Almost there...

My friend and I have been planning our trip for the past couple of months but we've had a lot of problems with booking our tickets. Whether it was prices, times, flights, or credit card problems, we finally got most of our tickets almost booked!! We just have to book one more destination from Taipei to Hong Kong then hotels. I'm getting pretty excited for this trip although this weekend I'm going on a short vacation with my coworkers which I'm getting psyched for that too! Definitely ready for some vacay time :)

-Chihchat

Thumb mood

My coworker had a phone application where you press your thumb on the screen and it will sensor your mood by your thumb. I was on break with one of my naughty classes. I actually really like them but some of the boys don't listen and one of them was acting up so it got me really angry. My coworker wanted to see my mood and it first said "autumnal: a sense of late maturity." Autumnal means that I'm inconstant, always changing my emotions. My coworker bursted out laughing lol I agreed that I am immature and she teased that I'm channeling this behavior to my students. I felt that I was feeling "autumnal" during my class for sure!

Then she wanted to try again so she checked her mood and it said giddy. It would make sense since she was laughing at me lol Then I checked again for myself and it said "ominious: something bad to happen, threatening, or intimidating." We both cracked up. I agreed that I was in an "ominious" mood and I agreed, something bad was going to happen in my class if they kept acting up lol We were definitely impressed by how accurate the application was!!

-Chihchat

Sick of Coldstone?!?

Drew has been wanting to eat at Coldstone more since we have the stickers to get our discount and because he loves eating there. I, on the other hand, can only handle eating there so much lol I barely ate there in America and to eat it once a week is too much for me. Drew needs to find a new ice cream partner since I can't handle it. As much as I love ice cream and Coldstone, too much of Coldstone is not a good thing for me.

Today was a beautiful day. Drew and I decided to eat lunch at a nearby traditional market. We were going to go to Coldstone and we needed the small paper book to put our stickers in it. I thought there was a 7-Eleven near Coldstone since you can always find a 7-Eleven but I was wrong. I was in shock. Drew googled nearby 7-Elevens and the next one was a couple of blocks away. That's really surprising since 7-Elevens are usually within a block from each other and sometimes only a couple of stores away. Luckily the lady at Coldstone let us put the stickers on a piece of paper and she accepted them which was good lol

-Chihchat

Hot and Sour Soup

My father and mother have made hot and sour soup ever since I was little. It's one of my favorite Chinese dishes and it's not as popular in Taiwan as it is China. With that being said, I'm also very picky and in American there are few places where I think they make good hot and sour soup. Every Chinese restaurant I go to, I have to order the hot and sour soup to see if it's tasty or not. Anyway here in Taipei I always go to this certain restaurant to order the soup since it's pretty good and they serve it.

I've been going there ever since I got to Taiwan and I know the owners of the restaurant; it's a family owned restaurant. Tonight the mother wasn't there but there was another worker, I'm thinking it's her or her husband's sister, that was working today. She was nice and when she didn't understand me, she said oh I didn't hear you lol She commented how many Taiwanese girls don't like hot and sour soup because it has a lot of stuff in it and you can gain weight easily. Again, another example of extra commentary. She said many Taiwanese girls are scared of getting fat. I replied saying yes, I'm not scared of gaining weight because I like to eat lol The father was there though and he also said yes she doesn't mind since she's an American.

It's interesting that a lot of Taiwanese people don't care for hot and sour soup. Actually, everytime I want to eat it or order it, they said oh yes many Americans like hot and sour soup lol I guess maybe it's more of an Americanized dish but nonetheless I like my soup and I will never get sick of eating it :)

-Chihchat

Funniest surprise so far on American Idol

Today is Sunday so I watched American Idol and the elimination episode since the new fox channel shows back to back episodes all afternoon long. The competition was really intense this week and I was scared to see who would be eliminated since I knew Stefano, my favorite, had a good chance of leaving.

Amist from all the anxiousness, it's awesome to see the normal side of the contestants. They showed a clip of some of the competitors playing around and wrestling since one of the contestants, James Durban, loves wrestling and watching it. Of course Ryan Seacrest has to make everything dramatic and intense when he has to announce the bottom 3 contestants, but the best surprise ever was when James Durbin and Paul McDonald were called on stage to see if they were safe.

Ryan Seacrest tells them that they are both aren't safe, meaning they are in the bottom 3 and have the possibility of going home. He then says again they really aren't safe and then Hulk Hogan comes out. I don't know what was more shocking...the fact that James Durbin and Paul McDonald aren't really in the bottom 3 or that Hulk Hogan randomnly came out on stage. It was hilarious and it was funny to watch Durbin's reaction as he kept opening his mouth in amazement. I kept laughing and sort of stuttering at the same time.

I would have had the same reaction as Durbin if I saw Leonardo DiCaprio LOL I haven't seen something so funny and surprising on TV for awhile. Basically this proves that I don't watch much lol

-Chihchat

Not so good Chinese food

I never thought I would say these words while I'm living in Taipei but today I had Chinese food that wasn't good lol I usually like everything and if it isn't good, I think it's just me since it's because I personally don't like it, not because it's not good in general.

After work today, Drew and I ate at a Hong Kong style restaurant near our work. We wanted to try it out since there are pictures promoting the restaurant and I just really wanted to check it out. I got noodle soup, Drew got rice congee, and we both shared an appetizer of dumplings. It was really blah and it stunk because it was pretty pricey. Our meals cost about $6 USD which is rather expensive for food in Taipei since I get food for about $1USD. It definitely didn't meet our expectations and it was funny because Drew said out loud in English, "I never want to come here again." hahaha

It's ironic since the food was pricey, the restaurant had nice decor, but the food wasn't up to par. It was definitely a disappointment but it's okay since we at least tried it out.

-Chihchat

I really don't like mathematics much...

I invented a new game for my half-day class to build sentences by using a simple 4-5 word sentence with their voc. and they have the chance to add one word as long as it's still a sentence. They are about 9-10 years old and most of them are smart. The voc. word was mathematics and the sentence was "I really don't like mathematics" and one of my students was smart enough to put "much" after mathematics. That's a really hard concept for them to learn with quantites especially since mathematics is an uncountable noun. They really proved to me today that they knew their English when they said "likes learning" instead of "likes to learning." Little concepts like that are hard for non-native English speakers and these students really got their grammar. We made a 4-5 word sentence into a 44 word sentence lol I was pretty happy to see that!

Then later I played a voc. battleship game with my most advanced class, A-11, since it was their last day since they had their final test and now will be A-12. It was such a nice, relaxing day that I'm not cringing for tomorrow and I'm not as tired :)

-Chihchat

Coldstone Syndrome

7-Eleven has a sticker promotion after so months where if you collect enough stickers, you can get discounts on food, drinks, or accessories. They always have the Coldstone deal where if you buy one ice cream, you get the second one half off,(or free, I forgot lol). Drew and I tend to go there a lot and the picture above is one of the awesome ice creations I love getting, Berry Berry Good in a strawberry covered wafer. It's so unhealthy but it's hard not to eat there when we have the discount and it's really cheap. It only cost about $3USD whereas in America it would be about $4 or $5, depending on what you get. Drew and I always get the biggest size too lol This upcoming weekend they have a promotion where the next four days will be buy one, get one half off but I'm trying hard not to go there. I barely ate Coldstone back home and I'm not used to eating it a lot here. Drew loves it but I can only handle so much. Oh Taiwan and its cheap deals!

-Chihchat

Non-stressful Weds

I used to have such a hard time working all day on Weds. and I blogged about this last week but I've really gotten the hang of working and not being as tired! It's really nice since I feel if I can survive my longs day of teaching on Weds. and Sats., then every other day is a breeze.

It's really a nice feeling since at times I would think I would never survive since I'm teaching a lot, talking, and not having the energy to do the activities. I hope this trend continues :)

-Chihchat

U.S. necessities

My sister has sent me packages before from the U.S. and it's funny of the things that I need or request for. I got her latest package and I wanted her to send me:

Covergirl black eyeliner- They don't sell it here and I don't want to use other brands here plus I really like the eyeliner since it works well and it doesn't rub off easily

Calamine lotion- When I get a mosquito bite, the bite swells up enormously, not joking, so I need the lotion to make the swelling go down. They don't sell it here in Taipei.

Stamps/Envelopes- To send for graduate school recommendations. Also, I told two of my students I would give them a U.S. forever stamp since they collect stamps and they never heard of it before.

I also wanted her to send me Halls berry cough drops but I forgot to tell her. They don't have a good cough drop selection here. I actually didn't want her to send me any candy or chips. I ate so much junk food back home and I don't eat as much junk food here but I do eat a lot of normal food here lol So for the most part I guess it's better. At least I'm eating healthier food and I even stopped drinking pop. I just hope when I come back I won't eat AS much junk food although I'm really craving blast-o-butter popcorn from Jollytime, chips and salsa dip, and chips with french onion dip. Those will be the first things I will eat when I come home lol

Also a side note: Did you know donut holes at Dunkin' Donuts are called "munchkins"? lol Drew bought them for his class and he told me about it but I was surprised of the name!

-Chihchat

Extra commentary

Many Taiwanese people are pretty blunt about things and they also don't have a "filter". This means that they if they think you're fat, they will call you fat since they don't really hide around the bush. I'm not saying that they are rude but if they believe something is true, they will say it.

Today I was waiting this morning at a bus stop and I didn't have my umbrella. It was drizzling outside but it wasn't raining hard at all and this lady looked at me and asked me if I didn't have an umbrella. I told her I didn't but it was okay and then she asked me what I was doing waiting without an umbrella. Honestly, it's really none of her business but that's how people are. They will comment about anything and they don't really care if it's none of their business. I just told her I was fine and waiting and she smiled and walked away. I don't know why she even talked to me since she was walking past me. I'm sure she was just trying to be nice but I feel Taiwanese people are more straight-forward about what they say and think compared to Americans.

Americans can be straight-forward to but I feel that they also like to sugar coat things like if someone thought they were fat, we would never agree to it. It's nothing bad or anything but I've really started to notice the differences in Taiwanese culture and what I thought was annoying from my mother and weird is common here lol

-Chihchat

American Idol Sunday

I usually don't watch any reality tv shows but there is a new fox channel station in Singapore so they show reruns of Glee, Junior Masterchef, and American Idol. I watched a couple of episodes of the first season of American Idol but I stopped watching it until now. A lot of my coworkers are watching the show and this season they have a lot of good singers. It's nice because they show reruns twice on Sunday plus Junior Masterchef so I watch TV all day basically lol I feel lazy but it's addicting, and also it's nice to relax after a busy week of work. Especially if I sub on Sat. which is my busiest day since I usually teach 7 hours that day and if I sub for only hour, it's 8 hours which is a lot for me. I don't feel too lazy since I did go to a pilates class this morning and played DDR with my roommate. I do have a couple of favorites that I like on the show but I really like Stefano Langone although there are a good 6 of them which are pretty awesome. It's going to be tough to see who wins the competition!

-Chihchat

All you can eat BBQ

I've eaten at many all you can eat places but this place was amazing because it was all you can eat barbeque food AND it was super cheap! You can eat as much as you like and have free drinks of a total time span of 2 hours for only $13 USD or so. It was super cheap! Above are the pictures at the restaurant. My coworkers and I ate there after work since one of my coworkers is transferring to another branch. I'm so stuffed but it was definitely worth it :)

-Chihchat

Saved stress

This morning I heard a buzzer sound which means that someone is calling from outside the apartment but usually when someone rings the bell, it's usually not for me. Last time someone buzzed looking for someone else and it woke me up, I went downstairs only to find out that he rang the wrong bell. I was really tired this morning so I slept through it and then when I was going to work, I saw there was a note that the postman came to drop off a package and that I had to pick it up at the post office. The problem was it was a post office that I wasn't familiar with..yes Taipei has many, many, post offices surprisingly. I went to work and I was going to get some things done first then go to the post office to get it. I'm so glad I did this but I saw my boss when I was about to leave for the post office and I decided to have her double check the message since of course it was Chinese.

The message actually said that they would try to come to my place tomorrow at 1pm but I will be at work. She called the postman for me since he left his cell phone number. Since I will be at work all day tomorrow and then the next day will be Sunday, the postman is just going to drop off the package at my work place. It will be super convenient since I don't have to find the post office and get my package although I will have to pay a small fee. I'm so glad that my boss helped me because I would have had a lot of trouble trying to figure out where the post office is and how to get my package lol

-Chihchat

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day and not a whole lot of Taiwanese people celebrate this holiday. At work, no one really cared about who wore green and I didn't have to worry about getting pinched since I didn't wear green myself lol But my roommate and I might go out tonight to partake in festivities but I'm not sure if a whole lot of people will be out celebrating.

-Chihchat

Getting used to busy days

I used to complain a lot about my Weds. since they are pretty busy for me and I teach from 1:30-8:30. I would be super exhausted and I wouldn't even have enough strength to walk home. Today was pretty easy since I had two unit quizzes in my classes but even after work, I wasn't super tired and I even graded one set of quizzes. I stayed a little bit longer at work to grade and I'm not so tired. I'm proud that I have built some stamina, it's about time since I have been teaching for about 9 months lol

-Chihchat

Dentist, Curves, and Wedding

Today Drew and I had our dentist appointment. It was so cheap to have our teeth cleaned. For one person it only cost about $4USD!! No joke..it was insane. It only cost $150NT with my insurance card. Everything was in Chinese but the dentist could speak a little bit of English. I understood the gist of everything though. Then I went to check out the Curves gym since it was on the 3rd floor next to my apartment and the dentist place is on the 4th floor. It's super close to my place and my roommate was thinking about exercising there.

When I first came in there were about 5 of them sitting around and I just asked them when they opened and they kept talking to me and they were crazy because they really wanted to guess where I was from. They immediately wanted to guess and they were super energetic, trying to find the answer. I gave them some pretty good guesses and I told them I could speak English, I even spoke English to them even, and they couldn't guess it. It took them a long time to finally figure it out since they kept thinking I was from an Asian country. The guy finally guessed America and he didn't even believe it.

I told them they can't pay attention to what I look like but by listening to my accent. It was pretty interesting since I just wanted to know how much their program cost and instead I got bombarded lol Tonight I got observed from the new teacher and it sucked since the cd player wasn't working and I was teaching them hard things like Neil Armstrong lol Yep and they learned Marco Polo. They are only about 10 years old. The new teacher was understanding but it's still embarrassing lol

The best thing that happened today though was that one of my best friends sent me her wedding invitation and she asked me to be her bridesmaid. This will be the first time I will be a bridesmaid at a wedding. I feel so honored! I can't believe already my best friends are getting married but it's definitely exciting :)

-Chihchat

Heat Wave

It was raining a lot last week but this last weekend was pretty nice. I thought it was going to be cold again though because Taipei's weather is pretty inconstant. One day it will be rainy and windy and the next day will be super hot. Today showcased it since it really felt like it was summer. Usually it will get warm and although there was a cool breeze this afternoon, it was really hot. It was so bad for me, also because I thought it was cold so I was wearing more layers, that I kept sweating. Even though the air conditioner was on in my classroom I was still hot. I heard tomorrow it's supposed to be cold again! I'm really not looking forward to the summer.

As always I keep forgetting when to state how many months I've been in Taipei. Today marks the 9th month mark for me living in Taiwan. Also it's pi day (3.14)! Anyway the months keep adding up but I don't feel like time is dragging on by any means. I can't believe it's already the middle of March. The warm weather definitely reminded me of when I first arrived to Taipei. I hope the next couple of months don't fly by too quickly!

-Chihchat

Booked ticket

After weeks of dealing with Airasia's website, I finally was able to book my and my friend's ticket from Macao to Bangkok. We tried to book the tickets a couple of weeks ago but the website kept declining our credit cards. Yesterday I was going to use Drew's credit card but that still didn't work although he has booked a ticket there before.

Today I called the Airasia center in China since the number for Taiwan is wrong to see why I can't book the ticket. The lady couldn't understand any English and she couldn't understand me at all. She was nice though and directed me to the Singapore center since they can speak English. I talked to the lady then and she said try to book the tickets one more time online and she told me if it still doesn't work, I need to call back and they will help to complete the payment process by phone. It would have been easier if I just book the ticket via phone but then I couldn't get the online promotion deal which is about $50 cheaper.

After what seemed like forever, I was finally able to book the tickets! We aren't leaving until the end of May but we just wanted to get the tickets booked first. We still have more tickets to book since Drew and I are going to meet my friend in Hong Kong, then while Drew is going back to Taiwan after a couple of days, my friend and I are going to Thailand then to Taiwan. She will stay in Taiwan for a couple of days and then she will head back to Hong Kong then the States. I'm getting super excited for this trip although I still have 2 1/2 months left to wait.

-Chihchat

Phobophobia

Tonight while Drew, my coworker, and I were walking to get dinner, Drew told me that I was a phobophobia. He was teaching about being scared in his classes and he looked up the lists of phobias and said that I was a phobophobia, scared of being scared. Technically the definition says scared of having a phobia but yes..I am scared of being scared. I've really become a scaredy cat these past couple of years. I don't know if it's because I watched too many scary movies when I was little or because I'm older so I worry a whole lot more. I'm sure there are many reasons but last night I watched the ending of this television series that I was addicted to and it was scary (to me) since someone died in an awful way in the show. It didn't make it better that he was my favorite character.

It was so bad that I couldn't sleep last night plus because of the tsunami that hit Japan. I was afraid the tsunami would come to Taiwan too or that we would have an earthquake. It's gotten so bad that I stopped watching dramatic television shows because I can't handle the suspense. I hate scary movies now, I can't stand to watch them, and I can't even watch suspense thrillers. It stinks too because Leonardo DiCaprio, my favorite actor, always make suspense movies and I just cringe throughout the whole movie, practically closing my eyes. It's gotten to a point where I wished that he would stop making drama movies so I can watch them lol That's why I like watching sports because it's exciting and yet soothing haha I don't like watching the news either. Yep, I'm a huge scaredy cat and it doesn't make it better when Drew knows and he tries to scare me every second of the day lol I keep telling him that by the time I leave, I will have high blood pressure because of him.

-Chihchat

Tsunami/Earthquake in Japan

I don't really know all the details but there was a huge tsunami that hit Japan today, so big that it is affecting surrounding areas like Taiwan and even Hawaii. Like New Zealand, Japan also had a massive earthquake and it was ironic since my friend's roommate flew to Japan to visit her family since she planned for her vacation. I think she left either today or yesterday and will be there for a week. It's a little daunting since there were warnings that the tsunami might even hit Taipei. Some cities near the coast of Taiwan have already been closed due to the aftermath of Japan's tsunami. It's raining right now but so far everything has been fine. I still teach tomorrow so schools aren't closed in Taipei. Hopefully the weather will calm down.

-Chihchat

A secret celebration

Today was my roommate's birthday but he doesn't like people to celebrate for his birthday or even acknowledge it for the matter. Actually, I hope he doesn't get angry that I'm blogging this :) Anyway we went out tonight but first played some games at the place. Our coworkers came and our other roommate was there too and we were playing this Chinese game where you say a 2-3-4-5 character word/phrase and then the next person has to use the last character from what the previous person said to be the first character of your new word. It's hard because you have to use the same tones and I'm really bad with that. It's easy to do the pronunciation but there are 4 tones so if you say "ma" for example, you have to make sure what "ma" you use. It was fun though and I'm proud to say that I got a couple by myself. I played this game in college and a couple of times with my friends/family here in Taiwan.

Later we went to a bar and it ended up being karaoke night. I was definitely belting out to Jay Chou lol Then we stayed until 5am and went to eat a rice congee restaurant. I was practically falling asleep by then. It's okay though because I don't have class until 4:30 and I just meet with my coworker to work on my Chinese around 3. Yay for night classes!

-Chihchat

Renewing my phone card

Since I don't have a phone bill in Taiwan, I buy prepaid minutes and it's been nice since all I have to do is just get a prepaid phone card at a convenience store, usually 7-11. The only thing is that I always ask the person to get the card for me since I don't really know how to use the machine to order one.

Tonight, finally, after so many months I know exactly how to order my prepaid phone card lol This shouldn't be really big news or anything but little things like this can be annoying and stressful and extremely unnecessary if there wasn't a language barrier involved lol But it's okay because now I know and I'm happier I can add another thing to my list of things that I can do by myself in Taiwan.

-Chihchat

Filing my income tax

There are many things in Taiwan that require more work than necessary whether it is printing off a bank statement, mailing things, paying a bill, or even throwing out the trash. It seems that it takes forever for something to be done and it can be extremely complicated. However, one thing that is quick and extremely easy to do is filing taxes.

All there is to do to file taxes is when we receive our "W-2 form" which is basically a piece of paper, we go to the tax office and they quickly fill out the form. They tell you how much money we can get back and it's quick and easy. We didn't have to wait in line for long or pay someone to fill out the form. It wasn't stressful at all and honestly, it didn't even seem like I was filing taxes but rather just filling out a piece of paper and handing it in. That's what filing taxes should be like! lol

-Chihchat

Running errands smoothly

Today I had a lot of small errands to do and surprisingly and happily I got them all done with out any problems. I first went to the dentist office super close to my apartment and made an appointment for me and Drew to clean our teeth. She was super patient with me and I didn't have to speak English or anything. I then had to mail something at the post office and the lady was nice and understood what I wanted to do and she didn't question me about why I was mailing things to the US. Then I went to the library to renew my book. I didn't know exactly what to say but she understood. No one got mad or angry with what I was saying or was impatient with me. YES! :) It was awesome since it didn't take super long and I even had time to go to work early!!

-Chihchat

Pilates

I've been having more time to exercise and I need to since during this winter I haven't been exercising a lot. I went to a pilates class this morning and I was afraid because 1) I didn't think I could understand the instructor's directions since of course she's speaking Chinese and 2) I didn't know if I was in shape or have the flexibility to do it haha I managed to do all the moves and I'm proud to say that I survived. My coworker has been going the past couple of weeks and told me that it really tones your inner core (stomach especially) and that I could actually do the moves at home.

I know I'm not sore now but I think tomorrow I most likely will be haha

-Chihchat

A good meal

Today was a long day since I subbed an extra hour for my coworker. I worked 8 hours today and definitely after work, I was ready to be done. I actually had a good day of teaching, having pretty good classes, and playing fun games. There is a new student in my K3 and he's so cute. He's mixed and my coteacher and I are still not sure what language he uses at home since he can't read Chinese but yet, he's learning English. A lot of the students talked to him because they wanted to know where he is from. He's such a cutie though lol

I also had one of my students from my summer writing class in one of the classes that I subbed for today. I didn't recognize her at first but I did later and I felt bad since I know she remembered me when she saw me. I later realized who she was and I was like Oh hi! lol I was really glad to see her though. I feel old since already I can tell her she looks older and she has changed a lot with her new hairdo haha But maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.

After work my roommate/coworker and I ate dinner with two of my coworkers at a restaurant. My coworker/trainer was telling me that it was nice just to have a good meal after work. I agree of course! :)

-Chihchat

Challenging games

I always try to come up with new, creative games and it's hard because sometimes I feel like I can't think of anything new. I get some ideas from other teachers but I also try to make up my own games. I taught my favorite class (A11) and I came up with some new voc. games and I'm happy since tonight the students had fun with the game and they were being challenged; they told me that themselves lol Since it's A11 and they have to study for new voc. words, I played this game where they have to think of any voc. word, tell me if it's a verb/noun/adjective, define it, then put it in a sentence. They write it on a piece of paper. Then I write the voc. words and then for the next round, they can't use the voc. words on the board and they have to think of other voc. words (without using their voc. word list). So basically they need to depend on their memory but also the chance that another person didn't use the voc. word. Then if another person thinks of the same word, then they don't get the point. It's pretty fun and I played it with my half-day class and although they are 9, they did a good job! Ah, I'm such a English teacher nerd lol

-Chihchat

Oyster soup

Seafood is extremely common in Taiwan, obviously because Taiwan is an island. As much as I like food, what I really like is seafood. I like it because it's easy to get and it's cheap, for the most part. At Shilin night market there is a small restaurant that serves seafood soup including clam and oyster soup. I especially like oysters because I remember when I was little my family didn't buy them a lot because they are expensive to get in Iowa and it was usually seasonal.

I have my kickboxing class on Thurs. nights and to go home I pass the Shilin night market. I was craving oyster soup but I was afraid to go by myself and order it because last time when I went with my Taiwanese coworker, they were rude to us. The lady was still rude when I ordered but the guy was nice. It's so cheap (about $1.50) and it was good. Luckily the guy understood me and I just ate it at the restaurant. The soup just had oysters, ginger, green onions, and tofu. It's pretty simple but it's fresh. Some people might think it's weird to like oysters but I definitely think they are a delicacy!

-Chihchat

Muffled meow sound

To do laundry at the apartment we need to go through Cala's room since it's her room that is connected to the balcony where the washing machine is at. Another thing is that Cala's door is automatically locked and to open her door when it's shut, you have to go through her window. Luckily she has a window connected to the living room wall so we can open her door lol So it's a hassle to do laundry or go to her room because you have to go through her window to open the door. I was hanging my clothes tonight and Kenny snuck into Cala's room. I saw his head peak out of the door while I was on the balcony and I yelled at him. He hurried out of the room. Then I went back to hanging up my clothes and then left Cala's room and shut the door.

When I left, I shut the door and it was locked. I didn't see Kenny but I figured he was hiding in the living room or Drew's room. I went to the bathroom and I heard a muffled meow sound. I tried to find Kenny but I couldn't. I then realized he was in Cala's room! Ugh..so I hurriedly went through the window and had to open Cala's door and there was Kenny. He quickly got out of her room but I scolded him for being in there. I couldn't believe I didn't see him when I left Cala's room.

-Chihchat

Frazzled day

I was really productive today but I was also extremely busy. I skyped with my friend for about 2 hours then did my income taxes. I actually filed my taxes online by myself! Hopefully it all worked out but I am getting a refund back so I'm happy about that lol Then I met with Drew to eat Korean bibimbap for lunch. I then had to leave Drew early to go to my one-on-one. Then taught my class then went straight to my aunt's/uncle's place for dinner. I'm pretty exhausted! It's only 10pm and I'm definitely ready to go to bed lol

-Chihchat