i wish i could go back to college
life was so simple back then
what would i give
to go back and live
in a dorm with a meal plan again
i wish i could go back to college
in college you know who you are
you sit in the quad
and think "oh my God, i am totally gonna go far"
how do i go back to college?
i don't know who i am anymore!
i wanna go back to my room
and find a message in dry erase pen on the door
oh i wish i could just drop a class
or get into a play
or change my major, or date the t.a.
i need an academic advisor to point the way!
oh we could be
sitting in the computer lab
4am before the final paper is due
cursing the world cause we didn't start sooner
but seeing the rest of the class there too
oh i wish i could go back to college!
how do i go back to college?
oh i wish i had taken more pictures
but!
if i were to go back to college
think what a loser i'd be...
i'd walk through the quad
and think "oh my God! these kids are so much younger than me."
thank you, avenue q, for my life's theme song.
i really do wish i could go back to college and live there forever.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
i am often thankful that i have any friends at all because i know that i'm crazy and have been known to pick up and move to asia without much notice. however, i am especially thankful that i have true friends who are going through the same thing that i am, though all in spanish instead of chinese and with gunshot cats instead of chopsticks.
in one of my weekly hours-long skype sessions with my best friend veronica (who lives in mexico), we are sharing the stories of the insane things that happen to us while being in another country, and discussing what our next adventures will be. its so nice to be able to talk about the feeling of randomly wanting to eat at stameys or not being able to think of a vocabulary word in english or pronouncing an english word in the accent of the country we are living or how we (thankfully) have the mindset that our 20s are the time we should be seeing the world and actually doing things instead of getting married and popping out babies. its really nice to have someone who can understand what you mean when you say, "man, i love eating with chopsticks, but sometimes i want a fork more than anything." or "only 8 more months until we can go wreak havoc on greensboro again!" sometimes i feel like no one understands. and until you have literally packed yourself up and popped into another country, the depth and multitude of feelings can't be properly understood. they are strange, hilarious, horrible, and wonderful.
in one of my weekly hours-long skype sessions with my best friend veronica (who lives in mexico), we are sharing the stories of the insane things that happen to us while being in another country, and discussing what our next adventures will be. its so nice to be able to talk about the feeling of randomly wanting to eat at stameys or not being able to think of a vocabulary word in english or pronouncing an english word in the accent of the country we are living or how we (thankfully) have the mindset that our 20s are the time we should be seeing the world and actually doing things instead of getting married and popping out babies. its really nice to have someone who can understand what you mean when you say, "man, i love eating with chopsticks, but sometimes i want a fork more than anything." or "only 8 more months until we can go wreak havoc on greensboro again!" sometimes i feel like no one understands. and until you have literally packed yourself up and popped into another country, the depth and multitude of feelings can't be properly understood. they are strange, hilarious, horrible, and wonderful.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
december...the month of dreams
I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8th= rika and tadao are COMING TO TAIWAN! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) infinite happiness
22-28= katie goes to saigon to see auuuuuuuu! yay!
various times= many taiwanese friends of mine coming back to the motherland
31= new years! always fun times.
december= month of dreams.
also, it marks the halfway point of year 1: taiwan. how do i feel about this? i'm not sure.
8th= rika and tadao are COMING TO TAIWAN! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) infinite happiness
22-28= katie goes to saigon to see auuuuuuuu! yay!
various times= many taiwanese friends of mine coming back to the motherland
31= new years! always fun times.
december= month of dreams.
also, it marks the halfway point of year 1: taiwan. how do i feel about this? i'm not sure.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
abbey road.
today i was looking at my most beloved abbey road poster and had a rather poetic revelation.
this poster has hung on my wall in three countries, been crammed in suitcase after suitcase and hauled to and from home, watched many friends come in and out of the rooms it has hung in, and watched many good times be had.
i often wonder where it will be this time next year?
thank you john, ringo, george, and especially paul for accompanying me on all my crazy journeys throughout life. i hope there are many more.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
even though i haven't done one single bloody thing this wknd that involved productivity, it has been one of the best weekends i've had since i've been in taiwan...maybe ever.
i have a very unique situation with my friends. i have lived in three countries, and i spent the better part of university living in the dorm with all the exchange students. its safe for me to say that my friends are literally scattered all over the 4 corners of the earth, and i can probably never again in my life be in the same place with all of them at the same time. while this thought makes me very sad, it also makes me very happy, because i know that no matter where in the world i go or ever end up permanently, be it taiwan or england or america or most anywhere else, i will never be alone.
most of the people i am friends with are very different from me. they grew up speaking different languages, celebrating different holidays, eating different foods, and worshipping different things. i think this is the most beautiful thing about my life. and even though they are literally all scattered from here to kingdom come, i am so thankful and lucky that even when its 3a, thanks to the wonders of time zones, someone will be up to listen to me complain about having to use chopsticks all the time or to reminisce about terrorising all the citizens of new york city on the thanksgiving trip, look at engrish.com, or even just to tell me that they love me. i am so lucky to have been blessed with so many amazing friends who, even across all the millions of miles between us, are still my friends.
i spent most of the weekend in skype chatting to old friends, some of whom it had been ages since i had last spoken with. even though i know that makes me the laziest person ever, i can't even describe how happy it made me to talk to all them! though it makes me miss them and makes me wish i was still in university and could haul off at 4am to steak and shake with them, or run around the i-house screaming, or go to artistika and dance until early the next morning, it's worth those feelings.
in short, i often feel that i am the luckiest person alive to know so many different people and to call them all my friends.
i have a very unique situation with my friends. i have lived in three countries, and i spent the better part of university living in the dorm with all the exchange students. its safe for me to say that my friends are literally scattered all over the 4 corners of the earth, and i can probably never again in my life be in the same place with all of them at the same time. while this thought makes me very sad, it also makes me very happy, because i know that no matter where in the world i go or ever end up permanently, be it taiwan or england or america or most anywhere else, i will never be alone.
most of the people i am friends with are very different from me. they grew up speaking different languages, celebrating different holidays, eating different foods, and worshipping different things. i think this is the most beautiful thing about my life. and even though they are literally all scattered from here to kingdom come, i am so thankful and lucky that even when its 3a, thanks to the wonders of time zones, someone will be up to listen to me complain about having to use chopsticks all the time or to reminisce about terrorising all the citizens of new york city on the thanksgiving trip, look at engrish.com, or even just to tell me that they love me. i am so lucky to have been blessed with so many amazing friends who, even across all the millions of miles between us, are still my friends.
i spent most of the weekend in skype chatting to old friends, some of whom it had been ages since i had last spoken with. even though i know that makes me the laziest person ever, i can't even describe how happy it made me to talk to all them! though it makes me miss them and makes me wish i was still in university and could haul off at 4am to steak and shake with them, or run around the i-house screaming, or go to artistika and dance until early the next morning, it's worth those feelings.
in short, i often feel that i am the luckiest person alive to know so many different people and to call them all my friends.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
i love cranberry juice and hate skeptics.
i have been living in taiwan for over 14 weeks, and my life has changed so much in that short time.
my entire life is changed forever! i began my career as an english teacher here in taiwan, and that will be with me forever. every single day i find it harder and harder to convince myself that i will have to leave after one year. and every single day i find it harder and harder to remind myself that i am not taiwanese and that i haven't been here forever, though some things are beginning to feel so natural that its getting hard to remember what my life was like pre-taiwan.
i was talking to a co-worker tonight about what its like to be an expatriate in general, especially in a place where you can't speak the language well (um, or at all...) sometimes i feel like i am not a part of america. i don't live there, don't keep up with the news as well as i should, and don't keep up with the pop culture by choice. i feel so isolated from the culture. i only have 2 american friends here in taiwan. i think i can even count the number of american friends i have on one hand anyway (ok, slight exaggeration but you get the picture). its also hard to feel fully a part of the taiwanese culture though. even though i watch the news and the tv shows and listen to the music and try to speak the language and am constantly surrounded by and interacting with taiwanese people...at the end of the day, i can't fully participate in or understand the culture fully because of the language barrier. i am trying harder than i have ever tried anything, and hopefully soon my brain will be able to absorb all things taiwanese. immediately and with no effort ^^
also, i can't help but still be kind of bitter at the people who thought that i could never handle this. i am well aware that what i did in coming to taiwan was nuts, probably not as well planned or thought out as it should have been, and risky. i also knew that i was smart enough and strong enough to handle it, thankyouverymuch. i am doing perfectly fine here...in fact, i am doing well! yes, i know how to use chopsticks, i know how to navigate the subway, i can buy my own train ticket and end up at my destination unharmed, and for heaven's sake, no i don't need you to order my dinner for me because i am perfectly capable of functioning as a human being BY MYSELF! just because i'm in a foreign country doesn't mean i'm stupid! just because my chinese is bad doesn't mean that i'm stupid! bahhhh. anyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyway.
i love cranberry juice. thank you, taiwan, for introducing me to the wonders.
my entire life is changed forever! i began my career as an english teacher here in taiwan, and that will be with me forever. every single day i find it harder and harder to convince myself that i will have to leave after one year. and every single day i find it harder and harder to remind myself that i am not taiwanese and that i haven't been here forever, though some things are beginning to feel so natural that its getting hard to remember what my life was like pre-taiwan.
i was talking to a co-worker tonight about what its like to be an expatriate in general, especially in a place where you can't speak the language well (um, or at all...) sometimes i feel like i am not a part of america. i don't live there, don't keep up with the news as well as i should, and don't keep up with the pop culture by choice. i feel so isolated from the culture. i only have 2 american friends here in taiwan. i think i can even count the number of american friends i have on one hand anyway (ok, slight exaggeration but you get the picture). its also hard to feel fully a part of the taiwanese culture though. even though i watch the news and the tv shows and listen to the music and try to speak the language and am constantly surrounded by and interacting with taiwanese people...at the end of the day, i can't fully participate in or understand the culture fully because of the language barrier. i am trying harder than i have ever tried anything, and hopefully soon my brain will be able to absorb all things taiwanese. immediately and with no effort ^^
also, i can't help but still be kind of bitter at the people who thought that i could never handle this. i am well aware that what i did in coming to taiwan was nuts, probably not as well planned or thought out as it should have been, and risky. i also knew that i was smart enough and strong enough to handle it, thankyouverymuch. i am doing perfectly fine here...in fact, i am doing well! yes, i know how to use chopsticks, i know how to navigate the subway, i can buy my own train ticket and end up at my destination unharmed, and for heaven's sake, no i don't need you to order my dinner for me because i am perfectly capable of functioning as a human being BY MYSELF! just because i'm in a foreign country doesn't mean i'm stupid! just because my chinese is bad doesn't mean that i'm stupid! bahhhh. anyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyway.
i love cranberry juice. thank you, taiwan, for introducing me to the wonders.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
opposites, halloween, and pencil cases
so today at work i'm teaching opposites. the lesson is going fine: day/night, skinny/fat, girl/boy...everyone seems to be catching on. so before i move on to the next concept, just to make sure everyone understands, i ask for questions. 'yes teecha! me! i have!' 'ok xxxxx, what is your question?' 'teeeeeeeeeeecha, what's the opposite of octopus?' >.< i had no idea how to answer that question, needless to say. a few minutes later, i looked over at this same student and he was holding his pencil case to his ear pretending that it was a phone. no one had prompted him to do it, he was sitting in the corner by himself, and i think i was the only one who saw him. i was confused because no one had even said anything about phones? i was still trying to settle the earlier octopus dispute. he was talking in chinese a mile a minute, hand gestures and all. i was laughing so hard that i spilled water all over the place.
i love love my job, i couldn't imagine doing anything else right now...but there is one tiny thing that seriously makes me want to quit right now and go drown myself in the taiwan strait: this is the metal pencil case. pencil cases are a huge deal in taiwan; no self-respecting elementary school student would be caught dead without one. however, there is one particulary sinister breed of the pencil case: the metal one, affectionately known to me as death metal. these things get all rusty and disgusting, the kids have been known to use them as weapons, and the noise they make when they hit the ground from the height of the desk is like nails down a chalkboard to me. for some reason, my classroom is really echo-y to begin with, but when that metal case full of pencils hits the ground at breakneck speeds, i swear it takes a few minutes off my life. in order to remedy this problem and prevent myself from having a stroke, i made a new rule today and in true elementary school teacher fashion, marched myself right upstairs, pulled out the crayons, and drew the rule on paper to hang up in my classroom: PENCIL CASES ON THE FLOOR! tomorrow is the first day implementing the rule; let's hope tomorrow night is the first night i don't have nightmares about classrooms-full of taiwanese children throwing their pencil cases to the floor.
today i had my level one class sitting on the floor in a circle reading a book (with 7 pages...) called 'the haircut.' (so different than last year when i was teaching ancient greek literature, victorian plays and novels with pages that measured in the hundreds...) we were all sitting and reading, and it was going well. i turn to ask a student (let's call him L) a question about the reading. katie: 'L, does kipper want to get a haircut?' L: 'its 4:00!' katie: >.< again, i was speechless. i really had to idea how to reply, so i just went for my old standby: uproarious laughter.
since october is the month of halloween, things have been nuts at work to get the school decorated. we have cut out about 2034803248 pumpkins, ghosts and witches to hang everywhere and our school has enough decorations to rival any place in america, and here we are in the middle of taiwan. as soon as i can get my act together and remember to take some photos of it, i will post them. its so cute...complete with our smashed witch on the front window!!! ^^
ps 新竹 has a reputation for being windy, but i am sure that 竹北市 is the windiest place on earth. but the weather has gotten nice otherwise. i actually kind of want to go outside sometimes. who'd have ever thought that i could go outside in taiwan and not melt.
i love love my job, i couldn't imagine doing anything else right now...but there is one tiny thing that seriously makes me want to quit right now and go drown myself in the taiwan strait: this is the metal pencil case. pencil cases are a huge deal in taiwan; no self-respecting elementary school student would be caught dead without one. however, there is one particulary sinister breed of the pencil case: the metal one, affectionately known to me as death metal. these things get all rusty and disgusting, the kids have been known to use them as weapons, and the noise they make when they hit the ground from the height of the desk is like nails down a chalkboard to me. for some reason, my classroom is really echo-y to begin with, but when that metal case full of pencils hits the ground at breakneck speeds, i swear it takes a few minutes off my life. in order to remedy this problem and prevent myself from having a stroke, i made a new rule today and in true elementary school teacher fashion, marched myself right upstairs, pulled out the crayons, and drew the rule on paper to hang up in my classroom: PENCIL CASES ON THE FLOOR! tomorrow is the first day implementing the rule; let's hope tomorrow night is the first night i don't have nightmares about classrooms-full of taiwanese children throwing their pencil cases to the floor.
today i had my level one class sitting on the floor in a circle reading a book (with 7 pages...) called 'the haircut.' (so different than last year when i was teaching ancient greek literature, victorian plays and novels with pages that measured in the hundreds...) we were all sitting and reading, and it was going well. i turn to ask a student (let's call him L) a question about the reading. katie: 'L, does kipper want to get a haircut?' L: 'its 4:00!' katie: >.< again, i was speechless. i really had to idea how to reply, so i just went for my old standby: uproarious laughter.
since october is the month of halloween, things have been nuts at work to get the school decorated. we have cut out about 2034803248 pumpkins, ghosts and witches to hang everywhere and our school has enough decorations to rival any place in america, and here we are in the middle of taiwan. as soon as i can get my act together and remember to take some photos of it, i will post them. its so cute...complete with our smashed witch on the front window!!! ^^
ps 新竹 has a reputation for being windy, but i am sure that 竹北市 is the windiest place on earth. but the weather has gotten nice otherwise. i actually kind of want to go outside sometimes. who'd have ever thought that i could go outside in taiwan and not melt.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
i hate playing catch-up
i have turned into a slack-blogger lately, so here is a futile attempt to catch everyone (mostly myself) up...
let's see...last wknd was moon festival. i'm not sure what the occasion is other than that the moon is at its brightest during the festival, and we got a day off work. :) friday night, i went to a traditional barbeque with some taiwanese friends. it was very interesting! it was in an old salon, and you could also go into the street from where we were. we stayed outside all night, barbequing squid and pig blood (i swear) and looking at the moon, playing taiwanese party games. it was a brilliant night, and i saw the first sunrise i've seen since coming to taiwan. (it was beautiful, i might add). after watching spongebob (or hy-me-in-bao-bao in chinese) in chinese, i headed home, slept for a half hour, and then caught the early train for keelung!
i met mary and kristen at the station. we met this hilarious taiwanese lady who kept asking us where we were from, and telling us that she had a son in la who was going to be married next month. (she also said that she was taiwanese...she said that people can't be happy in a marraige unless the person comes from the same culture as they do and can understand the way they think and their philosophy about life--i've been wondering all week if that is actually true and hoping that it isn't.) anyway, she took us on a little trip to find a hotel to stay in. 'we are EXPLORERRRRRR!' she shouted and was practically running through the streets while we were struggling to keep up. most hilarious person i've met in taiwan thus far. anyway, we spent the day hiking up 203482034823049820348 stairs, but it was so worth it! we saw so many cool things, and luckily, the typhoon was kind and let us have at least one torrential-downpour-free day in keelung. not so on sunday. we ended up having to go back to taipei to the cinema (saw 'the proposal -just now out in tw. was amazing! i loved it, and i really hate chick flicks.) we ate some interesting japanese food for dinner, and then headed home! great weekend! i love taiwan weekends.
so then, the typhoon came. along with it came fall! it is FINALLY a liveable temperature here (which means that all the locals are pretty much wearing parkas because its 'cold'.) i can walk outside and breathe, and not sweat through my clothes on the way to work, and the night isn't so humid that i feel like suffocating. it is, at times (dare i say it)...cool. i hope it lasts.......
meanwhile, i have the best job ever. i am constantly entertained by those kids! they are so funny! yesterday, one of them called me over to his desk to show me a picture he had drawn. it was me and the caption was 'katie is pitty.' i laughed and corrected the spelling to 'pretty.' then he shouted, 'you have BIG GREEN EYYYYYYYYYYES!' and i was laughing so hard that i almost had to leave the classroom. sometimes, i even find myself just so happy! a kid will ask another kid 'can i borrow your eraser' in english, and i will get so proud that i nearly explode. or i will have a class full of 9 8-year olds chanting 'the ball is ABOVE the box' and its just the cutest thing. today, they were all about to knock me down to show me their 100s on their spelling tests. you can't can't can't can't beat that feeling. there's nothing better! even though i hear 'katie teacher, I'M FINISHEDDDDDDDDDD!!!!" in my sleep and hear those stupid metal pencil cases crashing to the ground in my nightmares, i truly love love love this job. can't imagine doing anything else.
its funny too, because i guess some people thought that i was coming here just for a trip or something, and always ask 'so when are you coming home?' i really have no idea the answer to that question. someday, i guess, but its so funny that i now find myself comfortable in taiwan. i can quasi-function in chinese, i am learning about the culture, i even find myself taking off my shoes when i go in a room...whoa. the thought of going home isn't as exciting as it used to be. i prefer taiwan's mtv to america's, i order octopus on purpose in restuarants, i can use chopsticks as well as a fork now, i am used to the heat, etc etc.
tomorrow is a loooooooooooooooooong day...but I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE WEEKEND! :) yayayaya.
let's see...last wknd was moon festival. i'm not sure what the occasion is other than that the moon is at its brightest during the festival, and we got a day off work. :) friday night, i went to a traditional barbeque with some taiwanese friends. it was very interesting! it was in an old salon, and you could also go into the street from where we were. we stayed outside all night, barbequing squid and pig blood (i swear) and looking at the moon, playing taiwanese party games. it was a brilliant night, and i saw the first sunrise i've seen since coming to taiwan. (it was beautiful, i might add). after watching spongebob (or hy-me-in-bao-bao in chinese) in chinese, i headed home, slept for a half hour, and then caught the early train for keelung!
i met mary and kristen at the station. we met this hilarious taiwanese lady who kept asking us where we were from, and telling us that she had a son in la who was going to be married next month. (she also said that she was taiwanese...she said that people can't be happy in a marraige unless the person comes from the same culture as they do and can understand the way they think and their philosophy about life--i've been wondering all week if that is actually true and hoping that it isn't.) anyway, she took us on a little trip to find a hotel to stay in. 'we are EXPLORERRRRRR!' she shouted and was practically running through the streets while we were struggling to keep up. most hilarious person i've met in taiwan thus far. anyway, we spent the day hiking up 203482034823049820348 stairs, but it was so worth it! we saw so many cool things, and luckily, the typhoon was kind and let us have at least one torrential-downpour-free day in keelung. not so on sunday. we ended up having to go back to taipei to the cinema (saw 'the proposal -just now out in tw. was amazing! i loved it, and i really hate chick flicks.) we ate some interesting japanese food for dinner, and then headed home! great weekend! i love taiwan weekends.
so then, the typhoon came. along with it came fall! it is FINALLY a liveable temperature here (which means that all the locals are pretty much wearing parkas because its 'cold'.) i can walk outside and breathe, and not sweat through my clothes on the way to work, and the night isn't so humid that i feel like suffocating. it is, at times (dare i say it)...cool. i hope it lasts.......
meanwhile, i have the best job ever. i am constantly entertained by those kids! they are so funny! yesterday, one of them called me over to his desk to show me a picture he had drawn. it was me and the caption was 'katie is pitty.' i laughed and corrected the spelling to 'pretty.' then he shouted, 'you have BIG GREEN EYYYYYYYYYYES!' and i was laughing so hard that i almost had to leave the classroom. sometimes, i even find myself just so happy! a kid will ask another kid 'can i borrow your eraser' in english, and i will get so proud that i nearly explode. or i will have a class full of 9 8-year olds chanting 'the ball is ABOVE the box' and its just the cutest thing. today, they were all about to knock me down to show me their 100s on their spelling tests. you can't can't can't can't beat that feeling. there's nothing better! even though i hear 'katie teacher, I'M FINISHEDDDDDDDDDD!!!!" in my sleep and hear those stupid metal pencil cases crashing to the ground in my nightmares, i truly love love love this job. can't imagine doing anything else.
its funny too, because i guess some people thought that i was coming here just for a trip or something, and always ask 'so when are you coming home?' i really have no idea the answer to that question. someday, i guess, but its so funny that i now find myself comfortable in taiwan. i can quasi-function in chinese, i am learning about the culture, i even find myself taking off my shoes when i go in a room...whoa. the thought of going home isn't as exciting as it used to be. i prefer taiwan's mtv to america's, i order octopus on purpose in restuarants, i can use chopsticks as well as a fork now, i am used to the heat, etc etc.
tomorrow is a loooooooooooooooooong day...but I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE WEEKEND! :) yayayaya.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
jack london's 'credo'
I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
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