My Excuses

I haven't written in a while.

I haven't written since moving to Taiwan.

I haven't even written for pleasure.

For an English teacher, this is bad practice. So I guess it's time to take responsibility for my absence from Andrea in Another Landrea.

To be honest, I've had a roller coaster couple of months. Anyone who has moved understands the highs and lows of change. I've started a new job, moved to a new country, learned a new way of teaching, and tried to make new friends, all in the span of about 5 months. I remember hearing someone say that it takes 5 months for someone to feel comfortable after a move, so I suppose it seems right that I feel like I want to write now.

When I first arrived in Taipei, my sister helped me to get settled in to my new home. She helped me choose the right apartment and move in. She arranged my bookshelves to perfection. We ate and explored and fell in love with Taipei.

Then came the typhoons.
If you follow me on Facebook, you will have seen the pictures of the devastation. I spent about 2 days without power during the first typhoon and only 30 minutes or so on the second one. Both were very powerful and nothing like what I had experienced in Shekou, where the winds were buffeted by Hong Kong. This was full on.

I experienced my first earthquake somewhere during that time. Not terrible, just, "Huh. Was that an earthquake?"

Making friends has been slow going. But I have to remember, it took me a while in Shekou as well. There are wonderful people here, who have been nothing but kind to me. I have a few very close friends, and my friendship circles are inching outward. I'll find my comfort zone eventually.

Just as with all new jobs, I am still in an adjustment phase. I am starting to understand how things work and where I fit in. My teaching partner has been invaluable during my transition and has answered all my questions, no matter how inane. She has been incredibly patient. My teaching team has shown me the ropes and treated me like a professional from the get go. It's very humbling to go from being the person who knew most of the answers (at SIS) to the person who knows none. Expert to amateur in one fell swoop.

In all of this discomfort and uncertainty, I received news that my dad was sick. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, cancer of the blood/bone marrow. He has responded well to four rounds of chemo and will soon under go an autologus stem cell transplant. He will be cared for by the University of Kansas Hospital's Cancer Center. My mom and sister will be his at-home caretakers as he will be confined to our house for about 30 days while his immune system strengthens. This will be taxing emotionally and mentally for Mom and KJ. It will certainly be hard for my dad. And me... I'll be on the other side of the world trying desperately to keep updated on his progress through Skype, What's App, and iMessage.

I've tried to keep my sh*t together the best I could. I lost it a lot. I hope I minimized the impact on others, but I fear I didn't always transition with grace. So, I guess in the process of dealing with the day to day, I didn't take time to process it in writing. So it goes. But hopefully it will go differently soon.

I love living in Taipei. My Mandarin has not improved at all, but I love that people here are willing to help me and meet me half-way with my horrible pronunciation. The Taiwanese people I have met are friendly and open and have a fierce love of their country. The food is ridiculously good. Hiking (complete with monkeys) is right out my front door. My apartment is cozy and feels like home already. I have so much to write about. Hopefully there will be more to come soon. But I know you will forgive me if it doesn't come right away.