Letter I: A New Start and an Update Long Overdue

So, time for a new start, a new cycle!

Hello, Tim, my name is Hugo, and I study in CCSH EHP, class 220. I love English, I love to read, I love owls, and I love Greek mythology. This is the weird me.
(Note: This is going to be a long article, with lots of rambling of my life around during the summer vacation. I think for once I am going to break them down into small sections. It'll look neater like this. I hope.)

A Cruel Tormentor Called Jet Lag

If you had read my Series of "Greetings, England" Day 25, I was on a plane back to Taiwan, forcing myself not to doze off, expecting to save myself from the infamous tormenting jet lag.
Now, I must tell you from my experience: I failed. Rest for some!!!
I crashed on my bed as soon as I reached home, not bothering to unpacking much. Despite being out cold for over ten hours, I felt drained for the following days. My mom was almost a bit too worried about my health condition. The fatigue was also one of the reasons why I had just posted the last record of my trip to England, a post I should have posted a month ago.
Besides fighting the drowsy sleepiness, throughout weeks, I have been out to other places:
I went to a leadership camp of two and a half days. The camp was held cooperatively between many schools in Taipei. We lived in tents, just to have the experience of it. Unfortunately, the first night was a hot and humid one, so hot that I had stayed up through the night. Here is a small article I wrote at the time:
~~~
I am now outside of the tent. Three in the morning, and I am restless.
Today, was the beginning of a three-day workshop/campaign held by many schools cooperatively, for the purpose of training and casting new lights on leading techniques. I didn't mean to come here at first, though, but when Melody asked me to come along with her, I failed to see the reason to say no, and hence I agreed without much hesitation.
Throughout the day, we had had some lessons on different issues inside and around the school. It was thought-provoking, and some of the ends of the students were irresistibly funny.
I am tired with all the works we had done for the day, but with the oppressive heat in the tent and the sultry and compressing sense with so many people in a such a small place; it is just too crowded. Outside the tent was a lot better, with the fans and the natural winds working their magic, I am content. Maybe I'll stay up all night, and wait for the sunrise, and walk around in the campus for a stroll. Maybe I can write something out of it.
Oh, and yes, I did sleep for a while. About eleven o'clock, I was finally able to drift off into an uncomfortable sleep while the other tentmates were still chatting and goofing around. I woke up after some time, knowing that I just had a dream about having adventures in the campus in the breaking dawn. Checking my cell phone, with it displaying a ten to one in the morning, I internally groaned and knew right then that this is going to be a long, long night.
~~~
Afterwards, I did go on a small adventure, and I took my time marveling the sunrise:

For the second day, with my heavy, sleep-deprived state of mind, we took some lessons of fighting in case of unpredictable urgent or adverse situations. In other words, for defense. It was quite fun, though I had pretty much forgotten all the details. The third day, we went to an area designated for motor bike riding practice. We all got to ride for a small distance, and though I rode it with somewhat of an ease, I am not sure if I am going to buy a bike as my transport or not. Taiwan is incredibly populated by motor bikes, and a high proportion of the lethal car accidents and the news that are constantly reporting about death and property loss did nothing to help the situation. I think that I would be the kind of guy who actually wants a car/ bike license but doesn't want a bike or a car. I'm weird, so I was told.

The Groves of the Spookiness and the Scorching Forest (Okay, too dramatic)

A few days after that, I had enough of my mother talking about her visiting Daan Forest Park, a park in Taipei, so I suggested that we go over for another look together. We took the MRT in the evening, had dinner, and rode bikes around the park. We also met the French teacher whom Candy and I are having lessons with!
The park, though being called gloriously as a forest park, it was not as what I had expected.
There were a lot of trees, but so averagely planted around the area failed to make it look natural, and there was a basketball court, a children's playground- areas my mom an I both agree that should not have been put in a forest park.- We both had a cup of iced coffee in our hands as we strolled the oppressively humid & hot evening. I believe, my mom and I get along better than some of my friends do with their family, and I am grateful for this aspect of life. Afterwards, we took some pictures that turned out to be more creepy rather than be poise.

Finding the little attraction of the forest park, we decided to go to the Taipei Botanic Garden some days after.
And it is summer time.
With the heat rolling off from the eternal life of fire, we didn't stay for long. It was a rather isolated place, and it provided the silence a garden watcher would truly appreciate. One of the biggest features of this botanic garden, according to my mother, was the humongous lotus pond. It was wide and was matted almost completely. As for the time I went over with my mom, they were pretty much dried up under the scorching sun. So I asked my mom for pictures when they just bloomed.
We both agreed that this was not an ideal day for walking outdoors and that we will be back over during fall.

Photo credit: Mom

Thomas, au revoir et retrouvez vite!

As I said, Candy and I are still taking French lessons, and during my time in England, I got terrible news from Candy: our current teacher, Thomas, is going back to Bordeaux, his birthplace.
He was an amazing teacher, one fancied by Candy, Melody, other classmates and I included.
Not knowing when he will be back, we decided to throw him a farewell party in a Taiwanese restaurant. That day in the morning, I was in my cousin's house, and she-as out of the blue as always- decided all impulsively that she's baking some chocolate mocha crispy cookies (I helped! With the ingredient preparing). I slowly asked her if I could bring some of them to share with the whole class at the restaurant, and with her usual generosity, I got about twenty of them, and my classmates loved it. What enlightens me the most is that Thomas liked it as well!
We all will miss him; we will have a new teacher from now on, but we sure will keep in touch.

This was possibly the most eventful summer break in my whole life, and what can I expect? One that outdoes this one?
Yes, I think I can.

School Just Started

School starts!
Last semester, nine people applied for other classes, while six moved into the "last ever EHP" course.

Among them are two girls, Sabrina and Amy, who were in the same club -English Club!!!- as I was, and other four were boys, Jack, Jay, Patrick, and Otto. They were just asked to create their own blogs, and I hope that they give good introductions of themselves. So far, I think they are getting along with us amazingly well. My life this year is going to be jam-packed.

I think this is too much for a first letter, but never did I stop with the puns, do I?

p.s. Maybe next week I'll talk about a book I had recently read, one that I loved dearly.

Sincerely, 

Hugo