My life and other things that have happened

Today was the last day of school before the Chinese New Year holiday. We had a plethora of activities for the kids and teachers to participate in. Here are a few images and videos from the day.  The videos can be found here: Chinese Drumming Dragon Dance Assembly SLT dressed in traditional Chinese clothes Red lanterns  Chinese Dragon Dance Chinese Brides (male teachers) waiting to be chosen by the Groom (Our CEO Dr. Weston) The brides are revealed! Chinese drumming  2014 is the year of the Horse and there are decorations for sale everywhere. James and I bought ourselves a pair of stuffed animal horses from the local store. They are terribly cute! We have very few plans for the holidays as we are in desperate need of a rest. We're going to do a little sightseeing but mostly spend some time in our pjs playing video games. A nice way to spend the holiday I think.  Happy New Year! 新年快乐!  ( Xīn nián kuài lè) ...

2013 was quite a year of change for me. The year started out in quite the worst way I could ever imagine and at times I wasn't sure it was ever going to get better.  Life has a strange way of working out though and the second half of the year has seen my life change in incredible ways. Looking back I can't quite believe all the things that have happened. I wouldn't be where I am now without my boyfriend James. He has made me happier than I ever thought possible and understands my weird and wonderful moods.  So roll on 2014! We have some exciting times ahead of us and I can't wait!

Micky's Favorite Taiwanese Recipes: Green Onion Pancake 蔥油餅 : These are the reason I've put on so much weight here. Sooooooooooo tasty! You have to try them. 

A year ago, if you'd tried to speak to me, my reply would have been brief. Single words or phrases at most. If you'd looked into my eyes, you would have seen exhaustion and grief. I was someone who looked like they'd given up. I was broken and battered, barely making it from day to day. I wandered through my life, hardly there at all. Inside, there was nothing. My brain had stopped turning and was set on auto pilot. I've never before experienced such silence. It was like everything had shut down. My internal voice took a vacation.  Depression has a way of eating away at you until it feels like there is nothing left. There were times when I couldn't speak at all, either because I just wasn't physically able to, or because it seemed pointless to even try. There was nothing to say. A room in hell with only your name on the door. That's a pretty good way of describing it. It is most definitely a solitary illness, one that people can't se...

Some weeks are good, some are bad and some are both. This week has been both.  At the start of the week I found out that three of my Gambian students would be leaving in a matter of weeks because relations between Gambia and Taiwan have broken down. Gambia no longer recognises Taiwan as an independent country. I've grown very attached to my kids in the time I've been here and I will miss them dreadfully. I don't mean to cast aspersions on Gambia, but I don't know what they will be going back or whether their education will continue when they leave. I hope for their sake it does. A sad time indeed for all of us.  On a happier and funnier note, I helped teach the year 7 girls about puberty today. Now that was a lesson and a half! I thought they would be more shy about these matters but we had some great questions and answers. I discovered that in Chinese/Taiwanese, girls also refer to their periods in euphemisms and that one of them is their 'Auntie'. It...

Google informs me that today is the first day of winter. While I am loathed to disbelieve the giant search engine, the weather outside feels less like winter and more like a balmy autumn. It's a very pleasant 21c outside today, with a soft breeze and dappled sunshine peeking through the fluffy white clouds. Our students are still running about in shorts and short sleeved shirts, with the occasional sweater thrown over top. Yangmingshan is beautiful when it's like this.  Now this is, I hasten to add, not the kind of weather we experience on a daily basis. For the last few days it's been wet and miserable (like England in the winter). I would like there to be more days like this in the coming months but I've been told not to get my hopes up. Winter in Taiwan is supposedly very wet, though thankfully not as cold as the UK. Ah well. I shall enjoy today while it lasts and recall it from memory when the wet weather brings me down. 

Coming home from Carrefour today, I was giving the taxi driver directions and on arrival at the flat he gave me a big smile and told me that my Chinese is very good. I can't tell you how chuffed I was. I haven't learnt a lot but I'd like to think that what I have learnt I'm saying correctly. Pronunciation is really hard and very important in a tonal language like Chinese, so I was really please when the taxi driver told me my Chinese is good. James and I haven't been taking lessons sadly but we're picking things up as we go along. Two of James' students are teaching him some words and I'm picking things up when I'm out and about shopping etc.  What have I learnt so far and more importantly what am I confident saying: Hello - Nǐ hǎo Goodbye -  Zàijiàn Thank you - Xièxiè ni Yes, thank you - Shì de, xièxiè nǐ No, thank you - Bù liǎo xièxiè  nǐ Turn right - Yòu zhuǎn Turn left - Zuǒ zhuǎn Zhongshan north road - Zhōngshān běi lù Tianmu Wes...