To NOT BLOG OR TO BLOG?

I have been thinking of dumping the blog. Why not? First, only a couple of people read it occasionally. Then most people I know who read it really seem to only skim it.

My sister Judy is the only one who really reads it. So is it worth it?

For me it is a journal of my life. But it is much easier to not keep a journal.

I have a friend, Dan, who is anti-blog. He hasn't told me why yet.

But I will keep my blog for two reasons One, it's my journal. Beats a paper journal and others can read and look if they want. 2. I keep my sister informed. She likes that. So I like that.

Thinking Relationships

Meet Sam and Joseph - not their real names. Their real names are in Chinese and I don't know what they are. I teach them private class on Saturday when I'm back in Changhua. Very smart and willing to try which is more important than smart. Here we are playing "Moon Mission" brought to you by Gemini observatory in Hawaii and Chile. This game certainly facilitates speaking English.

I don't think they wanted their photo taken while I was "pondering."

I've been doing a lot of thinking while back in Changhua. Yesterday I went by bicycle to the nearby park and thought about Lin Li-Wen and I, and, life in general. The first think I pondered about was how I have a great gift. That gift is the time and awareness to be able to ponder. So I am sort of self-actualized I guess. So I ponder about how I impossible this situation is with Li-Wen. Currently, I travel once a weekend,almost, to Changhua. Then travel back to Taipei. We live our weekend life - but she is working. So, I told her this morning that I was dumping her - NOT. I told her that I knew her better and more deeply when I lived in Hawaii and she came to visit and I came to visit here. It's true! So where do we go from here?

We need to set things up our way. You know, it's funny, but we are really a couple of kids when it comes to relationships. She is 45 and I'm 51. Still kids though. I think it has something to do about not having kids. Having kids makes you grow up...

After our talk, here's the tentative plan.

I finish this crazy contract at this crazy school - 3 months and one week. Not so long, but seems very long. We move to Taichung where we have an apartment. I work for the Future Heir Bi-lingual school for 5 years. She gets time to reinvent herself. We buy land and the apartment in Fuli and Taitung. On breaks we go there and set up private classes. I search for a job at an elementary school. She surprises us with whatever her reinvention turns out to be.

Of course, ALL THAT COULD CHANGE IF WE'D JUST WIN THE TAIWAN POWER BALL LOTTERY....

BUT SERIOUSLY, TO BE GIVEN THE TIME TO PONDER IS A WONDERFUL GIFT. I ONLY WANT TO USE IT WELL.

Highway Shut for Butterfly Travel

The environment in Taiwan really takes a beating. Similar to the US in the 1960's. However they do get it right sometimes here. The following article from the BBC demonstrates this. They will close a very busy highway during a butterfly migration The only other butterfly in the world that migrates like this is the Monarch. I like the quote by Lee in the article. "Human beings need to coexist with other species even if they are tiny butterflies."
The migration is only one of two mass butterfly movements worldwideTaiwan is to close one lane of a major highway to protect more than a million butterflies, which cross the road on their seasonal migration.
The purple milkweed butterfly, which winters in the south of the island, passes over some 600m of motorway to reach its breeding ground in the north.
Many of the 11,500 butterflies that attempt the journey each hour do not reach safety, experts say.
Protective nets and ultra-violet lights will also be used to aid the insects.
Taiwanese officials conceded that the decision to close one lane of the road would cause some traffic congestion, but said it was a price worth paying.
"Human beings need to coexist with the other species, even if they are tiny butterflies," Lee Thay-ming, of the National Freeway Bureau, told the AFP news agency.
Under the bridge
Each year thousands of butterflies die when turbulence generated by fast-moving cars drags them into the traffic or under the wheels of oncoming vehicles.
Ecologists hope the triple-action effort of lane closure, protective nets and ultra-violet lighting will dramatically increase the milkweed's chances of reaching the breeding ground.
The protective nets are designed to force the butterflies to fly higher, reducing the chances of them getting caught in the traffic.
Ultra-violet lighting will be used below an elevated section of road to encourage the butterflies to head beneath.
The measures are estimated to have cost $30,000 (£15,200).

Grey-Faced Buzzard Migration

Here I am with Mr. Simon Liao (front left) and his father. His father is the official counter for this station. Simon Liao started the nationwide count in 1993 and still directs the nationwide count. He is also president of the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation. More than 50,000 people also migrate to Changhua to see the Grey-Faced Buzzard Migration. The Wild Bird Society provides free bus service from the train station and around town to the officeal viewing site.

Below are photos of some the Grey-Faced Buzzards (really Eagles) that passed over Changhua County Sunday morning. These are mostly male eagles coming from the Philippians on their way to Hokkaido, Japan, Siberia, Korea and parts of mainland China. The males go first, followed by the females a week or two later and then the juveniles. The males set up their territories and prep for the arrival of the females so that they can get married. The day before the count was at more than 3000 birds. The peak is Wednesday. I saw a couple of hundred in just a couple of hours.

While observing these eagles, we saw a Crested Serpent Eagle too - it's a big bird.

Round Sun

There was a partial eclipse of the sun yesterday. Here in Taiwan it wasn't vi sable- or at least I didn't see it. But here's a photo I took near sunset at a park in Changhua. The sun sure looks beautiful through all the haze and pollution. Taiwan has its own air pollution but I think most of it comes with the weather from Mainland China. We really are messing up the world.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly in a 2nd Grader's Mind

I've been teaching second grade English as a Foreign Language and recently we've been studying butterflies. On the final test one of the second grad girls came up with this for the life cycle. Pretty cute and pretty amazing. I think it would be amazing for someone with English a their only language. This kind of stuff makes me happy to be a teacher.

I love this piece for several reasons. The butterfly emerges and says "Hi" They get married, have an egg, then die and become "angel" butterflies and then end up in God's hospital. Not bad for 2nd grade with English as a Foreign Language.

Bike ride and thoughts

I am back in Changhua. I took a bike ride yesterday. I thought lot about the past, future and present. I thought about my brother who died labor day 2005. I thought about where Li-Wen and I'd be living and what I'd be doing in 2007-2008. I thought about next week's lessons for my students.

Weekends are so nice. Time to relax and be Mr. Vacation. I miss a lot of persons here. Yet I am extremely happy and satisfied here. I do get lonely though, but then, doesn't everyone?

Lunar Eclipse

The lunar eclipse came through Taiwan Sunday morning as the moon was setting. It started around 4:40 AM and dissapered into the dawn sky. I went on the roof of our building to get the last photos. They are a little blurry but so was I.

Parade

Below, I think, is one of the Taoist gods being carried by attendants. Taoism focuses on ancestors.

This is, I think, where some of the gods live.

Mei mei!

Drummers

Have to have pretty mei mei in the parade.
This "puppet" is taller than a bus...
This parade passed in front of our school yesterday. I'm not sure what it's really about but I'm told it goes all over Taiwan and has to do with Taoist god worship or some call it idol worship. It was really pretty cool.