{ lucky bird }

now to the philippines!

2007-11-01T21:00:00.000+08:00

alas this is the end of our bloggin journey through my three months in taiwan. of course you noticed there are giant gaps of time towards the end. this was because I was so slammed just before the parade and have been busy on holiday ever since and have found myself just unable to catch up. But do not fret! Upon my return to philadelphia in december, I will clean up this poor ending to be more palatable.

But hark! The trip is not over! I still have another month and then some to go. so in honor of an new adventure, a new electronic address:

please follow the this link for more michelle posadas adventures: http://theluckestbird.blogspot.com/

back again: jin san

2007-11-01T06:40:00.000+08:00

back again to the jin san hot springs, this time with irit! amy took us at 8:30AM this morning, but we had to find our way home. it was relatively easy, but what too about 45 mins to drive, took us about 4 hours by public transportation. lovely and worth it none-the less.

saying goodbye: shih chen

2007-10-30T11:34:00.000+08:00

finally, i'm starting to feel like i'm leaving. funny enough two days before my departure. as I said good bye to the last students who stayed behind. my heart sank a little. i don't know when I will see these people again? i realized that it was coming to an end and I had to say goodbye to these amazing students I love to work with . . . i also have to say goodbye to taiwan too.

first chance at freedom

2007-10-28T23:20:00.000+08:00

fulong beach: dan and roque practicing acrobatics

tongman elementary school in ji an: our wonderful hosts in hualein

at the taruko gorge in hualein with ray and minchi (and 5 other pals not pictured)

irit and i at nu san beach in hualein

the past week has been amazing and jam-packed with adventure. since
our first chance at freedom we've done sightseeing-a-plenty in Taipei,
a beach trip to Fulong and about four days in the south in beautiful
Hualien. We hope you enjoy the gorgeous photos with all the incredibly
wonderful people we've met so far! Wish us luck to our next stop, the
Philippines!

Check out more photos here:
http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc228/posadasmichelle/post%20parade%20adventures/

Parade Group: Lu Zhou Noodle Festival

2007-10-05T18:53:00.000+08:00

this is Cindy, a new person working at Dream Community, wearing the noodle head mask I made, they will use it as a sample to help make 40 more. It makes me giggle. The concept is 40 people will be around the Noodle Float during the parade running around and being chased by giant Bamboo ladles, which are used to make the famous qie "zai main" noodles.

Organization: Lu Zhou Noodle Festival
Group: Building - my favorite 5 rock star volunteers, Participating - 40 adults
Assignment: 1) Design and make a sample noodle head mask 2) Design and create 2 "special" noodle head mask for the Mayor and her secretary Joanne. Gold, Silver, and "bling" was requested in this creation.

Public Workshop

2007-10-05T01:04:00.000+08:00

here is my table where I work and where people can come by to make costumes for the parade. I work one 3 hour shift during the week and four 3 hour shifts during the weekend.

Parade Group: Dream Ballet

2007-10-03T00:57:00.000+08:00

Young Shen, Wong and I got a bunch done in a few hours

Organization: Dream Ballet
Group: 10 darling dancers from the dance studio at Dream Community, age 8 and up
Assignment: 1) Design and make a float with the Taj Mahal 2) Make the float with Nina's husband (She works at Dream Community) on nights and weekends 3) include a bench so the dancers have a place to rest in between dancing.

day 64: seed dragon

2007-10-03T00:46:00.000+08:00

here's what we made with the folks from Chung-Yi Elementary in about 5 hours.

Parade Group: Tree Cafe / Punjabi Dancers

2007-10-02T00:38:00.000+08:00

Organization: Tree Cafe / Punjabi Dancers
Group: Building the Float - Employees from the Tree Cafe, Dancing on the Float during the parade - 16 people from India
Assignment: 1) Design and make a beautiful float that where 4 dancers can dance during the parade 2) Design with the theme "Incredible India" 3) Make with 2-3 employees of Tree Cafe from 2-5PM everyday.

Day 62: day off

2007-10-01T00:26:00.000+08:00

Akin was the tour guide today and took us to Long Dong, to the ocean. I almost didn't go because I am starting to get sick but I knew that getting away from Dream Community would be very good for my health as well. A highlight from the day was when Akin went into the Ocean for about an hour and caught six fish. We put it on the BBQ along with shish-ka-bobs and a noodle soup. It was wonderful, it was like that is the way things are supposed to be. Getting to know Akin has been a treat, he is an absolutely fascinating and beautiful human being. I am glad he is in this world.

Parade Group: Shih Chen University

2007-09-29T00:05:00.000+08:00

They came today for an introduction to the parade and pageant, which included a personal tour with Gordan, Nina and JJ showing them fire dancing, paper mache Akin's giant float (pictured above) and start brainstorming ideas for the pageant.

Organization: Shih Chen University
Group: 20 First Year College Students, Design Department, Architecture
Assignment: 1) Ask them to do whatever I need for the pageant, they will live, eat, and sleep at Dream Community for 10 days 2) As of right now, they will make the flower for the pageant, make robot costumes and be in the pageant as robots. . .but also or instead be animals. . .not sure yet.

Today I gave them an assignment to design a flower with very specific measurements that would have the movement to grow, breathe, die and come alive again. They will present their ideas on Tuesday, then me and the other artists will design the flower based on their ideas. It's interesting process that I am into.

Parade Group: Chong Yi Elementry

2007-09-27T16:24:00.000+08:00

Organization: Chong Yi Elementry (in Lu Zhou!)
Group: 5th - 6th Grade; 60 kids in samba costumes and 30 samba drummers
Assignment: 1) Design and make a template for cute samba costume that matches the samba drummer costume from last year. Parents will make the costume in one week 2) Design a cute visual element that will represent their school. Their school logo also has the image of a sprouting seed. 5 adults will come to Dream Community 3 days to make the puppet.

day 58: this is what parades are about

2007-09-27T01:02:00.001+08:00

tomas, elena and bernvard

tonight was a great night: everyone dancing to music, little kids hitting each other with foam, paint on my hands, coffee, people visiting the workshop around midnight, laughing, giant butterflies, spontaneous synchronized choreography, stinky tofu, chocolate, conversations in 4 languages (spanish, french, mandarin and english), singing, puppets, and so on. this is what parades are about, i'm glad it's starting to finally feel this way.

the pageant: version 2.1

2007-09-27T00:45:00.000+08:00

Kristi pointing, Kole behind her head (with Sun Son theater), Loenson (director), Bernvard (a new artist from Germany) and JJ.

another meeting yesterday . . . it was supposed to be shorter, but including the ad hock meetings, like this one, it made our end time around 2PM, just 3 hours shy of last week. so the director looked at our proposals and whittled it down to a beautiful, not complicated, dramatic, abstract and impressive production. (the robots and robot flower made the cut) It is basically an emotive and experiential piece with lots of singing, dancers/drummers in the dozens (including 100 belly dancers), fire dancers, fire works, giant projectors, voice overs, some puppets (including 50 animals) and hydraulics. This meeting here we are actually deciding what type of hydraulics would best work for the flower. Sometimes I catch myself in complete disbelief that this is all really happening.

Siou Fong Elementry: DONE!

2007-09-27T00:42:00.000+08:00

1 parade group down, four more to go! in addition the potential of more groups, puppets for the pageant, final touches on the turtle and of course my own parade costume.

day 57: moon festival

2007-09-27T00:20:00.000+08:00

the full moon

the moon cakes

this past week has been much talk about the moon festival, which officially was celebrated last night on the eve of a full moon. it happens the 15th of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. everyone has actually been buzzing about it for weeks now. I wasn't quite sure what all the hoopla was about. But in this last week I found myself to eat lots and lots and lots moon cakes, the smell of bar-b-que in every direction, the majority of folks (not including Dream Community) going to their hometowns for a 4-day weekend with family and eating lots of moon cakes. the mid-Autumn festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year. Last night a few of us took a little break and went for a walk up the mountain near Dream Community. We rested our bums to gaze at the bright bright moon, ate moon cakes (big surprise) and pamelos. it was nearly perfect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

Public Workshop: sweet little muffin

2007-09-23T02:17:00.000+08:00

a gem! I helped her parents make the turtle costume for her today. I decided to make costumes that matched the giant float I made. Also I like that the turtle is a symbol of long life here and I think it is lovely in terms that the theme is "hope."

I can't handle how sweet this is, can you imagine an entire turtle brigade of sweet peanuts like this one? In an earlier blog I stated that how great it was to see people taking pictures here in Taiwan always posing with the peace sign, it actually stands for "V" for victorious.

day 52: meeting, planning, and preparing

2007-09-22T23:02:00.000+08:00

the calender in the office
to the left, a samba dancer costume tomas designed for his dragon float

i've been spending most of my time meeting, planning, and preparing. I'm a bit anxious to get to the doing part, we only have 28 days until the big day. We've been here for about two weeks and what we have is a few floats that have just started to been built and conceptual drafts of the pageant. i'm nervous because I know when it comes, it will come hard and fast. But none-the-less, "Ji-yo!" (Keep going!)

here is a taste of my current work load, which is not that terrible in comparison to others here: cover 5 shifts of public workshop time (which are between 2-3hours), during that time teach mask/costume making or help make whatever people dream up, create 2-3 masks samples for the public workshops, also teach a little samba dancing at the public workshop (really), create model and template for Shiou Fong Elementary, make sketches for Chung-Yi Elementary (costumes for 60 samba dancers and puppet to go with the seed theme) and sketch ideas for a big float to represent "India" for 16 Punjabi Dancers (i'm having a rough time with this ethically). And on average I get a new Parade group every other day and after Tuesday I will begin making objects for the Pageant.

oh my my.

Pageant of Hope: Sketches

2007-09-21T21:53:00.000+08:00

I am the director of Scene 6: Greedy and Scene 7: Destroy. Due today is a written proposal for the scenes, a title and sketches. The pageant was written by Inchi, who works at Dream Community and it is our task to interpret it and realize it. It is about hope and can be simplified as the story of Taiwan, which tells the journey from birth to death and then rebirth. It begins with a volcanic eruption that leaves a seed, it grows into an island and flower, an orchid. Animals and then people who are on the island discover the flower. Then other "people from somewhere else" discover the flower, name it and then fight over it. Then the "people from somewhere else" win and want to change it, the flower dies in the process, the "people who lived on the island first" cry. Then the "people who lived their first" call the upon the king of the sun and they are told to go to the end of the earth and retrieve the fire. After they get the fire, by using the rainbow, the flower is revived and everyone celebrates.

Based on the idea's we've tossed around, I think this pageant will look very different. There is talk, of course if the budget is approved, for a gigantic stage in the shape of a giant sun with rays that are ramps, hydraulic levels for the stage, a crane for acrobats, fireworks, fire dancers and more. The pageant field is one block long and the idea is it will be in the round.

Below are my sketches for my proposal: "Machine of Destruction." For the most part, we've interpreted this story to be about colonization and that the story of Taiwan is a story that has repeated itself since the beginning of time. I'm thrilled considering i'v been using these themes in my own work back in Philly. The artists directing the previous scene, Ben & Jessie, are excited that the "people from somewhere else" are robots. Jiving on that, I've envisioned the robots as this capitalistic machine that conquer, change what exists in their own image and leave to conquer the next island. My scene ends with the "people who where their first" becoming audience to their flower turning into a robot, of course during the robot dance. When the robots leave they cry and each carry fallen flower dancer.

But as I said, this is a proposal. The next step is for Leonson and Elena, the pageant co-directors, to take our proposals and present to us the final draft. Then we can finally start.

Parade Group: Siou Fong Elementry

2007-09-21T10:34:00.000+08:00

Organization: Siou Fong Elementry
Group: 4th - 6th Grade; 60 kids in latin marching band and 20 latin dancers
Assignment: Design and make a template for costume in a latin style and incorporate the element "seed" which represents hope, the theme for this year. 80 children will make the costume under their teachers instruction and my guidence. They will have 10 hours of class time to make it.

day 49: 32 days to go

2007-09-19T00:56:00.000+08:00

an unflattering photo of everyone but certainly captures the feeling of today, an unexpected 8 hour pageant meeting. the main contributing factors of this occurrence was translation, the lacking of structure and facilitation. but despite that, we got stuff done: laid out a framework for the pageant, each artist was assigned a section, and we figured out our next steps. we have a very tall glass to fill before the big day. we also met the other co-director of the Pageant, leonson, he is behind me in the green shirt. he is from Sun Son Theater and they have been highly spoken about here: http://www.sunsontheater.com.tw/. i'm excited about working with him and Elena as co-directors.

i found myself today experiencing moments of inspiration from my comrades and struggle with the process. i found it difficult it witness such inefficiency of time and energy, but it I am not in my a place to do anything to change that. i am here and I must embrace flexibility in order for me to survive the next 32 days. i need to remind myself why I am here, get everything I can from this and as Kristi says, "remember that this is fun."

day 48: absolute gorgeousness

2007-09-19T00:06:00.000+08:00

yesterday was our day off and went to Jin Shan, golden mountain, to relax at the hot springs. to get there we had a little hike up the mountain, including this bridge over the river

up in the mountain and tucked away inside, was this little paradise with waterfalls and flowing water into a series of pools that were hot and cold.

i found myself getting lost with my body emeresed in the hot pools and looking up towards the fog rolling through the surrounding mountains. it was perfect. if I got too hot, i took a little break on the rocks and the light drizzly rain cooled me off.

afterwards we went to the restaurant owned by the mother of one of our hosts. as we ate the unbelievably delicious food (that kept coming even after I thought I was full) this was our view. in the back ground is the river that we hiked along on our way up the mountain.

top row: ashein (host), patti, agun, kristi, jessi, tan thun (host)
botton row: me, eleana, amy
*I don't know the correct spellings of the names in Mandarin

yesterday was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, overwhelmingly stunning.

day 47 + 46: a whirlwind of a weekend

2007-09-18T22:55:00.000+08:00

here is the public workshop side to our outdoor studio. not pictured here to the right and back is where we are making floats. it was open for the first time this weekend from -10AM-12PM, 2-5PM, and 7-10PM. on weekdays it's open from are from 7-10PM.

in reflection of the past few days, i am astonished of how much has happened. it's been jam-packed with working or being anxious about working but also some really good hanging out with the other artists here. it seems that we have made an effort to make fun a priority. like thursday night, we all went over to my apartment (which i like to call "discotheque jean-paul." since jean-paul is from France and also my flatmate that has been away the past month) listened to music, drank some alcohol and everyone got a fabulous hair cut. sunday night we had a dance party in the puppet theater, a fair well for jake, that included theater games and spontaneous choreography. just imagine a room with over a dozen wacky puppeteers and theater folks. Then last night was laid back, we had samba lesson with Jake that included learning the basics of one specific form of drumming and sang along with songs that we all knew . . . there were about 4 madonna songs AND dolly parton's "9-5," i'm not kidding. then afterwards was the first session of "show + tell," where we shared stories, music and images of the work we do back home. all these little bits have kept a big smile on my face the past few days. i've been able to get a glimmer of each person and appreciating them for who they are. it's certainly collective because we had this big pageant meeting today and you could feel the camaraderie in the room. it left me feeling that the task at hand was more possible and for that, I am overwhelmingly thankful.

day 43: lu zhou, one last time

2007-09-12T20:05:00.000+08:00

the logo

the head and noodle ball

the body

Pony with a back view of the noodles painted

another morning of women dancing tango at 9:30AM and another project 95% done. for some reason today went just ok. maybe it's because I was by myself, jessie and jeri were missing, maybe I was tired, or maybe i was a little more sensitive today. i kept feeling that they weren't entirely happy with how it came out. I didn't know what to do or how to communicate with them in order to give them everything they wanted. All I know is I tried my best today and I left them where they can certainly finish it on their own. I think everyone did a spectacular job and I think it looks great.

fieldtrip: parade route and pageant

2007-09-11T23:51:00.000+08:00

us looking at the pageant space and president's hall in the background

the performance space for the pageant

tonight we went to Taipei to check out the performance space for the pageant. it is an entire block of an avenue, approximately 11 car lanes, in front of President's Hall. I feel so incredibly honored to parade in Taipei and have a gigantic pageant in front of "the white house" of Taiwan. The parade is on Saturday, October 31 from 3-5PM and the pageant will be from 6:30PM to 8:30PM, at night. They expect about 5,000 people to come see the pageant and thousands more to see parade. This will be the first year the Dream Parade will be in Taipei. . .oh my my. It will be gorgeous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Building_(Taiwan)

the next big thing: wow

2007-09-11T22:59:00.000+08:00

ben, jessie and dan

kristi, jerry, wendy, jody, and jeri near the door

patti, tomas, elena

Yesterday was our first artist meeting and we got the scoop on what's on the horizon from now until the parade. There are 100 groups with about 20-30 people each. They will range from elementary schools, organizations, college students, community groups, aboriginal tribes and so on. Each artist, there are 9 of us total at 3 different workshop sites, will have 10 groups each. We are to design, teach, and juggle all these groups to create projects they have already have in mind or if they are at an inspirational loss, guide them. Each artist is also responsible to build for 2-3 floats for the parade. This is to be made with the groups in whatever way we can figure out is best according to schedules, people power and desire. This is just for the parade. There will also be a pageant with ten sections. Each of us has a section and we are to create the objects to be used, they can also be made by our groups.

What do i think? Wow. This is so much work, for not that many artists along with other factors that make this task really stretch reality. A nearly impossible task. I say to myself, breath and yell "Ji-yo!" (keep going)

day 38 through 41: the midnight hours

2007-09-11T18:16:00.000+08:00

almost every night i've been up to about 3:00AM to 5:00AM madly and tirelessly finishing the turtle. i've gotton about 6 hours of sleep each night and working nearly every waking moment. and alas the day has finally come . . .that is it 95% done. it's done enough, that I can work on the little things between now and until the parade. overall, i'm proud of myself.

I am running a little ragged and finding less time to do anything, including updating this very blog. Despite this, I am amazed at my ability to keep my energy and spirits up as well as the lovely folks around me. Including new folks that have come: Kristi (Minneapolis), Patti (Colorado) and Ben & Dan (Melbourne, Australia). Tomorrow I go back to Lu Zhou by myself, one last time, for some finishing touches with the giant noodle baby float (it is not a noodle man at all), I am looking forward to it. The Jessie and Jeri combo will be separated to three sites. I will stay here at Dream Community, Jeri will go to the Jane Goodall Institute in Taipei and Jessie will go to
Neihou Community College. We've had separation anxiety all day. I will miss them. . .

earthquake. . .

2007-09-07T01:54:00.000+08:00

uhh. . .i was just in the office on the computer too late at night. and i've noticed a few rodents in the office, they make some noise you know. i heard a rumble and i thought it was them again, but then it got louder very quickly and the room started shaking and then I realized. . .oh man this is an earthquake, acutally i'm expereince some aftershocks as we speak. wow. then I calmly with big eyes walked to the nearest door frame like your supposed too (i think) and I just stood until it was over. . .Max said in Hualien, they happen all the time, he's used to them. . .

day 37: hao whan

2007-09-06T23:17:00.000+08:00

back to Lu Zhou today. . .wonderfully, nothing was ordinary about today, as opposed to yesterday. we come in about 9:30AM and walked in the giant room with women paired up practicing ballroom dancing, specifically, Tango. then all my favorite noodle float people came in one by one and enchanted more and more. . .then before. they are such hard working goofy folks that I really enjoy, though we only exchange the same few dozen words I know in Mandarin. and of course they constantly fed us food, tea, and snacks all day long, my belly never understands what hungry is when I am in Lu Zhou. Working on the float today went smoothly and splendidly, i would say fun, "hao whan." after lunch Joanne taught us a beautiful Taiwanese song, see the video below. to top off the evening, at around 7:30PM, a group of people came into the what I've assessed to be a community center of sorts, with yellow shirts that read on the collar "line dance" in English. then the rest of the evening was them practicing. i love Taiwan.

Lee Chee Shang, my noodle partner in crime, in front of the giant bowl spilling noodles a.k.a. hundreds on newspaper wrapped tediously around wire

This is Joanne singing to us, it is about someone saying good bye to someone they love and wishing for them to come back

day 36: getting into an ordinary rhythm

2007-09-06T08:41:00.000+08:00

i've spent the past few days tediously working on the turtle float. my progress is little, but i am proud of the way it looks thus far. i have doubts i'll finish on time, this seems to be no surprise, but i'll try my best. i decided to just do a stellar job on the head and to the best of my perfectionist ability "quickly" paint the rest of the turtle.

the past few days has also been low key in terms of "wow, i'm a new place and guess what wild thing happened today." i've been here over a month and i'm getting into an ordinary rhythm. when i stay in Sijhih, i usually stay within a few hundred meters around the area, so dazzling new experiences happen less frequently. But none-the-less I learn a little more mandarin each day, listen to good music while i work, goof off in times of pure exhaustion and make beautiful things.

Good news. My friend Elena from Bilbo, Spain arrived yesterday, she is also an invited artist here for the Dream Parade. oh I am so glad she is here, she is a brilliant person and i haven't seen her in exactly three years, the last time i was in Spain. She is a beautiful spirit to be around.

Today we are off to Lu Zhou to help with the Noodle Float again. . .9AM-9PM. whew.

day 34: qie zai mian noodles

2007-09-03T14:44:00.000+08:00

so i spent the weekend in Lu Zhou, about an hour away from Sijhih. me, jessie, and jeri helped start the structure for a float for their annual qie zai mian festival. it is pronounced "che-a-may" and it is a famous noodle soup that Lu Zhou is known for. the concept of the float is a giant bowl tilted spilling tons of noodles all over the truck with a giant "noodle man" (the festival mascot and logo) in the back of the truck holding chop sticks eating the noodles.

the people we worked with were incredible hosts! They feed us constantly and so welcoming and fun to hang out with. other then the workshop, their hospitality, the food was also memorable. in less than 48 hours, i not only had the famous qie zai mian, but also shark, sauteed intestines, fried intestines, fried fish eye balls, eel and probably over two dozen other dishes with tons of different ways to cook meat, seafood and vegetables.

a side profile of the giant bowl covering the front of the truck

me with the hard working women to make the structure of the bowl

jessie with pony, making the structure of the head of the noodle man, yes his head is a giant bowl with noodles in it.

jeri with one of the women I work with that I can't remember her name, but she's a firecracker. they are making the body and feet of the noodle man

day 31: hold your nose and chew slowly

2007-08-31T23:27:00.000+08:00

the past few days have been slow, hot, and taxing. i've been preoccupied with fixing that turtle float. no surprise, it's taking longer than anticipated. But no worries, we can work on it for a few days next week. But this weekend, we go to Lu-jo (sounds like it, not quite sure how it is spelled) to begin, what I like to call, the "noodle man" float. That means I will not be a dream community and might be MIA for a few days.

tonight we had some lovely and deep philosophical conversations with Max while delving into the "king of fruit," durian. Max insisted that we hold our noses closed to really enjoy the creamy and subtle sweet taste, because it really stinks . . . and it does. We are going to freeze it and eat it like ice cream when we get back from Lu-jo, i'm very excited about it. Max said it doesn't stink as much when it's frozen.

my next two months here

2007-08-29T23:50:00.000+08:00

8/29 to 8/31: fix our floats
9/1 to 9/2: work and stay in Lou-da-jo with 5 volunteers and start the structure of the giant noodle man float . . . to a place where they can finish it themselves
9/3: day off (i get labor day off in Taiwan!)
9/4 to 9/7: prepare for the workshops and the parade
9/8: probably still preparing?
9/9: day off, most likely
9/10 to 10/19: workshop somewhere else in Taiwan
10/20: big parade

That's it. really.

day 29: my turtle is a hot mess

2007-08-29T23:33:00.000+08:00

For the next three days, we fix our floats, because they were kind of trashed the day after the parade at the Ami annual festival. See the evidence below. It is definitely frustrating, but I knew I had to work on the float again anyways. Because the big dream parade in October is during the day, and turtle lantern style won't do. . .so I gotta make it look good for a day time parade. Also simultaneously design a giant float on a truck with a giant "noodle man" for a "noodle festival" in the town of Lou-da-jo (which sounds like noodle when they say it, I swear).

evidence a: head poked

evidence b: back end disaster

day 27: taipei exploration

2007-08-28T02:53:00.000+08:00

longshan temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longshan_Temple

Haushi Street Night Market
http://202.39.225.132/jsp/Eng/html/attractions/scenic_spots.jsp?id=18

a food stall at the night market

when i played this same game at the night market in Shi-jr, katie's husband's mouth was wide open in shock and said, "are you a copy or in the army?" 10 out of 10, 3 times in a row. They now call me sharp shooter.

the most incredible photobooth experience, at another night market in taipei

day 25: the ami parade

2007-08-26T18:44:00.000+08:00

the pictures simply do not do the parade justice. the parade was far more better then I could ever hope for. it was magical. it has been a wonderful week, granted a handful of moments of intense frustration, but that goes with the territory.

Right now, I feel kinda comfortably perfect, I can't explain why, but I think it's because I am not worried about a float, i'm not over-cafinated, it's a comfortable temperature, i'm in front of a fan, I don't feel like a dirt bag, and I am really proud of myself. Last night, I felt an overwhleming feeling of "man, i'm good and I am glad I am here". I couldn't have had a better night, being in my clouded leopard puppet, playing with the crowd, in front of a gorgeous float I designed and made with a fantastic bunch of folks.

front of the parade

jeri's rainbow float, the story of A'dek

african drummers and dancers

me in the leopard puppet in front of the turtle float

didi who sat on top of the turtle during the parade

jessie's float of the giant tree god

jake with samba drummers

day 24: the day before the parade

2007-08-25T03:33:00.000+08:00

yes. seven shades of green in combination with 6 different sized blades of grass. When I was about to mix the 8th and 9th shade, I checked in with Shuran Roo if I was being a little crazy and she said very sweetly, "Please no more colors." I agreed and I didn't mix any more.

kids who've been hanging around the workshop on jessie
s float of a giant tree god. they are dressed up in traditional clothing for a press photo.

it's almost 2:00 AM, Tarlo and Shuran Roo are finishing up the paper mache on the turtle head that Sun-in and I just finished making.

day 23: may qwan she

2007-08-24T11:09:00.000+08:00

I am mad tired these days. We are at the workshop so late each night because we are working with the adults and they come after work. We leave around Noon and get back around 1AM. . .sometimes later. I stay up to add to this blog, bathe since I am dirt bag at the end of each day, crash in bed, sleep, wake up to eat lunch and the cycle repeats itself. The parade is Saturday night and that means I have less then 48 hours until parade. . .

The turtle is coming along, slowly but surely. It looks so beautiful lit up. It's not finished, it still doesn't have a head and the parade is tomorrow. I also face a dilemma about painting it, all my tests look terrible.

But Shuran Roo (again, not sure about the spelling) has saved me. She is new to working with Dream Community as a teaching assistant and translator. She completely has the wild grass operation under control, managing many adults and rascal kids, to make and paint about 150 giant blades of grass in seven different shades of green. I keep telling her I am sorry for being so crazy, she laughs and says it ok, it will be beautiful in the end. In hindsight, I could not have done this without her.

The people are so fun to work with, especially Tarlo, we have an endearing non-verbal relationship. We constantly make each other laugh, make funny noises, exaggerated hand gestures and a hand full of Mandarin/Ami words.

Despite my low levels of occasional crankiness and becoming easily frustrated due to fatigue, i'm having a blast. I tend to giggle uncontrollably once of twice late at night and the people are great. Being around such passionate determination from the Ami is incredible. During hard moments, I tell myself everything is fine. It's ok, "may qwan she."

day 22: wor boo dong

2007-08-23T02:05:00.000+08:00

yes, she is on a leash

"Wor boo dong" which is a very basic way to communicate, "I don't understand." I've actually been saying this for days but of course I have only found people to respind by talking louder and slower to me. So, I learned a new phase today, "Wor boo hway-shwor joong-gwor," which means, "I do not speak Chinese." But I say it pretty lousy and the adults eventually get it, but the kids look at me with the funniest faces; wide eyed, mouths open and their head tilted to the side.

Today was yet another great day. People working, enjoying themselves. And I can totally see the people being really invested in the project, feeling a sense of ownership and pride, thinking critically about the choices we make in making the float. It was pretty great today, for one it didn't rain. . .that much. Then there were lots of kids around, which was refreshing, sweet, and of course incredibly frustrating a few moments. Later in the evening, Ya-shing (I don't know if I am spelling it correctly, but that is how is sounds) was teaching right next to my float at the workshop. She is a 19 year-old Brazilian Samba Dancer. She is actually half Brazilian and Taiwanese. It felt like we were really getting ready for a parade: people making giant floats, people practicing dancing, making posters, meetings about logistics and so on. It is pretty exciting and mesmerizing to have it all done in one week. Madness too. So, the parade is for sure this Saturday at 8PM. We will see how far we get on the turtle.

But make sure to check out the cute little friend above that came to visit my float today. . .

day 21: just fun

2007-08-22T01:19:00.000+08:00

i'm tired and lacking the ability to make sense. it is ridiculously late, so this will be most likely be a poor entry but nice photos to look at. Basically the day started alright, one could say average, but then it turned into miserable and ended in magic.

It started to rain seriously hard when we got to the workshop site and conveniently a hole in the roof/tent near my float. I was thinking very negatively for hours. But then while I was working on the float people drove slow past the site to check out what we were doing, people continuously kept saying to me "beautiful" in Mandarin and Ami, it stopped raining, my favorite people came to work, I was just watching everyone be so into it or greatly appreciating all the work, then people on staff at Dream Community were verbally appreciating my work, i laughed so much, and I just had fun.

The first picture is, I still can't remember his name, the brave good man that sleeps by the floats every night to make sure they are ok. Here he was very proud of all the leaves he painted so tediously and tirelessly. The second picture is a view of the workshop space, the turtle in progress and everyone talking (where I don't understand) how to keep the grass up on the float. The third picture was right after Tarlo, who is terribly amusing and charming, kinda dared me to drink a large sum of alcohol and I dared him to put duct tape on his mouth, then rip it off (remember the giant language barrier). Then I got the idea that it would be very funny to mimic his facial hair with the duct tape, at first he thought I was crazy and didn't understand what I was doing and running around for (scissors). But then I said, "Ka Ku Chi Tarlo!" he was greatly amused along with everyone else under the tent.

day 20: fun + work

2007-08-21T01:38:00.000+08:00

it was dreamy, i actually slept in today. since the Ami can only come in the evening time after work, we leave Dream Community later for the workshop, usually after lunch. everyday I have the strong desire to go earlier and work, but I've realized that being there from 9AM until Midnight is no fun. Max understands this too. Last night he was a little . . . under pressure and asked us if we wanted to go swimming today before the workshop. With a worried tone I told him that I'd rather work and make sure that the floats get done on time. Then he said a little desperately that he really needed it and we shouldn't constantly work. What a grand idea: fun, exercise, breaks, eating meals together eating important. I have gained a new understanding for all of these lessons. In the end, the work gets done. Sure it's not exactly how I planned it, but I find that it never does anyways, even when I work non-stop. I am still working really hard, but I'm having fun too. So, we went to this place in the mountains today to swim. It was beautiful, I felt rejuvenated afterwards. Amazing actually, it was very good for my spirit.

So the turtle is coming along. . .ok. We didn't get much done today, as you can see in the picture above. This is because we moved the entire workshop from inside the elementary school grounds (because of the Typhoon) to out on the sidewalk where more people can get interested and engaged. I think this is partially a terrible ideal. Now everyone is distracted, all the people they know come over and then those working become unfocused and as I expected, disappear. Despite this, pictured above are two hard working and lovely gentleman i've gotten to know the past few days. We don't understand each other much but we laugh alot. From left to right: Tarlo, Karlo, and I don't know his name. The man on the very right, as I type, is sleeping outside on the sidewalk to watching over all of the stuff. I told Max that was unnecessary, but the man insisted on making sure everything was safe. So, we left him in his cot, a cigarette in his mouth, his hands behind his head and a smile.

day 18: the real deal

2007-08-18T23:59:00.000+08:00

Last night and through this afternoon was a terrible typhoon that hit the entire island of Taiwan. Fortunately that meant we got a break from working. But at around 2:00PM Max rushed us out of here to go to the workshop because he got a phone call that the Ami were waiting for us, remember its raining very hard and strong winds. It completely touched my heart, they wanted to work on their day off, they were excited and rarin' to go! When we got there, people were hanging out, kind of the mingling part before the meeting. With warm hospitality they gave us beer, rice wine, beetle nut, and cigarettes.

And then I met the real deal, Arik. There she is pictured above. It was actually really sweet moment, when she found out I had her name, she grabbed her husbands hat off his head and put it on like mine!

Shuan Roo translated a little conversation between us. Arik was just so excited that one of the guests was named after her, she was talking really loud with enthusiasm. She said her claim to fame was that she gets a phone call to be invited to every party, every church in the area knows Arik, and even people in Taipei know the name Arik. I told her it was an honor to be named after her. She shook my hand and said:

"Ka ku ci Arik," ("My name is Arik" in Ami) " ki su ci Arik. " ("Your name is Arik" in Ami)

day 17: first build with the Ami

2007-08-18T00:23:00.000+08:00

This is a picture of the work we did tonight, the beginning framework for a giant turtle. After the bamboo frame is made, the next step is to paper mache it with thin paper. I'm installing lights inside, which will be powered by a car battery and it will light up like a lantern; since next Friday we are having a night parade. I think it will be beautiful.

I worked with three people from the Ami tribe (it's pronounced ah-meice), all over the age of 50, maybe even 60. It was a treat to work with them, such firecrackers. In the Ami tribe, women are dominant and highly regarded, it was amazing to witness this dynamic, since I was working with two women and one man. The men backing off and letting the women use the nail gun---how fantastic. Overall I had a really good time, probably some of the most fun I've had in any workshop previously. People just laughing, but working hard. They picked up how to build so quickly and I was learning from them, incredibly rewarding. Within the first hour, Max (the director of this workshop and translator) told me that they thought I was terrific, the feeling was definitely mutual. I am very much looking forward to working with them again tomorrow night and in the next week.

The float is based on the story, "O'enip pasiutana'ayo pangcnh koren to dateng" ("How the turtle teach Ami tribe to eat wild grass"). A story about a boy whose stepfather thew him off the boat to "get rid of him." But he actually survives and becomes stranded on an island, but then this giant old turtle appears. The turtle watches over him and teaches him how to survive. But the turtle doesn't talk to the boy, he just watches what the turtle eats and how it lives. Years later the turtle finally talks to the boy and tells him to go to the mountain and learn from the monkey, goat and bird, he has nothing else to learn from the turtle and the island. And so he does. About a decade later, the boy desires to reunite with his family, the turtle returns and takes him to his mother. When he comes back to his people, he teaches them everything he learned while he was away and helps the Ami become a stronger people.

My plan for the float will be this giant turtle and tall giant blades of grass behind it, the grass will also be lit underneath. On the turtles neck, we be a real human boy who will be able to move the turtle's head left and right. I am hoping to make the fins of the turtle bounce smoothly with rubber tire. We shall see.

Tonight all the people from the tribe gave me my Ami name, "Aneck" (I am not sure of the spelling, but that is how it sounds). It means a person always working and strong. I think it's a good thing.

it's done and watch it dance

2007-08-16T11:10:00.000+08:00

Here it is! moving and grooving. I'm proud of my self and glad the project is over. Well, almost. The crotch area ripped during this number(it's jessie in the puppet) and I need to reinforce that area. It was my first pair of pants and I'm glad they ripped now versus in the middle of the parade.

Right now I am waiting to go meet the Ami tribe, check out the workshop space, figure out what we are making and think quickly because the parade is next Friday. I'm chillaxing right now, but I imagine, the next week is going to be tough, but ultimately fun. Making one float, about 10' x 15' in one week sounds nearly impossible. But the cool thing is, it is a night parade, which one means a little emore time to make it and the option of illumination. So I want to make something big and simple that will be lit up like a lantern.

day 16: finished and i'm pooped

2007-08-16T02:41:00.000+08:00

it's so late snd it has been many nights in a row where I go to bed this late. I'm about to fall asleep in this chair, but I'd thought to share an major accomplishment. don't worry better photos to come. but I did finish the puppet, there are a few things I could done in addition, but I can't work on it anymore. Also take note of the yellow fabric to the right, those are my first pair of drawstring pants I've ever made. the fit funny in the crotch.

Even though it has been a rigorous two weeks, I've been working gladly the majority of the time, I loved working on the puppet and love being here.

day 15: almost done

2007-08-15T02:13:00.000+08:00

I tried to finish tonight, but the puppet theater was locked and I couldn't access the sewing machine upstairs. I decided it was the world telling me to go to sleep. All I have to do is sew on one more arm (not pictured), paint it, and figure out the best way to manipulate the hands without hurting the puppeteer too much.

Maybe staring a workshop tomorrow afternoon, but it seems rather unlikely, nonetheless my first one on this trip. I am nervous and excited. It is actually nearby and just a 10 minute drive. All three of us (me, jessie, and jeri) will teach the Ami tribe to make one giant float each. I think it will be about two weeks.

One thing I have been told is the Ami tribe is the largest aboriginal population in Taiwan, however the majority of tribe have moved to urban areas for financial reasons. I imagine I will learn more about them in the next few weeks. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ami_people

Day 14: the land of soft rock

2007-08-14T23:31:00.000+08:00

We went to Jiufen today on our day off. A small village in the mountains, just about 40 minutes away north, that was once called "Little Shanghai" for the gold discovered in the area in the 1900s. It was once the largest exporter of gold to Japan. But now it is a sweet place to visit that tourist go to and it's beautiful. It's famous for it's main street that is tucked away, it is wind-y, narrow and crowded; full of things to buy, eat, and see. When we got there we played a funny video game with drums, then walked up a steep mountain for a spectacular view, walked down the busy street and had dinner at a tea house overlooking the harbor. It was a lovely day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jioufen

Gorden, the big boss, drove us to Jiufen and on our way there he asked me a question, "Is Air Supply popular in America?" One of their songs was playing on the radio and I laughed very hard. After I composed myself I said, "Yes, about 20 years ago." This wasn't too much of a surprise being that soft rock, classic rock ballads or easy listening seem to be all that airs on the radio here.

the drumming video game

the steep walk up the mountain

the main street

the harbor

jeri, me, and jessie

yes, those are giant chopsticks

day 11: taiwan is amazing

2007-08-12T00:49:00.000+08:00

Katy (in the yellow shirt) took Jessie (in blue shirt) and I, along with her family, out on the town . . . of Shi-jr. First we went to the "night market," which is a cross between a flea market and a carnival. They have them all over Taiwan and Taipei has a gigantic famous one that I have yet to visit. It is stalls upon stalls of games, so much food and things to buy. Katy feed us and made an effort to only have us sample "special" things. Here in the photo we had this delicious shaved ice from a block of dry ice that was creamy with passion fruit topping. By far one of the most exciting desserts. Then we went to another part of town for "special" octopus balls and to this arcade where we went into an interactive photo booth. There no words that can really explain the incredible experience and sheer advance technology. This all happened in an hour and half.

When I got back to Dream Community, Jeri showed pictures from when they went to a dairy farm with the Piyuma Tribe in the Southeast, which seemed fun-er than any carnvial I've been to; that included people running in giant inflatable balls like a hamster, not to mention many cow sculptures for photo opportunities. Based on these two experiences (in addition to the last week and a half), Taiwan is amazing. It seems that people just eat tastey food all the time and have solid fun any time of night or day. Of course, only when they are not working six days a week and too many hours in one day.

happy birthday at dream community

2007-08-12T00:23:00.000+08:00

Around dinner time, we are all just "hanging" around the office, acting casual. We were waiting for Katy to come back from a gig in Taipei. Tomorrow is her birthday and we had a surprise party for her. It was a little mean but sweet. She walked in and was immediately called into a meeting already happening. They then made her very upset by yelling at her, saying she made a big mistake about an upcoming project, and she never does anything right. It was pretty tense and uncomfortable, even it all being in Chinese. Then the climax was when JJ (a person on staff here) slammed a book on the table and everyone popped poppers, sprayed foam on her, and yelled "surprise." Then Tomas ran to get the cake and we sang happy birthday. The plan went well, except she cried alot because she was so upset about what they said to her and that she was deceived. In the end she was ok and apparently each year one person gets a trick played on them. This year was Katy's turn.

day 10: goat

2007-08-10T23:30:00.000+08:00

This is goat, she doesn't have a name. She lives in a little house right next to the office. She is very sweet and likes to play with the stray dogs. Next to her is Max, he was milking her for the bread in the bakery.

Here is my progress on the assignment: Head is securely attached to the backpack, one paw done, the other a few layers to go, nothing painted, no costume sewn yet, and earlier today I realized I hadn't started the tail at all. I've been working slowly all day and will be working slowly all night. The puppet is due to be done tomorrow. We shall see.

day 9: anything is possible

2007-08-10T09:25:00.000+08:00

This is one of the handful of places to work on puppets and where I have been the past week. The stairs lead to the second level, a room of old furniture, industrial sewing machines, a sketchy table saw, tools, supplies, and puppets made in the years past. The first floor is a dance studio where every afternoon little girls in pink ballerina outfits walk by holding their mom's hand. It is so sweet.

Last night Jeri and I went to dinner with an old friend Younghsu, who lives just five minutes away. She was an intern at Spiral Q two summers ago. She e-mailed a me about a year ago and said that if I ever was in Taiwan that I was welcome and to make sure to contact her. I told her thank you for the lovely offer but I highly doubt that will ever happen.

sad news

2007-08-09T01:45:00.000+08:00

This photo was from my long car ride today. See the tall building far off in the background, underneath the freeway signs? That is Taipei 101, it is the tallest building in the world. BUT as of August 2, the developers for the competing tower, Burj Dubai, will surpass Taipei 101 by 12 meters. It will be completed by the end of this year. Taipei 101's time is short.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

day 8: work, work, and more work

2007-08-09T01:33:00.000+08:00

I am so wiped out, it's 1:30 AM. I'm up late 'cause I didn't do much work during the day. I went with Katy (a lovely person on staff that I like very much) to Taipei city to get fabric. We left at 10 AM and didn't get back until 4:30 PM! It only takes a half hour to get there, but the van broke down on the way there, kinda got lost in circles at the gigantic fabric warehouse, then katy continued to be lost on the freeways, and trying to deal with my visa was more time-sucking hoopla.

See above for the highlight of my day, a photo essay of me taking the paper mold of the clay mold.

p.s. typhoon shmypoon, it was no big whoop

day 7 : the land of rain, rain, and more rain

2007-08-07T22:20:00.000+08:00

I've been busy with paper mache all day, just like the rain. The type of mache they use here is this super thick rice paste used for cooking (it's pre-made), just add water and that's it, no cooking. It's ready to go, it doesn't go bad and also super strong.

Unfortunately, I woke up around 7AM this morning because it was raining really hard. I had a little panic attack because we've been working outside underneath a seemingly structurally sound and large awning. But allthe outdoor roofs here (and the office) have leaks. Also my sculpture was close enough to the edge of where the ground was covered, that I was worried if the rain was falling at an angle, all my work would be ruined. So, I ran out in the torrential downpour, kinda wearing my PJ's still and found Jeri to be there! She had already wrapped up all three of our sculptures. whew.

Jessie and I just laid out some major tarpage, bricks and a fortress of tables to help protect our ridiculously heavy clay molds from the big typhoon that is hitting in the middle of the night. They said it shouldn't be bad because the center of it will not be near Taipei. We shall see.

garbage trucks

2007-08-07T02:45:00.001+08:00

One funny thing to share about Taiwan. You know how ice cream trucks play a song when they go by, garbage trucks do that here! And not just any song, but "Für Elise" which is the famous composition by Beethovan. Over and over and over. . .wild huh?

day 6: day off

2007-08-06T23:22:00.000+08:00

Today we went to the National Palace Museum. Here is a fascinating but lengthy history of where the majority of the collection comes from. Basically this museum is full of China's treasures because of historical events that I will not pretend to know in detail. http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/administration/about/tradition.htm

Definite highlights: 17 layered concentric balls carved out of ivory, very old and gorgeous curio boxes, all the tiny tiny tiny carvings that exhibited high craftsmanship, old and rare books, old school movable type, stamping my sketchbook when I went onto a new floor, and just beautiful things everywhere.

breakfast

2007-08-05T13:15:00.000+08:00

Every morning that I am at Dream Community, I eat here at the Grain Mill Bakery. Usually comprised of tasty fresh bread with spreads. recently this blackish sesame paste has tickled my pickle.

When I am here, one the bakers offered Mandarin lessons to us artists at 10AM every morning. Very sweet!

sensory overload

2007-08-04T22:40:00.000+08:00

So the five of us* were on our way to get some tastey sweet ice delicay that jessie had once and couldn't top talking about.
1) Tomas and Jessie were dancing to Buena Vista social club and
2) Moments later we walked through the outdoor seating of the Tree Cafe where a live musican was singing songs that were cheesy american easy listening
3) Seconds later we saw on the street a pretty long parade of traditonal musicians (gongs, double reed insturments, drums, and cymbols)on the back of trucks, neon lit floats, vehicles coveredin lights, elaborate puppets, and people. All at 9'o clock at night in the street. I am not quite sure what it was, but it made my eyes go big.

I can't believe I didn't have my camera on me. will not do that again

*Me, Jessie, Jeri, Tomas from Mexico (Puppeteer), and Jake from Eugene (Samba Drummer) who's with http://www.marchfourthmarchingband.com and

day three: clay mold

2007-08-04T19:45:00.000+08:00

I'm having a great day! working next to a dance studio with little
wee-ones in ballerina outfits. kinda of too sweet. good food, nice
people. hanging out with Jeri and Jessie making art AND found out
I got the Leeway. Life is good.

day two: skeching

2007-08-03T12:38:00.000+08:00

All i did all day was sketch. I love drawing. I decided to make a Clouded Leopard. They are basically extict in Taiwan because of pouching. I thought making a giant puppet would help bring this gorgeous creature back to life. Also check out that smile, isn't it dragon like? I want to play it up for when I make the puppet.

dream community

2007-08-03T08:00:00.000+08:00

http://www.dreamcommunity.org.tw/

Why am I in Taiwan?

I was invited to join a team of international and local artists to teach rural aboriginal communities in Taiwan to make giant puppets. (Also to play samba drums, dance samba, stilt walk and so on. . .) I will be here from August through the end of October, building towards a huge parade in Taipei on October 20th. Following I will be traveling through Asia return to the country December 11.

From what I understand they put on small and gigantic parades all year long in this model, but the Dream Parade in October is the biggest deal. In fact, this year is the first it will be in the city of Taipei. I was told they have been doing this particular parade for six years.

Dream Community is more then an arts foundation. Surrounding the area are multiple newly built tall apartment buildings (another one on the way), an office, apartments for artists, a puppet theater, a workshop / storage space, dance studio, commerical spaces like Maple Tree restaurant, Tree Cafe, Grain Mill bakery, a handmade furniture store (which is Gorden's office currently); and a parking lot. The whole area is open and inviting, which is the opposite to how I've experienced the rest of Shi-jr City (where we are), which feels closed in.

So, how I see this to work is the founder Gorden, a business man that has access to financial resources, invested in real estate which has also built this whole community that supports the arts organization, Dream Community. One of the people here said this is very nontraditional because the majority of arts programming is funded by the government. This is not. I think this model is fascinating. Because he can do whatever he wants really, as long as the money is there. Like invite international artists to work alongside local artists, provide free workshops all year long to aboriginal Taiwanese folks and put on large and small parades.

i love life

2007-08-02T20:33:00.000+08:00

I got my first assignment tonight at a meeting I had with Katy. Tommorow i have to make a sketch for a puppet, any animal and take week to make it. Not to teach 100 children for 8 hours a day. just, make a puppet. This is amazing, i love life.

day one: from the land of hot and muggy

2007-08-02T16:00:00.000+08:00

From the land of hot and muggy it is not so bad as I imagined. Sure I sweat a little, but I think I psyched myself up to find this to be just moderately uncomfortable. But both Jessie and Jeri said it gets hotter down south and I should watch my words.

Everyone is really nice and I wish I studied more Mandarin before I came. But I will be doing that now. Ryan, a waiter at the Tree Cafe, recommended www.chinesepod.com because it is based in Shang Hai, which is most similar to Taiwanese Mandarin. I've found my lonely planet phrase book to slightly fail me. Many phrases are not pronounced the same for here in Taiwan.

It seems they treat us really lovely, I feel safe and comfortable.

Right now it's about 4PM and I am getting sleepy. I want to try and fight the urge and stay up until tonight.

As of right now, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. I met Gorden, the head of this whole thing, he told me this morning for me to take it easy today. Jessie and Jerushia don't really quite know what is going on either, i'm not worried, i'm ready when they need me. I am in the office, a small glass building in the area. There seems to be lots of meetings and I am assuming they are figuring out what is next.

I am so glad I am here and I'm looking forward to getting to work, but recognizing my body needs a chance to catch up with my spirit.

safe and sound

2007-08-02T08:31:00.000+08:00

Dearest people in my heart,

I’m safe and sound in Taiwan. I've only been here a few hours and I feel really good
about this. I can't believe i'm here.

I actually have no idea what is going to happen next and it seems that is generally how things roll here. I guess I get to just hang out today, I think I will take this
opportunity to study mandarian, becuase I really need to.

I just got to see my friends Jessie and Jerushia here, it makes this strange expereince a little more safeer and have a little bit of home nearby.

I wanted to let you all know where you can send me snail mail. It seems like e-mail will be very easy, but little envelopes of love are always oh-so-exciting.

Michelle Posadas
C/O The Dream Community
No.95 Min-Tsu 2nd Street
Shi-jr Ciity, Taipei County, Taiwan 221

Alright, here we go! More to come . . .

Hearts-a-plenty,
posadas

p.s. Also please reply this e-mail with your mailing address, I know i've asked this at least a million times before, but people move and I often loose information like that. I’d love to send you something too.