Another day, another dollar

For everyone's information, I will be moving to the greater Washington DC area in February.

Huzzah for full-time employment! If you're in the area and looking for a roommate with an awesome 50lb dog (or know someone who might be), feel free to let me know.

I will again (emptily?) promise an interesting blog entry soon, but for now, I'm enjoying my winter vacation in Miami.

Also, remember Y2K? Yeah, that was ten years ago.

November, where have you gone?

It seems November has come and gone without making an appearance on my blog. So here's what has happened since last I left you:

• I went to the Harvard Band 90th Reunion and got to see some old friends; Jonathan even flew in from Poland for the weekend, in part because...
• I turned 24;
  
• The Phillies were once again in the World Series, but thanks to uncapped salaries in the MLB, did not reach the same conclusion as last year;
• I got Windows 7 as a birthday gift from my brother John, and so far it is as awesome as all the commercials make it sound;
• Milo has started sleeping a million hours a day, so I no longer have a puppy's urgent bladder waking me up in the early morning;
• I bowled over 100 twice in one evening;
• Thanksgiving happened and I ate my weight in turkey and pumpkin pie;
• I attended my 5-year high school reunion, which was not as awkward or uncomfortable as anticipated;
• I finally ordered a monitor (TV) for my computer from TigerDirect's Pink Friday sale, so I can stop borrowing my Dad's.

I have a handful of half-written blog entries in my head about various unrecorded Taiwan experiences, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to write them out. Wrapping up those few last entries will really conclude my year in Taiwan, and as I still tell acquaintances that "I just got back from being abroad," it seems weird to let go of the experience entirely. There has been a real lack of continuity in my life since graduation. I spent a year in another country with another language and a new routine and a whole set of new people, then I abruptly returned to suburban Pennsylvania with a year of holidays and birthdays gone by, finding my friends with jobs and apartments instead of classes and dorm rooms.

Enough of that. I just wanted to say, I haven't forgotten about this blog or about the things I plan to write in it. I thought all I needed was to find the time to create (of which I have plenty), but as it turns out I still haven't found all the right words.

Milo has fallen for an older woman

I knew it would be an adjustment bringing Milo from our 4-bedroom, 4-person apartment in Taiwan to my 2-to-3-person, multi-level house with my mom's 12 year old dachshund Daphne in the Philadelphia suburbs. Daphne and Milo started off curious about each other. Despite the fact that he is at least four times her size, Daphne calls the shots in this house. Still, though, he occasionally baits her into playing, and has influenced her to stay frolicking outside just a little bit longer than she had before.

Lately, though, instead of claiming spots at opposite corners of the kitchen (their domain during the day-- at night Milo stays with me and Daphne with my mom), they've been sharing the bigger bed and cuddling. While I'm pretty sure Daphne is in it for the comfort and warmth as the temperatures grow colder, Milo seems to have drawn bigger conclusions.

A few mornings ago, I woke up earlier than usual and brought Milo downstairs. As usual, he eagerly went outside to release his bladder's nightly accrual. When I let him in and filled his dog bowl with breakfast, though, he just looked up at me confused. He kept looking from the bowl to the door and back to the bowl. In Taiwan, Milo always downed his food almost before it hit the bowl, eating it more quickly than we thought caninely possible. But here he was, eating a few pieces and then looking nervously to the door.

When Daphne came down just a few minutes later, and I gave her her breakfast, Milo began eating as quickly and enthusiastically as ever. Apparently, he didn't want to get in trouble for starting to eat without his date.

This morning, Milo and I slept in. When we came downstairs, Daphne was already here and (I'm pretty sure) successfully breakfasted. So I let Milo out and filled his bowl. He just looked at it. No eating, not even picking at it. I figured the late wake-up time had thrown off his hunger, so I figured he'd eat it when he wanted. After 20 minutes, he started throwing up. To avoid grossing you out, I'll just say that this kind of throw-up comes from the dog not having any food in his stomach. So here Milo was, getting sick in front of a very indifferent Daphne, with a full bowl of food only a few feet away. So I poured Daphne a second breakfast and coaxed her into eating it, and Milo began gulping his food with gusto.

The poor little guy, hopelessly attached to this older woman who only occasionally cares about him in return. Unfortunately for me, Daphne's biggest manifestation of love for Milo is in the way she often runs to my door to wake him before heading to the kitchen. Thanks, Daphne.

Let's hope he can shake this affection when we finally move out of the house!



Note: This kind of material is all I have to write about while my life is restricted to the Main Line. What can I say, I'm giving it a shot.

New addition to the technology family

After leaving Poland on September 23rd, after having Jonathan's real computers with which to upload photos and type blog entries, I just couldn't manage to update on my 7" netbook, a.k.a. "baby laptop." Since my normal Dell laptop has been moody for months (by "moody," I mean that it refuses to turn on most of the time), and unemployed people rely on technology to find jobs, connect with others, and keep themselves entertained, I decided to stop putting off the inevitable and get a new computer.

Except now, as I have loads of time on my hands and not so much money, I went the somewhat cheaper route and decided to build my own computer. Of course, building your own PC is not the cheapest route for everyone. If you aren't picky about the quality of your parts, or you have to buy an operating system separately, it's better to buy one from Dell or HP or something. As it is, though, I had the time and the pickiness and the generous-Microsoft-brother connections to build my own computer.

So, after painstakingly going through newegg sales and combo deals, I picked out my parts and gathered enough courage to hit the "Submit Order" button. I can continue to wonder if more searching on more websites would have led to cheaper parts, but it's all in the past, and I resolve to be happy with what I have.

There were three points where I wanted to cry and send it all back to the store:

1. I opened the box for the case and the front cover had snapped off. After a few deep breaths, I tried to superglue it back together instead of sending it back. And it worked! Problem solved.
   
   
2. After putting everything together, I flipped the switch to the power supply and everything started flashing and clicking. Apparently, this was a bad thing... After deciding I needed a new power supply (thanks to advice from the internet), I took out the power supply and wiggled the wires and tried again, just for funsies. And what do you know, it worked!
   
   
3. When I was sure I had everything right (including a functional power supply), I kept getting a video card error. After much panic and frustration, I just pushed a little harder and the video card clicked in.
   

So seriously, these were my three biggest problems, and they were fixed by supergluing plastic, wiggling wires, and pushing to hear a click.

Now, as I anxiously await the Windows 7 release on 10/22, I'm using the free Linux-based operating system Ubuntu. I don't know much about Linux or command prompts, but I am internet-surfing and document-editing (and blog-posting) at unprecedented rates. And I get that little pinch of satisfaction from knowing it's on something I built on my own!

You've probably read to here (if you've gotten this far) thinking, "...so?" Well, the moral of this story is that building your own computer is totally doable. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about software issues, but I didn't know the first thing about PC components a few weeks ago. Between the (albeit somewhat outdated) tutorial on PCMech and the manual that came with my motherboard, it wasn't an incredibly challenging experience, and was finished within a 24-hour period.

And now that I'm back to the world of real computing, I'm of course on a strict regimen of hulu, grooveshark. and writing.

Wienertrip 2k9: Day three

Now, the long-awaited conclusion to Jonathan and my trip to Vienna!

Sunday was less exciting than Friday and Saturday, so you haven't been missing much. We overslept and missed mass with the Vienna boys choir, but did manage to get standing room tickets to see the Lipizzaner Stallions at the Spanish Riding School, which is part of the Hofburg Palace. No pictures allowed, but I snuck a few as evidence:

As the venue emptied afterward, I took another. A very pretty interior for a horse show:

I'd say that the show must be great for people who love and appreciate horses. For those who are allergic and have kept their distance from the animals (me), it's not the best choice. It was still a good experience, despite the 3 packs of tissues I went through.

Afterward we walked around Vienna and got some of the famed Wiener schnitzel; some sort of meat (veal?) cut very thin and then breaded. Fantastic? Not really. But good enough for me to eat, which is more than I can say for a lot of foreign food.


As you can guess from the size, I wasn't able to eat the whole thing. I'm pretty sure Jonathan rose to the challenge, though.

After a little more aimless wandering around the city, it was time to go to the airport and head back to Krakow. As wonderful as Vienna was, it was nice to get back to Poland, where the exchange rate means dividing, not multiplying.

Wiener Trip 2k9: Vienna, Day Two

Saturday, we did not have nearly the agenda that we'd had on Friday, but still managed to see quite a lot of the city.

We first wandered to Stephansdom, a huge, very old, very beautiful church. The exterior is daunting but still approachable, while the interior is enough to take anyone's breath away. We didn't do any formal tours, but I took plenty of pictures.

The exterior:


The interior:



We wandered around, walking from Stephansplatz to Karlsplatz, taking pictures of many random buildings, eventually reaching a farmer's fair happening around the Hofburg Palace. So we sat, enjoyed, and took pictures.

Jonathan eats a Wiener wiener and drinks some Wiener beer:

I stand in front of a pretty building in the Hofburg (I believe it is now the National Library):

A building, most certainly part of the Hofburg:

A street on our way to somewhere:

We stand in front of the Federal Parliament building:

Later that night, we ventured to the Staatsoper (State Opera House), where we had obtained last-row (but non-obstructed view!) tickets for 20 Euros apiece to see Manon Lescaut. The opera house was beautiful, and unlike the Volksoper, it had English subtitles:



After the opera, we walked around the area and had some famous Wiener sachertorte and apfelstrudel. And took some more pictures.


All in all, a fantastic day.

Wiener Trip 2k9: Vienna, Day one

First, I'd like to thank LOT Airlines for having unusually low weekend fares to Vienna. Second, I'd like to thank Guesthouse Arabella for providing us with a lovely tenth-floor apartment to stay in and a free map of the city. Third, I'd like to thank the many friendly Austrians who spoke English with us. We are very fortunate to have grown up speaking what has become the world's international language.

Vienna is an absolutely gorgeous city. Cities don't generally make much of an impression on me. Tall skyscrapers and perpendicular blocks, whether of New York City or of Shanghai, often mesh together in my memory. The Old Town of Krakow is an exception, and so is the entire city of Vienna. Of course, when you are the seat of empires, in power for centuries, I imagine you have the resources to build a lot of really cool stuff.

I could wax poetic about various aspects of the city and our trip, but instead I'll give you a quick photosummary (with limited description) of what we did.

Thursday night, we checked into our hostel/apartment. Tenth floor, great view of the city. The sunrise on Friday morning:

Friday, we headed off to Schloss Schönbrunn, the Hapsburg summer palace, and took a (no-photo) tour:

Then we wandered the immaculately-kept, free-to-the-public gardens behind the palace:

We even entered and eventually escaped from one of the labyrinths:

Finally, we wandered into the Vienna Zoo, which is attached to the gardens (it was originally the royal family's wildlife menagerie), because zoos are always a good idea:

Later, deciding to do something musical, we went to the Volksoper (People's Opera House). A friendly worker helped us get third-row orchestra tickets at a student rate of 12 Euros to see Fra Diavolo, which looked a little more like a musical than an opera, but was still entertaining. Mostly spectacular were our great, otherwise-160Euro seats in this lovely opera house:

This has gotten lengthy already, so I'll put the rest of the trip in a separate post. Enjoy, and sorry for the belated updating!

Something I never thought I'd do again...

is own a pair of rollerblades*.

Seeing that the rollerblading fad is in full swing here in Poland, and knowing that I do not enjoy running without purpose, Jonathan bought me a pair of rollerblades so that I may accompany him on his mile+ runs in the park. Little did he know that I am probably more speedy and more coordinated on bare feet. But I tried:


And if I weren't so afraid of losing control and running head-on into a Polish child without knowing the words for "Look out" or "Help me," maybe I could even get good enough to go on those mile+ loops around the park. Will the U.S. grant me a more comfortable practice environment? We shall see...

*This post brought to you by the "I have no idea how to condense the trip to Vienna into one blog post yet but feel guilty about not updating at all" foundation.

O Jamników: March of the Dachshunds 2009

Imagine my excitement when I learned that, every year in the beginning of September, Krakow hosts the Marsz Jamników-- in English, March of the Dachshunds. For those not from my Pennsylvania life, my family has always had dachshunds and only dachshunds (that is, until the recent addition of Milo). They are my mom's breed of choice, so for my whole life we've always had a short-hair miniature dachshund (or two) roaming around the house.

This past Sunday was Krakow's annual March of the Dachshunds. Jonathan and I had no idea what to expect. What it was: over 200 dachshunds, many of them in costume, parading one block (from the Barbican to the Rynek down Florianska Street) with their owners and various dachshund fans, led by a marching band. After this there was some sort of ceremony, where the best-dressed dachshunds were introduced, dachshund poetry was read dramatically (all in Polish, unfortunately), and children presented their dachshund-inspired art.

As you'd expect, I took about a million pictures. I'm torn about what to put up. Some readers would be content with a few representative pictures, while others, I'm sure, would love to see all the dachshunds I managed to capture in their full hilarity. As a compromise, I've put a few pictures and a video here, and I've created a facebook album with the set in its entirety. Enjoy!

Dachshund owners and enthusiasts gathering by the Barbican on parade morning:

Many dachshunds were in costume:

Some dogs were not so happy about it:

While others took the opportunity to make new friends:

An excerpt of the parade:

At the ending ceremony, as incomprehensible Polish words washed over us, at one point the audience was instructed to raise up their jamniki (dachshunds)... and they did:

Even Jonathan, who is not a great lover of dachshunds (or small dogs in general), found this event preposterously entertaining.

Remember to click here for more pictures!

Kościuszko Mound

At the suburban edge of Krakow and walking distance from Jonathan's dorm, there is a former royal hunting grounds that has been turned into a park. Within the park are several memorial mounds (not burial mounds); last weekend (not this past weekend), we went on a walk through the park and ended up at Kościuszko Mound. Tadeusz (Thaddeus) Kościuszko was involved in the American Revolutionary War and also a Polish revolutionary. There are memorials of him all over the US, too, from Boston Common to Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Anyway, this was yet another beautiful day in Krakow, so I took a lot of pictures. Enjoy!

The path through the park:

A view from the park bench where we had bread and cheese:

From the base of the mound:

 

Krakow from the top of the mound:

Jonathan, with the Tatras far in the distance:

 

An attempt at taking a picture with the view of the city behind us:

 

More posts to come.

Poland, week one: Friday in the park

So, I've been here for a week, and haven't exactly fulfilled my promises of keeping you all updated. My sleep schedule is entirely out of whack thanks to jet lag, morning naps, afternoon naps, and unregulated amounts of caffeine. My first 24 hours or so in Krakow are mostly a blur; after a sleepless 7-hour flight to Frankfurt and a very painful 9 hours waiting in the Frankfurt airport (only afterward did I remember one of my Fulbright friends lives just outside the city), I reached Krakow in a tired and miserable state. But now, a week later, I am very awake, and very happy to be here!

So, let's see. Jonathan and I haven't been up to much in terms of tourism. I hit all the major tourist spots on my trip here in the winter, so this has been a relaxed visit more like the everyday Krakow experience.

I got in Thursday night and I'm pretty sure I slept straight to Friday afternoon. Friday evening, after Jonathan got back from lab, we went to a very large local park. Jon ran a few miles around the park while I sat, took pictures, and read a book. The place was incredibly beautiful at this time of day, though the lighting wasn't captured as nicely through the camera.

I sat on a wall at one edge of the park:

To my right were houses and a creek:

Others sat on the wall as well, enjoying the fantastic late August weather:

Jon ran around the path, as did many other runners, joggers, bikers (cyclists?), and, to my surprise, rollerbladers:

Though the park is close to Jon's dorm and not in the downtown area, it is so large and flat that there's a great view of Wawel castle in the distance:

So, I came to the conclusion that though I loved Krakow when it was covered in snow, it is a very nice place to be at this time of year.

More posts to come. Also, we've altered our travel plans for cost/time reasons (and I want to spend more weekend time in Krakow); instead of Prague and Budapest, we're staying in the area this weekend, and we found very cheap flights to Vienna on LOT for September 10-13. If you have any Viennese (?) travel tips, please let me know!

Updates to come: More Taiwan, and some Poland too!

I promise.

I haven't forgotten this blog, or all of you who may read it. Every few days I get a reminder that I haven't updated in a while, but when your sole source of computing is a 7" constantly-overheating-in-the-summer laptop (with no pictures on its 8GB hard drive), it's hard to get motivated to type more than a few sentences.

Anyway, from August 26-September 23 I will be embarking on Katie's Polish Adventure (take two). Armed with my external hard drive and Jonathan's powerful self-built PC (and being left to my own devices during working hours), I will hopefully finally find the time and energy for updates. So in addition to my wrapping up writing on Taiwan, you can also expect more posts on Krakow, and possibly a little on Budapest and Prague (our tentative weekend plans).

Until my triumphant return to the blogosphere, feel free to leave your input on any or all of the following:

• What I should do/where I should go in Krakow, Poland, Prague, Budapest, and the general areas;
• What you'd like to hear more about from my experiences in Taiwan;
• Whether I should continue this blog (or start a new one, or give up on blogging) once I hit the world of full-time employment;
  
• Any books you think I should read, as I've suddenly started reading again, a lot, and will need reading for my trip; and/or
  
• What you think of Project Runway's transition from Bravo to Lifetime.

Until we meet again!

Sushi in the US? Very yes. Blogging? We'll see.

It's way more expensive, it's not as fresh, it has weird English names, and did I mention it's way more expensive? But my first experience at a sushi restaurant in the US was a positive one. For those not keeping score at home, I'd never dared to eat sushi until it was forced upon me in Taiwan, and I quickly fell in love.

Considering I've been home for over three weeks, there are still many foods on my to-eat list, and I have a great deal of unpacking left to do. Of course, the fact that I never unpacked from senior year of college doesn't make anything easier.

I should probably justify my latest prolonged absence. I wasn't only sleeping. First my laptop decided to stop turning on (again). Then the wireless internet decided to stop working, so even my mini laptop was useless.

The truth is also that I have no idea where to start. I have a lot of un-blogged stories and pictures that I'd love to share with you.

So let's start at the very beginning. Well, the beginning of this year, anyway. I never did write about what I did to ring in 2009.

At the very end of the first semester, the student teachers at Fu Xing got enough free time and outgoingness to introduce themselves. I had had no idea that there were a handful of other 22/23-year olds wandering the halls of Fu Xing, also without teaching experience. I got the chance to hang out with some of them a few times before the semester ended (they left Fu Xing after first semester). They ended up inviting me out for New Years' Eve.

First, we had dinner at Ikea. I had the Swedish meatballs.

Then we went to the Dream Mall (the "Times Square" of Kaohsiung?) for festivities and fireworks. We had to pose with the World Games mascot:

Then we met up with fellow Fulbrighters Billy and Dan.

I even ran into one of my fifth graders, Willy! No, it was not really cold enough to warrant wearing a hat (maybe 55 F), but I really wanted to feel wintery.

And then there were fireworks.

After the fireworks, we headed home in what I thought was impossible: a scooter traffic jam. But I was really glad to get to know Kenji, Ray, and Etty. Even though Kenji and Ray went back to Taipei at the end of January, Etty continued on as Fu Xing's new Taiwanese teacher for the second semester, and her classroom was right next door.

A very belated happy 2009!

Not dead, just sleeping.

For the few of you who read my blog but do not read my emails, here is the official word that I'm safe back home in the good old U.S.A.

What have I been up to since I got back? Sleeping. Honestly. I don't have the energy for anything these days. Maybe it's the jet lag, maybe it's the recovery period from teaching three hundred and fifty small children, maybe it's the first soft bed I've slept on in a year. Either way, you haven't missed anything exciting. I haven't even checked off everything on my "to-eat" list. Though I have had hot dogs, hamburgers, Yuengling beer, the family brown rice, a frosty from Wendy's, a turkey club from Minella's, a black and white milkshake, a Wawa hoagie, a Tastykake, and lots of Mountain Dew. Of course right now, I'm craving fresh salmon sashimi more than ever.

Milo, my puppy, is also happy in his new home. He likes running in the yard, smelling everything, following my parents around, and bugging our 12-year-old dachshund Daphne. Every bird, bunny, squirrel, and barbecuing neighbor is cause for curiosity. Overall, though I'm sure that a trans-continental flight in a cage in the belly of an airplane is not fun for any dog, the move has been a very good one for Milo.

Once I find myself awake and creative, I'll get back to the blog in earnest. I have some great pictures and stories from my last days in Taiwan, as well as all the ones I forgot to share along the way.

Until then, if you need me, I'll probably be asleep.

Farewells

It's currently Saturday-turning-Sunday. I'm leaving Kaohsiung early Wednesday. I lose my internet sometime between now and then.

I know I have many unblogged stories. Those things that I said I'd blog about back in September, well, I still remember them.

And the month of July, when I'll be sitting on my couch waiting for my employed friends to get off work, will be a perfect time to write those blog entries.

For now, though, unless I get simultaneously creative and bored of packing, don't expect any new entries. Never fear, though. I will probably continue writing about this Taiwan experience for as long as there are new and interesting things to write, so this blog is far from over.


Goodbye and thanks, Fulbright. Taiwan, you've truly touched my heart. Kaohsiung, well, I think I'll miss you most of all.

A nice card

I'm down to nine days left in Taiwan, so the goodbyes and thankyous are starting to happen. It's a rough time. I made a card for each of my 350-some students, and today I received a very nice card from a fifth grader named Vicky. It's all in English, which is no small feat. I hope you'll appreciate it as much as I did:

Katie teachers: a year to get along with you, we are very happy! Unfortunately, you want back to the United States, and if you are free to come back to see us oh! Something we all look forward to you coming back! I will often send mail to you the! I wish you happiness, youthful beauty, the right to marry as soon as possible! Married to tell us oh!

2009.6.22.
5-year
Vicky

These kids will be very hard to leave. But hopefully, someday, I will get to come back to see them.

Graduation!

In Taiwan, elementary schools run K-6. Even though most kids continue to the same junior high school (grades 7-9), graduation is a relatively big to-do. While I do remember having an 8th grade graduation, I do not remember having a 4th grade graduation... and I don't remember shedding tears about either situation.

I wasn't able to attend Fu Xing's graduation ceremony, as it was held on Tuesday morning when I had to work at Tai Ping's English Village. I don't teach any 6th grade classes anyway, so at least I didn't miss out on any serious goodbyes. Instead, though, I went to see my host brother Kevin graduate from his elementary school on Wednesday evening. I sat in the back corner, so my pictures aren't great quality, but it should be enough to give you a sample.

The graduates (10+ classes of 6th graders-- Yang Ming is one of the biggest schools in Kaohsiung) process in...
The teachers put on a dance performance. Fulbrighter Rebekah, a Yang Ming English teacher, danced in the middle:
Representative students symbolically and literally "pass the torch" to some fifth graders:
I did manage to sneak to the front to get a picture of Kevin with his class (he's the one smiling and looking at the camera):

At one point, a younger student started talking to Rebekah and me. She had her pet pigeon with her. Not really related, just amusing:

I caught up with Kevin afterward and we got a picture. I'm leaning over a little, which is why he looks so much taller than me... but yes, this kid has grown at least five inches since I met him in September!

Kevin exits through the ceremonial graduate gateway... as Rebekah is a "retiring" teacher of sorts, she got this honor as well. I should note that she does not always have heavy makeup and hair glitter, but was made up like that for her dance performance:

After the graduation, I took Kevin out for a nice sushi dinner to celebrate his graduation. (See the rotating sushi restaurant chain described in my last post.)