Hash Runs 3.26

For the last month, I've been going on these cross country runs through villages outside of Taipei. They have been really great but hard at the same time. They are usually between 4 and 8 km long but usually they are about 5 km. When you are going up the side of a mountain though, it feels like you have gone further when you really haven't.
We usually meet altogether at the beginning and it's the same spot as the end of the race too. The group is called the Hash House Harriers and it's been around for years.
So first a couple of runners (called hares) run out first with some flour and mark the trail. Flour is easily washed away by the rain later. The trail is marked but there are also some checkpoints which means at that point there could be a few directions in which to go. You have to yell 'Are you?' which means 'Are you on the trail?'.
The person ahead should say 'On On' which means 'Yes, I'm on the trail'.
Every Sunday afternoon this is done and I look forward to it every week.

Makes me Feel Good 2.17

Every time I get one of these posted, it feels great! At the same time, I'm wondering how many people post pictures to this site. All that aside, it's nice to be on here quite regularly. (To the right, on the Taiwan pic of the day)

This was taken on Chinese New Year, and her and a friend were so kind to let me take a few shots of them.

Back in Taiwan 2.16

I thought that I would update this blog since it has been a while.
Nothing much to write about Taiwan except the school is ok, nothing special at all and it's turning out to be the same as any other school I've worked at in Korea, except in Korea I had a lot more control of the classes.

Thailand was cool, met my Uncle and Aunt and Mom and Dad. Chiang Mai is a nice city in the north part of Thailand. It's like Bangkok on a smaller scale. Next time though, I will make sure to go to an island to relax and get out of the city.

Bangkok 1.19

The light to turn right turned green. Right around the corner from Khao San Road, Bangkok. The driver of the taxi turned and as I looked to my left, a car seemed to be going quite fast while heading straight toward us. It all happened in a moment.
After seeing where the car ended up, I was surprised we weren't in a much worse condition. The window that my head and hand smashed against was opaque and luckily it was not broken.

The car spinned about 3 times and surprisingly did not flip over. I picked up my phone which fell to the floor and walked out. Only my nose was bleeding. The taxi driver's shrieking voice is still in my head, as well as the last thing I remember Thomas saying, "Jesus fucking Christ".
From nowhere, an Italian woman took over, told me to sit down and with a soothing voice told me she is a trained massager and knows where the pressure points are to stop the bleeding. I sat and thought at that moment how much I wanted to talk to Vivian, just to hear her voice....

No Snow 1.6

It's the first winter in a VERY long time that I haven't seen any snow! It has been a bit chilly and even though I don't have a winter jacket with me, I refuse to buy one. I'm in Taiwan!
For Christmas, our school only had 1 day off, but the rest of the Taiwanese staff had to work. It felt a bit strange, it was business as usual that day.
For New Years Thomas, John and I went to a nice party in a hotel presidential suite. The fireworks at Taipei 101 were very close and even though I didn't have a great view, I saw them later on youtube.
I had a nice break last week, 4 days, but the nice thing about this month is working just 11 days and then I'm off until February!!

This Christmas 12.23

In Taiwan, it feels even less like Christmas than in Korea. Aside from the usual George Michael song you'll hear this time of year, it's business as usual for everybody. It will pass as just another day for people in Taiwan. Some of us will get together on Christmas Eve and have some food and drinks, with a friend of ours from Texas acting as chef for the evening.
Even though it's just 1 day, I'm looking forward to it....

and a short video from Danshui that I just finished editing the other day...

Danshui 12.12

Last Saturday, I met a couple of people I know from Hong Kong in downtown Taipei. We went to a Korean Food Restaurant and on Sunday went to a place called Danshui, on the coast. A really nice place and I recommend anyone going to Taiwan to go there. Here are some pictures of the place, I also got a sketch done of myself.

My Travels this year 12.3

I was looking through some of the videos I took in the past year. I realized that I could put something together that shows what I've done and where I've been. From Korea to Holland and back to Korea, then to Taiwan. And more recently to Thailand. It's amazing what kind of things you can see in each country and I'm grateful I will always be able to see this, unless my computer crashes or the worldwide net does....

A Million Stories 11.23

I was looking at this picture and wondered, is that man sad? He's pretty old, maybe he's a lonely man, without much of a family left or none at all. He must have a million stories. Will I have that many stories when I get to be his age? Will I make it to be that age? Getting to be that old scares me in a way but would be kind of cool to share with other friends, all the stories and memories of 10, 20, or 50 years before. Bottom line is, I see this guy and it makes me feel young and realize that there are so many things left for me to do before I reach that age.....

Longshan Temple 11.22

I've been to this temple a few times, it's a famous one in Taiwan. There are always lots of people and last Sunday there was a huge fashion show and people crowded around to watch. The place has really developed since I first came here a few years back when Paul and I came for a short vacation. There are a few markets in the area, actually I think it's just one big market.
I remember it was pretty hot then but that was October. It has been a little cool here lately but today it's warmed up nicely to 28 degrees! That's more like the weather I came here for!