Ping Xi

Things have been going pretty well here at Ping Xi Guo Zhong. This is a gorgeous place and my favorite spot is outside on our balcony where the wind is the strongest.

The view is a little different from this one because it is from a much higher vantage point, but this is basically what you get. I'm going to have to remember to take of picture from that spot.

My favorite part of Ping Xi are the sky lanterns. It really blew me away at how gorgeous it was the first time we set one off. We wrote our wishes on it and watched it float up into the sky as we sat under the stars. We've set a couple more after that time and we always watch until you can't see it anymore. I am going to make it happen so I come back to visit this school during the festival where thousands of sky lanterns are set off at once.


We also like to walk to the lao jie (old road) to get grass jelly milk teas or shaved ice. That's pretty much all there is to do here. The funnest thing we did so far is to take a bunch of bikes out and road around in the mountains for two hours.

It was so freaking awesome. I wish I could have taken some more action shots, but I can't ride a bike with only one hand. There were some really tough uphills, but coming back down the mountain was so fun because it was all downhill pretty much. AHH! I want a bike now and some mountains in my backyard so I can do this everyday. Unfortunately one of our girls fell off her bike and got hurt so they won't take us out on them anymore. :( And there's a typhoon right now (my first one ever!)


There are 12 of us here - 6 of us are from the states and we're the English teachers. We have 6 assistants who are from Taiwan and they help us with controlling the classroom and translating things. It's pretty fun to talk to them and get to know them, but it's also awkward because we spend 24/7 together and we have ridiculously large amounts of down time each day which makes them pass by pretty slowly. I'm going to suggest we have more activities with the students instead of taking naps all the time, and holding meetings, and preparing for class.

Today was fun though, we played spoons with levels right after class and there was much laughing and not talking. Then somehow one of the guys got taped up with duck tape. I'm laughing so hard the picture came out blurry.

We call him Winnie because he looks like Winnie the Poo. Haha, he's very easily picked on by this other guy who we call Q Mo or Bao Za Toe since his hair is so curly. I've realized Taiwanese people really like to make up nicknames for each other based off of looks or something irrelevant to their actual name.

I also feel that Taiwanese girls are really GIRLY. Oh my goodness, it kind of makes me feel like a man. One of the girls who's an assistant teacher is really picky with her food and it makes me realize how annoying that is when I'm like that. I've been doing really well and finishing ALL my food and even eating meat that I don't really want because all the students are very well disciplined in this aspect. They will call us out and say that we're really wasteful if we don't.



So far teaching the students has been all right. It's very hard to keep the children under control and the first day was horrible. But it's been getting better. Today they were very loud and obnoxious because of the rain, I think, but they admire us a lot. Again, I wish I had more time to spend with them, but I think I just have to reach out more during the class time and actually joke around with them instead of always being serious. That's one thing I admire about guys, they are fun to be around because they joke around and act immature whereas girls are wired completely differently.

Last weekend we snuck out to Taipei and IT WAS SO FUN. Sigh, I didn't want to come back, but actually this week hasn't been bad. I met up with Ray, Diana, Jordan, and even Alice and we just chilled at a lounge with drinks and hookah. It was air conditioned and very clean. I can't wait to go back this weekend. ESPECIALLY since Pat, Jess, Brian, and James are meeting up with us. We're going to KTV, shopping, Taipei101, Shiling Yie Shi, and a Yie Dian (club) where it's a bubble party! Yay, yay, YAY!

I guess things aren't as bad as I say they are sometimes. I complain a lot and get annoyed really easily which I'm going to try my hardest to change. But I am also very MENSTRUAL right now so that's my excuse for now.

Anyways, I guess that's it for now. I miss people in the states like crazy. I hope you all are well! Email me! :D