Ringing in the New Year...Again...??

February 7th will be the start of the Chinese New Year(a.k.a. Lunar New Year). I am still learning about it so unfortunately I do not have a lot of info yet but hope to in the following weeks.

I am already getting excited for it! Not only will it be very exciting and I will learn a lot but I get 5 days off to enjoy it all!!! Boyfriend and I will be planning one or two day trips during the weekend to go one or two days next week!

Unfortunately, I might not get to spend most evenings with Boyfriend as Chinese New Year is almost strictly a family holiday (plus, I am not sure his parents have warmed up to me yet...a VERY liberal American girl who speaks VERY little Chinese, absolutely NO Taiwanese and wears LOW cut shirts...needless to say they are VERY traditional Taiwanese with Chinese ancestry and a bit older than my parents who were hippies in the 70's and what not)
Then again, maybe I will..who knows? I'm fine either way, because Chinese New Year is FILLED with superstitions and I am bound to offend people...if I haven't already!!! That makes me nervous...

Anyway, not only am I craving Cherry Blossoms but I REALLY hope I can see Lion Dances!!!

Well, I need to get ready to go to the school...I am actually NOT tired of my job(I STILL love it) or my colleagues and ironically I am still happy with my students...BUT...I NEED a break!! I'm tired, drained and just want a vacation!

So I am going to leave you with a Youtube Lion Dance video, maybe some other videos if I can find them and resources on Chinese/Lunar New Year...

OH! If you are in Amsterdam/Holland then I highly suggest you visit Chinatown in Amsterdam next weekend!! The Buddhist temple on Zeedijk will surely have something as they did last year (unfortunately I didn't make it) and their headquarters are in Kaohsiung (Taiwan)!!! Definitely go if you have the chance!

http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/lunar-NY/

http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/15-day_celebration.html

http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html

These are videos of Lion Dance and some are from Lion Dance competitions which are really cool! I was watching one on Discovery Channel last night!!! It is soo cool!!!





OK this one is in Rotterdam..I forgot about Rotterdam!!


OMG!!!! So cuuute!!! Adorable kids singing and dancing for the Chinese New Year!!!!

I Wrote Too Soon...

Thanks to my wonderful mother and stepfather (which once again proves that I am spoiled :) ) I got to register to vote for the Primaries via Internet and downloaded a form to receive my absentee ballot for the November Election!

So I do have a chance! And I am going to post the links on here so that you do too!!


http://www.democratsabroad.org/

http://www.votefromabroad.org/

It is 1:06 am here and I seriously need to get to bed!

I did get to deep clean my apartment today as well as study my Chinese and wrote a couple Chinese New Year cards! My landlord also brought me a new remote as mine wouldn't work and so now I have been watching Taiwanese Teen Soap Operas!! i love them, but they make me miss Boyfriend... Now I'm watching an old Chinese history movie from the 50's or 60's...

OK...I write soon hopefully :)

My Extended Opinion on the Primaries:

As most if you know, the American primary elections are coming up on February 5th. Wait, wait...before I start I HAVE to say that my information might be inaccurate and if it is then I apologize! I haven't had much of a chance to research the election except from what I see and hear on CNN and that is obviously NOT enough!! But, I have just moved to a new country/continent and am also trying to learn about the politics( and history and culture and language, etc, etc, etc, etc) here while keeping up with the election. Plus, I teach English to children so I don't get much exposure to the adult world so much anymore. I am sure my step dad is reading this, sighing and thinking "Oh lord, she truly IS just like her mother..." ;)

The reason why I am writing this is because I did a careless thing as an American. I've been so busy here that I forgot to find a way to vote for the Primaries here. I was spoiled in Amsterdam because my step dad is very intelligent and is very knowledgeable so I relied on him for political information. He was my influence. My mom was the one who made sure we had the absentee ballots and all of that. So now that I am here and I don't have my parents to take care of all of that for me, so I forgot to register to vote for the primaries. And seeing as I am in Taiwan, it is probably too late for me to register and have everything sent to me.

As for the candidates, I don't know much about Obama and Edwards. I assume Obama would be a good candidate as well, but for me, I know more about Hillary. We KNOW where she's been, what she's been through and all that she has had to do and go through to get to where she is today!! Also, I might be sexist, but I am playing the gender card. I will explain more on this later.

So even though my knowledge of politics is waning, I still have a right to an opinion so here it is:

1. As women, it is our RIGHT to vote. Remember the 19th amendment? Women's suffrage? I want to appreciate and honor those women such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott who fought to give us such rights as equality and of course, the 19th amendment and move FORWARD with equality! I don't believe women should rule the world, but I believe in Yin and Yang. I believe women should be right up there with men and Hillary is our chance! I'm not talking about "World Peace" here...that word has gotten thrown around so much it has lost its meaning. I am just saying to finally work together and get something done!

But, in light of all fairness, since we are talking about the 19th amendment, let's not forget the 14th amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution).

BUT...even though I am concerned with gender, I am not concerned with color. (Trust me, I may be a white girl from conservative, suburban Ohio where most white parents won't let their children date blacks, but I have made it a goal to break myself from that mold and to see people for who they are NOT what color they are! My relationship is proof. I have fallen for an Asian man(Taiwanese to be exact). Personally, color may be an issue in this case as he embodies what I find physically attractive, but inside we are the same...period. But alas, I am trailing from my main point). It really doesn't matter as long as you do good.

2. As a member of Generation Y, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y , I need to motivate my (excuse my poor language) lazy-ass peers and be an example and vote! Back in November 2000, I asked my college friends who they were going to vote for. Most of them said, "Ehhh I'm not gonna vote." I was a little bit upset by this. I felt that because of their apathy, our generation was doomed. I also blamed them because Bush won the election (Obviously, I voted for Gore). Whether or not it really was their fault is beyond me. Maybe not, because as it turned out, one of those same college friends voted for Bush in the 2004 election... so maybe he would have voted for him in 2000 and that really wouldn't have made a difference? But I am willing to take these chances! There are people out there who feel the same as me, but are reluctant to vote. I want them to see that their vote is important. That is why MTV has that whole "Rock the Vote" campaign! To get us off our lazy asses and do some good for once!

3. Back to the topic of women leading: It has been shown that very little has been solved with certain men leading the country (and the world). I really don't think wars solve a lot. Lots of men put their life on the line for their countries, but most don't get to live to appreciate that sacrifice. I just don't see the point in that. Yes, OK, maybe they do it for their loved ones or for the people, but wouldn't it be even better if they were alive to enjoy it WITH their loved ones and fellow countrymen? They deserve at least that!

I just feel that a woman in office would take a different approach to things. I feel that a sharp tongue solves more than a sharp sword. I'm not saying do away with military as we all need to be able to defend ourselves, but didn't your mother ever tell you, "NEVER throw the first punch. Only fight back when someone else has thrown that first punch in your face!" (or stomach, or groin, whatever...). But even then, there are more intelligent ways of dealing with things than showing off our "Big Guns"...


I know very little of Senator Clinton's stance on the issues, but as for why I would have voted for Hillary in the Primaries is this: It is not only my gut feeling that says she would make a good president, but it is also what she has been through not only professionally but personally that has made her great. One thing I must say is that she KNOWS how to deal with publicity, good AND bad. She has had to deal with it for YEARS!! Not only has she broken through many levels of the "Glass ceiling" in her professional career, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_ceiling ,
but she is also a mother and a wife! She had a husband who led himself astray promiscuously and she stuck by his side (personally I would have dumped his sorry ass and saved myself the anguish, but hey-different strokes for different folks), fought to mend their marriage and now they have become a powerful duo! And speaking of this husband of hers, let's not fail to mention that he, himself was President a few years ago and despite his personal affairs, he seemed to have done a pretty decent job! She is definitely an independent woman and would be great on her own, but I think it is wonderful to have someone with that kind of experience stand behind you and be there for you! And lastly, she has the "hook-up". What I mean is, that she HAS the network to be President. Have you ever heard the saying, "It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know"? Well, I believe she has the WHAT and the WHO and that is what will help her when she is President. And one last point as I digress back to the "Glass ceiling": No woman has ever "broken" this, how should I put it... this high a level of a "Glass ceiling" before. If she did this, this would push us forward!

As I said before, I do not want women to "rule the world" Extremism breeds radicalism, in my opinion (if you don't understand what I mean let me give you a quick example:Germany: Hitler and the Nazis=Nationalism--->Russians in East Germany=Communism--->Present Day (FORMER Communist East) Germany= sudden rise of the NPD (present day Nazi party) taking control...extreme right to extreme left to extreme right again), BUT feminism has been digressing rapidly these past few years! The Paris's, Britney's and Pamela's of the world have pushed us back to the stone age when men beat women over the heads with clubs and made them their "property". They let their daddies and managers make their decisions for them while they go off and let fame hungry men manipulate them any way they can because they don't know any other way. And even though people complain and bash them, I still have respect for the Oprah's and Angelina's of the world and of course women like Hillary! Bit by bit they are doing their part to make this world better as well as bringing progress for women. That is what I want to be a part of! That is who I want to be!




I apologize for any incorrect and/or offensive material and thank you for reading. Please do not send any comments bashing, threatening or complaining. This is ONLY an opinion and not meant to anger...ONLY to express and maybe(though I am pessimistic about this and doubt it) enlighten...

A Week or Two of Being Busy

Which means I have no news. No exciting stories to tell, alas.

Boyfriend has been on a business trip in Salt Lake City and even though he gets back in a couple of days, I won't see him until next weekend. :*( It's OK...Of course I DO miss him, but I know I am going to see him again so that's good news :)

Although, while I was waiting to see the doctor to get my stitches out this morning, I started panicking and imagining them ripping my stitches out one by one with NO anasthetic! Then I was really wishing my mom or Boyfriend was there. I almost had a panic attack! But when I finally went in, the doctor said everything was OK, did a teensy tiny snip snip with lil scissors and felt almost nothing! It is still very tender and sore especially if I lean back on it or touch it, but the best news is: I can shower!!! Thank god!!!

As for teaching I had a Parent's Day on Monday and I was sooo nervous. I have one tonight as well and am still pretty nervous. Not to mention I have received a visit from my "Aunt Flo" if you know what I mean so I have cramps and am pretty bitchy. I am also in desperate need of a vacation. I have been here 5 months and have yet to venture out of Taichung except to go to the Hospital in Dali!

Soooooooo, I have become addicted to travel research and when Boyfriend comes back from his business trip, I can't wait to show him everything I've found!!!! Now, I don't NEED Boyfriend to travel with me. If I wanted I would travel by myself, but the thing is, I want him to go. Not only does he need a vacation as well and to get out, but I think it is always nice to share things like that with someone. My mom and stepdad travel ALL over together and have the BEST stories like when they were on the donkeys in Santorini going up the rocky cliffs to the city. I LOVE that story!! (Maybe someday you might read about it in my mom's blog if she ever gets hers started ;) ) I want to be able to have stories like that!

Boyfriend and I have done some really fun things together here and I would like that to continue :)

So here are the places I want to go:

Well actually first off...my goal is to see the Cherry Blossoms here whether in Wutai or Sun Moon Lake. I HAVE to see them!!!! One of my main goals for coming to Asia was to see Cherry Blossoms and dammit! Come hell or high water I will see CHERRY Blossoms during Chinese New Year!!!!! I have gone Cherry Blossom crazy! I keep printing pics of Cherry blossoms and have started hanging them in my room! I am even going to buy L'Occitane Cherry Blossom perfume tomorrow (as my Eau des Vanilliers is almost up).

Next up is either Maolin Scenic Area for the rising of the purple butterflies in the morning as well the rest of the area or Lushan hot springs where you can boil eggs in a little pool beside(designated just for boiling eggs) you while you relax in the hot spring. Maolin also has hot springs so this is a tough call!!! In Maolin Scenic area there are tons of beautiful waterfalls as well!! Actually I plan on going to both but the hard decision is which first ;)

I also want to have a "tropical" vacation, so I have been researching Green Island. Hot Springs, beautiful greenery, waterfalls, and...BEACHES!!!!!! Plus, Green Island is pretty historical. It used to be a major prison island or something not too long ago (sorry still need to do more research on that part).

and...ALL of these places have definite aboriginal culture and I really want to learn more!!!!!!

Here are the websites I have been researching so far. Take a looksee:

http://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/EN/02000026.aspx

http://www.greenislandadventures.com/about.htm

http://www.maolin-nsa.gov.tw/maolin/index.php?lang=en&style=style2

http://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/EN/04001118.aspx

http://english.tccg.gov.tw/leisure.php?page=leisure_shop_01&id=188&pid=192


Actually, I was planning on going to Thailand, but for a 3 day, 2 night trip it would cost us NT$25,000 per person!!! For a 3day,2night holiday in Green Island would only cost about NT$6000 plus I think taking lots of small trips around Taiwan are better and better environmentally. So I'm starting from the inside out....From Taichung and slowly spreading to the rest of Taiwan and THEN to Asia :) Taiwan has so many BEAUTIFUL places!!

I am yearning for purple butterflies, cherry blossoms falling around me like soft pink snowflakes, soaking in hot springs, enjoying the soft cool spray of a waterfall and smelling the fresh air. *sigh*

I Was Going to the Hospital for a Check-up...

and ended up having surgery!!! :)

Ok, OK...I was actually going to have a bump on my back looked at. I finally have health insurance and like I have said in previous posts, this is the year for health, beauty and wellness for me so I have been to so many doctors in the past two weeks!

The Program Director gave me a VIP tour of the hospital in Dali when I arrived. He said he always does this for first-time foreign patients to ensure they know where they need to go and they need to do for next time. So he lead me to the doctor's office and waited outside while I talked to the doctor. So I talked to the doctor and he said it was a benign tumor, but it would be best to have it removed ASAP to prevent possible infection. I wanted it removed anyway because it was UuuhhhhhhGLY! Then he asked me if now was OK..."Now?!?!" I was thinking. So we talked it over and he explained that it would be a 20 or so minute procedure. I would receive local anasthetic and would be able to go to work this afternoon no problem...so I said OK! Although I have NEVER done that before and the last surgery I had was my wisdom teeth a few years ago and I was knocked out for that! Before that was when I fractured my elbow when I was 5 and was knocked out for both surgeries. Needless to say I was nervous but wanted it taken care of!!

So they performed the surgery and the only pain I felt was the injections for the anasthetic...other than that it just felt like they were poking at my back...Mentally, I imagined a TON of blood, sewing, surgery knives and etc, but since it was on my back, I was lucky enough to NOT see it! Unfortunately I was so nervous and shaking so bad and of course no HAPPY images would come to my head..only horror movie scenes...especially "Hostel" (which has traumatized me-so EFFIN scary!!!!!) and "Hannibal" *shiver* and that didn't help my nervousness! But the OR staff was very nice and hearing only Chinese was actually calming, because imagine being in an English-speaking OR and then they say things like "Uh oh! I just lost the suchers-Damn! Looks like we are going to have to use our bare hands!"or something scary doctor like (I dunno! I'm not a doctor and never had this happen before!)

So it is done but have to be careful of the stitches. I get them off next Friday! I would write more but am so tired! I need to relax a bit before I go to the school!

Yay! Next Doctor stop: the dentist to have my teeth cleaned ;) Phew!! Hopefully I wont need to worry about doctors for awhile...hopefully!!!

My New Look: A Continuation

My last entry’s theme was “New Look” and this is a continuation of the entry.

This weekend was the time for my “New Look”. Saturday afternoon, boyfriend took me to Iie Jong Street (which is place where all the high school students hang out apparently – very trendy and INEXPENSIVE shopping…not to mention YUMMY candied tomatoes) to a salon there where I decided that it was time for a haircut and color. This salon offers German brand “Schwarzkopf” professional products, so we figured that it would be OK for a westerner to go there. For NT$1500 I got my hair washed, cut, color, head massage, blow dry, style and a normal size bottle of shampoo along with a little sample bottle of mousse!!!

Boyfriend also got his hair washed, cut and colored as well! I have never done something like that with a boyfriend. Usually, going to the salon is “alone time” for me or time with my mom, but I like sharing this experience with Boyfriend. We weren’t the only couples there…apparently Taiwanese boyfriends and girlfriends follow each other and hang out with each other when they get their hair done.

The thing is though; the color I picked out from the sample hair color book was a deep chocolate brown with a hint of red. What I got was Strawberry blonde. I assume that the samples were the effects of the “Western” hair color on Asian hair. Luckily, I LOVE the color so all is OK with the world! My stylist was so sweet and did a great job on cutting and giving me an easy style! I’m DEFINITELY going back!

After our salon trip, Boyfriend and I went to those Japanese photo booths where you can take the pictures, then put funny cartoons and frames and stuff on the photos. We had so much fun and we even got a membership card with coupons and a TON of coupons left so we will definitely be back! Then we did some shopping and had some red bean ice cream at the Chicken Feet place where Boyfriend kept trying to convince me to try Chicken Feet which I CANNOT do…It’s like eating squid…once it goes in my mouth I have to FORCE myself to keep it down and TRUST ME-that is a lot of work!

One of my fave photos of us-Awww!! Sooo cute!!! :)

Another romantic one

I like this one too :)

All the others are one my Myspace page...and when I'm not lazy or not busy, I'll upload them to my Photobucket page :)

also tried Heineken Green Tea at Iie Jong…yep, you heard me right…Heineken Green Tea and it was pretty good!!

After Iie Jong, we went to Chunghua night market and did some more shoe shopping where I bought 2 pairs of boots for NT$900!!! In Holland, I bought one pair of boots similar to one of the pairs I bought for about €100. I probably paid about €10 for each pair here!!!

On Sunday, Boyfriend and I went to a tiny Turkish restaurant in the Canal District and had REAL Turkish Pizza, Cacik (similar to Greek Tzatziki), Cumin Bread, Hot Turkish Tea for me and Hot Apple Tea for Boyfriend. I have been craving Turkish pizza and this one was sooo different from the Turkish pizza I had in Amsterdam, but I gotta say, DAMN that was good!

I will close this entry with a quote from “Open Your Mind, Open Your Life”:

“ Hold fast to your dreams. Never allow the enemy of self-doubt to destroy them.”

New Year = New Look

As well as a new theme:

My theme for 2008 is health, beauty and wellness.

Before I go into my goings-on, I just want to say that I have been busy with classes and have done nothing interesting unless you consider going to doctors to get check-ups and things looked at and tested interesting...??

Anyway,
the reason my theme for 2008 is "Health, Beauty and Wellness" is because I was without health insurance for so long and I want to make sure that I am healthy and well. I haven't been feeling good about myself but now that I have been going to doctors, I am slowly feeling better about myself and am feeling more motivated to become more active and find inner peace through Yoga among other things.

I am also going to get my hair cut and colored this weekend, hopefully. My hair is looking pretty disheveled...really. I found a place on Iie Jong Jie (Sorry only know the pinyin) where I only pay NT$1500(€35) for a wash, cut, color and style!! They also use Schwarzkopf Professional products ( A German brand) meaning that the hair color is mainly for Western hair.
In Holland I would probably pay between€70-€150 for a wash, cut, color and style!!!!!

I also have a list of plans for myself to help me feel better about myself:
1. Go to the doctor and get checked up
2. Go to the dermatologist and get face checked out - since I have been here, I have REALLY bad pimple breakouts..even worse than before
3. Join Yoga World-I need relaxation and meditation
4. Hair cut and color
5. Clothes and Shoe shopping - i am in DIRE need of clothes and shoes...I look like a mine because I am ALWAYS wearing black because that is all I have...
6. Visit Hot Springs in the area - Look, I'm not one of those "EXTREME backpacker" "Let's go hiking and spelunking" type of people...My idea of a holiday is relaxation and/or shopping...What can I say?
7. Swimming with Boyfriend - it seems most Taiwanese don'tknow how to swim, but I told Boyfriend I'd teach him, plus it's good exercise.
8. Better Diet - Uhhh yeah...I don't think that is going to happen because there is just too much good food here especially good desserts, Asian and Western!! But..it is till on my list as a reminder!
9. Spa Visit - Once again, my idea of a good holiday ;)


Speaking of holidays, Boyfriend and I both agreed that we both need one. Boyfriend is a workaholic and I am becoming a semi-workaholic. This was made evident to me as one of my colleagues called me "addicted" when she asked if I had voluntarily taken any days off yet and I said no, of course. Pretty much all of my Western colleagues have taken days off to go traveling, but I am actually trying to save my days.

Although plans are up in the air, Boyfriend and I have lightly talked about taking a holiday together. I also nonchalantly (Ha! Right! ;) ) mentioned about going to Guguan Hot Springs and Dahu. Ok, it was more like shoving the magazine articles in his face and probing questions out of him about these areas and if he has ever been...;)

On another note, Boyfriend took me to see Traditional Tombs just a little bit outside of Taichung City, right when everything starts to become rural. He even took me to his grandparent's tomb and gave me a little history lesson on Traditional Chinese Family Tombs. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because it would be rude to take pictures of people's tombs and probably bad karma for the family living and probably the photographer.
These tombs are amazing! They look like little tiny Mausoleums and most are arranged according to Feng Shui. Buddhist tombs have a stone statue of the God of Fortune and parallel to him a stone statue of a fortune dragon(if I remember correctly). They also have a small stone furnace to burn paper money for good fortune. This is done on Tomb Sweeping Day which is one day in May where all the family goes to the tomb, cleans it, puts fresh flowers, lights incense, burns paper money and etc. Apparently, if the deceased are taken care of, then the living descendants will be successful and fortunate.
This means people will pay MILLIONS of NT$ for tombs.

I also got the see the mountains surrounding Taichung on the way to the tombs, and I must say it was a gorgeous view!! And of course, I FORGOT my camera so I hope Boyfriend takes me again soon as I want to take beautiful photos :)

Well, I need to go and get ready for class. See? I am addicted! Class doesn't start until 16:50, and it is now 13:05...but I like to take my time planning the lessons, and it keeps me from panicking and stressing!

Oh! One more thing! As you can tell, I have a new background and a new look for this blog. Unfortunately, all my cool photos from Germany and Holland got deleted in the process of the change, so it looks pretty sparce. So I am sorry! I will try to take better care as time goes on. I hope you like the new look because I do! I wanted something Chinese/Asian inspired. :)
I also updated my look for my Myspace page so for those of you on Myspace check it out:
http://www.myspace.com/brebre711