a month ago, karin and i decided to run the taroko gorge 1/2 marathon & 10k. taroko gorge is a spectacularly beautiful natural landmark made of marble and limestone, and the taroko gorge
marathon is the only marathon in the world that takes place in a gorge. karin was brave enough to run her first 10k ever (in a gorge!), and she was also kind and generous enough to run around taipei taking care of pre-run registration business. all i had to do was call in with my date of birth, but when i called in, i abruptly remembered (mid-call) that i couldn't speak chinese and hung up, never to call again. thanks to this omission, i came in 3rd place... that's right: the 3rd fastest woman in taiwan, ages 50-59. i've never been so proud.on 11.12.09, taiwan's leading pro-independence newspaper, the liberty times, ran an article with the headline "AMERICAN SWEETHEART BECOMES A CROSSING GUARD." that sweetheart was none other than me,
柯愛琳 (ke ai-lin). accompanied by a big glamorous photo of me decked out in crossing-guard yellow, the article described my efforts to promote the english language while directing traffic and being extremely friendly. i was pretty shocked and entertained by my taiwanese media debut, but the aftershocks were almost more amusing. for instance: popping up on yahoo taiwan's home page for an afternoon, and receiving a letter from a taiwanese prisoner looking for an english teacher.
lastly, a formosan macaque on a scooter (who may not even be as funny as his buddy relaxing down below). few things are funnier than monkeys on scooters.photos: taroko gorge marathon male winners (kenyan men in 1st and 2nd place; japanese man in 3rd-- finishing 30 minutes after the kenyans); 3rd place female (and the back of karin's head); gaoshu elementary school teachers reading all about it; 10 seconds of yahoo.tw fame; monkey mountain; bonus taroko gorge images
GORGEous! Ha ha? Dude, that monkey under the wheel is in a hilarious position. How do monkeys just know how to take their funiness to the next level?
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