Expect the Unexpected / 發現新感動
Carol Toop, from England, noticed the heat, right after she got off the plane. Carol came to Kaohsiung to teach English in August 2001.
Carol was amazed to see so many motorcycles at first. Soon, she became one of those motorcyclists, and she started to explore the city by the bike. Carol often carries her useful guide book- Lonely Planet to give her the directions, as she ridden her bike even to Maolin, which is about 4 hours away by bike. By the time she reached home again, owls were the only ones not sleeping. Despite all this, she said she had a great time.
Carol seems to have an overall understanding of Taiwan because of her useful travel guide book- Lonely Plant. Carol said that Lonely Planet has complete information about the whole island and always gives her great suggestions. Occasionally, she gets lost during her travels. Fortunately, many people never hesitate to give a hand whenever she needs help. Carol is deeply touched by these people. Carol said that she has no trouble in communicating with others despite not being able to speak Chinese; a mixture of a little English and lots of body language, goes a long way.
Lotus Lake is one of Carol's favorite places in Kaohsiung. She especially likes the atmosphere of calmness and peacefulness within the Confucius temple. Besides that, she also likes Cijin and Buddha Mountain. She certainly would not miss the special market that was held during the Chinese New Year in the Culture Center, and she got a cool golden dragon that's made of fabric as a souvenir, which has made an eye- catching item, displayed in her living room. She also visited Kaohsiung Lantern Festival this year. This is the third time that she has gone to the festival. Carol likes the lanterns that are always displayed in the student work area the most, and has taken photos of them.
Carol has practiced Taiji for two years. She thinks that she is far from being a master, yet she has established the close friendship between the other members. They are practically like her family in Taiwan. They celebrated last Christmas together in Carol's place. In addition, when the daughter of a Taiji classmate passes by her apartment, she stops to see how she is doing. Carol is happy where she is at the moment despite missing her family. However, living in Kaohsiung enriches her life. This year, she has more flexible teaching hours so that she will start to take Chinese lessons next week. She thinks, since she is in Taiwan, she should communicate with others in Chinese instead of English. Also, speaking Chinese will make her feel like being part of the society around her.
炙熱的天氣是來自英國的Carol Toop對高雄的第一印象，在她下飛機後就感受到一股從地上飄上來的熱氣，Carol在2001年的8月來到高雄從事英語教學的工作。
而Carol對於街道上的鐵甲軍隊─壯觀的摩托車，也是讓她嘆為觀止的景象，只是，很快的，Carol也加入了機車族衝鋒陷陣的行列中，開始了Carol的機車探險之旅。Carol帶著她的葵花寶典，一本名為Lonely Planet的旅行指南，騎著她的摩托車，就這樣，她一路騎到了茂林，那天她再騎車回到家時，可能只剩貓頭鷹還在唱歌，儘管騎了9小時的車程，Carol說她玩得很愉快。
Carol對高雄或台灣的了解都要歸功於Lonely Planet，Carol表示，這本旅遊書從台灣頭到台灣尾，提供清楚而完整的旅遊資訊，從來沒有讓她失望過，旅行的過程中，她偶爾也會迷路，但熱心好客的民眾總不吝嗇的給她很大的幫助，這也是讓來台兩年多的Carol相當感動的地方，Carol也很肯定的表示，懂得一些些中文的她，加上英語及肢體語言併用，溝通是沒有問題的。
蓮池潭是Carol最常去的地方，她特別喜歡孔子廟給她一種平靜、詳和的感覺，此外，旗津、及佛光山也是她相當喜歡的地方，當然，Carol也不會錯過過年時文化中心的春節民俗藝術展演活動，買了一隻很酷的布製金龍，成為Carol家客廳裏搶眼的擺飾。今年，Carol也參觀了高雄燈會，這是她第三次參觀高雄燈會，她特別喜歡學生作品燈區所展出各式各樣的燈籠，每回她總不會忘記與有趣的燈籠合影留念。
Carol已經學了兩年的太極拳，她笑說自己還離太極高手的境界太遠，只是與上太極課的同學建立了像家人般的情感，他們會在Carol家一起度過聖誕節，甚至太極班同學的女兒經過Carol家，也會到她家坐坐，看看她好不好。Carol喜歡目前在高雄的生活，儘管也會想念在英國的家人，但是在高雄的生活豐富了她的生命，下個星期開始，在教學的課程較不忙的時候，Carol要開始正式學中文了，她希望自己可以用中文跟大家溝通、交朋友，做個道地的高雄人。