Stuff

OK, so I haven't been very good at updating this blog. In my defense, I have been really busy. When I did have some down time, I was in a funk.
First off, I had the opportunity to go to Taiwan for about $300 US. That price included round-trip airfare, hotel for 4 nights, a one-day tour, and a foot massage. I definitely got my money's worth!
I went to Taiwan during Golden Week in Japan. I went with a friend. (Her mother is one of my conversation class students). We crammed so much into the short time that we were there, so I feel like I got a feel of Taiwan. We stayed in Taipei and explored the night markets, but we also bussed it to a small mountain town for a day and then went by train to a sea-side town. It was great! We also went to the top of Taipei 101. It is currently the tallest building in the world. I thought that this was cool, because I went to the top of the Sears Tower (when it was still the world's tallest building) when I lived in Chicago.
I came back from Taiwan and only had a 2-day work week. I had elementary visits at two new schools. It was so much fun! As usual, the kids have a LOT of energy, but I really enjoyed it. They even allowed me to go out and play dodge ball with them at lunch time. One boy was really disappointed when I wouldn't take off my glasses. He told his friend that he wanted to hit me in the head (yeah, they can be snot-heads sometimes, but they are still adorable). I told the kids that I needed to wear my glasses so that I could see. One kid said that it would be more interesting if I couldn't see the ball coming...I'll bet!
The weekend was too busy. It was cold and rainy all weekend and it hasn't warmed up any.
I went to a soba party on Saturday at a former English student's house. It was nice to look at her rose garden and eat some really good food. It came up during lunch that I am lactose intolerant and that I am allergic to strawberries. One woman actually told me that my body was selfish. WHAT!?!?!? That's the second time I had heard that during the week. Do they really think that I just decided to be selfish and that's why I can't eat strawberries or milk? Do they even know what it's like to have to give up things that you really like because it causes pain and suffering?
I wouldn't call that selfish at all! Anyway, that really bothered me. They also continued to talk about me as if I wasn't there and as if I were some freak of nature. For example, they can't believe that I'm as big as I am, because I don't eat much (I've been saying that for years). They suggested that I'm not eating enough Japanese food. I suggested that the Japanese food I've been getting isn't exactly healthy. So they accused me of eating fast-food all of the time. Umm, yeah. I've been to our McDonalds MAYBE 5 times in one year...that's a lot. I usually cook for my self. I like salads, but I like meat, too. It's all about balance. Why can't they just accept that my body is messed up? I'm also a good 8+ inches taller than them and my feet are ginormous, but they aren't talking about any of that.
So yeah, I'm guilty of stewing over that all weekend. I'm so tired of being TOLD what ALL Americans think, say, do, believe, eat, etc... I keep trying to reiterate that part of the beauty of America, is that we are ALL DIFFERENT. We are not a homogeneous country like most countries in Asia. A lot of my friends and co-workers here just can't seem to grasp that concept. We have been raised with a focus on individual accomplishments, whereas Asian countries focus on what's best for the group. Consequently, there is a great deal of time and money spent on trying to conform. Then there's me. I never wanted to be labeled or put in a box. That's exactly what they are trying to do, because that's how things work around here. So yeah, that bothered me.
Lately, my allergies have been bothering me (and the neighbors are STILL burning trash), so I have been getting these terrible headaches. I don't usually get headaches and I am a little concerned. I made the mistake of mentioning this to one of my Japanese friends. She suggested that I eat certain Japanese foods. When I heard what she suggested, I asked if she was trying to kill me. Everything listed was high in salt or saturated in soy sauce (which is extremely high in salt). I know enough to know that if there is too much salt in your system, it can cause headaches. If I already have a headache, why would I want to make it worse? I don't get it.
Anyway, I've been trying to get more sleep. I haven't slept well for several months because of my obnoxious neighbors (what are they building in the middle of the night). So I slept more than usual over the weekend. It seemed to help. I'm going to try to add on an extra hour of sleep every night this week to see if that will help.
In the meantime, I'm going to try not to let too much get to me right now. I understand that I am tired, I'm not feeling quite right, and I am on a downward slope of that roller coaster ride that comes from living abroad.
I just have to get through this. I know that it's temporary. If I really wanted to, I know that I could also quit right now, but that wouldn't really solve much. I re-contracted and I'm going to honor that. Things WILL get better. Overall, they are good, I'm just going through a rough patch.
I'm just going to focus on getting through this year and figuring out what it is I want to do next (because I have NO IDEA!). Yikes!