I Love you! (I know) I LOVE YOU!!! ( I KNOW!!!!)

Those are actual lyrics by some CRAZY new wave 80s band - the name of the band escapes me though. Maybe Paul remembers!

My student Samuel now has his own before class ritual. Yup, as soon as he sees me, he runs to get a piece of construction paper and makes me an "I Love You" poster! I included last week's poster in this shot - you couldn't see the star he drew (that I won't go on about) so I shamelessly re-traced it for your viewing pleasure! (Be sure to click on it for the full effect, heh heh).






I want to share more pictures from our second trip to Taichung a few weeks back. We went to a town called Linnei to watch what was "billed"as being a phenomenal butterfly migration. Supposedly you can see 12,000 butterflies per MINUTE! Last year the government shut down a major highway during the migration period to save the butterflies! Aw...
Well, we only saw 500 butterflies per minute.It was a bit of a letdown but, still kinda cool nevertheless. There were volunteers catching and numbering them to track their voyage from southern to northern Taiwan.
The lifespan of a butterfly is only one month, so there are actually three generations of butterflies who migrate at this time every year. After they mark them they let the kids set them free, as you can see!























After we went to see the flutterbys, we went to a BEAUTIFUL (subtropical I guess you could say) forest called Chi-Tou Forest which is located in central Taiwan. Pictures (especially mine!) just can't do justice but here is a glimpse of this very special place.



















Our friends Thomas and Alice and their daughter Joanne.





I look kinda like a Dr. Seuss character here! ( with a fern tree growing out of my head!)

"Finish yer lotus juice!"

Now THAT'S not something you hear everyday!

We went to central Taiwan over the weekend and visited this AMAZING forest (I promise to post pics soon...my battery died so I had to use our friends' camera and Sujoy forgot to bring home the pics today). Anyway, while exiting the forest we picked up some honey sweetened lotus juice extract (you just mix it with water). It's GOOOOOD! I am sure it's good for you too! Well, I hope it is.

So sorry to have let my blog go but....I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!!!!

Seriously, I have been feeling SO blue/blah/blech for awhile now. Not sure why - it's a combination of many things. My face is healing, but it's not where I thought it would be.
I know it sounds shallow, but I miss my old face! Will she ever return? I dunno. I just want a normal smile and a non-droopy eye.

I don't know where Grateful Sue has gone. I hope she comes back soon. Whiny Sue who revels in pity parties IS NO FUN!

Other bummer inducing news is that Anjoli missed a TON of school due to TWO bad injuries, and now she keeps getting headaches due to allergies...so she missed school AGAIN today. We took her to an excellent doctor far from us and he told us about a clinic he has at National Taiwan University Hospital. She will get a blood test this Saturday there and they will be able to determine just what she is allergic to. We have to wait a month for the results though. We have Taiwanese NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE now though - so the FANTASTIC thing about that is that the test is FREE! Yipee! Oh but the treatment will suck though - she will probably have to get all kinds of allergy shots. Not fun, but it will be better than having massive headaches.

On a positive note, teaching is going really well. Only problem is we are down to only one "paying" student (I borrow kids from the day classes when I can!). One student had to drop out because he lives too far away. It's a long boring story.

Anyway, my one and ONLY REAL student is doing really well. He is one handful though, I gotta say. EXTREMELY HYPER. It's not his fault though - you see the Taiwanese don't really believe in very much free/recess time...so by the time he reaches MY class (one of three schools he attends on days when I teach him) he is just one mighty live wire. So, to channel his energy, I bought jump ropes and we take a break half way through and he jumps to jump rope rhymes and chants.

I found an excellent e book on-line - written by a British woman who teaches English in France. It's filled with hundreds of GAMES used to teach English. So I incorporate fun games into the class and he really enjoys them! He thinks we're PLAYING - and we are - but he is also learning English as well.

A few weeks back he drew this poster for me! (I bought him a funny book about dinosaurs and he was THRILLED - hence the poster). I sing a song every class about "getting to know someone" - it teaches kids how to start conversations. He knows I enjoy music so that's why he drew the musical notes.




Unfortunately, I had to correct his English though! (well I HAD to!). Then the following week he made me yet another poster but that time he wrote " I LOVE YOU!" with smiley stars that he said were pictures of me. Sujoy thought they were naked pictures of me and I had to point out that NO those aren't my boobs on the stars they're EYES! jeesh. Men.

One more CUTE thing - I am trying to teach him adjectives using flash cards - so I held up a picture of a mouse with glasses reading a book. I asked him to describe the mouse (maybe she's a teacher?) and he said: "Important!" then came up with this brilliant sentence:

"Miss Sue is IMPORTANT!"


Ah...from the mouths of babes...


We went to see the VERY FIRST CONCERT EVER in Taiwan by the fantastic London Symphony Orchestra a few weeks ago. Honestly, it was a bit LONG, but we really did enjoy it. The conductor was a young incredibly handsome Russian man...and the solo violinist was also Russian.

This was the program: Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77/Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathetique"/Turnage: Lullaby for Hans/Henze: Seconda Sonata per achi (1995).

Turnage and Henze are both modern composers. I enjoyed the modern selections very much.


Here are a few pics of us at the National Concert Hall in Taipei.










Hope all is well with everyone!

Lots of love and a big hug,

Suexoxoxoxo

P.S. I seriously was thinking of pulling the plug on my blog-o but...NAH!

Raising Sand

Do yourself a favor.
Run, don't walk to um...your computer and buy the cd Raising Sand by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant.

Since I suck at reviewing cds, let me quote the review on Real One's Rhapsody:

"The unexpected and unpredictable collaboration between this Led Zeppelin frontman and a modern bluegrass diva may raise a few eyebrows. But once you put aside your reservations and listen to this truly amazing album, the marriage of Plant and Krauss' voices make more sense than chocolate and peanut butter. As they cover songs by Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, Mel Tillis, Tom Waits and the Everly Brothers, don't be surprised to find yourself moved or your breath taken away. If Raising Sand doesn't sweep the Grammys, let there be riots in Hollywood."

Unfortunately, the album wasn't released in time to be eligible for this year's Grammys, however a single was released in time and it actually DID win a Grammy. ("Gone, Gone, Gone for best Bluegrass performance). I don't put much stock in the Grammys, but I'm not surprised that it won. It will be interesting to see whether it DOES sweep the Grammys in 2009. I hope it does.

I CANNOT stop listening to a Plant/Page tune called "Please Read the Letter." (Mary! :) I know you love that one too). I love singing along with them.

I haven't been this excited about a cd in a long time.

Check it out!!!


xxxxxxxx

More pics from Taichung

When we got to the Aboriginal theme park, we had to wait a bit while Joanne's aunt (Joanne is our friend Thomas and Alice's 17 month old daughter) rented a stroller for her.

While we were waiting, this adorable little boy in festive dress came right over to Joanne and wanted to hug her! I was not surprised at all - kids are so perceptive and she is TRULY one of the coolest, most loving kids I've ever met. Honestly, she was a little taken aback by the sudden outpouring of affection from little lover boy, and was looking to us for reassurance, as you can see.

(Please click on them!)


Gimme some sugar baby!





Oh c'mon...please?



Help me Sue! Tell her how cute I am!


Ooh pink fur...I LIKE it. So soft..




AHA! THAT worked. Now she can't take her eyes off me...


Ooh you are so SQUEEZABLE!



MUAH!!! Sucess!!!!!!! :)





A pretty little hut



Cold Men Without Shirts!






Bunnies Abound!










Anjoli with the scary hair

The Ever Evolving Sue!

Oh boy. So much has happened in the past few weeks...where to start? (That's the problem with being a slack blogger, Sue!).

The BIG news is that I was hired to teach at a nearby pre-school called Child's World.
You can check out their website HERE, if you'd like.

Thanks to my very sweet friend and present TAS PTA bookstore manager, Hilary, I called the director,Jackie, who is a friend of Hilary's (and the visiting author coordinator) and arranged myself an interview! Well, by the time I made it to the interview, I think Jackie's mind had already been made up that she was going to hire me! She didn't even look at my resume.
So I was hired as a substitute, and next week will teach a Reading and Writing class two days a week. I will ALSO train with her in the office, and I will eventually run the school one day a week, then this summer I will take her place while she goes home to Colorado. When she returns in September, I will again go back to teaching p/t, subbing and working in the office...then in January '09 I will take over as the director/principal! Please don't be impressed - I was hired for a few reasons - the most important being that I am an American who will be living in Taiwan for the next nine years (until Anjoli graduates from the Taipei American School). I do have a lot of experience with kids from pre-school through 6th grade - but not a heck of a lot! Oh and I haven't worked in an office since 1999! HELP!
Honestly, I prefer teaching to being an administrator, but I will give it a whirl, why not?


I have been subbing for a kindergarten class at the school this week - tomorrow is my last day of this assignment. I am enjoying it SO much! It's a total blast. I love singing, as most of you know, and I taught them this "Name Game" song - which is a great ice breaker for new subs and a great way to learn kid's names. Well, the brightest kid in the class (a 5 year old boy) came in this morning and handed me a rolled up piece of paper. He had written, in perfect handwriting, the words to the song! I was really impressed and touched by that.
It's so sweet - I end the day with storytime and by that time they are all clamoring to sit on my lap!
I can't believe how smart these children are. There are only 7 in the class - one American autistic boy who is just a gem of a kid (and he has a one-on-one aide), a red headed Italian boy (adorable),a super smart Indian girl (who has become my shadow), 2 Taiwanese girls, and 2 Taiwanese boys.
They were a bit out of control today (day 3 of my assignment) because they have figured out that I am a softie. My biggest flaw is that I do not rule with an iron fist...I guess I need to learn to be a bit tougher...but that just isn't ME. I did give the brightest boy (who is my favorite - even though he is the most mischevious) a TIME OUT today - oh boy! I was amazed that he actually sat in the chair for me! I plunked him down in front of a chart of numbers from 1-100 and pointed to them and said "HERE- READ THESE NUMBERS FROM 1-100!" Lo and behold, he did!

Yesterday, the same boy had all the teachers in stitches. We made Valentines and I told them that they could write a poem if they'd like. Here is what he wrote (spelling was nearly spot on):

Oh Carol , I Am But a Fool
Darling I Love You Though You Treat Me Cruel
You Hurt Me And You Make Me Cry
But If You Leave Me I Will Surely Die

It's a Neil Sedaka song! The teachers were saying that he must have been doing Karaoke over Chinese New Year break. Too cute.


Other happenings: Last week Anjoli was off for Chinese New Year (It's the Year of the Rat). Sujoy was also off from last Wednesday until February 11th. We all went down south to a city called Taichung for 3 days with our friends Thomas ( he's Sujoy's business partner), his wife Alice, their daughter Joanne and other family members. I enjoyed the city - the architecture is WAY nicer than Taipei - the buildings are newer. There are some very hip, cute areas...we went to a great little cafe for breakfast one day (where we were served the BEST coffee and "scrumbled" eggs!). The shopping is fantastic - Alice's brother took us to a really cool arty area - I bought a cool shirt, a very English looking angora hat and a Peruvian scarf. (It was FREEEEEEEEZING!!! It still IS!).

Here are a few pics from Cafe Uno (I am such a sucker for nice cafes, and breakfast is my favorite meal):








We went to a beautiful area close to Sun Moon Lake to a theme park which was like an "aboriginal Disney Land." Surprisingly, it really wasn't very tacky! I found it heartening that the Taiwanese are so proud of the 9 indigenous tribes on the island and that they have paid tribute to them and are celebrating their culture. Anjoli still has a bum ankle so we had to cart her around in a wheel chair. The crowds were slightly unbearable, so we didn't bother standing in line to go on the rides. We'll have to go back though because there were some fun ones. Here are some pictures from the park:







BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!!!!




This is better (but I accidentally cut off the top of the guy- ouch!)








My skull will be featured here one day, I'm sure...




A cute little Aboriginal house




The Interior - These are not real aboriginals...hee hee...they are wax figures of a Shaman and a sick young man.




The "kitchen"








Cute little chairs








I really love their pottery, sculpture and art















From a pottery workshop - you can try your hand at a pottery wheel - I've always wanted to learn how to do that. It's extremely difficult though and I am not the patient sort.





Thomas and one of the cutest, sweetest kids on the planet, his daughter, Joanne








I will post more about our trip to Taichung tomorrow (I promise!!). Time for bed - it's VERY late!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love to all,
Suexxxxx