Out of Towner

2008-06-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

So, I've made it to the Osaka airport, and I'm now sitting on the floor, plugged into the outlet so I can write my final blog post. My plane leaves from Osaka to Detroit at 12:50, so I've got some time to kill. There are tons of people speaking English, and it's been slightly overwhelming. I think I'm listening in to conversations just because I can.

Anyway, I've had some time to reflect, and I'd like to make a list of things that I'm going to miss about Taiwan, and some things that I won't miss too much.

Things I'll miss:

Riding my scooter when it's a beautifully sunny day and there's no one on the road.
Being able to bike everywhere.
The smell of temple incense as you're walking/biking/scooting by.
Breakfast shops (see the pictures and captions below). Getting a full breakfast for a little more than a dollar? Yes, please.
Fresh fruit. I've been subsiding on mango juice for the past few weeks. I'm pretty sure it's in my blood stream.
My students
My friends
My host family/other teachers
A plethora of cheap vegetarian food
Night markets
Plastic coverings on all the beverages. Come on, U.S.! You'd make a fortune with this idea!
Cheap health care

Things I won't miss as much:

Riding my scooter when it's pouring rain.
Riding my bike with one hand trying to hold an umbrella because it's pouring rain.
Temple activities including loud drums and music at 7 in the morning.
Being stared at/whispered about
Not finding any pants that fit my hips/height
Mold/humidity

I'm glad there are more things that I'll miss than things I won't miss. I think that's a good sign. So long, Taiwan. It was great to experience you!

Peanut butter thick toast. A breakfast favorite.

Look how thick!

Soy milk at every breakfast shop = my dream come true. And look at the top! Nothing spills! Genius!

Rice balls. These things kept you full for a really long time. Red rice with veggies, tofu, and egg inside.

Dan bing. Egg inside a very thin, stretchy tortilla like thing. This is a picture looking down at the bottom of the take-out bag.

2008-06-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

The graduating class

So, in an attempt to blog about the end of the year (in addition to wasting time while I'm waiting for my van to pick me up at 1:30AM for my 7:30AM flight...), we approach the end of the year. And what better way to end the school year than with graduation?

Getting awards

Our 6th grade graduation was held on Friday, June 20, which happened to coincide with my final day of teaching. The day itself, in terms of my teaching, was pretty normal. My school was very low key, and I would have been really surprised if they had done anything big. No, classes went on as usual, and a few of the students gave me notes, but for the most part, it was a normal day. What was weird was, even though the students were graduating on the 20th, they still had school for another week. Anti-climatic?

Looking oh-so-happy to be junior high students.

That night, we all gathered in the gym at 6. The graduation was more a presentation of awards, as groups of students were called up to the front, and awarded certificates and gifts by the PTA. I'm pretty sure every student in the 6th grade got a prize, which I think is definitely a good thing. A lot of them were for scores on tests, or diligent studying. In between the award giving, there were performances by 6th graders, as well as some of the younger students. I received a HUGE bunch of flowers when they gave flowers to the 6th grade homeroom teachers. They passed out a rose to each student in the class, and then during a designated time, they could give them to teachers. I got two from two of the 6th grade boys.

The kindergartens graduated too!

A violin performance by some first and third graders.

I managed not to cry until the 5th graders sang a song for the 6th graders. It was sweet, because it was clear the 6th graders had learned it the year before- they were all singing along. Then the 6th graders processed out through the 5th graders. My 5th grade girls were a mess! Some of them were sobbing, and giving me hugs didn't help anything, nor did a teacher asking them to take a picture with me. I definitely feel better about letting my emotions show! The hardest part of the evening: scootering with the bouquet in between my knees...

My flower loot!

2008-06-28T01:40:00.001-07:00

A couple of the shorter trips I took are going to be rolled together into one post, for sake of time. First off: How Katie (my housemate) and I tried to go to Hong Kong.

My friend Wen, from Vassar, recently moved back to HK, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to go see her. Not to mention, although I had flown through mainland China, I had never stopped and visited. So we quickly planned a Friday-Sunday trip. Come Friday night, off to the airport we went. Although our plane was a few minutes late taking off, everything was fine. It only takes about an hour and a half to get to Hong Kong, and Wen was going to meet us at the airport when we got in.

However, as we approached our final destination, the pilot got on the loud speaker and said that there was some bad weather in Hong Kong, so we were going to have to circle for a little while. We circled and circled, and then finally closed in on Hong Kong. When it looked like we were just about to land, the pilot again got on the loud speaker and announced that, since the thunder storms in Hong Kong were so bad, we, in fact, were unable to land there AT ALL, and therefore would be returning to Taipei. So we flew the hour and a half trip back to Taipei.

Our joke of a flight pattern to Hong Kong and back.

The airline was going to put up all the passengers at local hotels and then fly them to Hong Kong the following afternoon. However, the thunder storms were supposed to last all weekend, and there was no guarantee when the plane would be arriving on Saturday. Since we were only staying until Sunday afternoon, we figured it wasn't really worth it to go for less than 24 hours. The airline nicely paid for a taxi from the airport back to our house. Our travel agent is working on our refund, but it will have some money deducted, because it wasn't the airline's fault, it was our decision to cancel. Not to mention, the refund will take 3-6 months to getback. It was, by far, the most expensive trip I didn't go on.

A trip that worked out better was the day trip Jenny and I took to Yingge and Sanxia. These small towns were about half an hour outside of Taipei. Yingge was an old pottery town, and had tons of stores selling anything pottery you could ever hope for. Sanxia was a nearby town which had, hands down, the coolest, most ornate temple I have ever seen. We almost missed it (to be fair, we were looking the other way AND there was a huge kid performance going on in the square AND it was kind of hidden behind some trees), but I'm so glad we saw it before we left.

Inside a vase in Yingge, the pottery town.

At the entrance to one of the old tunnel kilns.

The old street in Sanxia. This was before we found the temple.

Decorations at the temple.

Detail of the decorations.

The gods wait...

That afternoon, after arriving back in Taipei, we decided to go to the top of Taipei 101 (the not-anymore-tallest-building-in-the-world-thanks-Dubai!), since neither of us had been to the top. We went at sunset, which was an awesome time to go.

BIG Katie, little Taipei 101

The southern view. I was trying to find Yilan.

Posing with a "Damper baby." Oh, the marketing. The damper is the big thing in the middle of the building that keeps it from falling down during earthquakes.

Jenny and I also went on an adventure to Green Island, which is an Island off of Taitung in the south. We had planned to go Monday-Wednesday, since it takes a fair amount of time to get there (5 hour train ride, 40 minute ferry ride), but as our departure day approached, it became apparent that a typhoon was heading our way. A typhoon that capsized a ferry in the Philippines. Determined not to let weather spoil another one of my trips, we decided to shorten our adventure to one night, instead of two. Turns out, Green Island is pretty small, and we were able to get in all the things we wanted to do in a day and a half... we really didn't feel like we missed anything by not staying the whole three days. AND, the typhoon went way west, into China and we had beautiful, beautiful weather. We went snorkeling (first time I've ever driven a scooter in a wet suit) and saw some amazing fish. There weren't really beaches there, it was more rocky formations up to the water's edge. But the fish were gorgeous. Saw some medium sized green and bright purple striped and a HUGE bright turquoise one. I really liked the small ones that were all black with a white tail, too. They looked like they were wearing tuxedos.

After a BBQ dinner (Taiwan style...), we were going to go to the salt water hot springs by the ocean (1 of 3 in the world!), but we ended up falling asleep around 8:30. Blame the sun and the surf. We decided to wake up super early the next morning (4:45!) to get there before it got hot. Apparently, a good time to go is to see the sun rise, but we were a little late. They were still cool, though. In addition to the normal kind of tiled pools, there were also these pools down by the ocean. It was all very green and lush and incredible. Afterwards, we scootered around the island, which took about 40 minutes, and then caught the ferry home!

Hot springs

2008-06-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to see more of Taiwan, Ben and I went to Tainan one of the last weekends in May. He had already been last year, so it was nice to have a walking a talking guide, rather than just my Lonely Planet guidebook. It was a long bus ride from Taipei down to Tainan, but it was totally worth it. The forecast for the weekend was supposed to be rain, so we were prepared to be wet the whole time. However, we were pleasantly surprised that it was only overcast, which meant that it wasn't too hot. Score!

Love for the little brother in Tainan!

Anyway, Tainan is lovely. It has the feel of a bigger city, without the craziness I've come to associate with Taiwanese cities. It seemed to have a slower pace, and there was an incredible blend of city, old history, and greenery. Apparently, it has the most Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan. And it's also one of the oldest cities. We saw the old wall of the city, the Chihkan Towers, which were built by the Dutch, TONS of temples, including one with pretty vivid and gruesome pictures of all the possible ways you could die, the Anping fort area, and the Eternal Golden Castle, which was a cool fort with some huge cannons.

The old wall

The top of Chihkan Towers

Ben in a vase doorway at Chihkan Towers

Why, yes! That IS a pomegranate growing in the wild!

My favorite temple was the Lady Linshui Temple, where parents brought their children to pray for safety and health.

Lady Linshui and a baby

2008-06-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

So, it's Friday night here, and I leave early Sunday morning. It feels somewhat surreal to have everything packed up and cleaned and to be looking at leaving. These next couple posts are going to come in rapid succession within the upcoming few days. I'm going to try to break them up into events, so they're easier to read about than one long post.

A team stretching prior to racing.

First off: Dragon Boat Festival. This year, Dragon Boat Festival fell on the weekend of June 8. Although I was not participating in the Dragon Boat races themselves (practices were 6am weekday mornings), many of my friends were, which prompted me to go to the races early Saturday morning. They were excellent! Although the foreigners' team (organized by the university where we took Chinese classes) lost to the second team they raced (they totally won the first!), it was a really great thing to see, and a really wonderful experience. I loved cheering them on.

Starting off...

My friend, Jenny, really putting her all into it.

Success!

Way to win!

Dragon Boat Festival was one of the only Chinese holidays that I had to teach about in my English class. We touched briefly on the Moon Festival (see October for a memory booster), but this was the one that we went into more depth on, at least with the first and second graders. It was also the first time I ran into the problem of "Well, we just don't have that word in English, so we use the Chinese word..." This really threw my younger students off. The example: For the Dragon Boat Festival, people eat these triangle glutinous rice dumplings, wrapped in bamboo leaves (see the story below for more details on why). In Chinese, they're called zhong zi. However, there's not really an English translation of that word, and on the poster we had for the Dragon Boat Festival, they just labeled them as "zhong zi." Needless to say, my students were throughly confused, and every time I pointed to the picture, had no clue what to say, despite me coaching "What do you call them in Chinese?"

So, the story of the Dragon Boat Festival: the festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, who was a famous poet from the kingdom of Chu. He was extremely patriotic, and tried to warn the king and his fellow country men about the expansion of the Qin (this was during the Warring states period). This resulted in exile. When the Qin, in fact, took over the capital of Chu, Qu Yuan was so upset that he drowned himself in the river. The story goes that the local people threw packets of rice into the river so the fish would not eat his body. If you're interested, there's also a fable about a snake: White Snake story.

Besides zhong zi and boat racing, the holiday also includes hanging up medicinal herbs and using sweet smelling sachets, since it's believed that it's easier to get sick this time of year (makes sense, since, as I've experienced, the humidity and heat is overwhelming). Also, you're supposed to be able to stand up eggs on their ends at 12 noon on the day of the dragon boat festival. Apparently it is for good luck, and the ability to stand them has something to do with the pull of the earth? I wasn't able to do it, but then again, I tried at 1:00...

2008-06-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm certainly nearing the end of my stay in Taiwan. I leave 2 weeks from today, which I can't believe. It's amazing how these 10 months have passed by. Needless to say, I feel like a lot of reflection/remembering will be going on in the next two weeks. Maybe some of it will make it on to this blog.

I've been trying to travel a little more this semester (maybe you've noticed), and have had some great successes. Not only was it great having Ben know all about Taiwan and traveling around the island with him, Katie (my housemate) and I went on some international trips, as well. The biggest one being to Singapore a few weeks ago.

On our way!

Blurry (Hey, it was early!), but excited!

After leaving the house at 4am, we arrived in Singapore (with a short stop in Hong Kong) on Thursday afternoon. We took the rest of the afternoon and evening to explore the area around our hostel (which was great! If anyone ever goes to Singapore, ask me about where we stayed. Best hostel ever!) and finding dinner. The next day we set out to Chinatown (wait... don't we live in "China"town?) and Little India, walking the same number of hours that we had slept the night before. And let me tell you, it is mightly hot in Singapore. Heat + walking = exhaustion.

Buildings around our hostel.

The oldest, largest temple in Singapore- down the street from our hostel.

Come to Singapore, find Taiwanese food.

In Chinatown, we saw a Hindu Temple (I didn't take any pictures of the inside, so you'll have to make do with picutres of the roof), and managed to get there just in time for their noon service. I'm not sure really what was going on, but there were lots of drums and noise and people following around a man who was holding something on his head. There was also some flower throwing and singing, I believe. It definitely was the first time I've ever seen anything like that, and it was incredible.

Top of the temple.

Next up, we went to the Buddah's Tooth Relic (which we didn't actually see, since the tooth relic display was closed when we were there). While we missed the relic, we DID see the amazing roof, which had an orchid garden, a massive prayer wheel and 10,000 tiny Buddahs! I think that was my favorite part about the relic temple.

Tiny Buddahs

Each one was so small!

We also had lunch in a Hawker center, which is basically a big, open air food court. But the one we went to was HUGE and had tons of cheap, different kinds of food. AND! I got to have soy milk with the tapioca pearls (珍珠: zhen zhu), which usually come in the milk tea (珍珠奶茶: zhen zhu nai cha) here. However, since I don't drink milk, I've missed out on milk tea with bubbles. But not in Singapore! My favorite find: Mr. Bean. This shop supplied me with all the soy milk bubble tea and soy ice cream that my little heart had been missing. Singapore rocks!

Mr. Bean!

The henna art that I got in Little India.

2 people, 4 meals

Anyway, that night we had a massive dinner in an Indian vegetarian place, and went to bed early. The next day (Saturday), we went to the Colonial district, and hit up the Asian Civilizations Museum (One cool part: leaves that had had their "flesh" stripped away, so all that was left were the delicate skeletal strands holding them together. Then, the artist had painted, in gold, quotes from the Quran. Beautiful.) and then headed over to the Battle Box. This was the underground command centre of the British Malaya Command Headquarters during World War II. It's also where the decision to surrender to the Japanese on February 15, 1942. We walked through the Battle Box (which is built into the side of a hill) and got to listen to conversations that had been taped, and see these life-size dummies act out what happened during that time period. Despite the fact that our guide was rushing us slightly, it was really cool to see the actual structure and find out more about how the decision to surrender had been made.

Playing dress-up at the museum.

Singapore in the background.

Replica of the flag used to surrender to the Japanese.

After a late lunch, we walked down Orchard Road (huge shopping street) and headed to the Raffles hotel, which is a famous 19th century hotel. It was "the retreat and source of inspiration for many writers and movie stars, including Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and Charlie Chaplin." It also was the birthplace of the drink, the "Singapore Sling," which we enjoyed out the porch overlooking Orchard Road. Most expensive drink I've ever had, but also one of the best experiences. We finished up our posh evening at a tapas restaurant.

The Raffles Hotel

Posing with the sign.

Our final hot day in Singapore, we walked over to the Fountain of Wealth, which is the largest fountain in the world. Supposedly, if you walk around it 3 times clockwise, you get good luck. So we DEFINITELY did that. While the fountain was big, it wasn't a very impressive sight. Apparently it's all lit up at night. Oh well.

Fountain of Wealth!

After the fountain, we walked BACK down Orchard Road and caught a bus to the National Orchid Garden. My favorite part: The section devoted to celebrities who had visited. Princess Diana and Jackie Chan, I can understand. But Ricky Martin?

Ricky Martin orchid.

Pretty orchids.

More prettiness.

We hurried back to our hostel to catch the shuttle to the Night Safari. Everyone said we should go on it. It WAS pretty cool- I definitely saw some animals that I've never seen before (and some were REALLY close to the little tram we were riding around on), but sometimes it felt like we were just at the zoo at night. And there were a ton of people. Still, a good experience, and I'm glad I went.

We came back to Taiwan on Monday, after an incredible trip. And now, since this post is already crazy long, I'll save the other travels to another post (in the near near future). Next up: "Travels to Tainan" and "How We Almost Went to Hong Kong."

2008-05-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

It's been 75 and sunny in Yilan for the past two days! Finally clothes can dry a little faster, cuts can heal a little sooner (a rupture on my foot has been festering for the past two weeks due to humidity) and I can ride my bike to school!

Oh, those gears.

Now, you might say that this ride isn't as flashy as my super cool scooter (see picture below... it's currently lacking the mitts which were put on for the cold rain), but I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I've developed a slight crush on my bicycle. Maybe it's because it allows me to see the sights of Yilan a little slower than I would on my scooter. I'm able to notice more, to really take in the sights around me. It's about a 40 minute bike ride to my school each way, and it really allows me to take in the beauty of my surroundings, and sometimes the humor in them...

The legendary PPO (name taken from license plate)

Green onions growing on the way to school.

Rice paddy houses.

Why let the 7s and 11s have all the fun?

With the good weather/Spring comes the Springtime fruit. Including, but definitely not limited to, watermelon. Now, the abundance of fruit in Taiwan is something that I know I will definitely miss. Not only are you able to buy the fruit in ubiquitous fruit stands, you can also purchase the said fruit juiced, at shops virtually every few kilometers, for about the equivalent of an American dollar (or less).

I've got a loverly bunch of... watermelons.

How to keep your pet pig in its cage OR where to store your cut watermelon?

My watermelon juice is taking over Yilan.

Enjoying my juice on my balcony.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, as I'm sure everyone knows. I was called on, as the resident foreigner, to teach about the holiday. Sometimes, through out the year, I've been asked to teach about holidays that they don't have/aren't as common in Taiwan (Thanksgiving, for example). However, they have Mother's Day in Taiwan, on the same day and everything, so this was more of a "how do you say things in English that the students already know about?" The two holidays prior (Easter and St. Patrick's Day) were a little more interesting...

The 1st-3rd grade Easter egg hunt.

Even the older students were into the hunt. All day, they would come to the English classroom asking for more eggs...

TWO eggs? So lucky.

It's hard being short when eggs are in trees...

1st graders with their eggs after the hunt.

Popular things to wish for if the student was to find a four leaf clover: perfect score on tests, parent to come home, good health for family members, wii/psp/gameboys (why limit it to a pot of gold?)

A comet? Now, that's thinking outside the box...

Wishing to go to the USA

Magic powers

Next up is Dragon Boat Festival (June 8), which I know (next to) nothing about, so I guess I should do a little research before I'm expected to teach it...

2008-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Going to Singapore May 15-May 19! Let's hear it for last minute plans!

2008-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

The plum rains (梅雨) have started here in taiwan, named such because is when the plums begin to ripen. What it really means, though, is the return of downpours. All day rain with no way to stay dry. Luckily we've had a fair amount of sun/dry weather recently, so the memory of what it's like is not too far buried in our minds.

This past weekend, Ben and I took advantage of the sun and drove from taipei down to yilan on the coastal highway. I'm incredibly glad we decided to do this on a sunny weekend, because, while the scenery would have been amazing even if it was a gray, having nice weather definitely made it nicer. We stopped in Yehliu (among other places) and saw rocks that have been carved and warped into different shapes by sea erosion, including one that supposedly looks like a queen's head (although, we decided that many of them could have symbolized other things if you looked from a certain angle). It looked like Dr. Seuss land, or perhaps the roof of the Gaudi house in Barcelona (random sculptures sticking out of the ground). The contrast of these rocks against the blue of the ocean was surreal. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it, but i included one that I found online, just to give you a sense.

Dr. Seuss Land- Yehliu

So we're into may. I finished my work at my co-school, which was an interesting experience. I loved the students, and it was good working in a different school environment. It was very different from my little laid back Jhong-Sing. Maybe it's just due to the fact that it's a bigger school, or perhaps it's just the dynamics of the faculty. My time there wasn't as hands on as I was hoping, but I did get to do story time on a regular basis (which on occasion was continued during class time).

The see-saw is just way too much fun.

If I played favorites, she would be my favorite. But since I don't, she's just a really cute kid.

We all know whose mom let him dress himself today...

One of the stories I read to the 4th grade was called "Willie the Dreamer," which was a great picture book illustrating Willie (a monkey, which all the students loved), dreaming of all the things he could possibly be. The activity that went along with the story was the students drawing, and writing (preferably in English), what their dream was for when they grew up. The 4th graders struggled a bit with this, often resorting to "I don't knooooow what I want to be." But I repeated the activity with the 1st-3rd grade, and got some great answers. Some of which included: "ice cream man," "a good mom," "an elevator operator," "a dangerous robber," and "vice-president," among many teachers, police, singers and chefs. The best was when the tiniest 1st grader wanted to be a basketball player, and Tracey (my co-teacher) said: "Well, that's why they call it a dream."

"Miss Kate-uh... I haaaaave noooo dreams!"

Future vice-president.

Future ice cream man.

Future basketball player?

Two Saturdays ago was Jhong-Sing sports day, which I was invited to attend. From what I understand, sports days can include a number of things: performances, sporting events, competitions. Mine was fairly low-key. The students all did a dance, awarded teachers with various thank-you gifts, ran some races, did some relays, generally had a good time. They also got off of school on Monday (which many of the students told me they were really happy about), but since I was still teaching at Tong-Le at that time, I didn't get to partake in the day off.

My students weren't too happy that they learned this dance to do it one time. I, however, loved the dance, and have requested they teach it to me. I have the CD of the music and everything.

Relay race

Me with 5B.

May is busy. Tons of friends/family visiting my friends, and I feel like this month is going to slip by faster than I know. Katie (my housemate) and I are going to travel to Singapore in the middle of the month, and I'm going to attempt to see some Vassar friends in Hong Kong in June. My return to the US is scheduled for June 29, which seems to be approaching super quickly.

Turtle stack in the Luodong Sports Park.

2008-04-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Lantern festival fireworks

It occurred to me today, as I was buttoning up my ankle-length scooter raincoat, after eating a breakfast of fishball and noodle soup with a drink of warm soy milk, that it's been awhile since I've written about life here. So, here I sit on my bed, watching the rains that they promised would come in April, eating my new favorite fruit (sweetsop, or as it's translated in Chinese "Buddah's head"), attempting to describe how my life somehow transitioned from "still working on it" to "comfortable" in a matter of a month or so.

Raining lights

The Chinese new year came and went, culminating with the brilliant lantern festival on the 15th day of the new year. While I opted out of the event where fireworks were shot at you (braver individuals of my friend group chose otherwise), the festivities were still amazing. My close friends and I went to a local elementary school to watch a brilliant firework show, wander around huge lanterns shaped as rats (or mice- the year of the rat apparently also includes Mickey Mouse), and sent lanterns up into the air with wishes. These lanterns were huge- you purchased one and then wrote wishes on them, with the hopes that the wishes will reach the heavens. They were then lit from underneath and sent up into the sky. It was absolutely incredible, and watching our lantern float off into the sky is something I know I'll never forget.

Even bunnies like sparklers

Jeannie writing her wish

Steven lighting the lantern

You have to hold it on the ground to let it fill up with hot air before you can release it.

Some of our wishes

About to be released...

Another lantern being let go

When they were filled, the lanterns were really quite big. You can sort of see the size difference compared to this person... or maybe it was just a smaller person...

Up into the air

The death of a lantern

One of my Chinese new year resolutions (although not inscribed on the lantern) was to travel more, both around Taiwan and around Asia. I realize that time is rapidly slipping from my fingers (my return trip looks to be on June 29), and that I need to take every opportunity I can get. Jenny, Jeannie, Katie and I went to Taroko Gorge for an evening. The gorge is in a huge National park, complete with jade and marble. It was an amazing trip. In addition to the paved "hike" that the tour busses brought the masses, we went on another hike that lead us to a water fall curtain (imagine going into a cave with water raining down on you, barefoot and relying on a flashlight to make sure you don't slip into the "creek" below). Despite the fact that we only spent one night there, it was a great vacation.

First view of the gorge

The paved path

Suspension bridges!

Careful for killer bees! "Be careful" in Chinese is 小心 (xiao xin) or "small heart." Still trying to figure out how that translates to "caution"...

Hiking in the sun makes us happy

More traveling is in store. Confidence has been built since a scooter trip to Taipei, and Katie and I have been looking into some smaller trips around here. We're also thinking about venturing to Shanghai in May...

With the April rains also comes a change of scenery. In March, we began working at a co-school, splitting the week in half: 2 days in our main school, 2 days in our co-school. April is devoted completely to our co-school, and then we're back to the main school for May and June. I'm working at Tong-Le, which actually was a main school last year. My co-teacher's English is incredible, and I'm really getting to love the kids. It's taking some time to adjust to a new school- it's much bigger (ok, comparably...) to Jhongsing (my main school), and sometimes the unfamiliarity is a little overwhelming. But I'm really loving the newness and getting to work with new students- especially getting to work with 4th graders, which I don't do at Jhongsing.

Speaking of 4th graders, as some of you may know, I've accepted a job offer at Collegiate School as a 4th grade assistant teacher for the upcoming school year. I'm working with a teacher who I met last year, and I'm really excited to be in the school, and especially with her. So (although it wasn't really a question before), I'll definitely be moving to New York to work and start on my masters. Something to definitely look forward to.

This coming weekend is Tomb Sweeping Festival, which is more of a family festival. We're not doing anything for it, except getting off from school on Friday. Some of us were thinking of heading down to Kenting to attend a music festival, but it sort of fell through. I'm looking forward to being around here a little, though. Perhaps attempting some spring cleaning...

2008-02-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Got 2 email responses back from schools that I mailed my cover letter and resume to. Time to start planning the next year for real? Scary.

And for your viewing pleasure: me with one of the 小 babies at the orphanage where Katie and I volunteer:

2008-02-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

There's been a massive delay in updating. Apparently starting back at school after a long break really stinks and it zaps all of your time and energy. Nonetheless, I have time today, since on Tuesdays I don't teach anything until 1:40, but am still required to be at school starting at 8:00. Ha.

This is what I look like after 4 hours of sitting at my desk. Doing nothing... I mean, doing lots of work...

So break came and went. I spent 4 nights with my housemates in Thailand at the beginning. After two bus rides, a 3 hour plane ride, 7 hours in the Bangkok airport, and another 2 hour plane ride, we finally arrived in Phuket, Thailand. After minor readjustment to our living situation, we settled in to enjoy the warm weather, beaches, elephants and crazy amounts of tourists. We completed our goal of riding elephants, which, other than going to lie on the beach the whole time, was our main objective. It's semi-upsetting to see all these elephants without knowing how they're treated or their lifestyle (I did some reading before heading there, and was unsure about how I felt in regards to the whole situation), and while I wouldn't like to support the industry on a regular basis, it was something I enjoyed.

So so excited to be going to Thailand!

The start of our very long layover in Bangkok airport.

Looking a little more tired, but you know, still excited and all that jazz.

Real pad thai. Serious stuff.

Look, ma! I'm on an elephant!

My elephant rides off into the distance.

Jeannie and Katie looking cozy on their elephant.

The area that we went, Patong Beach, was intensely touristy. Like, overly so. It was also full of... how shall I put it... woman who were inclined to use their bodies for extra money. It surprised me (although, I'm not sure why) how much it upset me. The cycle of not having the money, the background or the support to continue in education, to pursue something that would be less detrimental, both mentally and physically. These girls were gorgeous, but there was something that made them so old. It was mostly in their faces. But just seeing them put themselves in the position of being... handled... by these foreign guys really made my stomach turn.

Pretty sunset at Patong Beach.

Anyway, Katie and I returned home after 4 nights and she headed off to Hong Kong and Beijing. I, however, met up with my mom, who had gotten into Taipei that evening! It was great to see her, and so nice to have her experience what I've been trying to get across in words, pictures, and countless (grumpy) ichat dates. We spent a few days in Taipei, wandering around finding knitting stores, looking at flower markets and sampling hot pot.

Orchids at this amazingly huge flower market in Taipei.

Then, on Monday we headed to Hanoi, Veitnam. I'd be the first to admit that I don't know as much about Vietnam as I probably should. Senior year American History was a long time ago, and I do think my awareness has grown since then. Not to mention that I've become exponentially more interested after visiting the place. Hanoi was... cold. And slightly depressing. It seemed very gray and run-down, maybe it was the weather, but it just seemed sort of... sad.

So thaaat's why they have no power in Hanoi. Just kidding. Maybe.

However, there were some cool things in Hanoi. We saw Ho Chi Minh's body (yes, the real one), which was creepy and cool and morbid. You couldn't bring in cameras, so I'll just have to remember it. There were 4 guards surrounding the case, and apparently their their 24 hours. The Russians also supposedly come once a year to check on the body, as well. Neat.

Ho Chi Minh's body is in there. For real. His honest to goodness dead body. Freaky.

Ho Chi Minh's house from a distance.

Tet (Vietnam's New Year) started on the same day as Chinese New Year this year (Feb. 4). It's good luck to buy kumquat, peach and apricot trees. Now imagine 3 huge trees on the back of someone's scooter. It's that intense.

We also saw his house and offices, complete with pictures of other communist leaders. Traveling on, we saw the One Pillar Pagoda, a famous Buddhist pagoda built originally in 1049. Story goes that the Emperor Ly Thai Tong was wife-less and childless. He had a dream that Buddha handed him a son while seated on a lotus flower. Following that dream, the Emperor married and his wife bore a son. Therefore, he erected the pagoda in honor. Not only is the pagoda in the middle of a lotus pond, it itself looks like a lotus, balanced on one stem.

One Pillar Pagoda. Standing on... one pillar...

Next up was the Temple of Literature, which was founded in 1070 as a temple to Confucius. In 1076, the first university was established within the temple. Of course, like many things in Vietnam, the temple was partially destroyed during French ruling, so only part of it is original.

Looking out from the temple.

Decorations for the new year.

Offerings.

She just couldn't resist touching these new year decorations.

Other highlights in Hanoi included a water puppet show (puppeteers stand in waist high water behind a set and move puppets which are attached on long poles), a cylco (Vietnamese rickshaw) ride throughout the city, and a trip to Halong Bay. The Bay was incredible, tons of limestone pillars of various sizes in the water. It's one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

Closeup of the puppets. All the stories were told by this band and three singers. They were all traditional Vietnamese folktales

Fairies. Obviously.

The puppeteers.

Halong Bay.

More of the Bay.

Me and Mom on our own private boat.

A cave in the Bay. The lights aren't natural... obviously...

More cave.

After 3 cold days in Hanoi, we headed south to Ho Chi Minh City (which will now be referred to as HCMC for my sanity). Not only was it much warmer in the south, it also seems to have opened it's arms to the wide world of tourism. It's caters much more to foreigner, it seems, especially in the area of our hotel. I think I liked HCMC more, but I'm not sure if that was because of the weather or the fact that it was more of a city.

Decorated for the new year. This city went all out.

The first full day there we went to the Củ Chi Tunnels, the network of underground tunnels that the NLF guerrillas lived in during the "conflict." The system was intense, including sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a hospital. It was semi-surreal to see bomb craters caused by bombs dropped by Americans who were searching out the tunnels. Not to mention all the booby traps that were used to capture the American soldiers who could, in fact, fit into the tiny tunnels.

An afternoon tour of the city completed our day, including a trip to the Reunification Palace, which just used to be the president's house until Vietnam was "reunified." The strangest part of that visit was the museum in the base of the palace, which glorified the "liberation" of the south from Americans. It's amazing how things can be twisted.

Reunification Palace.

Mom in her cyclo.

A trip to the Mekong Delta took up another day. We were really far out there- for the first time I felt like I was in the jungle. The Delta was one of the primary places for the conflict between teh guerrillas and the U.S. navy. We took a boat to a small island (turtle island, I think? The islands were all named after animals) and visited a "coconut candy factory" (which consisted of a family making coconut candy in a large sack). From there we took a horse-drawn cart through the very very small town to see a traditional music performance and sample some Vietnamese fruit. Finally, we took a small boat back to our larger one. It was incredible. I also took a bath in bug spray since I had been throughly freaked out about malaria. In that setting, it was probably the best idea.

On the Delta. Note the hat- it will be featured prominently in the future.

That's a lot of coconuts...

Working hard, or hardly working?

Cutting the candy.

Cutting it into even smaller, bite-sized pieces.

The back-roads, er, water-ways of the island.

Rocking the cone-head look.

Captain, my captain...

The last day in HCMC was spent shopping and... going to a spa. Which, after running around like a crazy person for a week, was really incredible. We headed back to Taipei the following Monday.

My mom's last 5 days in Taipei were spent visiting Taipei 101 and the palace museum. She also traveled to Yilan with me for New Year's Eve, which (sorry mom!) included microwave dinners that we bought at the grocery store, since everything was (understandably) closed. We watched the fireworks from my balcony, and although we we went to bed at 12:30, they continued through the night. And have continued for the past 2 weeks. All hail the year of the Rat. Sadly, my mom left on Saturday and I headed back to my cold, non-heated, lacking warm toilet-seat (one of the many luxuries of our Taipei hotel) apartment.

Since the end of break, I've been back to work, attempting to motivate myself a little more in school. I'm also realizing that I really want to take this time to travel, both around Asia, but around Taiwan more. I'm here, this is my time. Last weekend, Katie, Jeannie, Ben and Luke (former Fulbrighters), Jasper (a newly made friend) and I went to RuiSui, a town south of Hualien, to visit the hot springs there for the night. And slept (some of us better than others) on tatami mats in a Japanese-style guest house there. The next day, I went with the boys to Dong-Ao, an Aboriginal village, and spent the afternoon eating (entirely too much food), dancing and singing karaoke. It was an amazing atmosphere- everyone was so incredibly nice and inviting. It really inspired me to take more opportunities here.

And now, that brings us to the school week. I've been sitting on my computer in the teachers' office for the past 3 hours (doing work, I swear), as I wait for lunch and then my class. We start teaching at a co-school two days a week starting in March, and then for the whole month of April. I went to Tong-Le (my co-school) yesterday, and I'm so incredibly excited about having a new place that I can't explain it. It's a bigger school and I have a crazier schedule, but I'm looking forward to something different.

2008-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia (or parts of it) - Thailand and Vietnam, to be exact. I'm in Taipei currently with my mom, heading to Yilan for a visit tomorrow to celebrate lunar New Year. More of an update will come (complete with pictures from a new camera) when I get back to my laptop.

2008-01-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

So the holidays came and went here in Taiwan. It was somewhat strange- things were decorated, if almost overly so, but nothing stopped for observance. I was supposed to teach on Christmas, but my one class was canceled for a school-wide rehearsal (we're going to watch The Grinch-darn), so I was able to go to my housemate's school to see their Christmas event. Probably the only time I'll be able to judge a song contest when half of the grades sang "Yesterday" by the Beatles and the other half sang "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles.

Jeannie's school decorated for the occasion.

This was probably the only Christmas I'll have where everything is open on Christmas day.

Obviously, Da Vinci cram school which occupies our building was decorated.

Jeannie, Jenny, Katie and I opened our presents from out families on Christmas eve, since we weren't sure when we'd all be together on Christmas day, and the thought of opening presents by ourselves was too unbearable. It turns out that we spent Christmas (day) night together anyway making a gingerbread house before the rest of the group came over, but it was nice to have some Christmas before the fact.

Hard at work. This was greatly appreciated later that night when our friends ate the roof off.

How else would I celebrate Christmas? Banana pineapple juice, a tiny present, a pink panther balloon animal and my ever-present scooter helmet, obviously!

My school has an end-of-semester event every year, with each class doing a performance. This year, since the elections are coming up, many politicians attended the event, as well as families and administrators. My dean "asked" me if I wanted to be part of it ("Kate, we've put you in the program"), and I ended up singing "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" by myself, accompanied by the music teacher on the piano. Yet another time I missed not having Measure 4 Measure here- if the girls were here, we could have just sung all together. Nonetheless, the performance went well. I think it's the only time I'll ever see people swaying their hands back and forth to a Christmas carol. Maybe they think that's what we do. I almost expected someone to whip out a lighter. Or at least a cellphone.

That night (Friday), Katie, Dale, Michelle and I took of for the south of the island, by way of north. Leaving on a 9PM train to Taipei, we then took a train that left Taipei at 11:30 and arrived in Kaohsiung at 5:30AM. One of the most uncomfortable rides in my life, but we didn't want to take a day traveling. It was then a 2 hour and 45 minute bus ride to Kenting, the beach town at the very south of Taiwan. We arrived around 8:30 and were ushered to a hostel by the first people who met us off the bus. The next few days were spent scooting around the south, stopping at small beaches, parks and hikes. New Years Eve was spent at a bar in Kenting city proper (we eventually moved to a BEAUTIFUL hotel- complete with hot tub on balcony overlooking the ocean- after Michelle found a cockroach under her pillow), which was good fun. We headed back north on the Wednesday after new years, which meant I missed school on Monday (Tuesday they had off for the holiday).

One of the lakes on one of our "hikes." They sometimes use this word loosely. "Hikes" can sometimes be paved, flat paths, as this one was.

Tired, but happy to be in Kenting on the first day.

One of the many beaches we stopped at. Apparently, that big blue stick belonged to someone. Who knew?

The Eluanbi lighthouse. Built in 1888. The only armed lighthouse in the world, complete with a trench around it. All this to keep out the local tribes that used to invade. Apparently, it was also bombed a great deal during Japanese rule.

Of COURSE you dance on the beach. That is, if you don't go swimming. Katie and Dale faced the waters, but since the wind was strong, and I wore my jacket all weekend (Kenting is supposedly really warm and nice in the summer), I decided to skip the swim.

Natural fire. From the ground. People were popping popcorn on it-some more successfully than others.

All of Kenting is a National park, but we went hiking in the "real" park part. The terrain was incredibly diverse- everything from steep cliffs to hanging Banyan trees to caves. This was one of the caves.

Just follow the flowers to...

A blooming field! Despite the fact that I wore my jacket constantly, Kenting is warmer than the rest of the island. So, even though it is "winter," there were still some blooms.

Friday I went to a (last minute) press conference at Jenny's school for the English Village- an all-English environment that we're helping to create. Students from around the county will eventually visit on school trips, but for now we're just working on the curriculum. Anyway, the press conference was scheduled because we've received money from this foundation, so the school wanted to make it public. It was all in Chinese, I understood very little, and in typical fashion, we found out plans had changed, and expectations were different. Sometimes it's frustrating to be working on a project and have things suddenly changed without warning. It definitely reminds you how little control you have, and while I'm definitely getting better with flexibility, it is still something that takes getting used to.

2 weeks until our real break. Thailand for a week with my housemates, then my mom visits and we head to Vietnam for a week, then back to Taiwan for a week. Until then it's just pushing my students through finals...

2007-12-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

FYI: I have fixed the commenting so now you are able to comment even if you don't have a blogger account. Just to let you know in case you want to leave a note. :)

2007-12-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

(NOTE: This blog post was started a month ago, which was probably a good thing, since, if I sat down to write it all down now, I'd most likely forget parts of it. So, basically, while it appears that I've slacked tremendously when it comes to posting, I've really just slacked when it comes to pressing "publish post.")

Awhile ago, I went with my host family on a road trip. I was asked to accompany them to Nantou to visit their new baby nephew. After being told it was only a 3 hour car ride, I gladly agreed. After all, it's warmer in the south, and any place has to be less rainy than Yilan.

3 hours was actually 6 hours. In a car. With a 6-year-old. But the thrill of going on a road trip overshadowed the hours of playing "Pokemon" (Dale put down a card, Cliff put down a card, I put down a card, then Cliff would pick up all three and give them to me. I think I won, in the end), and watching Cliff rip up a Bo, Po, Mo, Fo book. We stopped at a rest stop about 2 1/2 hours into the trip, and aside from the fact that it was much cleaner than the rest stops I've been too (and the majority of the population was clearly... um... Asian, obviously), it felt like I could have been driving back up to school. I liked that feeling- something so familiar like driving on the highway, but in a place that's still so new.

Cliff, my host brother, taking a rest. Something which was done fairly infrequently.

Anyway, we went first to Taizhong, which was where Kendra's (my host mom) brother and sister-in-law are currently residing, since Kendra's sister-in-law just gave birth. It really only took 4 hours to get there- better than the full 6. When we arrived, we had lunch in the little area near the university there, and then walked around the BEAUTIFUL university campus. I felt like I was visiting colleges again- if I was basing where I went on it's location, I would have totally gone there. There's even a famous church on the campus, known for it's unique architecture.

While we rested in the shade of the church, waiting for Kendra's brother, sister-in-law, and daughter to arrive (the new baby was in the care center- more to come on that), we played baseball with Cliff. Which gave Kendra the idea that me and Dale would be excellent at the batting cage later that afternoon.

Following the trip to the University, we headed to the Month Long Rest Home that the sister-in-law was staying in. Usually, after a mother gives birth, her mother-in-law helps take care of the mother and the new baby. The goal is to nurse the mother back to strength, and allow her to gain her health back after putting her body through the stress of childbirth. There are strict guidelines as to what the mother should eat and behave (for example, she shouldn't wash her own hair, as the water could carry disease). While some of the suggestions seem slightly antiquated, overall, the process makes sense. The mother needs to be healthy and strong to take care of the new baby, and really, it is easier to get to that point when you have someone else to help you.

However, Kendra's brother and sister-in-law already have a small daughter, so her mother-in-law was helping with the first child, rather than taking care of mom and the new baby. This clearly is common, as there are multiple Month Long Rest Homes located near the hospitals. For 3000NT a day (less than $100), the mother can be nursed back to health by a full staff of nurses, provided with complete baby care. Need you fear that the exhausted mother might not have all of the luxuries home would provide, the rooms come with a bathroom, internet, and a TV. Thinking about the fact that you get medical help, personal help, and the comfort of being with other mothers who have just given birth too, makes me wonder why there aren't more of these facsilities around the world. Is it just that the tradition of helping out the mother isn't as prominent in other cultures? Maybe that would explain the increase in postpartum depression...

Sign outside of the rest home. Photo courtesy of Dale.

Anyway, I digress. Following visiting the baby in the home (SO cute, SO little), we headed to the batting cages. Reminding myself that, although I hadn't hit a ball since I was...um... 12, it's all muscle memory, we headed in. Not only were there batting cages (I stuck with softball, Dale ventured to faster areas), but other arcade-esque games. A few hours there, some sore muscles later, we headed to Nantou, where we would be spending the night in the house which was normally occupied by Kendra's brother. Now, however, Kendra's mother and father are staying there.

Dale testing out his swing.

Here, batter, batter. Photo courtesy of Dale.

After a HUGE dinner at a hot pot restaurant (another thing that I wonder why it hasn't hit in the states...), we spent the night. Early the next morning (earlier for some- Dale and Kendra's father went to photograph the sunrise), we headed for Sun Moon Lake, the largest man-made lake in Taiwan. It was beautiful, but as Kendra pointed out, sometimes things are prettier from further away. When you get close, while the mountains surrounding it are still spectacular, you can see how the lake is slowly being polluted.

Temple at Sun Moon Lake

These golden balls had prayers written on the bottom. The temple was covered in them.

Sun Moon Lake from a distance

Me at the lake. Photo courtesy of Dale.

The rest of the trip was devoted to exploring some Aboriginal villages and seeing some (semi-tourist-y) performances, but they still helped to further distinguish certain groups from others. It was interesting to see the traditional song and dance that this particular group performed.

Name of one of the Aboriginal groups. The owl symbolizes fertility for the community.

These long poles were banged against a metal disk in the ground in a series of patterns to make a song.

Thanksgiving came and went, with both a large-scaled event in Taipei hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan, and a smaller, but no less grand, potluck celebration in Luodong. I realized how thankful I am to be here with similar-minded people, all working, struggling and realizing the joys together. It would be hard to be here alone.

Danger! Photo courtesy of my housemate, K80.

Thanksgiving clearly means Starbucks. Photo courtesy of my housemate, K80.

Part of the gang. Photo courtesy of my housemate, K80.

The spread. I contributed the carrots. Photo courtesy of my housemate, K80.

It's amazing realizing how quickly time is passing. I never realized how soon Christmas is after Thanksgiving! I'm struggling with teaching my students about Christmas, I always want everything to have an objective and purpose; sometimes teaching them how to make little sleds out of paper for no apparent reason drives me a crazy. Overall, though, things are going well. The rain is back and forth, sometimes falling for 8 days straight, sometimes (luckily) never appearing. The weather hasn't helped my immune system, of course, and despite the fact that I got a flu shot at the beginning of the year (the only time I've ever been handed the little vile of vaccination and instructed to take it down the hall to the lady who will inject it into me), I've been battling colds and viruses for awhile. I'm making a trip to see the Chinese medicine doctor tomorrow, so hopefully the clinic can give me something...

2007-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

I'm long overdue for a post, I apologize. So much has happened over these past few weeks, and I kept saying to myself: "Wow! I really need to write about that!" But then something else would happen, and eventually everything just backs up... apparently, organizational skills can't go out the window when you graduate from college.

First up: Halloween. My school was supposed to do this big Halloween event that evening. Usually, they do it during the day. But this year there was supposed to be trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, as well. The PTA determined, however, that they did not think it was a good use of our time or money, and therefore we would not be doing it. Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed. Not only had we planned the whole thing (they canceled the event 2 days before it was scheduled), but I was really looking forward to it. Halloween was something all of our co-schools had talked about doing- it's really one of the American holidays that translates over here.

Anne and I decided to do Halloween with our classes anyway (subsequently, I did Halloween activities for 3rd-5th grade, too). We did a mini-event with some of the same activities we were going to do on Halloween night, including eating donuts suspended in the air, bobbing for oranges, fishing for Halloween words, and pin the hat on the witch. All the students dressed up, and for those who didn't, we supplied face paint.

Donuts waiting.

They all thought it was really easy. "TEEEACCCHER, this is so EEEASSSSY." But then they couldn't do it.

Somehow the whole aspect of blindfolding the kids didn't get across...

Fish a "witch."

My 1-B class. I had devil horns on. They all thought I was an ant. Or a goat. At least they're putting the vocabulary words that they know to good use (G-G, guh-guh, G, guh GOAT!). I suppose we shouldn't teach them the word "devil" just yet.

1-A. Note the Harry Potter, Scream mask and... Zorro without a mask in the back?

Always need one (or twelve) princes(ses).

My self-made "In a Dark, Dark Wood" big book.

I think the students really loved it- they certainly liked the costume aspect. The biggest hit this year: the scream mask that dripped blood.

We've been rehearsing for this big English competition (English Easy Go) since September. All of our schools are involved, as well as many other schools in the area. There are two portions: the song/dance competition and the Reader's Theater competition. I was only supposed to be working on the song/dance portion, but somehow got involved with our school's Reader's Theater kids as well. While it involves students in grades 1-6, Anne decided that we'd get "cute points" if we had our younger students do the song/dance. 15 students in 1st-4th grade. Singing. Dancing. Practicing 3 times a week. At least the Reader's Theater portion was the older students. Both groups were judged on creativity, costume, pronunciation, overall performance, etc. The competition was this past Saturday. Apparently, all of our rehearsals must have paid off, because we came in 2nd place in the song/dance competition. I was so proud of my kids!

Reader's Theater students with some dads and the principal (on the far right).

OBVIOUSLY to sing "Good day, Sunshine," "Twinkle, twinkle little star," and "I can sing a rainbow," we'd dress our kids in glitter and reflective tape. I mean, what else would they wear?

This is exactly how I felt when English Easy Go was over.

2007-10-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

37 students. 1 mountain.

This past Tuesday, my entire school took a field trip. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th grades went to the Traditional Arts Center and the 5th grade went hiking. Since I had already been to the Center, I chose to go hiking with the 5th grade. When I asked how long we'd be hiking, I was told "half the day." Now, having heard my housemate's story of how "half a day" quite literally meant half of a 24 hour period, I really didn't know what to expect. In addition, I wasn't quite sure how we were going to get 37 5th graders to climb a mountain for an extended period of time.

My 5th graders

Starting off.

Turtle Island. My students were amazed that I climbed it. Goal: impress 11 year olds? Check.

After collecting our lunches (sushi? Would a school in the US ever give their students sushi for lunch on a field trip? I left my home-packed PB&J in my scooter), we took a 45-minute bus ride to the trail. We would be hiking the Caoling Historic trail, which was the only route connecting Taipei and Ilan to the eastern part of the country during the Qing Dynasty. It was constructed in 1807, and back then, it would take 3 months to walk from Ilan to Taipei, due to the condition of the path, but now the walkable part of the trail only takes 3-4 hours to complete. Phew. I was slightly relieved that we wouldn't have to be dragging 5th graders for 12 hours.

At the bottom of the mountain is a beautiful temple and a museum (unfortunately all in Chinese- but my students attempted to translate for me) depicting the changes in the land. Along the path there are a number of relics from the Qing Dynasty. One is a giant carving on the word "tiger." Allegedly, when travelers were on the path, the wind was incredibly strong and they feared for their lives. They carved the "tiger" character into the stone and the wind stopped and they were able to carry on.

You can't really tell from this pictures, but this picture was 3-D. These were all over the temple.

The tiger stone.

Another inscription is a thank you to the individuals who lived around the mountain for "allowing" the path to be built. I'm not sure they had much of a choice...

Giving some perspective as to how large the stone actually was.

All in all, it was a successful day. With the exception of one sprained wrist (which I didn't know occurred until 2 days later) and one boy lost for 10 minutes (apparently he missed the memo that we were leaving the area). The students found out that they could purchase hermit crabs at the bottom of the mountain for $10NT, so they loaded up. Not sure how parents would react to their children coming home with 8 hermit crabs.

Where we stopped for lunch.

A snake we saw on the way down. The girls screamed, the boys threw rocks at it. Children are the same all over the world, huh?

Other amusing anecdotes: I found out that two of my students were "in love" and had kissed during the field trip. Despite not wanting to get caught up in 5th grade drama, I was slightly taken aback that they would tell a "teacher" about the incident. I suppose I'm not really a teacher in their eyes... considering, also, that they're trying to set me up with the soldier (who acts as more of a security guard) at school... who is at least 18 but looks like he could be 15. While I'm unsure of this "non-teacher" position, I'm attempting to view the relationship as more of an older friend who can encourage them that English is useful, instead of something they have to learn. I've never taught kids this old for such an extended period of time, so I'm still getting used to it. I enjoy the challenge, but I have to admit that it's difficult for me.

Me and Steven.

On a completely different note:

Today is a beautiful day, and while I'm inside (attempting) Chinese homework, the weather is really incredible. I decided to take pictures of my room. Not extremely exciting, but at least you can see where I... sleep?

Ahem. Please excuse the dirty laundry.

2007-10-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

At a certain point, you transition from temporary residing in a place to actually living there. I've realized that this shift usually goes unnoticed until something tips you off. In this case, I think it was a solo trip to the night market for dinner one evening. Strolling back to my scooter, greasy night market food in hand, it hit me that I live here. Reinforced the next morning as I went to get soy milk for breakfast and, upon walking in the shop, the woman who works there looked at me, said "cold soy milk?" and went to get it out of the fridge. I hadn't said anything. This is home for now. It's incredible how almost 3 months have passed; on one hand it seems like the weeks are flying by, on the other, I can't believe how much I've learned about the place I'm calling home. My students are finally warming up to me: they run over and grab my hand in the morning when I'm walking through school, you can see them trying to use their English more and more. I'm getting used to the politics of the school and learning how to suggest new ideas and how to put my personality into my teaching. Things are still frustrating, things are still hard at times, but it's nice to see some change and some settling.

I'm going hiking with my 5th graders all day tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be a post about that, but for now, just something to whet your appetite (thanks, momma!).

5th grade vocabulary. Always thrilling.

First grade learning math terms.

Parts of the face. Where is your...um...nose?

2007-10-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

National Palace Museum

Today was Double 10 day here in Taiwan. It's basically celebrates the Wuchang Uprising (which happened October 10, 1911). The uprising led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, so 10/10 is considered Taiwan's birthday, basically. There are lots of parades, both military and otherwise, and it's generally a patriotic day.

We Fulbrighters celebrated by going to the National Palace Museum in the early afternoon. As we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, you'll just have to take my word that it's a spectacular museum, one which you can spend days in. We saw a ton of artifacts, including a tiny tiny carved ship with working windows, and a piece of stone which looked like a piece of meat. Since we only spent an hour there today, I know a number of us are planning on going back to cover more ground.

After changing into formal wear in the museum bathroom (and gathering more stares than usual as we all came out of the handicap bathroom and proceeded to put on make up in the mirror by the sinks), we were taken over to the Taipei Guest House, as we were invited by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to a 10/10 celebration. Walking up the red carpet, I think it hit us that none of us had ever been in this position before, and possibly will never experience anything like it again (unless we really make the right connections).

Waiting to get in, we were passed by many black town cars. Needless to say, we were curious as to who could be in those cars.Who could it be?

Tons of foreigners were invited to the celebration, including, but not limited to, various US state senators, a bunch of students from a college in Illinois, foreign diplomats, and THE PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN. Although I didn't get a picture of him, it was pretty cool to say that I've seen the president of Taiwan, and he was at a party I attended. He stayed for all of 15 minutes, but still.

Miss Taiwan and Miss Teen Taiwan were in attendance.

Feeling glamorous.

Katie, Jeannie and me with various officials and the grandson of the King of Swaziland.
Jeannie, Meg, Jenny, Katie and me with the Prince of Swaziland.

Needless to say, it was a big bash. Many of us got calligraphy of our names on large sheets of paper (mine says "May luck be with you," in addition to our name), there was a ton of food and entertainment. Including these acrobats who could balance on various objects (the picture doesn't do it justice).

And these girls who spun things with their feet and rode tall tall unicycles. Crazy. What a day.

2007-10-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

The typhoon this weekend was intense. Much scarier than the first one we experienced while living in Luodong. It was mostly the wind, which, on many occasions, made the building shake. My housemate lost her screen off her window. We made a fort in our living room and spent all day in it (ate two meals, watched three movies...). Bikes were blown over; scooters fell; many of the traffic lights on the way to school were torn off the poles. As you can see in the following pictures, there was massive damage to many of the natural areas too.

The students spent a good 45 minutes cleaning up the school this morning. The bulletin board about Columbus Day that I worked so long on was completely torn to shreds. I suppose that's what you get for having outside bulletin boards.

The day progressed as usual, despite the lack of electricity for most of the morning (and for parts of the afternoon). As you can see, not all my students caught up on sleep during the weekend.
A frustration of mine (that I've realized over the past month) is the lack of useful vocabulary that my students are learning. It's all well and good to teach them words to illustrate the alphabet and to help them remember what letters sound like, but when in the world is "camel" going to come up in conversation? Case in point. We've been working on the word "alligator" for the past month and a half with out second graders. But since they never use it except in class, it doesn't stick. As you can see, they're still struggling with it. I'm all for inventive spelling and simply encouraging the students to TRY to write in English, but in this system, it's either right or it's wrong, there's no space for attempts.

"Alligator"

As one might be able to surmise, this frustrates me to no end. So, today I decided I would teach my first graders something they could actually use: plus and equals. Success! They could demonstrate that they understood the vocabulary immediately. It was something they could actually use! By the end of the class, every single student was raising his/her hand to volunteer to do a English math problem on the board.

2007-10-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have never learned a language so completely different from my native one. Looking at a page of Chinese looks like gibberish: there is seemingly no connection between the character, the sound it indicates and, finally, what it actually means. To be surrounded by this for the last two months is, to say the least, frustrating, isolating and anxiety-inducing. True, I've picked up some key phrases simply through living here (they usually revolve around the topic of food...), but for the most part, I've remained ignorant to what is going on around me, at least in the language sense.

Chinese class started last week. Just me, my friend Meg, and our instructor; two hours a class, twice a week. Honestly, I was nervous before our first class. I was already overwhelmed with the langauge and this was even before I looked at a textbook. However, it turns out I had nothing to worry about. We have two different teachers: the one on Tuesday seems to focus more on vocabulary and the one on Wednesday really emphasizes pronunciation. While it is sometimes difficult to have two teachers who don't know what the other one has taught (there's a tendency to have things repeated), I'm not sure repetition is a bad thing, in this case.

And, for the first time today, I was able to put my new-found Chinese skills to use. In our first grade class, we were talking about the letter L, and my co-teacher pointed out that there is a ruler shaped like an L. Lucky raised his hand excitedly and said (in Chinese): "My father has one!" I was so happy I was able to understand that (seemigly insignificant) bit of information. Come on, Chinese. Hit me with your best shot!

2007-09-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

School? On Saturday? Most certainly. Everyone worked this Saturday. Why? Because we had Monday and Tuesday off for the Moon Festival.

The Moon Festival (also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival) is huge here. It happens yearly on the 15th moon day of the 8th Chinese lunar Month. So this year it was September 25. The legend of the Moon Festival is as follows (taken from a website):

"Once upon a time there was a famous archer, Hou Yi, who with his arrows was able to slay mankind’s worst enemies, ferocious beasts that inhabited the earth. Yi was married to Chang-O, a beautiful but inquisitive woman who had been an attendant of the queen mother of the west before her marriage. Now at this time, there were 10 suns that took turns circling the earth-one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the orbs circled, together, causing the earth’s surface to burn and threatening mankind. The wise emperor of China summoned Yi and commanded him to kill but one of the suns. This Yi proceeded to do. Upon the completion of his task, Yi was rewarded with a pill, the elixir of life, and advised: "make no haste to swallow this pill, but first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year." Being a wise man, Yi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter while he began healing his spirit, In the midst of this, Yi was summoned again by the emperor.

While her husband was gone, Chang-O noticed a beam of white light beckoning from the rafter. She followed it and a fragrant perfume, discovered the pill and swallowed it. Immediately, Chang-O found she could fly. Just at that moment her husband returned home, realize what had happened and began to reprimand his wife. Chang-O flew out the window into the sky. Yi sped after her, bow in hand, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Yi had to return to the earth because of the force of the wind.

His wife reached the moon and there, breathless, she coughed and part of the pill fell from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon and Chang-O commanded the animal to take pestle and mortar and pound another pill so that she return to earth and her husband. The hare is still pounding.

As for Yi, he built himself a palace in the sun as Yang (the sun and the male principle), Chang-O as Yin (the moon and the female principle).

Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full and beautiful on that night."

The moon really was amazing that night. The Moon Festival is a really great excuse for family reunions. There are tons of bbqs- not the kind that we have in the states. The whole extended family gathers around and grills anything and everything. From vegetables, to bread, to seafood, to every kind of meat you can possibly think of. It's really incredible- both the food and the family atmosphere.

You're also supposed to eat a moon cake on the moon festival for good luck. Moon cakes are everywhere for the time leading up to the Moon Festival, and my housemates and I received our weight in them. They're little round, dense cakes filled with different things. Most commonly found is the yolk moon cake, with a duck egg yolk in the middle. Definitely threw me for a loop the first time I encountered it. Not going to lie, it still kind of weirds me out. If you're interested, I've put a like to a moon cake recipe at the bottom of this post.

Another popular food item on the Moon Festival is the pomelo. They're huge and you can buy them quite literally everywhere for very very cheap. They taste like sweet grapefruits and you're supposed to make the peel into a crown to wear, with the hopes that the gods will protect you. I am totally in love with this fruit and have to watch it or I eat about 5 of them a day.

I was invited to a bbq with my host family on Sunday night. We drove about 30 minutes outside of Yilan to this tiny Aboriginal village where basically the entire village was gathered for bbqs. My host family was incredible- they had tons of vegetables and seafood for me and were concerned that I wasn't well fed the entire night. They had nothing to worry about. I had a fantastic time, and maybe next time I'm in a situation like that, I'll actually sing a karaoke song, like they all wanted me to.

On Monday evening I went with my LET, Anne, to her father's birthday party. Anne's dad has 8 brothers and sisters, so all through the night, Anne kept saying: "this is my cousin... I can't remember her name." The party was huge, again, with tons of courses and very nice people. It's customary to go around and greet/thank everyone for coming to the party. All the tables take turns doing it, and when they come over, you're supposed to raise your glass and drink it. Usually you take your cue from how much the others drink, but frequently (at this event, at least), everyone was downing their entire glass. Now, mind you, the glasses aren't much bigger than a shot glass. But when they're frequently filled with beer, there is a tendency for one to indulge a little too much.

All of Anne's relatives kept coming over because they wanted to "have a toast with the American." Which means they were very intent on my glass being filled constantly. At a certain point, I decided I was done with beer, and I certainly didn't want any of the deadly looking clear liquid they were passing around. So, in desperation, I turned to the music teacher from my school, Harmony, who was sitting next to me, and asked for help. She pulled out a pitcher that she was hiding under her chair, dumped my beer into, and then refilled my cup with green tea from a bottle that she was keeping under the table. Slick. Apparently she was doing this all night and no one was the wiser. I just had to watch it when someone tried to refill my glass with the real stuff.

So although it was weird to be in school on Saturday (although this was a fairly productive, uplifting day), and it'll be hard to only have one day off, this past weekend totally makes up for it.
-------
Moon cake recipe

2007-09-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, we were introduced to our host families. Families sign up for the job, with the desire to share their culture and their lifestyle to the ETAs through the year. Often, from what I have heard, they invite us to holiday events, family events, etc. My family is great: it consists of two teachers, both originally from Aboriginal villages, and their six-year-old son, Cliff. Not only was I invited to a beach volleyball tournament and picnic to celebrate the Moon Festival (more about that in a later post) on Monday, I was also asked to attend a wedding party on Friday night. Having been to few weddings in my life, and certainly none here, I immediately agreed.

We arrived at the hotel at 6, but the party didn't start until close to 7 when the bride and groom arrived. It was explained that the actual ceremony takes place earlier in the day at the homes of the bride and groom, so this was just for celebrating. Apparently, the groom and his family pay for the wedding, so all of his friends and guests are invited to the wedding party. The bride and her family are in charge of the engagement party, so that's when all of her guests come. Usually the engagement party is before the wedding party, but on occasion, the two are combined, so both friends of the bride AND groom attend the same celebration.

There were tons of dishes. Many of them were significant for various reasons, and it was great sitting with my host mother who spoke English and who could explain what the dishes were for. The bride and groom came around and took shots of alcohol as people toasted them. There was also some official from Yilan there- someone told me that before election time, all the candidates go to all the weddings around Taiwan to try and drum up more votes.

No dancing at weddings here. But Kendra (my host mom) told me that in Aboriginal weddings (like hers) they set up karaoke so people can come up and sing to the bride and groom. The bride had 3 different dresses (two of them are pictured below) and after she changed into the third one, it signaled to the guests that the party was over. We all got gift bags containing soy milk (still haven't figured that one out yet...), and left, after taking candy from the bride to symbolize the hope that they have a good marriage and give birth soon.

One of the many, amazing dishes. Seriously, the plates kept coming.

This was a sweet soup with red bean, rice dumplings, pineapple and other little pieces of fruit. You eat it with the hopes of giving birth to a son.

Both the bride and groom are teachers at my host mom's school.

The double happiness symbol. Each half of the character is "hsi" which means happiness. This character is "shuang-hsi" which means "double happiness" and is used exclusively for weddings to depict marital happiness.

All of us with the bride (in her 3rd and last dress) and groom. That's my host mom, Kendra, in the front right with the pink shirt on. (Mom- I know you can't really see, but I'm wearing the shawl you made me!)

2007-09-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Taiwan from the boat on the way to Turtle Island.

Wednesday, all twelve of us (plus some staff members) went to Turtle Island. Described to me as being "incredible" and "something you shouldn't miss," one could say I was looking forward to it. So called Turtle Island for its shape from an aerial view (see the picture below), it has a volcanic terrain, lots of steep cliffs, and amazing views from the top.View from above. Not taken by me.

Approaching the island.

The hot spring in the ocean made that part of the water turn a lighter color. It also made for a distinctly sulfur smell.

Before we got to the island, we went looking for dolphins. After going for about 20 minutes with nothing, except impending sea-sickness for some, dolphins were spotted off the left side of the boat. It was insane. The boat guy said there were something like 200 dolphins swimming around us, jumping. It was something that my camera couldn't even capture. And maybe that's better- I got to really be in the moment.

We finally got to Turtle Island were told that it was 706 steps to the top. A lot, true, but not too bad, we thought. We received sticks to battle off any of the poisonous snakes we should come across and started up.

1,706 steps later, we reached the top.

Exhausted, but thrilled with the view, we had lunch at the top before heading back down.

Me, Jenny and Meg: happy and tired.

Views from the top. The pictures don't really do it justice.

So after an exciting Wednesday, it was back to school for a solid 6 periods of teaching on Thursday. The highlight of the day: jump roping with the first graders. I don't know what they were most surprised about: the fact that I COULD jump rope, or the fact that I WOULD with them.

Lucky, with said jump rope

One of the "teacherteacherteacherteacher...hi!" girls.

The cousin of a first grader. All the way from Japan- he was in school for a week and a half with us. I wasn't the only foreigner! He already spoke Japanese and Chinese and for this past week, he was also learning Taiwanese and English. Get 'em in while you're young, I suppose...

2007-09-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the official Fulbright orientation in Taipei. It was a long long weekend filled with information, meeting new people, and late nights. Hearing what the junior and senior fellows were studying was interesting, and has made me start thinking about maybe getting my PhD some day. Not planning too much, or anything. Unfortunately, while there were plenty of photo opportunities this weekend, I left my camera in the hotel most of the time.

One thing that I would have been unable to capture on film was the earthquake we had in the wee hours on Friday morning. Apparently the epicenter was in Yilan, so I suppose it was lucky we were in Taipei all weekend (although, we returned to find nothing had changed in our apartment). Another cool thing: Jenny and I were on the train home from Taipei on Sunday and saw dolphins as we rode by the ocean. You know, just a normal day in Taiwan.

School today was good. I'm trying to balance teaching the first grader who can spell "insect" and the ones that refuse to repeat their names. Weekly English starts this week: I'll tape myself (and Anne, probably) teaching "useful" English phrases ("Where is the bathroom?" "Down the hall, on the right side." useful.) which the students will learn, then have to fill out a chart, proving that they've said these phrases to at least 6 people. I'm struggling with this sort of "crash course" English- just the basic stuff that the students need to communicate. So much of the teaching is just having the students repeat, with no indication that they actually understand what they're saying, let alone if they're actually saying it correctly (29 second graders all repeating "Let's play a game"- you're liable to miss something). It's hard on occasion trying to figure out what this method is accomplishing.

But then that first grader named Lucky looks so excited when you tell him his "Big Bs" are good that it totally makes up for the frustration.

2007-09-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

View from my balcony at far too early in the morning.

Normally on Wednesdays we will have workshops at the Teacher's Center. However we were supposed to go to Turtle Island today, but the trip got canceled. So that meant a free day: both from school, and from the workshops. 5 of us went to Fo Guang University to sign up for classes. I signed up for 4 hours of Chinese class a week (in a 2 person class!) starting September 24. I only signed up for the Autumn semester, with the hopes that I'll like it and therefore register for the Spring semester as well.

While today wasn't very exciting, I think yesterday (Tuesday) clearly made up for it. Normally I only teach from 1:30-2:10 on Tuesdays, which means (technically) I don't have to come in to school until lunch. However, I was told the day before that first graders would be going to a temple in the morning, and I was invited. The school always takes the first graders to a nearby temple at the beginning of the year, since first grade is really the start of their educational career, and it is tradition to pray to the god of Education and Government.

The god of Education is in the center, the Earth god is on the left, and the god "who will bring you a boyfriend" is on the right. Guess which one I was instructed to pray to...

The students gave a gift of a ship (with all of their names written on it), with the hopes that their education and learning will be smooth sailing and always moving forward. The kids all got lit incense (what? 6 year olds with fire?) and bowed 3 times- 3 symbolizes "many". The best part was I got to do it with them- in front of a few reporters and a tv camera. Who knows? I could end up on the news/in the newspaper!

After a presentation of the ship, the kids learned about all the vegetables that were in the room, given as gifts to the gods for various things (ex: wisdom). Apparently, a lot of people come to this temple right before they have big tests so that they can do well. Which totally fits in with the rest of the day....

Veggies galore!

Personally, I think they were more excited about the ice cream they got after.

Amusing Antedote 1:
At the end of the visit, all the students were given two little packages. They are typically rice dumplings wrapped in leaves, but in this case, there was only candy inside. These dumplings are supposed to bring good luck. Anne asked if I wanted one, and when I said "yes," she gave me the remaining three. One of my students (who speaks the best English- that's what you get when your dad is a big shot doctor here and can send you to cram school) turns to me and goes:
Boy: You're greedy!
Me: They're not all for me!
Boy: Who are they for then?
Me: They're for my friends!
Boy: Wait, how many friends do you have?

Smarty pants. He got two and he wasn't even going to share! Ah, what's "fair" in the mind of a 6-year-old.

After teaching my 1:30 class, I headed over to the DMV to take the dreaded scooter test. I actually began taking this test a week ago. Here's the deal. To drive a scooter you have to take a test. No biggie, right? The test is made up of two parts: a written part and a driving part. Sounds simple enough. Just to give you a taste, here is a sample of the written part:'

If a motorcyclist wants to show national pride, enhance social safety and family happiness, he/she must: (1) drive ethically and obey the laws (2) have great driving skills (3) stop smoking and drinking

Motorcycles running with extremely low or high speed, due to: (1) good stability (2) bad stability (3) doesn´t matter the driver must use good skills to adjust for a smooth driving

While some questions are fine, some don't even appear to be questions. We took it in English, which means you listen to the English on headphones, read along, and pick the right answer. You needed an 85 or higher to pass. Despite the voice in my headphones giving me the answers in the wrong order, and the buttons on my computer not really co-operating, I got a 92.5. Phew.

Then came the driving part. Laura (my former housemate) and I went out early to practice on the course. The course is insane. There is a straight shoot, about 50 meters, which you have to drive down in 7 seconds or more. Which means you have to have extremely good balance, because the lane you drive down is about a foot and a half wide. Hit the edge and this loud buzzer goes off to indicate you've messed up. If that wasn't enough, after the straight part, there's a course, complete with stop light, faux pedestrian crossing symbols and railroad crossing. Again, you have to stay within the lane, or the rest of the crowd watching (and believe me, they're all watching) will know that you can't drive due to the buzzer.

I was watching Laura practice, standing there with the rest of the group, when I hear a screech and look over to see that Laura has fallen off the scooter and was lying on the ground. Needless to say, after seeing that, and watching her head off to the hospital to have her bloody knees mended, I was somewhat shaken and decided I need some more practice (and time) before going back on the scooter.

1 week and several afternoons of practice later, I passed! In the rain, no less (they don't cancel driving tests for anything- not even typhoons)! Anne is taking me to buy my scooter (and helmet, no worries) next week, since we'll be in Taipei all this weekend for orientation. Finally! A method of transportation!

For your viewing pleasure: What I rode in Keelung, but what I will not be purchasing in Yilan:

Photos courtesy of Dale

2007-09-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from the heat in Dante Coffee today with an entirely overpriced iced coffee, I read this in the Taipei Times and it made me miss my former home away from home:

New Zealand: Burglar Says Sorry With Gifts:
A burglar visited Graeme Glass' home twice in one day, first to steal some goods and later to return them-along with a heartfelt apology note. The thief strcuk while Glass was at work in Queenstown on Tuesday. The burglar smashed a window to gain entry and made off with a computer, a camera and Glass's wallet with an American Express card. The thief returned the goods later in the day, along with a new basketball and two pairs of gloves bought on the stolen credit card. Glass and his wife Shirley discovered the loot piled on their kitchen table with a neat, handwritten full-page note from the burglar saying he was sorry for "violating the safety and security of your home."

In other news, the Philadelphia Mutter museum also made headlines here!

2007-08-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Jhong-sing Elementary School

Today was the first day of school! Harmony picked me up outside and drove me the 20 minutes to school (and conveniently told me she lives right behind my apartment building, wouldn't mind driving me if it was raining in the morning, and actually wouldn't mind driving me all year). When we arrived, Anne was already in the meeting room where the first graders and their parents were gathering. After an awkward assembly, which I couldn't understand at all since the Principal spoke only in Chinese (Anne did poke me when I was supposed to stand up for everyone to clap for me), we headed down to the first grade classroom. The plan was for me to stick with Anne today.

Most of the students had English names already, due to their parents or to cram school (extra school to help with their English) but there were a few I was allowed to name. I do believe I named one Ben, one Nicholas, one Patrick and one Emily. There also was a Leo, an Amanda and a Vincent. Not too bad.

Amusing Antidote 1:
While going around attempting to figure out these TINY first graders' names (which was hard, since some of them didn't understand what I was asking and the rest were just plain shy), I came across one girl who would actually talk to me. When asked what her name was, she said "Lupy." Lupy? Yes, Lupy. I went along with it and wrote L-U-P-Y on her name tag. After she left, Anne asked me if her name was actually Lupy, and I said I just thought maybe her parents liked that name. Anne said something along the lines of "Are you sure it wasn't Luby?" I said it was possible. "Luby? Like the red stone." The girl's name was definitely Ruby, which makes far more sense, but due to my inability to understand anything that isn't COMPLETELY clear English, I totally missed it. This poor girl is going to come into school tomorrow and be confused as to why her name looks different. Although, this is assuming she's recognized it at all...

Stone picture walk-way.

Waterfall and green area in the middle of the school.

The school itself is really beautiful. It's very well kept and the buildings are pretty new. The vibe is really great, all the teachers seem very friendly and you can definitely tell they like working there. The day was super long (8-4), and after the 1st graders left at 10, I basically just watched CNN and labeled books. Tomorrow I'll sit in on 4 English classes with a substitute in the 5th and 6th grade. My schedule is as follows:

Monday:
9:35-10:15: 1st grade
10:30-11:10: 1st grade
11:20-12:00: 2nd grade

Tuesday:
1:30-2:10: 6th grade

Wednesday:
No teaching (we work all day at the Teacher's Center)

Thursday:
9:35-10:15: 1st grade
10:30-11:10: 1st grade
11:20-12:00: 2nd grade
1:30-2:10: 5th grade
2:20-3:00: 5th grade
3:15-3:55: 6th grade

Friday:
8:50-9:30: 5th grade
9:35-10:15: 5th grade
10:30-11:10: 6th grade
11:20-12:00: 6th grade

Thursday is definitely my hardest day. But we found out tonight that we only have to be in school for when we actually teach (unless we're doing lesson planning with our teachers), so that will make Tuesdays nice (when I actually have a way to get myself to school).

My totally pimped out English classroom. DVD player, TV, projector, stereo, toaster oven - what classroom is complete without a toaster oven?

Amusing Antidote 2:

At one point, this music comes over the loudspeaker. I hear this screaming and running and look out the window to see all these boys running towards the basketball court with buckets and brooms. Turns out the Principal found out someone from the government was coming to inspect the school and he wanted it to be clean. However, having the students clean is not abnormal. Everyone morning from 7:50-8:00 they are expected to clean, then various times throughout the day the music comes on to signify cleaning time, and then again at the end of the day from 3-3:15. It's a little bizarre to see 3rd graders mopping and sweeping, but it does cut down on school costs, since they don't really have any janitors, just some guy who "fixes the desks."

Cleaning time!

And now, some more visualization! My co-teacher, Anne!

2007-08-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

What an incredible incredible past 9 days. Just a warning: this is going to be a lengthy post. I apologize for the lack of update. First of all, thank you so much to all of you who wished me a happy birthday. It was a great day, even if it was a little strange being so far away from home. I certainly celebrated in style, and everyone was so amazing when it came to planning! On the actual day, my house mates surprised me with presents and flowers. The party was followed by a trip to the hospital for our health checks which are required for our scooter license (more about the scootering in a later post, I promise. This one is going to be long as it is). The check consisted of taking our height and weight, making sure we weren't colorblind/blind in general, and testing our hearing. Easiest health check ever. We were a little surprised that's all there was to it.

That's all there was?

After the hospital, it was back to the Center for some more training, but the afternoon was spent visiting two other schools, going swimming in a cold spring, and visiting the Traditional Arts Center. There was a dinner planned with all the Local English Teachers and with Dr. Wu, the guy who basically makes this all happen. Dinners with Dr. Wu are always extensive (think multiple, multiple courses) and amazing. This was no exception. THEN... Kelly (a staff member who takes care of us like no other) brought out a cake and other ETAs carried out flowers and presents (flowers from the family- Thanks again, guys!) and gifts from various LETs. It was a fabulous day.

Posing with people dressed up as characters from a Asian drama/puppet show.

Since we didn't really get to celebrate just on our own, on Friday, the rest of the ETAs surprised me by taking me to a vegetarian restaurant (they said we were going to McDonalds... I was none the wiser), and then throwing an AWESOME dance party. What a way to celebrate 22.

Taipei 101. Really tall.

On Saturday (after not much sleep Friday night) we headed into Taipei. The plan was to go to this tap festival performance that night then head to Keelung to see this big parade for Ghost Month. The tap was amazing- I have never seen anyone move that fast. Finding a German bar in the basement of a department store afterwards was pretty wild too...

German Taiwanese Bar-maid?

Security fence in Taipei- yes, that's broken glass on the top of the wall.

Sunday we headed to the parade, and met up with the other 3 Fulbrighters who had forgone the tap for hiking. To get from the train station to where the actual parade was, Anita (another staff member) had some of her friends take us there ON MOTORCYCLES. No lie. We visited a temple all decorated for the occasion (again, see below). Since we had to be at training bright and early Monday morning, many of us decided to skip the actual parade and take an earlier train home.

Monday was the judgment day. After 3 weeks of getting to know the LETs, we had one more chance to basically sell ourselves (give a 5 minute power point presentation on why we we would be good to work with), they "sold" their schools, and we did a "speed dating" session- basically we talked to each teacher for 5 minutes, asked them questions, and let them ask us questions. After, we had 20 minutes to list our top 6 LETs, why we would work well with them, and why we would be good at their school. The LETs did the same for the ETAs. The whole process was very intense and stressful, but I realized that these teachers had been getting to know me for the past 3 weeks- they probably had a pretty good idea about me.

Tuesday morning we arrived to sealed envelopes with our placements. I was put at Jhong-Sing Elementary school, with LETs Anne and Roxanna. I'm so so so excited. It's a small school, but still in the city, a staff of about 25, two classes (except for 2nd grade) per grade, about 15-20 students per class. I went and visited on Tuesday and fell in love with it. The classroom is incredible and the school is beautiful. The only issue was that I had to move from Luodong to Yilan, which I did today (still in the process of unpacking...), but if that's the worst that can happen, it's not bad at all.

Anyway, the first day of school is tomorrow and I'm getting picked up at 7:30 since I don't have a scooter (I swear, more on that later!), so I should attempt to get sleep so I can go back to being "Teacher Katie" again!
*

2007-08-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

REAL LIVE KIDS!
After spending more time on a lesson plan than I EVER would under normal circumstances, the day finally came. Today we worked with a one-day summer camp. These kids had won an English speech contest last year, and their prize? A day with REAL LIVE ETAs! Since we were going to a crab museum (what?) in the afternoon, the main focus of the morning was on sea creatures. I was working with 5 other ETAs on the 3rd/4th grade group.

The students were great. Only 10 kids showed up, but since these were all kids who had one an academic contest, they were also the ones who were the "best" at English and who actually wanted to be in a school setting. The kids far surpassed our expectations for how much English they knew. That became apparent when, during brainstorming about sea animals, someone said plankton. Nevertheless, we tried to make things as fun as possible, and I think they actually enjoyed it.

Phyllis. Our example for our "create your own sea animal" lesson.

They're so good and quiet.

Back to being Teacher Kate

After lunch we went to a crab museum. Many of the kids said they had been there before - clearly a popular destination for school trips. I was re-assigned to two of the older students (going into 6th grade), and spent most of the time attempting to talk to them, while at the same time making sure they stayed with the group. I did, however, learn that crabs can grow up to 4 meters. The level of English varied dramatically among the kids. Some students were EXTREMELY talkative and very confident in their ability, and others were basically silent all day. I was told that just because they won the speech contest, that didn't mean that their English was all that great. They had to memorize a 2-3 minute speech, but so much emphasis is placed on memorization here, that it is extremely easy to just memorize without having any idea of what you're saying. One even admitted that his father wrote the speech for him. While my first taste of teaching English was not necessarily indicative of what I will be facing, I think, overall, it went pretty well. It was certainly nice to be in the classroom again. And learning about crabs wasn't too bad, either.

Shrimp: Up close and personal.

Scary crabs.

Me with my charges, Nicole and Vivian.

The best part of the museum? Playing on the playground, clearly.

Literally rocking out.

2007-08-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

Save the 5 minutes that we went outside to experience the "Super Typhoon" today, my house mates and I have now been in our apartment for over 24 hours straight. Although catching up on the missed seasons of various TV shows starts out as fun, when you're still doing it 10 hours later, it loses some appeal. Luckily, from what I can tell from the weather websites, the eye of the storm has passed over Taiwan, what's left now is just the tail end. And what a tail end it is. It sounds like you're in a wind tunnel, and whenever a big gust comes, the windows sound like they're about to crack. We've put tape in huge Xs over the glass, hoping that if the windows DO break, they'd break into large pieces instead of shattering. However, if this were to occur, we realized that we don't have anything to cover the, then exposed, window with. Details...

I took last night to make flashcards in a feeble attempt to learn some Chinese before I get swamped with teaching (class starts on August 30, so not much time there, I suppose). It's a very frustrating feeling being surrounded by writing and not being able to read any of it. Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that there are 4 tones that any given word can be in. One tone means one thing, the same word in a different tone can mean something completely different. For example: "tang" in a first tone means "soup," but "tang" in second tone means "sugar." The problem is, a lot of the time, people talk very quickly, and while I can hear the tone difference in some things, I feel like a lot of the time, I'm gonna have to stick with putting the words in the context. A side of soup makes a lot more sense than a side of sugar when ordering noodles...

Anyway, one thing I'm struggling with in terms of language is the whole idea of the characters. Our Chinese teacher suggested that we learn b, p, m, f (pronounced boh, poh, moh, foh), which is basically the alphabet. However, each sound is associated with a character- makes sense: when we learn to read English, we realize that the sound of A is connected with the letter A. The character aspect is called "MPS," while the written out sounds (in this case: b, p, m, f) is called Pinyin. The MPS characters you learn make up the more complex characters that mean actual words. We have been told that our students learn MPS, and it would be more benifical if we learned MPS too, rather than Pinyin. This adds an extra step. Now, we have to look at a character, recognize what that character is in Chinese, then translate it to English. For example: you see the character, you recognize that it's the character for bai, and then you remember that bai means "white" (it's also the first part of my Chinese name: bai ba ru). However, if you don't know that the character is bai, your stuck, and not only can you not read it, you sure as heck can't say it. NOT to mention, when you combine the characters with other characters, they make up new words- for example, bai (white) when combined with two other characters make up the word "passion fruit." Never would have guessed that.

This definitely makes language learning frustrating. The last time I learned a new language was Spanish, and at least then I was using the same alphabet. At the same time, when you finally figure out what a word is, it is SO satisfying- like identifying a code. I worked on translating part of a menu last night, and while I still don't know what a lot of words mean, I can definitely find the character for vegetable, meat, and water. I know people spend years and years learning this language, but I'm bound and determined to at least know enough to get by here.

SUPER typhoon!

2007-08-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Staying indoors!

2007-08-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

And so begins the real work: getting to know our LET (Local English Teachers)- figuring out who we want to be working with for the next 10 months, getting to know teaching styles, lesson planning, personalities. Personality is definitely the major thing- I'd be happy in any of the counties, which is nice. I'd much rather be working with someone because I think his or her personality is compatible with mine than based on where the school is located.

I've never done lesson planning like this. It seems fairly abstract, just creating a plan for a class without knowing the background of how much the students know, what kind of a school it is, how old the students are. It's much less structured in that regard than I'm used to. We don't have to list the standards and the objectives. The focus more is on presentation and whether it conveys the information you want it to. Lesson planning is not new to me, but having to repeat things so many times, and using as few words as possible (and as much body language as possible) to convey directions is hard. I'm used to giving directions to students who understand (at least most of) the words. Practice makes perfect, though. Today I felt my lesson plan was much more solid than it was yesterday. Today I taught prepositions.

After sharing our lessons in the morning, the ETAs (English Teaching Assistants) went and visited two schools in Nan-Ao, a county that is about an hour and a half on the bus from Ilan, but only 15 minutes by train, and only a half an hour by train from Luodong.

Basically the entire trip consisted of winding roads up and down steep, lush mountains. Every now and then you could see the coast. The view was absolutely incredible.

The two schools that are out in Nan-Ao have a primarily Aboriginal student population. They are VERY small schools, with a staff of 10-15, and 100-130 students. They both go from K-6, and the ETA that is placed out there would teach in one school 2 days, and the other school 3 days. One of the schools has 3 requirements for the students to graduate: they must partake in the Aboriginal dance group, they must learn judo, and they must participate in the brass band which is being formed this year.

The town's population is 3,000. It'd be like living in a Vassar-sized town. But because the community is so small, apparently you are known very well and everyone watches out for you- you're invited to families' houses and to celebrations. The music and dance programs in the school really appeal to me, but I'm not sure if I could be that isolated from the rest of the group in Ilan and Luodong. More importantly, there is even less English in the Aboriginal village than there is in Ilan and Luodong- I suppose that would give me motivation to learn Chinese faster, but I'm sure it would also be hard. However, thinking about it, I'm not sure when you'd get another opportunity like it. At every school, they gave us food, and then we went to this ice place, which is shaved ice flavored with different things. I had lemon (they have no yellow lemons here, only green!) and passion fruit. It took me a minute, but I realized that it tasted just like water ice. I feel like I'll be frequenting the ice place regularly. These pictures are the views surrounding the schools.

When we got back to Luodong, all 12 of us, plus the staff went to dinner at a hot pot place near our house. Hot pot is great because you can chose what you want to eat- most of them are buffet style, with a set price for an all-you-can-eat. You pick your food, it's raw, and you cook it in a personal pot filled with broth or water. It's definitely a skill, and the first time I did it, things ended up very water logged and slightly mushy. This time was better. After hot pot, we had a scavenger hunt in the Luodong night market, which personally, I prefer to the Ilan night market.

(Getting our scavenger hunt teams)

The other night marked the beginning of Ghost month (this is the 2nd day of July, according to the lunar new year). Supposedly, the beginning of Ghost month is marked by the opening of the gates of hell, and all "hungry ghosts" come out to haunt people. However, the ghosts are not talked about because it attracts some of the angrier spirits. To show respect to the ghosts and to keep them happy, people pray, burn incense, and burn money in offering daily, though only three days are mandatory for the money burning: the beginning, middle and end of the month. Not all ghosts are bad, but the ones that are good are called different names.

There were HUGE tables set up in the night market FILLED with food and incense for the spirits. There was a huge skinned pig at one end, and people were burning money everywhere. There were also performances and fireworks. I'm going back to the night market later this week, so expect photos...

2007-08-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of being home sick with the flu. I suppose it's better to be sick on the weekend than on the weekday when I'd miss training. Luckily, with Taiwan's many flavors of juice (think blueberry and lychee), subsiding on liquids alone isn't too bad.

On Friday we all went to see "Borne Ultimatum" - it was in English with Chinese subtitles. The theater was tiny- only about 9 rows, so it gave it a really intimate feel. Before that, a group of us went to dinner in the night market.

The night market is crazy. The vendors set up tables every night in the middle of the street for about two blocks and sell everything from watches to bags to animals.

Everything is really cheap, both in price and in quality, but if you need to find a beach towel or a t-shirt, this is the place to go. Come Christmas time, the night market is going to be a blessing.

2007-08-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

There was a typhoon last night. This is what a typhoon looks like from our living room window:

Luckily, it was only rain and a little wind. Nothing serious. There's another one coming tomorrow morning too. Supposedly "all the locals tape their windows" to prevent glass shattering, but looking around our building, we're the only ones who've done it...

Yesterday we took out the trash for the first time. Which was good, since we had a TON of trash and it needed to be taken out. However, unlike in the states, the trash truck and recycling trucks everyday. Seems simple, no? On Mondays and Fridays, they collect trash, food waste (to feed the livestock), glass, paper, and used clothing. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays they collect the usual trash and food, and then all the other recyclables. We got a 5 page list of things that can and can't be recycled. It's intense.

The trash truck comes at 6:30 and at 9. So at 6:15, while we were getting our trash ready, we hear this loud classical music playing from speakers around our apartment building. Apparently it's to warn us that the trash truck is coming. We, along with the rest of our building, take the trash downstairs and wait outside for the trash and recycling trucks to come. When they finally arrive, playing yet MORE classical music, the bags are handed over to the trash men, who have the hardest job of opening up the bags and dumping all the contents into different containers.

People taking out the trash in a different part of town.

Everybody does it.

Clearly a social event.

Address...

2007-08-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

On another note: If you want to send me things, here is the address:

Kathryn Pabarue
c/o Foundation for Scholarly Exchange
I-Lan County Teacher Center
No. 36, sec 1, Minchiuan Rd.
I-Lan City, I-Lan County 260
Taiwan

Nice.

Hot Computer Lab

2007-08-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

So, I made it. It's day 5 here in Taiwan. Sadly, no pictures will be included in this post, as my computer has yet to be hooked up to the internet- I'm writing this from the Teacher's Center in Yilan where we will have training for the next 3 weeks. But when I do have access to the internet in my apartment... oh ho! Will there ever be pictures.

We got to Yilan on Friday morning, after spending the night in Taipei. Taipei was a whirl-wind; jet-lagged meals, exhausted visit to the Botanical Gardens. It'll be really neat to go and see it when I'm actually awake. The trip from Taipei took about an hour and we passed through the longest car tunnel in Taiwan, which is actually the 5th largest car tunnel in the world (Taiwan likes to have those "world record" things- largest building, longest car tunnel. I think it's because it feels threatened). The ride was fantastic, incredible mountains and cool bridges.

I'm actually living in Luodong with two other girls in the program for the first month (and possibly for the rest of the year, depending on which school I am placed in). At first glance, our situation was somewhat frustrating. There are 7 Fulbrigters in Yilan, the Teacher's Center is there, the other apartments were newer, cleaner (ours was left a MESS), and all of the rooms had air conditioning (mine is the only room in our apartment that has it). Katie, Laura, and I all felt somewhat isolated. However, we moved furniture and cleaned some, found out that the area around our building is actually cool (pictures to come, I swear), and are generally feeling more up-beat about it. It's still a 40 minute trip to Yilan (25 minute walk to the train station, 15 minute train ride), which will kind of stink in the upcoming weeks when we have to get to the Teacher's Center without the help of the school bus to pick us up, like it has been. But if all I'm complaining about is travelling to Yilan, I think I'm doing pretty well.

As far as actually being here goes, I'm still in shock sometimes. We went to the night market last night, which is just stalls and stalls of stuff, to put it quite frankly, and an entire section devoted to snacks and drinks. It's noisy and crowded and overwhelming, but incredible. I'm still not used to walking up tea stand and have EVERYTHING be in Chinese, but hopefully I'll learn some characters of foods that I like that I can recognize on other menus. All in all, it's going well. Now to get the internet up in the apartment so I can type less and show more...

The first

2007-07-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a blog. I've attempted these things in the past, but I feel somewhat silly, because it feels as if I'm just writing to myself in a sort of rambling way. Maybe it will be different this time when there is a purpose, rather than just to hear my own self talk...er, type.

The purpose: documenting my year in Taiwan. Allowing the mass emails to stop and giving my family and friends the choice to read about what I have been doing when they have the time and the desire to, rather than when the update arrives in their mailbox. And, of course, this way I can add pictures, and who doesn't like pictures to spice up a text? Unfortunately, there are no pictures in this post, because, really, who wants pictures of me sitting in front of my computer in my room in Philadelphia? But soon, my friends, soon will be pictures of other places.

My flight leaves from JFK tomorrow night at 11:55pm and arrives in Anchorage, Alaska at 3:30 am. We leave Anchorage at 4:30am and arrive Taipei, Taiwan at 6:00am on Thursday, August 2. So much for August 1. The time difference from eastern time is 12 hours, so I'll be nice and messed up, but luckily, so will everyone else. Someone will just have to drag me along.

Here goes...