Shoes

                                                                    Rest in Peace
I have big feet. The End. Well not really the end, that would be retarded to post and than just say I have big feet. But it is true and I feel the trial of it even more so being in Taiwan.  Now, there are shoes, man, are they shoes in Taiwan.  They have bows, buckles, buttons, and awesome colored stripes.  When I first arrived here walking down the street brought me so much joy, shoe store after shoe store. But now, after realizing that finding a size 8 is pushing it, walking down the same street greaves me nigh to tears at times.  Just knowing that all the pink, ruffled, and sparkly goodness which are Taiwan shoes, can never be mine.  Because of this injustice I have been forced to ware the same 4 pairs of shoes for the last 3 months.  But in reality since two pairs are nicer for going out or church, I ware 2 pairs for most of the week.  One pair in particular has been used most cruelly. They are my favorite pair of sliver flats. I wore them when it was to cold and wore socks with them.  I now ware them while trying to play tag with a bunch of kindergartners. Now, because of the abuse of which these shoes have been put though, have given up the ghost. They ripped down the side which makes it very hard to ware, or to repair( believe me I have tried, mostly this involved a stapler and tape, and after, a few Band-Aids where the staples puncture my foot).  But I rejoice still at times with the knowledge that on a street in Taipei there is a store, a glorious store indeed, called Sandy Ho's Big Shoes for Ladies.  Like Princess Leia said to  Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sandy Ho, you are my only hope.

It's been a month

Two of my Afternoon Kindergarten Kids, Tim and Ellen




Hello to all of you that have missed my ramblings. I have been a bit lazy in updating you on my travels, I could go on in length and tell you why it has taken me so long to write. An example might have been that my finger tips were smitten with flesh eating bacteria and made it impossible to type, or that my computer was infested with ants that ate it form it inside out. But in short, I've been lazy. I'll give you my very abbreviated version of what has been happening in the last month. If you feel in any way cheated look at the other Taiwan blogs that have been more diligent in keeping a recored of their time here.  

After returning home form our vacation(last blog look above) I believe that I spent a great deal of time teaching the rug rats of which was the original reason for being here. I hope by the end of the six months I'll be able to see some result from my teaching. I would be so excited if one, just one of the children I teach, with out being corrected, could ask a question correctly. That being "Miss Jessica, what is that? "Not, what I hear everyday, "Miss Jessica, is that, what?" 

Being around Chignlish has  made it more difficult for me to be able talk like I have been educated at all. I struggle to find words in my vocabulary that a child over age of eight could understand. My only hope is that one day I will not find my  vocabulary made entirely out of children song lyrics.

Continuing on with what I have been up to. Two weeks ago, on National Peace Day, my fellow teachers journeyed up to Taipei for a day trip. I lead the group that left early, for I was determined to see as much as I could.  We got up there on the train by 10ish and then went to the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall . I was just expecting a pretty building with a lot of steps. But even before we got on the grounds we heard something unexpected. Upon closer inspection we found a mammoth stage setup in font of the memorial. There just happened to be a rehearsal for a large Peace Day Celebration, with a choir that filled the steps up to the Memorial and  a symphony orchestra that was a least one-hundred players. To stumble upon this was the best part on my day in Taipei. We stood and listen for quite sometime before we moved inside the memorial, but still partaking of the sweet melodious harmonies as we looked at the smiling dictator sitting on his stone throne. The remainder of the day, we ate over priced Korean Food, Cold Stone Ice Cream, walk to and fro though parks, and ran around looking for a bus at the end of the day to take us home.  This is one of the many adventures that I'll be updating you on. But hopefully that will suffice for now.