Mitzy, Cassandra, Eileen, Tara, Karin, and Monica in the gorge.
The first weekend in November, I headed back to Hualien to support a few friends who were running in the 10th annual Taroko Gorge Marathon. Cassandra, Karin, and Eric ran in the 5K and Eileen ran in the half marathon. It turned out to be a gorgeous morning for the runners and after the race, we decided to explore the gorge a bit. We saw amazing rock formations, crystal clear water, and even a couple of monkeys swinging in the trees.
5th graders doing the "Sorry, Sorry" dance
Kindergarten performance (sorry, people kept walking in front of me!)
After hiking through Taroko Gorge, we had a relaxing afternoon before getting dolled up and heading out for a night of dumplings, dancing and socializing.
On Thursday, Monica and I had the opportunity to introduce our teaching staff to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. On Monday, we ventured out with a couple of co-workers to Costco to buy a turkey and some pumpkin pie. At home on Wednesday night, Monica and I prepared mashed potatoes, gravy, and an apple pie for all to enjoy the next day. After heating everything up and topping off the pies with whipped cream, everyone dove into the Thanksgiving feast, even after they had finished their regular lunches. It was really wonderful to see how everyone was willing to taste the turkey and they cleaned it to the bone; no leftovers for sandwiches the next day! The staff was really appreciative of our efforts and mentioned that we should make a meal for every month. Not sure how that will work out, but it was nice to see that they enjoyed the meal.
Thanksgiving night, all four Taipei FETs met at an Italian restaurant, Capone's, that was offering an American style Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoyed soup, a Waldorf salad, turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, and yams. For dessert, I enjoyed apple pie with ice cream, and the others had pecan pie with ice cream. It was all really delicious, but I did miss the big meal my mother usually cooks.
Speaking of family, I woke up at 5:15 a.m. on Friday morning to video-chat with my parents, grandparents, and my brother. Everyone was giving me details about the meal and mentioning that they missed having the cheesy mashed potatoes I usually bake for Thanksgiving. It really made me miss having Thanksgiving in the Mish (Mishawaka), but it was nice to see everyone while they enjoyed their meal.
November continued to be a hectic month, especially with our school gearing up for Sports Day on the last Saturday of the month. Sports Day was especially important this year because my school, Bin Jiang Elementary School, was celebrating it's fifth birthday. The sixth graders sang a happy birthday song during the grand processional, and there was even a birthday cake that all of the kindergartners who were 5, gathered around. Sports Day was really interesting to observe. It began with a grand processional, where all of the classes march onto the track and perform a little skit. The 5th graders presented an H1N1 skit and the "Sorry, Sorry" dance, then one of the aboriginal students sang an aboriginal song. The 4th graders demonstrated part of the boating and fishing tradition of Taiwan, the 3rd graders did a cheer, the 2nd graders sang a song, the 1st graders did a chant along with dragon faces, and the kindergartners also did a little cheer.
After the grand processional, Monica and I led the kids in stretching in English, and then the real fun began. The kindergarten students did a drum and flag number, and the 6th graders did a dance to "Jai Ho" from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire." The fifth graders and first graders had relay races. The 2nd graders performed a workout routine that was a lot of fun to watch and third graders performed a routine to Avril Lavigne's song "Girlfriend."
Monica and I participated by dancing with the fourth graders to a French song. We cha-cha'd, promenaded, boogied down, and clapped our way through the dance and had a lot of fun. We also were given microphones to cheer the relay racers on in English. Afterwards, some teachers gathered for a meal of "hotpot," which is cooking food in flavored, boiling water.
Because we worked on Saturday, I had the next Monday off to sleep in and have a relaxing day. In true vacation day style, I woke up around 10, took my time getting ready, then met Monica out at Dr. Sun Yet-sen Memorial Hall to explore that area. Although I have lived here for awhile, I have not done a lot of touristy things, and I decided that today would be a wonderful opportunity to do so. I was able to see artifacts from Dr. Yet-sen's work and the most exciting part of the trip was seeing the changing of the guards. It was intense, but incredibly interesting to see.
I noticed today, after talking to a friend, that I have been here in Taiwan for four months, leaving me with only seven left to explore and enjoy what this experience is and is going to continue to be. Until next time enjoy the pictures and videos below!
Changing of the guard at Sun Yat-senPictures from Taroko Gorge:
Pictures from the rest of November:
