Endorphins

...are nice. They put a positive spin on everything and, as I just got back from a pretty great workout, they're making my day look pretty amazing. Not that it needed any help.

I mean, really. My day today consisted of playing the clothes relay race over and over again, this time with an entirely different group of 5th graders at Hanmin. And they, must like their comrades at Qingshan and around the world, absolutely loved it. My favorite, though it was undoubtedly also the most dangerous, was playing the game in those classrooms which ban shoes in favor of socks and/or slippers. Nothing like a good old fashioned socks-on-tile floor slide to make your day more amazing.

Also wonderful were the "hats" we used for the game, ie newspapers I folded into sailor hats and held together with lots of tape after the first class's attempt left us with a crumpled, torn mess. The kids absolutely loved them, despite their designed lack of aerodynamics (hence all the head-holding); when I asked my last class of the day who wanted them, hands shot up all over before I had even finished my question--and that's with me asking in English.

LOVE this picture.

So that was great. Then, after a brief hiatus at home, my apartment (and most of the other ETAs in Kaohsiung, for that matter) headed out to Pier 2, where we met up with Dr. Vocke, Fonda, Kelly (coordinator for ETA programs in Yilan and Kaohsiung), and our guest of honor, Tori Augustine, Program Officer for East Asia and Pacific Fulbright Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (wow, her title's a mouthful) for dinner at Pasadena. 

The dinner itself was wonderful, of course (salmon with dill sauce, yum!), but just as wonderful was the conversation we got to have with Tori, about anything and everything we've been doing. She wanted to know what we thought about everything, from how the program was run this year to how we feel in our schools to suggestions or concerns we have for future years. She asked great questions and was fully engaged; she is extremely good at her job, and it was great to feel that our opinions were valuable, both to her and to the program as a whole. It was great to be, not just listened to, but actually sought out by someone with the power to act on what we said. (Not that we had complaints, of course--we are all absolutely loving our time here, and that's not me sugarcoating, that's me listening attentively all night to my colleagues' conversation--but we all have some suggestions about how to make things even better in the future, and she was really listening.)

And after that wonderfulness, I hit the gym, to encouraging results all around, and a fantastic (and funny) greeting by Kody, the front desk person at the gym, saying "you look pretty today! Why?" I really love how straightforward people here are, haha. But I got to tell her that I had just gotten back from a dinner with my bosses, and it was great!

So yeah, I have endorphins flowing through my system now. But even if I didn't, I'd have to conclude that today was pretty much amazing.

Also, I just found this. Sometimes you've just gotta smile.

Or was that "haha point"...?