9-02-03:

Yes, I'm back in the US. I couldn't get to a good computer or have the time to use one on the last two weeks of my vacation, so since I have time now, I minus well continue. I took a five hour train to Taitung and Hualian, which is located in the southeastern part of Taiwan. Our tour guide was totally lame and brought us to see places like a nature park (actually 4 of them). We went to the shore (to the part were you can't swim in the water, for the fear of being crushed by the rocks) and climbed the rocks to the shore and then back. That was the first week, and the second week was mountains (sigh). We when to Hualian National Park for the whole day just to see a waterfall (whoop-te-do-da). Then I went back to Taipei (another 5 hours on the train) and packed to go home. Now that I'm back, I'll see you all in school. c ya! =P

-Hilary

August 6th, 2003 11:18 P.M. in Taiwan.

     Same old same old....Teaching....eating.....sleeping...teaching....eating.....i'm beginning to wonder if this really is a summer vacation....o well. On Tuesday (8/5/03), I went on a field trip with all the kids to this nature animal plave thingy. First we had a contest of catching fish by hand. ( i actually caught one!!). We saw snakes, lizards, birds (even the ostrich), and horses....nothing much going on lately. l8er

August 1st, 2003

     Nothing too interesting is going on...every morning i go to the cram school....teach...then sleep....then go to cram school....it's like work. You know those papers that the airlines give you about your vacation....and there's always one question about why you went to the place you did...hrm...i think i'm here for work not vacation. I mean i haven't even been to the beach or major place. Sight-seeing is not likely either. O wells. AHHHH!!! I think i'm getting old...i mean OLD. I found a strand of hair that was half black and half white....freaky. Yesterday I went to a salon with my aunt so that she could get her hair washed and all this stuff. and like i donno how...but i ended up with a braided Afrian American Head...it's like...weird. I didn't even request it. Ah...so weird. Oy! my aunts let me go on little "adventure quests" to "explore" the area. They draw these little maps...with nothing but lines and main points...then i set out with a cell phone and my map....to go buy stuff...that they need or i do. Then if i get lost i can use the cell phone to call home...and ask someone to find me. And it's a garantee that i won't get lost because in Taiwan all the stores are so close to each other and it's only a few minutes walk to get to stores. Extremely helpful. Ack! Seems like each day is getting hotter...and hotter...Across the cram school is a new store called Tesco. It's from England and it's just like Costco. Well, nothing else new...my mom's coming back in 8 days. =) yipee. l8er yall
~Shui-La-Re~

July 30, 2003 (8:41 p.m. IN Taiwan)

     Another update on my vacation...well there are a lot of mosquitoes around and I got about 12 bites, it really sucks...On tuesday, i saw a dolphin show...totally awesome, and the cram school went on a field trip to this nuclear power thingy... i found it extremely boring since it was in total Chinese...and i could barely understand. Then...there's nothing really interesting happening. In august i'll get new students...and it's just going to be busier. Lemme just try sum CHinese...i don't know if it will work.

大 家 好! 打 信 給 我. lolol that took a lifetime to type. hehe. i suck at Chinese. Totally. l8er ppl. Bye.
-Hilary

July 23, 2003 (11:45 P.M . in Taiwan)

     Oy!! this week i rode a motorcycle...one word...AWESOME!!!!! I can't wait to do it again. lolol. it's was so funky flaying past cars and other motorcycles...totally kewl. Anywhos, I'm getting new students in August so that means even LESS e-mail....HOW AM I GONNA LIVE?!?! lol. I'm currently teaching, peter, a 3rd grader that doesn't know his ABCs...it's sooo sad. It took me one hour to get the letters "A,B,C, and D" clear. It's been 6 days and we are on the letter "e"....isn't that great progress? . Oy!! every two weeks i get my pay check...goody goddy (that means a shopping spree) lolol. I've earned $2,170 NT! Thats like...nearly $70 US. Not bad.... =) Oy! i got my own chess set. yipeee! and it was like $1.25 USA currentcy. Things are so cheap here...Anywhos....g2g. E-MAIL ME PLZ!!!     latez

7/13 in Taiwan.

     well i haven't written in a few days that's because my aunt has this strong belief that if i go on the computer i will b extremely stupid anywhos, she said that everytime i go online....even if it's only like 5 minutes....she will deduct from my pay by the hundreds....i earn 100 a hour....and if i go onlin for 30 minutes....that would b about 500 hundred deducted form my pay. That's like five hours of work!!! totally not fair. Anywhos, relatives got a new comp...the thin screen one and you can touch the screen instead of using the mouse it is totally awesome. My teaching job is getting harder and harder... my aunt applied for me to teach this college-bound student new vocabulary. So, the kid's parents to get to know me better, took me out to dinner at this totally fancy place. omb!! the food there is like...totally amazing. It's a buffet and there are these huge plates with these lids attached and you lift the lid and look at the food....it was awesome (srry ppl i know i'm sounding like lulu ;) ) Off the topic of food. anyways, half-way through the meal , I realized that the student i was to teach was the person who i taught two years ago!! He was the one who asked me the meaning of "homosexual" and other stuff. I was like...not able to even look at him. Well, it turned out that all the teaching materials that i had were all too easy for him and that he had learned tons of new vocabulary but reading...so i didn't have to teach him (whew) I also saw Terminator 3... it was kewl (considering that i barely watch those type pf movies). This weekend i've planned to go take a tour of Taiwan and go shopping. next week, i'll b going to Taiwan's Island. and maybe Hong Kong and Singapore!! Anyways, i'll e-mail when i get the chance.

6:51p.m here in Taiwan

     Hey all u wacky ppl. E-MAIL ME!!!! ALL U LAZY BONES WHO THINK THAT U CAN GET AWAY WITH IT! anywhos, teaching is sorta cool. I had to teach 4 kids....one of them was supposed to b supervised by his mother. but he didn't show up. I NEED SOMETHING TO DO BESIDES TEACH! i'm stuck here 9 hours, teaching for about only 2-3 hours. and i have to do my homework for the rest of the time. so it wud b nice if u ppl E-mail....opk i think i got tthe point across. i'll try to go on AIM sometime in my morning (6:00) then it wud ur ppl's 6:00 p.m. =) brillant. Okay....ppl here....the kids i mean....they are so nosy!! and they make up fake stuff that's totally wrong. g2g....leaving the cram school. E-MAIL ME!!! okay....ttyl

12:51 p.m. here in Taiwan....12:51 a.m. in USA....

Okay, so here I am in my aunt's cram school...it's sorta odd. This cram school was started my two of my aunts and it teaches English (really easy english). My aunt is going to hire me here to teach English...and I am teaching a class of five with my cousin, Tiffany. The pay was originally 500 dollars NT...but since my cousin is teaching with me...it's half so i get 250 NT an hour...and i think i am teaching about 2-3 hours a day...3-5 days a week...o well. I'm considering teaching one-to-one. My aunt called my (favorite) student from two years ago to ask if she wanted to learn with me again. Her name is Lulu. Anywhos, she hasn't gotten called back for the past 2 days....uh-o. I hope i can teach her again. Anyways, i don't find the weather here too hot as all people say it is. I'm using this school's computer (actually the secretary's computer....so i gotta go.) I'll try to e-mail the next time i find a computer!! ttyl =)

     Well, now I'm here at the airport. It's 10:01 and we have to wait inline for about one hour because there are about fifteen other groups of people infront of us and each group takes forever...(snore)

One hour later...
     Whoa!!! Talking about tight security! My goodness, everyone was required to take off shoes (i didn't kno that sandals had metal in it...??) and it took 10 minutes for us to pass that security thingy. Anywhos, it's a bit past 11 and i have one hour to spare. I think i'll browse around...all over the walls are these kewl pictures painted by middle school and high school people. latez =)

     (sigh) tired abd bored. I lost interest in my book so i'm sitting and walking around looking at the sleeping people all around me. I was so stupid to forget my water so i'm looking for a vending machine...Leavin in 45 minutes!!! all the way to Seattle. I'M GONNA MISS U CRAZY, INSANE PEOPLE SO MUCH!!

12:47...
     and...Takeoff!! heh. Sight's beautiful, i even took a picture of it. lol...currently 3,178 feet high....just remembered that i'm scared of heights.....whoops ;) ttyl =)

FOOD IS GARBAGE!!! totally sick tasting stuff. I starved myself and i only drank OJ and Apple juice. I cudn't eat any of that solid food....(gags)

Heh...i look like a dummy.....sitting there, headphones on and staring at the screen. The movies were What a Girl Wants and How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days....Wish they had more adventurous movies and cut out the romance ones. Well there was one movie on like...learning to kill people and then people wud fight each other to see who was better trained...odd. u punks wud probably have loved that one.

FEELING SICK AND HUNGRY (can't fix the hungry part b/c if i eat...i get sick...and if i get sick...i can't eat...and it i cant eat...i get sick....and so forth)

SEATTLE!! a rest from the sick food....whew ;) o no!! time to get back on..wonder if i cud smuggle in some Big Macs...hehe.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY YALL!!! too bad i missed the firecrackers....oh wells. Landing in Taiwan in 47 minutes =) hehe...HORRAY!