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Book: Phantom of the Opera

Posted on September 30th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Books.

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Author: Gaston Leroux
Date Read: Setember-ish
Anna’s Rating: 4/5 (Highly Enjoyable and Worthwhile)

I’ve been listening to the Braodway musical soundtrack since I was a small child, and have managed to even see the show in New York in the very, very front row, center stage.  Completely amazing.  Could look down into the pit from my seat.  And so I thought that perhaps I ought to read the book that inspired this mild obsession.

One thing that made me very happy was that I finally learned why, when they go looking for the Phantom below the opera house, Raoul is warned to keep his hand at the level of the eye.  It’s because the Phantom was skilled at throwing a noose.  If he did throw a noose and catch you ’round the neck - along with your forearm - you could easily free yourself of the noose.  Without your forearm to free you, you would be easily strangled.  Really, reading the book was worthwhile just so I could finally have that answer.

We all have our obsessions.  Just some are more odd than others.  Que sera sera, no?

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Taiwan: Confucius’ Birthday

Posted on September 28th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog.

Little did I realize, but Confucius’ birthday was fast approaching!  This lucky (not to mention long dead) Chinese Philosopher gets to celebrate his birthday twice.  Once on the solar calendar (September 28th) and once on the lunar calendar (the 27th day of the 9th month).

Having agreed with my co-teacher that we should emphasize traditional Chinese holidays, and not just the Western ones, I decided a discussion and activity would be appropriate.  Naturally, the discussion fell to her, having been raised in Chinese culture, and the activity fell into my creative hands.

 
[Isn’t this the cutest picture of Confucius you’ve ever seen?]

After teaching the kids about China’s first great teacher, they colored a worksheet that I created with the help of the above graphic.  They enjoyed coloring in the letters - I think I’ll add lettering to all my coloring sheets in the future… 

4 comments.

Meaningless Rant: Jedi Squirrels

Posted on September 24th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Animals, Blog, Cats, Meaningless Rants, Squirrels, Star Wars.

While surfing the net during my luxurious 2-hour mid-day break at work one day, I discovered that there is a disturbing amount of stuff on Jedi squirrels on the net.  Not a LOT, mind you…but why would there be any?

[Image rights disputed by multiple parties - please contact if you have proof of ownership so I can credit this picture accordingly]

I mean, who thinks of this stuff?  Who decides to put a lightsaber in the hands of a squirrel?  And why?  It makes me think of the albino squirrel back on the U of M campus.  Can you imagine it slicing open trash cans, nuts, pizza boxes, or whatever, with a lightsaber?

[Perhaps this image belongs on my Sith Squirrels post…]

I understand that it might be cute to create a picture or your feline or canine companion carrying a lightsaber…come to think of it…I have the perfect photo of him for that - I’m totally doing it!

Certainly I can’t be the first person to do this to their beloved pet…but isn’t it awesome?  He’s got the perfect expression on his face - so serious!  There is a new force in the galaxy to be reckoned with - Tarzan, Jedi Cat!

30 comments.

Taiwan: Taipei: Ali Baba’s Indian Kitchen

Posted on September 24th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Food, Taipei, Taiwan.

A friend introduced me to Ali Baba’s Indian Kitchen, which is near my old area on Nanjing East Road, Section 2.  Brad and I used to walk that route late at night - to think that we might have passed it!

[The obligatory poorly lit entrance with a lone sign to indicate a reastaurant within.]

Like to many excellent eateries in Taiwan, there isn’t much on the outside to hint at the delicious foods that are hidden within.  A small opening in the wall of buildings leads to a short, dark entrance hallway.  Up a couple narrow staircases and you enter a beautiful, clean, stylish restaurant filled with the aromas of Indian spices.

[We had a mutton curry, a spinach paneer, garlic nan, and mango lassis.]

They have a weekend lunch buffet for NT$399 (12pm - 3pm) otherwise the meal will run you about NT$500 per person.  I’m generally rather cheap and I thought the food was totally worth it.  For more information, you can also check out their website.  (Apparently they also have a Taoyuan branch.)

3 comments.

Taipei: An Awesome Kennel

Posted on September 20th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Animals, Blog, Cats, Taipei, Taiwan.

These photos were taken at an awesome little kennel in Taipei where Tarzan stayed while I was in Thailand.  Like some sort of Montessori school for animals, this kennel had no cages - just rooms full of toys with a caretaker on duty in the room.

When I came to pick Tarzan up from a pre-trip visit, I caught them spoon-feeding my cat canned cat food (to make him more comfortable, they told me.)  It made me worry that Tarzan may not want to come home after two weeks.

The kennel employees managed to turn Tarzan’s fear of dogs into a calm acceptance of them.  Before long, he was running around the dog’s room, stealing their toys!

The service wasn’t cheap, but I got to enjoy my trip knowing that “my son”, as my old landlord refers to Tarzan, was in good hands.

1 comment.

Thailand: A Tribute to my Suffering

Posted on September 18th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Thailand.

Lucky me this is a dock just off shore, and not a bridge over a canyon or a rushing river…

No, they use a few pieces of narrow bamboo nailed together to form a bridge over a rushing river.  This one I did have to cross, not to mention several that were not nearly so wide…

Did I mention that I took a rubber raft over a small waterfall?  I have no pictures of it - it’s enough that I live to tell the tale.

At least the elephants never sat on me, and the monkeys that leapt onto my boat never bit me…

But how do I end up in these situations in the first place?  Oh yeah…this time, it was Chris’ fault!  (Usually I have no one to blame but myself…)

3 comments.

Thailand: Bangkok

Posted on September 16th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Thailand, Travel.

After months of talking about, with potential destinations ranging from Russia to Australia, Chris finally broke down and bought a ticket to Thailand.  We met up in Bangkok to begin our two-week adventure.

 
[Chris (left) and myself (right) at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.]

We, of course, made the obligatory stops at the Grand Palace, home of the Emerald Buddha, which is actually made of jade; and Wat Po, where a huge reclining Buddha figure is housed.  That’s neat and all, but I go there for the excellent full-body massages at the massage school on the grounds.  (Don’t bother with the foot massage - it blows.)

[A small part of Wat Po’s impressive Reclining Buddha.]

I introduced Chris to tuk-tuks, and she told me horror stories about what pass for buses in Georgia, where she’s doing Peace Corps (with less than a year left now!)  We also got rather angry with the tuk-tuk drivers near the tourist areas - they’re all scam artists.  Just take a metered taxi and you’ll save big bucks, not to mention time.

[Myself (left) and Chris (right) on a tuk-tuk.]

1 comment.

Thailand: Chiangmai

Posted on September 16th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Thailand, Travel.

We ventured north via night train with two goals in mind: first, to go rafting; and second, to ride elephants.  Thanks to the help of the well-priced, friendly, and helpful agent of Wild Adventures travel agency, we were an immediate success.

[Awesome temple in Chiangmai - pity you can’t go in.]

Our rafting trip was with an excellent company, Peak Adventures, which I would highly recommend.  Great transportation, knowledgeable and friendly guides, and excellent instruction made for an excellent adventure.  The rapids, thanks to the recent flooding in northern Thailand, were 4’s and 5’s.  We went over a small waterfall - and I have no pictures of it.

[Chris (left) and myself (right) at the elephant camp.]

The second adventure was with a company called Journey, which was OK.  We rode elephants, where they really have a racket going.  Every five minutes they pulled up to another stand to make you buy another bunch of bananas to feed the elephant.  It started to get a little outrageous.

[Waterfall in northern Thailand where we went for a swim.]

We went trekking through a jungle and across farmlands to a waterfall.  Waterfalls, by the way, have a certain amount of suction that makes them rather dangerous to go swimming near…as usual, I learned this the hard way.

[Apparently Chiangmai’s most famous temple - it was hard to get a shot of it without large, brightly colored tour buses in front of it.]

We also spent some time within the city of Chiangmai, which had some beautiful temples, and some very tasty food, of course.  And at the Sunday Night Bazaar, we managed to buy a large quantity of clothes and sourveniers with minimal damage to our wallets.

1 comment.

Thailand: Phuket, Krabi, and Phi Phi

Posted on September 16th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Thailand, Travel.

Our journey south led to more adventuring, and the unavoidable burning of my pasty white skin.

[Me, with a crispy, tender, flakey crust…like Hot Pockets.]

We started at Phuket, but quickly headed to Krabi.  If I had it to do over again, however, I would stay on Phi Phi, which fulfills all the dreams of a tropical islands, with huts for rent on the white sand beaches, overlooking majestic blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean.

[A beach on Phi Phi Don.]

We went Sea Kayaking (or Sea Canoeing) just off the coast of Krabi with a company called @rt Canoeing, which I do not recommend.  Our guide blew, we got no instruction, and it was generally sketchy.  Nevertheless, it was a fun, if exerting, activity that I would recommend - just try your luck with another company.

[Chris (left) and myself (right) in our sea kayak]

We paddled into canyons, lagoons, and mangrove swamps.  I thought mangrove swamps would be really cool.  Not to say that they aren’t, but in the end, a swamp is still a swamp, full of ravenous mosquitoes that want to eat your flesh - hope you remembered to take your malaria pills.  (We forgot.)

[Sea kayaking off Krabi, Thailand.]

The swamps, as it turns out, are also filled with monkeys that come scampering down the mangrove branches, some with babies clinging to their bellies, to leap down onto tourists’ boats in the attempt to steal food.  (Note: they were successful, but in exchange I did get some great photos.)

[Chris and a mischevious monkey.]

Our next adventure was with Barracudas Tour Agency, which I would recommend.  Setting off from Krabi in a large speed boat, we sped south across blue waters to the Phi Phi islands for scuba diving in coral reefs and swimming on white beaches.

[We went for a dip in the waters of this beautiful alcove.]

With bread in the pockets of the shorts I forgot to take off before jumping into the waters, I had swarms of fish on every side of me.  I swam with schools, or sometimes I would follow one specific fish.  I would swim to shallow reefs, or out to a drop-off where I could see nothing but fathomless blue.

5 comments.

At last!

Posted on September 16th, 2006 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Uncategorized.

After much procrastination, I am finally getting this site up. Below is a self-intro and summary of my life to date.

I’m an American kindergarten teacher living on a cockroach-infested island that is frequently plagued by natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons.  When I’m not trying to move across a classroom with a half-dozen five-year-olds clinging to my body, I’m usually hanging out in my luxurious 125 sq. ft. estate perched just above a lively night market in the island’s capital city.  A demon, cleverly disguised as a cat, also makes his home in my humble dwelling, where he chews away on electrical cords while I’m off at work.

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