it's amazing...

some of the ailments that suddenly appear out of nowhere while living in Taiwan.  I woke up this morning and developed a red itchy rash on my neck.  It's spread a little bit to my arms but hopefully it will be gone by the time I wake up.

It brings to mind the comment my roommate made a few months back about a fellow teacher who used to live in Hsinchu.  He would scooter everywhere, all the time, and one day he developed some kind of strange black rash on his neck.  Supposedly the doctor told him it was from the air pollution; some kind of disgusting skin problem from riding the scooter all over Taiwan.

As I'm still a toddler on my scooter, I know that can't be the culprit.

Alas...

While I have grown to mostly love this island, the countdown is on for Thailand.  Yay for February 13th!  I cannot wait.  I am tired of wearing this ghastly shade of white and my adventure with the elephants awaits.  From what I hear, when I return-Taiwan "should" be on its way back to the good old humid semi-sunny days.  The ocean is always calling my name here...I'm so close to the coast wherever I roam.  I plan on spending a sufficient amount of time at the beach when the warm weather is here to stay.