The Muffin House...

Vietnam

2008-09-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

So I've been a little slow on posting pictures from my travels in the past year. However, for the past two days here in Taiwan there has been a typhoon, leaving my apartment ridden. In this time I've put together my photos of when I visited Vietnam in February. There are a lot of pictures, but the trip was for 16 days and we did many things. Have a look at a few if you want to get an idea of what it's like there and to see what we did and saw.

Click on the link to my web albums below and then click on Vietnam. You can then view the slideshow by clicking on the slideshow tab.

Alright, time to head to bed. Take it easy.

Jon

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

China and Hong Kong

2008-05-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,I haven't put up any pictures or blog postings in the past 10 months. I'm still working here in Taiwan at Cornel Langauge School as the director of rainbow time magazine. It keeps me busy, so things are going pretty good. I've signed another contract for a third year. I like to travel around, but this might be the last year... I'll see.

In the past four months, I've had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China. So if you click on the link below, you will be directed to my picasa photo album. Click on the album "Hong Kong and China" and click on slideshow to see the pics. I put them all in one folder instead of breaking it up, so there are quite a few pics. Hope you enjoy them. I'll be posting the ones from the Philippines and Nam in the next few weeks.

I'll be home on June 28 for three weeks, so I may see some of you then. I do hope to spend quite a bit of time salmon fishing on the west coast, so I mightn't be on the east coast very much... maybe only for half the time... we'll see...

Alright, take it easy and I'll talk to you later...

Jon

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

My Students

2007-08-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

Hello there everyone,

After people asking for a long while, here are some pictures of my students. Well, in actual fact, they aren't my students anymore. I finished with them at the end of June, but they were my students here for a year.

I've been working at a private school here in Taichung, called Cornel. The kids go to Chinese school in the mornings and come to our school in the evenings. I teach the grade 1's (The Ducks Class) from 2:00 to 5:00, four days a week, and teach the grade 3's (The Salmon Class) from 5:00 to 7:00 three days a week. We have an American curriculum that we teach from, which focuses on reading, writing, grammar and phonics. I have about 10 hours a week of prep and sometimes have an extra class (chess or graduates) for a couple of hours a week to make up my hours or as overtime. We have two campuses. I teach at the main campus (Nan Men Road Campus). I think we have an enrollment of about 300 at our campus, and our school goes from kindy (three levels of ages 3, 4, and 5) to grade 6. It's a bit different teaching at a private school, but still a good time. The kids here are beautiful, but still are kids and don't differ much from the ones at home when it comes to behaviour. They are much more innocent though. These kids come from very well off families. Most of their parents are doctors, lawyers, government officials, professors, businessmen and businesswomen, and so on. The kids will end up getting scholarships for universities in the states and Canada and become whatever their parents tell them to be. Most of them will move back here and work, taking care of their parents when they retire. I find that a lot of the times, children here are investments for parents. Someone to take care of them (financially) when they're older. So, their parents will make them work hard and become someone who earns a lot of money so that their own future is secure.....

The first group of students are my grade 1 class. I had 12 (I find that this is much better than 32, like back at home). This class is a mixed abilities class, so the students are either average or weak. There may be some in the class, however, that are eventually moved up to the accelerated class. I had three of mine move up this year, for example.

The second group of students are my grade 3 class. This is an accelerated class. They are very, very smart. Many times, I just have to explain the lesson to them once (if needed at all) and then get them to do it. They all usually have it done in half the time expected with all of the work correct....they are very bright and will probably be performing surgery on me in twenty years.....

The last pictures are of my class I teach on Friday evenings. They are students who have graduated from Cornel and come back to keep their English in check. They have very busy lives and are burnt out by the time they get to the class at the end of the week, but I try to make it exciting and fun for them; I beat them at scrabble every now and then. They don't stop though. All they do is study, eat, drink, study, sleep, study, eat, and study. That's on the weekends. They tell me their schedule for the week and it's crazy. I like being a teacher in Asia, but I would rather be a student in Canada.

After all of that talk, you can now click on the link below to go to my albums. Click on My Students and view slideshow.

Okay, time to get ready for bed. Take it easy and I will hear from some of you soon.

Remember....I'll be home in December......woohoo.....

Peace be with you people,

Jonathan

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Harbour Front Beach and Dragon Boat Festival

2007-08-05T04:04:00.000-07:00

Hey all of you people,

A quick note to say hi and let you see some pictures. In June (I'm a little behind on my blogging) I went to the harbour front, hung around, ate shrimp, and went for a walk on the beach. A couple of pics of that. Also, a few days later was a national holiday for the dragon boat festival. Dragon boat races were held all over Taiwan...I went to one of them with some friends...it was a good and very hot time. Some pictures of that as well. Just to let you know, my lens got fogged up and some of the pics are a bit blurry. Have a look anyway......click on the link below or type it in your URL space at the top....then, click on the album for the Dragon Boat Festival....

Everything else is fine....I will be going home on December 14th for Christmas.....Oh Happy Day!!! Gravy, potatoes, turkey, gravy, dressing, gravy, and, may I add, gravy.....it will also be great to see the family, friends, and dog.

Well, time to run....I will send another blog soon of my students.....I've said that too many times, I know, but I got the pics ready to upload.

Later,
Jonathan

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Singapore!

2007-06-16T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I hope you are doing well and that you have made it through the cold winter. I have been doing well....I am in a state of denial that the salmon are starting their way up the river and I am not there to tempt them with one of my self-made salmon flies. I'm sure if they knew I wasn't there and over here, they would have made their way up the river earlier, with less worries on their mind.....

So, I won't be home for the season of fly fishing, however, there is a season for everything....I'm over here now and may never get the chance again, so I will enjoy myself while I'm here. On that note, I was to Singapore about a month ago and had a fabulous time. I got there on a Thursday afternoon and hung around the downtown area. In the night I went to see Phantom of the Opera in the Esplande Theater on the waterfront. The next day, I went to the zoo in the afternoon and had an awesome time.....I love animals. In the night I went on a night safari.....very cool! On Saturday I spent the day going around the city, taking pictures of the sites and going to the markets.....I'm not one for shopping for silk, bags, shoes, and necklaces....but it was cool to go around the area. I spent the rest of the day at the waterfront. In the night I got to go see A Midsummer Night's Dream on the edge of the forest in one of the parks in the city......another great experience. I ended off my trip by going to Long Bar in Raffles Hotel. It is where the Singapore Sling was invented and a good place to listen to a live band and hang out.....

I got home on Sunday with no food poisoning and got put up to first class on the flight back, so everything went smoothly......

Below is the link to my photo albums. Just click on the Singapore album and watch the slideshow......

Have a good day......

"The Gecko" should be posted tomorrow.....

Jonathan....

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Honourable Mention

2007-05-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Here are the last few pictures of Cambodia. They are just pictures of things that we thought were interesting and/or funny. Although only a couple are mine (Adam, Katie and Faye's pictures), most are worth posting to view. Some of them I wasn't even present for. So, click on the link and view. I leave for Singapore in a couple of hours, so I will have a few pictures from there put up in a week or so.

Have a great day!

Jonathan

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Tuolsleng Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields

2007-05-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hello all of you,

I decided to put up the pictures from the Tuolsleng Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields from when I was in Phnom Phen. There were about 1.5 million killed by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.

As stated in wikipedia.com

The Khmer Rouge

"The Khmer Rouge regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to 3 million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor. Although directly responsible for the death of a large amount of that number, the policies of the Khmer Rouge led many others to die from starvation and displacement. In terms of the number of people killed as a proportion of the population of the country it ruled (est. 7.5 million people, as of 1975), it was one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century. One of their mottos, in reference to the New People, was: "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." Because of its undeniable brutality, most people in the communist movement today deny that the Khmer Rouge in any way represented real communism."

The Killing Fields

"The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge communist regime which ruled the country, as Democratic Kampuchea, from 1975 to 1979. Estimates of the number of dead range from 1.7 to 2.3 million out of a population of around 7 million. The Khmer Rouge judicial process, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" (which usually included some kind of free-market activity, or having had contact with a foreign source, such as a US missionary, or international relief or government agency, or contact with any foreigner or with the outside world at all), being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean". This meant being taken away to a place such as Tuol Sleng or Choeung Ek for torture and/or execution.

The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, executions were often carried out using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Some victims were required to dig their own graves; their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.

The Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Chams (who were and are Muslims), Cambodian Christians, and the Buddhist monkhood were the demographic targets of persecution.

The best known of the Killing Fields is Choeung Ek. Today, it is the site of a Buddhist memorial to the terror, and Tuol Sleng has a museum commemorating the genocide. A 1984 motion picture, The Killing Fields, tells the story of Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, played by Cambodian actor Haing S. Ngor, and his journey to escape the death camps."

Tuol Sleng

"Formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High School, named after a Royal ancestor of King Norodom Sihanouk, the five buildings of the complex were converted in 1975 into a prison and interrogation centre. The Khmer Rouge renamed the complex "Security Prison 21" (S-21) and construction began to adapt the prison to the inmates: the buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, the classrooms converted into tiny prison and torture chambers and all the windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent prisoner escapes.

From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng (some estimates suggest a number as high as 20,000, though the real number is unknown). The prisoners were selected from all around the country, and usually were former Khmer Rouge members and soldiers, accused of treason. Those arrested included some of the highest ranking communist politicians such as Khoy Thoun, Vorn Vet and Hu Nim. Although the official reason for their arrest was "espionage," these men may have been viewed by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot as potential leaders of a coup against him. Prisoners' families were often brought en masse to be interrogated and later murdered at the Choeung Ek extermination centre.

Even though the vast majority of the victims were Cambodian, foreigners were also imprisoned, including Vietnamese, Laotians, Indians, Pakistanis, British, Americans, New Zealanders and Australians."

It was sad to see the place where most of the genocide and torture occured; it was quite a depressing day. I hope that by viewing the pictures you will get a little bit of the sense of what happened during the time of the Khmer Rouge.

Click on the link and then click on the album.

Have a good day. You are free.

Jonathan

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Thailand

2007-04-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, after finishing up in Cambodia, I jumped on a plane and flew to Bangkok in Thailand. I got my connecting flight to Trat, where I jumped on a bus and went to a ferry to sail to the small island of Ko Chang. I met up with some friends at a cheap beach resort and lived in a hut and ate Thai food for five days.....these were good times....We hung around the beach, went on scooter adventures, ate Thai food, went snorkeling, ate Thai food, slept, and ate Thai food. Needless to say I put on a few pounds during the vacation. My definite highlight was trekking through the jungle on an elephant......super awesome.....click on the link to see the pics below....and there is a video mixed in that you can click on to get the elephant cam......very cool.....

......after this I went back to Bangkok....I was planning to go see some kick boxing, but ended up getting a severe case of food poisoning.....I ended up going to the hospital and was hooked up to ekg's, iv's, and other things that I could not recognize in my delerium......regardless....after much pain, phone calls home, worried parents, extensive credit card bills, and cute Thai nurses, I had to suck it up and catch my flight home.....imodium and gravol are my new friends.....I got home 12 hours later and spent the week getting fully recovered......no pics of Bangkok....maybe next time......

On that note I must say that there is nothing worse than being sick and not being home...not cool....also, it is never good to be alone while traveling.....I was split from my friends for the last 24 hours of my trip and that is when it hit me....wicked....the confusion and complications I cannot describe....it was only through the dear Lord that I got back to the hostil.....so....some advice....stick together with your peeps and buy international travel insurance.....oh....and lots of imodium and gravol....

Well, click on the link for the pics and click on "Thailand" and I will go get a shower....no pics of this either....

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Cambodia (Siem Reap)

2007-04-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

So, after leaving Phnom Phen I flew to Siem Reap. This was a much more laid back city and touristy. I enjoyed it very much. Also, it is the home of Angkor Wat. What is this you say??? Well, it is the largest of temples made in Cambodia. It was built during the Classical Age and is surrounded by many other temples and cities built many years before. I won't get into a history lesson, but, if you get the chance you should read up on Cambodia's history.....very interesting. Also, you may have seen Angkor Wat in the first Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie. There were also some shots of many smaller temples and ...........the Temple that is being filled in by the forest. I have many shots of my time here in Siem Reap, however, there are none posted here on my blog; too many to upload. It was easier done by putting them in a web album. So, click on the link at the bottom of this post and you will be directed to my Picasa albums. Click on the Siem Reap album, select slideshow, and enjoy. Peace out my people....

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonbrooks.12

Cambodia (Phnom Phen)...

2007-03-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

So, the Chinese New Year has ended and I am back safe and sound from my trip. I am rested, back into the swing of things again, and ready to push to the end of the year, which is June. It is hard to believe that I have been here for almost a year. I've decided to stay for a second year to teach and will not be home in June (the salmon will have safe passage up the rivers this summer). I don't know when I will be back home again....October......December……June????? Regardless, since the Chinese New Year I have been a bit homesick and missing people and the outdoors. I don't know how long I will be in this part of the world, however, I don't believe I am not finished here yet. There are a few more places I would like to visit before packing it up and moving somewhere else. So, I will see what happens and maybe I will see some of you sooner that later……..or later than sooner……

As for my trip, I had a fabulous time in Cambodia and Thailand (however, there are not as many ties there as you would expect). Instead of posting a thousand pictures (425 actually) all at once, I will post a few of each highlight over the next few days/weeks. Sound good? Hope so, because that’s how it’s happening ladies and gents.....

I spent the first 8 days in Cambodia with friends from school (Adam, Katie, and Faye). It was an awesome time. Although the people here are very poor and have faced genocide less than thirty years ago, they are always smiling and pleasant. I fell in love with the place. The first four days were spent in Phnom Phen, the capital. We visited the Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields. This was a very disturbing experience, so I will not post any of the pictures because it is not really necessary for you to see any of this. However, we also visited the palace and national museum. Below are a few pictures of these events and general wanderings. Pictures of Siem Reap and Angkor to follow in the next few days........my people, enjoy......

National museum....cool architecture....

Museum courtyard....

Inside the museum.....nothing is covered or protected and is exposed to the outside air.....birds were flying around inside......artifacts a thousand years old for viewing and the government hasn't put the money into its preservation.....

In the courtyard again...

Palace of the king...he is one messed up cookie....

Me and the girls on the palace grounds....

Cambodia (Phnom Phen) again....

2007-03-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Some temple.....

Faye and I in the back of a Tuk Tuk....what's a Tuk Tuk??? Next picture please......

This here......a motorcycle puling a cart for four (sometimes only two) people......these are all over town and you can get anywhere in the city for about 50 cents and three friends to help chip in........whenever you walk outside there are about 10 people asking "Tuk Tuk?" "Tuk Tuk?"......people trying to make a living....some people are safe drivers......other people gave us a prelude to death a couple of times.....needless to say we are alive and had cheap transportation.....

Houses on stilts by the water....

More stilt houses....

And more....

Rice fields during the dry season from the plane....off to Siem Reap...

Island man...

2006-10-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to realize I am an island man....why you ask? Well, lets go back a few years....First, I grew up in Newfoundland - Island. Second, I came back to Newfoundland from North Carolina in the summer of 2004, where I spent the summer there and studied for the rest of the year-Island. Third, right after this, the winter of 2005, I did my teaching practicum on Vancouver Island for four months - Island. Fourth, two days after I finished my practicum, I did a mission trip in Cuba for around three weeks - Island. Fifth, after finishing that I flew to Newfoundland, where I taught/substituted for 8 months - Island. Sixth, right after that I flew to Taiwan where I am now living - Island. Finally, for my vacation I'm hoping to go to New Zealand - Island. This is crazy and so am I.....I must feel comfortable being surrounded by water. This explains why I fall in the water and get wet whenever I go fishing.

The Muffin on an Island Man

That name gets me thinking as well....imagine an island of muffins....mmmmmmmm

Muffin Update.....

2006-10-22T04:03:00.001-07:00

Oh, Happy Day!!!

Just a note to tell you that as of around 10:00 last night I had my first muffin in four months....it was a special moment for me. The muffin was a banana bread muffin with strawberry jam in the middle. Word on the street was that one of the South Africans was making banana bread. So, what should I do but randomly show up with a movie and see what was happening. Well, when I arrived, I was offered a muffin!!! I was so delighted as I had it with a good ol' cup of tea made by another South African!!! I will keep these SA's close....what a wonderful evening of muffins....there is muffin like it! Thank you Anthea and Faye.......I will start bringing ingredients for you to make some for me in the future.....BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP!!!!

Peace out and take it easy.....the satisfied muffin man....

Hiking and Adventures

2006-10-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well......'tis a grand day here in Taiwan....just doing some things here on the school computer like checking my hockey pool and blogging.....school stuff as you can tell.....

Just wanted to post some pictures of times I went on adventures on my motorcycle and when I was hiking....some good times and interesting pics...

Everything else is peachy, minus the peaches that is....I'm not a big peach fan...then again, right now I'm drinking a apple and peach drink.....more apple taste though.....either way, here are the pics....enjoy...

On the way to the mountains....

The trail up the mountain...the totem pole shows a man carrying a woman on his back. Back in the day, when you got married, you had to carry your wife home on your back...good thing the Taiwanese people have a tiny stature...or maybe the more substantial ones never got maried because nobody would be able to carry them back home....leaving only the tiny ones to get married and reproduce....making the population of Taiwan tiny in stature....I may have a theory...natural selection at it's finest...

Hiking and Adventures again.........

2006-10-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

On the other side of the valley...

A town with hotsprings nestled in the hills...

Cool (dead) bug....Jeff needs to cut his fingernails....

Flying butter.....not good on toast...

Hiking and Adventures again........

2006-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

The view...

Bamboo trees.....

The river below...

Another shot of the valley...we are close to 4000 meters here...

Hiking and Adventures again.......

2006-10-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

The path was washed away by a typhoon....we never got to go higher.......oh darn....I just love heights....

The valley below...

Hiking and Adventures again......

2006-10-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

The valley below....

Another picture with a small me on the side....can you see???

Some freaky loud bug that chills out in the trees....

There I am again, but a more visible and cuter me..."Hello me!"

Hiking and Adventures again.....

2006-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

I don't like hiking around this incline a thousand feet up....

Fog in the trees...

Fog again....

Aboriginal Taiwanese children....

Hiking and Adventures again....

2006-10-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Countryside...

Countryside stream.....pretty....

Sun Moon Lake...

Sun Moon Lake...

Sun Moon Lake...

Hiking and Adventures again...

2006-10-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Rice fields and temples are common here....but not as close together as this....a rare phenomenon caught on camera....

This picture made me dizzy.....

Rice fields need rice planters in order to come about....here is one, but I'm not thrilled about him walking on the rice.....the next time you cook rice, put the rice in the water, get a strange man off the street, take off his socks, and put his feet in the pot. Take his feet out, then, boil the water and eat the rice....doesn't sound very tasty.....potatoes for supper tonight for me.....

Some cool building.....

Touching Base....

2006-10-09T02:08:00.001-07:00

Hello all....

This is just a quick note to say hello and that I'm doing well.....some of you do owe me emails to tell me how you are doing....

School is good.....I'm teaching and things are pretty good. It can be quite interesting at times and certainly there are ups and downs....but, altogether, things are peachy....I plan to post some school pics soon, but always forget to bring my camera to class....I can be a head of air sometimes.....an airhead that is.....will do this soon....

As for other things, Im heading up to the mountains tommorow to go hiking and will be taking pics which I will post on wednesday with other pics from previous outings.....

As for a church, I've been attending Gracee International Church for the past 6 weeks and it is good times....a lot of people there my age. Right now I am helping to lead small groups of chinese who want to practice their English. Some contain a translator and others not. We talk about life topics that are linked to the bible.....fun times and very interesting conversations since many of them are Buddhist......they are very open about talking though.....

The main reason for this email is to give you my mailing address....why would you need this? Well, if for any reason you feel stirred to send love by way of card, letter, note, chocolate chip cookie, peanut butter cookie, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, or left over turkey dinner, this is the address:

Jonathan Brooks

35 Nan Men Road

Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.

402

Love in any form is accepted.....also, if you ever want to call, my number is 3508-6002, but I suggest that you not call me because I'm hard to get a hold of and it costs a lot of money. So, send or comment me your number and I will call you for sure. It only cost me about a dollar fifty an hour to talk....I call around often. So, if you want a call, send me your number.

Ok. Time to go get some tealights and get supper......

stightsyen (good night)

jonathan

Kenting Trip...

2006-09-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hello People,

I hope all are doing well and that times are fun (asside from the fact that the crocodile hunter died yesterday). I am doing well over here in Taiwan. I have begun the fall schedule and am less busy than when I was doing overtime during the summer....things have slowed down a little and it is good. In fact, today is Tuesday. On Tuesdays, I don't have to show up to the school until 4:00 in the evening. I then prep for an hour, teach from 5:00 to 7:00, then am finished for the day. Good times if you want to catch up on some work (which is what I am doing now) or do other things not related to school....such as go to the dentist. So, so far, things are going good. I will see how the next few months are with the new schedule.

The second week I was here, the school was closed and everyone had a holiday for a week. Some of the new teachers all went to Kenting for a couple of days. This is a beach/tourist town on the southern part of the island. It was a fun and hot time in the sun. Below are several pics of those days. Enjoy, and I should have pics of my school/classes in my next blog. Later friends.....Jonathan

Waiting for the bus...

When I was waiting for the bus, someone placed this budda/idol next to me. It looked as if I had my arm around it and loved it dearly.....not the case....but a cool looking idol...

Sitting in the back of the bus....hot above the engine...will never sit in the back again...

The hostil we stayed in...

Courtyard of the hostile...

Kenting trip Continued (the beach)...

2006-09-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

Kenting trip Continued (surfing)...

2006-09-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Optimistic looking surfer (well sunblocked)...

Heading into the waves...

Not quite, but I got up later for a few seconds, then crashed...no photos though....how convenient...

Some were very successful...

This is me with a very dark tan on my first try .....really, it is....

Kenting Trip Continued (nightlife)....

2006-09-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I posing at the nightmarket...

Fish on display outside a seafood restaurant...

Some of the girls (Laura, Jody, Anthea, and Heather) posing with tall (gnome) icecream...

Kenting Trip Continued...

2006-09-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hillside opposite the beach...

Thank goodness for translations and pictures...

Another one of the beaches we hung out at...

Kenting Trip Final...

2006-09-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Modeling on the beach...

"Settling in....."

2006-08-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

People of my circle...

Well, I would like to say hi to all of you and let you know that I am doing wonderful! I have been in Taichung for about six weeks now and am enjoying it greatly. Instead of letting you know everything that I have done since my arrival, I will put some pictures in every few days to let you see what is happening. The average temp is about 37 celcius and humid......some day on the clothes....rains every now and then, thunder and lightning is heavy, and I felt my first earthquake tremmor the other night.....exciting times...

As for today, I will just let you know that I am settling into my apartment very well. I have three great female roomies, (one from chicago, another from minnesota, and the other from st. john's). I am on the 19th floor of an apartment building.....some pics are in this and the other two postings below. More pics of my life will come as time goes by....hopefully I will be on my own laptop soon and not have to borrow my roomate's. Either way, enjoy the pics and have a super day......jonathan

My apartment's livingroom, kitchen, and patio....

The other view...

One end of my undecorated bedroom....

The other end with bed and patio (and small dresser)...

"Settling in continued..."

2006-08-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

Bed...(with pink pillow)...

The view out the 19th floor of my apartment building....

Mountains in the background...

Close-up...

The view of the street from the patio....plenty of scooter parking...

"Settling in continued...continued"

2006-08-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

...and some final pics of the mountains overlooking the city....
...this twas a humid day....

"Hot from the oven..."

2006-06-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

So, after much deliberation, I have decided to join this so called "blog".

I have decided to call it "The Muffin House"! Why you ask? Well....for several reasons....

1. I love muffins.....all types...chocolate...berry...oatmeal...fruit explosions...the works....muffins are great at anytime of the day! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the late night snack! Muffins are not only a meal, but a way of life.....

2. There are always muffins here in my house which I bring to work. It was only the other day that one of the staff members mentioned... "muffins again Jon?" I replied..."Yes, I love muffins." I was then refered to as the "muffin man".....

3. On that note, the banner on my cell has been "The Muffin Man" for more than a year now......i forget why this was put there. I think it had something to do with a lady refering to studmuffiness and myself....however, am not sure...beleive what you may....

4. Some people call me a muffin....why....I don't know...."aaaaaaah....muffin"........cindy vancopernople for instance....

5. Also, I always make puns with muffins. If they are good, I usually say that there is "muffin" wrong with these....

6. My house is always soooooo freaking hot......my mother always got the heat on bust. Since it is always hot....I say it is hot like an oven. Me....a muffin....in the oven....it is my destiny....Jonamuffin

So.....now that you have an official intro to the muffin house, I will give a breif update of my life a little later and what is happening.....

....either way....keep it real and peace to your mama.....

Jon b

the muffin is in.....

2006-06-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all....this is a quick note to let you know that my xanga site has not been working and that I am starting my blogs on this site. So, I will be posting my original blog here and continuing on from there! Take it easy people....
Jonthan