Where did August go?

Better yet- where did the past 6 months go?

August is waning and my 6-month milestone is approaching. While it is technically a few weeks away, time continues to be an interesting phenomena in Taiwan. Weeks pass with barely the blink of an eye.

All apologies for being basically MIA during this whole month. For me, and maybe others, this site has become a sort of pulse, just something I need to check every now and then to make sure I'm alive. Writing here keeps me grounded and somewhat connected to the world of my past. Unfortunately, I haven't been putting in the computer time to hatch a solid post.

August, in a nutshell, has been a month of re-adjusting. Our school began a new semester this month, making my class officially a "big" class (they will graduate from our kindergarten next year). With that, I also have a new classroom, a new co-teacher, 3 new students, and 1 student who came back after a month of vacation. The Squirrel class, which once boasted a 15:3 boys to girls ratio, is now 16:5 (larger class + more boys= chaos).

On the domestic front, Mike and I are holding down the fort by ourselves. A Michigan native was supposed to be joining us in late July, but he bailed last minute. Yesterday, we were supposed to get a new South African roommate, but he missed his flight and is apparently going to show up tomorrow. Mike, who has had 4 roommates in his short tenure here, is not holding his breath.

Next week, I am picking up a brand new class of students who don't speak a word of English, so you can expect some adventures and mishaps in the coming weeks. As for now, I leave you with this quote from Leo Tolstoy, which is referenced in the book "Into the Wild":

"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life."

(feast your eyes on these new pictures)