once a week, i have to go to another town called Pu Hsin to teach a class. last week, another teacher gave me a ride on his scooter. i was told that i would also be shown how to take the train to get there. being told is different than being shown. so with my verbal instructions, i set out with plenty of time (my class wasn't until 6:45 and i left at 4:15!) and walked to the bus stop. i took a bus to the train station downtown and bought my ticket for Pu Hsin. i figured out enough to know that i had to walk under the tracks, through an underground bridge, to wait on the opposite side. all i had to go on was the time my train was arriving--everything else was in characters. when a train arrived at the exact minute that was printed on my ticket, i got on.
it was a lovely ride--a nice air-conditioned car and the scenery was gorgeous... mountains, lush green rice paddies, palm trees. then the conductor came around to punch everyone's ticket. when he got to me, he said "problem." and then launched into a speech about how i got on the wrong train and how did i not know that i was going to Hsinchu (HSINCHU! here is where i started to panic... that's like... really far away from where i live!) then he said that i was going to have to pay more because i paid for a "local" ticket and just got a free ride, basically. he whipped out his automatic ticket-maker and started punching things in. even though he spoke english, i couldn't think of anything to say. it's not like i wanted to cheat the system and get more than i paid for--i didn't want to go to Hsinchu! i just watched helplessly while he decided my financial punishment. but then he said, "uh-oh... machine... not working right--broken." and shrugged. and then he walked away, but over his shoulder said "very pretty girl." ha. that little ticket machine was definitely not broken!
when i got to hsinchu, i hurried to the desk and bought a ticket back to Jhongli--at the correct price. i was sure i'd be late to class... it was now 6:15. i decided against another train attempt and hacked off an arm for a cab ride. okay, it was about $6, but that's outrageous here. i have a piece of paper with the address of each school written in chinese characters, so i showed it to the driver and off we went, swerving around scooters and making left turns on red and other fun things. he pulled up to the school, i paid him, ran inside, and signed in, under a disapproving look from the secretary. (teachers are required to arrive at least 10 minutes early, or you lose your "attendance bonus") it was 6:43.
toward the end of class, one of the new words we were talking about was "arrive." so i told my students what i did and they laughed, but not at me; it was a sympathetic laugh. i told them how i feel like a small child here because i can't read anything or communicate with anyone, and they said "we will teach you!" they were so earnest--it was precious.
i will not be losing my attendance bonus. i talked to my boss about what happened and she felt bad and said they should have sent someone with me (obviously), but she thought i seemed like the type of person who likes to figure things out for themselves. *sigh*
it's interesting to feel so small and helpless. quite humbling, really. and every time you have a minor catastrophe, you learn what not to do next time. it won't be the last time i get lost, so i just have to look at the bright side... Hsinchu looked like a lovely place to visit. next time i go there, i'll stay longer than five minutes!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
full moon, 3:38 PM
saturday night... the first week is finally behind me. i have a killer headache and feel like i could go to sleep right now--it's only 9! i've had two long days of teaching and am finding out how incredibly draining it can be! not only are you trying to convey information, but you're trying to keep their attention, and trying to entertain them, waiting for those moments when you can catch them off guard, and you see that they are engaging in the present moment, with you. it's not so easy!
yesterday i had three classes at the long-tan branch, and luckily another teacher from my floor had the same schedule as me, so i was able to take the bus with him--as i'm still unsure of where to get off. a note about the buses: they're not so bad! they are pleasantly air-conditioned, have pretty plush seats, curtained windows, and several flat screen TVs playing the news or soap operas. it's good they're nice because i'll be spending plenty of time on them! i didn't realize i'd be commuting so often... anyway, after the half-hour ride, we had to walk for about 15 minutes, down a narrow street filled with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, and meat. we walked by a fish stand and saw an enormous fish head laying on the table! it had to be at least 4 feet from forehead to chin, and its eyeball--still intact--was the size of a softball! its mouth was still open in a surprised-looking pucker. it wasn't like a shark or any kind of fish i would expect to be that big; it was shaped just like a goldfish face. i'm so sorry i didn't have my camera with me!
then we stopped for a cold glass of fresh mango juice--delicious! i haven't tasted such perfect mango since in a long time.
classes yesterday were... just okay. my co-teachers weren't as helpful as the others i've had, and time dragged. three 2-hour classes in a row completely sucked the life out of me. you can only try to get kids excited about english for so long before you feel that you'd rather be speaking chinese, too.
derek got done with class at the same time as me, so we took the bus back to chong-li together. we had to get off downtown and walk for about half an hour. we were both tired and hungry, so we stopped at a little restaurant called "tony's" where derek eats often. i ordered dumplings (they were the only vegetarian option--lots of pork in just about everything here) and he and i split a bottle of beer. ("taiwan's best"--the label looks exactly like a heineken bottle) within minutes we were surrounded by people greeting us and offering to buy more beers for us, and enthusiastically using any english phrases they knew. the conversation basically consisted of them saying "i love you!" and "very good" and "i am happy." stuff like that... and lots of high-fives and thumbs-ups. but it was cool, we tried to communicate with them as much as possible. one of the men had a daughter who goes to gloria schools, where we worked, so he insisted on buying our dinners. they said they were paying for the beer too, but then they took our half-full bottle away from us... so they paid and helped themselves, apparently! who knows. you can't go wrong with free dumplings after a long day!
this morning i woke up feeling a little down. it's so exhausting starting everything new and not knowing anything and not being able to communicate with people... not yet having an established schedule and for me, not yet having the time and space to feel satisfied with a regular yoga practice and dance classes. i am absolutely aching to dance and move and stretch. i've done yoga several times in my room, but it's so tiny, and i feel so compressed. i decided that i will go into taipei tomorrow to take a yoga class at one of the large studios there. i know how to get to the train station from here and will figure out the rest when i get to taipei! it's absolutely essential to my mental state, at this point.
i spent the afternoon at "harwana's" (aka "havana's) to work on lesson plans for the classes i was subbing this evening. i was dripping with sweat after walking 3 blocks to get there! it was boiling today... which i love, don't get me wrong, but hot+humid+pollution = really gross. it was nice and cool and clean in the coffee shop, and i sat down with a delicious iced latte and planned my lessons. i ordered a bowl of seafood risotto (for about $1.50!) for lunch. it came with shrimp... that were looking at me. they still had skin, legs, eyeballs, and ANTENNAE! do you know how LONG shrimp antennae are?!? there were at least six, 8-inch-long antennae entangled around the risotto. hmm. i ate around them as best i could and considered peeling the shrimp, but there were people around me and i wasn't sure if that would be impolite, so i left the shrimp to stare at each other in the bottom of my bowl.
walking back to the dorm, i stopped at a convenience store and picked up a bag of peanut M&Ms to save for later--a reward after my classes. as i walked, i kept my eyes down for the most part--the sun was too bright and the sidewalks are very uneven, so it's important to watch where you walk. during one of my brief glances up in the direction i was going, i was suddenly met with a shocking view--an old (very old) woman's unclothed bum! it took a few seconds for me to realize what was going on, and even longer for me to believe what i'd seen, but it was just that! a few other women around her were helping her pull her pants down, and she was relieving herself on the sidewalk, in broad daylight. the 3 other women with her were giggling and one of them was handing the old woman a wad of tissues. i walked quickly and did not look back. i have no idea what was going on, aside from the obvious.
the classes i subbed this evening were "junior elite" level--meaning the kids have studied english for a long time and are very competent, however, they really don't care and don't want to be in class at all. i got a lot of blank stares and silence every time i asked a question, and a headache that grew in intensity during the 3 hours. i was able to pique interest in class for a little while, during a discussion about tourism. they were instructed to write down three things they would expect to see if they visited new york city. as we talked about it, they were very surprised to find out that, as an american, i've never been there! i know it's a little bit ridiculous that i have been to alaska and hawaii, plus 5 of the 7 continents, but not new york city. well, nothing i can do about it right now. the kids said they expected to see a lot of mcdonald's everywhere. i told them that i'm sure there are plenty of mcdonald's, but that not all americans eat there. for instance, i haven't eaten at mcd's in probably at least ten years and they almost fell out of their chairs in shock. maybe they think that all americans have been nourished on a diet of hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes since age 3--yet here i was, standing in front of them, alive and well at 26, despite the lack of golden arches in my nutritional history!
i told them how new york has smaller neighborhoods like little italy and chinatown where you won't hear much english spoken at all, and there are chinese grocery stores and they celebrate the chinese new year... they thought that was pretty cool! they learned the word "diverse." which... it really is... so many cities in the u.s. (los angeles, san francisco, chicago...) have ethnic subcultures where "white" or speaking english is the minority. i haven't found a "little america" here!
my head is feeling better after some post-class downtime, so i'm going to get some dinner with kirsten and helen, two of the other teachers. it could go something like this... "so a scot, a canadian, and an american walked into a bar..."
i'll tell you the rest later.
yesterday i had three classes at the long-tan branch, and luckily another teacher from my floor had the same schedule as me, so i was able to take the bus with him--as i'm still unsure of where to get off. a note about the buses: they're not so bad! they are pleasantly air-conditioned, have pretty plush seats, curtained windows, and several flat screen TVs playing the news or soap operas. it's good they're nice because i'll be spending plenty of time on them! i didn't realize i'd be commuting so often... anyway, after the half-hour ride, we had to walk for about 15 minutes, down a narrow street filled with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, and meat. we walked by a fish stand and saw an enormous fish head laying on the table! it had to be at least 4 feet from forehead to chin, and its eyeball--still intact--was the size of a softball! its mouth was still open in a surprised-looking pucker. it wasn't like a shark or any kind of fish i would expect to be that big; it was shaped just like a goldfish face. i'm so sorry i didn't have my camera with me!
then we stopped for a cold glass of fresh mango juice--delicious! i haven't tasted such perfect mango since in a long time.
classes yesterday were... just okay. my co-teachers weren't as helpful as the others i've had, and time dragged. three 2-hour classes in a row completely sucked the life out of me. you can only try to get kids excited about english for so long before you feel that you'd rather be speaking chinese, too.
derek got done with class at the same time as me, so we took the bus back to chong-li together. we had to get off downtown and walk for about half an hour. we were both tired and hungry, so we stopped at a little restaurant called "tony's" where derek eats often. i ordered dumplings (they were the only vegetarian option--lots of pork in just about everything here) and he and i split a bottle of beer. ("taiwan's best"--the label looks exactly like a heineken bottle) within minutes we were surrounded by people greeting us and offering to buy more beers for us, and enthusiastically using any english phrases they knew. the conversation basically consisted of them saying "i love you!" and "very good" and "i am happy." stuff like that... and lots of high-fives and thumbs-ups. but it was cool, we tried to communicate with them as much as possible. one of the men had a daughter who goes to gloria schools, where we worked, so he insisted on buying our dinners. they said they were paying for the beer too, but then they took our half-full bottle away from us... so they paid and helped themselves, apparently! who knows. you can't go wrong with free dumplings after a long day!
this morning i woke up feeling a little down. it's so exhausting starting everything new and not knowing anything and not being able to communicate with people... not yet having an established schedule and for me, not yet having the time and space to feel satisfied with a regular yoga practice and dance classes. i am absolutely aching to dance and move and stretch. i've done yoga several times in my room, but it's so tiny, and i feel so compressed. i decided that i will go into taipei tomorrow to take a yoga class at one of the large studios there. i know how to get to the train station from here and will figure out the rest when i get to taipei! it's absolutely essential to my mental state, at this point.
i spent the afternoon at "harwana's" (aka "havana's) to work on lesson plans for the classes i was subbing this evening. i was dripping with sweat after walking 3 blocks to get there! it was boiling today... which i love, don't get me wrong, but hot+humid+pollution = really gross. it was nice and cool and clean in the coffee shop, and i sat down with a delicious iced latte and planned my lessons. i ordered a bowl of seafood risotto (for about $1.50!) for lunch. it came with shrimp... that were looking at me. they still had skin, legs, eyeballs, and ANTENNAE! do you know how LONG shrimp antennae are?!? there were at least six, 8-inch-long antennae entangled around the risotto. hmm. i ate around them as best i could and considered peeling the shrimp, but there were people around me and i wasn't sure if that would be impolite, so i left the shrimp to stare at each other in the bottom of my bowl.
walking back to the dorm, i stopped at a convenience store and picked up a bag of peanut M&Ms to save for later--a reward after my classes. as i walked, i kept my eyes down for the most part--the sun was too bright and the sidewalks are very uneven, so it's important to watch where you walk. during one of my brief glances up in the direction i was going, i was suddenly met with a shocking view--an old (very old) woman's unclothed bum! it took a few seconds for me to realize what was going on, and even longer for me to believe what i'd seen, but it was just that! a few other women around her were helping her pull her pants down, and she was relieving herself on the sidewalk, in broad daylight. the 3 other women with her were giggling and one of them was handing the old woman a wad of tissues. i walked quickly and did not look back. i have no idea what was going on, aside from the obvious.
the classes i subbed this evening were "junior elite" level--meaning the kids have studied english for a long time and are very competent, however, they really don't care and don't want to be in class at all. i got a lot of blank stares and silence every time i asked a question, and a headache that grew in intensity during the 3 hours. i was able to pique interest in class for a little while, during a discussion about tourism. they were instructed to write down three things they would expect to see if they visited new york city. as we talked about it, they were very surprised to find out that, as an american, i've never been there! i know it's a little bit ridiculous that i have been to alaska and hawaii, plus 5 of the 7 continents, but not new york city. well, nothing i can do about it right now. the kids said they expected to see a lot of mcdonald's everywhere. i told them that i'm sure there are plenty of mcdonald's, but that not all americans eat there. for instance, i haven't eaten at mcd's in probably at least ten years and they almost fell out of their chairs in shock. maybe they think that all americans have been nourished on a diet of hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes since age 3--yet here i was, standing in front of them, alive and well at 26, despite the lack of golden arches in my nutritional history!
i told them how new york has smaller neighborhoods like little italy and chinatown where you won't hear much english spoken at all, and there are chinese grocery stores and they celebrate the chinese new year... they thought that was pretty cool! they learned the word "diverse." which... it really is... so many cities in the u.s. (los angeles, san francisco, chicago...) have ethnic subcultures where "white" or speaking english is the minority. i haven't found a "little america" here!
my head is feeling better after some post-class downtime, so i'm going to get some dinner with kirsten and helen, two of the other teachers. it could go something like this... "so a scot, a canadian, and an american walked into a bar..."
i'll tell you the rest later.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
GAME OVER, TONY!
the first few weeks of anything new always go the slowest. i look forward to feeling "normal" again, at some point in the future when i don't have to spend an hour on lesson plans and i know all of the good places to get coffee, and i know what (and who) to expect when i walk in to my classrooms. while it's exciting to have new experiences coming at me during every minute of the day, it requires maintaining a high energy level and a heightened sense of awareness. i definitely don't have any trouble falling asleep at night! speaking of which--everyone asks if i'm having jet-lag problems. i'm totally fine. i think i somehow skipped that part! my circadian rhythms are perfectly aligned. (brittany--are you proud of me for using circadian rhythms in a sentence?)
tonight i traveled to another branch of the school in a place called Pu-Hsin (sounds like "pu-sheen"). it's about 20 minutes by scooter--another teacher picked me up and gave me a ride. first i observed a class of squirrelly kids who seemed to be around 8-10 years old. during the class, i reviewed the lesson plan i had prepared for the class i was teaching next. as the material was similar to what was being taught in the class i was observing, i assumed that i'd have a similar group of kids.
...or not. i had a tougher crowd. it was the same level, but these kids were older. i guess maybe they'd started learning english "later in life," and they were about 12-15 years old. the atmosphere was restless and uneasy; bored. i think they've figured out that they shouldn't have to spend two hours at night in school, and they're more than a little resentful. as everyone was filing in and finding their seats, i immediately noticed a taller boy loitering in the back, and could tell he was a potential disaster. as i walked toward him to introduce myself, he started beating on the kid in front of him. i greeted him and lightheartedly mentioned that there was no killing allowed in english class, and he would have to wait until 8:50 to beat up his classmate. i'm not sure he understood what i was saying, but as i got closer to him i could tell he had been smoking a cigarette quite recently. yikes. when asked, he told me his name--tony--and that he was 15 years old. and in not so many words, that he was hereby challenging me to a battle of I Am Cooler Than You.
class began, and i kept one eye on tony, waiting for the crucial moment when i could possibly slip, unnoticed, past the macho iron curtain and into his world. the QA (question/answer) of the day was "what do you want for your birthday?" tony said he wanted a motorcycle. of course. i'm sure he wants some other things too, but luckily he probably doesn't know the words in english! i saw a glimmer of hope during a round of what i called "teacher basketball." i'd brought a little squishy basketball but forgot to bring something to use for a hoop, so i just stood in the front with my arms making a circle, and the kids had to answer a question and then shoot the ball through the hole for points. tony seemed to think it was semi-not-stupid. during the ten-minute break between the two hours of class, tony pushed around a few of the kids in the back of the room and then headed for the hall. a few minutes later, i stepped into the hall and found a crowd of kids and a few teachers in a circle around tony. he was on one shoulder with his legs up in the air, break-dancing.
he may as well have been waving an enormous white flag in the air, rather than his feet. i sauntered toward him and said, "watch me." i crouched down and did "parsva bakasana," a yoga pose where you balance on your hands and your torso is twisted so one hip and knee are propped up on your elbows, and then you can straighten your legs out to one side, in the air. that was it. as the kids say here (they're all pretty obsessed with video arcade games), "GAME OVER, tony!"
the second hour of class flew by, and i had tony's attention for each of those 60 minutes. he participated and answered questions and didn't have to use any of his negative attention-seeking behaviors.
after class my taiwanese co-teacher told me she could tell the kids like me and that i'm doing really well, and she nodded her head in his direction. i walked out of the school, feeling victorious. maybe it's just the competitive nature of the classrooms starting to infect me--everything in these classrooms is turned into a game between two teams, with points and stars and stickers turned in for prizes. after games the kids chant "WINNERS, WINNERS, YEAH YEAH YEAH! LOSERS LOSERS, IT'S OKAY!" but then the losing team has to do jumping jacks or sing a silly song. in the parking lot outside the school, i saw tony jumping on his scooter to leave. he smiled and said "goodbye, teacher" without the slick coolness he had met me with a few hours before. i smiled back and waved as he zoomed away. i think it was a winning night for both of us. game even.
tonight i traveled to another branch of the school in a place called Pu-Hsin (sounds like "pu-sheen"). it's about 20 minutes by scooter--another teacher picked me up and gave me a ride. first i observed a class of squirrelly kids who seemed to be around 8-10 years old. during the class, i reviewed the lesson plan i had prepared for the class i was teaching next. as the material was similar to what was being taught in the class i was observing, i assumed that i'd have a similar group of kids.
...or not. i had a tougher crowd. it was the same level, but these kids were older. i guess maybe they'd started learning english "later in life," and they were about 12-15 years old. the atmosphere was restless and uneasy; bored. i think they've figured out that they shouldn't have to spend two hours at night in school, and they're more than a little resentful. as everyone was filing in and finding their seats, i immediately noticed a taller boy loitering in the back, and could tell he was a potential disaster. as i walked toward him to introduce myself, he started beating on the kid in front of him. i greeted him and lightheartedly mentioned that there was no killing allowed in english class, and he would have to wait until 8:50 to beat up his classmate. i'm not sure he understood what i was saying, but as i got closer to him i could tell he had been smoking a cigarette quite recently. yikes. when asked, he told me his name--tony--and that he was 15 years old. and in not so many words, that he was hereby challenging me to a battle of I Am Cooler Than You.
class began, and i kept one eye on tony, waiting for the crucial moment when i could possibly slip, unnoticed, past the macho iron curtain and into his world. the QA (question/answer) of the day was "what do you want for your birthday?" tony said he wanted a motorcycle. of course. i'm sure he wants some other things too, but luckily he probably doesn't know the words in english! i saw a glimmer of hope during a round of what i called "teacher basketball." i'd brought a little squishy basketball but forgot to bring something to use for a hoop, so i just stood in the front with my arms making a circle, and the kids had to answer a question and then shoot the ball through the hole for points. tony seemed to think it was semi-not-stupid. during the ten-minute break between the two hours of class, tony pushed around a few of the kids in the back of the room and then headed for the hall. a few minutes later, i stepped into the hall and found a crowd of kids and a few teachers in a circle around tony. he was on one shoulder with his legs up in the air, break-dancing.
he may as well have been waving an enormous white flag in the air, rather than his feet. i sauntered toward him and said, "watch me." i crouched down and did "parsva bakasana," a yoga pose where you balance on your hands and your torso is twisted so one hip and knee are propped up on your elbows, and then you can straighten your legs out to one side, in the air. that was it. as the kids say here (they're all pretty obsessed with video arcade games), "GAME OVER, tony!"
the second hour of class flew by, and i had tony's attention for each of those 60 minutes. he participated and answered questions and didn't have to use any of his negative attention-seeking behaviors.
after class my taiwanese co-teacher told me she could tell the kids like me and that i'm doing really well, and she nodded her head in his direction. i walked out of the school, feeling victorious. maybe it's just the competitive nature of the classrooms starting to infect me--everything in these classrooms is turned into a game between two teams, with points and stars and stickers turned in for prizes. after games the kids chant "WINNERS, WINNERS, YEAH YEAH YEAH! LOSERS LOSERS, IT'S OKAY!" but then the losing team has to do jumping jacks or sing a silly song. in the parking lot outside the school, i saw tony jumping on his scooter to leave. he smiled and said "goodbye, teacher" without the slick coolness he had met me with a few hours before. i smiled back and waved as he zoomed away. i think it was a winning night for both of us. game even.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
it's all good.
today i observed a few classes as part of my training. in a class of 3rd graders, each student stood up and read a self-introduction that they had prepared. they had to say how tall they are, how many kilos they weigh, who is their best friend, what their parents do for a living, what they want to be when they grow up... i had to try not to laugh out loud when one boy recited, "MY FATHER IS A FACTORY WORKER. MY MOTHER IS A FORTUNE-TELLER. I WANT TO BE A DIPLOMAT WHEN I GROW UP." can you imagine sitting down for dinner with that family?
in other news, the director of the school (who is a lovely young woman--taiwanese but grew up in canada) would like me to give her and her sister private yoga lessons at their home! i've had several other requests from teachers (both taiwanese and foreign) to teach yoga for them as well. soon i will have a regular teaching (english) schedule and will be able to start teaching yoga--very cool! also then i can start to have a life... join a gym, take chinese lessons, maybe belly dancing... who knows!
tonight i went grocery shopping and swept and scrubbed my bedroom floor. i know that's not interesting, but it's a big step in the direction of normalcy, and i'm going to sleep feeling happy and accomplished!
in other news, the director of the school (who is a lovely young woman--taiwanese but grew up in canada) would like me to give her and her sister private yoga lessons at their home! i've had several other requests from teachers (both taiwanese and foreign) to teach yoga for them as well. soon i will have a regular teaching (english) schedule and will be able to start teaching yoga--very cool! also then i can start to have a life... join a gym, take chinese lessons, maybe belly dancing... who knows!
tonight i went grocery shopping and swept and scrubbed my bedroom floor. i know that's not interesting, but it's a big step in the direction of normalcy, and i'm going to sleep feeling happy and accomplished!
"teacher, teacher!"
last night i taught my first two classes! i had to commute to another school in a different city, so someone helped me get on the right bus and show me where to get off... as if i'll ever remember next time! it was about a 40 minute ride. i tried to memorize a few of the buildings right before the stop--which is a lot harder when most everything is in chinese characters!
my co-teacher for the night, amanda, was wonderful. i've been told that the key to a successful class is getting on your co-teacher's good side! the co-teachers are native taiwanese who speak english, and they meet with the students twice a week and teach them all of the phonics and grammar (good thing--native english speakers don't know how to explain that stuff!), and they do all of the written tests and grade homework. it's important to work as a team because they do all of the discipline and help keep things quiet when you are talking. anyway, amanda was great; a little firecracker of a woman with near-perfect english. i have her a dove chocolate while we were preparing class, which doesn't make me a (co)teacher's pet; i just know that a little chocolate can go a long way! (right maria?)
the first class was 12 students who were probably between the ages of 11-13. amanda warned me that they were a tough crowd. i agree--but that's not a great age for kids anywhere! i was still able to get a few laughs and a decent amount of participation in the games and activities. i don't blame them for their surliness--after spending all day long in school, would you really want to go to a 2-hour english class?
the later class was a kindergarten class... as soon as i walked in the room, 12 little black-topped heads turned in my direction before the class erupted in giggles and eager murmurs, "HELLO! HELLO TEACHER! HELLO BEAUTIFUL TEACHER!" needless to say, i had a blast. they laugh at absolutely everything. i will have several kindergarten classes and i know they'll be my favorite. i know every class will get easier, i just need to start feeling comfortable with the flow of the "script" that we are given. for example, when we read a story out of their reading books, i'm supposed to say "Put your fingers on the words! I say English, you say English and Chinese, okay?" (they all shout "OKAY!") and off we go. it's unvelievable how much they memorize. and it's incredible to watch a 6-year old writing Chinese characters!
jocelyn! thank you for the stickers! the kids (even the older ones) were thrilled! they actually get several stickers during the class--for winning games and answering questions correctly--which they collect and turn in later for prizes. but mine were better than those--new and different, i guess, even though they can't turn them in for points.
i have a long day of training and observing ahead of me, and reeeeally want to find some coffee first... even if it's just from the "McCafe!"
my co-teacher for the night, amanda, was wonderful. i've been told that the key to a successful class is getting on your co-teacher's good side! the co-teachers are native taiwanese who speak english, and they meet with the students twice a week and teach them all of the phonics and grammar (good thing--native english speakers don't know how to explain that stuff!), and they do all of the written tests and grade homework. it's important to work as a team because they do all of the discipline and help keep things quiet when you are talking. anyway, amanda was great; a little firecracker of a woman with near-perfect english. i have her a dove chocolate while we were preparing class, which doesn't make me a (co)teacher's pet; i just know that a little chocolate can go a long way! (right maria?)
the first class was 12 students who were probably between the ages of 11-13. amanda warned me that they were a tough crowd. i agree--but that's not a great age for kids anywhere! i was still able to get a few laughs and a decent amount of participation in the games and activities. i don't blame them for their surliness--after spending all day long in school, would you really want to go to a 2-hour english class?
the later class was a kindergarten class... as soon as i walked in the room, 12 little black-topped heads turned in my direction before the class erupted in giggles and eager murmurs, "HELLO! HELLO TEACHER! HELLO BEAUTIFUL TEACHER!" needless to say, i had a blast. they laugh at absolutely everything. i will have several kindergarten classes and i know they'll be my favorite. i know every class will get easier, i just need to start feeling comfortable with the flow of the "script" that we are given. for example, when we read a story out of their reading books, i'm supposed to say "Put your fingers on the words! I say English, you say English and Chinese, okay?" (they all shout "OKAY!") and off we go. it's unvelievable how much they memorize. and it's incredible to watch a 6-year old writing Chinese characters!
jocelyn! thank you for the stickers! the kids (even the older ones) were thrilled! they actually get several stickers during the class--for winning games and answering questions correctly--which they collect and turn in later for prizes. but mine were better than those--new and different, i guess, even though they can't turn them in for points.
i have a long day of training and observing ahead of me, and reeeeally want to find some coffee first... even if it's just from the "McCafe!"
Monday, May 19, 2008
el fin de la semana (and spanish is totally worthless here)
things that were great about my first weekend in TAIWAN:
...finding a studio right across the street that offers classes in yoga, pilates, ballroom dance, and belly dance!!!!!!!!!!!!! one problem: the schedule was written in characters so i have no idea when the classes are. and a few buildings in the other direction from my dorm is a christian church!
...sitting in the park and watching kids playing. i'm not sure there's anything cuter than a chubby Taiwanese toddler!
...exploring my neighborhood. i found a coffee shop with a sign that says "Coffee: An Intimate Friend In Your Life." so very true!
...i found a flower shop and bought some plants for my somewhat depressing room. i used my chinese/english dictionary and pointed at the word "inside" as i don't want to kill anything that should be planted out in a garden. the woman at the shop found one for me, and i also got some bamboo plants.
...hanging out with the other teachers--they are very nice! they woke me up (i fell asleep at 9 on saturday night!) and brought me to a night market, which is just a chaotic street with vendors selling everything from illegally copied DVD's, knockoff clothing and sunglasses, shoes, handbags, street food (some very interesting choices, i think--i saw a pile of intestines, as well as other unidentified animal organs), snake blood from caged, live snakes (for increased masculinity, supposedly)... i settled for a cold glass of fresh watermelon juice and it was delicious!
...then we went to "peace cafe," a little cafe/bar. very cool-looking taiwanese people hang out there (like, they had great clothes and funky hair)... we were wishing we could become friends with them, but they only spoke mandarin. i had a huge mug of lavender tea (everything i've heard about tea here is true... it is reeeally good!
...sunday night we went to a big mall and walked around before going to a movie. (yeah, no culture shock yet!) the other teachers told me i HAD to try this dessert at a little kiosk, and it was probably more sugar than i've eaten at once in a long time, but it was worth it! the woman poured some batter on a round hot plate and let it get crispy, and then she spread chocolate sauce all over it, before wrapping it into a cone filled with bananas and whip cream. it was super messy but heavenly, nonetheless. i bought some towels (didn't bring any with me--no room) which turned out to be pretty disgusting, as they left little pieces of towel fiber all over me when i used them.
...and the best part of these excursions was riding on the back of my new friends' scooters. AAAHHHHHH I WANT ONE! i was hoping i wouldn't, because i'm sure they're dangerous, but i'm pretty limited with getting around when all i can do is walk or take a bus. if i see a shiny (preferably red) scooter for sale, i'm going to be very, very tempted...
...finding a studio right across the street that offers classes in yoga, pilates, ballroom dance, and belly dance!!!!!!!!!!!!! one problem: the schedule was written in characters so i have no idea when the classes are. and a few buildings in the other direction from my dorm is a christian church!
...sitting in the park and watching kids playing. i'm not sure there's anything cuter than a chubby Taiwanese toddler!
...exploring my neighborhood. i found a coffee shop with a sign that says "Coffee: An Intimate Friend In Your Life." so very true!
...i found a flower shop and bought some plants for my somewhat depressing room. i used my chinese/english dictionary and pointed at the word "inside" as i don't want to kill anything that should be planted out in a garden. the woman at the shop found one for me, and i also got some bamboo plants.
...hanging out with the other teachers--they are very nice! they woke me up (i fell asleep at 9 on saturday night!) and brought me to a night market, which is just a chaotic street with vendors selling everything from illegally copied DVD's, knockoff clothing and sunglasses, shoes, handbags, street food (some very interesting choices, i think--i saw a pile of intestines, as well as other unidentified animal organs), snake blood from caged, live snakes (for increased masculinity, supposedly)... i settled for a cold glass of fresh watermelon juice and it was delicious!
...then we went to "peace cafe," a little cafe/bar. very cool-looking taiwanese people hang out there (like, they had great clothes and funky hair)... we were wishing we could become friends with them, but they only spoke mandarin. i had a huge mug of lavender tea (everything i've heard about tea here is true... it is reeeally good!
...sunday night we went to a big mall and walked around before going to a movie. (yeah, no culture shock yet!) the other teachers told me i HAD to try this dessert at a little kiosk, and it was probably more sugar than i've eaten at once in a long time, but it was worth it! the woman poured some batter on a round hot plate and let it get crispy, and then she spread chocolate sauce all over it, before wrapping it into a cone filled with bananas and whip cream. it was super messy but heavenly, nonetheless. i bought some towels (didn't bring any with me--no room) which turned out to be pretty disgusting, as they left little pieces of towel fiber all over me when i used them.
...and the best part of these excursions was riding on the back of my new friends' scooters. AAAHHHHHH I WANT ONE! i was hoping i wouldn't, because i'm sure they're dangerous, but i'm pretty limited with getting around when all i can do is walk or take a bus. if i see a shiny (preferably red) scooter for sale, i'm going to be very, very tempted...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
my first day
i can't sleep! it's after midnight here and i FEEL like i MIGHT be tired, but i try to fall asleep and nothing happens. it seems to be very quiet here at night, even with my window open, which i am very thankful for. ohhhh i take that back... a dog just started howling!
here are a few random things from a very random-feeling day:
-one of the florescent bulbs on the ceiling is flickering, so i feel like i'm in a horror movie. it's really making me crazy.
-i met the people who live on my floor: a girl from scotland, a guy from michigan, and a guy from canada. (apparently i'm in a double minority as far as my school's teacher population of 100: there are mostly guys, and mostly canadians) the canadians have flag emblems on their backpacks, flags on their walls, etc... to distinguish themselves from their not-so-popular neighbors. i will probably come back saying "aboat" instead of "about." great.
-my boss told me that when i walked into the office, all of the staff (taiwanese) were saying that i look like Barbie! HAHAHAHAAA.... i think i will like it here! ;o)
-i went to a 7-11 down the street to get some cash and some food. it is truly bizarre to be somewhere where there are no words on anything--just characters--and you have to guess what you are buying on pictures and intuition! i got some iced tea, green tea soy milk, and a little microwavable dinner with rice and shrimp and vegetables. the guy at the counter started talking to me in chinese, so i asked him (in mandarin) if he speaks english. (don't be impressed, that is seriously the ONLY thing i know how to say!) he shook his head "no" and then asked me (in english) if i speak chinese! i shook my head no and that was the end of our conversation. :o)
here are some pictures--everyone has been asking for them!
here is my bed...
and my... closet? erica, please tell me that California Closets has a branch over here! or i need you to take a business trip over here... i need some storage solutions!
my desk...
i LOVE my floor--it's my favorite thing in the room. it's just big enough for my yoga mat!
crazy...
the "view" from my window
i have lots and lots of New Taiwan Dollars!
the bathroom sink
how have i survived without a Moomin and Snorkmaiden scale for so long??
here are a few random things from a very random-feeling day:
-one of the florescent bulbs on the ceiling is flickering, so i feel like i'm in a horror movie. it's really making me crazy.
-i met the people who live on my floor: a girl from scotland, a guy from michigan, and a guy from canada. (apparently i'm in a double minority as far as my school's teacher population of 100: there are mostly guys, and mostly canadians) the canadians have flag emblems on their backpacks, flags on their walls, etc... to distinguish themselves from their not-so-popular neighbors. i will probably come back saying "aboat" instead of "about." great.
-my boss told me that when i walked into the office, all of the staff (taiwanese) were saying that i look like Barbie! HAHAHAHAAA.... i think i will like it here! ;o)
-i went to a 7-11 down the street to get some cash and some food. it is truly bizarre to be somewhere where there are no words on anything--just characters--and you have to guess what you are buying on pictures and intuition! i got some iced tea, green tea soy milk, and a little microwavable dinner with rice and shrimp and vegetables. the guy at the counter started talking to me in chinese, so i asked him (in mandarin) if he speaks english. (don't be impressed, that is seriously the ONLY thing i know how to say!) he shook his head "no" and then asked me (in english) if i speak chinese! i shook my head no and that was the end of our conversation. :o)
here are some pictures--everyone has been asking for them!
here is my bed...
and my... closet? erica, please tell me that California Closets has a branch over here! or i need you to take a business trip over here... i need some storage solutions!
my desk...
i LOVE my floor--it's my favorite thing in the room. it's just big enough for my yoga mat!
crazy...
the "view" from my window
i have lots and lots of New Taiwan Dollars!
the bathroom sink
how have i survived without a Moomin and Snorkmaiden scale for so long??
Friday, May 16, 2008
arrived!
i'm here! i had a good flight and slept a lot, and my ride (someone who works at the school) picked me up and drove me to my dorm, which is in ping-jen city. he pointed out the mcdonald's "McCafe" around the corner from our building several times, and told me many times that it is open 24 hours. i refrained from explaining that it's just a stereotype that americans love mcdonald's...
so i'm in my little tiny room on the 4th floor of the school building--everything is a tight squeeze. out my window is, well... a concrete wall and i can hear construction workers yelling and building stuff. i know i will miss open spaces!
but i'm very happy i'm here and am excited about everything. it's about 9:15 friday morning, and i have all day to unpack and rest, and am meeting my boss at 5 pm.
i will put up some pictures as soon as i can... i might go for a little walk around my neighborhood in a bit. i have a gift of "raisin pie" cookies on my desk. hmm... not that hungry yet!
so i'm in my little tiny room on the 4th floor of the school building--everything is a tight squeeze. out my window is, well... a concrete wall and i can hear construction workers yelling and building stuff. i know i will miss open spaces!
but i'm very happy i'm here and am excited about everything. it's about 9:15 friday morning, and i have all day to unpack and rest, and am meeting my boss at 5 pm.
i will put up some pictures as soon as i can... i might go for a little walk around my neighborhood in a bit. i have a gift of "raisin pie" cookies on my desk. hmm... not that hungry yet!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
la la land
what a weekend! i left iowa on friday afternoon. it felt so surreal... i've known that moment was coming for a long time, but when it arrives, you still don't know what to say or how to feel. even with tears in your eyes and a lump taking over your throat, you still keep taking one step and then another, breathing in and breathing out... and all of the sudden, you're at the top of the escalator at DSM, and you can't see your family waving anymore.
grant picked me up friday night in LA and we went out for sushi, and then it was time for bed! on saturday we relaxed and did some grocery shopping. grant cooked an incredible dinner--grilled asparagus, falafel and hummus, salad, grilled red pepper... and we ate up on the roof with a beautiful view of the hollywood hills at sunset.
yesterday was grant's 24th birthday! we spent the day at the Getty art museum with a few friends. they had some beautiful sculptures outside, and this one reminded seemed just right for mother's day!
then we went to church at Mosaic--see http://www.mosaic.org/ (they have podcasts if you're interested). for mother's day, a girl sang a song that she wrote when she was living overseas for a year and it was a song to her mom, about how her mom's love is what makes her strong enough to be out in the world on her own. i thought it was very appropriate. i wish i could write music for my mom! for dinner we got ethiopian food and it was delish! i want to go to ethiopia.
this morning grant had to go to work so i walked to a yoga studio called "yummy yoga" and took a class. i wandered around some more and came back to grant's place, only to find myself locked out and the key he gave me didn't work! i used my houdini-yoga skills and climbed through a little window into his roommate's bedroom! first i had to slide my arm in here to crank open the window all the way...
and then somehow i got through the barred rectangle sideways, legs first...
i have accomplished enough for one day and am going to enjoy some R&R this afternoon, with grant's roommate's dog, ronan.
i will post again before i leave for the airport on wednesday night! oh--and there was a massive earthquake in china today that killed thousands of people, and was felt in taipei! no damage or injuries were reported from taipei yet, and i hope there are no aftershocks!
grant picked me up friday night in LA and we went out for sushi, and then it was time for bed! on saturday we relaxed and did some grocery shopping. grant cooked an incredible dinner--grilled asparagus, falafel and hummus, salad, grilled red pepper... and we ate up on the roof with a beautiful view of the hollywood hills at sunset.
yesterday was grant's 24th birthday! we spent the day at the Getty art museum with a few friends. they had some beautiful sculptures outside, and this one reminded seemed just right for mother's day!
then we went to church at Mosaic--see http://www.mosaic.org/ (they have podcasts if you're interested). for mother's day, a girl sang a song that she wrote when she was living overseas for a year and it was a song to her mom, about how her mom's love is what makes her strong enough to be out in the world on her own. i thought it was very appropriate. i wish i could write music for my mom! for dinner we got ethiopian food and it was delish! i want to go to ethiopia.
this morning grant had to go to work so i walked to a yoga studio called "yummy yoga" and took a class. i wandered around some more and came back to grant's place, only to find myself locked out and the key he gave me didn't work! i used my houdini-yoga skills and climbed through a little window into his roommate's bedroom! first i had to slide my arm in here to crank open the window all the way...
and then somehow i got through the barred rectangle sideways, legs first...
i have accomplished enough for one day and am going to enjoy some R&R this afternoon, with grant's roommate's dog, ronan.
i will post again before i leave for the airport on wednesday night! oh--and there was a massive earthquake in china today that killed thousands of people, and was felt in taipei! no damage or injuries were reported from taipei yet, and i hope there are no aftershocks!
Friday, May 2, 2008
second thoughts, then third
I think it hit me tonight. All day I felt a little strange, but I was at work and kept myself busy. After work I fell asleep for a while, and then this evening, I went outside and sat on the steps to just breathe. The air was warm, finally, and it smelled delicious... fresh, black earth being churned up for planting. A few brightly lit tractors were working late, and the hum of the machines was familiar and comforting. Birds chased each other through the trees and I wondered if my surroundings are really as beautiful as they seem to me... or is it just the idea of "home" that could make an old, quiet farm just as appealing to me as a Hawaiian sunset?
Then I remembered that I'm leaving. Soon. I heard, for the first time, a little voice inside crying "I don't want to go! I want to stay!" Uh-ohhh! I let myself feel it for a few minutes and then invited Josef and Brittany to go for a walk. They grabbed sweatshirts and flip-flops and off we went. Josef put his arm around me (which is still quite a reach for him, and I wonder if, in one year, will he be as tall as me?) and Brittany chattered about Prom this weekend, giving us her minute-by-minute primping plans for Saturday. We giggled and kicked clods of dirt left on the road by tractor-traffic and let the night settle around us, inhaling the best air on earth.
The strange feeling deep in my stomach intensifies as I try not to think about how much I'll miss these two. The brother and sister I barely knew a year ago have become two of my best friends. Before I moved back home, they were stuck in my mind the way they were when I moved out 8 years ago--a 5-year-0ld monkey of a boy, and a tiny, quiet 9-year-old button of a girl. In their place, I have discovered a boy, now 12, who is quick-witted and sensitive, with a contagious laugh. A boy who has captured every adult conversation he's heard in his life (which is a lot, being the baby of the family), and stowed away all the big words like fireflies in a jar. He takes them out when we discuss politics, travel, religion... always resulting in sparkling conversation. He is also an accomplished skateboarder, and has a whole sketch book of Dali-esque pencil drawings that make you wonder what goes on in that brain of his! And my sister is suddenly a beautiful 17-year-old... still tiny, but with an enormous personality that had time to flourish without her three older siblings dominating her world. She somehow has time to maintain a packed social calendar and still devote several hours a night to her studies, holed up in her room with a blanket and textbooks--AP US History, Anatomy and Physiology, etc etc. She will sometimes knock on my door with her most interesting findings--"Guess WHAT!" she will shriek. I always think that some juicy high school gossip is about to follow, but then she'll launch into some fascinating factoid about the endocrine system. "Did you KNOW that your adrenal gland works with the hypothalamus to produce corticotropin-releasing hormones...?" I laugh at her and remind her that I nearly failed anatomy in college, but it's a good chance to tell her that she really should go to the University of Iowa and study something medical. (And live in the most fun college town in Iowa!) I am so thankful that I've had the opportunity to re-meet my family. To get to know the people they have become...
I'll miss them. I'll miss reading to Josef before he goes to bed and watching his newest skateboard tricks. I'll miss Brittany text-messaging me from her bedroom down the hall to tell me that my music is too loud when she's trying to sleep. I'll miss my mom's good-night kiss and my dad calling me a gazillion times a day, "just checkin' in!" I'll miss our cats and Cafe Diem and Wheatsfield Grocery and all of the great people I work with at FAH, and eating fresh eggs for breakfast. I'll miss waving at farmers in pick-ups and swerving around potholes, and seeing people I know everywhere.
BUT... I do want to go. I don't want to stay. I just have moments, and I think the next few weeks will be a roller-coaster ride of emotions--little bursts of panic, fear, and uncertainty, as well as anticipation and excitement. The part of me that has my feet firmly planted in who I am and what I want my life to be about, can stand back and see that this is right. So for the next seven days, I'm going to keep breathing in that yummy dirt smell (soon I'll be inhaling lovely Taipei smog). I'll be hanging out with my siblings. I'm going to keep kissing my mom good-night and answering my dad's phone calls with mock exasperation. I'll love every minute of my last day at work tomorrow, and I'll wave at every car that I pass on our gravel road with genuine Midwestern friendliness. I'll get a few more vanilla lattes from Cafe Diem and return all of my library books to the APL.
In 2 weeks I'll be taking my first steps in Taiwan. Behind me is a year of beautiful memories, love, laughter, growth, healing, and the support of my incredible family. Ahead of me, a year of challenge, opportunity, discovery, and adventure. A place between the comfort of knowing and the thrill of not knowing. And I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.
Then I remembered that I'm leaving. Soon. I heard, for the first time, a little voice inside crying "I don't want to go! I want to stay!" Uh-ohhh! I let myself feel it for a few minutes and then invited Josef and Brittany to go for a walk. They grabbed sweatshirts and flip-flops and off we went. Josef put his arm around me (which is still quite a reach for him, and I wonder if, in one year, will he be as tall as me?) and Brittany chattered about Prom this weekend, giving us her minute-by-minute primping plans for Saturday. We giggled and kicked clods of dirt left on the road by tractor-traffic and let the night settle around us, inhaling the best air on earth.
The strange feeling deep in my stomach intensifies as I try not to think about how much I'll miss these two. The brother and sister I barely knew a year ago have become two of my best friends. Before I moved back home, they were stuck in my mind the way they were when I moved out 8 years ago--a 5-year-0ld monkey of a boy, and a tiny, quiet 9-year-old button of a girl. In their place, I have discovered a boy, now 12, who is quick-witted and sensitive, with a contagious laugh. A boy who has captured every adult conversation he's heard in his life (which is a lot, being the baby of the family), and stowed away all the big words like fireflies in a jar. He takes them out when we discuss politics, travel, religion... always resulting in sparkling conversation. He is also an accomplished skateboarder, and has a whole sketch book of Dali-esque pencil drawings that make you wonder what goes on in that brain of his! And my sister is suddenly a beautiful 17-year-old... still tiny, but with an enormous personality that had time to flourish without her three older siblings dominating her world. She somehow has time to maintain a packed social calendar and still devote several hours a night to her studies, holed up in her room with a blanket and textbooks--AP US History, Anatomy and Physiology, etc etc. She will sometimes knock on my door with her most interesting findings--"Guess WHAT!" she will shriek. I always think that some juicy high school gossip is about to follow, but then she'll launch into some fascinating factoid about the endocrine system. "Did you KNOW that your adrenal gland works with the hypothalamus to produce corticotropin-releasing hormones...?" I laugh at her and remind her that I nearly failed anatomy in college, but it's a good chance to tell her that she really should go to the University of Iowa and study something medical. (And live in the most fun college town in Iowa!) I am so thankful that I've had the opportunity to re-meet my family. To get to know the people they have become...
I'll miss them. I'll miss reading to Josef before he goes to bed and watching his newest skateboard tricks. I'll miss Brittany text-messaging me from her bedroom down the hall to tell me that my music is too loud when she's trying to sleep. I'll miss my mom's good-night kiss and my dad calling me a gazillion times a day, "just checkin' in!" I'll miss our cats and Cafe Diem and Wheatsfield Grocery and all of the great people I work with at FAH, and eating fresh eggs for breakfast. I'll miss waving at farmers in pick-ups and swerving around potholes, and seeing people I know everywhere.
BUT... I do want to go. I don't want to stay. I just have moments, and I think the next few weeks will be a roller-coaster ride of emotions--little bursts of panic, fear, and uncertainty, as well as anticipation and excitement. The part of me that has my feet firmly planted in who I am and what I want my life to be about, can stand back and see that this is right. So for the next seven days, I'm going to keep breathing in that yummy dirt smell (soon I'll be inhaling lovely Taipei smog). I'll be hanging out with my siblings. I'm going to keep kissing my mom good-night and answering my dad's phone calls with mock exasperation. I'll love every minute of my last day at work tomorrow, and I'll wave at every car that I pass on our gravel road with genuine Midwestern friendliness. I'll get a few more vanilla lattes from Cafe Diem and return all of my library books to the APL.
In 2 weeks I'll be taking my first steps in Taiwan. Behind me is a year of beautiful memories, love, laughter, growth, healing, and the support of my incredible family. Ahead of me, a year of challenge, opportunity, discovery, and adventure. A place between the comfort of knowing and the thrill of not knowing. And I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.
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