My job is rough...

For the last few weeks, we have been mixing up our work experience.  It looks like our school may not open until May, and we have just been working on lesson plans and stuff to prepare for that opening date.  In the meantime, two of the teachers at another school went home.  This left an opportunity for Lisa and me to teach for a week.  I was able to teach kids how to play flag football, and they almost learned parts of the game.  I'm not much of an athlete, so I'm not sure that I am the best teacher for that subject, but the kids had fun and would scream "football," and "hike" at me when I saw them at different parts of the day.  It was a fun week, and a good learning experience for when we actually begin teaching.
Weekends are always fun for us.  Lisa, Andrew, Alix, Ryan and I typically spend the weekends together exploring and experiencing new things.  This last weekend, we all went to a hot springs not far from our apartment and soaked for a couple of hours.  It was probably the best hot springing experience of my life, and it only cost us $1.50 each.
This week was especially rough for us.  Lisa, Andrew, Ryan and I were asked if we would like to accommodate some 6th graders on their annual trip to Sun Moon Lake.  We joined because we felt it would create good relationships for the school.  What a rough trip!  The first day we had to go on a big bicycle ride and see a bunch of Taiwanese countryside and spend time with kids.  Then, we had to tour a paper factory and do some crafts.  Our next tour was of a wine factory (with 6th graders?  Really?!?).  That night we had to spend in a quaint little cottage that was stilted over a pond.  The grounds of our resort were expertly landscaped, and the scenery around us was incredible.  We spent that evening with one of our teachers, Leo, who encouraged us to each eat one chicken's worth of chicken legs and feet.  Have you done that?  It's like biting on your fingers and then tugging so that instead of just popping your knuckles you actually tear that part of your finger away.  You chew the meat away from the bones and then spit out the bones and go for the next finger until you've eaten your whole arm.
It only got worse for us on the second day.  We started our morning on a yacht away from the kids.  They took us out to a neat little place on the lake that afforded us great views and gave us time to relax.  Then we were all herded onto a gondola to travel to a high vantage point over the lake for an even better view.  As if our day hadn't been stressful enough, we enjoyed a tour of a Formosan village deep in a forest, where we viewed a demonstration of Formosan dance.  Then, to cap off our day's journey, we had to enjoy an amusement park.  This place was ridiculous.  There were no waiting lines, and yet the rides were more exhilarating than any rides I have been on back home.  The roller coaster lasted longer and was better than any roller coaster I have enjoyed before.  That evening, Leo invited Ryan and me to go to a hot springs with him to bathe for awhile.  It was pretty nude, and Ryan and I decided that it was a good way to bond with the locals.  Leo really looked out for us on the whole trip.  He gave us several gifts and just made sure that it was a fun trip all around for us.
The last day, we left for home and stopped at an earthquake museum and a natural museum.  Needless to say, we are relieved to be back at work and away from the stressful environment of 6th grade trip.  Today, it's finally back to our difficult labor at XingFu, preparing to someday teach kids English.