On the other side...: February 2007

Just once I would like to start a post with something other than an apology for not having updated in such a long time ...

Two months have passed (ridiculously fast) and the time can basically be separated into three categories : Surviving Christmas, Finishing Semester 1, and Vacation Time! There isn't much worthwhile to say about the first two of these, other than things were even more stressful than usual and that thankfully, they are finished!

This brings us to Vacation Time. We were given about 4 weeks off for the Chinese New Year break! For the first 10 days I laid pretty low, tried to catch up on sleep and recover from 1 of the 10 lingering colds my body had been fighting. Out of the haze of sleep, one day I went with Mia and a group of friends paintballing on some mountain outside of the city. The adventure involved setting out at 9am (equipt with beer for breakfast) and cramming into a tiny, tiny, little bus with standing room only as it teetered verrryy close to the windy road's edge. This was the tamest part of the day... We were given camos with little Taiwan flags on them and played a few rounds before retiring to the picnic area. There we bbqed and drank our way to.. no not a nap, but a sloppy sloppy final round in some jungle area next to a pen of goats and pigs?! It was the kind of day that reminded me of being in college... with the addition of black and blue bruises all over my butt (apparently the only place I was repeatedly shot)!

Several days later Louise and I left for Phuket. After a very rocky start involving major weather delays at Taiwan's airport, we arrived in Phuket, via Hong Kong and Bangkok, only 12 hours later than we had expected! The gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery quickly compensated for the travel hassels. Really most of our time was spent just relaxing by the pool, napping, lying on the beach, napping, shopping, napping, and going out just a bit. I never thought I could handle 12 days of nearly continuous down time... but apparently it agrees with me! We did plan a few more eventful acitvities like horseback riding, elephant trekking, a mini safari, canoeing and snorkeling. The highlights of these were definitely feeding fish (being bit HARD on the leg by one of them!) while snorkeling off the smaller island Khoi Nok, and getting an elephant massage (the elephant puts its foot on your back and pats you) and a sloppy, raspberry kiss from it's trunk during an elephant show. All in all the trip was wonderful, and as cold #11 of the year which I'm currently nursing, indicates, I am not entirely ecstatic to be back in Taipei. I am, however, excited about a few of the new lessons I'll be teaching starting Monday, and to take some music lessons since I bought a guitar! (which was New Years impulsive action #2 - following #1 of getting a PERM on New Years Day.. that's right a perm!) Anyways I'm posting just a few pictures now from the trip but may be able to put more up later. I hope everyone had an excellent New Year, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, President's Day.. and any others that I may have missed. Miss you and love you all!

The view on our walk to Patong Beach