At it again

It may be hard to start anew, but we often forget the lessons of the past and are thus allowed to move forward with more rewarding mistakes. I am "at it again" writing this blog, which begins in in December because I accidently erased it. I am "at it again" living abroad because I I erased from my memory the continous miscommunication and confusion of it. Luckly you can sit back in the comforts of your native language and culture and enjoy my adventures, hopefully with a laugh or snicker.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

My mamma is gone, what will I look forward to now

My mom came this weekend and we had a grand old time. She came in on Thursday afternoon after I had taught an awesome class on the three little pigs. I took the afternoon off and we went to lunch anf then to the market to by some fresh tuna for pan-seared tuna steaks. It was fun to see her grossed out by the things I've gotten used to- namely pig faces hanging on a hook. We also got our hair washed. Mom's massage was to hard and I didn't get a massage at all and then they put a funny currly-q in my hair and curled my mom's. We looked pretty funny, but our hair was exceptionally clean.

On Friday morning went to my school. Even my normally unshy students all ran away. I guess two Waiguoren is one too many. I showed mom my classroom, she took the requiest pictures and laughed at the somewhat awkward sentences I teach and have gotten used too. We hightailed it out of there and then went off to renshan. The weather was perfect, warm but a little cloudy. We hiked up to a waterfall and then I made my mom climb up about 100 too many stairs with the promise of monkeys. We saw a pretty garden, but I couldn't deliver the monkeys. We almost skipped sanqing temple but luckily didn't. I didn't think it would be very active on a Friday morning, but there were tons of people around worshipping and it was cool, even for me who sees temples every day. In the afternoon we went to Jiaoxi and got a foot reflexology massage. The guy was a big talker and I played translator with relative success. He like everyone else noted right away how young my mom looks and then he asked her her exact age. I guess it's good my mom looks young, maybe that runs in the genes, or maybe it's just that I already look old. After our massage we soaked in the lovely hot springs of Jiaoxi and then ate a well earned shabu- shabu dinner.

On Saturday we had a relaxing morning and then went up to Taipei. I tried to flex my Sadoku musceles for my mom on the train, but failed to finish the 5 starrer she gave me. In Taipei we checked into the luxurious Hyatt, met Colin and took the fastest elevator in the world to the tallest building, which, if you didn't know is in Taipei. We ate Greek food in the evening which gave me a bit of indigestion, new old foods, Ahhhh. I didn't sleep well because the bed was too soft after my board like bed, but Mom slept well though she hadn't on my bed so one of us go a good night's sleep each day. Consiquentially I woke up early and went down to the gym to run. I got to use a running machine like the one at Reed and realized I've become a much better runner. Maybe BBC helps. We ate an unbelievably western breakfast and then headed to the art museum. The show was only alright this time, but it was good to show Mom one of my favorite spots. We then had tea at the traditional Wisteria house and tried to have lunch at one of the most famous restaurants in Taipei. Note to self, you need a whole extra hour if you want to do that. BAck at the hotel I was really losing it to sleep deprivation and an upset stomach and I probably wasn't the best host those last few hours. Mom got on a bus and Colin and I waved her off. I went to the train station and started crying. I guess it was really sad to have her go so quick, especially since everyone Taiwanese I talked to expected her to stay for a month or so. I guess these two cultures really have diferent expectations for family visits across the ocean. Well, someone else better volunteer to come out and visit me so I have something else to look forward to. Otherwise, it might be a sad few months as I miss you all.