#grass is queue‚ sky is red‚ etc.

[sheepyships-archive]

Stickers And Sweets

summary: some gojo satoru self-shipping headcanons with small drabbles sprinkled in for the headcanons i favored/had more of an idea of.

warnings: major spoilers!!!! trauma/angst

genre: fluff and cheesy stuff, angst/comfort

a/n: i have been simping for this man since i started juju, and even before that. look i watched episode seven today(lmao the second of january was when i started writing this) of jjk and i am... simping. ALSO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG MY WRITING BRAIN IS DUMBB

-i don’t have a concrete idea on how we meet

-but i’m thinking that if i am a jujutsu sorcerer, we probably met at jujutsu high?? for him it kinda just... formed from afar

-gojo pegs me at the time to not pay attention in class, and would get into trouble for that, despite having absolutely perfect grades and doing completely fine in the class

-(he’s a jokester too, but won’t be annoyingly distracting, “people like that are annoying, and probably won’t get very far as a sorcerer, or at life in general.” he’d say)

-he sat at one side of the classroom and i would be sat at the other, and he quickly noticed that his gaze would shift over to look at me, lingering for a moment before breaking it away with a light blush

-but eventually, when seating was changed(i don’t know how it works where juju is set so just work with me here), he was set to be seated by me, and that’s how we start talking

-slowly it starts with him asking for a pencil, pen, eraser, etc. and while i was reluctant, i let him borrow one

-he always gave it back with a small sticker on it, and i continued to let him borrow the pencil, more stickers being put onto the pencil

-occasionally, as this continued, he’d grab my attention during class and pass me he sticker sheet, pointing at one of the stickers with a raised eyebrow

-‘this sticker today?’ is basically what he was asking

-before we became comfortable with each other i’d be confused and nod slowly before watching him as he put the sticker on the pencil, it made me smile faintly and i’d nod as a thank you, he’d just grin and nod back

-but eventually as we interacted more and became more comfortable, he’d continue to put more stickers on, but would ask me which sticker i want first instead of just picking one and sticking one on

-which i didn’t mind, he had a good taste in sticker sheets

-when he chose a sticker, i’d either smile and nod in agreement, or shake my head and point to another sticker with a small pout

-this makes him chuckle and place that sticker on instead, he could feel his heart swell and he just felt... happy

-it became our own little thing and would happen when we had class together, and this is how we would silently interact with each other

-that was, until he started to actually talk to me or distract me with topics outside of school and studies, quietly whispering to me whenever we could

-this would get us(mainly him) into trouble

-“do you think alligators can sleep?” “gojo please, you’re smarter than me. i’m not a top student or sorcerer like you are, so please let me study.” i say while cracking a smile, trying not to start giggling at his dumb comment

-“hey! i was just wondering..” “mister gojo and miss [insert my last name fuck you], is there something that you want to share with the class?”

-queue gojo being like “😎 nope.” all confident and cocky, while i’m sinking in my seat, “no, sorry.. 😰” i say apologetically

-when the teacher returns to what they’re doing, i smack gojo’s arm gently and huff, he just chuckles silently and ruffles my hair

-he definitely enjoys teasing me, but he’s also a lot more... softer with me in general

-he becomes a lil protective, since the jujutsu sorcerer world is dangerous, so he always makes sure i’m in perfect health and that i am okay in general

-at first he thought the gazes, the little inside jokes, and teasing and conversing were all just from his little crush that had formed, and that he would get over it

-but then it didn’t go away, it continued to grow more. when he realizes that it doesn’t go away, he himself is shocked at the fact, but keeps it hidden

-you can just picture him with his chin resting on his hand and his black sunglasses lowered somewhat on his nose, looking down at me and zoning out as he was studying my movements

-his piercing blue eyes are half-lidded and he has a blush growing on his usually pale face and fingers, and his face feels warm. but he’s content

-he’s brought back to earth by me either tapping his shoulder to ask him if he’s okay, since he’s been staring at me for so long (which makes him most embarrassed because i caught him staring, but he’ll try to brush it off)

-or by being called out by the teacher for distracted in class again and to answer the question, which annoys gojo but he answers it quickly

-shock to the teacher of course, because satoru gojo was just staring at me and not paying attention to the class discussion at all????

-truly a mystery that he’s so smart... yet never paying attention...

-but the teacher doesn’t dare split us apart because despite the fact that gojo may not listen, and i get distracted by him, we work well together

-this is especially evident in group/partner projects

-we goof off, but get the work done and get (almost)perfect grades

-eventually, we start to meet up outside of class/school, where he’ll take me on small adventures to local shops, to either look around, or he will buy stuff for us(like treats or more stickers), and since it’s usually crowded wherever we go, he will hold my hand to make sure i don’t get lost

-“we don’t need you getting swept up in the crowd, shortie.” “fuck you and your abnormally long body.” this makes him laugh

-he always enjoys going out and getting sweets because this is where he starts gaining his sweet tooth, and enjoys seeing me munching on them happily and having a delighted time, even though they probably aren’t good for us, to him it’s everything he ever dreamed of when going on a date

-wait. date? silly gojo, this isn’t a date!

-gojo always had to remind himself that this wasn’t a date, he was just dragging me around places, like friends do!

-right?

-eventually, gojo’s crush becomes much more than a “crush”, he is now head over heels and in love, as much as he wants to deny it and brush it off

-this results in more teasing, more stickers, y’know the usual just happens more, but now satoru wants to hold hands, cuddle, etc., his arm will almost always be wrapped around my shoulders and will rest there whenever we’re with each other

-even though we aren’t in a relationship, it becomes a common thing

-once the pencil we share is covered up with stickers, we move onto putting stickers on other belongings we own, or onto each other’s faces, arms, or hand during class, but we have to be sneaky about it so the teacher doesn’t notice

-part of him wants to confess his feelings, but the fear of being rejected and possibly ruining everything holds him back for awhile. but he’s observant and will watch for any sort of hints or see if i feel the same

-he’s able to notice the differences there are when we interact versus how i interact with others, like close friends, or with strangers, and it helps put him at ease, and he finally gains the confidence one night and heads to my dorm

-when he gets to my door and raises his closed fist up to knock on it, he pauses and stares at the door, beginning to have second thoughts for the first time in... well, awhile.

-’is this the right time? have i been reading her wrong? what if she actually doesn’t feel the same as me?’

-he shakes his head and smacks his forehead, but freezes upon realizing how loud the ‘slap’ noise that was, ‘well, it’s now or never.’ he thought before knocking on the door finally

-when the door opens, i peak my head out and look up to see him, a smile immediately forming on my features as i greet him joyfully, gojo could feel his face heat up and his shoulders tense up, but he grinned nonetheless

-”c’mon, i wanna take you somewhere.” “oh boy, where are we sneaking off to this time?”

-he felt his heart swell when he heard we, like that’s how it was supposed to be, he held one of his hands out and put a single finger up to his lips. “you’ll see..” he whispers, grinning at me raising an eyebrow at him before taking his hand, “suspicious bastard..” i mutter jokingly

-he would lead us outside, not too far, just out to a small field where the stars were bright and clear in the sky. he sits down in the grass and raised his glasses up, a gentle sigh falling out of his lips as he places them on his head

-i sit down close beside him and wrap my arms around my legs, “this seems a little.. odd, i was expecting somewhere more crowded.” i joke with a laugh, he chuckles and his arm falls over my shoulders

-”yeah, i know, but.. i wanted to ask you about something, and i didn’t want tons of people around us.” he says, a frown forming as his eyes narrow and a hint of hesitation is in them, which is out of character with his usually confident and laid back nature

-i immediately become worried, scooting closer to him, letting our shoulders brush, “gojo.. what’s wrong? you seem.. nervous, is everything alright?”

-“satoru.” “huh?” “call me satoru from now on.”

-i blink in disbelief, quietly muttering the name in shock before i raise my hand up to my mouth and giggle, delighted at the fact i can call gojo, well, satoru by his first name now

“why are you laughing?! this is serious.” “i know, i know! i’m just.. happy that i was given permission to call you by your first name, i think satoru is cute..”

-queue satoru going red before a sudden surge of confidence overrides his original anxiousness

-he reaches over with both hands, gently grabbing one of my hands and placing his other hand on my cheek, staring down at me as i look up and make eye contact with him

-“that’s not the only thing, you have the opportunity to be my girlfriend too. if you would like to, of course.”

-i gasp and blink again, staring at satoru’s piercing gaze that was filled with determination, but also fear

-we sit there for a moment in silence and satoru feels his stomach drop down to his feet

-“please, say something.” his voice is just above a whisper, thumb moving along my cheek, letting his cool facade down to show a more vulnerable side of him

-i lean up and kiss the very corner of his lips before pulling back, “i would love to.” i say, and before i can say more, he tackles me down onto the ground into a hug

-i giggle and snort, but snuggle into him, letting my eyes close as we hold each other for a bit longer

-time skip to many years later: we are both teaching at the tokyo metropolitan curse technical college, he’s now the strongest jujutsu sorcerer and i am like his unofficial sidekick, but also branch out and do my own thing(like missions, training, etc.)

-we are definitely just as love with each other as we were when we first got together, if not more. even if years have passed, it still feels like it was only yesterday that we officially got together, and our feelings have only grown ever since high school

-leaving notes, stickers, treats, etc. is still a normal occurrence, and we never really grow out of the habits that we formed during our time in school

-(yes we still keep the pencil, fuck you)

-since i don’t really teach any classes, i will find him before he has to teach his class and goof off like usual

-he will be sitting in a seat that’s backwards with his arms wrapped around/resting on the top, and i will be sitting on a table in front of him either talking about our days, missions, events that are going on, you know the drill

-during these moments i’m usually combing my hand through his spiked up hair, or putting stickers on his face or hands, despite the fact that he has a class to teach in like fifteen minutes

-but he keeps them on, he isn’t a pussy

-“if someone has an issue with them, they can sort themselves out because i’m not doing anything wrong.” —satoru gojo about the cute hearts and stars stickers on his face

-before he has to go teach a class, i will kiss his cheek as a good luck before he heads off

-when he has to go on a mission that will last a few days though, i make sure to help him prepare for it, and sneak in a few sweets for him

-when he returns he always and i mean ALWAYS sneaks into our shared apartment, i’ll be cooking and focused on other things when he comes in as quietly as he can

-he sneaks up behind me before placing both hands on my sides, making me jolt and look up at whoever grabbed me just to see satoru

-“YOU ASSHOLE I ALMOST SHIT MYSELF!”HE CACKLES AT MY REACTION EVERY TIME

-“sorry love, but your reactions are just priceless!” he says, kissing my neck and cheek before holding his hand out, which has a few of those left over sweets i had snuck into his bag

-“will you accept my apology with these?” he asks with a grin as he looks at me, i roll my eyes with a smile and take one, “i’ll consider it.”

-he feigns a hurt look and places his now free hand on his chest like a drama queen, “you sure know how to wound a man, my love! but you also know how to make a man weak for you too.”

-“my lord satoru, i think your sweet talking is the one making me weak.” satoru grins once more and leans against me, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me

-“we’re weak for each other.”

-on missions where either of us get hurt or go missing, we will panic

-satoru tends to be a little late coming home because he’s just stupid, but if he’s gone for later then usual, i will try to text him and make sure he’s okay, but he ends up always walking through the door right after i text him

-usually he’s completely fine and maybe has a few scratches, but when he comes back and has more wounds than usual, i will sit him down on the couch and patch him up

-”SATORU YOU HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL I KNOW YOU’RE STRONG AND ALL BUT I DON’T CARE-” he just watches with a dumb grin, just letting me rant as i patch him up

-but in the end i hug him and tell him again to be more careful, which he complies and hugs me back

-when i get hurt, if it’s nothing major he’ll just kiss the bruises/scratches, but when it’s more major he completely drops everything and will rush over to me and take me out of the situation we’re in

-specifically if it’s a fight with a cursed spirit, he will pick me up bridal style and escapes with me, more focused on getting us out of that situation that we were previously stuck in

-when he gets to a safe spot, he’ll make sure i’m not in critical condition before pulling out his travel sized med pack(yes i headcanon he brings one on missions we go together)

-this is the only time where he’s actually panicking, he’s cursing under his breath and chewing his bottom lip to prevent himself from cursing to himself under his breath, trying to patch me up as quickly as he can but also being wary of possibly hurting me more

-once he finishes, he sits there for a second to make sure i’m okay, and that no cursed spirits are around before setting me down softly and jumping back into the fight, ready to beat the shit out of the cursed spirit that fucked me up

-he returns back to my side in seconds, able to fight the cursed spirit a lot quicker since he was running on ANGER, but he picks me up and gives me a piggy back ride back to our home, he lifts his blindfold up to his forehead and looks back at me

-a wave of relief washes over him when he sees that i’m asleep with my head resting on his shoulder, he relaxes and smiles before turning forward and continuing home

-when i wake up i’m in bed and he’s laying beside me, passed out with his head buried in the crook of my neck, i smile and run my hands through his hair with a sigh

-anyways lets move away from angst bc the angst took over for a sec

-whenever one of us wakes up, we’ll put stickers on each other’s faces and wait for the other to wake up and the stickers will go unnoticed, or, as time goes on, we’ll feel our faces for stickers

-satoru always makes stupid doodles on post-it notes and will stick them everywhere

-’see you later honey-bun. <3′ with a lazy doodle of him with a peace sign

-”what a dork..” i mumble as i put it in my book collection of all the cute post-it notes

-SOMETIMES HE MAKES IT A TREASURE HUNT AND WHEN I FIND THE “TREASURE” IT’S ONE OF THE TREATS HE BOUGHT ON HIS MISSION AND SPECIFICALY ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITES

-he comes home seeing me munching on it and walks over, wrapping both arms around me and kissing my cheek

-”enjoying the treasure?” “yeah, thank you..” queue satoru kissing my cheek again and making me flustered before i kiss his cheek in response

-we are in love, and that's it

-(he proposes on valentines day, if you’re wondering ;))

#🍡sweethearts . since . highschool 💌 #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #sylvie . writes ✎ #❀ romantic . f/o

[elevenhoursinfront-blog]

26th March 2017

The alarm went off at 0700. I was straight up to get ready. I woke Steve up but he could stay in bed for an extra hour if he wanted to do so. I hate that men take so little time to get ready, I wish I could be up and ready like them. I showered, washed my hair and shaved my legs. I meant business today! I had to get ready in the communal bathroom as everyone was still asleep in our room. The bathroom is stupid hot so I wasn’t looking forward to getting ready. I was hot from my shower already. I dried my hair and straightened it. By this time, I was bright red like a tomato and sweating from head to toe. I had to sit down in my room to cool down. I cant put makeup on with a SULA! (Sweaty Upper Lip Alert, in case you didn't know). 

Hair did, makeup done and dressed by 0845... I said to be down for breakfast by 0900 - I'm early. We went down and made some toast. I took advantage of the 'free breakfast' to make our lunch, too. I made ham sandwiches for the afternoon prior to the race as Steve was bound to be half dying from starvation and we had chicken, rice and peppers for after the race. Must. Remember. Forks. Thanks to the backpacker that left their fresh ham in the free food basket! Every hostel has a basket of food that people can leave if they don’t want it and/or moving on. You have to check this often and quickly as the good stuff goes fast. Mel found the ham and took it for us. It was a fresh expensive pack and she's vegetarian. She's a good’n. 

We finished our breakfast and sorted out our bag. Water, towel, food, jumper, lunch and dinner, GoPro, phones and tickets! We left and headed to the tram stop outside Flinders Street Train Station (lovely building, I will get a picture soon). There were loads of people going in the same direction. I love it when there's a massive event going on, the likelihood of me getting lost is minimal because I just have to follow everyone else. We squeezed onto the tram and headed towards St Kilda Road - Gate 8. The majority of the people on the tram got off at the Grand Prix gate 8 so they must've had the same idea as us. We stood in the queue for about 20 minutes. We were early so that would be why. The queue was ridiculously massive already - two streets long. We had to go over a bridge before getting into the gate. As soon as it hit 1030, the line was moving. It wasn't a slow moving line either so we were at the ticket barrier before 1045. Our tickets were scanned, our bags were searched and we were in! 

The skies were grey but Steve said it's meant to clear by midday. I was counting on that. We walked around for a while, looking at the stalls. We went over to a Merchandise stall and looked around. We bought a cap and programme. I was getting excited. It looked just like your average UK festival with Heineken tents, burger stalls, Police and Ambulance everywhere.

After our walk, we went to find our seat. I say seat like I could afford the $5,000 seat by the start/finish line... I meant the cheap one on the grass. We picked turns 9/10/11 area and it was on a hill so we could have a good view of the track sitting down. It was right by the front, too. We put our towel down and chilled out for a bit. They had pre-race entertainment. Other races were on-going, not that I knew what was going on. We had a good view of the TV, too so it was a perfect spot.

By midday, as Steve said, the sun was burning. I forgot sun cream. Honestly, I'd forget my head if it weren't screwed on... I forgot forks, too. Even though I remembered in the morning. GREAT. None of the stalls had plastic cutlery either, it was all finger food. God sake. 

Steve wanted to go for a wonder so I said I'd stay and sunbathe. It was annoying that there was only two of us, we couldn't go off together. I laid down on the towel and before I knew it, my phone was ringing. Steve said that he had just met Mark Webber and wished he had our programme there with him so he could sign it. Plank! 

Steve was on the opposite side of the track to me and we were waving to each other. I took everything out of my handbag that was important (Mac Lipstick, GoPro and Phone), put it in the backpack and went for a walk. 

If our towel and bag goes, then so be it. But I couldn't sit there for another 6 hours! We would find another spot if it gets taken.

I walked over the bridge to Steve and we went for a wonder. They had a lake in the middle of the race track in Albert Park. There was a bridge for people to walk over, thankfully. It was the weirdest bridge I had ever been on though. It was inflatables stuck together on top of the water. It felt like walking on a plastic water bed. I can't explain it. If you jumped, the water would ripple. The water was rippling anyway as there were so many people walking across at any one time. It gave a great view though, of the CBD. 

We wondered about the main part - the big screen TV, the Melbourne Walk (where the celebs walk past), the show cars etc. We stood at the Melbourne Walk for a while to see whether anyone came past, like Mark Webber again. Steve was the only person who knew who he was. The rest of the crowd was like "That's whats his name?". Steve had to tell them all.

Nobody past us for a good half an hour of waiting so we walked about again. We looked at the Jaguars as Steve wants one (a lad can dream). We took a few photos and headed back to the towel to see whether it had been taken. A few hours had past so I was sure it would've been. It wasn't... My bag and towel both in the exact same spot as I left it. I doubted Australian's. If that were England - gone within seconds! We sat down and had our sandwiches with a beer that Steve treated me too. It was roughly 1 hour until the race started. The planes were all out doing fancy patterns in the sky. It was great to watch, their formation was so good. After that, the fighter jet came out! It was so loud, it made my belly rumble. The ground was shaking and it was miles away from us in the sky. I got good videos of it but no video will ever show how amazing it was in real life. I was shaking from it!

We were out of water so I sent Steve to fill our bottles up. Australia has hydration stations almost everywhere which is brilliant considering one bottle is like $5. He returned, with no water and two Magnums... He is completely hopeless. They were thoroughly enjoyable in the heat though. We just sat on the grass watching the planes and listening to the commentary on the tannoy.

I then left to find water as Steve would probably return with two more beers if I had sent him. I found the hydration station after about 15 minutes of looking as lost as anything. I also found the Ambulance station where they were giving away free sun cream! Hallelujah. I mean, it was probably 4 hours too late at this point but anything is better than nothing. It was also 50+ so it should help for the next 4 hours of sun. I smothered myself in it and poured a heaped amount in my palm. I tried to carry two bottles of water and a dollop of cream in the heat over a hill. Then I had the difficulty of finding Steve amongst 1,000 other people. I found him eventually, and he smothered himself in cream. I put a load on the back of his neck and made him wear at hat backwards as it was bright red. I'm so thoughtful! 

The Australian National Anthem played and everyone stood up. We felt obliged to stand up too so we did. It was then announced that Dan Riccardo couldn't begin the race due to a faulty car from the practise lap... Aussie's were not happy. Before we knew it, the race had started. Two laps in and Daniel managed to start. He wouldn't get anywhere two laps behind but he couldn't not go in his own country. The little boy I was sitting next to was extremely happy he got to see him race. 

Hamilton was second to Vettel, who I placed a bet on to win. I wanted Hamilton to win obviously but his odds were like $1 as I mentioned. Steve's bet was out before the race had even started... 

At lap 47/57, we left our spot. We headed over to the main screen where the Melbourne Walk was. If we were going to get an autograph, it would be there. We watched the end of the race from behind the track - we could see the seats of the rich watching track side. We were behind the podiums which was better than nothing. Vettel won the race and I won the bet. We watched everyone running onto the track celebrating. Red everywhere! After about 40 minutes of the race finishing, they pulled the celebration poppers releasing all the confetti. I managed to catch one yellow strip and Steve caught a green one from the air. I put them both in the back of my phone case so I can always say that I caught them at the Grand Prix celebration.

We were one of the first at the Melbourne Walk but it started to fill up quickly. I'm pleased we got there when we did. We were right at the front. We were alongside some die-hard F1 fans which was half annoying, half good. They knew most of the staff and security by their first names and managed to get people over. They're obviously there every year without fail.

We waited about 2 hours and my feet were killing. I wanted to get my programme signed for my Dad. Standing in the sun at a gate was not enjoyable at all. It wasn't until Marcus Ericsson came out. He signed my programme and I was very happy (not a clue who he was but Steve said hold it out so I did). When I was about 3, my dad had stood in a queue for a teletubby teddy that I wanted for hours. This was returning the favour.

After Marcus, Felipe Massa came out. Again, not a clue on this guy but Steve said to hold it out so I did. Happily, he signed away. That was two autographs on my programme! I was almost ready to leave, I had been standing there few hours and it was 1900 already. The after party was starting and people in massively expensive cars started to turn up. The cars were that expensive, they were probably worth more than my house and life if I'm honest.

The die-hard fans told us that the two cars parked in front were for Daniel Riccardo and Lewis Hamilton. I was waiting for this! We were only allowed to wait until 2000 when the gates would start to close. Before I knew it, Daniel was standing in front of us! I was absolutely gutted when he missed out my programme. He must've signed about 20 but not mine. I was upset because he was the first person I knew of and it would've been nice to get his autograph. Never mind. 

We saw David Coulthard and Alonso too, but they didn't have time to stop for us... They both appeared to be massively miserable. We saw Nicky Lauda who got into a car but waved to us. Grosjean cycled past us, too. To confirm, I still haven't a clue who these people are. Steve is listing them for me. He told me when to hold to book out or not. 

It was dark and cold. I put the hoody on and I was seriously knackered. It had been a long day and we still had dinner to eat. The die-hard fans were talking to security. They were talking about how horrible Hamilton is now - that he used to be lovely before he got too famous and became an arse. He does what he can to avoid people but apparently, he's trying to change. Hamilton didn't come out for us which was a massive shame. His car remained parked in front of us but it got to 2000 and we had to leave. 

I rang my dad straight away to tell him how our day was. He's an F1 fan so he text when he woke up to see whether I enjoyed it. We jumped onto the tram (after asking someone for help like your typical tourists). 

We got back to the hostel by 2100 and microwaved our dinner. It was Mother's Day back home so I managed to quickly call my Mum and Stepmum. I love speaking to family, it's so difficult with the time difference. 

All in all, an absolutely brilliant day. I couldn't believe how much I had enjoyed it. I'm so pleased with my programme even if I have spilt my strawberries on it and ruined the top right corner (I was devastated, sorry Dad). We were both exhausted, in bed and out like a light before 2300.

[thewesbrown-blog]

Kansas City

There she was. Sat on the backseat de-clawed, de-fanged and drugged out of her mind. The car came scudding in towards The Dreamland Motel, summer 72 and Smokey the wrestling bear riding in a pink Cadillac. Earl Black pulled up, one thumbless hand on the wheel.

Harley Cage was wearing aviators and a leisure suit, hazy in chassis gleam. "Get in," Earl stretched for the passenger side door. "She ripped the truck apart. I had to belt her up in the back."

"Well I’ll be damned," Harley said. “She's happier than ol' Blue layin on the porch chewin a big old catfish head."

Harley was one of the toughest guys in the business. His in-character and out-of-character voice sounded exactly the same. It was enough to make grown men quiver. He had beaten polio as child, shaken off cancer and survived several near-fatal car crashes he mostly caused. Nobody would ride with him. He got in the car.

Earl was wearing slacks and a t-shirt with a bear on the front.

"You're a kooky ass guy, do you know that?" Harley said. "Crazy as a pet coon."  

Smokey was famous. She had wrestled over three hundred matches. Most barely lasted a minute. She starred in films. Earl let her wrestle on set with film stars like Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin. Football players like Rod Marinelli or Dick Butkus. Everybody wrestled Smokey. She was only six-two and three-hundred but was regularly billed as eight five and six-fifty. This was wrestling. Showbusiness. Smokey was a special attraction and got Earl Black booked across the mid-South. But the act was getting old and the shows were drying up. Earl had side-lined himself. Everybody said so.

Harley growled at the bear, "Who you looking at beautiful?"

Then looked sadly at his flannel jacket and gold medallion.

"The boys keep ribbing my threads."

"It’s because you wear the same Goddamn suit every day,” Earl answered. “You look like Iceberg Slim."

There was a bottle of dog shampoo on the creamily-upholstered backseat above the sheets of bedding and Smokey snored, drool windswept from her snout.

"There’s even a lizard on the circuit now," Harley said. "Some punk is wrestling gators in the Great Lakes."

"Assholes."

"You need to change up the act. Keep yourself fresh. Everybody’s looking for the next big thing. One guy has a snake in North Carolina."

"What do I do with Smokey?"

"Send her to a retirement home, a circus, a zoo. I don't know. Just let her go out the same way we all do, on top."  

"People love Smokey," Earl responded angrily. "People don’t just see her as a bear, a special attraction, she’s a character. A worker in her own right."

“I’m not trying to ride you or nothing.”

Smokey sat up. The rear-view filled with the small black eyes, rounded ears and long snout of the three-hundred pounder he rescued from the roadside as a cub and called his daughter. They had a lot in common. Both had been orphaned. Both ate five thousand calories a day and they could share the same meals.

She wasn't the love of his life but he wished she was.

They drove passed El Dorado falls. There were ranches, hikers in the distance, and a waterfall. Before he was a wrestler, Earl was a merchant seaman. He sailed the world for five years. He was scouted in a gym in New Zealand and found work ever since. He went country to country, territory to territory.

Smokey fell asleep again, ramrod straight, still dozy. Paws rested on her grey-pink belly, racked with nipples. Earl was the son of a clergy-man. Something about the sea, like the night sky, scared Earl and he liked it. The immensity. The sense of the infinite. The road felt the same way. The great pink ship of his Cadillac sailing down the highway sky stretched out before them. This was life on the road. The wilding sun. On the long straights the car streaked into a blur.

"Wichita was hot last night," Harley said. "Some hillbillies tried to invade the ring and we had to fight them back to the dressing room."

"I had similar in Calgary but I got caught in the top rope. They’re loose up there, you know? A woman wrestler laid out a lumberjack with one punch."

Earl’s spoke in a low monotone staring at the road.

"Anyway, when I got back to the dressing room a pair of twins were waiting for me. Russians, I think and I made a real pig of myself," Harley stroked his whiskers. “How about you? Any luck?"

"Not lately."

"You got to get yourself out there. I bet that thing is a pussy magnet."

"She's been a good friend to me. That's for sure."

Earl turned on the stereo, Wichita Lineman. I hear you singing' in the wire. I can hear you through the whine. Smokey, paws waving, bellowed.

"Please," Harley groaned. "I’m hungover."

"You’re always hungover."

"That’s because I’m always drinking," he growled pilling his cap over his eyes. "You should party, you know? I'm serious, I worry man."

"Most music is just noise to me. This is a real song. Smokey likes country. It seems to keep her amused. Bears have a great sense of humour, you know? They like to play around."

"I’ll bet."

"They do."

"They also stink of shit. I think the bitch has shit herself."

"Of course she has."

"It's rotten. I might puke."

"It's natural."

"It naturally stinks of fucking shit, hombre."

Smokey sat up hearing raised voices. The car rock and rolled. Her long sloped snout, mouth half open, grunted a moan. When her massive head moved it was animatronic and fabulous, night shade dark

Harley gagged and quivered.

"Let me out dude. I'm gonna retch."

"We'll be there soon."

"Let me out."

"We don't have far."

Harley pulled a snubnose Smith & Wesson from the glove box and pointed it at Earl's head.  

"Jesus Christ, motherfucker." He yelled. "Stop the Goddamn car."

Earl slammed the brakes. The car drifted in a skid-marked half moon, prairie dust rising.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" He bashed his fist on the dashboard. “For Godssake. You trying to get us killed?"

Harley doubled-up, Smokey roared. Then he puked. They sat wordless in the spun-out vehicle. Brake pads scorched. Earl checked on Smokey and then walked into the flatland. What could he do? Harley was a veteran. He couldn't risk being kicked off the show. He had Smokey to feed. A luxury flat in Wichita with a swimming pool, floral wallpaper, a refrigerator, etc.

Bushes, loamy grasses, silt. The afternoon sunshine was overwhelming. He walked in the heat to cool his anger. The flies buzzed static. He stopped for a whiz by a wire fence where a wooden sign read Keep Grassland Free: No Government Acquisition painted with the kind of psychedelic styling, hand-lettered, like the placards of the peaceniks who protested outside shows, only to tell him what he already knew.

Animals are humans.

A shot fired. Greyish-brown topsoil spun. Another shot drilled past his trouser leg. Harley laughed smoky-eyed. Then he fired again.

"You're an asshole!" Earl shouted. "Do you know you're an asshole?"  

At five forty-five they arrived at The Memorial Hall. Outside fans crowded, trying to get closer to Smokey. Earl pushed past. The hippies were waiting with animal rights slogans on placards. The venue hosted Pink Floyd last night. Thursday was All-Star Wrestling. The first of the month was a television taping. The matches would play across the state on cable. There would be three and a half thousand people in the arena. A hundred thousand watching on TV. When they parked up, Earl chained Smokey's muzzle and walked them to the stage door.

Who would stop them?

Harley carried his bag in silence. Earl wheeled his luggage in a duffel bag, all black.

They hadn't spoken for nearly forty minutes. They had spats like this. It was part of riding with Harley. He was always getting them in trouble with promoters for being late because he got them into a scrap with truck drivers or rode around a hundred miles an hour.

He didn't have to be buzzed to go crazy.  

"You're not still hot because I goosed ya?" Harley asked. "It was a prank for God's sake. You know I'm a good shot. I was aiming for your trouser leg."

"What if you missed?"

"I've shot squirrels between the eyes as they jump tree to tree," he laughed. "I'm the best Goddamn shot for twenty states."

Earl scratched his head so he had a reason to not make eye contact.

"These slacks cost nearly fifty dollars."

"You'll earn nine times that tonight."

They entered the locker-room making sure to shake everybody's hand, softly, almost not-touching. They were only practicing the illusion. A queue formed and the boys greeted her like a dog. The promoter had ordered a bucket of meat and salad from a nearby diner. The room was large and bright and Earl began to undress and re-dress, pulling on his black tights and sitting down on a cantilever bench he laced up his knee-high black jackboots with a skull down the side.

Harley sat across the bench changing into his new red trunks. He had three-quarter boots, hockey socks pulled up to his shins. He rubbed baby-oil into his grizzly body. He told Earl his theory that the soft slick would gleam right through the tube. Colour-transmission changed everything.  

"I don't believe it," Harley spoke into his hand. "I'm down to take a clean fall against The Coyote. Jesus, that guy is the shits."

"Isn't he the promoters nephew?"

"Damn right."

  Running order, match length, and results were taped to the door. Earl pointed at the card.

"He wants me to go ten with Smokey."

The first bell had rung. The show was under way and the locker room looked like it would before a football game, a team of guys talking through high spots interspersed with wrestle-talk, what was going on in other promotions, who they should look out for, who was getting over.  

Trainees were running ring-jackets back to the locker-room. Stage-hands. Now and then, the ring crashed with a slam. The crowd came in a crescendo and sounded like day-trippers going down a roller-coaster. Earl barked at one of the trainees to change the sheets on the backseat of the Cadillac. Smokey would shit about five times a day and constantly sprayed the upholstery with piss.

He sat there drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Smokey was feeding, face-deep in the bucket.

Ted Walker, the promoter, introduced himself and they all shook hands. He had a white beard and uneven tan lines. Walker and his brothers had served in the Vietnam War. He was part of an underwater demolition team.

"Do you guys have everything you need?"

"Smokey likes a Coke after her match."

"We can arrange for that."

"Make sure it's in a bottle, please." Earl said without eye-contact. "She can't drink out of a cup and things like that can make her cranky."

Walker looked him in the eye.  

"Anything else? What the hell. I can get her a bowl of porridge too if you want. I'll make sure it's just right."

"She doesn't like porridge," Earl said with no sense of irony. Walker glanced at Harley circling his finger round his temples.

"Have you got anything different?" Walker asked.

"I don't need anything," Earl said.

Walker looked at the tattoo on Earl's name reading 'Rebecca.' "I don't understand why people get tattoos," he spoke like a sergeant, "Who is it? Some darling?"

"She was my daughter," Earl said.  

Then he spent a few minutes doing free squat and push ups, working up a rhythm. Blood-flow.    

When he got the call he led Smokey by the muzzle down the walkway. There were two-tiers of fans already cheering her on. At ringside he asked for a mike. Then he told the crowd nobody was man enough to wrestle him. Earl Black was a specimen. All the women in the audience should go home and wash the dirt from their husband's fingernails because this is what a real man looks like. The crowd booed. He held his hands to his ears and squirmed. Boos, louder. Somebody threw a can of soda. It just missed his head. A smile shaped on his lips.

The referee kept his distance near the corners of the ring. Earl circled his opponent. They locked up in the middle of the ring. Smokey up on her hind legs, toe to toe. He grappled her with one arm over hers and the other slipping inside, trying to knock her down. He slid his forearm across her snout, wet-nose streaking down his arm knowing one whip of her head could break a rib. Smokey knew how to do a flying mare and used it, multiple times pulling Earl by his neck. Earl rolled. The crowd cheered. Smokey clambered over him and he had a face-full of smooth-skinned belly. Her six nipples rubbed over his face. She was lightly-odored maybe even a little cat-like. She smelled like home. He swung his weight out from under her and took her head in a grovit, burying his face in her fur, the blue-black darkness. The chain was long enough to allow them to manoeuvre the twenty foot by twenty foot square ring but easily tangled about Earl's feet. This is how his thumb was pulled clean off. Without him having to look, Smokey swept his legs from beneath him and he tumbled to the matt. He grabbed the referees legs who fell comedically over him and everybody laughed. Smokey lay her bulk across the Earl's chest and the referee made it back to a conscious footing to count the three. The crowd half cheered, half sighed.

Smokey sat down, grunting, on her rump in the middle of the ring enjoying a Coca-Cola from a glass bottle, fizz on her cold wet nose.        

Earl somehow knew then it was over.

That night they were headed back for Wichita. Earl had read in a guidebook that Kansas was named after the tribe meaning "people of the wind". He had tried to tell Walker but he pretended he already knew. Harley had been staying in The Dreamland Motel for three weeks and had six more left in Missouri. Before this, Harley worked Florida, Kentucky and Texas before then. He was always in demand. Earl had done the Missouri circuit for five years, since she died. Going round in circles. He led Smokey to the car and sat her down in the Kansas City dusk. The sky was a purplish dark, rivulets pinked in the clouds. A brown moth scattered across the bonnet.  

Harley came a few minutes later, a couple of blondes on his arm, kissing goodbye. The Russians, Earl guessed. He watched him run across the car park and vault into the pink Cadillac, throwing his overnight bag in the backseat.

"You'll rip my damn wing-mirrors off," Earl said.

"Harley has still got it, baby."

For the first few miles they didn't speak. The whole journey would only take about two hours. They were soon past Wilson Lake. There was already nothing here. Bush, desert, telegraph poles, leafless trees. Smokey sleeping in the back. Earl turned the stereo on. I hear you singin' in the wire. I can hear you through the whine.

The song relaxed his mind and he thought about his car. A 1956 Cadillac DeVille.

A two-door coupe.

Automatic three-speed gear box and he didn't care he was doing near one-hundred mph in the dark.

Facts like this eased him. He liked to recite them. Over and over.

"I'm a simple guy," he began. "I don't want to be recognised everywhere I go. I don't want a thousand women hanging off my arm. I don't like people taking liberties."  

Harley turned his head.

"I have your back buddy, don't you ever forget that."

"My back? You like me driving you around."

"What?"

"Nobody else will ride with you."

"Here's something you might not like to hear. I can get a ride wherever I like. Goddamnit, I'm so hot right now I could get Walker to drive me there by limousine while I entertained a whole troupe of Kansas City Chief's cheerleaders," Harley said. "I ride with you because I'm quite of the few guys who likes you. I get it man, I get what you're going through."  

The night was chilly and now totally dark. Already ten thirty. Earl kept one thumbless hand on the wheel. Blends of streetlight captured on the pink gleam of the chassis wings almost seemed afloat. The car made a moaning sound. Brake pads still sore.

Earl answered, "I'm not going through anything."

"You need to see the bigger picture, no matter how much it hurts."      

"And what is the bigger picture?" Earl was disconsolate. "I didn't realise you were some kind of shrink now too."

"Smokey is holding you back man. In every way imaginable. You don't go out. You don't get bookings. You've let your act become a sideshow."

"She is not a sideshow."

"If you even cared about her, you wouldn't drive her round in the fucking car like one."

"What did you say?"

"I mean, she's a wild animal. You gotta let her go. You gotta let go for your own sake."

Earl pulled up. This time he snatched the revolver from the glove box and pointed the weapon at Harley. Snubnose to his head. "Get out," he said. "Get out of the fucking car."

"Whatever."

"Get out and walk."

He felt the gun’s cold scorch on his skin. His neck tighten for the pulsing metal.

"I'm going, man. You're fucking beyond help."

Harley loosed open the door. He looked back shaking his head. Then set off, overnight bag in hand, down the roadside.  

Earl sat in the car playing the same song on a loop. He couldn't get past it. Earl clambered into the backseat and reached both arms around Smokey. He thought of Rebecca. He muzzled his face in Smokey's blue-black fur finding solace there. She made a motor-like noise and they butted heads in a friendly way as if they were wrestling. She could never be his daughter. After Rebecca died he drove through deserted streets every night alone until he found Smokey, a bearcub, still blind, lapping her fallen mother, a totalled pickup rolled on its side, blood spattered like a horror scene.

Smokey moved a single comforting paw across his face, claws stubby-shorn though still scratchy and he looked at her eyes dark sadness. Humans are animals too. He opened the door, unmuzzled, she ran into the night. He looked up at the stars recalling some things he had hoped for and some things he hadn't.

This story was originally published in Ink Magazine, a periodical showcase of new work from unpublished writers.  

#wrestling #harley race #pro wrestling #short fiction #amwriting #bears #tagteam #fiction #kansas

[curiouskarenscapers2017]

As I promised, my diary I wrote and sent to my friends and family, before the awesomeness of FB and blogging, on my year’s teaching English in Taiwan. I’m not changing anything as this is what I wrote then and want to keep it that way. Enjoy!

  Welcome to the all new Taiwan Times. This publication has a limited release of once a month, so don’t lose out, get your copy now!

1 Aug 2004 – Opening Special – 5Nt$

Puffy and red-eyed I disappeared into the customs queue, only to discover they don’t exchange rands for $ on the departure side, officially I have left SA soil. Anyway, can always change it in Hong Kong or at Taipei airport…..right?

So on the Cathy Pacific plane I got greeted curtly but friendly by red and yellow hostesses and secured myself a cozy corner with, as usual, a vacant seat next to me for my guardian angle. I started reading my JM Auel novel Shelters of Stone until we were circling Jo’burg, up, up and away. The dry brown grass slowly gave way to more green lush vegetation as I flew over Nelspruit and then….weeeeeeeee the big blue Indian ocean! First time out exploring this side!! Behind me the African continent, ahead of me, the big blue unknown. Weird, about an hour or three into the 13hour flight I see land. Stretching out across the horizon. Did we turn around at anytime? I didn’t feel anything! How weird! Then I started going through my geography lessons, Madagascar is just off the coast, but that’s only an island, surely this is not it! We probably flew for over an hour and the land just stretched out forever! I couldn’t believe it, and yes it was Madagascar! It was one of the few times…..I was totally taken by surprise geographically speaking! My word, what a huge country! Mountains, sand, desert looking areas and tropical fringes as we neared it’s east coast. Well, I will have to come visit this place soon!! I thinks it’s bigger than the whole of Taiwan, I’ll check and let you know!

Then …….only the wide blue expanse known as the sea. How small I feel now, like a mozzie hovering over a swimming pool…..an Olympic size swimming pool! Started reading my book, when I discovered everybody busy watching something. Now because of my position in the plane I was situated at an isle that does not have a seat in front of it. No TV screen except for one mounted up on the wall to my right. A safety video was playing as in our new airplanes. When it finished, I watched and waited……hmmmmmm interesting…….the guy next to me had his tray table out, wait, it’s not his tray table, it’s a TV screen. I fiddled and pulled and eventually found it hidden on a aluminum arched arm. Ha!!! Gotcha! Then the manual, yeaaah right, me and a manual……..what does this button do……….so on page 5 of the manual select this button for movies, sports etc. FINE! A few minutes later I had the world at my fingertips. My, how technology livens up a flight these days. I had a choice of Premier movies, Blockbusters, stuff for kids (only watched (The Emperor’s Groove)the lama movie once ….ok!) Games etc,etc. Watched Hildago x2 and Man on Fire once. Couldn’t sleep properly, only dozed as we cruised at 890km/h 37 000ft up. Lovely. In the early morning hours we flew over Phuket, what a sight!!! It looked like an alien life form sprawled out web like on the black velvet. The city lights outlined the whole island, small insects attached by orange byways. Then nothing. The strange Northern sky stars were visible as we passed through clouds and into clear indigo skies.

Breakfast was served at about 1 am SA time, 7am theirs and I looked down to see the South China Sea. I tired hard to spot any pirates but I think we were to high up……I could have sworn I…..no, no not to sure…… Anyway, next moment mainland China loomed and we flew into Hong Kong. Aaaaahhhssoooooooo!

As the clouds cleared a very alien land revealed itself. Mountains of Cape Town’s Somerset West area covered with lush green vegetation of KZN dotted with skyscraper clusters of white buildings. Each cluster had about 3 to 5 skyscrapers bundled together to form little sky scraper honeycombs of apartments. Difficult to see how high they are but any of our buildings look like squatter camps compared. My eyes can’t focus well today as I think I’m still sleepwalking, but roughly 100 floors up, divided by a central horizontal level, others look like they have a base of a shopping center with 5 spikes of apartments on it’s back.

As we flew in we crossed an amazing bridge that looks like thread holding the supporting beams up. Like those forms we used to make at school with threads around the nails in a board. Stunning. Lot’s of boats and freight ships up and down the harbour entrance.

It looked as if we were going to land in the sea when you suddenly see the runway jutting out into the sea…..coool!!!!!

You don’t get the impression that’s it’s over crowded here at all. Lot’s of green. Actually reminds me of Jurassic Park – Ilsorna Island. The temperature when we landed was 27C. The airport is huge, over 80 gates. This is why I say everything happens for a reason, I land at gate 66 and my departing gate is 4. So if it wasn’t I would have to walk from one end of this massive airport to the other!!! To see the shops, take pictures at every flowerpot because they have orchids in them, for pa etc. Definitely walked off the 13hours. This is a shopping paradise! Duty free is to die for! Went to the restrooms to freshen up and found an addition to my other novel I’m compiling – 101 ways to flush a toilet throughout the world – Today we tried the “self flushing” function, or what I like to call the “auto pilot flushing function”. Please check your packaging before purchase to make sure the box reads APFF, if it does nor say APFF it does not have APFF (Intel jingle here). Walk in sit down, stand up and leave – flushing will occur automatically/by itself……..cooooolllll!!! Ok, ok,ok just one more time!

Anyway, sitting waiting for my next flight to my island destination! They have an announcement system…wat skrik vir niks! A lady’s voice with a posh English cum Irish accent is used on the recording (like our voicemail on the cell phones…you have one new message…) It announces passengers still to board, but instead of the lady saying the passenger’s name a Chinese person had recorded the names and repeats it twice. Eg. Lady: Would passenger …….Chinese person: Yin Lung Chaw, Yin Lung Chaw….Lady: delaying flight CX450 to Beijing board at gate 4. Then everything get played again. It sounds something like Dory in Finding Nemo, speaking whale……..

Anyway, updated my report before my memory function shuts down…Don’t know how I’ll look like getting there and still going straight to the parents function —-that story’s for later! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As we approached Taiwan, 1:10min flight, 399miles/h, 803km/h, the south side of the island is beautiful, out of the exotic island books. You can see the continental shelf and islands in clear blue water, as you travel up North toward Taipei, you pass some of the bigger cities. The clouds around each city had a weird haziness to it. Like a brownish glow amongst the white. The next city darker more hazy, less cloud. Until we reached Taipei. I thought we were flying into a storm, or at least raining weather. Then I slowly realized it’s pollution. My word. As the plane descended it was like flying into a dark cloud and you couldn’t see a thing! Once we landed it looked a lot like a Durban sized airport. I arrived, through customs and got my luggage. I was met by a Chinese guy with a placard with my name on. It felt like Jo’burg airport and a bus of Chinese tourists had just been dropped off.

Waited a while, while he collected 3 other people. Then we got into a kombi/Caraval looking VW with tinted windows and little curtains…..hmmmmmmmmm. By this time my bum was numb and here I was sitting in the taxi driving to who knows how far away. And boy did we drive and drive and drive……… Eventually a further 2 hours later, back South down the island, we arrived at Chang Hwa (also spelt Changhua), the town the school is situated in. We stopped outside the Sesame School. Cute. Hot and very humid, 32C and who knows what % humidity, using my built in KZN humidity counter I would have guessed well into the 80 – 90%. I could barely get out of the taxi! He unpacked my bags and they left while I met the staff.

Jane was the girl at the reception. I also met Judy, the owner and two other teachers Nellie and Yvonne. All very friendly but I just wanted to drink water! Got an iced green tea instead….hmm refreshing!!! Then they asked me to take a seat! What!!! I have been sitting half my life…it feels like it ok!…..no thank you! I asked if I could go walking outside while they organize stuff. MacD greeted me in Chinese just across the road. About an hour later a Canadian teacher David dropped me off at the apartment where I met Jake, the security guard at the complex gate.

The area is relatively clean but quite crowded with buildings. Reminded me a lot of Nigeria, just much cleaner and neater. Millions of Taiwanese signs with no English translations greets you merrily as you look down the street, the people here are bombarded with signage and become blind to any new signage! The roads are good and at least they have robots, although a red light means yield up to a point. No stop signs anywhere.

The apartment also reminded me of Nigeria and we arrived at no 2 on the 10th floor. An Interesting ,Chinese art work, metal gate adorned the front door. As I arrived my room mates were expecting me and we all greeted each other cheerfully. Abby is a girl from Edmonton, Alberta Canada and Teri is from Parktown Joburg. I was going to be just fine. They are the coolest!! Got my room, about my townhouse lounge size, green. Sorted my stuff out and crashed on the bed.

They were going to the graduation ceremony which I was invited to, but because I had suddenly had a choice, I declined and asked if I could just lie down for a short while. Woke up some time during the night, around 7. They came back, we had a bottle of wine and started chatting away, telling me everything I wanted to know and more! Then they invited me out to their monthly jol, which I started off declining but ended up accepting….I might miss out on something man!!!

We were sorted. Teri lent me 2000NTS for now and we got a cab from the security guard at the gate. Got into the cab and Teri showed him where we wanted to go from an add in a magazine. Taichung is the town next door. Much Like Pretoria from Midrand or Toti from Durban. Communication is a bit of a hassle here as most don’t speak enough English to communicate! We eventually phoned the club and handed the phone to the driver to ask for directions himself! And we were off!!!

The Pig Pen was out destination. Cool! 200NTS to get in and the party started. NTS is about 1 – 5. So 200 NTS is about R40. I am proud to say, in my state I actually made it and upheld my reputation for leaving last! We left the club at about 5, went outside into full daylight, had a hotdog on the street for about 100NTS without the roll and got a cab home!

Teri disappeared and we got stuck with an Australian guy that was there on contract. We met some cool people at the club! American, Auzzie another Canadian and an Irish guy called Gary, a teacher at our school, and a gay Chinese guy called Twingo who works for M.A.C cosmetics. All sorts!

Danced sokkie at one stage with the American guy who was into the gay Chinese guy, as sweet as can be. He thanked me for the couple of dances later and Teri disappeared again with Clark Kent (no, only a guy that looked like Clark Kent). We supported Smirnoff by drinking Black Ice, very nice, Teri organized a few Sambuca shooters and we had a jol. People only go out very late at night, usually at about 11pm.

We eventually got home and wound up with no keys, Teri had them! So at about 6:30 in the morning Abby and I were looking for the locksmith that usually opens their door for them and we had breakfast when we couldn’t find him. The little side street eating place, was a place I think I would never have found under normal circumstances. We had a chicken pita “effek”. We went back to the apartment and crashed in Gary’s apartment for a few hours until about 11:30 when the locksmith was open, on a Sunday nogal. After about 30min we were home free. I showered, washed my hair, watched TV and slept from about 3pm until Monday morning. The girls had a braai that evening but I was left to recover, it’s the age you know!!!!

All rested and ready for my 1st day at school! Another weird similarity with Nigeria is their bread. Its sweet. There is water available outside in the street at a little pump against the wall. You buy a plastic reusable container that takes about 10litres or so for NTS70 and you can then refill at these pumps for NTS10. It’s like a self service fuel pump. Point the nozzle into the container, put in your NTS10 and suddenly the water flows. Thought it wouldn’t stop before it reached the top but, exactly the right amount fills the container and stops.

Got up had toast and started sorting my room to make it more homely. Got a table and cupboard from the spare room/store room and unpacked all my clothes etc. It is very hot here, the fan goes full blast 24/7. My hands and feet are suffering from water retention and I’m seldom hungry – good will lose weight quickly! I only need and want to drink water constantly!

I only start at the school at 1 o’clock and stay there until 9pm for the week. Can’t wait, saw pics of the school and the kids and know we’ll have a good time.

Teri has been here 1,5 years and Abby 6 months. There is a stunning place called Nanoi out of town that is beautiful, with trees etc. Not much of that around here. We’ll do that soon as I have some money. Things are very cheap here. Food etc. NTS 20 + rent NTS 3000 – NTS 5000 and a cell phone prepaid option NTS 600 with about NTS 400 free airtime. I’ll find out more about that. But laptops and cell phones are relatively cheap, a bicycle NTS 1 000 and scooter from NTS 5 000.

My first day at school – I was cool! I was assigned to Abby to show me the ropes. She showed me how the lesson plans worked etc. IDCS prepared me well for following structure! Then we went to class. About 10 Chinese kids. All Chinese here, don’t really talk about anything Taiwanese…..interesting. Kids are the same the world over! Infact these kids were very similar to many of the people I trained – so grown ups are like kids….eeeeuuureka!!!!

The naughty one, the quiet one, the over achiever, the under achiever etc.etc.etc Great fun. One of the kids, who by the way all have an English name assigned to them when they start here, Stanley was quite a handful, he’s one of those who just looks naughty before he even is! Anyway, he was getting a tad out of hand. Extremely hyperactive……….I wonder if they know about ADDS or have any treatment for that here? Anyway, Abby asked him to go sit next to me to help him relax and quieten down. It worked like a bomb. I scare them already! Staring at me as if I was some kind of a strange alien like being from another planet…….wait…..I was!!! Shame, he did exceptionally well in his little exercise we had to complete. And after him Luke joined me with pretty much the same result. Clearly Fear is not a factor for me!!

My body is doing all kinds of weird things in this hot and humid and polluted atmosphere. I’ve gone a funny swollen white, not wearing jewelry because you can’t get it off. Had puffy eyes on Tuesday morning and felt a bit queasy. The girls say it’s different for each person. They had worse!

Last night I finished at about 9, weird but nice to have a shift from 1 – 9 everyday for 3 months….or rather that’s the idea. Saturday’s from 10 – 4. I walked home all relaxed, popped in to what I hoped was a Supermarket, and it was, and checked out the stuff. Very cheap drinks etc. NT$ 8 for a cool drink about R1.50 and lots of it! Just as well I did the logo quiz that did it’s rounds on the internet a while back – because Lipton written in Chinese doesn’t say Lipton. But the red and yellow logo kind of did. We’ll get there! Very nice shop with tons of stuff. Hair colour is available for NT$ 100 (Loreal +- R20) Should have just bought it here instead of paying R50 – R70 at Dischem – all part of the learning curve!!!

There logo’s with Chinese writing is quite cool if you’re into the Chinese theme. Maybe I can do up one of my rooms back in SA with Hello Kitty lamps and hello kitty toothpaste and hey what about a Hello Kitty bed set and Ko Bo Bear toothbrush etc.etc.etc.etc.etc Shoppers paradise!

I’ve had mixed feelings about this place throughout the last few days. From – oh no it’s like Nigeria to cool food – chowfan, stunning flied lice with veggies and a surprise meat – no not that type, but sometimes it’s chicken and sometimes it’s shrimp etc. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I think I did expect it to look like a typical Japanese rural set up – the romantic version. Greenery, calmness etc etc. But I’m feeling much better about it now that I’ve gotten involved with the living here.

A note on the cars here, 90% of all cars are either some dark colour like black/blue but all have tinted windows right around, windscreen etc. – very cloak and dagger looking. Eventually found out that there is no weird and sinister reason for it, just the extreme heat. Lots of the cars also have curtains in the windows. The major ranges are, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mercedes (they call it Benz), Mazda and Suzuki. Very few BMW’s. I cry a little each time I see one….like mine!!!!!booooohoooooooooooooo

Anyway, so I had my first on the Wednesday (28/7) – a bit nerve wrecking, weird and fun all together. I felt worse than I ever did training grown ups!! The kids are a tough crowd. But it went relatively well and the Thursday double class was great! I had a ball and was on a roll! The kids loved me even the naughty ones. Probably until they know me better.

Anyway, a few new habits I had to learn quickly: 1. I leave your shoes at the door. There are always shoes everywhere and nobody takes anybody else’s….cooollll. Even umbrellas at the shops. They have an umbrella grid outside the some shops, you stick it in there and when you come out, lo and behold it’s still there! 2. Speak like an American……..yeeeaaahh right, no really, oh….ok then! This I thought would be easy, because I love accents! But after a day or so twanging and drawling my mouth felt funny! I could get away with most sounds normally, it’s all the American sounds like a and r that influence their phonics studies. The worst part is the spelling!!!! To after 34 years spell colour –COLOR killed me!!! THIS IS WRONG, did you people know that??? Flavor, Habor…..eeeeeeeeuuuuuuwwwwwwww!!! I have to force the hand to omit the u……shame, that’s why I email and do the Taiwan Times in British Based English! AND ORGANIZE!!!!!! Really!!!

I had a lovely cooler walk home the one evening in the rain. Got a nice yellow raincoat from the girls that fit over my backpack as well, I look like the Michelin man now in yellow!!! At least no car can miss me!!!

No point in wearing closed shoes or anything but slip on or strap on shoes. Totally relaxed. I was way too dressed up for here. T-shirts and short are the order of the day – this is where I start realizing I am getting older!!! Too many corporate positions later…where you have to look professional or at least smart casual. Here it is whatever the weather dictates, the hotter the less or shorter. But no strappy things allowed. I am actually thinking of getting a few dresses……eeeeuuuuuww. I think however I’ll stay with the smart casual look, that’s more me!!

Went to the shop on Wednesday to buy bread. People aren’t into bread here, weird. Couldn’t get a full loaf of bread anywhere and then to ask for brown bread is unheard of. They have a 711 where they usually buy bread from and weird pastries…but divine!!! The only bread they have is like a delicatessen where you get a bag with 6 slices of something at NT$ 37 expensive. The girls said there is a bakery down the road, will check it out sometime.

I have a favourite food!!!! Chow Fan and a lemon type juice they mix at the juice bar borough. Softly lemon tasting with little seeds in it that look like tadpole eggs. They are cool to chew!!!!!!!!! Another unusual thing here is that unlike our ice cream truck with it’s memorable tune, the garbage truck has a tune. I ran outside to get an ice cream and was instead greeted by a “trash worker” not a garbage man – trash worker

Went to McDonalds for lunch. They have a Mc Rib burger/roll meal for NT$109. Stunning – look out for it in SA soon!!! A roll with ribless rib meat on a whole grain bun – jummy!!!!

We had my first teachers meeting the Wednesday night at 8:30. A weekly occurrence. I was formally welcomed. They have a power point presentation with the relevant points to discuss and 15 min later the meeting was over. I need to teach somebody some Power Point techniques.

The kids here are still up and going to these after school classes till 9pm. Even the little ones 5yrs and up. I couldn’t believe the energy they have at this hour!!!HECTIC.

It was a stunning day the Thursday morning, I could see the mountain from my room, clear and hot. Probably because of last nights cleansing session.

The channels here are HBO, AXN, Star Movies and a few other we don’t really watch. Discovery Channel and National Geographic is in Chinese with Chinese subtitles – thanks for that!! But I can at least watch the pictures go by. AXN is like SABC 1,2,3 even changes between programmes are similar. HBO is more movies. Watched XXX for the millionth time, and enjoyed every minute! Will have to get used to it. Not much time for TV though – I’m at the school from about 10am to 9pm soon it will be 9am – 9pm, they have plans. Saturday I went to the opening of their new school. Per scooter again!!!! I’m getting the hang of it now. I need to learn to relax behind the person riding because it’s not me in control! We met with the parent as well as new students, great fun. Outside the school they decorate the entrance with huge round wreaths. It looked like a funeral palour but then I realized it is festivity wreaths. People drop it of at the school to whish them good luck and good fortune. Red and gold are the colours of luck and fortune. Parents bring flower arrangements with a red ribbon/banner with gold writing on. Very interesting. Looks like a huge party. The round wreaths are nearly a meter to 1.5 m in diameter with red, white synthetic flowers and decorations. Probably about 6 – 10 of them outside and in the street along the side walk. After that I saw them around town where ever something was celebrated or good luck was whished upon the shop or house.

Saturday afternoon at about 4:30 I was back at home cleaning up a bit with the Beagle Buddies at my heals.

I met another SA friend of Teri and Abby, Nicolene and they went out partying at about 11:30pm. I watched movies and went to bed, woke up at about 9 and was told we are meeting Judy (the owner) at about 3 for a meeting about the new school and kindergarten. We lazed around a while and took a walk down to the school. Nobody was there and we waited a few minutes before heading back home via a different route. Saw a stunning temple on the way. Will take some pics. Got to the flat and Judy phoned. We met her after 4 at a place called Hola Amigo. They greeted you “Hola Amigo” as you enter. Very jazzy, lounge type look and feel to it but very nice. Décor very Jo’burg!

Monday 2/8 was hectic and confusing. Not too organized as to the new material to use with the new semester. But a few days of improvising eventually lead to the successful end result of knowing what you’re supposed to be doing.

The girls were in a bit of a slump the last few days with all the changes and uncertainty as to what positions they are to be moved into etc. Teri to the new school and Abby taking over the kindergarten with me. Me doing the kindergarten, ESL and Sesame street. Well see what happens.

I was still hunting down banks day after day with no success.

On the Tuesday night as I got home around 9:30. I met another SA teacher. Hennie Malan. We got talking immediately and he wanted to introduce me to the other teachers not of our school – nogal Afrikaans people. An older crowd……my age! I know what you were thinking there…… Watchit!!!!! I’m looking forward to gooi the taal a bit!A new teacher Ryno from SA arrived today and he’s Afrikaans……good opportunity!

It’s weird how you substitute certain Afrikaans words for certain situations when only the Afrikaans word kan explain it. Like today I found myself telling David, the Canadian teacher about something that was VREk ver….oh sorry….very far…naaaaah not the same! What a language we have!!

Abby felt a tremour the other day as we stood in the office. I didn’t even notice although I felt weird and everything felt “thick”..don’t know hot to explain it. The air was tight/thick……weird!!!

Anyway must look at maybe getting a place of my own in a new building, maybe on the 4th floor or 2nd floor, not the 10th! Less further to fall…..just incase you know.

I’m bursting with anticipation to travel. This Hennie guy had just come from a weeks holiday in Thailand. Stayed in 5s tar hotels for 6 nigths and how much did it cost him?…..a meager NTS 5000 not even R1000!!! The deals here are apparently the best. Because of a very small apartment culture 24/7 the people want to splurge on their holidays! Will have to check that out….maybe we can all rather meet there for a week…..pack the bikinis.

One very sad discovery I made here was that people don’t EVER tan!! Can you believe it!!! EVER! Apparently it is their culture to try and be as white and pure as possible. There is even discrimination against the darker coloured Chinese people, these are usually working class, or spend most of their time outside in the fields or rice paddies. Not pure. Interesting, I’m ranking in at the sub worker level without starting!

Well, I am definitely getting a scooter!!!!! What a rush!! Had to ride one yesterday for the first time because of Teri having had a bumper bashing on hers. This is where you start it, this is where you brake, this is the petrol and here’s your helmet!!! Go!! It’s like riding a bike only I never got to the motorbike part, I skipped it for the 4wheel vehicle. But well, let me tell you, ma’s going to love it!! Wind in your hair that sticks out, helmet hair and the occasional bug in your face. Reminds me of the movie Me Myself and Irene but the freedom to get around…faster, is the best!!! And left hand driving as well…on the road…not on the scooter! Man you can’t beat it!! Better than a car here because you can stop anywhere, park anywhere etc. etc. Needless to say I got hopelessly lost and a ride that would normally take 10min or less took me 45 min! I was late for the class and it was getting dark. I said to myself, myself, I have a feeling it’s down this road, I took a right and voila it was there. Probably a block away from where I was busy getting lost. But I did find, after many days of searching the land, the bank I was looking for ICBC! A pitty that I couldn’t do my banking then, because I will have to find it again!!! I suppose that’s the best way to find your way around. The only concern I had while getting lost was that nothing is in English or the people on the street don’t speak enough English to direct you if you asked for directions!! AND no cell phone!!! I’m going to have to organize!

Just got my massive paycheck of R1000 for my 1st weeks work and had a slightly depressing evening. Got home had a glass of red wine and went to sleep. The next day I had to get to the other school again. Every Wednesday from 2 – 4. I was going to cycle there but instead….somebody…lent me there SCOOTER!!!! Wendy a Chinese teacher did! Weeeeeeee, I’m OK now! Did I mention poor Amy had no petrol in her tank left after I returned her scooter? No? well I bought her a chocolate and she refused my money. Wonder where I can go with Wendy’s Yamaha SV today AND get this it has a remote!!! No WAY!!!! Like a car remote but only for a scooter!!! What next!!!??? Ma – I’ll get you one of those! Press the remote on your way to the bike and it starts for you…..over there!! Where it’s parked while you’re over here still walking over there!!!!…teeeeheeeheeee Then you switch it off via the remote. A tweet tweet and it’s off and locked….no no really!!! Troes bob!! I just need a cool helmet!!

Went on an outing Friday 13/8 to the swimming pool. Let me explain. It’s more of a water world under roof. Two buildings. One is more a spa. They have the usual pool with 8 lanes then an extra one with about 3 lanes or so and a small section with little pools all over, with different types of spa’s. Ones a Jacuzzi, one’s salty etc. Steam rooms and saunas very well organized with little seats per person in the spa pools. The outside building has the super tube inside that ends into a big play pool. A normal Virgin Active style pool as well next to it. They have 2 cool water canons mounted next to the play pool – I had to try it out!!! Got em all good and solid!!! Who da woman!!! They begged me to stop! It’s your birthday, it’s your birthday

What a jol. I didn’t swim, we had to watch the kids! Eventually the kids were pulling up my jeans so that I could walk into the pool until knee high! Too cute!!! Let me tell you what else this spa has….but let me just take a few minutes to tell you what karaoke means to these people. The karaoke bars or rather palaces dot the country side like chicken pox. It’s called KTV bars here and they are a religion all on it’s own. Back to the spa, you might ask why Karen did you tell us about the karaoke…well dear reader in the spa upstairs where you get dressed or undressed are two very fancy massage chairs and low and behold 2 bible looking A4 sized leather books with gold writing. As I turned around, there it was. A big screen TV with a coin operated pad to select your song and two huge microphones. I took a picture. Just incase your partner on the massage chair has no music to relax to. Now, I’m not the real gung-ho karaoke singer type and will ONLY participate kicking and screaming in the name of fun. Boetie, this place is for you and your gang and Erica!! I’m sure I can organize an amazing system here for you guys for next to nothing.

This weekend I’m getting a sim card, can’t go on like this! Will let you know as soon as possible.

Well I did it, got a sim card on Saturday 14/8 on the IF network – Far East Tone and set everything up. What a feeling of telecommunication freedom. Got my number 091 740 9954 and checked out the cellular info on their packages. Very cheap and very good because there are so many provider and networks. Competition is fierce!!!

Some Taiwan Cellular info: Got my SIM card on Saturday 14/8 and their airtime expires 6months after your 1st call. 2 Packages available are the Regular and Leisure airtime packages

Peak times are Mon – Fri 08:00 – 23:00 and Sat 8 – 12 at NT$ 0.2/sec. Off peak are Mon – Fri 23:00 – 08:00 and Sat 12:00 – Mon 8:00 & Holidays at NT$ 0.1/sec You pay to retrieve voicemail at NT$ 0.06/sec. But they have a chat room on the network and a multi way chat room where up to 20 people can chat via sms.

We were all getting very excited about our teacher’s weekend away to Kenting. The southern most tip of Taiwan. The days were flying past. Ryno is cool and we all get along very well. Good to be able to have a guy friend to chat to when the girly talk gets too much!!! It’s like having boetie here. Ryno is a year younger than Jacques.

Finally the weekend dawned, I’ve done my 13 hours a day since Monday and I need a break!! We packed on Friday night and were ready for the trip!

Woke up at 6:00 and got ready to leave!! We got to the school and the bus was ready and waiting. We got some supplies from the 711 because Mac Donalds was closed! Anyway got on the bus at about 7:05 and got settled …. at the back of the bus….as usual. Four TV screens in the bus, looking like one of our Indian Tour buses. It was comfortable and the movie that started was “The Chronicles of Riddick”. I nearly died, my kind of movie. 5 min later they stopped it and changed it to Harry Potter The Prisoner of Azkaban. Oh ok then. Cool to see the countryside. Very green with rice paddies and bamboo. We stopped about 2 hours later in Pai Ho – white river! The most stunning flowers/lotus lilies etc. Like a bit of a fleamarket. The most amazing Lotus plantation with large pans of the most beautiful blossoms in different colours ranging from shades of whites, yellow, pink to deep purples. I then also realized that I saw seeds at a few flower shops and shows I didn’t know existed until now. Now I know! The lotus blossom after losing it’s petals, the small seed pod is left behind. They take the seeds out and cook it or use it in dished etc. They also put the seeds into gut, like our boerewors and you eat it cooked. Look a tad doggey but it’s quite nice!

Tastes a bit bland and meelerig but good. The seed pods are then dried. It looks like a filled cup with empty sockets in where the seeds go. The lotus leaves are used in dishes too. We left White River and about 30 min later stopped at a small hall in the middle of nowhere. – called the Blackwood Museum. A stunning root/tree stump adorns the entrance.

As we walked inside it was a hall with about 20 -30 round tables in with about10 chairs per table. We were the only ones there until about 10 min into getting our food. Then the typical Chinese tourist buses filed in and within 20 min the whole hall was packed with people. The food was interesting. I have a new favourite food. A fried crumbed prawn in a lotus leaf with a seafood dressing on. You eat the leaf as well.

Excellent!! The funny little seed worsies were in a good sauce, which probably made them more exciting. When it arrived at the table it was on a hot plate, sizzling away! But initially I had my doubts as to what it was and what part of the little animal it came from!! They make stunning sticky rice with mushrooms in a big brown leaf. We finally arrived at Yoho Beach Resort at about 2:30 – we were ushered into the sports bar and waited.

Being South African and needing a break from the karaoke on the bus…yes that’s right you heard me, the whole little setup with microphone plugs etc all for singing your heart out from the comfort of your chair!!! We regrouped and decided to go explore while they decide who’s key is who’s and what everything means. It was 3 o’clock and we were wasting precious tanning time!!! We got our key went to our room, got dressed in our cozies, and went to the beach! Stunning place, well organized and definitely geared to cater for the masses.

People were everywhere, it thinned out as we headed for the beach. No Chinese on the beach, infact there was nobody on the beach but a few fisher man. We found a little path leading to the beach, past the beach volleyball court and the little security booth. We finally got to the beach and stared in a confusion of mixed feelings. 1stl the sea was a stunning array of blues, lights mixed with dark blues. Beautiful! The next thing was the coral reefs above the water line, little shallow rock pools everywhere…stunning!! The problem was that there was about +-100m of coral reef between the beach and the deep blue sea!!! We couldn’t believe our eyes!!! We couldn’t get anywhere near the water on this little PRIVATE beach!

So we found a huge driftwood tree trunk, unpacked our stuff and lay down, our toes just reaching a small rock pool’s warm water. It’ll do! We sat and watched the sun go down, drinking Heineken Ryno brought after a while. All our opening bottle tricks came out when we realized the beer wasn’t screw tops! Who doesn’t make a screw top bottle in this day and age! Really!!! I remembered the lighter trick and nearly killed Teri’s lighter in the process opening 4 bottles of beer!

Anyway it was all worth it and we watched a stunning sun set and made our way up to the swimming pools at about 6:20. Went down a super tube ride that makes Toti’s one seem like a bath tub!! First you think this is nothing, sliding from side to side about 3 times or so then it just totally throws you into a confusion of turns you think your body would follow but noooooooo, you come out the end spinning like a bullet leaving the barrel…..cool!!! Let’s do that again!! Once I find which way is up! We lay around in the pool until about 7:15 and were down at the BBQ buffet at about 7:45…typical. We ran to the room got semi better dressed and were ready for our braai! We got to the table, said hello to the Chinese teachers already there, eating their rice, noodles and other Chinese food and headed straight for the meat section!! The place wasn’t really and enclosed building, rather a gathering place with sleeper tables like at the Firkin or Keg and Chopstix.

All outside in the open. Well, all I had was about 6 stunningly braaied to perfection, juicy lamb chops! My word, they can braai!! Ryno went for 3rds and 4ths, he said he was savouring the moment and didn’t want to let go!! We were thinking of organizing take aways or a few dozen doggy bags, but I don’t think they would be too happy with that! It cost us about NT$780 per person. It was time for the rugby soon afterwards and we were checking out the local sports bar in the hotel. Can you believe that a sports bar doesn’t have the only channel we wanted. Also the only proper sport channel in Taiwan. Star sport. We moaned and tried to check all the TV’s. Even the concierge tried to help when he saw our desperation! But nothing! Great, outside the hotel we would be able to get other channels as the hotel has a limited amount. No transport but thanks for the thought! So we did the next best thing….get someone to sms us the scores while we sit on the beach, drink Heineken and watch the stars like true SA rugby supporters. Worked out extremely well. The spectators/fans, the beer no TV and a n sms every now and then. Needles to say we celebrated as if were there!! The best!!! Ended our supporters party at about 2am and went to bed at about 3. Woke up at around 9, packed our bags and had to meet everyone in the foyer at about 11:50. The girls went last minute shopping for shoes. Beautiful shoes here! We said goodbye, got on the bus and was on our merry way back to Changhua. Stopped a t the fish market again on our way back, I got some more peanut butter brittle type stuff, we watched Garfield the movie, tried to sleep and then some Chinese cartoon…Doraemon. A kind of Pokemon cat figure the kids love here! Between Spiderman and a combination of Fire Dinosaur and fire dragon Doraemon barely holds his own!! I’ll attach a picture if I can find one!

We got home at about 7:30 and found out that we will receive 2 Canadian girls in our already crowded apartment. Went to sleep as soon as we got home. Thank goodness there was no KTV on our way back. Everybody just wanted a quiet trip home….or rather the Canadians and South Africans did!

So the week began and what a hectic week it was! I was paste every night. The Canadian girls never came to stay and they left the Tuesday to find something else. Something about their agent telling them they would be earning NT$15000 more than they eventually found out they would. Not fair! We haven’t seen them since. But somebody saw them going for their medical at the hospital in Taichung. Everything went back to normal. I’ve been riding the bicycle to school these days after Gary had to go to Thailand because his Visa expired before he could get his ARC. Ryno was or rather is in the same position. He got a 30day visa and his time is closing in. The problem is a change in the system with regards to the processing of ARC’s. Where it used to be in Taichung next door they now have to mail documents to Taipei and they can’t check up either. A bit like throwing a rubber ball against a wall in a dark room and waiting for it to hit you at some point. Teri is nearly on her way home to Jo’burg for her well deserved holiday after a year and a half. So the list grows as I write…bring biltong, marmite, real cheddar cheese etc. Not too bad, prices for Pantene are cheaper here for bigger bottles and some other things are similar in price. Will check at the big Carrefour store. It’s like a Hypermarket or Makro and apparently you can get everything there, like a full loaf of bread! Will take my notebook and write down some prices.

We just went through a double typhoon warning session last week with the one Typhoon Aere being the only one really affecting us here in Central Taiwan to West Taiwan. If you get a chance and are interested have a look at the website http://www.tealit.com they have everything on teaching in Taiwan on their site as well as a map of Taiwan where you can see where Changhua and Taichung are and Kenting where we holiday’d. Also on the weather section you can see the weather for the next 7days and on the Typhoon report section all the movements of typhoons are noted, quite cool!! It is exactly like a cyclone in SA. Lots of rain and the school gets semi closed if it’s official.

Anyway, enough for now. Hope you enjoy the first edition as I need to find a way to post the pictures or send them without too much disruption to your PC!!!

Cheers for eers.

    Taiwan Times Vol 1 As I promised, my diary I wrote and sent to my friends and family, before the awesomeness of FB and blogging, on my year's teaching English in Taiwan.

#Changhua #englishteacher #Exploring #sightseeing #taiwan #teaching #travel