I actually did make it to Taiwan for any of you that thought I would stay at home and not venture off to another destination for my need to travel. I made it here July 19th and have settled in...Sorta! It's hard going from a life of traveling for 8 months to having to get a "real" job and be an adult. Well, adult is stretching it, but still I wish I could just travel all the time and not have to take time off to work! I need to win the lottery! It was a rough and fast-moving couple of weeks getting sorted here. I met the girls, Vickie, Tanya and Amy and we all stayed in a tiny room in a hostel for over a week. It was very crammed and hot and we needed to get out, ASAP! We were all on the hunt for the perfect job and apartment. I thought I found a great job on my 4th interview. I substituted for the school for a week until they screwed me over and did not hire me full time. Not really sure on their reasons, but thankfully they did not hire me! In the week that I worked there, both Vickie and Tanya signed a contract with the school.

I found a job the next week at a great school. It's called Idear and I have a 5 year old kindergarten class from 8:30am-4:30pm, with a 2 hour break for lunch! I love my little class. I only have 6 kids at the moment and secretly I am hoping no more kids join the class. They are so nice and pretty easy to teach. They can be a bit naughty sometimes, but they're 5 so I am pretty easy on them. Their names are Betty, Cindy, Ting-ting, Nicholas (He calls himself Nico), Chester and Boye. No, I did not give the children their names, but they're pretty funny, hey? They are sweet and lots of fun. Today I got to show my singing abilities by singing, "If You're Happy and You Know It" while dancing away. My voice sounds lovely echoing through the hallways! I'm such a twat when I teach! I still can't believe I'm a kindergarten teacher...Who would have ever thought!? I had a puker and a pee-er yesterday in the matter of 15 minutes. Oh, how I love my job! I am also starting to teach an elementary class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for some extra pay. Only 1 1/2 hours more, so not bad.

We also found a great apartment in Central Taipei. It's very close to the subway and buses. We are in a cute little neighborhood with few foreigners so we get the curious glances while walking around. It's 2 floors with 4 bedrooms, a balcony and a roof-top. It's great and we love it. We do have a little cockroach problem, but they only come out at night and they don't bite! Ha! We are becoming homebodies now that we have a place to call home. We haven't really left the apartment except for work and occasional shopping. The luxury of sitting on the couch and watching TV is all too new for us. It is also nice to unpack and not think about repacking for another year. We have all been living out of suitcases for months now and it's great to have a closet and drawers. My room was picked out for me by my roommates. They said it's made for me. Maybe because it is a children's room! I have not one, but two beds. One of which is a bunk-bed and I can hide things/people in the cubby hole underneath. I can make forts, hence my room is called "Fort Cind." Vickie has the suite and is called, "The Retro Round Room" because she has a round bed! Amy's room was named "The Tiny Room" for a couple of reasons. One, because it's a bit small (but no smaller than mine) and two, because her nickname is Tynee! Tanya lives upstairs in "The Penthouse" with the rooftop off of her room. We love our apartment!

Taipei is a strange city and very familiar in the Asian sort of way. It's different than Seoul, but still a big city in Asia. Lots of motorbikes around and the chance of getting hit by one is lots greater...They are everywhere! We still haven't done much in the area of sightseeing. We are hoping to get out soon and see some stuff, but we've been so busy working or doing nothing! Once the novelty of our apartment wears off a bit, we will most likely get out and explore. We are talking about trips we want to take around the island. The island looks gorgeous from the books and can't wait to see it all! We went to the 101 building, the tallest (by a few inches!) in the world. We didn't actually go up because we were too busy shopping, but our visiting friends from Korea did and they said it was nice. Will have to go up there one day...I guess I have time!

P.S...A huge congratulations to the happy couple on their engagement. Natalie and Jay I wish you all the best and it's about time you popped the question Jay! And such a good story to tell the kids! I'm so happy for you!