I can't get the Newfoundland blogroll sign to appear.

As you can see, I added the blogroll to the side there, but the stupid sign won't come up - it's supposed to be a Newfoundland flag and the title "Newfoundland blogroll." But instead it's just a box with a red x on it. Anyone know how I fix this? Computers are stupid.

Staff outing pictures

On Saturday, the school loaded everybody onto 2 buses and we went out to a beach resort close to Miaoli. I lost the map and can't remember the name right now.... Anyhoo, it was a good day. There were many activities available for us to do; paintball, horseback riding, repelling, volleyball, etc. I elected to swim in the ocean and lie around on my sarong. It feels so right, it must be sarong! Get it, so wrong/sarong! Har! Here's some pictures.

Here's Josh, Ron and Kim, getting ready to play paintball in the 30 degree heat. I drank a beer and took pictures.

Ze beach.
If you bring your pet pig to the beach, make sure it stays hydrated.

We got to watch an acrobat show when we first got there. They were very flippy and bendy.

I can't do that.

I can't do that either.

This is what the beach was like when we first got there, but it was mad busy by 5 when we left.

This was the beach at the end of the day with low tide. And then we all got on the bus and passed out, salty and sweaty.

Ghost Month Fever!

This is from the CBC's website a few days ago. It's ghost month, it's really hot and everyone is burning ghost money in front of their homes and businesses.


Pop singers in Taiwan try to appease spirits so concerts won't be spooked 08:50:25 EDT Jul 25, 2006
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Tuesday marked the beginning of the annual ghost festival in Taiwan, and performing pop stars will try to appease the spirits so their concerts won't be spooked, the local news media reported.
Tradition says the month-long festival kicks off when the gates of the netherworld are opened for ghosts to make their annual visit to Earth. It is also observed in other Chinese communities in Asia.
Taiwanese from all walks of life believe that feeding and entertaining ghosts during the festival leads to a year of peace and prosperity.
The Liberty Times newspaper said the American rap band Black Eyed Peas would burn incense sticks and make offerings of fruit, pork and chicken before their Tuesday night concert, the first in a string of musical events during the ghost festival.
Ghost month coincides with the seventh lunar month. This year it lasts until Sept. 21 because of leap year considerations in the lunar calendar.
Another performer observing ghost month this year will be Singapore heartthrob Stephanie Sun Yan Zi, Liberty Times said, adding that she will preside over a ghost-worshipping ceremony at concerts this Saturday and Sunday.
The newspaper quoted her producer, Chen Chen-chuan, as cautioning stage workers against saying anything that might annoy ghosts in the concert area.
Taiwanese TV reports said a third performer, Taiwanese band Nanchuan Mama, would carry lucky charms to scare away the ghosts at its Sept. 9 concert in Taipei, and Irish boy band Westlife would burn incense, link arms and pray for peace at their Taiwan performance the following day.

The internet makes me late.

Being about 12 hours ahead of everyone back home means I have to make phone calls either late at night or early in the morning - I prefer early in the morning as I'm usually pretty tired by the end of the day. Since the summer schedule started at the school, I have to be at work at 7:30 am, which means I get up at 6:00 am. You don't want to talk to me at 6:00am. So I haven't been calling people much lately (sorry Mom!). But I will get my arse in gear soon and try to be more talky.

Also, I have my first home computer now. I don't know how I lived before without the internet at home. What did I do all the time? Anyway, this is what happens every morning, I get up, I go online, I fart around, I realize it's 7:15, I say "shit" and run out the door. Then I come to work and go on the internet. What is the matter with me? Jesus.

Gotta work, will write more later.

Bridget

Last supper with Kat

This is my friend Kat from Philadelphia who I met at one of the pubs in front of my apartment building a couple of weeks after I moved in. She's back in the States now and then she's moving to Hanoi in a month or so to start up a business. She is a wicked seamstress/artist/all around person.





















Then I had an expresso.

2nd goodbye party weekend in a month. Poo.

My friends Kat and Kyle are leaving on Monday to go home to the States for awhile, then move to Hanoi. At the end of June, my friends Kelly and Daniel left to travel around China for a month, then return to the States to begin cool grad school programs. On August 4th, my friend Megan and Nick are moving to Saigon. Then on August 9th, my friend Ryan returns to Alberta. That's 7 friends leaving in less than 2 months. Ugh.

This is one of the main reasons why I feel this will be my last year in Taiwan, my circle of friends has changed at least 3 times since I've been here because it's just the kind of place where people come and go. You feel like you just get to know someone and they shag off. And it's pretty hard to take. Sniff.

Boo-hoo for me! Wah! Sorry, I'm hungover and listening to Keane. Next post will not be so whiney.

Bridget




Here's a pic of Kelly saying goodbye to her students as they swarm around her for a group hug.

Patrick's website

My brother, ze artist, has a really cool website. Wanna see it? Here's the linky dink.

http://www.patrickcanning.ca

Back to the grind.

Back at work, gotta suck it up!

These were my group of "special" grade ones I taught until the end of June. They didn't pass the school's entry tests at a high enough level to be put the rest of the grade ones. Hence the specialness. Not that they weren't smart, it's just all the others went to good kindergartens that taught them how to read and write English properly.

Anyhoo, I think they're eating chilled firm tofu in a syrupy sauce, I can't remember the name of it. Crazy delicious! Indeed......

Had my first staff meeting on Friday and it went well, it didn't go on for hours or end in a teacher's strike. Yesterday I went to a charity concert here in Taiwan, all the proceeds go to orphanages in India. The music was great, I danced my arse off. Now I am at work, arseless and tired. So tired.

I sent out a mass email telling people about the Thailand photos. What's that, like, blog promotion? Anyway, got a few emails back from people I hadn't heard from in ages. Good to hear from you V! Must write them back.

Better go find work to do. Peas out!

Bridget

S'more Thailand pics

Spirit houses on the beach. You see spirit houses all the time in Thailand, that's where the spirits go so they don't live in your own house and cause trouble. People also leave offerings outside them for their relatives.

This was the view from the spa I went to on my last day in Koh Tao. I had a herbal sauna (you sweat in a nice smelling place), a aloe vera body wrap, a facial massage and an oil massage, the whole thing was over 2 1/2 hours. Then I had to get on the boat and bus and go back to Bangkok. The whole time I was like, "wow, this bus ride is so long....wow, I'm so soft!

Inside Wat Mathati. These pictures are not in chronological order and I can't seem to figure out how to fix them....anyway, there was a celebration and all these little old ladies made me dance with them and parade around the temple. Then they all came in and had a sit.


On the beach. Just last week. Now I'm back in Taiwan and there's a typhoon and it's raining very hard. Sigh.

Some Thailand photos......

Here's a shot of Wat Mathati, it's a Buddhist centre in Bangkok.


This was the beach in front where I stayed, the "Tropicana Resort"in Koh Tao.

Lazy cat and shrine.

Little cutie.

Looking up at breakfast time.

Wednesday working

Back at work and going back and forth between admin stuff, teaching and being Ms. Boss Lady. It looks like it will be a while longer on posting my pictures as my internet access is down at home, for some reason. Sigh. It's one of those things about not being able to fluently speak and read the language in the country where you reside, it takes forever to get things straightened out.

I'm almost finished reading "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene and I love it. I read "The Quiet American" a year or so ago and loved that too - it was right before I went to Viet Nam, so it got me in the mood to see Hanoi. I think I'll get into a Graham Greene kick now. Just finished "Oh, Play That Thing" by Roddy Doyle recently too, it's really good. It's the sequel to "A Star Called Henry," Ange sent me a hardcover copy signed by the author. So nice Ange. It's not funny and tragic like the Barrowtown triliogy books like "The Commitments," but it's a really rich read.

Diving done, didn't drown.

I love alliteration.

Got my dive card yesterday so now I can scuba dive pretty much everywhere! You know what's hard? Taking off your mask underwater and putting it back on again. It was one of the exercises you have to know how to do, you take off your mask, put it back on and exhale through your nose to clear the water out of it. My brain took a lot of coaxing to remember not to breathe through my nose.

Anyway, it's 9:30am on Friday here and I'm going to head to a spa in an hour for a massage and a facial and maybe they'll wrap me up in seaweed or something. I will be human sushi. I have to leave for Bangkok at 2:30 and then tomorrow is my last full day in Thailand. Pooh. I'm excited about buying some rum at the duty free though, you can get Havana Club here, it's non-existant in Taiwan.

Taker e z.

Bridget

Thailand va-kay

So here I am in Koh Tao, got here this morning after a night bus and a 2 hour boat ride from Bangkok. Got into Bangkok on Sunday night and crashed, spent Monday putting in an order for clothes to be made - I'm getting a suit, 2 tops and a black silk dress to be made - and wandered around a bit. Went to Wat Mathati which is kind of a centre for buddhist studies in Bangkok and there was a cermony going on. Apparently, every 3 months, there is kind of a party where they parade around the temple singing and dancing. Anyway, so I was watching this parade, there were a bunch of children playing music and about a million older ladies shouting, singing and dancing behind them....anyway, the next thing I know, one of the crazy old ladies grabs me and makes me join them. So I got to be part of a parade yesterday! They were all really nice. Afterwards, I went to a religious amulet market which was really interesting and wandered around little India.

Today I basically napped and watched a video on SCUBA diving, tomorrow I have my first academic and primary/dicking around in shallow water with equipment lesson. They usually like to have groups, but as I need to leave Friday night, it's just me and the instructor tomorrow, then on Thursday I join a group of 9, count 'em, 9 Irish people and go on my first dive. Whee! I'm going to take the night route back to Bangkok on Friday, shop my ass off on Saturday, go out Saturday night with Anne (my friend from work, she's in Bangkok doing a massage course) and then back to Taiwan on Sunday night. And then get ready for a new school year on Monday. Gotta love vacations, they leave you so relaxed and ready to start afresh.

Have taken some pics, will post 'em when I get a chance.....which probably means back in Taiwan! Hope everyone is doing well.

Bridget