I sat down with a group of kids when they were busy finishing coloring and decorating cards and chatted with them about the project at hand. When we ran out of things to say about their scribblings we realized that there was an unexpected extra hour to kill before the beginning of the next item on the schedule, so the kids took it upon themselves ( Read more... )

Well I really hope your Independence Day is more explosive than mine, wherever you may be this year ( Read more... )

I caught the train to Taichung on Saturday. Due to a dire divination of dour downpours, my companions for the day had opted out and so I made the best of it and had a look about. An hour or so down the drag, I dallied to draw a delightful looking piece of infrastructure, a canal or river that ran through the city, when all at once down came the ( Read more... )

Say, pardon me Miss,
Lay off of the eyeliner.
You look like a clown.

I went out parkouring yesterday. I fell over. On the upside, though, I learned how to scale a ten-foot sheer concrete wall. Sure, the first half dozen attempts ended in me running into the wall, but it's really not as hard as you might think once you get it figured out.

When people ask me
"Where are you from?" I tell them
Just which hemisphere.

That's all it takes. I met a guy in the elevator yesterday and I noticed that he was speaking the same language as I. We introduced ourselves and he asked me where I was from. All I had to say was America. Which part really wouldn't have mattered. He was from

I stopped at one of the many sizable electronics stores to pick up a new gadget. When I went to the counter and paid for it, the clerk asked me if I wanted a flower. I had her repeat herself just to make sure that I had heard her right. She told me to pick out a flower and pointed to a rack of potted plants next to the register. Now perhaps I' ( Read more... )

Lychee tastes like kiwi, at least when you get it fresh.

This is why I wear an air filter over my face when I go out.


( Read more... )

I spent the day on Saturday on the train, criss-crossing northern Taiwan and getting myself generally lost. I thought it would be a rip roaring good idea, you see, to have a look at the island's east coast, since I hadn't yet seen that bit. I was of the understanding that due to mountain ranges and weather patterns and so on that that part of the ( Read more... )

I stumbled upon the Dr. Sun Yat-sen memorial building just in time to see the changing of the guard. Let me tell you, if the Taiwanese army ever gets challenged to a juggling contest, they will be thoroughly prepared. The lovely young tour guide who attached herself to me when I walked in the door explained that if the guards on duty even so much ( Read more... )