Now you know it won't make a sound, burn down this town

I haven't updated in a few days, which in the life of a blog is, like, forever, man, okay? Yaah. 

1.I spent the weekend on Green Island (a bit of an extended weekend, but not by much). Had some rain, but got to enjoy some snorkeling (absolutely amazing), got to flex my very tiny Chinese muscle (mostly I flexed my phrase book muscle) and got plenty of reading and relaxing in. It was absolutely beautiful, and was one of the top five places I've gotten to experience here. Don't worry, towards the end there will be plenty of High Fidelity-esque top five lists...Going snorkeling there was perfect, the people were wonderfully friendly and renting and driving my own scooter was fantastic. I hadn't realized that I missed self-transportation so much (plus, come on. the scooter is neat!).

2. I'm excited about this week for a few reasons: Lots of presentations (well, three, which is a lot for me!), some more coffee/chat time with Dr. Liu which I always look forward to and a visit to Danshui (just north of Taipei city) at the end of the week. I've heard wonderful things about Danshui, and the undergrads who were here with the class got to take a day trip there, so I'm excited to experience it for myself!

3. I'm going to see The Hangover tonight at a theatre here in Taoyuan. I saw a movie while I was in Taipei (Angels and Demons, based on the book by that great bard of modern literature, Dan Brown), and I'm actually excited to see what everyone has said is a hilarious movie. 

A note on phrase books (or, at least, my phrase book): The phrase book I have is a bit like one of those survival knives boys I knew in college had. You know, they're knives but they have a compass, fishing line, toothpick, scissors, maybe some rope and oh..what's that? Yes, a nail file. For the survivalist who needs smart, rounded nails. My point is this: My phrase book has tons of sections filled with great stuff. How to tell someone congratulations on their recent wedding, how to ask for a dentist. But I really only use it for transportation and food. It even has a section for Mistakes...pssh. As if I'd ever need a thing like that.

Burn Down This Town by Roseanne Cash from the album Black Cadillac