Jevin's First Cram School

This weekend I took Jevin to his first out of daycare class.  It was story time at my friend's bookstore.
They had songs, and games, and stories, and drawing and so much more.
He had a great time.... but he was a little shy at first.  (So different from Josie.)
 

 

Sicknesses....

 Jevin got sick again.  It started with a fever at school.  We took him home.  The doctor couldn't find anything.  The next day, he had "the spots."  We took him to the hospital and they confirmed that it was the dreaded Foot-Hand-Mouth disease. 
I think he had a really mild case.  His fever was very controllable by the medication.  He was even in good enough spirits to join us at school.  That way we didn't need to find a sitter for him (which is next to impossible in Taiwan).

 

I had a few toys that I use as props in class that he was able to play with.  It kept him occupied.

Parks.....

 May 8th
We had some time so we went up to Bagwa Mountain for a little play time in the park...

 

 Jevin was like, "Cool.  Wheels....."  As you guys all know, he's totally into cars.

 

 It was sooooooo hot.

 

 My kids are inside... The spectators are outside... Should have seen their faces when Josie asked if they wanted to play too (in Chinese).

 

 May 14
We had some time in the morning again... We actually hit two parks before Josie's Taekwondo class.

 The first was a little one on a quiet street near where I used to work.
The second one was where I used to work.
The school moved from its original property to a new property.  They moved all the play sets as well as added quite a few new ones.

 This area used to be a sand box at the old school.

 New slide, new swings.

 They even have a stage.  Josie practiced her public speaking while Jevin ran in circles around her.

Josie and Jevin's school day... 5/1

 Josie ready to go

 Well, we caught the end.  They were on time and we anticipated them being late, as all other functions in Taiwan NEVER start on time... So we kinda sorta missed most of the performance.  I will ask around if any of the other parents got the dance on video so I can post it.

 They put lipstick on her....

Jev didn't want to play with the PE teachers just like in January.  He was too scared of the crowds...

Spiders......

 As I returned to my classroom on Wednesday, I saw so many students out of their classroom and both Chuck and James active in the hallway... Curiosity got the best of me...So I asked.  Chuck said to look in the corner...
So, look in the corner... Do you see it?

Here, get a closer look...

 Not, good enough... Let me zoom in a bit....

 Yeah, it was so big that its eyes shone with the flash... I'd say it was about the size of my hand.

Tainan Easter

 I truly believe that Tainan residents are the nicest in Taiwan.  Jason won a buffet dinner from a hotel in Tainan.  With our friend Darcy in tow, we made our way to Tainan.  Though the trip was a little bit longer than we had anticipated.  We took the wrong highway and then ended up too far south.  We stopped at a 7-eleven to find out where we were and where we were going.  The clerk helped us find a map and then opened it up on the counter.  Then three complete strangers were studying the map for us.  One in particular was very, very helpful.  He mapped out our route and made sure we understood it. And we did... except we turned a little too early. Oops... Well, stopping at another 7-eleven we met a guy from Texas who was married to a Taiwanese.  With the help of a GPS thingie and a new route, we did in fact make it there and at the perfect time.
After our early dinner, we made our way to the gardens of this hotel.  They were beautiful... and we did get some pictures, but I have been told I will get those copies later.
The kids got to run around and they had a lot of fun.  We took our shoes off and walked on the grass... AND wow was it ever prickly... hahah
After we tried to find An Ping Castle. We missed the closing time perhaps by minutes.  We walked around the markety area and just hung out. 
On our way home we witnessed a horrible accident.  As we were driving, a scooter pulled out of a gas station driving directly into a scooter that was parallel with us.  He was able to stay up, but the girl he drove into slammed right down on the ground.  Her face hit flat on the road.  (This is why we should always wear full helmets.)  She was fortunate that she was on a scooter.  Her legs were in front of her rather than on the outside as they would have been had she been driving a motorcycle.
The guy was going to leave, but the bus drivers who had seen it happen stepped in an told him to wait.  All this time Jason had been out on the road directing traffic.  It took the police and the ambulance about 30 minutes to get there.  By that time that girl's face was uber swollen.  The first thing the police did was wave a flash light on our car to check where we had hit her... We were like, "Uh, no.... Witnesses...." When they figured that out, they just told us to leave... No names, no statement, nothing... Too bad for the girl if this does go to court.

part of the scooter and a scratch mark

 The girl sitting down and a scooter guy who came to help the man who is hiding behind him.

scratch marks for about 15 meters.... she really slid

Hair Dye and a Cut 4/22

 Josie saw a show... On that show the teenage girls had colored hair...  Guess what happened...
Yep, she had to have it.  So I asked how much that sort of thing would cost.  Three dollars for one strip.  For three dollars, who could say no?  It is only hair and whom am I to interfere with her freedom of expression... for three dollars... lol

 And while we were waiting, we watched the sparrows in their nest...  There seems to be four babies.

 Jevin studies the candy he had just been given.

 Oh... there's a mirror....

 Well, since we were there anyway, guess who got a hair cut?