Okay, so it's taken me until the throes of the humid Taipei summer to get this going, but finally here it is! My time here in Taipei has gone by rather quickly, most likely due to the constant demands on my time from my job. But now that summer is here, I've finally had a chance to get out and about a bit more.

For starters, a couple of weeks ago I went out on a class outing with my summer students. Our fantastic entertainment coordinator, Ariel, arranged for us to lunch at a place called Modern Toilet - a fun restaurant in which the decor and even the serving plates all revolve around a bathroom theme. We then went on to the National Palace Museum where I was eager to see Taiwan's version of the crown jewels - a cabbage. That's right, Taiwan's prized possession in their national museum is a piece of green and white jade carved into the shape of a bok choy cabbage. While cute, I can't say the cabbage was nearly as impressive as the excessively intricate ivory carvings. Though in the end, I think I may have been the only one truly interested in any of the exhibits at the museum, as the students were all eager to head out for a night of dancing on the sofas at a karaoke joint.