Kenting Photos

finally posting photos from a weekend away about a month ago in Kenting. 12km coastline hike up a mountain and into the jungle and then back down. sorry these photos are in the most ridiculous order. it will force you to use your imagination. the first bunch are of the resort we stayed at. so ridiculously cheap and sweet. we dropped our bags off and walked down to the beach the first afternoon and swam in the Taiwan Strait (or East China Sea) depending whose side youre on. it was magnificient. Then we came back and changed and attended the biggest craziest taiwan bbq in the land. people just want you to eat. they dont care if youre hungry. just keep eating and drinking and cheersing them. kelly, emily, and i ate so much that we were asleep by 830pm. literally. woke up at 7am to drive out to the hike. it was about an hour drive driving in swirls around a mountain with kelly, em, myself, a little boy, and 4 grown asian men who blasted slow jams the entire time. very peculiar. the photo with all the cars parked on the rocky beach is where we started. its the most southern tip of taiwan. from there we walked east along the pacific ocean collecting rocks, there were so many lovely ones to choose from! after quite a while we reached a spot where we needed to go up. its too dangerous and steep and rocky to climb up on your own so you have to use a rope to hoist yourself up. it was amazing. we stagger going up but theres still only a few feet between all of us and so some parts are quite uneven and awkward and some people were pretty scared which would cause the whole line to have to stall. so youre holding yourself in some crazy position, clutching this rope for dearlife and when you look behind you and down, its a line of people and then the pacific ocean for as far as you can see. it was crazy unbelievable. it didnt scare me at all, i was actually relishing in the thrill of it. i could have stayed perched up there all day. 

once you get up to the top its jungle and beyond the lush, green, leaves you realise you are high above the coast of the ocean. we kept hiking through a big meadow and then up a really steep narrow hill until we got to the highest point. and from there you can basically see the coast of taiwan go on and on and on. an absolutely amazing weekend away. oh, and the cost for the two hour drive there (five of us took a taxi ha), then back, the resort, all the food both days, the beer and wine, and the cost to get into the national park was $60.

trying to resolve in my mind that canada is on the other side of this water...

abandoned building in the jungle. so cool so cool.

jungle homes

Justin and Flora. Lovely newlyweds that we work with. Flora is my secretary and Justin is an amazing teacher. Very cool people.

those people in the field were hiking with us. so once you climb that rope up to the top you hike through some jungle and then across this field and up another steep hill to the top where you can see the coastline.

kelly snapping a photo of us taking it all in

view from the top. hello taiwan

the side of the mountain that we climbed. too steep to do on your own, so you have to hold on to this rope and hoist yourself up. and then of course back down at the end, which is even more interesting.

i see hearts everywhere

do not be a passive observer

my confusion and insatiable state led me to download and rewatch Waking Life...

i had forgotten this but now i remember:


"the idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving.."


ahhh, and thisss...

stop what you are doing and watch this movie.

"...and on really romantic nights i go salsa dancing with my confusion..."

i had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion

disatisfaction drowns my taste buds.
this bed has lost its sweet spot.
i cant decide if im hungry or full
but i am suddenly overwhelmingly desirous of everything and nothing all at once
and i dont feel like waiting another moment
for any of it.

goodnight moon.

on the road

just got home from the absolute most incredible camping trip of all time.

i am beat and dirty and need to shower and put up our christmas tree while watching Home Alone so i'll keep this brief for now..
but to paint a picture:

twenty of us on our scooters and motorcycles caravaned down to Maolin. i can honestly say that listening to my ipod cruising on a sunny day watching banana plantations pass on the side only to be replaced by temples and tea shops and mountains worked together to make me feel more alive than i maybe have ever felt before. i was dancing [as much as you can dance while driving a bike] and singing and literally bursting with joy. the last leg of the drive we rode through meadows and i watched while butterflies played around me leading the way down to the water. where we camped was basically just a big gorge beside a river and surrounded by mountains. we set up tents and had an epic fire and played all day into the night. and of course, were asleep by midnight and up by nine in true camping style. we shot fireworks, sang songs, and made new friends. i met a girl from ottawa. unebelievable.

after packing up today we rode through a little village, then down a windy jungle road to a waterfall. it was beautiful. we kept hiking, crossed a rickety little bridge and stumbled upon the most amazing waterfall i have ever seen. it literally looked like 'the beach' was filmed there. it was probably fifteen stories high and ran into a little blue circle of water that you could swim in. the sides were flanked with the most luscious green plants.there was even a rope to swing from. the water was freezing but you cant go to an epic waterfall in the middle of taiwan and not swim. so i swam. and it was unreal.

we got dressed, pushed play on our ipods and headed back out. stopped only to eat at a little dumpling shop and then straight on til home.
these words arent doing it justice so ill post photos asap. get ready to be jealous and start looking up flights to visit me.

i call them my bees

some words i put on paper while tossing and turning yestereve..


...
i call them my bees.
how i revel in their resiliencies
and marvel in their delights.
their bursts of laughter
threaten to burst this heart of mine everytime.

they find my painted nails ugly
and me at my prettiest 
barefoot with gold hair down so they can touch and see.

i find myself choking when they cry because they look 
so pure 
and innocent
and sad.

how could anyone deny these little marvels time to play?

kevin told me he has no toys at home.
jays mother told him he's not smart.
joyce's father hit her.

these are the darks to their light.

so, dear universe, 
this is my christmas wish:

grant me strength, and more patience than you think i could use up.
let 2B and me be a safe n happy refuge

let me show them compassion, 
love, 
and laughter 
with english.


may they stay young and innocent and easily happy for as very long as possible

i started writing because my mind kept going back to how happy my littlest kids [the B's] made me yesterday as soon as i saw them, to spite the dark way my day had started. they always spot me coming down the hall and start yelling to alert eachother 'ashley, ashley, teacha ashleyyyy' and then they proceed to hide and try to scare me. everytime. and then they alllllllll start talking to me at once. about four of them surround me and start telling me stories at once and the others holler from around the room. its incredibly endearing and loud.

here they are:

yesterday's blues

with all the exploration, growth, and elation that adventure and travel bring,
one thing always remains the same; that home is far away.
today i feel the weight of this distance more than usual..and it is heavy.
its hard to know exactly what sparked it..
i woke up well rested and happy and went on a good run with emily and all was well until i went to leave and my scooter wouldnt start. i tried kick starting it and then it just died completely. SO frustrating. i had my purse and a duffel bag with my yoga stuff and ended up having to double with Emily and her purse and duffel bag, which wasn't the most comfortable thing ive ever done but at least we could chat on the way to school.
got to school and felt immediately overwhelmed for some reason. Perhaps it was my impending formal (observation of all observations). Or the date..December 1^st.
Its officially the holiday season right?
But there’s no snow and no tree and it doesn’t feel quite right.
I wore pants today as a sort of protest.

ps.theres officially nothing quite like getting woken by a text from your little sister informing you of the oh so amazing care package her and your mom are putting together for you. thank goodness for familylove. <3