Ashleyhughes’s Weblog

So I’m feeling more at home in my cracker box now.  Haha.  Above are some pictures taken of the past week or so.  I have been extremely busy and working an extra job.  Today I’m hanging out in my shoebox because I am sick.  The reason I emphasize the smallness of my apartment is because my friend Colleen came over a few days ago and had seen my apartment for the first time, and she said, “Wow, it is a lot smaller than I anticipated.”  I’ve told everyone it is small…but apparently they don’t think it is truly the size of my old bedroom…that’s it!  But, it is perfect for me and has almost everything I need.  The view and bathroom really sold me on this place.  I’m on the 19^th floor overlooking the city and can see the mountains behind everything along with some neat sunsets when I’m actually here to see them. 

I bought a scooter a few days ago and the guy who sold it to me gave me some instructions and sat on the back while I drove.  Still, I can’t seem to get the courage to take it for a spin on my own.  I think I need a few more lessons before I enter the stampede!  Over here, you will see a whole family on one scooter.  Mom, Dad, and the kid in front sitting on their lap.  That is totally dangerous, but normal over hear.  I’ve only seen one scooter accident since I’ve been here, and it wasn’t pretty.  I think I am overly cautious here because the last time I drove was when I got into the accident with Micah.

So, excuse me if I repeat myself here, I can’t remember what I have already written.  My memory here is awful…I may be showing signs of Alzheimer’s already.  I think it is the schedule I keep here, and so many new things to remember.

Well the other day I was out with Colleen and Mtende and we met a really nice Taiwanese guy who showed me around a few days ago.  I drove on the back of his scooter and we went into the mountains (see pics above) and then I ate some food without having any idea what it was because he did not know how to translate it.  That’s cool, I’m adventurous like that.  Well, in the pic above with yet another foreign food entering my mouth, it tasted pretty good and he finally figured out the translated for it…you’ll never guess.  “Oh, that is rice with duck’s blood.”  Ahahaha!  My response was, “Wow, awesome, people in America would freak out if they ate this.”  So that was fun, I probably ate some more scary things but they tasted ok.  Might as well try it all right?  Next is snake’s blood.  Well, after all of this, yes I did end up getting sick, but not from the food.  When we rode throughout the city the pollution was so bad that I’m pretty sure that is what got me sick because the next day I got a sore throat and now I am congested.  It’s all good though because right now I would normally be out, but now I am forced to be lazy today.  I was going to go hiking at 8am or church at 10:30, but had to cancel both because I feel so crappy today.  So I’m just sitting around drinking O.J. and watching HBO and writing. 

There is so much left to do here and so little time.  I really want to get more into the sightseeing around here.  Once I get my scooter up and running I’m sure I will just wander around more.  And I’ve been thinking about what I am going to do when my year is up over here.  Well, most people end up staying in Taiwan for longer than one year, even though that is their intention.  I’m not sure what I am going to do yet, but I am sure that my future will involve more traveling.  I love this idea of moving around and being able to adapt to other cultures.  Hmm…I guess it has something to do with growing up as a military brat huh? 

On another note, did anyone hear about the earthquake that hit here a couple of nights ago?  It was a 6.6 and lasted for 30 seconds, but it didn’t feel like that to me, probably because I was pretty high up though.  There wasn’t any serious damage that I have heard of. 

To talk a little bit about the nightlife, I tried out a few places over the past couple of weeks and they were each quite different.  First was Luxy, which has three floors and a different type of music on each floor.  Guys, I will have to tell you that Asian people CAN NOT dance!  It was hilarious to say the least. Not only that, but they don’t dance together, they dance by themselves most of the time.  I also tried a Latin club (the only one here) called Hips.  That was pretty nice, and it was great to hear Latin music and actually talk to some Latinos!  I haven’t used any Spanish since I’ve been here so even though they spoke English, I had to speak spanish for my peace of mind..haha.  The other place I have tried out is a jazz club called brown sugar where a soul sister was singing.  Man, she was great too!  Not only could she sing ANYTHING, but she was hilarious…it almost felt like a comedy show with live music.  And yes, I have also been to one comedy club earlier on that was pretty neat.  Eventually I hope to try out a few places with an open mic night so that I can play on stage.  But anyway, there is tons to do here because I’m just used to being in little old Melbourne where the only cool places were Barnes and Noble, moonstruck and house of joe!  (Which I do miss by the way…along with Chijioke.) 

Hmm…what else to say…I’m meeting new people each week that are here from all over the world either studying, teaching, or doing some temporary engineering job here.  Did I mention that there are basically NO blacks or Latinos here?  I’ve met VERY few.  Actually here, they are kind of scared of black people.  A friend of mine from Malawi said that people will take pictures of him, and one time a guy actually got so scared that he hid behind the wall when he saw him!  I’ve seen Asians breaking their neck to stare when they notice a black person.  So, the difference here is that it is kind of a naïve racism as opposed to some places in America where people are just racist because they have issues.  And I will have to say that I often feel like people don’t want “us foreigners” here.  There are some nice people here, but at the same time, I think some of them don’t like seeing a white girl who is probably making more money than they are and doesn’t speak Chinese.  So when I do meet other foreigners, we stick together and usually complain about the situation here…haha!  No it’s not that bad, but I know what it feels like to be a “minority” now.  Well, guess I’ll get going now, white chicks is on and I’ve never seen it before!  Then it’s laundry time!

Here’s an entry that I wrote a few days ago.

I have been trying to get everything finalized with my apartment and laptop connection.  Well, there is a complication with me trying to get my connection in my room, so I’ve been trying to use other unsecure networks wherever they are available.   After trying several networks through my balcony window, I was able to find one under the name “Jeff.”  The problem with Jeff is that he is not always there.  If I’m lucky, I will get a good connection through him for a few hours.  I was chatting with dad last night and got disconnected and told him that I lost Jeff for a second, his response was, “Well how many people were you chatting with?  You must be popular.”  Haha.  I just hope good old Jeff will hang around for a while.  Now, the funny part is that in order for me to mooch off of Jeff, I must sit on top of my washer with my feet on a box on top of my laudry basket.  The reason I have to sit this way is because I don’t get a signal unless I prop my laptop on the window sill and lean it against my knees.  This could defnitely be a commercial!

I pretty much have everything I need now, I cooked for the first time the other night because I finally got all of the ingredients and cooking stuff I needed.  Before that all I was eating was carbs because that was the only thing that didn’t need to be cooked and could be kept in the tiny fridge I have.  I mopped and rearranged the furniture today too.  I love the weekends because I get a chance to get everything done.  I went into work for a couple of hours today for a demo.  I had to give a 10 minute demonstration to the parents of my students and show them what I teach.  I think only about half or so understood what I was saying, but atleast they were able to meet me. 

Now, to tell you all a little more about the church I found, I went with my friend Colleen, and we had a great time.  I found a list of churches online and decided to try this one first, and was very impressed.  Everyone was so nice and invited us out to eat and then the pastor and his wife invited us to their house to watch a movie.  So I was able to meet quite a few people, and I will be going to a group study on Sunday after church with other young adults.  I knew it was so important for me to find a church here because I sometimes feel very alone without my family.  (  I’m fine for the most part, but it is when I am alone and just thinking of home that I get a little homesick.  I wouldn’t change anything, it really reminds me of all the moves that I did as a child, but this time it is on my own.  One thing that is certain…ever since I have been here I have been challenged.  I’m forced to just make it on my own…and this is as independent as I can be right now.  After this year, I don’t think I will have any fear of doing anything on my own anymore.  Even with my job, they often aren’t the most organized there, and I have had to just wing it so many times!  I won’t complain, but I will say that I feel I have truly developed the ability to think on my feet which will help me in the future. 

I think I need to write in here more!!  Just have about 20 minutes until my next class, so figured I would write a few updates. 

Well, I bought a scooter yesterday and hope to get some more lessons from a fellow scooter driver before I take it out on my own.  I did drive it yesterday, but had a friend guiding me while sitting on the back.  It was so much fun, but I definitely am going to be extra safe being that my last memories of driving consisted of me and Micah nearly dying….haha, well maybe not, but that is the closest I have come. 

I have this class from 11:00-11:40 that is like the class from hell…they aren’t worthy of my web blog pictures and you will not see that class up here unless it is of me strangling them…haha…jk, I will try not to beat the crap out of them, ok Grandma?  Really, they are driving me crazy.  A lot of other classes are great, but the problem with this one is that mainly it is too big.  When they are so little it is difficult to keep their attention no matter what I do.  The woman who observed me suggested putting “stars” by the “good kids” names.  Give me a break.  They don’t give a damn about stars!  The asian teachers also do a lot of “counting” here….”one…two…three.”  They can get 100 and never accomplish anything.  One thing that I have seen though is that they do hit the kids…not hard, but just enough to get them to cry and be scared.  Now that works, I don’t do it, because I somehow think I’m not supposed to, but when they do it, that is fine.  Well anyway, I got observed again today and the class was noisy as usual, so the lady said, “We’ll talk about some ways to keep them quiet so you don’t have to yell so much, because you will lose your voice.”  No shit sherlock.  Sorry guys, but it has been kind of frustrating with a couple of classes.  But the good ones make up for the bad ones.  I will tell you that the main reason for this difficult class is that it is TOO BIG!!  The school is trying to save money (as I remember them doing this in America also) and they put too many kids in one class, so the result is that no one learns because Tommy won’t shut up no matter what I do.  I’d like to buy a sports horn and just freak them out and cause a near deaf experience.  lol.  Ok, I’m really joking, sort of.  I’m just in a venting mood I guess.  But on the other hand, to be fair, I do have quite a few wonderful classes that I enjoy teaching!  It is refreshing to see young children who genuinely desire to learn more.

Well, I’d better get back to work now, have to prepare some props for my next class.  I’m reading them a story about Monsters.

It’s been a while since I have updated…you know, the whole computer thing.  Well, I did finally get a laptop!  Now I just have to find a coffee shop where I can use free wireless, and I’m all set! 

On Sunday I went with Colleen to a church that I found online, and it was great.  We had so much fun and met a lot of local and foreign people.  The pastor invited us back to his house and we all watched the kind of scotland, which was a great movie.  I was out all day and after that a new friend helped me buy the laptop.  It has a lot of neat features to it. 

Just some random stuff again, I’m pretty scatter brained right now because I haven’t updated in a while!

-Yesterday I felt my calves and thought something wasn’t right….but then….wait!  Those were muscles!!!  They are getting huge, I’ve done far too much walking and running and stair climbing, and now it has all paid off.

-I forgot to mention that when the garbage men come down the street, they have a song playing really loud and it sounds like the ice cream truck.  I feel sorry for any American kids who come over here and run to find the stinky garbage men rather than their favorite ice cream.  (

-Oh, and the young Taiwanese guys are very trendy with their hair, they really wear it more stylish than most girls.  Kind of a layered cut going on there…a bit strange, but I’m sure they think we are strange too.

-And, I finally found out why I don’t see many white girls with Taiwanese guys….apparently they think American girls are “open.”  I would like to personally thank Britney Spears for that stereotype….now in order to defeat that I have to walk around in a turtle neck.  Thanks. 

-On the other hand, Western men in the 40’s-50’s come over here and pick up Taiwanese girls half their age without even trying…that just doesn’t seem fair!  Go figure.

-In conclusion, don’t worry, no dating for me…I don’t think anyone would like me over here, thanks to good ole’ Britney.  But that’s fine…I have plenty of other things I want to do here!

-Oh, one more interesting tidbit…so apparently Taiwan really liked the Backstreet boys, because pop is huge over here.  I can’t help but laugh when I watch the music videos!  Hilarious!

Hey Everyone!

So, I haven’t posted in a while, I have been very busy and haven’t had much access to a computer, I’m using a friend’s laptop right now which I am so thankful for. 

I was finally able to buy a cell phone, Mitch from Reach to Teach helped me buy it and did some negotiating.  For those of you who don’t know, Reach to Teach is the company that hired me to come over to Taiwan.  They almost operate like a temp agency and find a school to match my preference.  Here is the website for anyone who is interested in checking it out:

 http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/

We usually have events at least once a month and meet other teachers from the area.  Recently, they held one at the Taiwan Beer Pub and I was able to meet other Americans and teachers from all over who are staying in Taiwan for a while.  It was so nice to speak English to other people as I sometimes feel lost here because of the language barrier.

 Right now there is a typhoon coming through that will be hitting at 3pm on Sunday, so not many people are out right now.  I had a bunch of plans today too…we’ll see what happens with that!  One thing that I want to do within the next few weeks is visit the aborigines.  There are still a few tribes left in the mountains, and I have to see them and get pictures!

While I’m on the language topic…I really feel the desire to dive into the Mandarin language.  A friend of mine (Colleen, who’s laptop I am using) suggested some people who she knew were interested in doing a language exchange.  Basically, they would teach me Mandarin, and I would teach them English.  We will hopefully get to meet up with them within the next few days.  I think my priority vocabulary words will be directions for the taxi, and how to order food! 

As far as my adventures go…the other day was amazing.  I went to the renai hospital to pick up my medical papers for school and decided to walk around outside to see if I could find a store that sold sheets (no, I still don’t have any and I have been in my apartment for about 5 days haha).  No such luck, but, I did end up walking a ways because I could see Taipei 101 from a distance and it just drew me in.  For those of you who don’t know, Taipei 101 held the record for the tallest building in the world until the recent Burj Dubai was built on 7-21-2007.  I just missed it!  So while I was walking toward 101, I went through the Sun Yat-sen memorial park, it was so beautiful!  There were statues everywhere and old people practicing yoga.  There was also a lake that I took some pictures of.  Well, I reached 101 and walked around, they had all designer stores, nothing I could afford!  When I got to the fifth floor I noticed the observatory section where people go up to the 89th floor and look, it costs $400 NT, which is about $15.  I ended up meeting people from Serbia and Jordan that were here for a while and we walked around for a bit.  They were all at the Grand Hotel with this pharmacy school event that they called congress and they were headed back home the next day.  It was neat talking to all of them, they were an interesting group…I was just glad to find someone who spoke English! 

As far as class goes, it has been a hectic schedule and I’m just trying to figure out a routine and lesson plan that won’t bore the kids.  I think I have nearly lost my voice from constantly yelling, “no talking, ” “be quiet” and “LISTEN!” For the most part the kids here are really good, but they tend to have a short attention span.  During the mornings I teach the younger kids from age 5-7, then in the afternoons I teach the older ones from age 7-10.  They are both interesting but I tend to like the older classes as they seem more laid back, and the kids can actually understand my jokes.  Oh, and in the school I have to change into my slippers, so that is a funny site for the kids….they point to my slippers and laugh because they are huge and fuzzy.  )   The dress code is pretty laid back here, I can wear jeans and a t-shirt which is nice. 

I’m all settled into my apartment, except for the sheets thing, I keep making my way to a night market and then something happens and I can’t go…the past two days the rain has stopped me.  When I moved in, I spent about an hour scrubbing down my bathroom.  I just found a shower curtain last night, and that made me so happy!    Before that I was getting discouraged because I kept having little things happen to me throughout the day that were so frustrating, but it all worked out okay.  Oh and hey!  I did my first load of laundry last night!  (How about that mom!)  I don’t have a dryer, so I had to hang all of my clothes all over my apartment to dry…wherever a knob was, that is where my jeans went.  Oh and let me say, the view is so beautiful, especially at night, you all will see from the slide show.  I am on the 19th floor!  In my complex, there is a game room, gym, swimming pool, and library.  I haven’t had time to check any of them out, but hopefully soon I will!  I feel so blessed to have found a nice place to live…God just gave me a peace about it and it was wonderful.  I got the lady to go down 500NT in the price too. 

Well, I’m heading to the shower and maybe plan out what I’m going to do today…not sure what because of the weather.  I’m hoping to go to this comedy club tonight that some comedian handed me the flyer of.  He was american and seemed thrilled to find us and said, well it’s all in English!  haha.  So, hopefully I will have time to write more soon.  Thanks for reading!  Love you all!

Click here to see the slideshow: http://www.slide.com/r/dlD1YCxN0j_6NN0wAQXVFKNCtS4NCq07?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Hi All!!

I just wanted to first thank everyone for leaving comments and taking the time to read my blog.  I love getting messages from everyone and I feel so thankful to have so many friends and family!

Well, I found an apartment and am moving in today.  I was beginning to get concerned that I wouldn’t find one and was constantly praying that God would give me a peace about where I needed to move.  I looked at a few and one was very nice, but I was not at peace and began to get discouraged…well the next day, I found one that was just right for me!  It is a studio with a big bathroom (which is NOT common over here) and it has a beautiful view of the city!!  It came furnished with a fridge, bed, desk, washer and more.  I definitely feel blessed, and it is only 10 minutes walking distance from school!  It is funny over here, I walk more than I ever thought I would, but it has become a way of life.  I laugh when I think about how LAZY I was back home!  Yesterday I worked an 11 hour day!  I have so much more energy here though because I am doing exactly what I love.  I am able to use my creativity in class with the kids, it is a wonderful thing.

Last Saturday I was able to meet some other Reach to Teach Teachers in Taipei, it was nice to be familiar with others as they are in the same circumstance.  I was just telling a friend that I know what it is like to be a minority now.  Granted, the Taiwanese are very friendly people, but it is that feeling you get when you walk down the street and people are staring, you can’t communicate with them, and you don’t know anyone!  I used to criticise people who didn’t speak English while in America…let’s just say I’m a little more sympathetic now.  I feel the need to dive into my Chinese and have been practicing it a lot more.  It is so frustrating when I can’t order food, take a taxi or a bus because of the language barrier.  I have so much more respect for people who have left their home to go to a new country and learn the language; it is not an easy task.  I have already been challenged in more ways than I thought I would, but my attitude has made up for any difficulties I may have.  I have become an optimist over here.  I can’t afford to be negative about anything.  Each day brings a new challenge, and I anxiously await the lesson that is about to be learned. 

One day I decided to walk through the city with a friend with a map and get more familiar with it..well, haha…that was a journey.  She went back home, and then I went on my way to meet a friend.  (I know, people tell me don’t go anywhere alone, but this is a very safe city, and has that reputation with everyone.  As a matter of fact, I think Palm Bay is more dangerous than Taiwan!)  So, I crossed the bridge and walked for what seemed like forever!  Just me and my map in hand…it was an amazing feeling!  Most people would be scared but I felt like I was at the top of the world!  After I crossed the bridge, I took a taxi (who didn’t speak any English) to the MRT, then met a friend in Guting.  I felt like I had climbed mount everist by the time I got there.  I was supposed to meet him in 20 minutes, but that turned into an hour!!  One thing is for sure, I definitely know the city and the MRT a lot better, and that is one reason why I decided to take that move on my own.  I will never learn how to get around here unless I navigate on my own with a map in hand.

Onto teaching…today was my second day of classes on my own.  I’m getting the hang of it.  I teach classes of all different ages ranging from 5-10.  I really love what I do and find that my creativity flows when under pressure!  By the end of each class, I feel as though I have accomplished something worthwhile.  I never understood people who aim for making money in life, that is their ultimate goal, to have a certain car or house or job.  Well, we can’t take those things with us when we die, and you can be utterly miserable with your mercedes.  No, forget the nice car, house, and fortune.  I want to travel the world and experience life to its fullest extent.  That is more valuable to me than any material thing on the planet.  There are so many countries that I want to see and live in, I can definitely picture myself making a career out of this.

Anyway, it is a wonderful feeling to know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, using the gifts that God has given me.  I have finally spread my wings…