You plan your escape at the end of the day, take what you say, start fading away

Current music: Hair by Lady Gaga

Long story short, my graduation show went very well. The bosses that matter seemed to really like it, and it was a wonderful last week of school not having to worry about it anymore. My last few days were spent giving the kids busywork and watching Disney movies. Not a bad way to round out the year. I'm going to miss my last year kids though. All things considered, they were a great bunch of kids.

But on to more interesting things.

I was granted two glorious weeks off after the semester was done. And since my friend Jane has the same vacation, it was determined that we should spend it sightseeing around Taiwan, as neither of us really had the chance to go see it yet. And our friend Wen had the same time off, so she wanted to come with us as well, which turned out to be a godsend, because I don't know how we would have survived without a Chinese speaker.

Current music: The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars

Anyways....after some preliminary planning, it was suggested to us by Jane's and my Chinese tutor that we should consider taking the trip on scooters. This had never occurred to us, as the longest any of us had driven on a scooter was about 40 minutes, and to drive around the country would take innumerable hours on end. On the other hand, we would be able to see the landscape and scenery in a completely different way than from the window of a car or a bus. So, with absolutely no idea of what we were doing, we decided that scooters it was.

It was determined by people that knew what they were doing that my personal scooter should be able to handle the terrain we would we heading to, as it has a fair bit of power and is pretty big. However, since Jane's is little, with about 100cc to it and Wen doesn't own one, the other two had to rent them. So, on the day we were to leave, which was immediately after I finished my last day of work, we headed to the rental shop, where the girls were given two brand new, beautiful scooters, with much more firepower than my broken old steed could ever muster. But I was determined to put him to the test.

Current music: Another Pilot by Hey Rosetta

Our first day was spent getting to Kaohsiung, the second biggest city in Taiwan, which is only about 50 minutes south, since none of us had driven scooters on the highway before, and it was dark. So, after some serious windy and dark motoring, we found a place to stay in Kaohsiung, and found a delicious Outback steakhouse for dinner. And after a long walk around the harbor, we crashed at the first of many hostels on our trek.

Next time on Jess's Scooter Adventure: Day 2, how Wen's GPS saved our lives, how I almost got skin cancer, how we ate warthog, and how I nearly kamikaze'd an aboriginal BBQ place.

Thing I miss of the day: Being somewhere where a shrimp allergy isn't considered super abnormal. Apparently it's a western thing. Darn.

The waiting is the hardest part...

I've recently returned from an amazing vacation which I will describe in detail once I return to Tainan. I am currently in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's southern-most city,visiting my friend Elyssa, who recently moved here.

I will put up pictures then too.

Later,
Jess

You don't even know my name, but you know every constellation..

Current music: 7 Stars by the Apples in Stereo

It's only getting warmer here...

The Jump Start graduation show is set to go on for tomorrow morning. It has become such a prevalent thing at work that I have reached a new level of not caring anymore. The school has spent a fortune on booking a large showroom at the Shangri-La, one of the fanciest hotels in the city. The whole thing is completely unnecessary and excessive, but education is a business here, and pandering to the parents is what gets kids to the school. Not any actual English skills, but their ability to memorize, sing and dance. Ridiculous. I'm sure it will go fine, and I will report once it's done.

I get two glorious weeks off midway through August. I have decided to finally travel Taiwan with a few of my friends. We are likely going to start off in the north of Taiwan and make our way to some of the islands. In Taiwanese culture, August is ghost month, which means that evil spirits are supposed to be more prevalent in the world for a time. Therefore, the locals are less likely to travel, so hopefully the most popular vacation spots won't be too busy.

Current music: Houses by Great Northern.

The semester is finally coming to an end. Although I am excited to be beginning another year, I am sad to see the changes that are happening, both with my kids graduating from kindergarten and the changes in staff. Hopefully I will have as much fun in the upcoming year as I have this past one, but it is depressing to see my friends leaving.

Typhoon season is upon us again, so it can suddenly start to downpour at the drop of a hat, and end just as easily. I just got back from stocking up on food in case it suddenly typhoons for days on end.

I have to head to Chinese class in a few minutes. My tutor Kevin is amazingly patient with me, as I probably don't study as much as I should. But my Mandarin is chugging along and I can say very simple phrases to people, and they sometimes understand me.

Current music: New York State of Mind by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

It's Chinese Valentine's Day today, which I imagine is just like regular Valentine's Day. It's just as annoying.

Thing I miss of the day: pharmacies. I miss normal medicine.

Off to possibly speak Chinese words!