TYPHOON DAY!

Dear reader,
I realize that typhoons that can cause serious damage and can lead to destruction and death.  However, I must tell you that last night I wished for a typhoon day (one that wouldn't cause destruction and death, but that would give me a day off from school) and my wish came true this morning.  Don't you love it when your wishes come to fruition?
A typhoon day is the equivalent, as far as I can tell, to a snow day in Colorado.  Based upon the veteran teachers' stories, it sounds as if you are guaranteed at least one typhoon day a year.  It is actually the Taiwanese government that makes the call in regards to whether school will be held or not, and today, based upon the quickly approaching typhoon  (or tropical storm) called Lionrock, they decided to call off school.  From my standpoint, having survived Colorado winter storms, it seems a bit strange that school was called off based upon some wind and some rain,  but I guess the challenging thing about typhoons is that they move quickly and it is hard to predict just how much damage they will cause (is that about right, sister Amy, the atmospheric scientist?)  Here is a picture of what it looked like out of our window today:

Anyway, I really needed a day off.   I am tired.
While packing up and leaving our whole wonderful life in Colorado and moving around the world to begin what will certainly be one of the greatest adventures of our lives in Taiwan has been incredibly exciting and has made even the most mundane tasks- like buying toilet paper or figuring out what to eat for supper- seem like something refreshingly new and interesting- I am tired.
Because as I look back over previous blog entries, so far, I think I have really only presented one side of the story- and that is the side where I share all of the wonderful adventures that we are having- which truly have been fantastic.  That is the side that makes it look like we are on vacation every day.   
But the other side of the story is that we are living here- and trying to teach, and plan, and grade, and set up your home, figure out transportation, get cell phones, set up bank accounts, pay bills, get prescription medicine, and adapt to a new culture in a country where you do not speak the language is EXHAUSTING.
Exhilarating, but exhausting.
And everything is a process.  When you don't know the rules or the language, you spend a lot of time guessing and trying things out- and to be honest, at least in this first month-  most of the time- you get it wrong.
Take for example, getting cell phone service.  First of all, you don't really have any idea where to go to get cell phone service.  What to do?  You can look it up online, but you will probably get back a site that is written in Chinese characters.  So you start talking to people at school.  You will get a bunch of different answers.  So you talk with your loving husband over all of the many options- and you feel overwhelmed.  You wait awhile.  Someone at school offers to take you to a cell phone place to set up your phones.  You thankfully agree.  You take a taxi and meet up with your colleague.  You walk for 30 minutes.  You get to the cell phone place and discover that it is 5 minutes from where you live.  Unfortunately, it is closed.  You find out the hours so that you can come back later when it is open.  The next day at school, you find out another colleague is going to a different cell phone place next week with a translator.  You realize it may be easier if you have a translator.  You wait as another week passes and you still don't have cell phone service.  You think really hard about everything that you will need to get cell phone service- your resident card, your health insurance card, your visa, money, your cell phones that you bought in the states last year because T-mobile told you that they would work when you moved abroad.  You even bring the phone chargers with you.  You get to the cell phone place.  You meet up with the translator.  You wait in line.  You find out after an hour of waiting that the Taiwan sim card won't work in your phone.  You debate whether to buy a new phone or to try to figure out how to unlock your old phone.  You decide that since the US phones are only a year old and the phones that you can buy here are in Chinese and you aren't familiar with how to use them, that you will try to unlock your old phones.  You leave, again without cell phone service.  Your husband begins the process of researching how to unlock your phones.  He manages to use the greatest invention ever- SKYPE- to call T-mobile- and they promise to send the codes and instructions to unlock the phones in 48 hours- and you are back to waiting.  3 weeks, 2 visits to 2 different cell phone stores, 1 translator, and still no cell phone service.
This is just one example.
So sorry, dear reader, I hope I have not bored you.  But I want to make sure that I paint a realistic picture on this blog for anyone who reads it and is thinking about moving abroad.
I would tell that person not to hesitate for a moment- do it- take the chance- move abroad- take your ordinary life and make it extraordinary-
but bring your patience, your sense of humor, and keep your fingers crossed for a typhoon day- that will come just exactly when you need a little bit of time to take a deep breath, slow things down, and relax.