You think you are pretty funny with the "Just me" signature in the guestbook, eh? Knock it off!!

I had to turn on the air-conditioner today...the humidity was unbearable. But, I'm not complaining, because I'd rather have that than snow. AND I know that with the arrival of summer comes an end to my working, a fantastic adventure and a trip home to see my loved ones that I have been missing like crazy for the last year and a bit. So, I embrace summer...and the heat, and humidity, and sweat and dirt and.... okay, I gotta stop, I'm losing my thunder.

Today was funny. I usually don't work Saturdays, but had to make up for my shopping day on Wednesday. What I know is that kids are kids, no matter what country they live in or what language they speak. And the fact that I can make kids laugh hysterically when I can't speak the same language as them is so incredible to me. There is nothing better than childrens laughter. But there is one kid imparticular.

His name is Rocky and he is five. Between his broken English and my awful Mandarin we have come up with our own bizarre way of communicating. We can hang out alone all day and never have a problem. His non-verbal communication skills amaze me. People must think we are a weird combination when they see us together. Anyway, Rocky, like most five year old boys, has an obsession with dinosaurs. Imagine me trying to teach him the English name of them...not funny at all, he just stares at me like, "there is no way in hell that eight syllable word is coming out of this mouth". So, Rocky and a few other kids and I have art class every afternoon. Basically we do simple crafts and they learn colors and numbers and shapes and stuff all while practicing to "cut on the line." This week we had a "circus" theme, so we made rabbits in hats, big popcorn containers, clowns and a magic wand. This is where it gets funny.... I was pretending to be a magician and turning the kids into different animals and when they are acting the part. I get to Rocky and of course make him a dinosaur. He busts out this crazy dinosaur walk and starts growling at me...but it is perfect. I have never seen someone be that good of a dinosaur. And he was dead serious about it, even though I was laughing so hard I was crying. I have pictures to prove it. I love that kid to death. He is way too cute.

Something else happened that made me laugh.

I always catch my kids speaking Chinese in my class, but it doesn't really bother me, because I understand that the concept of "English only" is ridiculous for ten year olds. But, I always hear my name, like "blah, blah, Kate, blah, blah, blah, blah" . Sometimes I understand, and sometimes I don't, because like I said, my Chinese is far from being good, but I always ask..."Kate, what?" and they are pretty good about telling me, if they can. The only times the say, "nothing" is when it is way too complicated for them to translate, or obviously, if they have been saying something bad. I've been getting alot of, "nothing"s this week. My Chinese listening skills are improving though and I've noticed that it's the same phrase over and over lately. It is finally bugging me enough to go and look it up in a dictionary, only to find out they have been commenting on the size of my ass. Apparently, it's big.Too funny. I nearly died laughing..... those kids crack me up.

Anyway, I can't sit in this ridiculous internet cafe for much longer. I should go home, a girl's got to get rest before a day of shopping. Yeah, another day. Yes, I did just go. No, I don't feel guilty for spending so much money. Get off my case.

Oh, as a final comment to Andrea...Looks good on you for being a smart ass correcting my #16, when actually it was #19... that'll teach ya!! Love you.

Posted by Kate at 1:00 PM |

First things first. Who signs a guestbook as an "Anonymous surfer"? God, that irks me. Who are you?
And now, the actual entry.

Another week of work over...that means only five more until I get out of here for four months of vacation. The itinerary looks something like this...first stop Bali. There, I plan to do nothing but lay on the beach and soak up the sun. I'm sure a few drinks will be had and a few books read. That's basically my idea of heaven. Hopefully, I'll be able to rent some good snorkelling gear. I've only been once, in Mexico, and it was amazing. Well, it was amazing once I got over my fear of the fish touching me. I don't know how long I'll be in Bali, but after that I just start heading north. Probably a stop in Jakarta and then to Singapore (assuming this SARS thing is under control). Malaysia is the next stop and then Thailand.

Ahhh Thailand. I can't wait to get there. Not only for the food, the beaches and the inexpensiveness of it all, but for J. He's the ex-roommate I mentioned before and he is so incredible. We have an amazing friendship. I haven't seen him since Febuary 3, 2002.....that is a long, long time and I miss him. I did tell him about my plans for him to write and illustrate kids books, and wouldn't you know it, but the guy already has an idea. And in classic J style, he's already hit me up to edit it. I'd better get mentioned in the dedication!!

After two weeks or so in Thailand, I make my way through Laos, Cambodia and finally Vietnam....again with the SARS disclaimer. Hopefully Lija will meet me for that leg of the trip. She's so easy to travel with...very low maintenance. And after that, I take a flight back to Taiwan to grab all my stuff....I have accumulated so much crap in the last year.... and three days later, I'm back in Canada. Guaranteed there'll be some insane stories from two months of backpacking South East Asia... I have the worst travelling luck. Not to mention I can never sleep before I'm suppose to go somewhere new... it's my version of Christmas Eve. I'm way too excited.

Off topic, I was thinking today about a friend of mine who hasn't been such a great friend lately. Actually for quite a while, she's pretty much sucked, but I'm having a hard time saying goodbye. It's weird, part of me wants to hold on to that relationship because it's nice to know that when I go home there'll be lots of people to see, and then it hit me. Why wouldn't I just spend more time with the few people who have been amazing friends to me, instead of regretting that I didn't spend enough time with them because I was with people that I really don't enjoy? Uh, stupid? Yeah....well, at least I had the revelation before I got home, right? I'm learning...slowly, but surely.

And the topic of people that are amazing, I have to say that I am truly blessed...in so many ways. Aside from my health and happiness and an approaching four month vacation (again with the excitment) I am blessed with supportive and loving family and friends. Not only do I have friends who are fantastic to me, but they inspire me. I actually know people that are where they want to be in life, or at least taking all the steps to get there. It's nice to be able to turn to them for advice and feel like I am getting something worthwhile. I know it's worthwhile because they are the people that take their own advice...that's why they're happy. That's why I am happy.

Okay, so I got a little weepy there, it happens. And now I'll stop.

Posted by Kate at 1:10 PM |

As a brief background to my personality, I should tell you that I have no patience for stupidity...hence the reason that all my bartending jobs didn't work out so well. People aren't smart when they are drunk, and I'm not nice when I think you're an idiot. But I digress. This is the story and I would like to say upfront that I am not, in any way, exaggerating. This is true. Real life. It really happened. Sad.

I have a friend here from South Africa. She is crazy amounts of fun. One of those people you'd never want to see on any sort of stimulant because it would be outright insanity. She has a permanent high. Anyway, one day we are hanging out, and we meet this other girl from Canada, who I immediately take a dislike too. (She tried to tell me that Calgary was as multi-cultural as Toronto....yeah... it's so not.) So, the standard questions of meeting someone here are;
1. What's your name?
2. How long have you been here?
3. What are you doing here? (Duh....everyone's teaching English.)
4. Do you like it?
5. Where are you from?

We get to question number five and my friend, Lauren, answers her, "South Africa."
"South Africa?!" says the dumb Calgarian, "I thought everyone in South Africa was black." (Lauren, obviously, is not.)

Silence.

Lauren and I look at each other in complete and utter disbelief. But I can stay silent no longer, "Ummmm....apparently you missed apartheid?"

Are you joking me? And no, that's not the end. A little while later, another South African joins us. She and Lauren are fairly well-endowed...okay that's an understatement...they both have big boobs...and the same idiot girl has the nerve to say, "Uh, are all South Africans big breasted?"
Oh my fucking God....what a moron! That was the end of all conversations with her, but if I wasn't Canadian, I'dve asked her if all Canadians were stupid. I think either she needs to stop being Canadian, or I do. We can't both be from the same country.

Only a sampling of the people that I've met....and thank God, but I never saw her again, and I haven't had the unforunate experience of meeting anyone even remotely close to that idiotic again.

Knock on wood.


P.S. That is my passport photo. How many people at the airport do you think have a comment about how ridiculously big my smile is? Yeah....everyone.

Posted by Kate at 12:34 PM |

It's ten to one...and I'm just getting home from the city. Taipei (capital city of Taiwan...population...a lot) is about an hours train ride from my small town. Like I said yesterday, I took the day off to go shopping. I know, most people would fit that in their spare time, but I can shop forever, and I don't like to be rushed when I do it...so a day off for me. Of course it was raining, but lucky for me Taipei has a plethora of underground shopping malls that never made me go outside. So much for fresh air.

I bought so much stuff. I went thinking that I'd only buy souvenirs, but fact is... I hate shopping for other people. And souvenirs are hard, because no one ever tells you what they want, so you just end up buying stuff you like and then you (okay, maybe this is just me) end up keeping it for yourself. I swear, I have bought one friend like eight things..only they keep ending up in my jewelry box. Curses to my good taste!!

Clothes shopping here has not been as big of a problem for me. I mean, there are lots of cute things, but the Asian idea of an extra-large is like a 29 inch waist, and frankly...that ain't me...never has been, never will be. I'm okay with that....what I'm not okay with is that I am dying for some new pants! The malls in Toronto better make sure they are fully staffed the weekend I get home!! I did manage to buy nine new shirts for about sixty bucks...so that was fun.

I went to Tower records to buy Beastie Boy tickets but they were sold out!! Damn them!! I should've known though....I waited too long. It's a shame that I'm not a Buddhist monk....they all get in free. Do you think a lot of monks will show up to a Beastie Boys concert? Maybe they'll scalp their tickets! So instead of leaving with tickets, I left with my first Chinese CD. It's this crazy hiphop group called Machi. They're pretty good and they did a wicked re-mix of a Missy Elliot track. I figured I should have at least one Chinese CD...even though I still have no idea what they are saying.

It's a strange thing to go an entire day without speaking to anyone. I honestly don't think I opened my mouth once. Unbelievable to anyone who knows me, but it's true. I didn't talk to friends, I didn't talk on the phone, and because I didn't go to work, I didn't talk to my students. These days are very rare here...but in a weird way, kind of nice.

Oh, I almost forgot...a big fat welcome to Chantal and Chantil (that'd be hard after a few tequilas) to the world of blogging!! Nice to see you've joined me, who joined Andrea, who joined Mollie, who joined....oh, you get the idea.

Posted by Kate at 12:10 PM |

It's still bloody raining here.... It's awful. I just want the sun to shine for more than an hour at a time. The weather here can change in a heartbeat. One minute it is sunny and hot and you think you should be wearing shorts and the next minute the wind has picked up and it's pissing rain. I guess I should be thankful it is raining at all though. This time last year we were rationing water because we were in the midst of a drought. Not to mention that I know in a few weeks it'll be so hot and humid and disgusting that I'll be begging for a breeze and a thunderstorm.

I finally got to talk to my sister. Not as supportive as I was hoping. She started off giving me a bit of a hard time about my career choice. Not that she doesn't think that being a social worker is a good thing, just the whole, "hard to make a living, hard to get a job, maybe you should consider another way about it" As in...get a general degree instead of a specific one to keep my options open. I was a bit of an asshole back. Basically though, I don't want to do anything else...and if I can't make a living in Toronto, I'll go somewhere else. There are a kazillion kids in need of help... and I can't bear the thought of working at a job that I don't really want to do.

After that initial spat, she ended up making me feel better though. I mentioned that I was a little afraid of being back in Toronto and falling into the same routine and feeling the way I did a year and a half ago....she didn't really get it. And it is a hard thing to explain, but basically, aside from missing my friends and family, I am so completely content here. It took me a long time, but I wake up everyday and feel happy. I feel blessed. I feel like I know myself and that my spirit is strong, and the fear is that it won't stay like that if I go back to the same city and the same friends and the same bullshit. I know I'm not doing a good job putting words to my feelings, but my sister managed to come up with a good analogy.... someone in jail can make leaps and bounds of progress to better their life, but the true test is when they are released. The first place they go is back to their old friends and family because that's all they know. And in a lot of cases..that lands them back in jail....starting all over again.

I just don't want to start all over again.

Wow...that was a crapload of thought....my brain feels empty now. It's a good thing I took tomorrow off. I'm off to Taipei to do a little shopping...not even for me though. I've got to get all the souvenirs I should have been buying for the last year. Damn me and my procrastination.

Posted by Kate at 1:01 PM |

No kidding...Taiwan is dangerous. Who puts marble sidewalks in a country that gets so much rain. Do they want me to break my neck? And on that topic...squat toilets are not fun. I've been here for over a year, and after a few drinks and high heels...it's quite a task. Think peeing in the bushes while camping, drunk. Ridiculous. I guess my lack of co-ordination doesn't help. Anyone who's seen me dance can vouch for that. Right, Chantal?

Near broken limbs aside....Taiwan is pretty amazing. I'm a twenty minute bike ride away from the Strait of Taiwan, which I consider the ocean. Too bad my bike was just stolen. Everyone here drives scooters...and rules of the road do not exist. Ironically, there is no road rage. I suppose people just take it, because they know they give it. Kind of a nice way to live....instant karma.

So, I made a date. I'm to be in Thailand on the 17th of June. My friend, and ex-roommate is there, so we're going to hang out for a few weeks. I can't believe how much I miss him. He is the most artistic person I know. He needs to be illustrating, if not writing, kids books. And the boy can bust out a freestyle. God, he makes me laugh....and he keeps me on my toes. He constantly plays devil's advocate just to get me going. Which, by the way, isn't hard. I don't actually think that boy has an opinion, he just takes the opposite one of whoever he's talking to. Funny.

Still no decision about school. Still working on the pros and cons. Still getting a lot of "whatever makes you happy comments." Still need my sister. Still fretting. Do you ever feel like you're just at the right spot in life? That's kind of how I feel here. It took a while to find myself, but I did, and I can't decide if it's being here or if it's just in me now. I'd hate to be back home and find myself in the same spot as I was a year ago. Whatever...I'm making it seem like it's the biggest decision on earth, and it's not. Everything will go the way it's suppose to and I'm grateful that I have so many options. Blessed, I am and lucky enough to know it.

Posted by Kate at 2:35 PM |

WOW...big day for me. I found out some news and I can't decide if it's good or bad.

I got accepted to colleges. Three. It's good news that I got in, but I don't know if I'm going. I had totally crossed it off my list of options, and now that I have a plan that I'm happy with...this really screws things up! I need my sister. She always gives me good advice. And yes, lots of other people give me good advice, but their's tends to be biased and swayed by the fact that they miss me and want me to come home. I love them for that though.

Anyway, I have a few days of deep thought ahead...and that alone scares the crap out of me. I've already started with the pros and cons lists. I think I get that from my mother, who by the way had no advice to offer up. She just said, "whatever makes you happy." And I know that I should be grateful for that comment, but damn..where's the woman who bossed me around for eighteen years. I need her back for five minutes.

So...that's the big news. That and the crazy ass rain storm here. It's raining typhoon style and the umbrella is having a hard time standing up to it.

As a last thought...much love and appreciation to Miss Mollie for hooking me up with links and a guestmap, etc. Like I said, I'm so not knowledgeable about computers and she is. Thank you so much Mollie...you are fabulous. I'll get you that picture soon.

Posted by Kate at 2:43 AM |

I had such a good day today. I talked to Andrea...who is for sure one of my favorite people in the whole world. Top Three...no questions asked. She is too funny to even begin to explain and probably the most supportive person ever. Her own personal struggles aside, she is always worried about me, and interested in me, and making sure that I am happy. She believes in me, for real, even when I doubt myself....especially when I doubt myself. She does nice things just to do nice things not to get credit for them. For example...getting me a job as an art teacher just because she thought I'd be good.... and that happened to lead to an even greater adventure and now I'm in Taiwan. Grateful does not even begin to describe how I feel. I love that girl with all my heart.

I also got to chat quickly with a friend from Toronto who is in Japan. We weren't really that close when we were in Canada, but she was always fun to have a few (or more) drinks with. Crazy, I tell ya. Anyway...she's been in Japan for a year or so, and I went to stay with her in January. You know how sometimes you can really like a person, but after five days of consistent company you want to seriously injure them? Lija's not like that. We had way too much fun, laughed non-stop and both drew inspiration from one another. I know she is going to be someone that I keep in my life forever. She's the one I call when I have moments of "What the hell am I doing here?" and she manages to make it all okay. She's one of the few people that get why even when things suck, you just can't seem to make yourself go home. She is checking a few details to see if she can meet me in Vietnam for a week in July. I can't even start to imagine how insanely fun that'll be. I'm trying not too get excited yet, just incase it doesn't work out, but I am seriously losing that battle. I might just have to kidnap the girl.

Just when it couldn't get any better for me.... my friend Setaj dropped by. It's been a month and a half since I've seen that guy. It was fabulous. We sat on the balcony enjoying the sun and warmth and chatted about everything from the war to relationships to music to money to life goals.... he's a really easy guy to talk to. We're going to get Beastie Boys tickets. They're playing a Tibetan Freedom concert here in two weeks, and I'm not a HUGE fan, but it is way too cool to pass up.

I feel so blessed and grateful for all the amazing relationships I have. I know some stand up people and I can't imagine a single day without them.

And that was my Sunday...well that and Fear Factor. I swear I could win that show. It makes me mad everytime I watch it...and yet, I keep watching. What the hell?!

Posted by Kate at 9:00 AM |