Broken, Bitten, and Burnt

I realized this week (though it needed to be pointed out to me) that my class schedule has mad huge strides towards being ideal for me.  When I began working at my school, I inherited an entire class-load of higher-level students, because that was the preference my predecessor had.  I didn't have a choice to trade for younger classes, but along the way my older classes merged or discontinued, and I added new, younger classes to my work schedule, and now my schedule is not only to my liking, but more to my skill set.  I would say that I have always been better at working with younger children because, I had this preference through various volunteer working jobs, through my TESOL training, through church events, and now I can really use it in my work.  I'm excited to say that last week I started another CE01 class (this is the first level my school offers), so now the scale has not only swung to a balanced position, but actually leaned in my favor! Yay!
Speaking of school, this week I taught my second summer lesson, and I decided to merge my former interest in science with my life-long interest in crafts.  The class and I made our own bubble wands out of pipe-cleaner, and then predicted which of the following would make the best bubble solution: hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, coke, salt, and bubble milk tea.  The kids seemed to love making bubble wands (and I don't just say that because of the large number of heart shaped wands that were created), and got really into testing each of the bubble solutions and recording their results on our results sheets.  The predictions made by the kids that I found cute were 'coke will make bubbles because if you shake it there are bubbles', and 'bubble milk tea won't make bubbles', no matter how many times I tried to tell them 'it says bubble in the name!'.  As it turns out, none of the ingredients produced substantial bubbles except for the dish soap (which was, not only the children's prediction, but the recommended ingredient for homemade bubbles on almost all websites).
This weekend as exhausted me, in the words of a borrowed alliteration, I'm 'broken, bitten, and burnt'.  Saturday was spent on an attempted, though not successful, mountain walk from the township of Yuanlin to the city of Changhua (approximately a 30km route).  We made it through about 5 hours of the walk, successfully scaling Mt. Baiguo and crossing the border into Nantou county, but at that point we were tired, it was getting dark, and unfortunately we had made it less than 1/4 of the way through our travels, so we threw in the towel and took a taxi the rest of the way home.  I feel so injury prone here in Taiwan, but I do admit full-personal blame for this injury, I made a poor shoe choice for this walk (flip flops), and seem to have hurt the muscles in the arch of my foot.  So, now that I have gotten past my broken coccyx/sacrum, I will have to get used to walking with a slight limp.

The view of Yuanlin from Baiguoshan.

As for the bitten, there's not much to it, I have very prominent reactions to mosquito bites, which appear to be exceptionally frequent for me.  It has been a rather unfortunate realization for my legs which have been bitten (and, I'll admit, scratched) so often over the last year that they might never recover.
And burnt, lucky for me, it is just by the sun.  That's what happens when you spend excessive time on a scooter on various road trips and errands, oh, and the hours on the beach this afternoon may have added to that as well.  Today it was time for another first and we went to explore the beaches of Dajia.  One thing that you should know when picturing the water surrounding Taiwan is that the beaches are vastly different depending on which side of the island you are on (much like the difference between swimming on the coast side and ocean side of Florida).  The beaches on the east coast are beautifully blue, deep, wavy, and fully of salt water, the beaches on the west coast (which is where I live) are not.  For starters, the water was a blueish-brown color (courtesy of the sand), and no matter how far into it you waded, it never seemed to get higher than waist level.  Nonetheless, it was nice to have a day out in the water, so we did our fair-share of swimming, then finished off the afternoon by building a tee-pee in the sand and hiding from the sun.

The 'beautiful' beach in Dajia (why yes, that is garbage and driftwood lining the beach)

And now for my newest cultural realization: the Taiwanese military.  I had a long discussion with one of my private students this week about how the military, and realized how little I knew about the 'enlistment' system here.  For example, in the US we have a voluntary enlistment, but in Taiwan there is a conscription: a mandatory enlistment for all men between the ages of 18-35 who are of good health.  The conscription in Taiwan has undergone several changes in the past few decades, so it affects the eligible men differently.  For example, men who were born prior to 1994 are required to dedicate 2-years to military training unless the number of voluntary soldiers on the island surpasses a certain threshold, then it is reduced to 12-months (which is the currently the cases in Taiwan).  For those men who were born after 1994 the conscription requirement has been reduced to only 4 months of basic training, with the goal of transitioning the active military into a solely volunteer-based operation.  As I already stated, all men are required to do some service time, however, for certain reasons, such as continued education, the required age at which service starts can vary (for instance, students seeking a Bachelors degree may wait until they are 24 to serve, students seeking a Masters degree may wait until they are 27, and students seeking a Doctoral degree may wait until they are 30).
At the age of 18, men will report to the government's conscription offices to determine his educational background and whether or not he is eligible for a delay of service.  If no delay is granted the man will be drafted and will undergo a health exam to ensure they are fit to serve.  Assuming they are of good health they will be sent to train in one of the four branches of the Taiwanese military: army, navy, air force, or marines (with the army being the largest force and therefore the one with the largest draft probability).  After completion of their training, men are no longer required to report for active duty (unless it is done so on a voluntary basis), but are considered to be on reserve until they are 36 years old.

A Weekend Vacation: Sun Moon Lake and Jiji

This weekend proved the importance of making the best out of every situation.  A remarkable number of things went wrong, yet, when I look back at the weekend, all I can think is how much I enjoyed it.  I have felt a bit trapped in Changhua for the last few weeks, and have been itching for a good road trip, and I finally got that this weekend in an 11-person scooter convoy to Sun Moon Lake, which is about 2-3 hours away from Changhua (though in a smaller group with fewer mishaps, I imagine that timing decreases significantly).  Sun Moon lake has been at the top of my list of "places to visit" for many months  now, partially because it was new to me, partially because it is the largest body of water in Taiwan, and partially because of the mountains and forests which surround it.  The area entices you to spend time outdoors in the fresh air, while the smoldering sun and periodic rain fight to make you regret it.  There is simultaneously a lot to do and nothing to do, depending on what your interests are.  A lot of the area surrounding the lake is occupied by one of Taiwan's aboriginal tribes, and the shopping and cultural centers could entertain any visitor for hours.  For those looking to get away from people and money, there are hiking trails through the mountains and bamboo forests.  Unfortunately, the main appeal of the area is obviously the beautiful blue lake, but swimming is not allowed (the locals say it is because there are piranhas in the water, but I suspect it is because of the cleanliness of the water and the unfortunately large number of Taiwanese people who can't swim).

 A view of the lake from the cable cars.

So, with all of these options, what did we find to do? For a taste of the scenic beauty the lake had to offer, we took a trip through the mountains in a cable car ride.  The ride was short, and quite frankly, overpriced for what it had to offer (especially considering we were not going to the Aboriginal Cultural Center/amusement park to which the cars provide half of the transportation), but it did provide some nice photo opportunities.   After the gondolas we had lunch at the lake-front, and that is when the rain started, and what began as periodic showers became a mountain downpour which was not particularly fun to drive in, so we waited most of it out in the Wenwu temple before driving 40 minutes to our hostel (which by the way, we rented an entire hostel building, that is how large this group was) in Jiji.

Oh Jiji...that was the second leg of our journey.  Jiji is also in Nantou county, but is on the opposite side of the tourism spectrum.  While Sun Moon Lake is a popular tourist destination full of hotels, restaurants, shops, and things to do, Jiji is the smallest town in Taiwan and has very little to do, see, and unfortunately eat (as we discovered during multiple meals).  Saturday night was spent in our hostel, eating pizza and playing word games until the wee small hours of the morning so we would be well rested for our busy Sunday.  An impressive number of sites were seen by us today, beginning with the saddest waterfall I have ever seen, a mere trickle of water on a mountain side (though I am under the impression it has down-periods and up-periods of water flow).  Then it was off to a collapsed temple and military park, two sites which I have seen and written about before.  After that we went to the endemic species research institute, and the train station, and then set off towards home.  

This might not be the most impressive waterfall in the world...

Hanging out in the military park in Jiji

Now you know the good side of the weekend, but we did have a lot of mishaps along the way, primarily involving scooters.  For a time-frame spanning less than 48 hours we experienced a flat tire, a faulty engine, and a broken belt (not all on the same scooter thankfully).  The more scooters involved in a trip, the more likely these problems are to occur, and considering foreigners are likely to own second-hand scooters, the likelihood is further increased.  All of this begs the question "How did my friends and I make it around the island for Chinese New Year without scooter problems?".  I've got my fingers crossed,  I have yet to experience a major malfunction with my scooter.

Typhoon Soulik Hits Taiwan

I've seen my fair share of snow days, but this week I experienced my first typhoon day.  Typhoon Soulik swept across Taiwan late Friday evening/early Saturday morning, bringing with it heavy rains, 180 km/h winds, and thankfully only minimal damage.  Word of the typhoon spread all week, and the question on everyone's mind was whether or not we would be working on Friday, but come Friday morning the weather showed no indication of the impending storm.  As the afternoon progressed the winds began to pick up speed, and by 6pm all businesses in Changhua county (as well as the majority of the island) were instructed to close.  The most noticeable sign of the typhoon by that time in the afternoon was the wind speed, which was strong enough to blow scooters from side to side and tip their drivers to sharp angles as they drove along the roads.  After getting off work, then stocking up on a weekend's supply of food so I wouldn't starve while I was rained in to my apartment, I decided to throw caution to the wind (no pun intended) and went to a typhoon party on my friend's roof.  We watched as the winds picked up and the storm approached Changhua, and retreated to the safety of indoors when the rain started.  The storm continued until mid-afternoon on Saturday when the rains stopped, (some) businesses re-opened, the railways reopened, and the fallen trees and signs were cleaned up.
So, what is a typhoon?  For those of you in the states, you are probably more accustomed to the term 'hurricane', but a typhoon is a hurricane which forms in the northwestern portion of the Pacific Ocean.  In order for a typhoon to develop there are 6 requirements: warm sea-surface temperature, atmospheric instability, high humidity in the troposphere, development of a low-pressure center, a pre-existing low-level focus, and a low vertical wind shear.  After achieving these developing steps, then attaining a wind-speed of at least 119km/h, the storm can be sorted into one of five "western stages" or one of three "Taiwan stages" of typhoon strength categories (based on it's fastest wind speed measurements, Typhoon Soulik was measured as a 3 on the western scale, and a 2 on the Taiwan scale, when it hit the island).
On average, Taiwan experiences 27 tropical storms every year, but the majority of these are not strong enough to be classified as typhoons.  Soulik was the 7th tropical storm of the year, but the first typhoon.

Hurricane Soulik as it passes over Taiwan on July 13th

The rest of the weekend was filled with more rain than adventure.  We seemed to stay indoors for the majority of the daylight hours, and ventured out only for food, drinks, and a movie.  The weird thing about this is that, while the storm seems to have encouraged a couch potato attitude in myself (and most of my friends), the majority of the weekend was not actually raining.  I can't speak for everyone else, but for me it was just nice to get some reading done, cook a few meals (which is something I haven't done nearly enough of this year), and take care of some cleaning (which admittedly is not finished, but I guess that's what next weekend will be for).

Dinner at Chinese City

You're Getting Old, America!

From the other side of the world, I would like to say 'Happy 4th of July'! It is a little weird to think of how much can happen in one year.  For instance, on July 4th last year, as the fireworks were about to start, I was on the phone with my recruiter for Taiwan, contemplating whether I should switch my efforts towards a job in South Korea or not, because I was frustrated at the number of Kindergarten jobs I was being offered in Taiwan.  Lucky for me, she was very persuasive, and here I am, 11 months into my contract, on the edge of a second year's stay here, and so happy with what my life has become.
Well, it is officially summer vacation here in Taiwan, but that doesn't mean the same thing for Taiwanese children as it does for their American counterparts.  While the children are granted a short break from the elementary, junior high, and high schools, many are still sent to spend their days in buxibans learning their extra curricular skills.  That means that I do not get the perk of 'time off' just because it is summer, in fact, my hours have increased (which is greatly appreciated, seeing as they have been very low recently).  Now, every week, one of the teachers will host an activity lesson (for last of a better phrase) rather than a traditional grammar and vocabulary-focused class.  In these activity lessons the teacher will chose any topic and teach that activity/skill in English, with the hope that the children will acquire the language without explicitly being taught it.  While I don't know that these lessons are a very effective way of teaching English, I know they are a great way of entertaining the kids.  I taught the first of these summer activity lessons this week, and my lesson was how to make homemade ice cream and chocolate-covered peanut butter balls.  I haven't seem my students that happy in a long time, the promise of sweets and no spelling tests is a winning combination.  Some of the things that I learned during this lesson were: Taiwanese people appear to like peanut butter balls nearly as much as western teachers do, vanilla is exceptionally hard to find in Taiwan, and chocolate ice cream stains shirts.

The CEI students, rolling peanut butter balls for our chocolate truffles  

Now it is time for a cultural note that I have known existed for the last 11 months, but I hadn't experienced until this week: Bin Lang (also known as Betel nut).  Bin Lang is made from the seed of the areca palm tree, and is the second largest crop in Taiwan, and is purchased primarily by men, to be chewed like chewing tobacco.  The nut is hard, stringy, and not intended to be swallowed, instead you hold it in your cheek and bite into it when you are ready for another burst of flavor.  Unfortunately, those bursts of flavor are accompanied by an increased production of saliva which causes you to spit repeatedly.  Even worse is that the nut dyes your saliva, gums, and teeth a blood-red color leaving the marks of your chewing experience on your mouth as well as the street.  So why is bin lang popular? There are some who enjoy bin lang for its slightly intoxicating effects.  Others chew this nut for medicinal purposes, mainly to solve problems within the digestive system.  Still seem to buy it just to interact with the vendors (known as bin lang girls) who can be found at all hours of the day in glass box booths, often in revealing outfits (and in a country like Taiwan where low-cut clothing is not very common, they tend to stand out.  

I tried bin lang for the first time since coming to Taiwan, and I don't particularly know what to think of the experience.  I definitely have no intent of going out to buy my own supply of seeds, but if offered it again, I might not turn it down.  The feeling you get when chewing bin lang was similar to the feeling you would get when you are getting drunk: it affected my vision a little, and I'm sure it affected my rate of speech, but the effects wore off almost instantly after spitting out the seed.  The main thing holding me back from enjoying bin lang is my strong liking of oral hygiene, I have seen so many people with stained mouths full of bright red teeth, and that is enough to convince me not to form a habit of it.

Broken Bones, Not a Broken Spirit

Ouch! Something I have forgotten for the last 22 years of my life is how painful broken bones can be (not that I really remember my the last time I broke a bone, I was still a toddler).  In what has to be described as a 'scooter accident' but could more accurately be described as 'clumsy and unfortunate', I tipped my scooter while it was going less than 10km/hr in front of my apartment, and thankfully there is no damage to the scooter (it fell straight over, no scraping) and very manageable damage to me (don't get me wrong, I gladly would have taken a reversal of those to results).  I successfully braced myself in a standing position as my scooter fell, so no part of me was trapped under it, but I lost my balance and fell butt-first onto my scooter, thus fracturing my coccyx and sacrum.  Both the benefit and curse of a fracture in this location is that essentially nothing can be done, no cast can be placed, no surgery is necessary, the healing process is just time and pain medications.  Most of the time it doesn't affect me much, I have gotten used to most of the pain when sitting, standing, and lying down, it is just the transition between those positions which is almost overwhelming.  Every day I have felt a little better, so hopefully the recovery process won't be too long, in the meantime, it isn't slowing down my work or social life.
Butt-pain aside, I had a wonderful weekend in Kaohsiung.  Apparently I have already been in Taiwan long enough to be celebrating the next 'annual...' of events, so the sequel to one of my first Taiwan adventures occurred this weekend with the celebration of Kaohsiung Gay Pride.  While I have not consulted the records, I would predict that the event's turn out (at least the parade portion of it) was much smaller this year, and the parade route seemed shorter as well (though that could have been because we skipped the first portion of it).

Marching in the parade - Kaohsiung 2013 Gay Pride

The rest of the weekend involved some of the necessary adventuring around Kaohsiung.  We traveled to the top of the tallest building in the city: Kaohsiung 85 (also known as the Tuntex Towers).  To be honest, the building isn't much to see, the ground levels are filled with a shopping area which had no patrons, and in the lower levels, had no store clerks either.  The empty but not abandoned feeling was strange to experience, but not worth going out of your way for.  As far as the 'top of the tower' is concerned, you can really only visit the 74th floor, because the higher levels are residential.  The 74th floor has viewing windows to look out over the city, a small gift shop/cafe, and nothing else.  With all that being said, I personally enjoyed our time in the Tower, but that was due to the people, the sunset over the harbor, and the much appreciated air conditioner.  We also spent time around the Lotus Pond, which is one of my recommended sites in the city, especially if you like temples and really tacky designs (like dragon-shaped walkways and deity-shaped pavilions), and the Liuhe Night Market.

My final thoughts on the week are:

*In comparison, while the seats on a bus are more comfortable, long travel on a train is more tailbone-friendly

*Students are strangely compassionate about broken bones, but far less compassionate about my distaste for wearing shoes in the classroom

*There is an Outback Steakhouse in Taiwan, which might now be my favorite place here (it already was my favorite place back in the states)

A Water Park!? In Changhua!?

Discovery of the week: Changhua has a water park (water slides, wave pool, etc.).  I know, most people are used to having water parks in their city, or at least in an accessible location to their house, but things are  different in Taiwan.  This is a country where a large percentage of the population can't (or doesn't) swim, where swimming pools are hard to find (and personal swimming pools might be unheard of).  The biggest difference about water parks in Taiwan, and water parks in the US (from what I can tell) is the enforcement of rules, it felt like we could have done anything in the park today.  We literally rode down the water slides stacked on each other, in a chain, standing up (well, trying to stand up, it is harder than it looks), and spinning in circles.  The mature side of me spent the day thinking we're going to break the slides or drown each other, but the immature side of me kept saying "this is so fun, how have I never done this before!".
To be honest, this week was a little underwhelming, work-wise, and I fear next week won't be any better.  With the transition into a summer schedule, two of my classes merged, thus removing 3 hours from my work week.  I find myself now with a 18-hour work week, annoyingly spaced out so over 27 hours in the office (because I often teach the first and last classes of the day with a 1.5-3 hour break between them).  Some extra hours can be nice because they give you time for lesson planning and eating, but when your number of unpaid/non-working hours are almost equal to your paid/working hours you run out of things to do.  Hopefully, with the starting of summer classes, there will be some new classes for me soon.
My initial review of this weekend was that it wasn't very eventful, but that would be a lie, it was full of ridiculous and unrelated moments placed in my usual weekend hangouts (namely KTV).  Saturday was another special Taiwanniversary for the group (a Taiwanniversary is the anniversary of any foreigner's arrival in the country), which is a more impressive event than it sounds because it marks the commitment of a teacher to stay for another year.  For many people, moving to a new country to teach is a very temporary life event, and staying for even a year is a big accomplishment, but to commit to a second year abroad shows that you are not just 'getting by' with your life, but you have found something worth staying for.  That something could be any variety of things: enjoyment of your job, happiness in your social life (which is very flexible, so this is sometimes a concerning reason to stay), an incomplete 'adventure' (knowing there is something more you need to do/see), etc..  You can get a lot done in a year, but in the long run it isn't a big span of time, so I definitely understand the need for extra years here).

Happy Taiwanniversary Nick!

Cultural note: This is a cultural issue which I am surprised I haven't discussed before: face.  'Face' in Taiwan doesn't simply refer to a person's eyes, ears, and mouth, 'face' embodies a person's dignity and reputation.  It is very important in the culture here to preserve your own'face' and to not cause another person to lose their 'face'.  A person can lose 'face' in a variety of ways, but the most common are through being embarrassed or being insulted.  For example, if I were to voice a disagreement with a Taiwanese person with witnesses around, that would cause the Taiwanese person to 'lose face', or if I were to be caught in a lie or break my promises that would cause me to 'lose face'.  In order to save 'face', it is expected that you handle tense situations involving anger or criticism in a private setting, never act in a way that will make someone else feel inferior, and in general, act in a manner which increases (rather than decreases) self esteem.  

From the day we arrived in Taiwan, most of us teachers were taught about the idea of 'face' and were asked to consider it in our personal interactions, but there are times when it is not viewed as a priority, and there are times when it is viewed as a double-standard, so the topic is a little controversial among the foreign population.  What do I mean by 'double-standard'? Well, in a country where it should be intrinsic to consider everyone's face, it is far too common to see Taiwanese salesmen increase their prices for western shoppers (which causes a  'loss of face' by being viewed as inferior), or for Taiwanese people to tell foreigners that we are fat and would be more beautiful if we lose weight (which causes a 'loss of face' through public criticism), or anything else of the sort.  One thing I will give credit to though, is that whether it is due to 'face saving', a different temperament, or less violence, I don't think I have seen any violent or angry outbursts by Taiwanese people.  No bar fights, no screaming matches, nothing of the sort (which is not so say that I think it doesn't happen here, I just think it is less common).

Dragon Boats, Taipei, and a "goodbye"

Well, it happened...I wore my parents out so they had to flee the country to recover.  Well, maybe that isn't exactly what happened, perhaps it was just the end of their vacation time here in Taiwan.  Either way, they have safely returned to the states and I will have to wait a few more months before I see them again.
The adventures of this week were marginally more relaxed than last week, and didn't involve nearly as many cities (which was probably appreciated).  Monday and Tuesday were regular work days, so my parents and I settled back down in Changhua, again.  The unique this about these work days though, was having my parents as 'students' in my class.  I don't think most teachers can say that their parents have observed them in action, and even fewer are likely to say that they participated in the lesson, but mine can now say just that.  In the younger of the two classes my parents were their own team (team 'old people') and, while they fought hard, they lost to the students (team 'young people'), and in the older class they observed from the back of the room.
The weekend started on Wednesday, just as it did last week, but this week it kicked off with a national holiday.  The 5th day of the 5th lunar month is known as the Duanwu Festival, which, in English, is known as Dragon Boat Festival.  Dragon Boat Festival originated in China, and its observance has been recognized in many Asian countries, including Taiwan.  The holiday centers around the racing (or simply watching the racing) of long, motor-less boats which are propelled by a team of rowers.  Each boat is traditionally adorned with a dragon's face and tail decorations for the race, and is manned by a team of 22 people (1 drummer who sets the timing for the paddlers, 1 person who steers the boat, and 20 people who paddle the boat).  Each race takes only a few minutes and the standard distance of the race is 500 meters.
Another tradition of the Duanwu Festival is eating zongzi, which is a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo.  Chinese history attributes the significance of these dumplings to the death of a famous poet.  The poet tried warn others that their land was at risk due to the expansion of neighboring peoples, and when his people lost the poet drowned himself.  To try and stop the fish from eating the poet's body, the townspeople threw zongzi-like packets of rice into the water.  After having finally eaten one of these rice dumplings, many of us agree that fish-food is their best use.  Their flavor, and the consistency of the sticky rice do not combine to being one of Asia's better food items.
One of the main cities to watch the races from in the Changhua area is Lukang, so that is exactly where my parents and most of my fellow teachers went.  I have to say, while I love the concept of Dragon Boat Festival, I was let down by the reality of this holiday; only two boats raced at a time, none of the spectators seemed to be paying attention or cheering, it was hard to see who won, and for our safety we had to abandon our river-front seats.

The Dragon Boat races in Lukang

Thursday was my parents last full day in Taiwan, so we spent it in Taipei (to be close to the airport).  We spent several hours exploring Ximen, which is one of the big shopping/eating areas in Taiwan, and (almost unintentionally) wandered over to the Longshan Temple and Snake Alley again (night markets, teppanyki, and McDonalds seemed to be the staple food providers for my parents during their stay).

I had so many plans for my weekend, but none of them actually came to fruition.  However, I would say the weekend I had was much better than what I originally intended on doing.  Alone again, after the departure of my parents, I decided to explore some of the sites in Taipei that I had never visited before, namely the Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Halls, two buildings which were constructed to commemorate two of the most influential political figures in the history of Taiwan.  

This is me, in front of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.

The Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei

Realizing that I didn't want to spend my weekend alone in Taipei when everyone else was back in Changhua, I took a bus back to my city and spent the weekend with my friends.  Due to the influx of new teachers in the group it was time for a walking tour of Changhua which included the major sites of the Confucius temple, the water features of Baguashan, the Great Buddha statue, and LA Lounge (a bar which happened to be featuring KTV).

To finish off the weekend, and to cope with the heat of a Taiwanese summer, today was a day dedicated to cooling off.  Several people jumped on our scooters and traveled into the mountains around Taichung to see the waterfall in Taiping.  Along the way we tackled an obstacle that I have approached with friends several times now: the Bat Cave.  In Taiping there are a series of old water tunnels which have been claimed as a home to the bats for centuries I imagine, but it has been modified with tourist features (like bridges, bathrooms, and picnic areas) more recently than that.  I have been brought here two times in the past, but both times the group turned back before we properly explored the tunnels, but this time we made it through the whole thing  I have always been told that the bats have vacated the primary tunnels due to stream of visitors that disrupt them, but there were probably about 50 bats in the cave today.  The tunnel itself was very small at points, causing us to bend down as we walked, and walk sideways at points, but the most uncomfortable aspect of the experience was the mud which coated (and other unidentified substances) which coated the floors up to knee-level at times and tried to steal out shoes at ever step.  Thankfully we were on our way to swim in the mountain streams, so it wasn't hard to clean off afterwards.  It was a perfect wrap-up to a great week!

Memorable conversation of the week: I find that as a teacher I say some ridiculous things to my students from time-to-time, and it always amazes me when my students retain these things.  Last week there was a cockroach on the wall of my CEI 11 classroom.  My students pointed it out to me, but seeing that it was near the ceiling and thus out of reach, I did not want to deal with killing it, so I told them "That is my friend Derek, I invited him to our class today".  My students laughed, then accepted this explanation, and didn't comment on its presence for the remainder of the class.  One of my co-teachers taught the same class this week in my absence, and while she was teaching a cockroach crawled out from behind the whiteboard, so she removed her shoe and promptly killed the cockroach, to which my class' response was "You can't do that! That is Teacher Kaitlin's friend!".  Take a minute to savor the mental image of a group of children mourning the death of a cockroach like that.