First day off

So, the verdict is still out on my teaching placement. I really won't know what its going to be like until I get there. Every Taiwanese person who I talk to says that its a tiny town and I will be bored. Most of the foreigners who have visited say its a really pretty area and the town is not too special but its near some really great mountains and not too far from the beach. I have decided that Taiwanese people have a very different idea of "small town" than me. So, I decided to stop asking for other's opinions and just wait to see when I get there.

As for the phone call debacle with my new boss over a swimming pool...she called me back the next day to tell me that one of the other teachers at the school lives in an apartment complex with a pool! and a gym! She didn't know if there were any vacancies or the price, but I was very happy to hear that this might be available after all. I have to shake my head and laugh to think about how hearing that I couldn't live near a swimming pool caused me to feel so emotional. But this whole thing is stressful, and that was the small thing that sent me over the edge. Haha. Now I think it will all be ok, even if I don't get a pool in my complex, at least I know they have some in the city!

Today was my first day off after 5 days of training. We start again tomorrow, so its a short weekend. Last night I went out with all the other teachers and we walked around for an hour looking for a restaraunt that ended up being 3 blocks away from our hotel. Sigh. But, once we got there we all started drinking beer and felt much less frustrated about the confusion.
This morning I went with 4 other teachers to Danshui, which is right on the Danshui River, close to where it empties into the ocean. It has a beach town feeling with lots of street vendors all along the river bank. We were so excited when we first got there that we started buying different foods and trying all kinds of things. Brave Stephanie (in the picture) decided to get some stinky tofu...which I thought was crazy because it smells so bad, why would you pay money for it? The crazier thing was that she actually ate it! I had a bite and wanted to spit it out immediately, but managed to chew and swallow. There is no way I would ever eat a whole skewer of that stuff! I was proud of myself for trying a bit, but I'm sure I'll never eat it again! It tastes like chewy, smelly socks. Bleck. Then I had fried fish on a stick, a dish of fried calamari and a bowl of pork dumplings. After that I was thirsty so I drank a taro milk tea. Half way through the tea the intense heat and humidity combined with loads of unfamiliar food had me feeling pretty queasy. The other 4 were in the same boat, especially Stephanie who ate the stinky tofu. We were so happy to get on the air conditioned train and go back to the hotel for a nap. So, my day off was exciting...I visited Danshui, ate lots of food, got sick to my stomach and came home. I think the score is Danshui 1, Delight 0.