Marisa's blog

I was going to write an email to various family members (I have put you in bold so you feel special), but then I realized I may as well post it on the blog for the entertainment of everyone else.

We arrived in Bangkok yesterday. It has felt a bit like coming into another world. We had been in Vietnam and Cambodia for about four months. In those four months we seem to have forgotten a few things. Like rain. Right after we arrived at our hotel last night a giant downpour and thunderstorm started. I stared at it for a few moments before I remembered that water falls from the sky sometimes. Hello rain. Long time, no see.

While the rain was nice to see, it made finding food a bit difficult. We hadn't eaten much all day because we'd been on the bus trying to get to Bangkok from Siem Reap. We settled for buying all the food in the mart next to the hotel. If you are interested, here are some things they sell in the mart next to the hotel: microwave meals (that are actually delicious), A&W Root Beer (which is better than the stuff they sell in the States), and Mars bars. I haven't eaten my Mars bar yet.

Today we did the things that you did when you suddenly find yourself in a real city after months of being in places that lack certain necessities, like McDonalds and movie theaters. We enjoyed our Big Macs and Double Cheeseburgers very much and then saw "The Adjustement Bureau" at the fanciest movie theater ever. And since the movie was only $4, I think we may end up seeing every movie they are showing. The movie was good (thanks for the tip Erica).

After dinner what could we do but go to Dairy Queen for dessert. I had a hot fudge milkshake. My first milkshake in a very long time. It was delicious. I thought about my Dad and how he loves hot fudge milkshakes. I enjoyed it extra for you.

Jordan is working on his cumulative post about Cambodia. I think I will write one tomorrow too. It will be called "5 Interesting Things About Cambodia." One of the interesting things is Angkor Wat. Another one involves fish. Also, I may post a humorous picture about iPods that would especially appeal to middle school students.

Also, Mom, I forgot to tell you that I lost one of my earrings. I made sure before I left Hanoi to put the extra secure backs on all my earrings, the ones that snap, so that I wouldn't lose one. But still, one afternoon, I returned to find that I was missing an earring. I don't know if it was the motorcycle ride, the elephant trek, or swimming in the waterfall that knocked it loose, but you may want to warn people that they aren't totally secure. Perhaps the elephant ate it. He tried to eat my purse, so I wouldn't put it past him.

 The last couple of days we've been enjoying the spectacular sights at Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. We saw 28 temples in 3 days, and each one was unique and interesting (well, except for the last one). The temples are grandiose reminders of an era which was consumed by the jungle hundreds of years ago. And while their beauty and craftmanship are impressive, we think they are improved by our photogenic faces. 

Jordan caputres the Bayon at Sunrise. We were all alone at one of the parks most visited sites.

Jordan conquers Angkor Wat.

I stop for a read in a photo that I promise is real, despite the fact that it doesn't look like it.

If you're interested in the rest of our photos, we're slowly uploading them. Check them out here: Day 0, Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3, or our Top 10 (which is a work in progress). Sometimes we're not even in the picture.

I am currently sitting on top of a double-decker bus, rocking my way towards Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. The bus is a bit more like a roller coaster than I remember double-decker buses being. Perhaps it's because I'm sitting in back, or perhaps it's because the roads in Cambodia aren't quite as smooth as the ones in Hong Kong. Of course you could have all the smoothness in the world and it wouldn't matter when you go swerving around motorbikes and cows at full speed.

It is now 3:30pm. We were told that the bus would be arriving around 4:30, which we took hopefully to mean we would arrive around 6 or so. However, soon after getting on the bus bright and early this morning, I began to despair that we would ever arrive at our destination.

We arrived at the bus stop this morning at about 7:45. The hotel arranged for our tickets and our ride to the bus stop, and I was quite surprised to see the bus pulling out as my motorbike came down the street, honked and pulled in front of the bus so it couldn't make a sneaky escape until Jordan and his motorbike arrived. The bus conductor berated me for being late, and I laughed, “ha ha, like I have any control over this situation.” We got quickly on the bus and congratulated ourselves on not missing the bus, despite the fact that it was supposed to leave about 20 minutes earlier. We felt lucky and relieved to be on board, and missed the sign from the universe that perhaps we should have missed the bus.

Me, still happy, smiling into Jordan's glasses.

After one last mean look from the conductor, the bus pulled off the curb, drove about 300 meters and then pulled over again to let some more people on. It continued to do this every 300 meters or so for about an hour. It should be noted that when Jordan and I got on the bus we sat in the last empty seats, so everyone else they picked up was squatting in the aisle.

The aisles are full and the tv is loud.

At this point (after picking up about 10 extra aisle squatters), we calculated that we were about an hour behind schedule, and things began to pick up. Or rather the opposite, since we didn't pick anyone up for about 10 minutes. However, the cruising time was brief and we soon pulled over to the side of the road. Everyone dashed off the bus, and I thought maybe the squatters had arrived at their destination, but after looking around, it seemed we were in the middle of nowhere. And I don't mean “middle of nowhere” like we were in Cambodia, but “middle of nowhere” meaning we were in the forest and there were no signs of people. In turned out after some observation that the bus guys (of which there seemed to be about 5 on our bus of 60) were out fixing something under the bus and everyone else had seized the moment to have a roadside pee, despite the fact that most of them had just been picked up and had been on the bus for about 10 minutes. Finally, the pee-ers returned to the bus, the bus guys removed the wooden blocks from the tires, and we were off again. Perhaps an hour and half late at this point, although it's really hard to know since the arrival time is only a mysterious 4:30, which we never really believed in.

We chugged along with hope in our hearts as we sped toward our destination. The morning light glistened off the green mountains and everything looked very lovely. I pulled out the iPod, turned it on and enjoyed the scenery set to my own personal soundtrack. What a lovely day it will be, I thought.

The beautiful, dry scenery passes by the window.

Suddenly the bus pulled over again. We looked around in confusion and saw that we had pulled over at a rest stop. It's breakfast time. And since we had been in the bus for about 2 hours, and driven perhaps 30 miles, it was time to take advantage of the road side stop. Everyone piled off the bus to eat and use the WC, and the bus boys were back out there tinkering with the bus. About 20 minutes later or so, we all got back on the bus and headed out, at this point so far behind schedule that I really couldn't give you a time figure.

And so it goes for many hours. We drive a few miles and then have a rest stop. I have never had so many rest stops as on this bus ride. The real highlight came when I glanced out the window to see where we could possibly be stopping at this point, and saw that some guy had bounded off the bus and was buying furniture from a roadside stand. One of the bus boys had followed him out and was slowly carting stools made from solid wood logs back to the bus. The guy was wandering around what I guess is a furniture store (but really looks like a shack) and was contemplating various things. Eventually the bus driver gave him a honk, as whatever induced him to stop for this furniture shopping spree has been overrun by the 60 people sitting on the bus, looking out the window and wondering why someone is buying furniture. Eventually the man got back on the bus with the last stool at the shop, and we were on our way again.

See the man sprinting back to the bus. See how there is no more furniture in the yard to be bought.

This, I thought, was the icing on the cake of our bus trip. However, I thought that just before the air con broke.

The only redeeming thing about spending 10+ hours on the bus is that you get to do it in the cool air and look out the window at scenery set to your own personal soundtrack. When suddenly the cool factor is gone, and it's over 90 degrees with no air flow (the bus windows don't open), nothing really makes the trip seem worthwhile, not your soundtrack, not hours of playing Zoo Keeper on the DS, not the thought that tomorrow you can see Angkor Wat. Mostly you just think, I would trade all the temples in and around Angkor Wat for a cool breeze.

And that, I concluded while I could feel the sweat dripping down and pooling around and soaking into my clothes, is what traveling is. It may seem exotic and exciting and other words that start with 'e', and sometimes it is, but mostly it's uncomfortable and uncontrollable and surprising. Sometimes the surprises are good, so you keep going. Sometimes they are bad and you question why in the world you are at the location you are. For now I have hope that we will someday arrive at our destination, and that the surprises tomorrow will be good ones. And since we're going to Angkor Wat, I'm thinking the chances are good. 

 

 Sometimes I like to imagine what I would do if I was Dumbledore as I travel. Well, mostly I just think about the puter-outer that he made and think about what I would make. At this point in our travels my mind is firmly decided that I would make a de-honker to be used in the following situations:

Situation 1: Crossing the Street

A very small Marisa-Dumbledore goes to cross the street. Giant, fatty SUV comes barreling down the road, feels threatened by Marisa-Dumbledore and makes a very loud honk. Right now my only response as Marisa-with-no-Dumbledore-skills is to jump and scurry across the road, much like Farah used to whenever she saw anything. However, Marisa-Dumbledore would zap the giant, fatty SUV with the de-honker and the offending vehicle would suddenly find itself de-manned and de-honked, never to be rude again. Marisa-Dumbledore could cross the street without anyone making obscenly loud noises.

Situation 2: The Bus Ride

Marisa-Dumbledore is on a long bus ride to the middle of nowhere. The bus ride is long so I/she/we are listening to the iPod, maybe sleeping, or at least trying to relax. However, every five minutes or so, right after I/she/we have been lulled into a safe quiet, the driver (who thinks he is driving a race car, not a giant bus) lays on the horn for about a minute until the motorbike/bicycle/cow gets out the way. Marisa-with-no-Dumbledore-skills just has to sit there and try not to relax too much because then the horn is extra loud. Marisa-Dumbledore would just zap the driver's horn leaving him to take a more leisurely and relaxing pace behind the motorbikes/bicycles/cows he can no longer scare and intimidate out of the way.

I have been contemplating seeing if I actually have Dumbledore-skills by standing in the middle of the traffic and seeing what happens when the horns don't work. Sure you may think you are a big, tough, fatty vehicle with a loud, vile horn, but I am Marisa-Dumbledore and will not be cowed by obnoxiousness. However, since we're in Cambodia, the Wild West of South-East Asia, I'm a bit loathe to test out my skills. Things didn't work out that well for Dumbledore afterall anyway.

 

It's said that the best way to cross the street is to find a monk to tag along with.

Not such a good day for the chickens to cross the road. 

Getting around Vietnam has been somewhat more eventful than getting around in Taiwan. Not really more eventful I guess, just less enjoyable. We've done most of our journey by train, which was fine. The train cars are rather run down, but serviceable, and we still have a romanticized idea of train travel despite the long hours in not-the-newest cars. 

A train ride is always romantic, even if the toilet stinks.

Our first venture off the train however, was less than ideal. 

We were worried about being able to take the train south from Hue because Tet, the Vietnamese super-holiday, was getting started and we weren't sure how full the train was going to be. We tried reserving tickets through our hotel, but they wanted to charge a somewhat exorbitant commission, and were informed by several agencies around town that taking the night bus south was the way to go. The ease of booking tickets across the street and my imaginings of the Harry Potter night bus conspired to see us booked on a bus the next day, with the limitation that we would only take the 16 hour trip to Nha Trang rather than the 24 hour trip straight through to Ho Chi Minh City. Since this experience and a few after it we have since learned that if anyone says, "I can arrange such and such a tour for you at such and such a price" you should say "It is likely that that is a terrible deal, and in fact you should be paying me to go on this tour."

Me and the only person on the bus who actually fit in the seats, and thus the only happy one. My smile is fake.

Needless to say our bus ride did not fulfill my hopeful imaginings from Harry Potter. Unless you've always wanted to be driven around by the crazy driver who doesn't really understand the notion of a brake pedal and consequently get your face splatted up against the glass. I spent most of the night trying to cling to my seat, which was suspended in the air, as our bus driver swerved, yanked and stopped dead whilst leaning on his impossibly loud horn. At one point he accompanied his honking by singing and lighting up a cigarette. But it all paid off in the end, as we reached our destination an entire hour early.

Now imagine a stranger in between.

Not that anyone knew. 

The bus pulled over to the side of the road and sat there for 45 minutes, before I finally got up and enquired about our location, 

"Nha Trang?"

"mumble mumble"

"Are we in Nha Trang?"

"mumble mumble"

"Yes, we are in Nha Trang?"

"mumble mumble"

It should be noted that the bus was mostly entirely full of poor, unsuspecting travelers like ourselves who didn't know the joys that awaited them on the 16 hour trip. But everyone's heads came up when I was up front shouting with the bus driver about our location. 

"You mean we've been here for 45 minutes, but you didn't think to mention the fact?"

"mumble mumble"

Jordan never had a chance.

The entire experience can be summed up as going to a sleepover with complete strangers where you are given a bed that is neither long enough nor wide enough for you to actually fit on. Not that anyone mentioned this to us when they were selling our tickets. They should maybe say, "This is a ticket for hell." At least then you would be prepared. 

 

The ticket may be for hell, but the destination isn't.

 Outside my window it's still raining and cold. But it's our last night in Hue, so hopefully we'll see some sun soon...when we get to the beach. 

I am thinking about how the tour guide asked me where in America I lived and I couldn't answer the question. "Ummm, I don't really live anywhere..." And I don't. I really, honestly live nowhere, except this hotel right now.

Today I saw beautiful moss covered buildings. Built hundreds of years ago to honor dead monarchs, they still feel majestic and inspire awe. We saw three tombs, each quite different from the others. We weren't sure before going if we should see all 3, but each had it's own feel and surprises. The first, Tu Duc, was moss covered and ancient feeling; very mysterious. The second one was harmonious, beautiful and serene. The third was in-your-face, look-at-me; a mix of the traditional and European, no one would take it for anything less than the resting place of a king.

Today I felt really hungry this afternoon.

Today I tasted banana pancake for breakfast (apparently a backpacker favorite), Vietnamese buffet lunch, and pizza for dinner. 

Today I heard lots of French. Everyday there are lots of people speaking French. 

A favorite memory from today:  Walking amongst the old buildings in the rain. The soft rain and the old buildings conspiring to remind me of a similar day spent in a palace in Seoul. 

The plan for tomorrow: Bus ride to Nha Trang. 

The interior of the last tomb was covered in a beautiful mosaic.

 In an effort to make my scrapbooking better, I've created a few daily writing prompts to answer daily. I figured there was no harm in posting them here as well for anyone who's interested. 

 

Outside my window sits a new tree for Tet. We watched the hotel owners bring it in and place it into a new pot. They still have their Christmas tree up here in the common room/restaurant. My kind of place. However, my fingers are so cold I'm having trouble typing.

We visited two old temples at Hua Lu.

 

Today I saw water buffaloes, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, sheep, cows, dogs, Jordan ate one of the goats. Some really spectacular country scenery with giant rocks coming out of the rice fields.

Today I felt the cold air rushing past my face as we rode the motorbikes. I'd never been on one before, and it was very invigorating, even if it was cold.

Today I smelled clean, fresh air. Even Mom would have approved.

Today I tasted some bread and jam for breakfast, beef pho for lunch, and fried rice for dinner. I also had a couple bites of Jordan's goat at lunch. It was good, but chewy.

Today I heard sheep making a really loud baaa-ing. I was on top of a mountain and they were at the bottom, but you would have thought they were enjoying the view with all the noise they made. 

A favorite memory from today: Definitely riding the motorbikes through the countryside. It was sad at the end of the day to get off. Although, now Jordan has new plans to get us our own motorbikes. We'll see about that.

The plan for tomorrow:  Long train ride to Hue. Hopefully the train is in better repair than the one we were on yesterday. I guess we'll just have to hope and make do.

 Well, I've more or less finished my Taiwan scrapbook, so you can check it out:

 

 Christmas really started to get going when Erica arrived on the 23rd. Most of the family went to the airport to pick her up. Mom had to stay home so there was space for the balloons we bought to welcome her. 

Dad and I check to see where Erica will arrive. Baby looks longingly at my balloons. 

Everyone was jealous that they did not think to bring a Noah's Ark Balloon Bouquet to pick up their family members. 

This Santa-in-Training looks at my balloons and wonders how he can get some. 

Fast forward to Christmas Eve, we the children are signed up to usher at church. Erica has never been to this church and has jet lag. Jordan and I have been twice, so we are the experts

I do some fancy moves to collect the offering, while the choir sings. When we were welcoming people at the door, we saw a Korean mom overcome with excitement at the decorations on the stage. "Look! It's sparkly!" I thought the same thing.

Jordan was one the the few ushers who had a lighter and was in charge of getting all the candles lit. It looks like he did a good job. 

When we arrived home, after our demanding ushering duties, we were also in charge of getting Christmas Eve snacks ready. Jordan made Company French Toast to eat in the morning. 

Christmas morning we opened presents. 

Including the much awaited trip down the candy aisle that Erica brought with her.

Mom gets a new kindle which Dad has since stolen. 

Erica opens my nicely wrapped present. 

Dad wonders what could be in this giant box brought all the way from Korea. 

Dad discovers that it is a laptop lap table so he can use his new mouse (from Erica) while sitting anywhere!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 Yesterday, we spent a happy afternoon at the old British Consulate in Kaohsiung. It has a great view of the harbor, watching the boats come in and out, and since it used to be British, you can have afternoon tea. Although since we're in Taiwan you can have bubble tea, which is a nice improvement. Did you know that the Taiwanese invented bubble tea. It's a true fact (at least that's what Jordan told me).

The following pictures I blame on our extended habitation in Asia. We are true posers.

 

 

Also, sometimes I get bored of taking pictures of myself or Jordan. Especially when I have the world's coolest can. Can you believe this can? It's made from see-through metal!

If you want to see the full photo shoot, go ahead!

(Disclaimer: I'm usually a calm blogger, but I fear the in all the excitement I may have used caps lock. I apologize for the shouting, but sometimes there's not much you can do about it.)

There are two things I consider to be the glue that holds my life together. Two experiences that unite everywhere I've been. And whenever I re-experience them, it takes me back to everywhere and everytime. I wrote about one of them the other day, so it's only fair that I write about the second. Especially since this one still has a few new experiences to add to the list. Of course I am talking about Harry Potter.

In a few hours I will hopefully be seeing the first installment of the seventh Harry Potter movie. Hopefully in Imax. I've been a little over excited for a few day anticipating the viewing. Well, really since I first saw the trailer, whenever that was, and started quoting it to Jordan all the time, “the movie event of a generation.” And at least for me, this movie and it's finale in July probably will be the most anticipated movie event of my lifetime. I can't imagine anything surpassing it. Because Harry Potter is the glue that holds the disconnected parts of my life together.

Getting ready for a book party for the release of the last book. 

I first read Harry Potter in Bolivia. My mom somehow got the first three books from the elementary librarian before they went on the shelves and told me I had to read them before they went into general circulation because there was a big waiting list. I had never heard of the books, not surprising really since there was no internet then (how did anyone know anything?) but read them anyway because reading is what I did. And they were magical. Every time I reread the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone I remember wondering the first time what a “muggle” was and what could possibly be so special about an 11 year-old boy. And so me the middle school girl was linked to me the old married woman by waiting and wondering.

When the fourth book finally came out, I remember saving it to read on the plane back to La Paz after summer vacation. I got to read it in style too because we got bumped up to first class that flight. Books five and six also came out over the summer vacation, and I read them in the townhouse, except for parts of book five, which despite having pre-ordered the book months in advance, still arrived with PAGES MISSING! I still can't believe that they sent out misprinted books, but I got one, and it was a desperate moment when I realized the book was repeating itself. To solve my problem, I went over to my friend's house and read 50 pages of her book, until I got to the place where my book was back on track. Good thing I didn't save that one to read on the plane.

Perhaps the biggest sacrifice of my married life was waiting over a year to read the final book. Jordan wanted to read it with me, but of course, he hadn't read A SINGLE BOOK yet. So we had to read them all, and then finally read the last one. Why I waited to experience the ultimate excitement with a fair-weather fan is beyond me. I guess that's love. I remember listening to the audiobooks of the earlier books in the car on the way back from North Carolina. And finally, finally, reading the last one when we got to Korea.

Reading Prisoner of Azkaban in Jordan on the way to Petra. 

The movies have also helped link my life together. I saw the first one with my family at the birthday party of one of my mom's students. It was an early screening of the movie, so somehow my mom got us invited to that. The third movie I saw when I was traveling in England with my grandmother. I was thrilled to be able to see it in the actual country of the story's birth. Also, everywhere we went the buses had giant pictures of Ron's face looking a little ridiculous.

The fourth movie came out during my second year at Bethel, and I went to see it with a roommate who is also a big fan. Although she was a little nervous to go with me alone because I can be a little noisy during movies when I'm surprised. She talked another one of our roommates to come along and help keep me inline.

The fifth movie came out right before my wedding, as did the seventh book. Luckily, unlike the book, I saw the movie in theaters a few times. I think that movie is what actually convinced Jordan that the books were worth reading because they didn't seem to be so light and fluffy anymore. Perhaps it should have worried me more that Jordan liked the crazy, hormonal Harry better than nice, normal Harry. It didn't surprise me though.

The sixth movie we saw in Korea, twice. I can't think of any other movies I've watched in the theater more than once. But I've definitely seen many of the Harry Potter movies more than once, while still in theaters, and countless more times on DVD.

And so in a few hours, I will be embarking on the end of an experience that has united bits of my life for over ten years. Once the movies are done, there's only Harry Potter World left to visit. I wonder if Jordan can make a game about that?

 

I don't think there is really anything else to say about this, except I <3 Asia. 

I really love to do nothing. I also really love to scrapbook. Luckily I can scrapbook while we're traveling. However, it's a bit difficult to do nothing when I have to walk ten miles with my heavy pack. I mean, we don't have a goal, or a deadline, or somewhere we have to be, so in that way walking is like nothing. But, I also have to carry 25 pounds on my back and keep moving my feet. This is say, more difficult than taking a snooze on the couch. Luckily, I have a walking stick. When I was carrying it around at the beginning and it kept poking things from its attached place on my backpack, I thought it was pretty annoying and I used to say insulting things to it. However, it turns out that people don't carry them around to be stylish, and they are in fact helpful if you are walking far distances, even if the ground is flat. So I've apologized to it for the mean things I've said, and we've become friends. I've also given one of them away to Jordan, even if he is a camera hog*.

*For the good of everyone who reads this blog, I will keep saying less than nice things about Jordan in hopes that it tempts him to write his own blog posts. Perhaps if you would like to hear from him you should also leave inspiring comments. 

After arriving in Taipei and spending a few days looking around, it became apparent that we really aren't a one camera family anymore. Often I'm happy to let Jordan take the pictures, but after a while of standing around while he takes lots, and lots, of pictures, I decided I would really rather have my own camera. So Jordan got to buy a new fancy one, and now I get the old one all to myself. I'm excited to try and remember all those things I learned in photography class back in high school. But the scary thing is that when I had that class, we learned on actual film. We spent half the class learning to develop our own photos. I remember thinking it was unlikely I would ever use that skill because, really, who has their own darkroom? Well it turns out I do, and it's called Photoshop. 

Perhaps the best part of this deal was that I no longer have to process the hundreds of photos Jordan takes; he's in charge of them himself. Leaving me more time to do fun things like scrapbook and post on the blog.

Home wherever you love

This is my new motto. I tried to get Jordan to change the tagline on our website, but he doesn't seem that interested. In any case, this is my new tagline. You can imagine it at the top of the website when you read my blogs.

You may be tempted to ask where I love. And while I love many places, and I really can't claim to have one favorite, it turns out that really I can.

I love McDonald's. Because it is always there. It always has been there. And hopefully always will be there. Where else can I turn when I'm in the middle of nowhere Taiwan and really need to eat something that's not Chinese? Or the middle of nowhere Korea? Or the middle of nowhere Bolivia?

A cheeseburger always tastes the same and so do french fries. Maybe I used to only like my burger with ketchup, while these days I can eat all the fixings. But there is nothing that says home quite like McDonald's. Not because their food is so great, but because it's always the same, and more importantly, always there.

I've been having lots of writers block. I remember back in high school when I used to write everyday, but then that was the point. You have to write a lot to be able to write. Which is kind of a tricky circle to get started on. Especially when what I would rather do is watch CSI on the TV here in our room at the “Legitimate Home Stay.” Being able to flip through channels is such a novelty, and so while it's mostly useless, it's still fun. Kind of like watching commercials. But then a preview for HP7 comes on and I'm riveted and then have to send a note to Erica on Facebook to see if she's ready. I can guarantee that wherever we are, we will make it to HP7, maybe not on the opening day, but soon after.

But perhaps I'll wait to write about HP until it actually comes out. And since I can't always post pictures Jordan has taken about poo, I'll have to come up with yet something else to write about.

Since we left Taipei we've either been wet, walking, or both. Sometimes the wet has been good, like when we were at the hot springs. Hot springs are really nice. We're thinking of planning the rest of our trip so that we can stop at some more (well honestly, I had already planned our trip that way, but it tuns out it was an excellent idea).

Otherwise we've been wet because it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Well today saw our first dry 24 hours since we landed. We spent most of it walking around trying to find a hot spring that, it turned out, was closed. Although we did get to experience first hand the generosity and kindness of the Taiwanese.

A few days earlier we hiked 10 miles up a mountain. Well, I guess it was really 5 miles up and then 5 miles down, but with a 20 pound pack, that's still quite a lot, since usually I prefer to walk on flat surfaces. It also rained the entire time. Jordan says the view was worth it, and I guess the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. One of the things we saw while hiking was this inscription, which translates to “Boldly Quell The Wild Mists.” So this is me “boldly quelling the wild mists.”

When we finally made it down the mountain we ended at a temple where we spent the night. I enjoyed walking around the temple in my pajamas.

I've been having lots of writers block. I remember back in high school when I used to write everyday, but then that was the point. You have to write a lot to be able to write. Which is kind of a tricky circle to get started on. Especially when what I would rather do is watch CSI on the TV here in our room at the “Legitimate Home Stay.” Being able to flip through channels is such a novelty, and so while it's mostly useless, it's still fun. Kind of like watching commercials. But then a preview for HP7 comes on and I'm riveted and then have to send a note to Erica on Facebook to see if she's ready. I can guarantee that wherever we are, we will make it to HP7, maybe not on the opening day, but soon after.

But perhaps I'll wait to write about HP until it actually comes out. And since I can't always post pictures Jordan has taken about poo, I'll have to come up with yet something else to write about.

Since we left Taipei we've either been wet, walking, or both. Sometimes the wet has been good, like when we were at the hot springs. Hot springs are really nice. We're thinking of planning the rest of our trip so that we can stop at some more (well honestly, I had already planned our trip that way, but it tuns out it was an excellent idea).

Otherwise we've been wet because it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Well today saw our first dry 24 hours since we landed. We spent most of it walking around trying to find a hot spring that, it turned out, was closed. Although we did get to experience first hand the generosity and kindness of the Taiwanese.

A few days earlier we hiked 10 miles up a mountain. Well, I guess it was really 5 miles up and then 5 miles down, but with a 20 pound pack, that's still quite a lot, since usually I prefer to walk on flat surfaces. It also rained the entire time. Jordan says the view was worth it, and I guess the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. One of the things we saw while hiking was this inscription, which translates to “Boldly Quell The Wild Mists.” So this is me “boldly quelling the wild mists.”

When we finally made it down the mountain we ended at a temple where we spent the night. I enjoyed walking around the temple in my pajamas.

Jordan is too busy to post these pictures that he took. So I will post them for you. We were at the zoo and we saw this sign:

Jordan stops to examine the sign. 

Family takes time to stop and touch the poo for the photo. 

Jordan goes into the bathroom and finds these trivia: 

This next one made me a little nervous to visit the hippos. 

This last one is not true. I know this for a fact because Farah out-pooped both Jordan and I combined.

If only my students were around to really enjoy these poo facts. The middle schoolers really love poo. This post is in their honor.