Bamboo Butterfly: hot springs, suspension bridges, creepy neighbors

The guy downstairs is seriously creepy. I was outside folding up my umbrella when he opened his door and looked at me through the dark hallway. He stared a few moments and then closed the door. I always get this horrible feeling when I see him, kinda makes my hair stand on end. A moment later he opens his door again, stares, closes it. I fled up the staircase (it passes dangerously close to his apt) and I heard him open the door once more as soon as I hit my landing. I hate having encounters with him ever since he flipped out that time in the alleyway.

Aside from that, it was a pretty good day at work. My older kids had to complete a page in their spelling packet in which they were asked to answer some questions about a cat wearing magical boots. The object was to get them to use creativity along with their spelling words. One student said "But teacher, we do NOT have imaginations." :) I told him that every person in the world has some kind of imagination to which he insisted he only has a little imagination. Poor kids. They really don't know how write creatively, which is something I'm trying to work on with them.

My weekend was wonderful. I went to Beitou with a friend I made a couple weeks ago on NYE. We visited a few hot springs and had a relaxing time. I did say I didn't want to date in Taiwan but *maybe* my new friend has the potential to change this thought process.;)

Anyway, I had a nice time this weekend. On Sunday I met my friend again and we visited Taipei 101 (it was a beautiful clear day) and then went up to this area called Bitan which is charming. There's a lovely river where one can rent paddleboats and relax by various eateries or shops. There's also a suspension bridge that's not for people afraid of heights. Mom, you would hate it. The bridge sways from side to side a little bit as you cross over the water but I enjoyed it and paused to take pictures.

Later, we rented a paddle boat and pedaled around a section of the river. The bridges over the river are illuminated with brightly colored lights in the evening. It was a great way to end the weekend.:)