Summertime in Taiwan

It's officially summer in Taiwan. That means typhoon season is upon us. So far, the rain hasn't been that bad, but every Monday for the last month, as if it were a big "eff you" joke, it has rained all day.

Aside from that, June is a pretty eventful month for me. My kindergarten class is graduating at the end of the month, so I've been busy teaching them their performance for the ceremony. The frustration of trying to coordinate a play, a dance routine, and a speech for fifteen little kids is akin to trying to teach a team of cats to play water polo, or something equally as stressful.

My girlfriend, Ariel, has gone to work in Missouri for several weeks, and I'm looking forward to joining her stateside in August. It will be great to see everyone again, and to relearn things like driving a car, eating a burrito, and speaking English in a normal cadence and tone.

One of my best friends from college, Nick Dietsch, is set to fly over here to Taiwan next week. He's packing all of his stuff as I type, and is planning on living here and teaching English for a year. We will most likely find an apartment together in Taichung, about two hours South of where I am now.

So after I return from America in August, I'll have a new location and a new job to look forward to. That plus the fact that I have more friends, more experience living here, and I can speak more Chinese than I did a year ago all add up to the potential of an awesome second year here.

I'll post again soon, as I anticipate a lot more going on in my life in the next few weeks.