2015: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

In the words of Poison front man Bret Michaels, "Every rose has its thorn." As for 2015 its not so much good riddance as much as, "What's next"?

The Ugly:
In the summer I had a traumatic car accident and had to pay a hefty chunk to the other driver. After that my car repair bills were killing me and the combination on just a part time pay check wasn't easy. I couldn't have made it without my boss and friends lending me here and there to get me by.  After coming back from my summer trip back home and thinking I could catch up and save a little something, my landlady  evicted me and gave me 2 weeks to move out (she was selling). There was also a couple ugly typhoons, one I missed and the other we safely endured.

Out With The Old: The year started out with me quitting my full time job at the other private elementary/junior high/high school- and not batting an eye lash, best move of 2015, but it did put a monkey wrench in my finances. I had a month of unemployment before traveling and starting a new part time job.

I worked part time for a fantastic Canadian boss in a kindergarten, but again, part time wasn't exactly working out financially. Did I teach my last kindergarten? Time will tell. The good news is I landed a fantastic job teaching a subject I studied for and care about at a prestigious private school.

I've reached out more than once to former coworkers but the epitaph of busyness has evolved to non replies. Such are expats in Yilan; unlike Tainan foreigners, those in Yilan are cliquey, exclusive, private.  In their defense, there aren't really venues to hang out like Tainan, nothing to do but eat and drink, so perhaps I am not missing out on much. I prefer to hit a hiking trail or do yoga in the park so I have made new friends at my gym and we do hit the trails. By the way, I'm not referring to expats with families and businesses, I understand life is hectic and time is a commodity; I hardly have but an hour to myself in the evenings. Its just one glaring difference from Tainan, the sunnier weather invokes communal gatherings.

Z also changed schools (again) and 3 is certainly a charm! Its a small mountain school, with a teacher all the kids adore. He is one of the most interesting people I've met, a former top emergency surgeon who was tired of telling grieving families sorry and he decided to teach (thankfully).

 The Good-Wander land:
As always, travel was the inevitable prerequisite. For my 40th birthday we returned to Sabah, Borneo for some ideallic diving and beach time. Suiting up and going under with my kid was worth it, although she wasn't comfortable enough to descend much, more like graduated snorkeling. Still its baby steps, progress. The visibility or coral wasn't great, but the experience with my kid priceless. The thorn of that trip was being attacked by a group of amphetamine induced thugs on our last night, but fortunately it all worked out.

For our Chinese New Years we went to Chang Mai in northern Thailand for 2 weeks.  Thailand is Disneyland for travelers, easy enough to get around, great food, perfect for beginners to get their feet wet or experiences travelers to have it easy.

In summer I went home for a blessed month. I took an RV trip with my folks, a brother and niece through New Mexico and Colorado. I didn't get much sleep but it was heavenly. Its getting more difficult leaving friends and family. Z and I are definitely talking about what living back in the States will look like.

 I hope we can stay another year here, we are both happy with out life at the moment and then we will leave Taiwan. Our plan is to get a place in Yuanshan close to my school and get some chickens and a goat, try that out for a year before we return to Colorado indefinitely. The exit strategy is on the back burner, but for now I scope little houses for rent in these misty mountains overlooking Turtle Island in the distance.

So long 2014

 Tung Flower Festival, Sanzhi

In this 4 day weekend, today my Saturday, I for once didn't do much of anything, which is kind of strange, and irregular for me, but necessary. I took pause to reflect on the year that's just faded into memories and photo albums. It was a busy year, but there are just a couple of stand out experiences I am forever grateful for. In chronological order:



1. Chinese New Year in Myanmar

Just getting there was a trip, I missed our flight from Singapore into Yangoon. I loved Burma, the people, so many ethnicities, and the food was better than I expected. It was hard traveling for Z, we covered a lot of distance in a short amount of time, which meant night buses galore coming into town at 5am. She's a seasoned trooper, literally the best travel buddy I've ever had. (Full Myanmar photo album here).

 In Myanmar, I have to say my 39th birthday was amazing. We went into a teak plantation and hung out with working elephants who were making a camp for that spring until the rainy season came. We rode their little troupe and watched a mom play with her baby (she is free from work the for 3 years while caring for her baby).

The elephants and their handlers were making a temporary damn for the elephants while they worked there for that logging season. They cut down a majestic, old grandfather tree by hand, which pained me to see such a grand old tree fall, then the elephant dragged it back to their little damn. We watched from the elephants back, their handlers were kind, there were no canes or whips, just clucking and speaking to them. They are handlers of the same elephants for life and its the elephants who pick their handlers. Their wives and children all live together in a little camp of 2 or 3 huts by the river. As for "tourists" there was just me, my daughter and a French lady. It was hardly the kind of elephant set up "rehab" I've seen in Thailand. This was no walk in the park. We were tagging along while they worked-and this was their day off, making a little damn. There were no trails in this teak rainforest, the elephants were bush-wacking with us on their backs. I was just worried the tree would land on us as we were right next to it while they used muscle and an ax, but they were experts. They have been loggin teak with elephants since ancient Thai and Burmese kings considered it the royal wood for palaces and temples, since British colonials increased the demand. Unfortunately the demand for teak continues. Though the handlers told us they replant so as to not over log, I fear money and the military junta's hand will continue to play a negative part in order to feed the insatiable demand by Scandinavian furniture makers.

For lunch we went to a little auntie's place across from the local school; a one room dirt floor, 3 bamboo walled hut with 3 classes, big kids, little kids and those in between. Being surrounded by their smiles made my incredible birthday.

Z putting thenaka on my face while lunch is cooking

The school house 

Of course Inle Lake was amazing, colder than we expected but an adventure exploring by boat. Then there was Bagan and exploring the endless tamarind tree fields littered with old temples,  and Mt Popa, the Burmese Mt. Olympus. One day we rented a horse cart and the driver gave Z the reigns the whole day. It was great fun.

One of the most memorable Burmese experiences was our "hell train" adventure. We took what I thought would be a 6 hour scenic train from outside of Inle Lake (Shwenyaung) through the mountains to Thazi.

All smiles as our "hell train" left in the morning

It took 15 hours, our train was at a standstill in the middle of nowhere for sometime as a train further down the line broke down. The last 4 hours were freezing. The train was a living relic from the British Empire, wooden, and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since colonial times, it was covered in rust, dust, open windows, the toilet was a muddy hole cut into the car.

 I was nursing a kidney infection and met a friendly and knowledgeable Israeli acupuncturist who smartly got out in the next stop 4 hours from Inle.





We pulled into Thazi at midnight and were stepping over sleeping bodies in the dark sprawled all over that station. The stars were amazing. We walked to a roadside motel and crashed hard after a hot shower. The next morning early we took a local bus (van packed like sardines) to Lake Meiktila. I paid few pennies extra to sit in front with the driver, Z got car sick and he slowed down, but we made it.

 






2. I got my APRC!

Finally after 5 years I could apply for my coveted Alien residence card. Thanks to my friend and Chinese tutor Kevin for fronting me the 10,000NT in March to get it.(See Congrats To Me! I'm legal!)

3. A Family Visit

My parents and brother Ed visited Taiwan for the first time in July 2014. It was the first time my mom and bro have been out of North America. Unfortunately, when they visited there was a heat wave and it was the hottest at the suburb of Taiwan (Banciao) we were staying at. Of course they were troopers, sweating buckets but just grateful to be together again, to be with their granddaughter.

They really didnt have enough time to learn to appreciate the local food. My Dad and bro only stayed a week, my mom stayed a few weeks longer and helped watch my daughter and pack my things while I worked my last weeks at Share Fun.

After a few days exploring Taipei we went to Jiaoxi for a few days exploring the local waterfalls, hot springs and we took a boat to Turtle Island to see the dolphins. Then my Dad rented a car and we drove to Taroko along the scenic but dangerous Suhua Highway. Afterwards, we all headed south to Tainan.

In Tainan I showed them the Confucius Temple, they enjoyed eating at the western food restaurants by local expats (Funkoo, Tin Pan Diner). It was crowded at my little apartment, and hot, so my Dad moved my mom and bro down the road to the Tai Landis Hotel next to Mitzuokoshi. Before my Dad and bro took the highspeed back to Taoyuan, we did a family group photo session which was good fun, at least my daughter was in her element.

4. Starting a new life in Yilan

Thanks to my co-worker Steve for getting me this job. He was a big help during the interview process, settling here and getting into the swing of things at school.

Moving was not easy, in fact it was harder than I expected- and I moved around my whole life so I thought I was used to these things. I went through bags of books, clothes, giving them away and still I had so many things I had accumulated from 6 years of living in Tainan. It felt great to say goodbye to my job as I felt stuck there, and yet compared to my job now in Yilan, my job down south was so much easier, less stress. I loved teaching the kids there and building relationships with families, with the community there. That was hard turning my back on, and yet life is temporary, our lives in Taiwan are temporary. 

We took a chance on Yilan and getting used to the life here was also more difficult than I expected. I knew it wasnt going to be easy, that it would take a few months to find my groove, learn a new system, but I think for all the increase in workload, I am more productive and am learning a helluva lot in terms of teaching and planning. I'm teaching junior high, elementary and kindergarten of all levels which requires a lot more planning, prepping and flexibility. There is good and bad at every job, of course this one is no exception, but when I stop learning then its time to change my outlook or change my scenery. As for my daughter she is learning English and Chinese. Her Mandarin is fluent, but I was starting to get concerned for her English writing, so I hope she can improve in this area.

Exploring Yilan has been good fun and having a car, finally after 6 years is so much more convenient than my grass cutter scooter. Parking in Yilan City is no picnic, but at least we are dry when it rains. Speaking of the rain, I don't have enough fingers to count how many people warned me of winters here, that I wont see the sun for months, and yet the weather has been pretty good, good enough to explore on the weekends. Living in Anping I didn't really see the mountains like I do every day here. On my way to work I look at those mountains everyday and every day they look different, I also see Turtle Island and the ocean right before I pull into work, cant beat that. Its a small dose of positive energy before I have the dreadful task of parking.

I should mention the apartment I have now is a big step up from the old one I had in Anping. This place is outside the congested, small laned city center across from the massive park on the grounds of the County Government Building and is 3 years old, furnished and bright. My drive to work is a straight shot down a non residential-commercial area. I feel blessed.

5. My Santa Cruz Consort

My dearest was my neighbor in Anping, my good friend and this past year he continued to be my kind, patient, sacrificial partner when I needed him most. Andrew helped me move, he helped my buy my car and drove it here from Tainan, he visits on weekends whenever he can. He is a great blessing and positive male energy for me and my daughter.

For these 5 above blessings, 2014 has been a predominately positive year. Other standout experiences of 2014; visiting my old friend of 14 years north in her home in Sanzhi, Saturday yoga with the ladies in Anping and a Single Mom and Daughter Dragon Boat Weekend in Kenting.

 I also have to mention that this year we were divinely free from sickness and robustly healthy, so we were physically able to enjoy these blessings, which is something not to be taken for granted. You can eat clean, exercise, meditate, sleep well and then have what the news headlines recently called, "bad luck." As for us, it's more than good luck that sustained us this past year, it was lots of prayers by family and friends back home, simple prayers by us here and busy angels raining heavenly love.