Well 'Hello' to You, 2014

Reflection.  Another year is complete in my life, and if anything I could say that it was a unique one.  For the entirety of 2013 I resided outside of the United States, and it is interesting to wonder whether I will be able to say that about any future years of my life.  I am a traveler at heart, and I love being out in the world, but will I have another chance to dedicate a full year to it? Will I have another place I could even imagine spending a full year residing in?  Right now I can't say.  What I can say is that over the past 365 days I have met some amazing people, visited some of the most strikingly beautiful places on this little island, celebrated a year's worth of new holidays, begun studying the most difficult language I have ever faced, learned how to drive a scooter, sung countless songs at karaoke, watched my students grow, and back in my American life I was able to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend's weddings.  It goes without saying, this was a year I will never forget, it never stood a chance at being forgotten though.

I celebrated the new year as anyone else would, there were fireworks, and drinks, and friends.  The main differences were that instead of watching a ball drop on the top of a skyscraper, I watched fireworks illuminate a giant statue of Buddha, and instead of hearing shouts of "Happy New Year" there were shouts of "Xin Nien Kuai Le".  It was a beautiful holiday, and I rang in the new year with some amazing people, I wouldn't have changed anything about it.

Another tradition in buxiban culture is for the schools to have an end of the year dinner for their staff.  Traditionally this dinner takes place between Christmas and Chinese New Year, and is intended to wrap up the year in both cultures.  My franchise has our end-of-the-year dinner this weekend at a buffet in Taichung.  Take all of your western conceptions of an all-you-can-eat buffet and throw them away, this restaurant was far better.  The food was a combination of western and eastern-style meals hot and cold meals all around, but there were also several stations where they prepared fresh meals for you as well (like teppanyaki, barbeque, sushi, fresh-sliced meats, and soups).  The dessert tables were filled with cakes, and the freezers were filled with Haagen-Dazs ice cream and the drinks were filled with smoothies, coffee machines, juices, and a beer tap.  The best thing about the evening was being out with all of the teachers, TA's, and managers of the franchise, enjoying the conversation and countless picture opportunities.  It was a nice reminder of the things I have liked about the school.

Essentially the entirety of the current Changhua Shane Franchise's full-time staff.

The full time teaching staff of Homei Shane.

I've neglected one of the biggest things to come to Taiwan, which has caused countless tourists, plenty of pages in local and international newspapers, and several cries of 'murder'.  What is this over-reaction you might ask? It is nothing less than the arrival of the giant inflatable yellow duck in Taiwan.  Yes, you read that correctly, a Dutch artist created an inflatable model of the beloved bath toy which is 82 feet tall and has been floating around in harbors since 2007.  The duck made its way to Taiwan last September and has visited three of our big cities, but, some people suspect conspiracy as the duck has popped twice in it's short stay around the island (first around Halloween and then on New Years Eve).  There are mixed reviews on the duck, but if you ask me, it is a brilliant idea.  It is a traveling attraction which has visited 12 countries, doesn't cost people money to see, and creates profit for the host countries through travel and souvenir sales.  As of yesterday the duck has been patched and is back on display in Keelung Harbor.

Welcome back, Yellow Duck.