Susan Alyssa

Things I will miss

2010-06-15T12:19:00.003-04:00

1. Seeing my beautiful, fun loving kids

2. Being a celebrity

3. Having my picture taken either with my knowledge or without

4. Playing charades every time I want to communicate with people

5. Riding my bike everywhere

6. Riding my bike in the middle of the street

7. Going to other countries--We have named specific places Japan, Vietnam, Philippines and Korea

8. Chocolate Bing-shas (I need to figure out how to make them at home because I will go through some serious withdraws)

9. Almost always having someone with me when I go somewhere (ok, I might not miss this too much, but I will most certainly miss the company that my roomies provide me)

10. Getting lost with no way to figure out how to get unlost- no phone and a language barrier

11. Going to Clothes Street or Food Street

12. Staring at people and not feeling bad or awkward

13. Being stared at 24/7!

14. Haggling prices for stuff

15. Buying shoes for $6 USD

16. Trying to decipher what a sign says

17. Making up translations for what is being said

18. Talking about people when they are right next to me

19. Carefree life of living here

20. Waking up after I am scheduled to go to work, and not rushing to get to work

21. Asian fashion style... anything goes here!

22. The people I have met

23. Fresh fruits! They are amazing here

24. 7/11 on every other corner- The ones at home just don't compare to the ones here.

25. Night markets

26. Shopping in Taichung

27. The Philippinos!

28. The garbage truck song

I am pretty sure there are things that I missed, but you get the idea. I have learned to appreciate this country and the things in it. I still think to myself, Really, Really that just happened?!? But it is those moments that I love the most. A lot of things are very different than in the States, but if they were the same it would not be Taiwan. I hope to come back to visit some day (maybe by then I will have learned some Chinese). I can't believe I only have one more week of teaching and 2 more weeks until I am home. This might have been the fastest 6 months of my life!

The end is coming...

2010-06-14T12:29:00.004-04:00

Well I failed miserably at my year in photo challenge. Oh well. I am not too upset about it. But I do have some photos of what I have been up to.

We had our Spectacular show in the beginning of June. This is me and Gina. She is not one of my students but she is fun to talk to.

My favorites! This is Amily on the left and Minnie on the right. If I could take home any of the kids it would be these two. I just love them. They are so fun and adorable. They make my class entertaining. Sometimes they get a little too out of control, but in general are very good students. I am going to miss them so much!

Walking along the street in Taichung from Japan. We found the equivalent of the Japanese dollar store and have been there multiple times. When you go there you find things that you did not know you couldn't live without, such as a rice molder in the shape of a heart.! But as we were walking back to the train station we looked up and saw this billboard. Yes, that is a baby in a test tube. Gotta love Taiwan :)

President and Sister Hoer. This is the mission president for the Taichung Taiwan Mission and his wife. I absolutely love these two. They were so great and helpful and nice. I have decided that I want to be like Sister Hoer. She is a spunky, energetic, passionate woman. They leave the same time as us to return home after 3 years here in Taiwan.

Finding a bathroom is sometimes hard to do here and when you do you are scared of the conditions it will be in. One night while shopping in Taichung we found this bathroom in the back of an eyeglass shop. This is a picture posted on the wall of the real toilet. The other one was a squatter. I just love the picture of the Lego man.

What is that you ask? Oh that is a bunny in the mall's food court! The guy took it out of its cage and sat it down and started feeding it. I did not know you were allowed to bring animals into the mall but now am intrigued to find out exactly what kind of animals I can smuggle into the mall.

Saturday afternoon I went to my friend Nic's boxing match. This is the second one that I have seen and the second one that he has ever done. The first one was pretty bad on his end. But he improved a lot and won his match! Way to go Nic!

Saturday night we had a talent show in our branch. This is Emily playing the piano. She is 5 and is one of the cutest kids ever. She is the Branch President's daughter and is such an angel. I am going to miss her and her brother Bradley so much! You would be amazed to see how well behaved the two of them are.

This is Rolland. He gets the most changed award. He was a quiet boy that did not talk a lot in class. Now he is the class clown. He loves to say "Teacher want to die" and draw pictures of me dying. He is much more outgoing in class and I love it. He has such a cute smile and a fun personality. I am so glad that I was able to see this side of him before I leave. But it makes leaving him that much harder.

Oh, why hello. I did not see you there. Oh wait, you're not real?!? You are a mannequin! They love to have their mannequin's look like real people. They do not look asian either. They have wigs and make up on. It is crazy to see them and I frequently think that it is a real person and then feel stupid after realizing that is fake.

Oil everywhere!

2010-06-05T00:46:00.003-04:00

Since being out the country and having less chances of hearing the news, I have been trying to read the news to keep up with what is going on. Thankfully I have Candice who is much better at it than me and tells me plenty of news that I don't read. But how can I not have read about the major oil spill that happen in the Gulf.

I did not read about it when it first happened, because I was watching the news on Thailand to see if it was safe for me to travel there or not. Now that I am not traveling anywhere in Asia, by attention has turned back to American news stories. The oil leak is the worst in history and let's hope there are no more after it that surpasses the damage that has been caused.

I have thought how thankful I am that I am not on BP's Public Relations team. I can't even imagine the nightmare of having to deal with this kind of catastrophe. I never wanted to go in to crisis PR and definitely do not envy their jobs right now. People are angry for the damage being done to the water, marshes, beaches and their lives. I completely understand where their fear and terror come from. But people are forgetting that it is because of them that this is happening too. No, I am not talking about the end of the world and the showing of the times. I am talking about the need for oil. Every person needs it. Every person expects to have oil to make their lives run easier. It has always been a risk that a rig will explode and/or leak. I am sure that there were things that BP could have done to prevent it, but that time has come and gone. Now they are trying what they can to get through this and to clean up the damage that they have created. But if our need for oil did not drive their company, would they have been in the Gulf?

I am not trying to play devil's advocate, or defend BP. I just want people to remember that it is impossible to place all the blame on one party. They are a business and we are the consumers.

I also am slightly annoyed at the people that are angry at President Obama. They are upset that he is not showing more emotion, but then when he does show emotion some people call him out on it. The position of being president is one of the most difficult things to do, I imagine, and it is impossible to be Superman. People forget that he is human and that it takes the same time as anyone to gather and process information before he acts. If he made decisions with getting all the information he could, and made the wrong decision people would never let him forget it. I hope that he takes the time to learn what he can before he makes a decision that could cause more harm and damage to an already fragile situation.

Alright, I am done venting about things. Let's hope BP can drill those relief wells quickly!

A Year in Photo

2010-05-25T11:13:00.003-04:00

Some of my friends here decided to do a picture a day for a year. The picture would be the highlight of the day, or just whatever popped out at him/her at the moment. I thought that was a great idea. I have been slacking on taking photos for the past 3 months and really need to start again. I have my new camera and I am in this beautiful and amazing country. I need to take advantage of it. And I will be returning home in 5 short weeks and I know that there will be plenty to document.

I had planned to start this yesterday, but I fell asleep before I remembered to post the picture and what not. So here is yesterday and today. (Side note- I know myself too well and know that I will not be able to post a picture a day, so I will most likely do a post a week with 7 photos... or maybe every 5 days since blogger only allows 5 photo uploads at a time)

Monday May 24, 2010

Facials. Since coming to Taiwan I have sort of let myself go. I rarely wear makeup (it normally drips off of me the moment I walk outside), I could care less what the people around me think. I have the mind frame of I'm in Taiwan, I might as well do whatever I want while I am here and when I get back home I will deal with it. But, Carly came back from Taipei with some face masks and I joined her in using one. It has been so long since I have properly had a beauty night. The masks were interesting and made us look hilarious. So here is photo number one!

Tuesday May 25, 2010.

I went to bed a little nervous that I would not have anything to take a picture of for today's picture. But good old Taiwan pulled through for me. I was woken up to beating drums and LOTS of fireworks. There was a political rally taking place in the courtyard of my apartment building. People were giving food to their ancestors, doing the Bye-Bye (a religious prayer for ancestors) and 3 drum guys and 2 cymbal guys were banging away. Later came the dragons. This went on for quite some time and have no idea when I ended because I had to leave and go to work. I am under the impression that people do not work here. They are always at the market or at rallys in the middle of the day. I wonder when they actually work.

Then at school today we only had 3 kids. Tuesdays are the smallest day because Chinese school is longer on tuesdays and so only the younger kids that parents are at work come to school. Well Sam puts his hat on Jimmy and tells him to twist his fingers and it was just hilarious! Jimmy is such a great kid. He is so smart and really getting the hang of English. Unfortunately he realizes that he is good and is starting to try and push his luck and become a little punk. But for now, he is still a great kid (most of the time).

Lots to Tell...

2010-04-26T10:21:00.004-04:00

I have been up to quite a lot since my last post, which was far too long ago. I thought being in another country would help me get in the habit of blogging, but it hasn't.

There is much to tell about, but I don't really know how. Living here has opened my eyes to so many things. I have grown as an individual and matured in a lot of ways. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have had to come here and experience life here.

Some of the things that has/will happen:

One Saturday me, Candice and Carly went to Ershui and saw monkeys. We were 5 feet away from us. There were mostly females and they had their baby monkeys with them! They were so cute. I forgot my camera that day so I don't really have any pictures to show for that. I still need to steal them from my roomies.

I have also been on quite a few home visits. Mostly with Sam and his kids, but it is still fun. It is nice to meet the parents of the kids we teach and to spend some time with real Taiwanese families and go to places that I would have never gone to if it weren't for them.

This past saturday all of us, except Candice, went hiking with a family from the school. They have taken us out before and they are really great people. Both parents have spent time living in the states and attended college there so they know english really well. We went hiking at Shitou Park. It was a little chilly and rainy when we went and it made it so much better. There was a beautiful mist that covered the area and much of where we were was covered by trees so we were hidden in the forest for most of the day. It was so gorgeous. The main attraction is the "Big Tree." It really is just a big tree that is in surrounded by many other trees. It is said that the tree is about 2,000 some years old and you could tell it had been hit by lightning. It was cool, but not that great.

I have a busy next couple of weeks and am sure that the last 2 months that I have here are going to fly by. This upcoming saturday I am going to Sun Moon Lake, again for the 3rd time, with Sam and one of his kids' family. May 9th I am going to Taipei to see Elder Christofferson speak at a YSA fireside. My stake is paying for us to go on a bus and feeding us dinner! I am so excited to go. May 13 BYU-H Concert Choir will be doing a performance in Taichiung, which is where I go to church, so we are planning on going to that. May 15th I am going on a home visit with one of my kids. It is the only one I am going on that is one of my own so I am pretty dang excited for it. They are taking me to Lugang, which is a town pretty much on the coast of western Taiwan. There is a fan maker there that paints pictures on to fans. In the past other teachers have gotten temples put on the fans. I am excited to see what pictures he can do and see if I can get a cool fan to bring home.

Speaking of bringing stuff home, I have started a list of things I want to make sure I bring home with me. One the top of that list is peanut butter and socks! Weird I know, but it;s true. Also, cards. I went to the stationary store (that is what we call it because we don't know the real name, and we name everything) and spend almost $30 USD. I bought a ton of cool cards because they were so unique. It is hard to find really fun cards in the states sometimes so I am stocking up on cards. I also am buying lots of tights while I am here. Everyone wears tights here so it is pretty easy to find lots of different style of them.

The main reason (which took me a while to get to because I realized how much there was to talk about) is about one of my kids, Frank. He is such a fun-loving, crazy, out-there kid. He tries really hard in school and I am so afraid to give him bad grades because he gets beat if he gets below an A. (If you ever wonder why Asians, from asia, are smart it's because many of them are required to do well and go to school for 10 hours a day!) I found out that on Saturday he was hit by a car. He ran out of his front door into the street and got hit. From what I can understand from the people at work he was in a coma, but is conscience now. He is still in ICU as far as I know. I wanted to ask for you to pray for Frank and his family. I do not know how bad his condition is, but I know that it is bad. I get to go to the hospital with my boss Wednesday morning to see him. I almost cried when I was talking to my boss about this. It really breaks my heart to hear when one of my kids is hurt or upset. A few weeks ago, Minnie, came to school on tuesday and she was the only one there (there are normally only 2 on tuesday). She was really tired and I think sad/intimidated to be the only one. She spent half the time crying. It was so painful to see how upset she was and now with Frank I can barely handle it. Carly pointed out that she loves how me and Candice call our students "my kids." It really is true, I spend 15 hours a week with these kids and get to see them almost every day. I have such a deep love for my kids and want nothing but the best for them. I know that this is just a glimpse into how much I will love my own kids, but I truly care about each and everyone of them. So, please pray for Frank to make a full recovery.

Here are some pictures of Frank:

I have no idea what he was doing, just hugging the wall...

Andy (on the left) and Frank (on the right) playing with the rope during a game of monkey in the middle.

Frank at McDonald's for super student of the month celebration. This is a slight glimpse into the crazy faces he gives me everyday.

More to come about my adventures and thoughts about Taiwan. There are so many, but as soon as I sit down to write them on here I can't think of any!

The people I spend most of my day with

2010-03-11T09:08:00.004-05:00

I wrote a post about my roommates, now it is time to show you who I truly spend most of my time with during the week. It is the kids that I teach. Until now I did not have a good camera to take a picture of them. You might think, "any camera would take a picture of them?" Well for some odd reason these kids hate to have their picture taken. When ever I would bring out my camera they would run away from it. They would hide under desks and out the door in order not to have their picture taken. It is quite entertaining, and I have it on video. If I can figure out how to post videos on here I will put them up.

This is Amily. I hate to say that I have a favorite, but it is true. I absolutely love this girl. She is loud and outgoing, but listens to me when I tell her to do something. She always participates in class. She is a sassy girl with a lot of attitude. I cannot help but love her! I want to take her home with me.

Minnie! She is the youngest one in my class at the age of 6. She is such a smart girl.

Cindy... oh Cindy. I never liked teacher's pets when I was school and now that I am a teacher I still don't like them. She is crazy, cannot focus on one thing for a long time and is too clingy. I try really hard not to show that I can not handle her, but sometimes it seeps through. I'm working on it.

Duncan (left) and Thomas (right) So cute! I only teach Thomas one day a week, but Duncan I get for 4 days. They are the cutest kids. They are quiet and do not talk a whole lot, but when they do it shocks me almost every time. Their faces light up when the smile or know an answer

Yoyo. Definitely the most unique name of my kids, but his brother runs a close second with Engine

Frank. He is one crazy asian.

Emerson. Number one punk. He never listens to me. But he is so dang funny I can never really get mad at him.

The Last Lecture

2010-03-06T22:31:00.002-05:00

I have started to enjoy reading more, now that I am not in school. I can choose the books that interest me and am not forced to read a book. Reading has become much more pleasurable. I just finished "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon when diagnosed with pancreatic caner. The book went into more detail about his life and his reasons for saying what he did during his last lecture. I love books about life. They are normally written by someone that does not have a lot of time left and has time to reflect on everything that has happened or could have happened in his/her lifetime. I love to hear the advice people give, and what is most important to them. When someone finds out they only have 3-6 months to live, that persons true self comes out. You can learn what that person cherishes and what he loves. It was an inspiring book about living your life and living it well. I think it was a great read.

Lantern Festival

2010-03-06T11:31:00.005-05:00

I believe I came to Taiwan at the best time. There are two different semesters that I could have been here, and this one is definitely the best. We get more days off (which we get paid for) we miss typhoon season and we got to see Lantern Festival.

Lantern Festival lasts for about a week and today me, Candice and Carly went to Chiayi to see the largest Lantern Festival in all of Taiwan. It was only an hour and a half train ride to Chiayi. We got off the train and started walking down the street that would lead us to the Festival and went into a book/stationary store. We spent a good hour or so in that store. the bottom floor was books and the top was anything imaginable that was related to school and then some. It had art supplies and random collectables. I cannot explain the randomness that I found there, but it was definitely interesting. We then continued to walk towards the festival. Once we got there is was about dusk so the lights started to turn on. It was pretty cool to see all the different displays. The displays were was massive and the area was much larger than I thought it would be. There were not a lot of lanterns, but more lit up stationary floats. It is the year of the Tiger, so the tiger was raised above the other and it would move around in a circle. We got there when a performance was beginning and the big theatrical part was the tiger turned in a circle to music. There might have been more things afterwards, but we could not understand what the announcer was saying. For some reason he was speaking Chinese?!?! I have not yet mastered the language. I am very close though; I know hello, foreigner, american and the numbers 1-3!

Below are some pictures taken today, with my new camera!!! I love it. The color is very vivid and I feel like the pictures turn out much better. So far it has been a great buy! Thank you Nicholas and Stacy for taking me and interpreting for me. I have become so grateful for kind, considerate people. Living in another country and not being able to communicate what I want is hard, so when there are people there to make it easier I have become much more appreciative for their willingness to help me.

Lantern Festival! Great thing to experience and partake of as a local. (I got my resident visa and officially live in Taiwan!!!)

I love the cute little pink dress the tiger has on!

There is a restaurant that we call the toilet restaurant because they serve all of their courses in different types of toilets. We find an ice cream vendor that served their ice cream in a squatter! Of course I had to get one and document it! I think it is so funny, and definitely want to go to the restaurant.

My favorite Tiger of them all at the festival. I feel like this is the typical idea of something asian... a karate tiger!

The massive Tiger that was near the main performance stage.

Camera!!!!

2010-03-05T13:06:00.002-05:00

I am excited to tell you that I got a new camera today. About a month ago I dropped my camera while hiking and broke my screen. I can only see out part of the screen and it makes for interesting pictures because I cannot see what I am taking a picture of. My parents sent me an old camera, but it just was not doing the trick. I am not very good at taking pictures and I have a shaky hand so when I used the old camera a lot of my pictures would come out blurry. I would get aggravated and frustrated with the camera so i stopped bringing it all together. Well, when you live in another country there are so many things you want to take a picture of to document and I was not doing that. So I got a new camera so I can remember all of my experiences and adventures I had in Taiwan. I took a few photos on the roof of my apartment building to test it out! I am so excited to start using it and I am sure it will come in hand when i am going to Chiayi tomorrow for the Lantern Festival!

I got a Canon Ixus 130. It is a new model and has only been out for about a month. It is so small! I really wanted to get the orange one, but the store I went to only had black so I decided that was ok. I am still a little sad about not getting the orange, but it is still a great camera!

6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Taiwan... I am ok!

2010-03-04T10:45:00.002-05:00

This morning Taiwan had a 6.4 earthquake in the south eastern part of the country. At about 8:20 the earthquake happened. I was asleep, after hitting my snooze button, when I was jolted awake to a creaking sound. At first I thought it was my roommate Candice getting ready for work, but I quickly realized that it was an earthquake. I sat in my bed and could feel the building move. I have necklaces hung on my walls that I could hear shaking, so I knew it was not in my head. It last for maybe 15 seconds. It was about a 4.0 here in Changhua when it hit. It was an interesting experience for me, because it was the first earthquake I have experienced. It was not scary, mainly because it was not a violent shaking, more of a swaying. After it happened, one of my roommates, Brittney, asked if anyone felt that. (Sometimes we will ask if anyone just felt that earthquake, because they are little ones that just make you feel dizzy, and sometimes you are just imagining it) But this one we all felt.

Look at the story here from CNN.com for more information.

Their have been so many earthquakes in the past month... Haiti, Chile, Japan and here that it makes me wonder, have there always been this many natural disasters to this magnitude, this close together? Or is it a sign of the times?

Traveling

2010-03-01T10:01:00.002-05:00

I am beginning to plan my trip through Southeast Asia and China. And I need your help. I want to know if anyone has been there and where I should go. I would love some tips on traveling, seeing as this will be the first time I will be traveling.

Chinese New Year- Little Liouciou

2010-02-24T09:49:00.004-05:00

Last week was Chinese New Year, and that meant a whole week off of work (and yes, I still got paid for that week of work). The new year is a big thing around here. A lot of stores and businesses are closed for the week and they spend time with all the family. Each night they do something a little different, but most of it involves eating a lot of food and setting off fireworks. Some of my roommates got to go to dinner with a family and experience it first hand.

We went to an island on the southwestern side of Taiwan, little Liouciou. It was beautiful. It was only about 5 km wide, but it was sunny and warm. We had to wake up early to catch a train down south and hop on a bus to get to a small town to catch a ferry to the island. Some of the most adventures come from transportation to your destinations. Let's just say if it was not for Lonely Planet and some nice people on the streets we would never have made it to Liouciou, but luckily we did. We got off the ferry and tried to rent scooters. Easy enough, right? Wrong! The street was crowded with tourists and we were in the way with 4 scooters. Brittany attempts to get out of the way of oncoming traffic, but does not know how to drive a scooter. She presses on the gas handle and goes, right into Carly, who was 5 ft away knocking her off the scooter. The people at the scooter place immediately grab Brittany, get her off the scooter and hand her back the money. Carly is still on the ground with a scooter on top of her and her humungous pack with sleeping bag and pillow attached to the outside. Luckily no one was hurt and we went on our way, heads a little bit down so no one could see the "stupid americans that do not know how to drive a scooter." At the time it was not funny for me. It would have been so nice to have a scooter to drive around the island, but alas, we could not. But it turned out to be okay. We walked to the campsite and got to enjoy a beautiful walking path along the coast that we would not have been able to see if we were on our scooters. The next day we went to a different scooter rental and rented 2 scooters, which Carly and Candice drove. Brittney and I took scooter driving lessons so when we were to Kenting we would not have a problem with renting scooters due to the fact that we did not know how to drive them.

The island is made up of mostly coral along the coast. It makes for beautiful images, but not so comfortable walks on the beach. It was nice to be one of the islands of our island and to see and smell the ocean. I forgot how much I love the ocean. Being in Utah did not allow me the chance to feel the breeze or feel the serenity that water brings me. A even now it is not very often that I get to be near the water. I now can appreciate it more, knowing that I do not get to have it near me all the time.

The campsite that we stayed at how a decent amount of people. In the morning before we left for our excursion of exploring the island I asked Carly to do my hair. She does some nice french braiding, which I take advantage of the fact that she has this skill. I sit down to have her do my hair and an Asian man comes over and motions that he would like to do my hair as well. So we say yes and he begins to braid the other half of my head. It was so funny, because his whole family came around to watch him braid the meigourens (americans) hair. I called him the asian hairdresser. His braid turned out very nice and lasted me all day and into the next.

Here are some pictures of Little Liouciou. I did not take any pictures and so all of these are from the internet.

This is the famous Vase Rock. This is the most famous thing about the island. It is just a chunk of coral that is shaped like that. It is kind of cool!

The joys of teaching

2010-02-24T09:16:00.002-05:00

I am not very good at being authoritative. I am the youngest and never had the opportunity to boss around a younger sibling. I also hate confrontation and will do everything possible to avoid it. I do not like knowing I made someone feel bad. Well that personality does not always work when teaching. Sometimes you just have to put your fist down and scold the kids. Today was that type of day. My evening class, a class of 4 boys, was their usually rowdy obnoxious selves. I usually will play for the first bit of the class, but when I tell them to stop and it is time to be serious, I expect them to understand that. Today they did not want to listen. I told them to stand in line nicely and quietly. Did they do that? Of course not, they are boys! So what did I do? I took away gym for them. That is the ultimate punishment for these boys. They love gym! So when I take it away they know they did something bad. When we sat down in the classroom I just looked at each one of them and was silent. They didn't say anything or make a noise (which has never happened before). I asked them why they did not get to go to gym and no one would answer. It took a while before they would start to talk. I have never had to be so harsh, but they needed it. After our little talk we started to read a book. I turned to write something on the white board and got a huge grin on my face. I thought to myself, "That felt good." That might be a horrible thing to say, but after you tell them to do the same thing about 25 times each class for 2 months, you start to get sick of it! We will see how the kids are tomorrow. Hopefully they learned their lesson, but probably not!

My roommates

2010-02-07T11:14:00.005-05:00

I have been without internet for most of the past week. It went out in our whole building, but then we put the internet cable in the wrong port and went an extra 2 days without internet. It is hard to be without internet, but when your only connection with anything outside of your town is through internet you start to feel a little stranded. Luckily I have some amazing roommates and the long hours at work made it not quite so hard to be without (and we have internet at the school).

I have told you briefly about some of my adventures. I have been on more since my last post. I went to Taipei last weekend. And I just got back from another trip to Taipei, which we went on daytrips to Wulai and Danshui. They were interesting towns. Wulai is an aboriginal village next to a river with waterfalls and hot springs. Danshui is a harbor town at the top of the island. More to come on that when I have my pictures.

I wanted to tell you a little about my everyday life, well to be specific my roommates. Imagine living with, working with, eating with, and traveling with the same 5 people for 6 months. Lucky for me, I have some awesome roommates that make things much more manageable. I was a little nervous when I came that I would not like my roommates. I can get along with anyone, but liking them is a different thing. I am so glad that I have the roommates that I like. There are many different dynamics within my apartment but it adds to the experience.

Let's start with Sam.

He is the only boy with 4 girls. He was living with all girls for 6 months before I got here. Poor guy. I don't know how he does it. He puts up with a lot. I do not know what I would do without him. He has helped me and my roommates out so much. He has shown us the ropes, communicated with many people because we do not know any Chinese. Basically, he is a life saver! I give him a lot of crap, but I truly appreciate everything that he has done for me.

Next, we have my fellow east coaster, Candice.

She is from Vermont and is my floor roommate. She is one of the reasons that I don't sleep very much! Well thats not completely true, but whenever I am close to going to bed I always end up talking to her for much longer than both of us should. She makes me laugh and has the best stories. The craziest things happen to her and we all benefit from it.

Here we have Brittney.

She is mellow and adventurous. She is the reason I have opened my eyes to so many new possibilities. We are both going to be here for a year and then travel together for a little bit afterwards. I plan on getting my open water diving license in the Philippines (thanks to her). She is very down to earth and great to talk to about anything. She is open to anything. She may be one of the few people that have been able to open me up to new things that I thought I would never do. So, thank you Brittney.

And last, but definitely not least, here is Carly.

Oh Carly! So is crazy, outgoing, a great listener and so much fun. And not to mention she says the darnest things. The comments that come out of her mouth shock you and you can't help but laugh. She loves sweets and will do anything to get them. And she bakes!!!!! I love her cookies :) She is a great conversationalist and very smart.

I am so excited to spend more time with them and get to know them more. We have our moments of tension, but they never last long. We banter like family, and let's face it... we are. There are not many foreigners, which means there are not many people to talk to. They are my social life and the people that I share all my amazing experiences with. I started to think about when they leave, it is not for 5 more months but I already am dreading that moment. I will be sad to see them gone and nervous for the next set to come in.

Thank you to my roommates for all the great experiences so far and many more to come!

Sunday Fun Day

2010-01-27T20:11:00.003-05:00

On Sunday I went to a friend's boxing match. It was his first match ever and we all went to support him/see him get hit. (yeah, we are great friends, aren't we!)

It was in Taichung, a city close to us, where I go for church. I had my roommates phone so that they could text me the address and I could show it to the cab driver and he could take me there. Well the text never came and I really wanted to go (apparently it was sent like 4 times, but not a single one came to me). They had said it was by the Art Museum, so that is where I told the cab driver to go to. Well once there, I had to find it. I walked down about 3 streets and felt hopeless. I had no idea where this boxing studio was, and if I did pass it, would I know it was the boxing studio?? Finally I got in another cab and one of the girls told the driver where to go.

Small tasks like getting to a friend's match, much more difficult when you don't speak the language and phones suck!

Well the trouble of getting there was well worth it. I did not miss the match, thankfully! I saw a few other matches before him and I must say, asians are not the best for crowds. There was no cheering or clapping. They just stood there with their arms folded, not saying anything. Well being the Meiguorans (American) we had to be loud. We are always the loudest in any situation so why should this be any different.

Nic gets in the ring and we cheer. The bell sounds and the match begins. A few dance moves between the two men and the first punch is thrown. Nic gets hit. Ouch! If you do not like getting hit, I do not suggest boxing. It looks painful to watch the guys get beat up and worse, they pay to get hit! But anyways, After those first few punches, Nic is pretty disoriented. I am not sure what happened, but I think he completely forgot how to block a punch. The rest of the match was a little hard to watch. But it was his first one and he did well for it. If only he had blocked... who knows how the match would have turned out. April is his next match... let's see how well he improves ;)

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Beastly girl warming up! You do not want to mess with her.

Before the match... thinkin' he's a big shot...

And he is hit...

After the match, looking a little tired.

A few of us at the match. Me, Leah and Jeff.

Side note... I was in 7eleven yesterday and saw a british guy (that taught at another school in town) and did not like it! It is weird to see other foreigners. I felt like they were intruding on my space. The people are suppose to stare at me, not them!

Next adventure... Taipei on Saturday. Then dancing that night. Pretty dang excited for that!

Adventures in Taiwan

2010-01-20T09:07:00.003-05:00

Living in another country has opened my eyes. I cannot believe that I live here.

Teaching

I am in my third week of teaching. My kids are so cute. I teach kids between 7 and 8. They are in the basic reading program. They are beginning to read. Teaching english has taught me a lot about our language. There are so many random things about english that are difficult to teach. It is something that you just pick up through listening to it. Now I have to figure out how to teach kids, that are never around english, to understand the weird quirks of the english language. I am hoping to take pictures soon of my kids to show you how cute they are.

Explorations

A family from the school to me and my roommates/other teachers hiking in Tianjhong. Their hiking consists mainly of stairs. So we hiked stairs/mountain. At the top was an amazing tea farm. And on the way was just forest around us. The pictures I took did not do it any justice. And we saw so many fruit plants; pineapple and dragon fruit were my favorite to see. In the village just beyond the tea farm was a cute family that came out to say hi. I don't think any of them could speak english but it is amazing to see the communication the goes on between people of two different languages. Smiles go a long way. They offered us some hot tea.

At the end of the day the family took us to a restaurant that serves 7 courses. It was amazing! I could not finish it. After being in Asia for a while you get used to eating less. Just rice, vegetables and a little meat. Going from those meals to a 7 course meal does things to your stomach, but it was SO good! It cost 500 NT... which is about $18 USD. But it is an expensive meal for Taiwan.

Random quirks of Taiwan

1. When you hear car with music... it's not the ice cream man, it is the garbage man. It confused me so much. I would get my hopes up, only to have them crumble when I saw it was just the garbage.

2. Traffic laws are more of a guideline. Scooters control the road and if you are near a bus, you feel the life sucked out of you.

3. As I bike around my city, it is the greatest site ever to see a temple or monastery pop out of no where.

4. Korean artists are HUGE here! One of the most popular songs here is called Sorry Sorry by Super Junior. Super Junior is a band of about 13 boys-- Backstreet boys on speed!

(I cannot figure out how to post the actual video one here... Stacy help!!!!)

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7782808975148694939

Here is a Korean Girl Group singing Nobody But You, another big song out here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mF7mKabAZQ&feature=related

Pictures

From our hiking trip... this is the baby dragon that is being protected by its momma at a temple in the village near the tea farm. I think it is so cute!

A lady working in the tea field.

Angry dog... I think this was the first dog that actually growled at me!

Someone that it was a good idea to dig a hole to China, too bad they didn't that far

I will post more soon... once I get a new camera to use... I dropped it while hiking, and now I can't see the screen.

Ps. I think I have started to change, for the better. When I dropped my camera and couldn't see the screen anymore, if I were still in the states I probably would have been really upset and angry, but here I did not care. It just goes along with the adventures. I have a new outlook on things. It is only a bad situation if you think it is. Think positive and look for the brighter things. If you are in a bad situation, just think you are alive.

Adventure 2- Sun Moon Lake

2009-12-31T19:01:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, New Years Eve day, I went to the largest natural lake in Taiwan called Sun Moon Lake. The previous teachers were still here and one of the mom's came out to travel with her daughter. So me, another new teacher, one of the old teachers, her mom, and one of the student's dad went to the lake. The dad, George, took us all over the lake. We took a boat tour, which we understand nothing that was said, obviously since it was in Mandarin. But it was so beautiful. Unfortunately, it was rainy and very foggy but it was still amazing. Taiwan has some great landscaping, once out of the cities.

In the center of the lake there is an island, called Lalu. It is a sacred island that people can on go on. There are floating gardens and walkways around the island for tourists.

Arial view of the island

There is something cool and interesting about the white deer, but I don't remember what it is. I'll find out eventually.

Mountains from the boat.

This is how they fish

I absolutely loved the water. It was a gorgeous color, sort of an aqua. Not the green and brown that you see in the states.

Next we went up to a Buddhist temple that was located along the side of the lake. Above it was one of the tallest Pagoda's. The Pagoda, temple, island and the most expensive hotel in Taiwan ($600 USD a night) are all in a straight line. Inside the temple they have a way to tell your fortune. There are a bunch of sticks in a container and you pick them all up and shake them and drop them. Which ever one is the highest, you take it and that is your fortune. Each stick has characters on it and you find the fortune to match the characters. I have the paper, I just have no clue what it says!

The year of the rabbit! 1987

If you ever find yourself in an Asian country, NEVER leave your chopsticks straight up in the rice. It is because of this, they place in-scents straight up in the grain in honor of the dead.

At one of the Aboriginal towns along the river there was a ton of shopping and souvenir places. This is the main thing that stuck out to me.

We hiked up to the Pagoda, well really we just walked stairs but that is hiking in Taiwan. Once we got to the top, since it was so foggy, and the ground consisted of small white pebbles it looked like snow.

Unfortunately we could not go up into the Pagoda because of the earthquake in November, but it was still beautiful.

I am not sure the real purpose of this big drum, but it is fun to jump up and bang on it!

The end of the day, we went to the biggest Buddha in Taiwan, in my city Changhua.

Me and Buddha

The back of Buddha. I thought this was hilarious, windows in the back of Buddha

Overall scene

Me and my new boyfriend

And here is a view of Changhua

Adventure Number 1- Tokyo

2009-12-29T08:04:00.002-05:00

I left for Taiwan yesterday morning. I was excited and nervous for the upcoming events. I think I was more nervous about flying than acutally being in Taiwan. First leg of the flight, Baltimore to Minneapolis, went smoothly. In Minneapolis my flight to Tokyo was delayed for three hours, thus making me miss my flight to Taipei. Now I have to spend the night in Tokyo, well I guess I should say I get to spend the night. Unfortunately I am in a airport hotel and it was 8 pm by the time I stepped outside after getting off the plane, figuring out my flight schedule and going through customs, so I will not actually get to see Tokyo really, but it is on my passport saying I was here!!

Luckily the airline arranged the flight for me to get to Taipei so I did not have to worry about that hassle. A lot of people on the flight missed their connections. The hotel is very accommodating, and I got $10 meal voucher in Minneapolis, $25 off my next flight with Delta, and dinner and breakfast at the hotel. It sucks that this happened because I was suppose to meet up with the rest of my group in Tokyo and go on to Taipei with them so the school could pick us up all at the same time, but now I have be picked up alone and taking to the school alone.

Needless to say, this is for sure the first of many adventures that I will have. I am still not sure what possessed me to actually do this, but once I get the Taiwan and figure things out I think I will find out.

Taiwan

2009-11-01T20:01:00.002-05:00

I found out on Friday that I got accepted to teach english in Taiwan! I will leave the last week of December and will be gone for 6 months. But who knows, maybe I will like it and stay for a full year. There is nothing holding me back, so I am going to take advantage and live my life the way I want to. And maybe learn Mandarin while I am there.

I will be teaching Changhua, Taiwan. What is in Changhua you ask?

A huge Buddha statue

Crazy!

2009-10-01T23:48:00.003-04:00

There are two things that are crazy about this post.

1. It is the second post of the day. And when you only post every other week or so, it is exciting to post twice in one day... and it be like minutes after each other.

2. I was going through random blogs... just hitting next blog button at the top of the page and I came across this blog...

Now what is crazy about it is that it is of Farm Country. At Thanksgiving Point! Which is where I do my internship. I was just at Farm Country yesterday, for the first time since being at my internship for 5 weeks. It got me really excited to know about the place this lady was blogging. Now I don't know if the "next blog" button is based out of where you live or whatever, or if it is completely random. I hope it is random because it makes this finding so much cooler!

My Life

2009-10-01T23:36:00.002-04:00

I have always been one to hate talking about myself. I love listening to others and hearing their stories. I just have always felt that I have nothing exciting to talk about my own life. Who wants to know what I did this morning or what I encountered. Now there are exceptions, if something totally bizarre happens or I had a really bad day and needed to vent to a friend I would. But lately, I have noticed myself talking more and more about me. I have been trying to figure out why the shift. First, I think to myself, "I hope I am not talking to much, and boring this poor person." Second, is what I am saying really that important that I hear myself tell people over and over (not to the same person, but to different people).

What am I telling people... the answer to the almighty questions "What are you doing when you graduate?" and every variation of that question. (Abby, I am right there with you). But, it is slightly exciting to have something to tell them. "I might be teaching English in Taiwan for 6 months to a year starting in Jan." The might be part is because i STILL don't know.

But I am sure when I graduate and figure out what I am doing... or have nothing to do because the economy still sucks... I will go back to not talking about myself and dreading to meet new people because that means... I have to talk about myself.

Internship

2009-09-08T21:10:00.002-04:00

Last week was the longest week of my life. I can't believe school start just last monday.

I started my internship at Thanksgiving Point. I am in the public events department and I am loving it. It was a long week with my normal 20 hours a week plus 20 hours over the weekend for events, but the great thing is that I am sure that this is what I want to do. Although I had no part in planning any of the events that I worked this weekend, I enjoyed the day of part.

Classes this semester will be quite interesting. My capstone class will be time consuming but good, seeing as I love my group! I have my last 3 generals and one comms elective this semester: upper english, new testament, and media and world religions. I did not get my job back at Marriott but based on this past week, I don't have time for work.

Below are some pictures of the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, where I spent all of my time this weekend.

Road Trip

2009-08-25T22:20:00.003-04:00

I have driven from MD to Utah 5 complete times. I am currently on number 6, but this time I am completely on my own. No one else in the car and no caravans. Most of the trips I have been the sole driver so driving the whole time is not hard, but having no one around during breaks or meals is a little different. I wanted to do this trip on my own and I don't regret it, but I know now that it is not fun to have to ask for one at a restaurant for dinner :( Oh well.

My trip has been easy and problem free (knock on wood). I spent a few hours this morning walking around Chicago, my future place of residence. I am determined to live there for at least some time in the near future. I waled around Navy Pier and then walked to Millennium park and Grant Park. It was beautiful and very relaxing. And I even got sun, even though it is a square on my neck, i'll take what I can get.

I made new friends this summer that I didn't expect. Some that I will be able to see at school and some I won't. But I am so grateful to them for making my summer worthwhile. I don't think they know how much I needed them, I guess I should tell them.

Triathlon!!

2009-07-14T11:20:00.003-04:00

I got a message from my roommate Brittani this morning, via facebook, asking if I wanted to do a triathlon in October with her and a friend. She is the only person that has been able to convince/get me to commit to doing something completely foreign to me... half marathon (which unfortunately all our group was hurt and couldn't run), teaching english in Taiwan and now a triathlon in Lake Powell.

Earlier this summer I talked about wanting to do a triathlon and then put it to the back of my mind. Well, leave it to Brittani to bring this up and spike my interest again. So here I am, looking up training programs for triathlons, wishing I have been running more since I got home.

Hopefully this will get to be my view while swimming.

Reunited

2009-06-20T23:58:00.002-04:00

On my drive back to the east coast this summer I left my beloved water bottled in a hotel. I believe it was in Kansas City, MO. For the past month I have been without it. I don't know how I made it through because I had that thing with me all the time before. But good news, I finally found a place in Annapolis that sells them and I got another one. Whoo hoo

Oh and...

a. I move back to Annapolis on Mon. So happy to be going home.

b. I started filling out my application for Taiwan.

c. I am looking at schools for psychology. I just have no idea where I want to go.

Dreams

2009-06-20T10:59:00.004-04:00

Lately I have been dying to go one a trip to a tropical place. Hawaii or the Caribbean I don't care but I just want to go there. Ugh, I wish I could just run away.

Wakiki Beach, Hawaii

Some place in the Caribbean

Compliments

2009-06-10T17:12:00.002-04:00

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo F. Buscaglia

Well today I was at Target getting some random things. I was browsing through the home section, my favorite section of all, and this guy stops and gets my attention. He said he saw me earlier and just wanted to tell me that I had a great smile. Well being the smooth person as I am, I just stand there say thank you and have no clue what else to saw. He introduced himself, I think his name was Robert but to be honest I don't remember. I was not really paying attention just was flattered that he came up to me to compliment me. Needless to say, I'm not very good at the whole meet new people, them compliment me and start up small talk with them. But I was still flattered and quite happy with myself after he left. I definitely needed something like that to change this pesky, horrible mood I have been in lately. It is not very often that something like that happens to me and when I does I am a little out of my element

UPDATE on my life!!!

Well lately I have been considering moving back home for the rest of the summer. I am currently in Alexandria living with my sister and working at Ouback. But I am making basically no money at Outback and need to make more money than what I am right now. So I am planning on going back to work at Mike's Crab House near Annapolis, as long as they will let me come back and have a spot available. I am looking forward to laying by the pool with Allie, seeing friends from high school and just relaxing. I am still going to take it easy this summer and enjoy my last real summer.

Also, I am still contemplating grad school, in psychology, so that means...

a. I have to start looking into colleges, again!

b. I might have to take more classes that will fulfill some requirements for a psychology masters

c. I have to start studying for the GRE

Obsession

2009-06-10T10:17:00.002-04:00

For a long time I have loved Vera Bradley. It has been an east coast thing so when I moved out to Utah I forgot how much I loved it. Now that I am home I have resurfaced my affection for it. I just hope my bank account can handle this!

Taiwan

2009-06-01T22:52:00.002-04:00

I am trying to decided if i want to go to Taiwan and teach english for six months. I have no plans for when I graduate in december and this would start at the very beginning of january. I would get paid plus have rent, airfare and food stipend provided. It sounds like an awesome deal but I am nervous about going there to teach english and not know the other language at all. I have to decide soon because I have to put in my application soon. Let me know what you think!

Last Day of Work

2009-04-22T01:30:00.002-04:00

Tonight was my last night at the Marriott. I am going home for the summer and cannot be more excited.

It was the best and worst night of work for me.

The bad... I almost passed out 4 different times. It was bad. I kept trying to be okay but every time it would kick me in the butt and remind me how feeble I am.

The good... President Monson was at the banquet I served!!!! I did not get to meet him. My manager gave strict instructions not to make ourselves obvious to him and get his att

ention. So I was a good worker and did what I was told. But I still got to listen to him talk about printing, which was his profession before he became an apostle. It was so great, excepts all those almost passouts were right before and during his speech. But it was still amazing to be in such proximity.

All in all, a great night that I will not forget :)

Moving!!!

2009-04-18T23:29:00.003-04:00

Instead of studying for my finance test, I decided to start packing. Looking back on that decision, I should have just studied! I knew I had alot of stuff, but man do I have a lot of stuff!!! It is the never ending mission to get all my stuff packed up.

I am pretty sure if it wasn't for my roommate and I sharing a moving truck and my dad coming out to help me move my car would look like this driving across country...

Classic I know! But I think you are really underestimating how much stuff I have. I have a shopping problem. At least I know about it, but unfortunately I am not doing anything about. Let's just hope I find a man that can handle my "retail therapy." :)

Oh, and another fun kicker of the day. I found out that the girl I was going to live with wants to have her friend live in our apartment next year too. Great, fantastic, except it is a ONE bedroom apartment that is actually meant for a married couple. Her grandma owns the apartment so she stays there. Rent is wayyyyy cheap, but I don't know if I can handle sharing a room with a total of 3 occupants!

Hilarious!!

2009-04-18T01:37:00.001-04:00

I came across this on my friend's blog and I just had to post it.

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to Dad. With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad:

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion. Dad she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy. In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,
your son Adam

PS: Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's
house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life
than a report card. It's in my center desk drawer.
I love you.

Call me when it's safe to come hom

Love life

2009-04-15T22:25:00.002-04:00

There are times that I take for granted the amazingness that I have in my life. And then there are times when I am humbled to remember why I am here.

The end of semester is time for teachers and TA's to get their last word in. Normally it is advice for our futures within the realm of the subject they teach. But at BYU it is so much more. Not only do I get the advice from concerned mentors, advice learned through their mistakes or observations, but we get counsel on topics such as humanitarian aid, service, love, the Gospel. Two specific times this week have I learned of the importance of the individual in the overall plan of this life. The need to give to others. "To comfort those who stand in need of comfort." Stewards over the land, and our brothers and sisters.

It is times like these that I am grateful to be at BYU. To appreciate all that is given to me; the knowledge, the love, the companionship and most importantly the Spirit. Never have I been happy for snow in April. It covers the mountains, my car, the grass, everything. But after my test review, and after the words of my TA expressing her belief in the need to help one another, I can not deny that something as beautiful as the mountains covered in snow can be horrible. Yes, I like the warm more, but I get to appreciate all that my Heavenly Father has created.

In that moment, I knew without a doubt, that everything will be ok. Finals will come and go like they always do. I will stress, I will study, I will pass. Maybe not quite as well as I wanted, but it won't kill me. Life will go on. My life is so uncertain with each passing minute that it worries me. What will I be doing this summer? Next fall? In December when I graduate? All uncertain and open to anything and everything. But none of that matters. I know why I am here. I know who I am and who I want to be, though not completely the same at this moment. Things will be ok. NO, they will be great! They will be exactly how they are suppose to be and it will be amazing. Because I know where I am ultimately going.

More importantly, I know there are others that are in greater need than me. People in third world countries that live off of a dollar a day, people struggling with internal problems, medical problems. There are so many that make my problems seems miniscule. There will always be a reason to put off service or help. But there will not always be enough time to say "I'll do it tomorrow." Do it now. Just do it.

It is times like these, that I mentally bow down and thank everyone that has helped me. My family, my friends, my teachers, strangers that influence me. I thank every one of you.

Sorry, I don't normally go on such a rant, but I felt strongly about this right now and had to express it.

BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-04-13T23:39:00.003-04:00

I came to the realization earlier this week that I have taken a trip every semester that I have been at BYU... Chicago, Florida, Norfolk and Vegas. Seeing as next semester is my last semester and my 22nd birthday in October I have decided to go to...

Wakiki Beach, Hawaii :)

I think I will be there for about a week and will get a sweet deal from Marriott, man do I love working there :)

I am really looking forward to it and think it may be the best time of my life, that is until I go to Italy

Media within our lives

2009-04-08T02:58:00.004-04:00

The following is an oral history project I did for a class this semester. I interviewed one of my mom's best friend's since she lives in Utah. It was so great to sit down and talk with her and to hear stories of her past. She has had and survived 3 different kinds of cancers (it might be 2) and has lost some of her memory, but some of the things she told me were very interesting. I especially love to hear stories about her and her husband Bill.

This is Carolyn. I must say, once a southern bell, always a southern bell.

Interviewer: Susan Williams

Interviewee: Carolyn Drees

Location: Carolyn Drees’ house in American Fork, Utah

Date: March 13, 2009

Carolyn: It was so new uh the thing that my grandparents had was a record player; it had to be back in the early 30s. They had one of Bing Crosby’s first records that he made and uh we had um a lot of things like that where the big stars got their early start and uh by the time I was 5 years old, music was a big thing. My two older sisters took music and I think, uh until I could I read, they would teach me the songs to all the popular songs of the day and I can still remember to the time when I was 5 years old and we used to listen to programs on the radio the music by people like Paul Whiteman, who was one of the most familiar and still is one of the most famous orchestra leader at the time. It wasn’t a hobbs earnal orchestra but a dance orchestra. And uh we didn’t have, I think I mentioned, we got our first telephone back around that same time and uh I don’t know if this will be of any interest but uh I think it’s interesting thinking back on it, when we moved into the area of south Atlanta, we moved into an area that had never been populated before. My grandfather was a builder and he built the house for him and across the street he built a house for my mother, who was his daughter. And that’s where I was born and that’s where all of these things in the family played a role, but the city of Atlanta was suppose to incorporate the area. It’s not more than about 5 miles outside the city of Atlanta so, but uh the plans were that this area would be taken in as part of Atlanta and uh so when we lived there, my parents lived there for 13 years and we never did get roads. They were just scraped roads with big road equipment and the county chain gang would go out there and wipe the debris off the road. They weren’t more than trails. But the whole time we lived there, and I was 7 years old when we moved, and they hadn’t got to paving the roads yet. So um we had gotten electricity sometime when I was very small but I can’t remember when that was. But I can remember when we got the telephone and for a while there was the party line, you probably know about the party line. It was where 2 or 3 people had the same telephone number and uh usually you would have a phone call that your neighbors would listen to and oh, you can’t be interested in this.

Susan: Oh don’t worry about it, what did you do when TV came out?

Carolyn: I went over oh, that was after I was married, I was married in the last day of 1947 and so in ’48, TV became famous, but not everybody had one. And I wasn’t particularly interested in it from that stand point because I liked to read and to study and I didn’t know anything about the people that starred on TV. Anyway, so um my first experience with TV was in an apartment house in Chicago, well it wasn’t exactly in Chicago it was a mile or 2 away from the Midway airport where my husband worked. There was one family in a four family duplex that had a TV and so uh, the folks living underneath us kept that turned up all the time because you would just hear all this noise and clapping going on. But we actually didn’t have a TV until we moved to Denver and Holly was born, Lynn was 2 was when we got our first TV and uh, oh I didn’t get hooked on it like a lot of people did because I liked to listen to historical programs, things like that, that would be boring to most other people. I liked serious music and uh, I liked good swing, that sort of thing and there wasn’t a lot of that on at the time. Uh, I remember the elections starting back with Franklin Roosevelt and uh my dad was not a democrat and he was living in Chicago at the time. His work kept him away from the general home most of the time, he was moving to different places all the time. I remember the first time I voted was when I was married. Bill and I were living in Chicago and I voted for, someone that didn’t get it. I had the tendency to be more accepting of things from the, have you been taking a nap have you (Directed towards her dog)? Oh this can’t be interesting for you.

Susan: Me? No it is. I love learning and hearing stories about people and their experiences and stuff.

Just quick random question, did they do a lot of advertizing for the war through the radio?

Carolyn: For the war?

Susan: Yeah for the war.

Carolyn: Yeah, oh yeah everything was uh was pertaining to different people, the broadcasters at the time were stationed at different places overseas and there were constant programs and everyone was glued to the radio and then the TV afterwards.

I’m not making must sense right now, am I?

Susan: No you’re fine. Was there any big event that you remember from, I don’t know, I’m trying to think, was specific media you were interested in, maybe papers did you read that a lot?

Carolyn: There were only two local papers in Atlanta when I lived there and grew up. And let’s see, I suppose that I was too busy studying when I was in high school to read the newspaper, because I wasn’t somebody that could open a book and have a photogenic memory and remember everything on the page; I was up till 2 or 3 in the morning, but I did glance through the papers because there were interesting things in the paper. I remember when I was small and the Lindenburgs baby was stolen. That was interesting to people all over the world. It was a long time before they found someone who did it, or they thought did it, but it turned out it wasn’t the one that did it but he knew the person that did. I didn’t get to many movies because they didn’t have that many movies in neighborhoods at the time where you could get to, and not everybody, not every single person had two cars. My mother, who learned to drive when she was about 16, said my grandfather never did forget that. Mother said that when he was teaching her to drive and she was at the wheel anytime for a long time after she had learned to drive, he kept the passenger side door open so he could jump out any time she made a mistake and anyway. I’m not being very helpful, Susan.

Susan: No you are fine, I am trying to think of something that will jog your memory

Carolyn: When World War 2 broke out I was in high school and I can remember when the, uh pearl harbor happened, my dad had the radio on early one Sunday when that happened and shortly after that there were a number of boys that I knew in my high school that joined and there was one of four brothers who were in, who got in the navy, they weren’t the famous ones that got killed in action but two of them from my high school and several others lost their lives and I can remember a boy named Robert Crow that I sort of, well my parents didn’t let me date, but I had a soft spot for Robert but, he didn’t know I was even alive, and he was killed in the beginning of the war because he was flying and they didn’t have a very long time to learn how to fly like we do now, sometimes it was two weeks to the month and then they were out on their own and of course the airplanes were not like they are now.

Carolyn: One thing about uh radio too, as well as I can remember, I can’t remember they had commercials.

Susan: Like they do now, every other song they have a commercial.

Carolyn: Oh no, I can remember when I was married they had regular commercials, but when you got a radio program on, you got a radio program…I can remember a lot of orchestra conductors, some of those people are around now, I’m glad they are, because I’m not as old as they are.

Susan: When did you start, uh, what am I trying to think of, I just lost it, I do the same thing as you, I can’t remember it.

Carolyn: My memory has been gone for the last probably 6 months, but I remember everything about my background. I remember the people I have met, the friends I have, which weren’t many, my mother didn’t want me to play with anyone because she didn’t want me to learn anything ugly from them.

Susan: What did you say about when radio came out, what happened?

Carolyn: Well I was wondering how come it took them so long for it too come. I thought we were we were really fortunate to have that. I used to lay on the floor in the living room and listen to everything that was on. I still remember now all the programs that were on.

Susan: What kind of programs were on?

Carolyn: Like I said, Paul Whiteman was a very famous song writer and wrote for orchestras so I remember his music and I remember Amos and Andy, they were two guys that did black face comedy; they were hilarious. And I remember major bosse, who had the amateur show he honestly had people on there trying to sing and do whatever they did and they were lucky if he didn’t give them the gong before they were finished. Later on we had the entrance of the soap operas that made big hits for a long time. You could never get too much of the soap operas you had to hear how they got out of all their problems and they lasted for 30 or 40 years. And we used to listen to some of the news reports, I didn’t care much about them but my parents did.

Susan: You said something about history stuff. You said you liked to listen to history programs

Carolyn: Yes, but I can’t think of what the title of the program was but uh they were, I can remember especially it was on Sunday they would spread the whole foundation for what the story was going to be like, what it would be. They would talk about some long dead kings or talk about people who had special powers to do certain things and uh, and I used to love to listen to musical programs because I have always loved music.

Lost

2009-03-06T02:43:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been thinking about the different types of relationships I have in my life. I can't help but realize that I do not have any strong connection to anyone out here in Utah. Sure I have my roommates, social friends, school friends, church friends, but where are my run-to-when-I-am-super-down-but-can't-explain-why friends? In VA and MD I had a core group of friends that I could always turn to when I needed them. Here I tried that, but they all got married! So now they all have hubbies and I barely get to see them let alone vent to them. And not many people really know me here. Part of this is my fault, I have not tried very hard in making friends here. I always get shy and not many people will take the time to really get to know me.

Tonight I listened to You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban. I would always listen/interpretive dance that song with my best friend. But here, I have maybe 2 or 3 people I could do that with. And only one is not married! People are so caught up with things going on in their own life that I do not feel like they have time to really get to know who I am, not who the surface susan is.

I continue to tell myself, wait until I graduate and move away, then things will improve, but will they? Will I learn how to open myself up to people enough to create a solid bond? I desperately want to get out of the bubble of provo/ happy valley, but I do not know if that will improve my situation.

Bottom line, I just want someone I can sit down with and talk to for hours without even realizing how long it has been. Talk to someone on a more personal basis without trying sugar coat things or worry about them judging me. I guess this is why I have a blog, to do this and not feel like I am impeding on anyone.

Why I go to college

2009-02-25T17:30:00.002-05:00

In class today we talked about personal finance. Investment was a big topic. It was brought up right at the end that ladies should not rely on their husband and not be able to support themselves. He told of someone that holds a respectable calling in the church that is cheating on his wife. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? If I was the wife, I am pretty sure he would not be able to walk and/or have kids ever again in this life! But the point was made that we, women, should be able to support ourselves if the time comes. One of my biggest pet peeves is to hear that a girl is here at BYU just to find a husband. Why spend thousands of dollars if you are not going to use it? And what happens if your hubby isn't who is was when you were married. I am not about to sit back and let myself be walked on in that situation. I am a strong believer that you should not be totally dependent on any human because they are faulty and do not follow through with everything they say they will. Well, there is my cynical side for you!

CONING!

2009-02-24T20:01:00.003-05:00

In high school my friends would love to go coning! You take a construction cone and put it on someones lawn. Well last semester I "borrowed" a BYU police cone and had it in my trunk. Friday night me, brittani and beth decided to make use of it! It was a spontaneous activity, which i love more than anything. We coned good old Josh! I was way into, maybe a little bit more than the others. If we weren't on asphalt i would have done a 007 roll. We were putting the cone in front of his apartment and we forgot to be quiet. We knew he was not home, but his roommates were. Needless to say Rob opened the door and I screamed like a little girl, jumped up and started running down the hall (i saw taken earlier that day so I blame the jumpiness on that)

What to do in Provo

2009-02-20T16:06:00.003-05:00

There are many times I ask myself what the crap is there to do in Utah? Well, it seems every time I always end up finding something to do.

Valentine's weekend was a fun filled weekend, which included a no-boys-allowed tent!

Ben Kweller Concert at the Depot in Salt Lake. I love hanging out with my Marylanders :) It makes me so happy.

Hot tubbing with the girl's on valentine's day <3

Tent and movie came afterwards. I normally hate valentine's day, but it was so amazing to spend it with friends and just act stupid, and be a girl!!!

Imagine this: its sunday after church and its naptime, you start to think about sleeping in your bed, but just then you remember... you have a fort in your living room calling your name. Needless to say, my favorite sunday naps are the ones in my forts!

I strongly believe in the whole rest on sundays because when else do you get to just lounge around, be with friends, have no worries in the world, and know that its what you are suppose to do on that day and you don't feel bad about neglecting your homework. But once you have to think about mon., it starts to go down hill :(

This weekend, will be just as much fun, and more to come later!

So Grateful

2009-02-06T15:18:00.003-05:00

This week at work we have a group called "Ski for Light" and many of them are blind, disabled and some are even blind and deaf. I cannot begin to tell you how eye opening this week has been for me. No matter how stressed, angry, sad, depressed or anything other not happy emotion, I still have all 5 of my basic senses. But even with there disadvantages, on the whole they are some of the nicest people I have met. You can imagine how they can be bitter towards life, but they are not. They embrace it, they GO SKIING!!!! I don't even do that! It is wonderful to see the strengths that some people have.

On another note, I can't wait for them to leave. I work tonight, tomorrow morning, tomorrow night till 11 and then Sunday morning at 3AM!!! AHHH its crazy. But all in all it is wonderful.

I am grateful for seeing so many sights... these are two of my favorites... Sunset, Number 1 time!!!!!

Lightning Storms, Utah does not have them, but Maryland, oh so wonderful!

Wow!

2009-02-04T18:13:00.003-05:00

.
So I will admit, I found out about this by eavesdropping on someone else's conversation yesterday, but the phrase "Why Mormon Girls Stay Single" is going to catch, a single mormons attention! So I went to look at it, and I personally found it entertaining. My roommates didn't like it too much.

They use church acronyms... and I can't figure out two of them so if someone knows them, please let me know... C.S.L. and W.M.L.

Check it out-- www.whymormongirlsstaysingle.com

Fun Times

2009-01-28T00:52:00.003-05:00

I got a phone call earlier today from Nicki saying she needed my help. She was helping another friend with a photography assignment for class. He was taking bridals in a studio and she was to be the bride. She said "you know I can't zip the dress up by myself!" So naturally I went with her. We got there about an hour late, and didn't start for another 45 min. after that. But it was so funny to watch because they were totally posed! I hate posed photos. They both said how much it was not there style, but he had to do it according to the assignment. There were times that I just laughed because, and Nicki I love you, but she is not good at serious faces! And some of the serious ones she half looked tough and half crazy! But she was gorgeous, like always! And total feat... She fit in her wedding dress!!!! Not many brides can say that after 6 months! YAY!

Here's us on her wedding day. Love you Nicki!

BYU Basketball

2009-01-23T02:37:00.003-05:00

I have learned to appreciate college basketball. I started out at a school that had no football, so our love was basketball. Homecoming and all major sporting events were basketball. And it helped that we were good... GO ODU! (I'm still a monarch at heart)

But now that I have football my basketball attendance has dropped slightly. But thanks to Nicki, and the fact that she goes to see Nate cheer helps me get back in the spirit. Last night's game was intense. We were doing so good, but like true BYU nature, we CHOKED! UGH why?? why? why? Oh well. I was a way intense and good game.

And even funnier story... Me, Nicki, and Nate were coming up the elevator from the ground floor and were with all the UNLV basketball players. One guy (mind you a tall guy) randomly says "I need a shower".. well the smart allelic that I am debated within myself whether or not to comment on it... well my sassy side came I and I looked up at him and said "Yeah you do." The expressions on his and his teammates faces were priceless! Totally priceless.

I finally took pictures for once. They aren't amazing but there are with amazing people. And please note the glasses and dark hair. I re-invented myself. I am growing up and realizing that I am so I am starting to think about what will look good as a professional. Let me know if you like it.

My bestest. Love you <3

And my favorite married friends.

Winter Adventures

2009-01-16T17:20:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday some friends and I went snowshoeing! It was quite an adventure. None of us had gone before, but it was a total blast.

This is the view from further up the mountain. How beautiful is it! I know I hate on Utah a lot but I can't deny how gorgeous this sight it. It is not water and beach but it has its own beauty.

The girls and our snowshoes on! Getting them on was an experience all on its own.

We tried to hike up to a big waterfall, but took the wrong path. But we still found a waterfall. Some people said to keep walking up and there would be a "small" waterfall. They we not kidding when they said small. But it was still pretty.

There was a lot of falling involved. But never try to push someone down, because they normally take you down with them. Brittani found out the hard way!

Sorry!

2009-01-16T01:00:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in a month! Ahhh I am horrible at keeping up with things.

So school has started again. Classes are a doozy, like always. I am working with Operation Kids for my 421 class. They are an awesome organization that finds charities that deal with children and steer donations towards them. They work with organizations or clients that are looking to donate and they find charities are putting the money donated to good use. I am excited but definitely nervous. I actually feel like a PR major this semester, instead of a print journalism.

A big change... I dyed my hair brunette. Pictures to come, as soon as I take some of my new hair. I love it! Its a change, but I think a good one.

My best christmas present...

I got a MacBook! One of the new ones. It is so amazing and nice!

Christmas tim is coming...

2008-12-13T17:49:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that it is December and finals time. It is almost Christmas. I love Christmas. I love the colors, the lights, the spirit, the birth of Christ. Christmas is a time where more people are generous and I LOVE christmas music. And movies! What else is better than... spread Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear!

Another great thing is Christmas in DC!!! I am so privileged to live so close

Finally...

2008-12-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Twilight

2008-11-21T19:48:00.002-05:00

Ok so don't judge me, but I went and saw Twilight at midnight. I had no desire to see the movie. I only went because Nicki asked me and it was a reason for me to hang out with her and Nate refused to go! But I have to admit, it was AMAZING! And when I say amazing, I mean I can't wait to go see it again. I am not in to vampires and such. One time I went to see Chocolate, a vampire movie and it was horrible, so I was not too excited about this one. But I have to give to the author, way to go. I have not read the books so there was no disappointment for me. I am excited to start reading the books. Ugh. I can't stop thinking how good it was. And you better believe I am seeing it again, and soon!
While waiting for the movie to start, a couple got engaged. The guy called for everyone's attention and called someone to come down. I said that it would be funny if proposed, then they looked at each other and he got down on one knee. CALLED IT! ha it was kind of cute. I would NEVER want to get proposed to in front of anyone. I want it to be a personal, intimate time with my future husband. But hey, everyone is different. So way to go them!
Another great thing happened today. I got to have lunch with a friend from home that goes to the U. It was so great to see her. I miss her and am so happy that we are able to stay in touch. We got caught up with girl time and just talked about life and changes and not knowing what we are doing with our lives when we graduate. It is weird to think that soon I am not going to be in school anymore and have to get a big girl job! AHH! I'm not ready for that!
Dinner and a double feature tonight with Beth... High School Musical 3 and James Bond. Two opposites but i am excited for both. I heard Bond is not that good compared to Casino Royale. But I hope it is still good!

Obsession

2008-11-18T19:06:00.003-05:00

I blame my mom on my home decor obsession. I remember going to home stores with her when I was younger. Although I hated it then, its my weakness now. Every time I go to Target, I HAVE to look at all the home stuff. I love antique stores and cute shabby chic stores. There is an awesome one on State Street in Orem just before Center St., when going North. I don't remember what it is called but it is a cute house on the left hand side. It is filled with tons of stuff. I die every time I go, which is quite frequently.
My newest obsession within the home decorating stems off of my desire to have my own apartment. I cannot wait to decorate the way I want without worrying about roommates and such. I might possibly be able to live out that dream next year... we shall see, thats another story all in its own (maybe more to follow later on that). My new love... tablecloths, table runners and napkin rings. I was in Florida last month and one of the girls' house had the cutest table runner. So now I have tried to find cute ones that I like. But I have run into a problem. What color scheme do I want? My options:

a. black tablecloth, cream runner and napkins and silver rings. Very basic and classy.

b. Red/ brick tablecloth, black paisley runner and napkins and same silver ring as before. I could not save the image of the tablecloth but it looks rustic and way pretty.
c. Black tablecloth, yellow runner and napkins and silver ring

I couldn't find good pictures for the last two options. I just don't know what to do! Help!! :)

Blog Surfing

2008-11-17T21:21:00.006-05:00

Well, I finally sat down and allowed myself to write another post. I wanted to last week, but I had so much other stuff to do I wouldn't let myself. Last week Stacy tagged me in doing a blog surf to see what else is out there. So I did. It was interesting to see the things that a few other people blog about.

The first blog was from some in Brazil. I am assuming that because I could not read it and the only word I was familiar with was Brazil!

The next one was of a man and his love for dogs. He talked a lot about adoption and other dogs that need or have been adopted recently. But he has is own, Arthur. He was given a sugar pumpkin and tried to eat it. Surprise, Surprise. Dogs try to eat everything.

His latest post was a bunch of pictures of different raised food dishes for Arthur. There were quite a few on there , but this is my favorite one! I would never get them but they looked the most interesting.

The next blog was a business by Kara. It is called Krafts by Kara. I really like her new frame and I am tempted to call her and order one from her!

The last blog that I looked at was of someone from Australia. I think he was into photography and there were lots of pictures . He took pictures of some really neat landscapes and skies. I picked my favorites. Now it is Ronda, Nicki, Leni and John's turn to go blog surfing. Just click on the next blog button at the top of the screen next to the search button.

A unlucky 11.11

2008-11-11T21:07:00.005-05:00

Whoever said 11.11 was lucky, is not my friend! About 2 weeks ago my foot started to hurt. It was just below my toes, where the toe bones join together, that bruising and swelling began. It hurt to walk. My roommates finally got me thinking into going to see a doctor. I normally just wait it out and if it gets really really worse, then I will see a doctor. But I know how long it can take for swelling and bruising in feet to go down. I want to start training for a half-marathon and in order to do that I need my foot to get better. Well I went to the podiatrist today and he took an x-ray of my foot and the verdict... a stress fracture in my second toe. There is not much that can be done other than waiting it out and stabilizing it. I do not mind the waiting it out its the stabilizing that I do not like. Want to know why... because I have to wear this for 3 weeks :( I guess I can't say I have never had a real injury now. The worst until now has just been a silly sprain.
The ironic part of the day was I went to return some shirts and buy different ones, and I bought new shoes. I can only half enjoy them. But my thought process is that I have to make the left foot look nice to compensate for the big block on my right.
And here are my new shoes... :) They are so comfy and warm. I cannot wait to wear them! On my way home I had to stop and get Ibuprofen and an ace bandage to wrap my foot. Well, I was feeling a little down, angry and sad about my foot. I needed something to lift up my spirits. Rite Aid has all their christmas candy up and I walked through and found my FAVORITE. Chocolate cherries. Well anything chocolate with a red fruit (strawberry, raspberry and cherry) I love. But really, i really love cordial cherries!

All in all i guess it was not an absolutely horrible day, but it was not at the top of the list.
But today I was very productive, but not in my school work. I went to the doctors, did a little shopping, got my oil changed, cleaned my room (it was much needed. I can not study in my room if it is messy, so I had to clean it) and I did laundry. I guess eventually tonight I will have to start my homework for real!!!

Cougars!!!

2008-11-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

I have come to LOVE BYU football! I cannot imagine a better way to spend my Saturdays. I am so grateful to finally be at a college that has football, sorry ODU i love you , but you do not have football! It is a time I spend with friends and to show my school spirit! Saturday was the last home game of the season (I have been trying to make this post since Sat., but there were some technical difficulties) We won against San Diego State University. I still have hope that we can make it to a better bowl than Vegas... all we have to do is be UofU :/ I believe in my Cougars... sooo bring it on!
I finally took pictures, at the last game. So have a looksy :)

Roomies <3

My Darrren... Im gonna miss him a lot when he is gone :( but he has to graduate sometime

My favorite married couple!!!! I love you guys so much. Thank you for being part of my life

Me and Josh take some awesome pictures... we are so photogenic and gorgeous

Football group!!! too bad Sean is in the shadows... and Beth's eyes are closed

November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T18:13:00.004-05:00

So i spent the afternoon making my blog pretty! I hope you like it. I should have been studying, or doing something else, but I really didn't want to.

Also, I just want to say how much i love going to the temple. It is always so peaceful. You really do leave the world behind you and and just focus on your relationship with the Lord! Yay. Nothing else makes your day quite like that.

November 5, 2008

2008-11-06T01:27:00.000-05:00

I told myself for a while that I would never get a blog. That I didn't want to be this easily accessible to others, but now I just think it is convenient for friends and family to see what I am doing. Let's face it, anyone that knows me knows that I am horrible with staying in touch. This will change that. So here goes...

So today a new president was declared. Barack Obama. The first black president. To be honest, I don't follow politics that much, and I hate when people fight and argue about it. This election I had no strong passion for either candidate. I have found I have little faith in what officials say they are going to do, because when they get in that seat, it changes completely. They see things differently and have a first hand knowledge of different rules and regulations than when they made those promises. I am praying that Obama can change our country around. We have been know as the most powerful country and now that is slipping away from us. Our country needs someone that will unite us and guide us to improve the country and ultimately the world. Good luck Obama, you have your work cut out for you!

Another history making thing for 2008 elections... Proposition 8!!! I am so happy that it was passed. I struggled with the idea of taking away someones right to get married to the one they love. Although the proposition does not take away any rights, the sealing factor and knowledge that you are MARRIED to someone is a huge deal. I never want to take away someone's agency, but when it interferes with the church with such magnitude as this, I had to. The effects it would have on the church were monumental. Once I decided to follow the prophet, I never feared that it wouldn't pass. Heavenly Father would never let something so negative happen that would set the church back. It is the true gospel and nothing will keep it from growing and completing its tasks. I am grateful to know that marriage is between a man and a woman, but I respect others opinions.

On a lighter note... YAYYY for Lance Lance! The Fall Collection was performed tonight with one of his own compositions. Although he will say he didn't like it and it was not good, I totally disagree. It amazes me to see other people talents. I would never be able to compose a piece of music for an ensemble and have it all work together and to have the vision and ability to reach the end result. I played music all growing up and in my mind the music I played was only created by old guys that lived many years ago, man was I wrong. So way to go lance, thanks for opening my eyes.