Taiwan Scattergories

Actual Name of the Game: Scattergories
Classroom Name: Teacha, play dice!
Task: Think of words for a specific category that no one else has in order to score points. If someone else wrote down the same word: no points.
Student's Method of Task Completion: Copy foreign words off English posters made in Taiwan (clearly).

Round 1 Category: Animals

Me: Alright Stacey, what've you got?
Stacey: Elephant.
Me: Who's got elephant? (no hands) Good! One point for Stacey.
Stacey: Star, Teacha, I want star!
Me: Sure. Wilson, give me an animal.
Wilson: Cock.
Me: I'm sorry, what?
Wilson: COCK!
Me: By 'cock' you mean...
Wilson: (eagerly pointing at the animal poster with a ROOSTER on it)
Me: Right. Cocka-doodle-do. Who's got cock? (no hands) Score Wilson, score.

Round 2 Category: Vegetables

Mandy: Eggplant!
Me: Whoa, good one. Who's got eggplant? (everyone) Aww, that's too bad Mandy. No star. You're up Jack.
Jack: Cum.
Me: (straight face) Cum? (he nods) I...don't...think...cum's a vegetable Jack.
Jack: (clearly confused) Yes it is!
Me: Well, what's a cum?
(At this point, all students are jumping up and down asking "What's cum, what's cum?!" until I read what he wrote.)
Me: CoRn, Jack. CORRRN.
Jack: Yes, cun is a vegetable!

So you see, teaching in Taiwan ain't all that bad. If you don't make a big reaction, the kids won't suspect they said anything bad. But in some cases, they do catch on and will use it at any chance they possibly get, in all the wrong contexts. It's cool in my book cuz it's still English right?

The past two weekends have been no different - more drinking, partying, and...weird dancing.

Anthony came to town so we grabbed a full meal to line our tummies...


My delicious wonton soup noodle with passion fruit tea


Then it's off to join our other teaching buddies at a cafe lounge, Roxy Junior's.
Alastir & Charlene


Mike, Tom, & Gemma discussing how tall Taiwan cockroaches are


Ant, me, & Trent kicking back on some NASTY appletini's


Ant successfully cradle robbing...


After we convinced Ant to give the baby back, we headed over to Roxy 99's which is under the same chain as Roxy Junior. See, you work your way up and into the world of drunken stupor and gropage. You start with Roxy Junior's, the dance and mingle with ass grabbers at Roxy 99 (think Icehouse in Binghamton), and then move into some sultry aftermath at Vibe (like a Roxy Senior). Then you wake up in broad daylight about 10ft from your doorstep, face was in the ground, with a McD's bag clutched in your left hand. What the fuck just happened? Well, for starters, this did:

Bringing back the videos...featuring Mx & Mike


Alan - one of the first teachers I've met here.


Corrie and Kat


Paul and Kat


Mike - the giver


Alastir with the giver in the back, of course


Mx


Me & Corlia - treadmill buddy

Hammie and Corlia - workout buddies


When the going gets good


Good times come in 3's


Tome & drunken Gemma. We don't know the fob in the back.


A taste of Mike's hardcore dancing. Viewer's discretion is advised.



Next weekend, we opted for something a little more mellow and laid back so we checked out this live band venue called "Oldies Goodies" entertaining, to say the least, watching these Taiwanese folk perform. Ha.




Enjoy SATC in NYC!!! Ting Ting Bao Bao (xoxo).

The Source of all Activities Gay

I have decided that I'd rather die from bug repellent overdose than be eaten alive by gigantic flying cockroaches, spiders, and/or mosquitoes. A co-worker told me that there's a time when the weather gets so humid that all these goddamned bugs come out from their hiding places to torment the human beings and you can hear them smacking into windows cuz they're just flying everywhere. I couldn't tell if he was bullshitting me but I don't like to take chances. So I went online and found this...for really cheap too. You best believe I'd wear one of these bad boys because I'm gonna be ready for those suckers.


Last weekend we partied like animals and drank like our forefathers. I mean what else are foreigners in a foreign land supposed to do besides hang out with other foreigners doing exactly what we did back home? The Idioteque party was held at The Source, a small venue known as a gay has-been. The only gay activities we were blessed with were some pole-dancing, expertly demonstrated by our very own Andy and Trent. I failed to capture any of it on film but once again - bravo Trent, bravo. This guy never ceases to amaze me with his sleek pole sliding skills and dainty prancing, and of course the double fisting.

Trent & Brenda


Brian & Andy

Kester & Kyvin (sp?) performing live...

Andy & Paul (bday boy)

Paul, Corrie, Hammie & Cat

Paul & Corrie



Next day, I headed out to Rose House for a very SATC tea time with Elaine, whom I'd met and worked on set with back home. It was awesome talking to someone who's hometown is Taiwan but has lived in NY and loved it. The cultures, school systems, guys, social lives, you name it.

Waffles & hot Green Mango fruit tea for me...

Elaine sipping her iced Apple fruit tea via champagne glass...

And to top off all this G-rated blogging, I changed my bedsheets to an alluring leopard print. My mom, dad, grandma, and baby cousin all read this so I don't think they want to hear about which foreign countries I've been visiting, privately. Kidding mom, kidding. You're wondering how all my clothes fit into that one small wardrobe. It doesn't.

YaoMingShan (translation: YaoMing Mountain, not the basketball player)

I realized my blogs have been dwindling. I would like to say that I've been so busy running around all of Taiwan that I simply don't have the time. That the videos take too long to upload and it's a pain in the ass. But truth be told, I spend most of my time resisting the urge to scratch my monstrous mosquito bites. See the trick is to scratch around them. Tricky. And time consuming. That and I've been lazy. And there are no videos because Connie's got a new camera!

This past Sunday we went to the Calla Lilly Festival at YaoMingShan. For a small fee, you get to hand-pick Calla Lillies of your choice. Pretty cool considering I had no fucking clue what a Calla Lilly was before I got there. The weather was generous for the first half of the day, cuz lord it rains more than Forks, Washington. From the top of the mountain, you get to see all of Taipei City but I didn't get in any of those pics because we spent most of our time in the garden and hiking along a short trail. What does that mean? That there will be a YaoMingShan Part Deux!

The farm...

A sign that means absolutely nothing to me...

But it must've been important.

The picking and massive picture-taking begins...

TA Selena...

TA Kie with his new haircut...


Receptionists Tina and Daphne

The way he was posing with that umbrella, he was dying to have his picture taken!

Mission accomplished! We made the guys take this picture for us and they complimented us for our flaming choice of pose. I sadly agreed but they wouldn't take the picture unless I conformed. It was hilarious. On the bright side, my mom's going to love this picture. The flowers would've been a cheap yet thoughtful Mother's Day gift...so I sent her a picture of what I would've given her. Even cheaper and less thoughtful.

Then we went for a short hike up the mountain, with lizards galore...eek!

And finally, to reward ourselves for a job well done we settled down for tea time at a nice little bubble tea cafe where I tried a soothing cup of hot pine nut milk tea. And then hit the Shilin Night Market for some super cheap shopping!


Hiking, tea time, and shopping. Can life get any better? (Yes yes, I know it can but shut up and let me indulge alright? Jackass.)

Love Will Always Win.

'Tis true.

If you love the video, you can vote for Tris here
http://www.aniboom.com/Player.aspx?v=212898

He lit a cigarette and said, "Maybe you can call it 'Love in the time of Coloring' because we've both been such children about this whole thing."