...in which he braves a typhoon.
Typhoon Krosa struck today and it's been the strongest of the season around here. There were stronger storms that struck the island more directly, but the mountains really protected us. This time the winds snuck in from the north unblocked and undiminished. It's Saturday and I had two classes this morning, though I called to check beforehand. Walking to the school, it was blustery and bit troublesome, but I didn't get too wet. This afternoon it started coming down much harder and a late closing order came in from the county government.
Despite the storm, I've taken Bagels out a couple of times. It turns out she is averse to going in inclement weather. She enjoyed playing around in it a bit, but then some really strong gusts hit. They can really disorient you; I nearly fell over. The wind has been strong enough at times to make the building sway. It's slightly unsettling, but you get used to it. When I was downstairs, I was doubly impressed by how hard the wind can get whipping around the pair of tall buildings.
In terms of difficulty, there hasn't been too much. The power cut out for a few minutes at school this morning, and again when I was napping this afternoon. After our brief walks, Bagels is soaked. Instead of using a towel, I play with her in front of a fan. She has a rope toy she likes to tug on and I just rub her fur. After about five minutes she's pretty dry. It helps keep the wet-dog smell at bay.
In non-typhoon news, I had a family over for tea last night. I teach one of their sons at the Kindergarten here. That's how I met the mother and she invited me to go on a family outing up into the mountains. I had a great time. During the trip we came across a woman practicing calligraphy. I asked if I could try it and she said yes. I didn't do very well, but the father of this family tried to and he was quite good. He offered to teach me and I eagerly accepted. He's given me the basic supplies I need to practice at home. I go to his house every Wednesday evening after classes to take lessons. He's a civil engineer and a really nice guy.
Having the family over for tea didn't go entirely as planned. I had actually only expected the mother and father to come, but I guess the parents wanted the boys exposed to a native speaker. That became a bit of a problem in two ways. First, one of the boys was a bit afraid of Bagels. They really didn't know what to do with her. I showed them that she was a nice dog. "Just pet her softly like this." To start, I kept Bagels in the big front room (no furniture) and I brought the family into the back room (love seats and coffee tables) for tea. Before too long, the boys got bored. They crept to the door and cracked it open to peak at the dog. They repeated this a number of times before I told them they were driving her mad.
Other incidents from the night include the older boy (six years old) falling backwards and knocking his head against the edge of the coffee table. When I originally invited them for tea, I had really hoped to avoid making anyone cry, but that went right out the window. He was ok in a few minutes, but I'm sure there was a lump when he woke up this morning. Another result of the boredom, the boys climbed all over everything in the room. At one point or another they were on top of (sometimes standing) every object in the room. Both loveseats, the coffee table, and the end table got the kiddie treatment deluxe. No damage was done, but it certainly surprised me. To boot, I let the tea steep far too long and it wasn't very good. Oh yeah, and Bagels had her second and third accidents in the house. The first of the night was before I left to walk the family over and the second was just a few minutes later after I had left to go get them. I still haven't figured how she pulled off that productive a trick, but it did make the night more difficult. That being said, right now she's sleeping at my feet and I love her more than ever.
On the plus side, we all came out of the evening alive and we got to enjoy some nice conversation. Maybe I'll stick to having tea at other people's houses rather than inviting them here if I can avoid it. I like playing with the kids and trying to get them to show off their English. If the parents speak English I like talking to them. Or I can pull out a bit of my Chinese. But having guests here was more difficult than I expected. I'm doing well, and I'll invite everyone to leave comments or send me an e-mail-
-Jacob
Despite the storm, I've taken Bagels out a couple of times. It turns out she is averse to going in inclement weather. She enjoyed playing around in it a bit, but then some really strong gusts hit. They can really disorient you; I nearly fell over. The wind has been strong enough at times to make the building sway. It's slightly unsettling, but you get used to it. When I was downstairs, I was doubly impressed by how hard the wind can get whipping around the pair of tall buildings.
In terms of difficulty, there hasn't been too much. The power cut out for a few minutes at school this morning, and again when I was napping this afternoon. After our brief walks, Bagels is soaked. Instead of using a towel, I play with her in front of a fan. She has a rope toy she likes to tug on and I just rub her fur. After about five minutes she's pretty dry. It helps keep the wet-dog smell at bay.
In non-typhoon news, I had a family over for tea last night. I teach one of their sons at the Kindergarten here. That's how I met the mother and she invited me to go on a family outing up into the mountains. I had a great time. During the trip we came across a woman practicing calligraphy. I asked if I could try it and she said yes. I didn't do very well, but the father of this family tried to and he was quite good. He offered to teach me and I eagerly accepted. He's given me the basic supplies I need to practice at home. I go to his house every Wednesday evening after classes to take lessons. He's a civil engineer and a really nice guy.
Having the family over for tea didn't go entirely as planned. I had actually only expected the mother and father to come, but I guess the parents wanted the boys exposed to a native speaker. That became a bit of a problem in two ways. First, one of the boys was a bit afraid of Bagels. They really didn't know what to do with her. I showed them that she was a nice dog. "Just pet her softly like this." To start, I kept Bagels in the big front room (no furniture) and I brought the family into the back room (love seats and coffee tables) for tea. Before too long, the boys got bored. They crept to the door and cracked it open to peak at the dog. They repeated this a number of times before I told them they were driving her mad.
Other incidents from the night include the older boy (six years old) falling backwards and knocking his head against the edge of the coffee table. When I originally invited them for tea, I had really hoped to avoid making anyone cry, but that went right out the window. He was ok in a few minutes, but I'm sure there was a lump when he woke up this morning. Another result of the boredom, the boys climbed all over everything in the room. At one point or another they were on top of (sometimes standing) every object in the room. Both loveseats, the coffee table, and the end table got the kiddie treatment deluxe. No damage was done, but it certainly surprised me. To boot, I let the tea steep far too long and it wasn't very good. Oh yeah, and Bagels had her second and third accidents in the house. The first of the night was before I left to walk the family over and the second was just a few minutes later after I had left to go get them. I still haven't figured how she pulled off that productive a trick, but it did make the night more difficult. That being said, right now she's sleeping at my feet and I love her more than ever.
On the plus side, we all came out of the evening alive and we got to enjoy some nice conversation. Maybe I'll stick to having tea at other people's houses rather than inviting them here if I can avoid it. I like playing with the kids and trying to get them to show off their English. If the parents speak English I like talking to them. Or I can pull out a bit of my Chinese. But having guests here was more difficult than I expected. I'm doing well, and I'll invite everyone to leave comments or send me an e-mail-
-Jacob
posted by Jacob Gerber at
6:50 PM
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