Pictures from the Christmas party

Picture #1 Mark from the kindergarten class (he's a cutie!)
Picture #2 Two of my girls playing one of the Christmas games
Picture #3 All of the afternoon classes and their teachers, bosses, secretaries... Give or take a few.
Picture #4 Me with my class
Picture #5 My kids doing their song and dance (Away In a Manger)

Pictures!

A couple of Nick's students took us up to a sort of amusement park/tourist location outside of Chiayi. We had a good time!

Quickie

I'll post a new blog this weekend to let you all know what I've been up to over the last month. I've been SOOO busy, so I've really been doing badly on this blog thing for the last two months! Anyway, I hope you all are doing well, and watch for a new post after this weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First, I should make an amendment to my last post... The pictures go: Vivian, Christine, Samuel, Kitty. Christine is the cutest and sweetest little thing and I could take her and her sister home forever! : )
So, I have survived my first major holiday away from my family! Those of you who know me well know that's quite a feat for me. It wasn't easy, and I'm sure Christmas will be much harder, so I'm bracing myself now...
I did have some turkey rice and a pumpkin muffin on Thanksgiving Day, so I still remained festive! : ) Also, Nick and I are going to celebrate together tomorrow. I'm going to make some chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, maybe green beans in the make-shift kitchen in my apartment and there's a place here to buy pies, so the meal will be complete! It should be nice. I'm so happy I have him here because it certainly made it much easier to miss the family gathering.
So, in the true spirit of the holiday, let me say how thankful I am to have a wonderful family who loves and supports me, and who I miss very much. I am thankful for Nick who makes makes me laugh and who lets me be myself (for better or for worse). I am thankful for my friends who are great people and whose words of encouragement and support keep me going sometimes and who I love hearing from. And last, but far from least, I am thankful for this opportunity that I've been given to experience a new culture and to learn about myself and find what I'm really made of.
I hope everyone had a great holiday and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Love,

Katie

pictures of my students

Here are pictures of some of my students and my friend Jennifer from Canada (she's in the first picture). The pictures of my students are of Vivian (hard at work), Samuel (he's in love with me, and he's a cutie), Christine (my FAVORITE, along with her older sister, Grace, who's in one of my other classes), and Kitty (named after "Hello Kitty"... seriously...) They are all in my first grade class, and I love them, even through their naughtiness. : )

Hong Kong pictures

Downtown Hong Kong looks just like any other big city might when you're standing on the street... Skyscrapers so high all around you that you can barely see the top when you look up. However, when you go up a few levels off the street, you can see the thing that makes Hong Kong's downtown different from that of, say, New York City - the skyscrapers are built into the mountains! As you can see in one of the first pictures, in the background, the mountains are almost as tall as the buildings. You can also see the buildings that are built right on the sides of the mountains. So strange and REALLY cool!
The night time pictures are taken across the water from the downtown area. The view at night was spectacular! We may take another weekend trip back to Hong Kong before heading home next summer, or, (maybe wishful thinking) on the way to Beijing to watch a little of the Olympics?!?!?!?!

More pictures!

These pictures are from my first weekend here. The first pictures are from a trip to the night market, which is basically a couple of blocks filled with food and clothing vendors and game booths. It's a good time, and a great place to get a cheap dinner or wallet! : ) The last two pictures are of the nieces of the family I was staying with. They are two of the cutest and naughtiest little girls ever!!!

Going Away Party

Here are the first of some of my pictures. These are from the small going away get together at my house the weekend before I left : ( Some of the fam, one of Courtney, and one with Marcus and Nicole.

A Quick Shout Out : )

Two posts within a week's time!!! Amazing! Well, I just have to mention a couple of things. First of all, I'm a total food nerd for this (some may even call me a "fatty" or "food addict"), but yesterday, I found a grocery store here that has tons of great stuff!!! They had tons of fruit and vegetables, lots of American products (even Bisquick!) and stuff I can use to make chili when it starts to get cold outside. However, the absolute icing on the cake was when I found Relax Reisling in the wine section!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually jumped up and down a little - Nick laughed quite a lot, but he understood. It seriously made me so happy. It's nice to find the comforts of home whenever I can. (Probably unfortunately) The easiest way to find that comfort is through food!!! Don't worry - I'm working out and running as much as I can and I'm going to try and curb the "comfort food" addiction so I don't have to buy two plane tickets for my flight home next summer : )

Anyway... The second reason I'm writing is to say "thanks" to you all. I have received so many emails and blog posts telling me what a great and brave thing I'm doing by being here, and I really can't tell you what that means to me. The support helps so much and once in a while, I need a little something to help get me through the day.
I should mention that I have really not felt a lot of homesickness yet, and for that, I thank Nick, SO much! I of course miss my friends and family (and cats) like crazy, but having him here to give me a hug at the end of a hard day makes all the difference in the world.
Also, the endless packages (people at school are actually jealous) from my mother and sister are wonderful. I received one from Katie Heimenez (Lang) today, and it was the best ever! Homemade salsa and some Tostitos to eat it with, lots of whole wheat pasta (which you CAN'T get here at all) and even some Halloween Oreos!!! It made my day! (you're the best, Katie!) : )

So, thanks for everything. Love and miss you all very much!

Katie

New place

So, I've officially been in my new place for almost a week now! Very exciting! I'm living in a sort-of apartment (two rooms and a bathroom) in the house of a friend of a friend. I'm on the 4th floor again, but the fact that I have some furniture and free cable (including the English movie channels) makes up for that. Originally, I was thinking of using this place temporarily, but I may decide to fix it up a little and stay there for the rest of the year. The only real downfall is the lack of a kitchen anywhere in the house.
Cooking is really uncommon in Taiwan, as most people eat out most of the time. A lot of people simply don't have the time to cook because if they own their own business, they are typically at work most of the day and sometimes late into the night (the girl I'm living with owns her own tea bar and works from morning until 11 or 12 at night!). Also, it's significantly cheaper to eat out than to buy groceries here. A typical lunch or dinner might cost me 40 NT ($1.10 US)!!! However, I get sick of eating the same thing over and over, and I do like to eat for the health benefits as well, which spoils the eating out benefits for me.
So, given the fact that I have only a refridgerator, and it's on the 1st floor, I am looking into buying a few things to have my own make-shift kitchen in my apartment. Apparently, I can probably get some portable burners (think camping stove), a small used refridgerator, and maybe a small new microwave for around $100 US. I do have a rice cooker (which will not only cook rice, but steam vegetables, and I'm going to experiment with making pasta) and a toaster oven (which will cook nearly anything that will fit inside of it), so those and a lot of peanut butter and jelly, and things that my mom has sent me - like cereal and granola bars - are holding me over for now. The change in living situation has done wonders for me, as I feel a lot more like myself when I have my freedom to do as I please.
I'm still enjoying my job (I took pictures of some of my students and will post those just as soon as I post all of my other pictures : ) My friend Jennifer (from work) left on Sunday to move back to Canada after 4 years here, and I was sad to see her go. She was a lot of fun and I could never thank her enough for all of the help she gave me in the last month! I only hope that I will be able to help someone else half as much when it's my turn to go home.
For anyone who's wondering : ) Nick is doing well. He is still living under "the rules" of his house and handling them far better than I was able to (but he has his WoW to keep him warm). He works a lot, with a few extra jobs private tutoring students outside school and correcting papers people have written in English. In short, until I get my first full month's pay, he's my sugar daddy! : ) We started taking Chinese class together last week, and that's seriously going to kick both of our butts for the next several months.
Also, I've started the process for grad school application again, although this time armed with a lot more knowledge and one absolutely GREAT connection and letter of recommendation. I'll be applying to Nebraska, the University of Utah, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and probably the University of New Mexico. Wish me luck!
I hope all is well for everyone, and I hope to hear from you all very soon!

Love,

Katie

Independence Day

Since the Taiwaneese "Independence Day" is coming up, this seemed like a good theme. First of all, I'll have to learn more about the holiday since it seems that at any time they wish, China could swoop in and steal all independence from this country. Apparently, the US has agreed to assist Taiwan in any wars against China (how they'll get enough man power over here in enough time since our troops are half a world away in Iraq - I'll leave my personal feelings about this unsaid so as to not offend anyone - is beyond me), however the promise of help from the US is only valid if the attack from China is not provoked by Taiwan. Also, it seems that China has agreed that as long as they are not provoked, they will leave things with Taiwan as they are. However, it also appears that Taiwan's president is about as intelligent as our own (again, I will leave most of my opinions out of that one), and continues to make grand statements about Taiwan's independence, etc. etc. In other words, "provoking" the Chinese. Smart, right? He will be in office through the end of the year, at which point he will likely be arrested and put in jail (that's the truth!). Rest assured, though... With the Olympics only a year away, China will likely not be making any rash moves, like invading a country, between now and then. Also, should something happen, the Chinese goverment has agreed to give sufficient notice and let all Americans off the island before they attack. There are boats waiting at one of the port cities 24/7 to transport all Americans in case anything should happen. (Pretty interesting, right?)
So... This brings me back to the idea of independence... My own. I have successfully been riding a scooter on my own for about 4 days now (knock on wood). It's totally great and I feel like I have a lot more freedom than on my bicycle. It feels kind of scary at times, but I've got a brand new, full-faced helmet and I drive VERY slowly. On Saturday, my friend Jennifer is going to take me around the city more, since I can go farther now without passing out. She's going to show me how to get to places like the Walmart-type place where I can buy EVERYTHING, the book store, some good shopping and food places, etc. That way I can do a lot more by myself.
I did go to the grocery store and have been successfully going to a few restaurants all by myself, as well. It feels nice to be able to do those things without help. For those of you who know me well, I'm NOT one to have my hand held! I'd much rather figure out how to do it on my own (unless we're talking most complicated electronics).
As I think I mentioned in my last post, I will also be getting my own place soon. Right now, I'm a 26 year old with an 11:00 curfew - something my own mother never gave me - and a list of rules longer than I care to mention. I will feel more comfortable if I'm responsible for myself and if I'm living in a place that's all my own. I have also been having a REALLY hard time dealing with the bossing around and having someone tell me what to do, so it will be very nice to have freedom from that, too!
So, as is the Taiwaneese Independence Day, my own Independence Day is fast approacing. I'll keep you posted!

Yes, I'm still alive...

I've been a bad, bad blogger... (I knew it would only be a matter of time!) I've been so busy in the last couple of weeks that I just haven't had a chance to sit down and write (also, the fact that I don't have a computer at home kind of limits the time I have available to be online). So, sorry about that and I will do my best to fill you in on what's been going on recently!
Last weekend Nick and I went to Hong Kong. Taiwan had a national holiday on Tuesday, so we didn't have work Monday or Tuesday and Nick needed to make the trip to get his visa. We left Saturday afternoon and returned late Tuesday night. We didn't do a lot (and unfortunately I haven't put my pictures on the computer yet, so they're not included in this post). Sunday we found a huge indoor mall and walked around. I didn't buy anything because the stores included the likes of Versace, Tiffany's, Chanel, Valentino, Prada, Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, to name a few. We did go into a few of the stores and the workers looked like we were going to rob the place, so we refrained. The lady in Tiffany's actually pretended to be cleaning the counters, following us all over the store! Anyway, after a long day of shopping (looking) we went to a movie (Chuck and Larry - hillarious) and headed back to the hotel. Monday we spent a good deal of the morning in the Taiwan Visa office, then did some more walking around in the afternoon. The skyline of Hong Kong is amazing. The city is full of skyscrapers, but mountains jut up right behind the enormous buildings (I have pictures). It's very cool. Monday night we made our way to the mainland area called "Kowloon" to do some sightseeing and check out some of the Mid-Autumn Festival goings on. We had some of the best gelato I've ever had and walked along the piers. On Tuesday we picked up Nick's visa, did a whole bunch more shopping (in a BIT less pricey mall, but still stinking expensive), then caught our flight out. I think we'll plan to go back to Hong Kong at some point, although next time hopefully armed with a travel guide and a plan!
After we got back, it was a lot of catching up on sleep and work at school.
Yesterday (Friday) was my 26th (I'm old) birthday. My friend at work gave me the best desert ever (a HUGE bowl of fresh cut-up mangoes, pineapples, bananas, and strawberries with a small scoop of chocolate ice cream on top), my boss bought me a cake (the cakes here are really elaborate and wonderful), the people Nick and I are staying with also got me a much smaller cake and sang me "Happy Birthday" in English and Chinese, and Nick gave me some speakers for my iPod. Aside from the fact that I had to meet my 11pm curfew (yes, I am 26 years old and have an 11:00 curfew - needless to say, I'm looking for my own apartment!), it was a pretty good day.
Today (Saturday) I successfully rode my new scooter into town and got a smoothie and didn't fall off or run into anything!!! : ) I was super excited! I'll be taking over the scooter and riding it full time in a few days (once I have a little more practice). Not much else to report on, except that I will start to go apartment hunting next week and hope to find a solution QUICKLY! Those of you that know me at all know that I am not handling the "curfew" thing well and that a wild animal just can't be caged! : ) I'm totally kidding about that last part.
Anyway, thanks for all of the bday wishes I've already received. I hope to be posting ALL of my Taiwan/Hong Kong pictures soon, and I hope to continue to hear from everyone! Love you all!

Scooter fun!!!

Quite a great day to report! I met my new friend Jennifer for a mini-tour of the town and a scooter lesson. The first great thing of the day was lunch! I had spaghetti with meat sauce, just like back home! (Although, no spaghetti will ever be as good as my mom's.) The simple idea that a specific food is rare makes it taste all that much better. I ate it all, even though I was full.
After lunch, we walked down Jung-Shan Road (one of the main roads in town) and she pointed out several good stores to shop in. There is actually a "Body Shop" here! We went in some clothing stores and a candy shop : ) (The big thing here with candy is to make it in the shape of poop! Quite hillarious!) We also went to a grocery store near my school where they sell some American products (think Nature Valley granola bars, Frosted Flakes, etc.)
When we were done shopping, we went to a large parking lot for my first scooter lesson. I consider it a HUGE success because I neither fell off, nor ran into anything or anyone. Apparently, that's kind of a right of passage for all foreigners at some point : ) The scooters (while can be dangerous) are lots of fun. I'm excited to really get comfortable on one so I can have my own (which I will drive very, very slowly, probably for the entire year - don't worry mom).
So, all in all, a great day! Now just going to have some dinner, head home, and maybe catch a shower after my long day of sweating (it seems if I do nothing else here, I sweat!). I feel like I should also mention the fact that I used my first Chinese word in class yesterday. I don't know how to spell it (or even if I pronounced it correctly) but it means: understand? Very exciting moment for me!
I hope all is well with everyone and look forward to hearing from you!

Mailing address

Anyone who needs to mail me anything (as you all know, my birthday is coming up!) can send it to the following address:

Katie Starkweather
c/o Universe American School
219 Minguo Road
Chiayi, Taiwan
R.O.C.

There will always be someone there to sign for all mail!

Keep the comments and emails coming - I miss you all (and I miss the very bland food)!!! : )

Side Note

I forgot to mention that I apparently slept through an earthquake my first night here! It measured 6.5 and I didn't even know it happened until the next day!!! : )

Ok, probably another short one... So, I've been here almost a full 5 days, and things are QUITE different! I'm slowly starting to learn my way around and just got a brand new Giant bike to get to and from school on. Hopefully a scooter will be next, as it takes me about 25 minutes one way and by the time I get there I am literally DRENCHED in sweat! The bike is awesome, though. I paid about $100 US for what would have cost $1000-1500US back home!!! Can't beat that!
I've been at my school for two days now, mostly observing, although I got thrown into teaching a class today. It went fine, but my goodness - I am going to be so exhausted from all of the disciplining by the end of every day!!! Some of the kids are very naughty! The school is a very good one - very organized and professional. One major positive is that I've made friends with one of the teachers, Jennifer. She's from Toronto, has been here four years and unfortunately will be leaving in about a month. She's great, though, because she's offered to show Nick and I around the city and teach us how to ride scooters. She even has a couple of scooters we may buy from her when she leaves. Very nice to have someone who knows the ropes and can give me all the important inside info!
So, the most interesting thing so far has been all of the "food"... My first night here we went for some fast food (Chinese fast food) and in with the raw beef and pork were cow stomach and intestines!!! Lesson #1 Only order things that I know (like beef, pork, chicken...) Then at the grocery store, not only did they have live swimming fish in tanks (some of you know how I enjoyed that), they also had pig stomach and a bowl full of cold water and raw HEARTS in the meat counter! WOW! It gives a whole new meaning to Chinese food, yes?
Well, this has turned out longer than I thought it would (mostly because I've been waiting for someone to come guide me home - I don't know the way yet). Anyway, thanks so much for all of the nice emails and notes! I miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!

I'm here!

Well, I've made it safe and sound. While it was a LONG trip (24 hours total) and I've had about 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, I'm happy to be here and get started with everything. So far, I've been on my first scooter ride, tried several new foods that I still have no clue as to what they actually were, and have been almost all around the city (although, most of that was on the scooter, holding on for dear life, so I didn't absorb much of what I saw). I will have to write more later when I've had some sleep. I look forward to hearing from everyone!