South Korea

One of my 2011 resolutions is to blog more often so why not get the ball rolling?  I'm at Incheon International Airport in South Korea waiting for my connection to Taipei.  This is by far the nicest airport I've ever been to and I've probably visited 100+ airports in my travels.  No surprise that it is consecutively rated the top airport in the world by Airports Council International!

So, what makes the difference when you're traveling?

Here's a few things I noticed about Incheon during my layover ...

• The chairs don't have armrests.  Such a small detail but having the option to stretch out and sleep comfortably during a long layover is essential!
• Free Wifi and free electric outlet adaptors
• Free city tours for transit passengers, leaving during the day and at night
• Korean Cultural Experience Centers: mini museums in various locations where you can check out Korean art, practice calligraphy, listen to traditional music, and other cool stuff.
• Airport construction:  I didn't leave the departures area,  but it's obvious that a lot of planning went into the innovative design of the airport. In addition to ample seating, tables, and outlets near each gate; the moving walkway (which was very busy) was separated from these areas by the line of stores and restaurants.  This layout created a quite corridor behind the shops where the gate seating was so that you don't even notice you're in one of the busiest transport hubs in the world.

I hope to get a chance to come back to South Korea to visit my roommate from Roger Williams who is also teaching English in Asia for a year.  The plane is about to take off and it  looks like there will be breakfast on my 1 hour flight to Taiwan :)  Glad to know I'll be flying the same airline on my way home this summer!

Home for the Holidays

I ♥ snow

It was a busy week in Boston.  I ended up getting seven days out of my vacation (instead of six) because my flight to JFK was cancelled at the last minute.  Simple version of the story, JetBlue has some serious organizational problems but at least I got to complain about them on the 10 o'clock news :)

I decided to take the Amtrak Acela train to NYC instead of trying to get on an overbooked flight at the airport so Im officially on my way back to Taiwan. It's pretty convenient if you can get on one of the cheaper trains and they have free internet for the whole ride.  I finished watching The Stoning of Soraya M. which was a great movie, but disturbing when you think about all the women for whom this is their reality.

The week was short but I got to see lots of friends and family. The blizzard didn't stop our holiday dinner at The Independent either!  We've kept up the tradition for over 10 years now.  It seems like it's gotten even warmer in Taiwan so Im looking forward to some nice weather when I return.  I'll probably be exhausted by the time I arrive on Friday but I'll have a few hours to recover before our new year's eve party :)

The Independent, Somerville

Weekend Adventures

I have been completely neglecting my blog. The good thing is that I'm having too much fun to spend any more time on the computer than I have to.  -_-   I've started working at a preschool in Dalaio (in addition to my after school classes) which is about 45 minutes away from my house on the MRT.  I dont really mind taking the train everyday because it gives me a lot of time to read.  I've finished some great books in the past few weeks and here are my reviews:

Little Bee,  Chris Cleave - A novel about a Nigerian refugee seeking asylum in England.  I couldn't put this book down!

Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo - A very interesting book about the economic situation in Africa and the negative effects of foreign aid. Highly recommended for anyone interested in international economics or who has or is thinking of donating money or traveling to Africa.

Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawkin - A collection of information about the "largest social justice movement in history", an inspirational story worth reading - especially if you work in the field of social services.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards - Not a happy go lucky novel, but I really liked it.

Bel Canto, Ann Patchet - I really enjoyed this novel.  The writing style is unique and you definately get drawn into the characters lives and feelings.

Happy reading!  J


I'll be home for Christmas in just a few days and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.  Hopefully I will have time to post some more pictures of Taiwan.  I have taken a few weekend road trips with my friend from Canada, Adriana and another one of our Taiwanese friends.  We've been to Tainan, Ja-yi, Taichung, Sun Moon Lake, and Alishan Mountain.  It's been lots of fun!  Melanie will be coming to visit for a month so there will be lots more trips coming up!  I'm tutoring a lot now but luckilly I have Saturday nights - Monday afternoons off :)

Sun Moon Lake

Taiwan and Hong Kong

It has been way to long since I've updated the blog!  Things have been quite busy since I arrived in Taiwan but now I have been here for a little over one month.  My flight on the way here was awful ... the first segment was delayed which resulted in having to rebook the rest of my flights and in the end it took three days to get here from Boston :/

But, since I've arrived everything has been great.  Sophie and I found an apartment quickly and were able to move in just a few days later.  We get along really well and I am grateful for no roommate drama!  I've started working at Shane School in the evenings but unfortunately until December I only have 8 hours per week of classes.  I've also been tutoring, which I really enjoy.  Next week I will be interviewing at preschools to pick up some extra hours in the mornings.

Hong Kong Park

Last weekend I went to Hong Kong to sort out my visa (my original one was almost expired) and I ended up staying for three days because I also had to have extra pages added to my passport.  Note to fellow travelers - this service is no longer free!  Apparently they started charging $82 this June which is really annoying.  HK was really cool, it sort of reminded me of New York - except much more diverse, if you can believe that's possible.  During the course of my stay I heard at least 15 different languages being spoken just in my building alone!

HK also looks like a city from the future.  There are layers upon layers of bridges for cars and as a pedestrian you almost never walk on the ground level.  There are raised pedestrian walkways and bridges connecting all of the buildings.  The architecture is very unique and futuristic as well, and the funny thing is that they also have parks everywhere, so sometimes you don't even feel like you are in a city. HK was a fantastic place to visit - probably one of the most interesting cities in Asia that I have been to.

Under the Tuscan Sun

When we left Rome we rented a car to drive through Tuscany to our apartment in Loro Ciuffenna.  It was a charming town with the typical small, winding, Italian streets.  We stayed there for a week and took day trips to Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Cortona, Castelina and the Chianti area.  Between the steep hills, our standard car and the occasionally inaccurate maps I think we did pretty good navigating our way around Tuscany.

I was very excited to visit Florence again, and it was the first time I had been back since studying there in college.  Firenze has always been one of my favorite cities because it is not too large and very easy to walk around. Kindof like Boston! :)  I took my parents to the sandwich shop that used to know my roommates and I by name because we ate there so often and the panini were just as delicious as I remembered.

Here I am on the Ponte Vecchio, down the street from where I used to live.

We have eaten at some incredible restaurants while we’ve been here.  I had been expecting the food to be more expensive (it costs about $1.30 dollar to buy 1 Euro) but most of out dinners have averaged between 50EU and 80EU for the three of us.  At home, I dislike eating out mainly because I am quite picky when it comes to where I will eat.  I prefer restaurants that cook with local products; which is nearly impossible to find at home and I don’t like spending $30 for an entrée, which eliminates most of the choices.  There has not been one dish I have eaten here that was subpar and I have also mostly been eating vegetarian dishes!  *With some exceptions, more on this later.  The food has been fantastic, and most of the menus actually indicated the few items that are not locally sourced versus an American meal, which is usually entirely comprised of food flown in all over the world.  I have to say you can really taste the difference; the food here tastes fresh as if it had just been picked from someone’s garden (it probably was). 

I waited an extra 15 minutes for this chocolate souffle because it was home made and it was well worth it :D

Hopefully the local food movement will take off in the Boston area sometime soon.  Until then I will have to stick with The Independent (my current favorite restaurant – located in Union Square).  Some of you may wonder, why eat vegetarian in Italy of all places?!  I’m not completely abstaining from meat, but I am trying to reduce my consumption as much as possible in an effort to start eating a healthier diet.  I recently finished reading In Defense of Food by Michal Pollen, which I highly recommend; and it has really impacted my outlook on food.

Tomorrow is our last day in Italy.  It has been a great vacation, but I am already thinking of all the things I have to do in the next 5 days to prepare for Taiwan.  When I arrive in Kaohsiung next weekend I will be very busy searching for an apartment, working out the details with my job, and buying a bike to get around.

I am really grateful that I had the opportunity to return to Italy (it’s my third time here).  I can still confidently say this is my favorite country, and every time I visit I find more reasons why.  My top two right now are the food and the people.  But I think those are probably the reasons why I like every country I visit J who would want to visit someplace with bad food and unfriendly people?  Oh, wait that’s America! Haha jk ... well sortof ;)

Did you know you can click on any images in the blog to see a larger version?

When in Rome ...

Sitting by the Trevi Fountain

Our apartment in Rome was in a great location; we were right down the street from the Trevi Fountain!  I visited Rome on a high school trip but I didn’t really remember too many details so I was happy to go back.  Four days was enough for me though.  Rome is probably one of my least favorite cities in Italy just because it is so crowded with tourists.

It was nice to be staying so close to the Trevi fountain because we were able to enjoy it without tourists the morning we were up early for our tour of the Vatican museum.  I had never done a guided tour inside a museum before and it was very fascinating but I’m not sure if I would have preferred just wandering around the Vatican by myself.

Our guide was great and provided a lot of interesting information about the highlights of the museum but by being in a large group you don’t get a chance to really observe the individual pieces of art and go at your own pace.  The reason we booked the tour in the first place was to avoid having to wait in the mile long line to get into the museum, which was definitely worth it.

In front of the Colosseum with my parents

Italia Reunion

On my last day in Asia I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei and then continued onto LA and then Denver for Christa and Sean’s wedding.  Total travel time:  24 hours. Four of us flew in to Denver and did a mini road trip down to Durango with Taylor on Friday.  We made a quick detour to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Mosca, which was really fun.  We took a whole bunch of Abu Dhabi pictures!

Christa and Sean’s wedding was beautiful.  They had the ceremony and reception at an old Italian style villa on a farm in the countryside.  The food was fantastic (Italian of course) and they had perfect weather.  I am so grateful that I have stayed in touch with my roommates from Italy.  Sometimes I don't know what I would do without them!  We have all managed to stay very close even when we arent able to talk for long periods of time.  It has also been nice to be able to adjust to being back in the states without going straight home.  I have a few more days in Colorado where I’ll be staying with my friend Colleen that I met while volunteering in South America.  Im looking forward to being in Boston next weekend!

Check out more pictures of the wedding by clicking here.

Is that a road?

After leaving the islands on Don Det, I continued onto the city of Pakse with another American that I had met on the island.  We had decided to rent motorcycles and do a loop of the Bolavan Plateau (southeastern Laos) and check out some of the national parks and waterfalls in the area.  We weren’t really sure what to expect because many roads are unpaved, and it was the height of the wet season so it was possible we would encounter impassable roads.  We picked up a map and a phrasebook from the hotel we rented our bikes from and set out for a weeklong bike trip.

Our first stop was at a bike repair shop to get my odometer fixed (essential for navigation because road signs are few and far between).  Luckily bike repairs are very inexpensive and easily accomplished, usually in less than ten minutes.   Throughout the week we had various repairs including my chain requiring tightening, my foot pedal falling off and two flat tires on Pat’s bike.

The first night we arrived in Paksong, which is well known for its central location in the coffee growing region of Laos.  The coffee in Laos is world-renowned; one of the varieties grown there is Arabica, which is considered the champagne of coffee.

There are dozens of waterfalls in the Bolavan Plateu and whenever we saw a sign for one we tried to find it.  We were pretty successfully and managed to find each one we looked for and even managed to find some elephants along the way.   I'll be posting an album soon!

The first few nights we were mostly staying in cities and towns, so we didn't have any problem finding cheap guesthouses.  As we entered more remote territory (heading towards the Vietnam border to the east) there were only villages and dirt roads.  The best night was definitely the one we spend with a Lao family in their home.  We had been driving for hours and the first village was asked either didn't have a place for us to sleep or didn't want us to stay there.  But when we arrived at this village, they ran to get the one person who spoke a little English and we worked out the sleeping arrangements.  It was pretty basic, we slept on bamboo mats in their open air home and bathed outside before dinner with the rest of the villagers.  At this point I had been eating sticky rice 3x per day everyday, but I never got sick of it!  Now that Im home I actually miss eating sticky rice.  Ill be back in Asia soon, so Im sure Ill be eating plenty of it :)

Laos

Alina from Russia & I

I'm currently in Pakse, a city in the southern part of Laos.  I crossed the Cambodia - Laos border about a week ago and have been hanging out on the "Four Thousand Islands" since.  There really are thousands of islands in this part of the Mekong, but only the larger ones are inhabited.  I met some German travelers and a Russian girl on the bus out of Ban Lung (in Cambodia) and we spent most of our time on the island of Don Det.  It has been a relaxing week.  So far, I love Laos - it is probably my favorite country is Asia so far, although I really enjoyed Cambodia as well.  The thing that really sets Lao apart from the other countries I've visited is that there is no one harassing you to stay at their guesthouse, take their tour, or go in their tuk tuk.  It was such a relief to get off the boat on Don Det and have no one trying to convince you where to go!  The islands are very relaxed, and it was the perfect first stop in Laos.  Lonely Planet writes that it "feels so laid back that you could imagine the islands drifting downriver into Cambodia with barely anyone rolling out of their hammock."  Paradise!

In Ban Lung I did a three day, two night trek with two British girls and it was definitely an adventure.  Our guide didn't like trekking (or the jungle) and the ranger didn't speak English.  Most of the communication between us and our guide was "walk faster" or 'kill the leeches!".  Nevertheless, the girls and I got along great and made the best of the situation (I did not get any leeches).  We would have been better off doing the (more expensive) official National Park trekking package.  I also rented a bicycle one day and went to a beautiful lake that was created after a meteor struck.

Now I'm heading to the Bolaven plateau for a week long motorcycle road trip.  I'm really excited, and I originally thought I would not have enough time to see this part of Laos.  I'll be on a Honda Wave 100cc with another American that I met in Don Det.  Although my camera is broken, I have been lucky enough to copy friends' photos in each place I've been so far.  I'll be posting most of them when I get home.  I can't believe I'll be back in the states in about 10 days! I'm looking forward to spending Labor Day weekend in Boston :)

Cambodia

Kathryn and I are currently in Phnom Penn, Cambodia.  Kathryn leaves today to fly to Bangkok for a day before she heads home, and I am leaving in the morning for the northeastern part of the country via bus.  On our way to Cambodia from Thailand we didn't stay in Bangkok for more than 10 minutes because I wasnt feeling great and we didnt feel like carrying our backpacks around the crowded city for a day.  So, from KPP we took a ferry to Krabi, a shuttle to the bus station, then an overnight bus to Bangkok.  From there we took another bus to the border and then went onto Siem Reap, total travel time: 30 hours.

Me, at Banteay Kdei (one of the temples outside the Angkor Wat complex)

We spent five nights in Siem Reap, and were lucky to find an awesome guesthouse there.  We stayed at the Prince Mekong Villas, owned by a great Swiss guy named Eric.  It included free breakfast, laundry, and bicycles which we took advantage of.  We decided to do the three day pass for Ankor Wat and biked around the ruins there.  I think cycling is the best way to see the majority of the temples, it get's expensive to take tuk tuks (moto taxis) and the temples are too spread out to walk (we were biking between 40-50km per day).  There is a great map of the temples here.  We also rented motorcycles in Ko Lanta and Phnom Penn which was great because it gives you the freedom to go where you want and you dont have to rely on the bus - as long as you dont mind driving on the dirt roads :)

Cute picture of Kathryn and I at Ta Prohm, too bad the photographer didn't get the whole temple : /

We also visited a silk farm and factory just outside the city which was very interesting.  I shared a room with a silk artist at the Emerson Winter Market and already knew a little bit about the process but it was cool to see each step of the process and finally the finished products.

We've been in Phnom Penn for two nights, and have been enjoying a few days relaxing before hitting the road agian.  We are staying at the Top Banana Guesthouse and they have great food!

Sunset on the way back into Phnom Penn on our moto

Island Hopping

Kathryn and I have been travelling for about one week now, and we are having a great time!  We flew from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Sunday.  Our flight wasn't bad, and I didnt run into any problems leaving Taiwan, although I did have to pay a fine for overstaying my 30 day visa.  We decided that we were tired of the big cities and so we didn't stay in KL.  Instead we took the train to Butterworth (in Malaysia) were we continued onto the island of Pinang by ferry.  It was a long journey, we were travelling for about 24 hours (Taipei-Pinang) but it was definitely worth it!

Waiting for the ferry in Malaysia

The island was beautiful, and there were not many tourists there.  We stayed in a nice little hotel that cost about $3.50 a night each. :)  We also had a somewhat scary encounter with the monkeys in the national park.  It was our last day and we decided it would be fun to do some hiking in the jungle there.  We had a great day until we got to the last trail of the day heading towards monkey beach.  I've had a lot of experience with monkeys in South America and up until this point considered them pretty harmless although they can be quite mischievous.  Kathryn didn't get a chance to hike monkey mountain while she was visiting us in Kaohsiung so she was anxious to see some wildlife as well.

We were walking down the trail when we heard the tell tale sound of monkeys in the trees and saw one right above us.  Before we could even think of getting out our cameras it came right down to the ground (very unusual for wild monkeys) and sat on a rock about 2 feet away starting at us.  I was a little confused (and concerned) by it's behavior but was completely shocked when it jumped onto my backpack and literally started hissing at me and showing it's teeth!  We both pretty much freaked out at this point and I started screaming at the money (in an attempt to scare it) while Kathryn looked around (unsuccessfully) for a stick or some other object to scare it away.  I dropped my backpack (camera, money, and everything else inside) while the monkey actually tried to drag it away into the jungle!  Luckily my bag was too heavy for the monkey to run off with it but anytime I approached the either the monkey or the bag it hissed at me like it was going to attack us.

Kathryn managed to find a granola bar in her bag and hoping to distract the monkey I took it, which didnt really work because it practically grabbed the bar out of my hand before I got a chance to throw it far enough away.  Even with the food in hand it continued to defend its place in between me and the backpack.  Finally it retreated into a tree above my bag to eat the bar and I managed to grab my backpack and we literally ran as fast as we could all the way back down the trail to the entrance of the park.  To say the least, we are avoiding all trails or attractions involving monkeys for the rest of our trip.

Our trip has been pleasantly uneventful since then, and we crossed the border to Thailand on Wednesday.  We made our way to the coast where we took a ferry from Trang to Ko Lanta where we are currently staying.  Right now we are on the Andaman Coast, which is the western coast of Thailand.  Ko Lanta has a more relaxed reputation compared to some of the more developed islands.  It is one of the largest islands and we practically have the whole place to ourselves because it is low season here and many tourists avoid the islands because of the occasional rain.  The weather hasnt been bad, except for the occasional shower and we are enjoying the discounted prices due to the lack of tourists.  Our beachfront bungalow is costing us $4 per night each (and we are staying at one of the more expensive resorts on the island).

The boats between islands aren't running regularly, but we ran into a couple on their honeymoon at the dock who is heading to Ko Phi Phi tomorrow so we are going to try to negotiate with one of the longboat drivers to take the four of us there.  If there aren't any boats we will have to go to Krabi (on the mainland) and then take a ferry from there to Ko Phi Phi.  The beaches on Ko Phi Phi are often referred to as the most beautiful beaches in the world so we are really excited! We have a Thai cooking class at our hotel in a little bit, and I cant wait to learn how to make Thai food at home :)

Pictures from Taiwan

We are leaving for Malaysia today but I wanted to post a link to my pictures from Taiwan before we left. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish editing the captions, but I hope to update them while traveling :)

I had a great last day in Kaohsiung, Kathryn and I spent the day at the beach and then a friend of ours had a birthday party so I got to see pretty much everyone I knew before I left.  Now we are off to the airport in Taipei!

Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/CaitlinHorigan/Taiwan

One of my morning classes.

Kathryn Comes to Visit

Kathryn is arriving today and I'm really excited!  We'll be traveling together for about a month and then I will have two more weeks to travel alone.  Im actually sad to be leaving Taiwan.  I have really enjoyed my time here teaching and living in the city.  This weekend should be really fun, we bought tickets to a pool party on Saturday at one of the hotels in Kaohsiung so we will all be celebrating the 4th of July!

I have been interviewing at schools here for next year and also sending out applications in the Boston area so it has been a very busy week.  Today was the last day of the semester for the after school programs and their summer program begins next week.  Summer camp here is basically like summer school for them, but at least our classrooms have air conditioning!  I took some pictures of my students today:

Life in Kaohsiung

What's my typical day in Kaohsiung like?  Drive to work in rush hour ... think 500 speeding scooters!  Teach kindergarden for a few hours, then take my two hour lunch break.  Try not to get sunburned on the 15min ride home and eat at a "lunch box" stop, like a buffet, or stop for dumplings or noodles on the street. Around 2pm it's back to work at my second school, where the older students come after their regular full day of school.  Teach for a few more hours, then get out by 6pm and head home among the speeding scooters again.  Relax, and then fall asleep to the sounds of the musical trash trucks :)

I had this morning off, because the kids are going on a field trip to the Museum of Hakka Culture.  Too bad they don't pay us to chaperone.  Unfortunately, their chinese teachers are paid much less an hour so it is more practical to have them go.  Im planning on checking out some museums here (mainly the MFA) before I leave.  This weekend I am really looking forward to the mediation course at Fo Guang Shan.  It is the largest Buddhist temple in Taiwan.  I've driven by it a few times but I have never been inside.  It will be interesting to learn more about it.

Weekend Road Trips

Now that I've started subbing full time I have been really busy with work but I have been having a lot of fun and the teaching schedule isn't so bad because I never have to work on the weekends.  The weekend before last the four of us went to Guanziling.  It's a town a few hours north of Kaohsiung in the mountains known for it's muddy hot springs.  It happens to be one of the most famous hot spring sites in Taiwan because it releases methane, which has been burning consistently for about three centuries.  The ride up there was beautiful and we stayed in a hot spring hotel where our bath water came directly from the spring. We stopped to check out some temples as well and ate in Tainan on the way back to Kaohsiung.  I pretty much love eating at the markets in every country and Taiwan is no exception!

A popular ice dessert - it was delicious!

Last weekend Danielle and I took the train to  Hualien, and then went on to Toroko National Park.  Anthony and Ryan took the week off of work and rode their bikes across the central cross-island highway to get there.  It ended up raining all weekend, and we were camping but Toroko was so beautiful I didnt even care :)

Wearing our safety helmets: (falling rocks actually hit us)

Here we are walking in a section of the old road called the Tunnel of Nine Turns.  The road through the park (part of the central cross island highway) is insane.  It was the first roadway connecting the west and east coast of the island, finished in 1960.  It was made completely by hand (with only pick axes) and surprisingly only a few hundred people died during the construction (I would have guessed many more!).  Many of the men working on the road were former soldiers and they refer the construction as a war they were fighting because it was such a demanding job.   Pictures do not to the park justice!

Last week we had Wednesday off for Dragon Boat Festival.  The holiday celebrates the life of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan and is celebrated in many parts of Asia.  We watched the dragon boat races and walked around the Love River area.  It was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week :D

I'll  be uploading the majority of my pictures to a picasa album before I leave and will post a link when it's finished.  I have about two more weeks of subbing and then Kathyrn comes and we'll start traveling.  Im ridiculously excited to travel again!  We'll fly into Malaysia and will work our way north to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam from there.  After she leaves I'll have another two weeks and plan on checking out Singapore as well :)  Then it's back to the states for Christa's wedding in Colorado!

A few days off :)

I finished my first full week of teaching!  This week I was subbing for one of the teachers at Walton School, where Dan and Anth work.  I had a kindergarten class in the mornings (4-5 year olds), and 7 year olds in the afternoon.  Then I had another class at a buxiban, which is where many kids go after school - sometimes until 9pm at night!  My class there was a mix of 9-13 year olds.  Teaching takes a lot of energy but I really like it.  Luckily, most of our teaching materials are provided but Im looking forward to the long term sub I'll be doing next week because I will have a chance to prepare for my lessons ahead of time.

Starting Wednesday for a week I'll be subbing for Anthony while he goes on a road trip with his friend Ryan who's visiting.  Dan and I are planing on taking the train to meet them in Taroko next weekend.  So I have Monday and Tuesday off this week which will be nice :)

When Anthony returns I will be subbing for another teacher here for about four weeks, which Im looking forward to because I will hopefully be able to do more with my classes (and actually learn all the kid's names!).  When I finish subbing Im going to travel for about five weeks until my flight back to the states.  I am really excited to start traveling.  I found a cheap flight to Malaysia so I'll start there and then travel around to the surrounding countries.

I have almost completely recovered from my sea urchin injury.  Yesterday I pulled a spine out of my foot that was more than an inch long!  I had no idea how big it was but there are only a few pieces left in my foot and I can walk pretty well now.  Im looking forward to running on the bike path at Lotus Pond when my foot is completely healed.

If you're reading my blog on facebook you can view the original page and more pictures here.  :)

First day of subbing

Today I subbed for the first time!  I had sat in on both Dan and Anth's classes but today was my first day teaching.  It was really fun!  The school was somewhat far away and somehow I didn't get lost getting there.  I was a little nervous at first because it was last minute and I had no idea what was going on in the class but I figured it out.  Its really interesting what the kids know and don't know.  My whole class could read pretty well but I could tell that about half of them didn't actually know what they were reading.  It reminds me of Italian class at SSC ... I could read and write it but when I studied abroad in Italy I couldn't speak a word. Teach the English they need for the test to get into college, and they can learn how to speak it when they get there. I'll be taking on a long term sub position in a few weeks which Im looking forward to.  It will be great to have guaranteed hours and I'll be able to get to know the class a little bit more.

On another note, my foot is getting better but Im still hobbling around a bit :(  at least I can put shoes on now and I managed to find ibuprofen at a pharmacy.  We've all been watching a lot of movies lately, so I'll give a few quick reviews:

The Road - dark and depressing about the end of the world, I am Legend was much better
Dear John - the notebook take two, you're better off watching titanic or the notebook again
Where the Wild Things Are - interesting take on the book but somewhat slow at times
The Back Up Plan - funny, but basically the same as all of J Lo's other movies
Gamer - awesome movie, pretty graphic violence though
Melinda and Melinda - unique storyline, good plot, a little bit longer than necessary

Tomorrow Im determined to look for a new beach (we always to go the same one) and do some more sightseeing (with as little walking as possible lol) around Kaohsiung.  This weekend we're finally going to Tainan which Im excited about and hopefully we'll check out the international university when we're there.

I have also updated the "Artwork" and "About Me" pages on the site!

Eventful happenings

Where to begin? When things get busy I'm awful at updating my blog, so I have quiet a few stories to tell :)  I am currently recovering from an injury I sustained this weekend when I stepped on a sea urchin.  This is possibly the worst thing you could encounter in the ocean other than a shark!  It was extremely painful and today is the first day I've been able to put any weight on my foot.  It has been healing faster than I though it would however and I think I should be fine in a few days.  Now, leading up to the sea urchin encounter is another adventure.  Dan and Anth had two house guests in addition to myself this past weekend, Ryan (here for awhile) and Courtney (visiting for a few days from Hong Kong). Ironically, their roommates moved out unexpectedly so we have all had plenty of room in the 3 bedroom apartment.

A group of us decided to take a little road trip to Hsiao Liuchiu.  It was about an hour and a half drive to Dongang where we took a 40 minute ferry to the island.  We spend the day snorkeling and then rode our bikes around for awhile exploring the rest of the island.  The scenery was awesome and there were a lot of interesting temples on the island.  We were having so much fun that it didn't occur to anyone that we didn't know when the last ferry was.  Dan and I thought this was pretty funny because we immediately realized there was little hope of getting off the island that night and I've been looking forward to camping since I've been here.  So we rented some tents and found a campground.  It all would have been a great weekend had I not gone back into the ocean ...

Last week I also went up to Maolin, an area north east of Kaohsiung in the mountains.  Many of the buildings and roads in this area were wiped out by typhoon Morakot last year but it is still very beautiful.  Surprisingly, I haven't gotten lost at all while driving around on my scooter!  Ryan and I accidentally got seperated while we were driving around but luckily I was able to navigate home by myself.  I just got a sim card for my cell phone so I wont have to worry about not being able to get in touch with people anymore.  And I get free incoming calls so feel free to give me a ring if you have a calling card!

I've been fortunate enough to see some great sunsets since I've been here.  I took this picture at the beach near Kaohsiung University.  I'll be uploading more pictures to an online album soon.

Asia is awesome

Today is only my second day in Taiwan and I've been having tons of fun!  Yesterday I went to one of Danielle's classes with her and then we got lunch and drove around the city on the scooters :)  Everyone here drives them, I'll probably rent one too because it's only about $1/day.  For now I've just been riding around on the back of everyone else's.   Kaohsiung is a pretty big city, and the pollution here is intense so a lot of people wear masks while they're riding around.

Dan and Anth have a friend visiting from Hawaii, Ryan and today we went hiking with Ana (one of their friends from home who convinced the group to come and teach here).  We went to Monkey Mountain, also know as Takao Hill (打狗山) which was pretty interesting.  The monkeys there are the Formosan Rock Macaque, which were unique to Taiwan until recently being introduced in Japan.  The mountain is a biological reserve for them and I was warned not to bring food on the trails because they will steal it from you!

This weekend we are all going to Tainan, another city nearby.  Danielle is going to check out one of the schools there because they have a great graduate program in counseling and it's free if you are living in Taiwan!  Dan and Anth have enjoyed it here so much that they are thinking of staying another year :D

Until later ... miss you guys!!


Read these notes directly at http://caitlinhorigan.blogspot.com/

Countdown to Taiwan

This will be my last weekend in the states!  I am both excited to go, and sad to leave :(  I will miss everyone tons!! But you are all welcome to visit me :)  Things have been pretty crazy this past week ... Flavia (my friend from Brazil that I visited while I was in South America) was in Boston for a few days and somehow I managed to move out of my apartment and take the GREs all in the same week.

Luckily, I started packing for my trip a few weeks ago so everything is still on schedule.  I'll have a week or two to get settled in Kaohsiung, and then starting May 25th I'll be taking over Anthony's classes for a month while he does some traveling around asia.  This will be a great way to get to know their school and decide if I want to work there for a year.

Soon my blog will have a new address.  You can always view it at the original address, but now it will also be accessible at www.caitlinhorigan.com.  You can also chat with me on skype, it's free and my username is aquacait.

Are you reading this as an imported note on facebook?  You can check out my blog directly to see more pictures, links, and updates at http://caitlinhorigan.blogspot.com.

Asia Awaits

As some of you are aware, I have decided to go to Taiwan to teach English. I have two friends who have been living there since last summer teaching English and they love it.  I'm very excited but I will be leaving soon!  I have just booked my flight and will be leaving on May 10th.

I have considered teaching English in Asia for awhile, but originally expected to find a job in my field in the Boston area when I returned form South America.  This will be a great opportunity to live in a new country, save money, and hopefully get to travel to some of the other countries I want to visit in Asia.  I hope to visit Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and parts of the Philippines and Indonesia.  If I have time I will visit India, Nepal and Burma as well.

When I arrive I will start out as a substitute teacher and stay with Danielle and Anthony.  These jobs are easy to find and there are even long term sub positions.  Many teachers take time off to travel or go home so there is a high demand for substitute teachers.  Eventually, I will find my own apartment and start negotiating for a contract at one of the schools in Kaohsiung.

I will be bringing my computer, and will most likely have an internet connection in my apartment so I will be updating the blog often!  I will miss all of you guys in Boston, keep in touch!   :)

Thoughts and Plans ....

I'm not very consistent at updating my blog when I'm in the states.  Im pretty sure this is directly related to how often my cell phone rings here.  Im trying to get into the habit of updating every so often even when I'm not traveling. Im beginning to get restless in the states anyways and visiting Dan and Anth in Taiwan is definately at the top of my traveling list! :)

Things have been pretty busy lately with the development of Be Beautiful's website.  I have been working on this a lot with Melanie and things are really coming along.  If you are looking for webhosting, check out ipage.  We have had a great experience with them so far. The site should be ready to launch in the next few weeks so I will post a link soon!

Looking back on 2009

As most of you know I ended up coming back from S. America a little earlier than planned and I never got the chance to write a conclusion to my blog.  Well, now I've been home for about 2 months and the year is coming to an end! About a month after I returned to the states I moved into an apartment in Medford.  I actually live right on the line of Somerville and it is a great location.  I can walk to Porter and Davis Sq. and surprisingly, I never get stuck in traffic here :)

I participated in the Emerson Winter Market as a visiting artist the first weekend in December.  This was the first year I was personally invited to the show - in the past I did it with John, my glassblowing instructor at Salem State.  Thanks to everyone who came and visited me there it, the weekend was definately a success!

I've also been participating in photo shoots as a model, makeup artist, and wardrobe designer with one of my friends who is a hair stylist.  We've been collaborating with local photographers and it has been lots of fun.  Hopefully it will lead to some paid work in the future so I can finance a new camera!