It's been 75 and sunny in Yilan for the past two days! Finally clothes can dry a little faster, cuts can heal a little sooner (a rupture on my foot has been festering for the past two weeks due to humidity) and I can ride my bike to school!

Oh, those gears.

Now, you might say that this ride isn't as flashy as my super cool scooter (see picture below... it's currently lacking the mitts which were put on for the cold rain), but I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I've developed a slight crush on my bicycle. Maybe it's because it allows me to see the sights of Yilan a little slower than I would on my scooter. I'm able to notice more, to really take in the sights around me. It's about a 40 minute bike ride to my school each way, and it really allows me to take in the beauty of my surroundings, and sometimes the humor in them...

The legendary PPO (name taken from license plate)

Green onions growing on the way to school.

Rice paddy houses.


Why let the 7s and 11s have all the fun?

With the good weather/Spring comes the Springtime fruit. Including, but definitely not limited to, watermelon. Now, the abundance of fruit in Taiwan is something that I know I will definitely miss. Not only are you able to buy the fruit in ubiquitous fruit stands, you can also purchase the said fruit juiced, at shops virtually every few kilometers, for about the equivalent of an American dollar (or less).

I've got a loverly bunch of... watermelons.

How to keep your pet pig in its cage OR where to store your cut watermelon?


My watermelon juice is taking over Yilan.


Enjoying my juice on my balcony.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, as I'm sure everyone knows. I was called on, as the resident foreigner, to teach about the holiday. Sometimes, through out the year, I've been asked to teach about holidays that they don't have/aren't as common in Taiwan (Thanksgiving, for example). However, they have Mother's Day in Taiwan, on the same day and everything, so this was more of a "how do you say things in English that the students already know about?" The two holidays prior (Easter and St. Patrick's Day) were a little more interesting...

The 1st-3rd grade Easter egg hunt.

Even the older students were into the hunt. All day, they would come to the English classroom asking for more eggs...


TWO eggs? So lucky.

It's hard being short when eggs are in trees...

1st graders with their eggs after the hunt.

Popular things to wish for if the student was to find a four leaf clover: perfect score on tests, parent to come home, good health for family members, wii/psp/gameboys (why limit it to a pot of gold?)


A comet? Now, that's thinking outside the box...


Wishing to go to the USA


Magic powers

Next up is Dragon Boat Festival (June 8), which I know (next to) nothing about, so I guess I should do a little research before I'm expected to teach it...

Going to Singapore May 15-May 19! Let's hear it for last minute plans!

The plum rains (梅雨) have started here in taiwan, named such because is when the plums begin to ripen. What it really means, though, is the return of downpours. All day rain with no way to stay dry. Luckily we've had a fair amount of sun/dry weather recently, so the memory of what it's like is not too far buried in our minds.

This past weekend, Ben and I took advantage of the sun and drove from taipei down to yilan on the coastal highway. I'm incredibly glad we decided to do this on a sunny weekend, because, while the scenery would have been amazing even if it was a gray, having nice weather definitely made it nicer. We stopped in Yehliu (among other places) and saw rocks that have been carved and warped into different shapes by sea erosion, including one that supposedly looks like a queen's head (although, we decided that many of them could have symbolized other things if you looked from a certain angle). It looked like Dr. Seuss land, or perhaps the roof of the Gaudi house in Barcelona (random sculptures sticking out of the ground). The contrast of these rocks against the blue of the ocean was surreal. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it, but i included one that I found online, just to give you a sense.

Dr. Seuss Land- Yehliu

So we're into may. I finished my work at my co-school, which was an interesting experience. I loved the students, and it was good working in a different school environment. It was very different from my little laid back Jhong-Sing. Maybe it's just due to the fact that it's a bigger school, or perhaps it's just the dynamics of the faculty. My time there wasn't as hands on as I was hoping, but I did get to do story time on a regular basis (which on occasion was continued during class time).

The see-saw is just way too much fun.

If I played favorites, she would be my favorite. But since I don't, she's just a really cute kid.

We all know whose mom let him dress himself today...

One of the stories I read to the 4th grade was called "Willie the Dreamer," which was a great picture book illustrating Willie (a monkey, which all the students loved), dreaming of all the things he could possibly be. The activity that went along with the story was the students drawing, and writing (preferably in English), what their dream was for when they grew up. The 4th graders struggled a bit with this, often resorting to "I don't knooooow what I want to be." But I repeated the activity with the 1st-3rd grade, and got some great answers. Some of which included: "ice cream man," "a good mom," "an elevator operator," "a dangerous robber," and "vice-president," among many teachers, police, singers and chefs. The best was when the tiniest 1st grader wanted to be a basketball player, and Tracey (my co-teacher) said: "Well, that's why they call it a dream."

"Miss Kate-uh... I haaaaave noooo dreams!"

Future vice-president.

Future ice cream man.

Future basketball player?

Two Saturdays ago was Jhong-Sing sports day, which I was invited to attend. From what I understand, sports days can include a number of things: performances, sporting events, competitions. Mine was fairly low-key. The students all did a dance, awarded teachers with various thank-you gifts, ran some races, did some relays, generally had a good time. They also got off of school on Monday (which many of the students told me they were really happy about), but since I was still teaching at Tong-Le at that time, I didn't get to partake in the day off.

My students weren't too happy that they learned this dance to do it one time. I, however, loved the dance, and have requested they teach it to me. I have the CD of the music and everything.

Relay race

Me with 5B.

May is busy. Tons of friends/family visiting my friends, and I feel like this month is going to slip by faster than I know. Katie (my housemate) and I are going to travel to Singapore in the middle of the month, and I'm going to attempt to see some Vassar friends in Hong Kong in June. My return to the US is scheduled for June 29, which seems to be approaching super quickly.

Turtle stack in the Luodong Sports Park.