No matter what happens in life, don’t forget about me and I won’t forget about you.

:)

with thanksgiving around the corner, this semester is just days away from ending.
and since i haven't done anything this semester, i'm about to pay for it.

i've had a really easy semester. sure there's a lot of reading, but towards the end of it all, i've learned that, there is no point in completely finishing the readings for each week. why don't i just read enough to get away with what is required? why stress out about stuff that you don't even really care about?

so as my senioritis attitude has continued to snowball, i now have to make up for everything that i haven't done and should have done, since i wasn't doing any of the readings anyways.

as of now, for my last week of class, i've got two ten minute presentations that i need to put together for the two 10-15 page research paper that i need to write, a 2 page paper that i need to write with a partner - who i've yet to meet up with, and a test to study for - this is going to be interesting, considering we have yet to go over any of the material in class.

keep in mind, i only have classes three days out of the week, which means i'm pretty much screwed and stuck in my apartment and in front of my computer my last class day.

yes. with that said, i'm still on the internet, messing around and not getting any sleep, which i'm in desperate need of, since my insomnia has kicked back in, resulting in me not getting to sleep till 3 in the morning.

hrm. its 2:42am, i guess it's nearing my bed time.

i was told that my fireplace is purely decorative.
so i'm assuming that there is no hole for anything to go out or come in...

if that is the case, then why am i suddenly hearing a soft cooing noise coming from my chimney?

either there is a pigeon living in my fireplace or i'm going crazy.
at this point, i really hope i'm just going crazy.

=/

hm... the first day of school was like any other day.

the good thing about my classes this year is that i only have class monday - wednesday. =)

the bad thing about my classes this year is that i have a lot of reading to do, but i have plenty of time to read...

sorry! i can't remember how to cut, so you guys just get a really long post!

1) Urban vs. Rural
while at loveboat, i lived at jian tan for two weeks. those two weeks, i was pretty much able to live as any normal taiwanese young adult, with minor exceptions of course. Jian tan was a ten minute walk away from one of the largest nightmarkets in taiwan and a ten minute walk from a MRT station which gave you access to anywhere you wanted to go to taipei. my friends and i obviously took advantage of all this, allowing me to go to internet cafes, clubs, nightmarkets and eat all the shaved ice we wanted. living at jian tan was a pretty awesome experience.

AID on the other hand, placed us in pretty rural areas, that being the target idea of the program... one week of training at jin san, which had really great scenary, but seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. of course, i'm sure there was something beyond the gates of jin san and we were just too lazy and tired to find out what was out there. after training, it was two weeks of really being in the middle of nowhere. Shih Tan was a twenty minute walk from a convinent store (family mart, i love you!) and a thirty minute car ride to the nearest city. but being in the mountains didn't stop the 8 of us from having fun. we still found lots of things to entertain ourselves or i guess it was more like things came to entertain us...

2)different perspectives
at lovboat, you see the typical fun, fast pace lifestyle of taiwan culture. you have whatever you want at your fingertips, you never realize how extremely lucky you are to have the chance to do something of this kind. you learn to love a taiwan that only a select few are able to enjoy, you enter a different world of wonderment. i'm not dissing loveboat for its frivolous nature, that's really what loveboat is suppose to be. it's suppose to be fun, its suppose to all those things that i mentioned and i loved it. loveboat was amazing and taiwan, honestly will never be the same after it.

aid produced a totally different point of view for me. i guess with the target purpose of each program, it should have a different outcome. but being in the rural settings, you see what life should be about. it's not plagued with lights and streets filled with people. it's not all about going to the club of the night or going to the nightmarket. rural life is simple. taking a hike up a mountain, scooping up tiny little fish only to let them go again, catching beetles and dumping them onto the boys side of the porch. 0=) learning to really appreciate the aircon! hahahaha... teaching the kids at the school was really postive. the kids grow up with a rough background and they learn to be so mature at such a young age. they have people come and go in their lives and they simply see it as a part of life. we laugh and play with these kids and its always hard to remember that these students are still in middle school, which leads me to my third point.

3)the people
the people that you met whether from loveboat or aid are unforgetable. the loveboat crew consisted of 8 totally different people yet when put together, we got one unbelievable awesome time! i won't forget any of them, nor will i forget the memories. i still go through my pictures from time to time to have a good laugh. i still think back to two years ago and wish we were all still together in taipei. i still hope that one day, we can have a complete loveboat reunion. i still miss you guys eventhough it's been soooo long. i know, i'm sad!

the people at aid, where do i even begin. aid allowed me to have way more interaction with people other than my own group. i taught 23 students, had numerous teacher mentors and countless other students who i didn't even teach. the students are so cute! even having a challenging time with the kids, i still won't forget any of them. they gave me so much more than just an experience. it sound cheesy, but you get really attached to those kids. you want so much more for them and you work so hard to make the kids laugh and to make them realize how truly awesome they are. you know you make a kid's day, when you see the smile on his face.

the teachers are just umbelievable helpful. they understand everything you are going through, all the complications and stress and headaches. they were there for it all, and tried to help as much as possible. the teachers weren't just mentors but friends to all of us. we had such a great time hanging out with them. i couldn't imagine how things would have played out if we had any other teachers to lend a hand.

my fellow volunteer teachers - where do i even begin with this group!!! i've made 7 amazing friends, people who i am so sad to live so far away from. i am so grateful to have met everyone and i can't think of anything else other than how much i miss them! i know eventually, i'm gonna have to get past this point, but for now, you guys are awesome. =D

it's hard to imagine if it were 7 other people, a whole different school and a totally different set of students. it's hard to play the what if game, but what i do know is that this past month while teaching kids in the middle of nowhere goes on the top of my list of awesome memories.

everytime i try to sit down and write about the past few weeks, i can't ever seem to word it right. i never seem to give the weeks of teaching the justice it deserves. i've posted pictures, i've watched videos, and everytime, there's a saddness. i miss being around my friends. i miss the crazy adventures that we've had. i miss the students and their silence. i miss the school and the mountains. i miss everything.

camp has ended and i'm resistant of reality.

being at camp, allowed me to be free from the real world. all it mattered at the time was teaching kids english and having a blast doing it. being stationed in the middle of nowhere, up in the mountains helped the fact that we were in our own world.

the eight of us depended on each other. we were there to support each other whether it was in the classroom or simply to kill yet another cockroach. there were times where we didn't all get along, but those moments passed and laughter soon followed. never was there a day that we didn't all laugh till our stomach hurt. never was there a day where we all wanted to give up and go home. eventually, all eight of us will go separate ways. some of us will remain friends while others will be lost in translation. but in the end, everyone of us will look back to these past few weeks and remember that dumplings will always be boys!

how does my horoscope know that i haven't been studying as diligently as i should be...

Today's Pisces Horoscope: May 12, 2008
Whatever you didn't get done yesterday, dear Pisces, you certainly need to finish up today. Discipline and attention to the sand slipping through the hourglass are themes of the journey. You will find that the more you are able to accomplish, the better you will feel about yourself when the sun goes down. If there is stagnant energy in your life, this is a sign that it is time to get things moving. Don't waste another moment sitting around waiting for someone else to facilitate the solution for you. It's all about taking the initiative yourself.


anyways...
back to studying!

i need to start writing my paper!!!

i've got a 12 page paper due saturday and i haven't even started to write it!!!

i know it's still early, but i still have a ton of other stuff to do!!!

why do my professors plague me with papers!!!!

WHYYYYYY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

by following my own yellow brick road, i have learned more about myself than i could possibly imagine, i met great people on the way, people i would never have gotten to know otherwise, but as a downfall, time is always an issue.

this semester, i have made some great classmates, the only thing is, classmates end when the class ends. although there is always the possibility to continue being friends after class, its hard to keep up when the class atmosphere no longer exists. it's great to see all of them getting to move on to the next step, and i wish i was too. i'm only a year behind, but seeing everyone moving ahead with their life can be pretty envious.

the worst thing about doing this whole different path is that i'm always meeting new people, but rarely making new friends. when i graduate in two weeks, i will hardly know anyone who is graduating with me. most of my friends who are graduating are in different colleges or aren't graduating. i don't want to sound corny, but graduation is a time of celebration, not only from finishing school, but also to celebrate the friendships and the memories made. its difficult to deal with having to constantly start over as each semester rolls by and having to make new "friends".

somedays, i feel like a complete loner. singing to my own tune, dancing to my own beat - this should be a good thing right...

wwwwoooooohooooooooooo!!!!!

378 characters. i have 378 characters, i only need to write 122 more.

but i am at a road block!!!

its two am and all i want to do is sleep!!!

must write 122 more characters!
must write 122 more characters!
must write 122 more characters!

=/

since my professor decided to go to taiwan for a week, my classmates and i decided to skip class after signing in and doing what was required of us. as we sat on the patio of the fourth floor union, we talked about life after graduation. although, out of the four of us, i'll be the only one still needing to finish up my undergrad completely, it was a surreal conversation. sitting around listening to what other people had planned and talking about the goals that we all have set for ourselves felt like reality was knocking on my door. even though, i still have a couple of years of school before i enter the "realw world,"


today, i felt like a 22 year old, ready to graduate and prepared for my future.

this morning, when i woke up, my horoscope said this:
The gentle winds of change are blowing through your life at the moment, dear Pisces. You have a feeling of newness and an open attitude toward the world. Some outside events will be coming up in your life that give you the impression you are advancing in a concrete manner toward a new life. You can expect to have some pleasant surprises.


two hours later, i received the greatest news ever!

Dear Emily,
Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to the 2008 Summer Teaching English Volunteer Program! There were 900 applicants to the program this year, and it was very difficult to choose so few participants from so many exceptional students. Among the admitted volunteers, the ratio of high school to college students is 3 to 1.


I'M GOING TO TAIWAN THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!

i don't ever feel like doing school work anymore.
all i want to do is sleep.

is that senoritis?
or is there more to this...

poo....

the month of february is killing me!!!

two more weeks till spring break!!!
=D

what's in the box?


oo... what's that?


FLOWERS!


absolutely beautiful flowers!


close up shot!


my favorite flower!


Happy Valentine's Day!!!
<3

senior year, second semester sounds way better when it concerns anyone else.
for me, it's all a lie.

while i'm almost done with one degree, i still have a whole another year to finish. but when you're a senior in your second semester, it feels like you've made it.

of course, this is all my own doing. who decides to double major at the end of their junior year?

only crazy people do that...

this made me smile!
=D

-----------------------------
Hi:

Your email was well received.
Thank you.

i went bowling tonight and i freaking bowled a 148!!!
148!!!!

i creamed my opponents!!!
hahahahaha....

=D
=D

best score ever!!!

pictures soon to come.

my camera didn't want to take a pciture, so i have to wait till someone sends me a picture!!!

=D
=D

first email from professor number 1:
"As tacky as it is to cancel class on the third day, I am forced to do so because of illness.

I am sorry for all of you who woke up just to go to class.

We will resume class at its regularly scheduled time on Thursday."

second email from professor number 2:
"Not only am I really under the weather, I am losing my voice so no class today (Tuesday). I will have today's lecture on Thursday (I will pantomine if necessary) so no Discussion Questions this week.
Readings have been in pdf files under Course Documents.
The bookstore should have more copies of the books this week."

and post on the door when i went to my first class today:
"class for ANS 378 is cancelled for Tuesday January 22, 2008.
professor is ill, classes will resume Thurday January 24, 2008"

so all my classes were cancelled today...
i had a nice relaxing day, felt like i had a four day weekend!
=D

my neighbors have rock band...

all i hear is constant drumming and really, REALLY bad singing.
=/

maybe it's time to head back to the pcl again...
anyone want to join me?
=D