cool

This morning i got to look out my balcony as a parade turned around down below. VERY loud firecrackers, then the usual big drum and many gongs. Then tiger dancers, then 20 guys with 4 foot long horns that sounded low and strange. Then 3 paolanquins with incense burning in front and Gods inside. Some Gods are having a birthday. Everyone clasps their hands together (usually with incense in their hands) and bows as the Gods are carried by. Now it's gone and I can just hear the old Chinese songs played on the loudspeaker in my neighborhood. It has become hot, so the doors are closed and occasionally the AC is on. It is a beautiful sunny day. And I am hardly sick at all! I'm thinking of taking a trip to the beach sometime soon.

On the other hand, R. broke his ankle and isn't getting around very well. He will have surgery on tuesday, but until then he is trapped in the house, mostly on the couch in front of the tv. I don't envy him - being in pain and bored is really awful. His uncle in Taipei has checked up on him and brought him food a couple of times, which is nice.

always sick

i have been sick for the past two weeks. went to the doctor (i have insurance!) and it turns out i have bronchitis. i have been taking medicine for 4+ days now, but it really hasn't done much other than make me feel tired and extra spacey. i have slept a lot, drank fluids to the point of complete saturation, and fallen behind in my chinese class. fun! my hope is that it will clear up soon, but who knows. i have many classes wrapping up, which means final exams to grade and grade reports to write. lots of work, and not much fun if i'm ill. oi. outside richard's window right now the drony trumpet is playing, alongside all types of gongs, intercut with a duet of a cappella sad singing in taiwanese. i believe it is part of a funeral. nice, and certainly strange, but it has been going on all day. it is also quite humid and warm, pretty much what you would expect in a tropical country. i will be happy to feel healthy again.

last night

i went out to karaoke with r. it was ok, but there were very few songs i recognized and for some reason the machine wasn't actually able to play them. i sang "california girls" and "california dreaming." i don't know brittany spears' songs or any taiwanese pop songs.

actually...

i didn't sleep on grave sweeping day. i took an extremely twisty busride to a mountain town called jiu fen. The ride there almost made me throw up, but once i got there it was great. it was a beautiful day, and a holiday, so the place was packed. there was a main walk way, with vendors selling tea, mochi, and various other snacks and gew gaws. too crowded for me, but i enjoyed the tea and mochi samples, and i ate bbq'd cho dofu and trumpet mushrooms which were very delicious. i went down a side road and through a passageway that was about 5feet tall to a beautiful teashop filled with antiques, a koi pond, and strange chinese cats. It had an amazing view from which i could see the fog roll in off the ocean and get trapped in the valleys between myself and the water. my photos don't really do it justice, but if i was able to post photos i would (email me if you want one sent to your inbox). i sat there drinking tea and studying chinese until the sun got too low and made me leave. then i wandered around for a while until it started getting cool and dark. i was desperate for a taxi, but figuring out how to get one was beyond my chinese skills. the bus ride home was dreadful - i almost passed out. luckily, this girl offered me her seat and i spent the trip with my head between my legs trying not to throw up. oi. i was nauseous for the next few days, and only now has my head stopped spinning. i would like to go back, but i have to figure out a different way.

grave sleeping day

nothing new. just busy with class and work. the weather seems to be improving. i'm tired all the time. finished atomised, which i had read before under the title the elementary particles. not bad. french. a new canadian at work rants against the french quite frequently. he drinks a lot and looks like the family guy. i ignore him. my computer is no better and i'm not sure where to look for solutions. i am accessing the net through a network with r's computer, and he doesn't want to switch to linux. plus, command lines and text make me nervous. this tuesday is grave sweeping day - it is a national holiday during which people sweep their ancestors tombs. I will be sleeping.