"Rude Awakening"...

and harsh reality, those are the words and phrases that come to mind when I think about the last couple of days being back in Taiwan. I had a blast in the states (more about that later) and arrived back here just 6 hours before I had to teach. I was able to sleep really well on the plane and was experimenting with some "No Jetlag" homeopathic pills I picked up at REI, so I felt o.k. when I got back to the apartment. After a three hour nap and the realization that my scooter wouldn't start, I drove my roommates bike to work, arriving just 20 minutes til class started. The first class was a party so it wasn't too strenuous, but by the time A7 came along at 4:20, I was not prepared for what happened. I was trying to teach them, and they were all just looking at me like they couldn't understand anything I was saying. I forgot how to talk to them. I forgot they don't understand English the way I speak it normally. After two short weeks, I had lost it. Well, I wasn't really in the mood to work too hard to get it back at that moment, so I just prayed that class would end quickly. It did, and I only had one class left, which was also a party, so I was o.k. As I was scootin' home, I was just thinking to myself, "Yea, this is Taiwan. This is where I live. I'm back and it's a harsh reality, a rude awakening!" It will take some getting used to again, but it will be o.k., I'm sure.

I know this is where I'm supposed to be, but as I keep saying it's still a challenge...every day, it's a challenge.

Today is Wednesday, I have four classes, and I don't even know if I've planned anything yet, so I've got to get going. I'll write more later this week and tell you all about my time off...and whatever else will inevitably happen the next few days before the weekend. Roll on the weekend!

Until next time,
LC from the TW

Here are some pictures of some of my good friends in San Francisco. I blogged about getting to meet Olivia before I left, so I wanted to show you what all the fuss was about. She's precious! Enjoy the photos.

Elijah, Stacey and Claudia at the Nicaraguan Restaurant
in San Francisco

Elijah holding Olivia at 163. Sweet baby in pink hood, sweet papa in brown hood. Good memory.

Baby O sleeping at the Nic restaurant. Beautiful girl!

Thankful Friday's

My nephew's wife, my niece-in-law if you will, has been posting Thankful Thursday entries on her blog the last couple of weeks, and I just caught up on her blog, so I had to start with a Thankful Friday title! (Nice blogging, Keli! Thanks for the photos of the babies. Keeps me going.)

I am so thankful that it's Friday...not just any Friday, but the best Friday of my last several months. That's because I finally finished a crazy week of teaching and prepping for a substitute, which involved many late nights and early mornings (nothing's free...if you want "free" time you have to earn it! Especially in Ambitious Asia.) Secondly, I now have internet in the comfort of my own home. After being without this for three weeks, I cannot tell you how good it feels. Last but certainly not least, I get to go on vacation tomorrow for two weeks! Now, I love me some vacation time, no matter when it comes, (and almost no matter where I'm going), but this one...well, this one has been one of the most anticipated vacations in my recent memory (which may not be saying much since my memory keeps getting worse...what was I saying again? Oh yea, vacations good!)

See, this vacation involves getting to go to a place where most of the people I'll be around are speaking a language I can understand. Where I don't have to repeat every word I say at a snails pace to be understood when I speak. Where I don't literally see my life flash before my very eyes every time I drive down the street because someone pulls out in front of me without any regard for the fact that I'm on a scooter, it's raining, and/or dark, and the wind is blowing so hard I could get knocked down without their help not to mention with it. Those are a few reasons I'm glad to get a break from Taiwan...but there are more reasons why I'm glad to be going on vacation. The main reasons I'm glad is the chance to see awesome friends in San Francisco (shout out to Kelly, 'cause today's her birthday...holla!) and my family in Oklahoma (and Missouri - Road Trip!), and to finally get to meet a special little girl, Olivia, who was just born three and a half weeks ago to my friends Stacey and Elijah. I get to do all this in just a few short hours and I'm excited. I'm thankful, even! Thankful to God for a good job and chance to live internationally again. And thankful to God for a break from a stressful life where I'm often not in control of my circumstances. I'm learning a lot here, and I really hope I'm learning to be more and more thankful every day. (I'm also really thankful for the internet and that I didn't move to China to teach English this year. In case you've been under a rock lately, China's freezing under a mound of snow, power outages, people crowding into train stations trying to get home for Chinese New Year, and it's a tragic scene there as many people are stranded and some have already died. Pray for China!)

On that sad note, I've got to sleep now, so I can get up and fly tomorrow. Just finished watching Hitch on cable and it's so funny at the end with the dance sequence. Looks like a Taiwanese Karaoke party...been to too many of those already!

Be thankful, and maybe I'll see you soon...give you something else to be thankful for. ;)

Until next time,
LC from the TW