Soliciting Topic Suggestions

It is something that I have come to regret. On one of the first days of class, my teacher told us that in some previous classes, her students took turns making short presentations about various topics of their choice, and the whole class got to learn some interesting things like karate, dancing, and the like. Most importantly, these presentations help break up the monotony of the lesson and is good speaking practice, so she asked us if we would be interested in doing this. There being five people in our class, we would each need to present once a week. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time, so we all agreed. Damn, if only I had known.

We are about halfway through our quarter, and so far everyone has put on pretty good presentations on topics ranging from embarrassing moments, favorite foods, foods that make us sick, Japanese tales, good movies, and the like. We've all been pretty much prepared to go come our day to present, with the exception of the Korean guy who rarely shows up and thus has only presented twice so far (once he had to think up a topic on the spot, and chose to talk about the differences between Korean and Taiwanese drinking habits). As for myself, I've talked about Halloween, a great novel I read ("Perfume: The Story of a Murderer"), interesting Taiwanese night market treats, the architecture of historic streets, and voting in the upcoming election.

Here's the deal: I'm running out of things to say. I had a brainstorming session with my best friend back home, and we came up with a few good ideas, but not enough to last me until the end of the quarter. I asked my other Japanese classmates, and they too admit that they are running out of things to talk about. So...I'm looking for suggestions. Any good ideas out there, please post on this blog or email me directly. Your input will be much appreciated!

P.S. I've just mailed in my ballot today, postage for the oversized envelope cost 80 big ones, but worth every New Taiwan dollar!

P.P.S. My school is putting on the "My Chinese at its Best Competition" next week, and I along with two of my classmates have signed up as a team to compete. It is basically a competition to see which team knows more Chinese, should be good fun. Keep your fingers crossed for us!