5 things...

Today it's going to be short and sweet (hopefully) because it's getting late. :)

1. My friend Lex. I just had the most amazing chat with her over facebook (it is good for something!), and it was exactly what I needed.

2. Running. I love the way I feel after I go running. Endorphins are amazing. And I especially love running when i have new music to run to. Today it was Lady Gaga.

3. Hamburgers. Every once in a while I crave a good ol' hamburger. Unfortunately the best place to get a burger here is at McDonald's, but today it sure did hit the spot.

4. Having a new teaching schedule. This was the first week of Chinese school for our classes, so my teaching schedule got switched around a bit. Now on Tuesdays I only teach one class. It was so nice to have those extra hours to myself which I then spent on doing progress reports for my first graders.

5. Good health. Today when I went into my class two of my students had eye problems and another wasn't feeling very well. I'm grateful for being healthy, and for not being sick at the moment. Hopefully I will stay that way for a while. And I'm grateful for cheap medical insurance. If the States could go to a system like Taiwan's, I'd be a happy camper.

That's all for today, but like I promised before, I'll be posting something else soon. I promise!

Number 101

I can't believe that I've already written and passed up my 100th blog. I feel like there should be some sort celebration (or perhaps a more interesting blog post), but to be perfectly honest, I don't quite have the energy at the moment. I do have some pretty blog worthy moments to share, but the sharing will be done at a later date. Sorry. You're stuck with my gratitude list for today. I actually thought about not writing today, but that would mean that I'd be a quitter two days in, and that didn't sit well. So here goes...

5 Things I'm Grateful For

1. Aloe vera gel. I unfortunately got terribly sunburned yesterday after I laid out on the roof of our school. For some strange reason I thought my skin was above getting too much sun. I've been blessed with olive skin, so I generally don't burn too easily. but last night I was in agony before I found the aloe vera and stood in front of the AC.

2. Primary. Today was the first day I got to teach in Primary. And it was so much fun! I have to admit that I wasn't terribly keen on being a Primary teacher before because I'm teaching kids 6 days a week at school, but for some reason teaching kids at Church is whole 'nother kettle of fish. It was quite lovely. We learned all about obeying the law. And as my friend Lindsay and I were walking home from the bus station, we found application from the lesson.

The Taiwanese are very lax about their street laws. Jay-walking and running red lights isn't a big deal. But having used jay-walking as an example of breaking the law, Linds and I thought it would be quite hypocritical if we crossed the street without the green little man (the walking signal) telling us we could go.

3. Books. I love reading. I'm in the process of reading three books at the moment. I just finished North and South (quite lovely-perhaps even better than Pride and Prejudice and I'm an avid Jane Austen fan), and am now reading The Devil in the White City, The Host, and Authentic Happiness. So far I'm impressed with them all.

The Devil in the White City is a non-fiction account of the Columbia Exhibition in Chicago and how this colossal event coincided with the deeds of a rampant serial killer. Fascinating, I know!

The Host, is by Stephanie Meyer, the author of Twilight. I've been pretty hesitant to start reading it. As much as I like Twilight, there's a part of me that feels like I should be spending my time reading more worthwhile literature. But it's perfect for those days where you want to lay out on the roof. So that's what I did. And now I'm hooked.

Authentic Happiness is amazing. It's about positive psychology, and you should really check out the link right here! It's completely changed my perspective of things.

4. Soft beds. I never realized how good I had it in the States until I came to Taiwan. The beds here are like sleeping on box springs. I normally wake up once or twice with a numb arm. I'm getting more used to it (thank goodness), but it's not quite the same as my bed in Seattle.

5. Music!!!! If you couldn't tell, I'm slightly obsessed. I love sharing music with friends and learning about new bands. Since being here, my friend Sarah and I have learned that we have quite similar tastes in music. She's introduced me to the likes of Copeland (pictured), Passion Pit, and Mae, among many others. We also have found our mutual love for all things Chuck, and we both secretly aspire to be secret agents (who doesn't these days?). Oh, and we both have an undying love for The Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, and Imogen Heap (among many others). Glorious!

In the words of Daffy Duck:

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Five things....

I'm glad I'm doing this. This being listing things that I'm grateful for. Today it is as follows:

1. Being able to sleep at night. I went to bed early because I had an early class this morning, and I could not sleep for the life of me. I laid in bed until at least 2 am, and then kept on waking up intermittently. It was not a fun night, and I'm grateful for those nights where I can hit my pillow and be out in 5 seconds.

2. Flatmates that make me dinner. It was quite a lovely surprise when Sunny said he wanted to make Erin and I dinner tonight. He's an amazing cook, so I was lucky.

3. Sunscreen. Or maybe I should say when I use sunscreen. I laid out today and got my first bad sunburn in a long time. Generally I don't burn because of my skin type, so I'm grateful for the days I don't burn.

4. Air conditioning. I would die here without it. Not only does it keep my room cool, but it also cuts out the humidity, which is almost worst than the heat.

5. Cold showers on hot days. I love taking luke-warm to cold showers. There's nothing more refreshing after a long, hot day.

That's it for today!