRh_quksiXOIKWxx_wClWOdhYC10FShecFKsjHl6bI_DzldvSLirZXY5LtCpvnKPT8SsIEzbmOjz-VrdxpBksrrOAba9B0/s320/beans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368366274449071442" border="0" /></a>tonight i told my baby class i'm leaving. they were not thrilled at all. carol asked them if they wanted a guy or girl to replace me and they just said "MEGAN! MEGAN!". i'm going to misssss them. one more week though. and my older kid, favorite class ever, class was asking me animals in english and i'd say the chinese. they were super impressed that i knew hippo and crocodile.<br /><br />p.s. do you think my mom had any influence on my sense of style?<br /><br />like mother..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK28A5hCVxK3b0dYVTqdwdw_D5Td1P1qmyVw9zwizDvfFjvB3vheWQT_idLsWblp5Y9h8BvdCM7cYLX4F1JP0TZchHKuyrDSTKlTVSVvwTYjVPTE6VZ72gB4ukuzcHDuHlN5OI2ABmB7kw/s1600-h/mom+office2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK28A5hCVxK3b0dYVTqdwdw_D5Td1P1qmyVw9zwizDvfFjvB3vheWQT_idLsWblp5Y9h8BvdCM7cYLX4F1JP0TZchHKuyrDSTKlTVSVvwTYjVPTE6VZ72gB4ukuzcHDuHlN5OI2ABmB7kw/s320/mom+office2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368359005795568146" border="0" /></a>(this is her new office space for <a href="http://www.designmyyard.com/">designmyyard</a>).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxYrdsuuFBZ_ZDaFr2Mf-_ODW3P02yaslI01ga8ELG-6jnQFY3iBphQysyyWHMgHMozwls8ZYKW-zwCSKsnUNZjOOJzsqWZwczIC5lyM3_B4KOBGIacj_VyvMBTy6SnpymH-iPQd5wuqH/s1600-h/mom+office.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfxYrdsuuFBZ_ZDaFr2Mf-_ODW3P02yaslI01ga8ELG-6jnQFY3iBphQysyyWHMgHMozwls8ZYKW-zwCSKsnUNZjOOJzsqWZwczIC5lyM3_B4KOBGIacj_VyvMBTy6SnpymH-iPQd5wuqH/s320/mom+office.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368358996069339138" border="0" /></a>like daughter..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWpLBMy6HquDLe0ZxyHu8tNwSKpyEhlSpYcy0_GTnVr5XYX4JUhgD35DbnJvxy8nAyaTbwuudD-9u6UaK2vSO52x7ROujqYR1BMlJeuMoypqPgtwQ2QWZdfvsL2EbUkcYg_GhQOGqCSev/s1600-h/desk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWpLBMy6HquDLe0ZxyHu8tNwSKpyEhlSpYcy0_GTnVr5XYX4JUhgD35DbnJvxy8nAyaTbwuudD-9u6UaK2vSO52x7ROujqYR1BMlJeuMoypqPgtwQ2QWZdfvsL2EbUkcYg_GhQOGqCSev/s320/desk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368359014894019314" border="0" /></a>(my room 2007).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII5anT_7cakFy0uX5e7qn7fUKdeetvr-FB31d_O6MoCI4Tc7VjXv7DWPO0yHKK1yeV4kWtI3CERELsegVnVqRo7KW-uVq5RKiRYY5kfe-cMPXEQAAG4PmWIigcv0FJW1HLGxQYAF5v6PL/s1600-h/corner+of+room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII5anT_7cakFy0uX5e7qn7fUKdeetvr-FB31d_O6MoCI4Tc7VjXv7DWPO0yHKK1yeV4kWtI3CERELsegVnVqRo7KW-uVq5RKiRYY5kfe-cMPXEQAAG4PmWIigcv0FJW1HLGxQYAF5v6PL/s320/corner+of+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368359007644850130" border="0" /></a>though i think my yearlong obsession with design blogs has seriously influenced my sense of style. i guess we'll see what post-DC apartment looks like.<br />hopefully something like..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhGXN2-C3DnoMfwQouVDF1jRA69HzLhJeYC-WkP_phu_3XApnLYnGtSaSFt-nPsYx8BaAxfqbZtzpIzWvcApmUbGF4QExAuGN5SUI-PkX6TR_WO9hwYsNsoGn9h0aT_adGBNfT4x_DySC/s1600-h/printmixnoelmarie.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhGXN2-C3DnoMfwQouVDF1jRA69HzLhJeYC-WkP_phu_3XApnLYnGtSaSFt-nPsYx8BaAxfqbZtzpIzWvcApmUbGF4QExAuGN5SUI-PkX6TR_WO9hwYsNsoGn9h0aT_adGBNfT4x_DySC/s320/printmixnoelmarie.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368381523415138530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz-4BEuer8LKL1Rs6CCh5cqLp_cQ7SiCaCvnwAoZvwJ3JbW2zgquRwlrF2vAYrOOSbG-uMatXJFyVWHUbOpAhAbYdZPeIghQleUUjCZG5w6QEsoH9ZlPyDj3wM5uO1e0E02e0uhMNYspn/s1600-h/pretty+wall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz-4BEuer8LKL1Rs6CCh5cqLp_cQ7SiCaCvnwAoZvwJ3JbW2zgquRwlrF2vAYrOOSbG-uMatXJFyVWHUbOpAhAbYdZPeIghQleUUjCZG5w6QEsoH9ZlPyDj3wM5uO1e0E02e0uhMNYspn/s320/pretty+wall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368381518050956242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEdM3t6-BXAYzR6XjaHbelfFlx628G6IAWPjtUuqwPXP20ZkL2erMSxzCNalk4ta4Qj0DW6nd5LoS1CWmlK0TYYKWI5ft2sLmrjYhVjaI7apG83RJCeSnAft6-P8RhCJgbRI-en2-Kc2K/s1600-h/christiestudiopeek4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEdM3t6-BXAYzR6XjaHbelfFlx628G6IAWPjtUuqwPXP20ZkL2erMSxzCNalk4ta4Qj0DW6nd5LoS1CWmlK0TYYKWI5ft2sLmrjYhVjaI7apG83RJCeSnAft6-P8RhCJgbRI-en2-Kc2K/s320/christiestudiopeek4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368381508716213586" border="0" /></a>i've since lost all of those sources. no copyright issues intended.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-76196543819532248762009-08-09T21:19:00.006+08:002009-08-10T00:29:31.259+08:00but another to mean it from the hearti am so ready to go to school tomorrow. three days off is pushing the limits of free time in taoyuan. a bunch of us spent three hours at debbie's this evening, chatting and drinking coffee. it was fun to see jaime and joyce. joyce seems like she grows a few inches every time i see her. she sat with me for about 10 minutes and then she was done. maybe i can find some babies to hold in DC. (i was watching a set of new twins in austin once a week just to reach my baby holding quota).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFQR9rPDAdVybqqNWefWCI8aW4CBvWLEsvaZbevusxe98tF_EcWqTs2PzLnFXUk-MjRRJ9mNrdaOvPubrLXdStmVn_b8fLI_FpExbBDM5AgfL_iooX1I6KFGUO_DWaxMpCC2Ll-bFhCaX/s1600-h/meg+and+hayley2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFQR9rPDAdVybqqNWefWCI8aW4CBvWLEsvaZbevusxe98tF_EcWqTs2PzLnFXUk-MjRRJ9mNrdaOvPubrLXdStmVn_b8fLI_FpExbBDM5AgfL_iooX1I6KFGUO_DWaxMpCC2Ll-bFhCaX/s320/meg+and+hayley2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367956564058626290" border="0" /></a>that's me and hayley. she is so big now! walking and sort of talking.<br /><br />when i was leaving debbie's, i ran into a woman who moved to taoyuan a couple of months ago. turns out she's from houston. it was really nice to hear an honest-to-goodness texan accent, even though my family and i don't have it. it just felt like home. it was funny because she was at debbie's while we were and when she walked by, she set off the mom sensor in my brain. her hair and jewelry and shirt looked a lot like my mom. it made me jump.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZ8KAOr0AjtUK3CHeC_TsGIckLFEuc2iLCz4Yp6enF3yDj1AbFMTFChgRiDv2kTAzIVMegF4zPOaUs6QPWsLh9ZIUlNFvO5HS7nbMvbuY2ttt1G7TogmFpRPUyAxCpX39SBy9PmTsNwkO/s1600-h/ripley+july+09.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZ8KAOr0AjtUK3CHeC_TsGIckLFEuc2iLCz4Yp6enF3yDj1AbFMTFChgRiDv2kTAzIVMegF4zPOaUs6QPWsLh9ZIUlNFvO5HS7nbMvbuY2ttt1G7TogmFpRPUyAxCpX39SBy9PmTsNwkO/s320/ripley+july+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367953273529655682" border="0" /></a>i'm chatting with maj on her new iphone. she's sitting on the porch at the lake. fajjy sent me a picture of ripley all tired out from chasing deer, apparently. a week and a half until i see puptown!<br /><br />p.s. check out <a href="http://woohooreport.com/">the woohoo! report</a>. it's a site with all good news. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=141983990750&h=oO2dP&u=NZN1L&ref=mf">this commencement speech</a> is the best. <blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">"And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done."</span></blockquote><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message"></h3>p.s. no accidents moment of the day:<br />during the tru blood marathon of 2009, we were talking about food that comes from the south like po' boys and ho cakes, and everyone thought ho cakes had a funny name and not many people knew what they were, and we talked about them for probably 30 minutes on and off throughout the day. then i made it the title of my blog that night. so tonight i'm watching top chef masters episode 8 and what is art smith using as the buns for his burgers in this challenge? <span style="font-style: italic;">ho cakes</span>.<br />it's a small thing but it's a big thing.<br /><br />AAAND i was perusing the internet tonight and in the process of following a bunch of random links ended up on <a href="http://woohooreport.com/2009/05/florida-boy-11-walking-to-dc-for-homeless-kids/">this kid's site</a> and he walked from florida to DC to raise awareness about homeless children. now he's collected all of these letters and he wants to get them to president obama. and DUUHHH i'll be in the mail room for 4 months! so i messaged him to see if i could help.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-32221971359405664442009-08-09T02:39:00.005+08:002009-08-09T13:26:43.520+08:00i will never love you morethe first couple of these are pictures from friday when we had typhoon day #1. this picture is my room at 3pm when it was sooo dark outside.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOZKyflu0MksmEVeR6WW06o9qCZiztSAu2FSJkW9I-x6pLgUpBNH3s9zz_F_BtlDjRfoT_x895S50u7D4TS1Q0dzRvU5D2gAYTD0XE4623ArNxw-NR0izNUX95-Otsdo_xHL-2akk-hZM/s1600-h/dark+room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOZKyflu0MksmEVeR6WW06o9qCZiztSAu2FSJkW9I-x6pLgUpBNH3s9zz_F_BtlDjRfoT_x895S50u7D4TS1Q0dzRvU5D2gAYTD0XE4623ArNxw-NR0izNUX95-Otsdo_xHL-2akk-hZM/s400/dark+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828768318425170" border="0" /></a>it was an odd weekend because we had our friday classes canceled on thursday night at around 10 because there was a huge typhoon headed right for us.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMuucKnNbzzWfRPuMqSY78QwShlH0hyiUjLlOEQllOevBVQIJ18rjNIvn1v_10BWQu-vj1BNgDpVGyvwz2gmG2zDpN9evtOVTVH2ZMGANk2YlMtfFMAyFe62-JMRhYUd1iUFiTZeP-gV5/s1600-h/typhoon3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMuucKnNbzzWfRPuMqSY78QwShlH0hyiUjLlOEQllOevBVQIJ18rjNIvn1v_10BWQu-vj1BNgDpVGyvwz2gmG2zDpN9evtOVTVH2ZMGANk2YlMtfFMAyFe62-JMRhYUd1iUFiTZeP-gV5/s400/typhoon3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828766186020322" border="0" /></a>then we had the tru blood marathon, and no one wanted to go to work on saturday because we thought it was going to be crazy windy/rainy. so we got a call around midnight letting us know we wouldn't have class on saturday.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1O0J-c7ZafFCy-jG9EjQFkKqWJd-2g-hq-1A4HpK2q91V0BzRv2zbEwjWqINrAPqvIQ3mOf97HvIAWgHxSP97BTpVibw-1BjKHg8IDCeDnjPQLRziEDjPzN3NETEDcyiSIWQPjq5dh1a/s1600-h/typhoon2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1O0J-c7ZafFCy-jG9EjQFkKqWJd-2g-hq-1A4HpK2q91V0BzRv2zbEwjWqINrAPqvIQ3mOf97HvIAWgHxSP97BTpVibw-1BjKHg8IDCeDnjPQLRziEDjPzN3NETEDcyiSIWQPjq5dh1a/s400/typhoon2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828756012746002" border="0" /></a>saturday was pretty long. i slept in late, went to lunch, tea and the stationery store with tess because she's going to canada today and i'm not going to see her again in taiwan. sad! tess is so much fun. she's girly and fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxI4Dv1g7AGJamGUo3VgPgjhWrj67Z0r4sHaRR_qvEsRBEexr_HKixXwWWGYVqr9YPmLztJer0A4YOrmO_C2fAjXpl888t64BxTmGRCFZcvSVuxmbmkp9rSoJUrhIeUF7LIz5Ppgrc3cZ/s1600-h/typhoon1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxI4Dv1g7AGJamGUo3VgPgjhWrj67Z0r4sHaRR_qvEsRBEexr_HKixXwWWGYVqr9YPmLztJer0A4YOrmO_C2fAjXpl888t64BxTmGRCFZcvSVuxmbmkp9rSoJUrhIeUF7LIz5Ppgrc3cZ/s400/typhoon1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828751851499714" border="0" /></a>look what i found at the stationery store:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6-lZhyHcQIHs5TaXX9J6WUFjgO9DGK6cuycd3emPxIvZlZYW6zwsJD8lZnWSL8aSVPNRBCHvVs6TEYPPNw9DmKtcCjCqmE8BIRIBhTx8yuxEK6PG0oF3aNHzjP3w6Inzv-NeBdry0fSt/s1600-h/puzzle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6-lZhyHcQIHs5TaXX9J6WUFjgO9DGK6cuycd3emPxIvZlZYW6zwsJD8lZnWSL8aSVPNRBCHvVs6TEYPPNw9DmKtcCjCqmE8BIRIBhTx8yuxEK6PG0oF3aNHzjP3w6Inzv-NeBdry0fSt/s400/puzzle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828183710794386" border="0" /></a>i've been dreaming about taiwan puzzles for a long time, i'm glad i found one. taoyuan county is that blue one at the top.<br /><br />last night tess, katie, justin (katie's bf who's visiting) and jimmie made me delicious veggie dinner! mango salsa, black bean burgers, cabbage salad and chips. i brought cherries for dessert. it was so yummy. it makes me consider going veg if i could teach myself how to make food that tasted that good.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzkFZWihuTeZBI_X2n4-ng1JyNSTHKgbtfM5xmIgv0ONE5qYpzRVhvOxSo1vvSQQjloZ6It5JeuyZPqqz1GtcyLxqYL520KYGsWPAjPjLLcAvQ1n1W5-RFy_KOfTWP5Hz6ktuJHTelnpQ/s1600-h/planner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzkFZWihuTeZBI_X2n4-ng1JyNSTHKgbtfM5xmIgv0ONE5qYpzRVhvOxSo1vvSQQjloZ6It5JeuyZPqqz1GtcyLxqYL520KYGsWPAjPjLLcAvQ1n1W5-RFy_KOfTWP5Hz6ktuJHTelnpQ/s400/planner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828175116886978" border="0" /></a>tess bought/made me some presents. this egg planner. it is so asian. the inside is even better.<br />and this picture frame! it's filled with stickers from school and 7-11, and funny asian things and a picture of our realtor, eddie. aaand it's bedazzled.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVht9txcnDnhFhjbhyphenhyphenCDFkRE9EKsLgvtEPiewuXxEfmrKw2eOt_kvrQITfNisCNK-ufUFJSjE-dOlF6XalEW5XGj1joyxuprnXXzcISthHs1lBPeaGWtodjVRj3V09cQDeMn7kvJUf-Ahj/s1600-h/picture+frame.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVht9txcnDnhFhjbhyphenhyphenCDFkRE9EKsLgvtEPiewuXxEfmrKw2eOt_kvrQITfNisCNK-ufUFJSjE-dOlF6XalEW5XGj1joyxuprnXXzcISthHs1lBPeaGWtodjVRj3V09cQDeMn7kvJUf-Ahj/s400/picture+frame.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828174056102498" border="0" /></a>it says <span style="font-style: italic;">peng you</span> which is 'friend'. i'm going to miss her! but her parents were both in the airline industry so she flies all around for cheap, so there will surely be a trip to texas in her future. love tess!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH6t1A8xnP5kEdV4G9Ce15LaWnj0THFFFsBjB5NXf3yo2rvfCqGxB3fwizy-D5rt36Wlqo3NNc1WftuUYbcJXv7S6F9d2Y4xHpjDnjHqh-VoiSHOUKklwe22ZusVDFn1ITrXbjiqHxL7Z/s1600-h/meg+tess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH6t1A8xnP5kEdV4G9Ce15LaWnj0THFFFsBjB5NXf3yo2rvfCqGxB3fwizy-D5rt36Wlqo3NNc1WftuUYbcJXv7S6F9d2Y4xHpjDnjHqh-VoiSHOUKklwe22ZusVDFn1ITrXbjiqHxL7Z/s400/meg+tess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367828163332551602" border="0" /></a>p.s. matt wore the thai fisherman pants to a play downtown and jeff wore them to a concert. i love my brothers.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-82255143663444246822009-08-08T03:04:00.004+08:002009-08-08T03:27:40.259+08:00ho cakesyou can't judge me for what i'm about to write.<br />we had a typhoon day today so we spent TEN HOURSSS watching a tru blood marathon. it's an HBO show about vampires and humans coexisting. anyway we started watching it at 5pm and we just finished at <span style="font-style: italic;">three in the morning</span>. i think i got off the couch for a total of 20 minutes in the last 10 hours. at least danielle, natalie, alan, martin and olenka were also there for most of it. only danielle and i made it to the very end.<br /><br />look what made it to texas.. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIv1RV2rgLeRvWfDS-XoG20GhLWIXUIf8gILMpHyW11cMKVenN5iNlgnlbAWsb4plsLSaZotiOPaUgQueB2Iag9wb4aBD8Z_6Ay0cGmPODJBLLmmbygMFQQog20Wh-uJWUnqK5oVGo7CG/s1600-h/Fisherman+pants.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIv1RV2rgLeRvWfDS-XoG20GhLWIXUIf8gILMpHyW11cMKVenN5iNlgnlbAWsb4plsLSaZotiOPaUgQueB2Iag9wb4aBD8Z_6Ay0cGmPODJBLLmmbygMFQQog20Wh-uJWUnqK5oVGo7CG/s400/Fisherman+pants.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367300128934857266" border="0" /></a>thai fisherman pants! awesome. that package went sooo fast. i think i mailed it last thursday.<br /><br />we have another typhoon day tomorrow. we haven't gotten much rain today, it's supposed to hit in the next couple of hours. should be crazy. we're watching the first 7 episodes of season 2 tomorrow.<br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KrZkaj37kA0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KrZkaj37kA0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />i could listen to that song all day.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-66190920581023238832009-08-07T01:50:00.003+08:002009-08-07T01:59:35.350+08:00grantedwe have a typhoon day friday! no school!<br />driving to school today was crazy. last year, i was still taking the bus, so this time around was a whole different thing. there was a weird layer of yellow stuff on the roads that i later figured out was sand from the ocean water? or something. anyway it was pelting me as i was trying to drive over this bridge on the way to school and i was in a mixture of giggles and screaming as water was really hurting my arms as it hit my thin little stupid north face rain jacket, and my helmet turned out to be completely useless. water was dripping right from the top and hitting my nose which was just making me laugh.<br />after successfully crossing under a bridge through 6 inches of water, i was just happy to have made it to school/the kuo's, where i knew i could seek refuge. my shirt was soaked right down the middle where it leaked at the zipper, so mr. kuo gave me a polyester baby blue zip up polo to wear. so funny.<br /><br />anyway we found out we have no school tomorrow at like 9pm tonight so everyone ran to 7-11 to buy wine and then we started watching movies. it's 2am and i'm exhausted so i'm headed to bed. tomorrow we're watching a marathon of true blood, some vampire show. i love typhoon days.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-33573083909243556032009-08-06T10:49:00.003+08:002009-08-06T10:51:33.767+08:00typhoonin'dear typhoon morakot,<br />please live up to the hype that we've been feeding to the new teachers since october. i expect at least one typhoon day. preferably saturday.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33q6Pg0CaE3FKOV346B55kWbkRaLNNZ6r14PQ-gQ2dCbe_l25qAB1jhMEniuDf9jR7Y9lrfpvc7yTDiQkPiytWYEKdvBbAiT18pbmw_cyFkJlWcfUwAtLpcW5a4SKs3KuFZjd81rXytHm/s1600-h/typhoon+morakot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33q6Pg0CaE3FKOV346B55kWbkRaLNNZ6r14PQ-gQ2dCbe_l25qAB1jhMEniuDf9jR7Y9lrfpvc7yTDiQkPiytWYEKdvBbAiT18pbmw_cyFkJlWcfUwAtLpcW5a4SKs3KuFZjd81rXytHm/s400/typhoon+morakot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366677665040475458" border="0" /></a>sincerely,<br />meganmeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-71150017299249365142009-08-05T22:34:00.006+08:002009-08-06T00:01:08.051+08:00save mei've had a headache all day and it's making me minchy so this will be short.<br /><br />..did some laundry and started to sort through what's staying in taiwan and what's coming home. i didn't get very far. i think i'm just going to see how much i can cram into my suitcases and then edit based on what won't fit. imagine packing your life for a year into two suitcases. clothes, shoes, decorations, a quilt, a duvet, a pillow, books.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL9lfwTc1_FSFN4yQb5jQdfsno-8lKwdkAs0IfpFBHi2PpnWEYoRX73GGCrVuvBYlk1Hqa9jX4ptcrmgxfI6HEEN8PszzCOYxM-kPPDLSChMbthZSeSjRWmECPdeb011LyGeIFhc-qILB/s1600-h/before2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL9lfwTc1_FSFN4yQb5jQdfsno-8lKwdkAs0IfpFBHi2PpnWEYoRX73GGCrVuvBYlk1Hqa9jX4ptcrmgxfI6HEEN8PszzCOYxM-kPPDLSChMbthZSeSjRWmECPdeb011LyGeIFhc-qILB/s320/before2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366492008328209986" border="0" /></a>before<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW-VuBz18jCASLBSgpbLbvGbP-1A56QzLQAbpnB1fL8jC2VG4qYo8ot3XC-K19nDZSWjwFr034jvCEcvRQb-xtGOeYYYZyOEqXyJ6yTAmowqFMJOA2lGEVNcOZ_nC4_Vne5yDBIFnpzc_/s1600-h/after2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW-VuBz18jCASLBSgpbLbvGbP-1A56QzLQAbpnB1fL8jC2VG4qYo8ot3XC-K19nDZSWjwFr034jvCEcvRQb-xtGOeYYYZyOEqXyJ6yTAmowqFMJOA2lGEVNcOZ_nC4_Vne5yDBIFnpzc_/s320/after2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366491992937873122" border="0" /></a>after (yes, after.)<br />i brought the kuo's a custard apple, a bag of tangerines and one of the bags of tea i bought in ying ge. i learned that custard apples need to be refrigerated to taste good so we'll eat that tomorrow, you apparently only eat tangerines if you're sick, but we broke that rule today, and i shouldn't buy them tea because i get ripped off. i said <span style="font-style: italic;">meiguanxi</span> to that and we just ate it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFslTSzFiNgPChFB35TQU5qy3YrUwk0hA-bNVXBRR2n_qHcE0mymdlLet3s_a6qgfxPGKLV_82SIP-knDzhkE5aLgIFziY6ght0Wc78Nu7uPE1X7dtbD1gmZJPNeT8LcoGoO5Z55hfdW9/s1600-h/before1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFslTSzFiNgPChFB35TQU5qy3YrUwk0hA-bNVXBRR2n_qHcE0mymdlLet3s_a6qgfxPGKLV_82SIP-knDzhkE5aLgIFziY6ght0Wc78Nu7uPE1X7dtbD1gmZJPNeT8LcoGoO5Z55hfdW9/s320/before1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366492267801927218" border="0" /></a>before<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_9ZaDoXPoGZ7HCKVQAYz69o9lCnXuBol2sq2M3DUy45Hc5efRhVov2L6uInEOf5Frv4P6piaQZGxsLPLbn82DgSTo9Ez0Rh4KQdZZQY5ag33_tQRY5MvVAHPeuUGBn0S8yXRkxdl-mTF/s1600-h/after+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_9ZaDoXPoGZ7HCKVQAYz69o9lCnXuBol2sq2M3DUy45Hc5efRhVov2L6uInEOf5Frv4P6piaQZGxsLPLbn82DgSTo9Ez0Rh4KQdZZQY5ag33_tQRY5MvVAHPeuUGBn0S8yXRkxdl-mTF/s320/after+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366492001951171362" border="0" /></a>after<br />mr. kuo made me tuna salad. ingredients: canned tuna packed in oil, coarsely chopped white onion. onion to fish ratio: 2:1. green onion. soy sauce. <span style="font-style: italic;">sugar</span>.<br />i am a pro at forcing myself to swallow things that i wouldn't usually eat though. am i a soy sauce and sugar tuna salad convert? no. but did it taste kind of good by the 4th bite? yes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Kx2b3xedPgIhcZH3QAUttkrI5yijznv4TpmIU6HQb-9KDb8KDm0d4e66eSa9YbSV3o7pOOPatRISOjyIgkNRIpej-lio0F-iMXgrUwmP5Dm4CdLyiBSXV-y2E4ksyRFa2qxMdzCRNhwR/s1600-h/before3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Kx2b3xedPgIhcZH3QAUttkrI5yijznv4TpmIU6HQb-9KDb8KDm0d4e66eSa9YbSV3o7pOOPatRISOjyIgkNRIpej-lio0F-iMXgrUwmP5Dm4CdLyiBSXV-y2E4ksyRFa2qxMdzCRNhwR/s320/before3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366492002993608722" border="0" /></a>before<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1IuDkg5v99NgbDhaRR2cP9UCar5c4k2j_iHXFGUo0ZCLTrrSIzPIJ-Y-kTBgj0cmBXDAZS1t6DcOYmWWIfpS-IQxHAr21jIolzhyphenhyphen9RavCV65dt2LVPMURuhqvF4tUf5QCRkeTQU68lvY/s1600-h/after3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1IuDkg5v99NgbDhaRR2cP9UCar5c4k2j_iHXFGUo0ZCLTrrSIzPIJ-Y-kTBgj0cmBXDAZS1t6DcOYmWWIfpS-IQxHAr21jIolzhyphenhyphen9RavCV65dt2LVPMURuhqvF4tUf5QCRkeTQU68lvY/s320/after3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366491986489940802" border="0" /></a>after<br />i forgot about my chinese lesson with linda tonight which bums me out. i look forward to that all week. i think the aleve is kicking in!<br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5233789&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5233789&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/5233789">iQ font - When driving becomes writing / Full making of</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/wireless">wireless</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>. this is aaaamaaaazingggg. from <a href="http://katepruitt.blogspot.com/">katepruitt's blog</a>.<br /></p>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-91312370794306138992009-08-04T22:58:00.005+08:002009-08-05T00:24:49.869+08:00she's got everything i needmy mom got an iphone. i think this means she can't make fun of the faj for his blackberry ways. we'll have a contest for who can drive one handed the best in a few months.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV8esQC6t8qcABdp_f-rPZhyn7sjJBiVl0T2OS3qiwGn6PLUUDj27E3xpPHsGXgIU7Td3GVIiKxoaB4-fUnTbYnrSV2Q0QrpJKPjoZ_X8PUFfmUDkLg378nqBjiCXI9B1EQSj5W1BcSUq/s1600-h/ohmygod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV8esQC6t8qcABdp_f-rPZhyn7sjJBiVl0T2OS3qiwGn6PLUUDj27E3xpPHsGXgIU7Td3GVIiKxoaB4-fUnTbYnrSV2Q0QrpJKPjoZ_X8PUFfmUDkLg378nqBjiCXI9B1EQSj5W1BcSUq/s320/ohmygod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366132066926143778" border="0" /></a>(the story of this stamp is at the bottom of the page so just <span style="font-style: italic;">deng yi xia</span>.)<br />today was super fun and super long, so here are the highlights..<br />alex and i went to yingge this morning. i really enjoy alex, and riding on the back of his scooter is <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-only-time-it-will-go-by.html">so nice</a>. we were having the funniest luck. he doesn't like to acknowledge mistakes, but our mistakes today were what made the day really interesting. we got on a train that neither of us realized wasn't the kind of local train that stops frequently, so we zoomed right by the yingge stop. then we were waiting on the wrong platform at banciao station and would have just kept going toward taipei if i wasn't so lovely and attentive.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2tUtiSeu5wszTM_WElTbCL49xmKilO3KvEnxCCfOp5Q3gdjVL9QIhEg1f8U1ceVj0C-GKCPc6uEEn_5rrMSIirh4noKMeqd7vjncCy-bxahbtgsQ18Omzrgs4OSmnoCidWWmMq8eAssy/s1600-h/gogo+stamp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2tUtiSeu5wszTM_WElTbCL49xmKilO3KvEnxCCfOp5Q3gdjVL9QIhEg1f8U1ceVj0C-GKCPc6uEEn_5rrMSIirh4noKMeqd7vjncCy-bxahbtgsQ18Omzrgs4OSmnoCidWWmMq8eAssy/s320/gogo+stamp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366132058184905250" border="0" /></a>thennn we walked through downtown where all of the little vendors were set up with their baskets of produce and fish swimming around. once we got to the top, nothing was open. it was sweltering hot and we just walked around in circles pouring sweat until we stopped for some emergency ice cream and then ended up making some ceramic cups at one of the shops. the whole town is famous for pottery, so a couple of the places offer informal classes or just the opportunity to use a potter's wheel to make your own stuff. the girl showed us how to do it (all in chinese, i'll add) and then left us to our own devices. my previous ceramics experience didn't really help much. alex did awesome though--the wheel can be really tricky.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKfBzn2ZtKalMcZEE_TaIvs22VUZrtGidPiLSN8HV0ysFkYegzxjI6JPuRqU8V4KjUkRc3lQwPbXR1qLpBgIQb_-9Xv5hqU11zTT4aEfuxxpa3lbhQNguJIEfYWkYO4yTi-RrZotqQcB1/s1600-h/tea+package.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKfBzn2ZtKalMcZEE_TaIvs22VUZrtGidPiLSN8HV0ysFkYegzxjI6JPuRqU8V4KjUkRc3lQwPbXR1qLpBgIQb_-9Xv5hqU11zTT4aEfuxxpa3lbhQNguJIEfYWkYO4yTi-RrZotqQcB1/s320/tea+package.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366140545575180642" border="0" /></a>our ying ge day ended with a tea shop where alex chatted like a pro with the tea shop woman and i did my best to catch anything i could. i think i understood about half. the most interesting part was learning the proper tea etiquette.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP04W8gRTWNHN7OpfL8RT-EonZcFw2NoK6f_wxsNI-bb5-dvPIbDexG5Ap0_m0tU1Yr69khdeLgU94Dd0-qOGscbFinDdHyiDbeLzoXQCErwhqFKIQPF404KPmgMtAwQXE8tCPy45UwAg8/s1600-h/alishan+tea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP04W8gRTWNHN7OpfL8RT-EonZcFw2NoK6f_wxsNI-bb5-dvPIbDexG5Ap0_m0tU1Yr69khdeLgU94Dd0-qOGscbFinDdHyiDbeLzoXQCErwhqFKIQPF404KPmgMtAwQXE8tCPy45UwAg8/s320/alishan+tea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366142583539319650" border="0" /></a>(this is leila's picture of a tea farm (?) in the Ruili/Alishan area.)<br />1. put dry, shrunken tea leaves into small cup<br />2. steep in boiling water for 30 seconds<br />3. pour hot tea all over the tea pot and cups to wash them<br />4. refill cup with boiling water and dump out, this time to rinse tea leaves<br />5. refill cup with boiling water and this time you get to drink it!<br />6. pour from little cup to strainer to pot to little cup that your drinking cup goes upside down on top of so you can smell the tea and then taste it<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHx7iQ11p0zGPyJDpbUCtvzrpV3t7zJ2TlsxKm8xAKa4Om5K_RElCQIvbJS-__bhLaw4lVoQMnXBl0ivZOsUGFQGrkngzV1Uz155YMlGuhWlmTvFdDfGUn0F0kjSdfke7aq_JN_ZrAew47/s1600-h/alishan+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHx7iQ11p0zGPyJDpbUCtvzrpV3t7zJ2TlsxKm8xAKa4Om5K_RElCQIvbJS-__bhLaw4lVoQMnXBl0ivZOsUGFQGrkngzV1Uz155YMlGuhWlmTvFdDfGUn0F0kjSdfke7aq_JN_ZrAew47/s320/alishan+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366142579255160994" border="0" /></a>the tea i bought is from alishan which is where dawn, leila and dena went for vacation not too long ago. i'll be thinking of those tea fields every time i sip that tea.<br /><br />after that, i spent 10 minutes at home and headed to da chu to go swimming with mr. kuo, his sister and nephew. it's funny that we've spent hundreds of hours together but never outside of their restaurant. we picked up his [taiwanese only speaking] mom and the three of us went to his sisters. he told them i was an english teacher <span style="font-style: italic;">andd a swimming instructor</span> which is a little more than a white lie. then they wanted me to teach the nephew how to improve his swimming strokes. luckily, my blonde-girl-in-a-ruffly-bikini trick worked well enough to distract them from the fact that i don't know how to do any fancy swimming strokes, and the afternoon was a success. we stopped at a fried dumpling place on the way home and i think i ate 14 dumplings in about 3 minutes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivynR9dkqhzvJLF9Cmbc0pCiMe-7TRW4u3UDN4qh-K9R8X1PzuJr9q9D1cRNghNHl63_tqSzfzZCVbwiIJufKK-yRrP3qsnU36hUBP5y0DuqiIurCT0j7rvVuOUut1GWUraB-fw3eCoVbi/s1600-h/gogo+stamp2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivynR9dkqhzvJLF9Cmbc0pCiMe-7TRW4u3UDN4qh-K9R8X1PzuJr9q9D1cRNghNHl63_tqSzfzZCVbwiIJufKK-yRrP3qsnU36hUBP5y0DuqiIurCT0j7rvVuOUut1GWUraB-fw3eCoVbi/s320/gogo+stamp2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366132064807066530" border="0" /></a>after class (which was the last class with my coteacher, angel. she's going to canada for her masters. we did the QA 'what do you like about angel?' and the kids wrote their answers in a card for her. sad! fun!), after picking up dinner, i went to family mart to cash in these stickers that would get me a free stamp. this girl with blue hair was waiting to buy stuff so i said <span style="font-style: italic;">i like your hair</span> and asked the family mart dude if 15 stickers was enough to get me a stamp. he said no, i need 20, but since i just told that girl i like her hair, and since he likes my hair, he'll just give me 5 stickers and not make me buy anything. love taiwan.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbvRqaKejirCRj6BQMTDgHV-Qo0eQdoEwtOYvpjMpchUeiBF2PiGFnDP8SvEzXNQX4mhRW76a6v5NJ5vZprR_V617ld5WeYp-A2Fj4HFGHtQOSyElVFp7ZkpEdyZzSXQySqpQDoShwzYW/s1600-h/cucumber+salad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbvRqaKejirCRj6BQMTDgHV-Qo0eQdoEwtOYvpjMpchUeiBF2PiGFnDP8SvEzXNQX4mhRW76a6v5NJ5vZprR_V617ld5WeYp-A2Fj4HFGHtQOSyElVFp7ZkpEdyZzSXQySqpQDoShwzYW/s320/cucumber+salad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366140230366262002" border="0" /></a>cucumber salad that tastes juuust like aunt carols.<br /><br />p.s. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=109137792206&h=y0jmP&u=GHo-u&ref=mf">this video</a> is what inspired me to apply for the internship in the office of correspondence. it is awesome.<br /><br />and the o'sullivans have arrived in taichung and <a href="http://osullivansabroad.blogspot.com/">their blog</a> is soo fabulous. it'll probably make you cry and definitely make you laugh.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-35597963491194206032009-08-03T22:18:00.003+08:002009-08-03T22:31:22.388+08:00if you cut it down, then you'll never knowthese are some of jimmie's pictures of xiao wu lai that i stole from facebook :)<br />today was very quiet and slow but the funniest part was after our demo tonight during the parents meeting. i had to go around the room and give all of the parents my comments on their kid and after that, it was time for them to ask questions. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyqSl3C9PzPghJixz5mQEcENK9UxX7QeJUIsI1SEOFIUViee7uZ0Nbkfd3FNR8RFkP-vs7pPf5PkUvUKAa4nIQMIuM6N5ZHHHqhV52OL2WuCqlilztr4VjMW7N62zuzzFMDJVVvOfBZN3/s1600-h/snaaakes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyqSl3C9PzPghJixz5mQEcENK9UxX7QeJUIsI1SEOFIUViee7uZ0Nbkfd3FNR8RFkP-vs7pPf5PkUvUKAa4nIQMIuM6N5ZHHHqhV52OL2WuCqlilztr4VjMW7N62zuzzFMDJVVvOfBZN3/s320/snaaakes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744530406544418" border="0" /></a>the first thing one of the moms asked was 'is megan getting married?!' because a long time ago, i told carol the story of allen's girlfriend proposal with <a href="http://blondeintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/05/touch-of-your-hand.html">the little black box</a> and my kids just saw me down on one knee and assumed i was getting married. the rumor never really died, and the moms wanted to know what the deal was.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxZM0o3BpIBtc_-jPWATB6Hi8ZujKyCzbKN7wkRBoL0fh0ocoI6F5oYU19wRNAGuzrl0MeZ01GpUOkXwfbELr2hun4dwR9f7BN7GNgS4gAAfpQl_t3mtSPy6JKhEx7C4BVgxbLDPNVylP/s1600-h/dolphin+again.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxZM0o3BpIBtc_-jPWATB6Hi8ZujKyCzbKN7wkRBoL0fh0ocoI6F5oYU19wRNAGuzrl0MeZ01GpUOkXwfbELr2hun4dwR9f7BN7GNgS4gAAfpQl_t3mtSPy6JKhEx7C4BVgxbLDPNVylP/s320/dolphin+again.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744523389517042" border="0" /></a>they brought a blow up dolphin. pretty fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb_FoSPk112XVh8WOIElO1ADYC5rDqTHFySrjuB5V4y_X0zk2d6MGRlSFoXQv3WcOJjjJSMzUgtwHhrewT4p84UyqfywK7pmC97PxWhMs4M2GagCacNo5f4HS78kyNyKmwPKdB7I8wJjx/s1600-h/xwl+meg+danielle+rock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb_FoSPk112XVh8WOIElO1ADYC5rDqTHFySrjuB5V4y_X0zk2d6MGRlSFoXQv3WcOJjjJSMzUgtwHhrewT4p84UyqfywK7pmC97PxWhMs4M2GagCacNo5f4HS78kyNyKmwPKdB7I8wJjx/s320/xwl+meg+danielle+rock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744520198969090" border="0" /></a>balancing on a rock, which was much harder than it looks.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk2OPtXt_SG48gCx8PCoGQBzHe8AWBQpA6Zf5aIpDM90HBg98X5DjSN7hYo0tTU3kjXypQLDRt1qkHpvAjMqMPEi4p3U_hNlhDT6w2yqE6LDqirDhRo4rjI4aHqYid8bM0CMHa-0T2DZo/s1600-h/wu+lai+swimmin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk2OPtXt_SG48gCx8PCoGQBzHe8AWBQpA6Zf5aIpDM90HBg98X5DjSN7hYo0tTU3kjXypQLDRt1qkHpvAjMqMPEi4p3U_hNlhDT6w2yqE6LDqirDhRo4rjI4aHqYid8bM0CMHa-0T2DZo/s320/wu+lai+swimmin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744517208373154" border="0" /></a>the kids did so well though. their pronunciation was awesome, they remembered their stories, they were speaking loudly. when it was time for them to make sentences they could do it without any help. they were great. i have a special thing for this class because it's the first class i ever taught and they were little teeny babies then and they've grown up so much and done so well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YOmvO3myOG6QUl_uw3Wj7JNTqvI17b4W-chCdL7kuSOvDeHOjqASFQ0RQcNoDs3gsaEKWSnMScDWi_bYL0M-By0wPUVR3xNvYJZOI67yXaHbyoFSLBChmAGAMdhOf1RyO3wPOkMaKkx_/s1600-h/mcdonalds+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YOmvO3myOG6QUl_uw3Wj7JNTqvI17b4W-chCdL7kuSOvDeHOjqASFQ0RQcNoDs3gsaEKWSnMScDWi_bYL0M-By0wPUVR3xNvYJZOI67yXaHbyoFSLBChmAGAMdhOf1RyO3wPOkMaKkx_/s320/mcdonalds+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744533603662594" border="0" /></a>meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4076323991151771424.post-83998534620376452009-08-03T00:16:00.007+08:002009-08-03T00:51:01.990+08:00where this road i'm headed down might leadi'm going to join a motorcycle gang. from now on, i only want to drive in packs. it is so much more fun than driving alone. 9 of us drove to xiao wu lai (little waterfall) today to swim/hang out on some rocks. <a href="http://texanintaiwan.blogspot.com/2009/08/did-that-sign-say-xiao-ren-guo.html">jimmie's pictures</a> are on her blog.<br /><br />the drive was easy, only a couple of turns. well. a couple of real turns where you change roads. a million actual turns. the whole thing was through this neighboring city, bade (pronounced bah duh) and then over a beautiful, giant (windy like you wouldn't believe) bridge and then up a winding mountain road. my 50cc scooter wasn't totally loving it, but we made it. everyone else drives way faster than my usual 50km/hr, andd my brakes are a liiittle iffy, so i wasn't so sure how it was going to do.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PG2c0LNPFFwytpyo4VzdXldMm_H3FMnjzxTXmM-AcBi2vNXW88Ft0TcxESLL46-o7tVuXgJLt7CXiGizv_0VaA2Y1ocShdcv3FhbkLQUTIkuL7ZQ7QZDWx3Oz2odjxMZQYwMTYVzcSAA/s1600-h/xiao+wu+lai2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PG2c0LNPFFwytpyo4VzdXldMm_H3FMnjzxTXmM-AcBi2vNXW88Ft0TcxESLL46-o7tVuXgJLt7CXiGizv_0VaA2Y1ocShdcv3FhbkLQUTIkuL7ZQ7QZDWx3Oz2odjxMZQYwMTYVzcSAA/s320/xiao+wu+lai2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365404590498856626" border="0" /></a>(from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/goteamjosh/">goteamjosh </a>on flickr).<br /><br />you forget how beautiful this country is when you spend all your time in industrial taoyuan. the mountains in the north are so pretty. i was all clinched up and my abs, arms and legs were sore driving up the mountain and then i peeked over the side and felt like a dummy for spending so much energy freaking out about the drive when we were in such a pretty place.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lB8eGRPJkeErMhTCWT-V39D6t-8CxK3EhBgpapsRCWg7c-uuuxOEWXZ_R9fjBv4rPHzj0_sD8UTDiprKRt-b0kKw7r7TAE94jTJdgbA7CIT7iuEDDzfngi3wMdBEEANu6GVAltWpoiPH/s1600-h/xiao+wu+lai.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lB8eGRPJkeErMhTCWT-V39D6t-8CxK3EhBgpapsRCWg7c-uuuxOEWXZ_R9fjBv4rPHzj0_sD8UTDiprKRt-b0kKw7r7TAE94jTJdgbA7CIT7iuEDDzfngi3wMdBEEANu6GVAltWpoiPH/s320/xiao+wu+lai.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365404191294739778" border="0" /></a>(from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/radioado/">radio ado</a> on flickr).<br />that's where we were swimming. can't beat cold water after a sweaty drive and then eating warm picnic lunch when you're really hungry. it was like the asian version of going to dairy queen after a <a href="http://www.schlitterbahn.com/nb/">schlitterbahn </a>trip (they opened one in KANSAS?).<br /><br />on the way home, there was some kind of parade that went for several miles and it had something to do with some kind of .. now i can't remember if we call them gods or not. well, something that people were praying to. there was music and lights and big ornate carriages and incense and general mayhem. i'll have to get the story on that tomorrow.<br /><br />tess, jimmie and i went for leg massages this evening and it was a perfect end to a really good day. reflexology hurts. and my scooter was jammed between 2 others when we finished so my massage dude had to help me get it out (which has been the case all 4 times i've gone there, for one reason or another). in the process, i smashed my big toe into a neighboring scooters kick stand. ouch.meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12842635776847061413noreply@blogger.com0