Xitou

As I write this, I am at the Leader Hotel in Xitou, nestled up against the electric blanket laid out on our beds here after a long day at the Fulbright midyear conference. And it's glorious.

"Wait!" you say. "An electric blanket, in Taiwan? And you're happy about that?"

Why yes, yes I am. As happy as I am about being in Xitou, for a very simple reason: it actually feels like winter here! I've been wearing my scarves. I could see my breath on the way to dinner tonight. Absolutely glorious.

What's somewhat less than glorious is the fact that I'll be spending tomorrow in a conference room, listening to presentation after presentation about what my fellow Fulbrighters are doing here. Granted, much of it will be interesting. But still, we're going from 1pm to 9:30pm, and my group is going last. It's just a bit much.

But we're in Xitou, and Xitou is gorgeous, and reminds me of all my old high school and middle school retreats in the forests of Oregon, way out of the way with nice long walks between wooden buildings with outdated furniture. It's odd the things I love about this place, but I do.

Well, my cozy warm bed is calling my name and my internet here is insanely slow, so that's it for now. Gotta rest up for my big day of presentations tomorrow!