So, none of my posts have really been about November until now. In fact, I'm starting with October 31st, Halloween. We had an unofficial Fulbright party with the 12 at Apartment A (not my apartment). A few other friends came, including Fonda and my host sister because it was her birthday. It was a lot of fun with great food, games, and costumes. I dressed up as Two Face from Batman, in honor of my actual resemblance to Two Face due to my accident. Even my BB gun paled in comparison to my broken finger with the blue stitches and three nails in it!
The following week I went back to school after a week of post-accident rest . That Tuesday my teacher's class took the liberty to cancel our class and take me to a temple to pray for some luck! We went to a small local temple where people worship "local gods." I was advised that the god might not understand me because he doesn't speak English and that he has no jurisdiction in America because it is too far away. So my friends coached me to introduce myself as Bo Kai Li (my Chinese name) and to ask for peace during my time in Taiwan. We lit incense, walked through the temple in a special procession, knelt and bowed three times. Then I was supposed to perform a Taiwanese ritual called Bo Bui and ask the local god if I could take a Ping-an Fu, a small red bag that brings peace to the wearer. I tried to throw the wooden crescents, but twice received a negative answer from the god. My friends intervened and spoke to the god in Chinese on my behalf and we finally got the okay to pick up a ping-an fu. I really appreciated my friends' efforts to include me in their traditional beliefs and practices and their concern about my future well-being. Afterwards, we ate dinner together at a shop called Mr. English. The restaurant is owned by an Australian and is promoted as a place where locals can practice their English.
The following Saturday evening my host family took me to Wan Nian Ji, also known as the annual Zuoying Festival, held at Lotus Pond. This is a beautiful area not too far from where I teach. It is a large lake with bridges, temples, and that evening, many food vendors, games, performances, and music. People sang, did tricks on traditional Chinese yoyos, and competed at who could throw the most fireworks into little paper houses. We walked around the entire lake, washed our hands in a fountain for blessing, and wrote our wishes on small red papers that we then tied to bamboo trees. My friend Carol joined us and we all had a great time.
On Sunday a different group of friends held a good luck party in my honor. Firefly, Winnie, Kevin's co-teachers Su and Amy, and several 5th grade teachers from Fushan cooked dishes that are traditionally believed to bring good luck (i.e. "long life noodles"). Kevin and Carol came with me to Firefly's house where we ate and sang karaoke via Firefly's TV. Everyone took turns explaining why their dish is lucky and we all had a blast!
Our lessons have been going fantastically thus far in November. We've been playing a lot of games and the kids are really enjoying English. Last week I had my observation with officials from the Bureau of Education and my mentor, Spring Lin, from the National Kaohsiung Teacher's University. A total of 8 people, including my principal and Educational Affairs director, attended my class last Thursday. The feedback was overall very positive and they gave helpful suggestions about minor things to tweak. A video was taken during the class, so I hope to post that soon, along with a bucketload of photos that correspond to this blog update.
This weekend also had some special events. Friday evening most of the Fulbrights attended a press conference held by AIT to welcome an American conductor to Kaohsiung. William H. Curry is a Grammy-winning conductor based in North Carolina and he came to work with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra this past week. We had the pleasure of meeting him, several CEOs of TV, radio, and newspaper networks, and our friends at AIT. He was very philosophical and engaging; also surprised to hear that we were Fulbrights, saying, "I want to be like you when I grow up."
Yesterday night we were given free tickets to attend Maestro Curry's concert at the Cultural Center, right across the street from our house. The perfomance was astounding. Curry told us that this week has been a highlight of his life; he is so impressed with Kaohsiung's orchestra and their Asian debut of his composition "Eulogy for a Dream" based on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His encore included Stars and Stripes Forever, which brought tears to all our eyes out of homesickness, a traditional Chinese song, and New York New York.
I am still trying to make plans for my winter vacation, sort out the expenses related to my accident, and just make sure I'm taking advantage of my time here. We all have so many goals for our time in Taiwan that we have a tendency to wear ourselves out and forget things. Please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers, even if I am not in touch as often as I would like to be!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
November 8, 2009
After the bus hit me I only remember bits and pieces. I ran to the side of the road and called Winnie, though I had some difficulty with my phone and started to panic. I ran back to get my bike, but a woman on the bus brought it over for me. I felt my head and realized I was bleeding a lot.
Someone called an ambulance and finally they arrived, took my vitals, and brought me to a hospital that was very close. I don't remember the ride or anything else really. Once at the hospital, they took x-rays, cat scans, and MRIs, and stitched up my wounds. I stayed in the hospital for 5 nights and had surgery on my broken finger, the right ring one, the morning after I was hit.
I learned some hospital vocab in Chinese and realized how many friends I have here! People from the American Institute of Taiwan, my schools, all of the Fulbrights, and other random friends came to see me. Even the bus driver who hit me came and brought me fruit. Mayor Chen of Kaohsiung also sent me a giant bouquet of flowers! Thanks to her and the director of the Bureau of Education, Dr. Tsai, I also had a private room with a TV and my own bathroom. I couldn't believe it.
The nurses were wonderful and my friends Katherine and Fonda stayed with me all day and night. I was rarely alone and received lots of gifts, mostly fruit and chocolate. For my surgery, hospital time, and medicine, I paid the equivalent of US$500. My pain was excruciating after the surgery, mostly because none of the painkillers worked, only the local anesthesia. I had three long pins stuck in my finger (picture soon to be uploaded).
I returned home the following Sunday and rested for one week. Before I left the hospital, I spoke with a police officer about the accident. We are still waiting for the report to be published, which surprises me, and I'm looking into a lawyer to advise me about negotiations with the bus company. Because the bus driver was at fault, his company will cover my medical expenses, but I want to make sure that I don't ask for too much or too little with regards to other compensation.
This week was my first back at work; I was ready to get back to my kids and felt frustrated because I've already missed work due to pneumonia. One thing that really surprised me was the emotional impact of my accident. For a few days I was terrified of traffic and actually screamed out loud if a bus got too close to me! I found myself crying as a result of loud noises or for no reason at all.
Luckily, that has all subsided. I can shower and do daily activities with negligibly more effort. I'm still exhausted, but I think everyone is. Last week I had one of the pins and all of my stitches removed; in two weeks the other two pins may come out.
One other fact I forgot to mention: in order to close up a gash on my forehead, the hospital staff shaved and clipped part of my hair! So, I cut my hair short again, though not nearly as short as when I was in Hong Kong. I may still grow it out long during the rest of the year.
In my next post I will write about our Halloween festivities, my first week back at school, and all of the kind things my friends did to bring me better luck. There are many cultural practices and beliefs related to luck here. Also, this coming week, one of my classes is being observed by Fulbright and Bureau of Education officials. And I'm trying to nail down some winter break plans. My parents bought their flight here, so that has me looking forward to February!
A final note: since I've changed my website, please be cautious about clicking on "Next Blog" in the top left corner of the page. This will take you to another person's random blog and the content is unpredictable.
Someone called an ambulance and finally they arrived, took my vitals, and brought me to a hospital that was very close. I don't remember the ride or anything else really. Once at the hospital, they took x-rays, cat scans, and MRIs, and stitched up my wounds. I stayed in the hospital for 5 nights and had surgery on my broken finger, the right ring one, the morning after I was hit.
I learned some hospital vocab in Chinese and realized how many friends I have here! People from the American Institute of Taiwan, my schools, all of the Fulbrights, and other random friends came to see me. Even the bus driver who hit me came and brought me fruit. Mayor Chen of Kaohsiung also sent me a giant bouquet of flowers! Thanks to her and the director of the Bureau of Education, Dr. Tsai, I also had a private room with a TV and my own bathroom. I couldn't believe it.
The nurses were wonderful and my friends Katherine and Fonda stayed with me all day and night. I was rarely alone and received lots of gifts, mostly fruit and chocolate. For my surgery, hospital time, and medicine, I paid the equivalent of US$500. My pain was excruciating after the surgery, mostly because none of the painkillers worked, only the local anesthesia. I had three long pins stuck in my finger (picture soon to be uploaded).
I returned home the following Sunday and rested for one week. Before I left the hospital, I spoke with a police officer about the accident. We are still waiting for the report to be published, which surprises me, and I'm looking into a lawyer to advise me about negotiations with the bus company. Because the bus driver was at fault, his company will cover my medical expenses, but I want to make sure that I don't ask for too much or too little with regards to other compensation.
This week was my first back at work; I was ready to get back to my kids and felt frustrated because I've already missed work due to pneumonia. One thing that really surprised me was the emotional impact of my accident. For a few days I was terrified of traffic and actually screamed out loud if a bus got too close to me! I found myself crying as a result of loud noises or for no reason at all.
Luckily, that has all subsided. I can shower and do daily activities with negligibly more effort. I'm still exhausted, but I think everyone is. Last week I had one of the pins and all of my stitches removed; in two weeks the other two pins may come out.
One other fact I forgot to mention: in order to close up a gash on my forehead, the hospital staff shaved and clipped part of my hair! So, I cut my hair short again, though not nearly as short as when I was in Hong Kong. I may still grow it out long during the rest of the year.
In my next post I will write about our Halloween festivities, my first week back at school, and all of the kind things my friends did to bring me better luck. There are many cultural practices and beliefs related to luck here. Also, this coming week, one of my classes is being observed by Fulbright and Bureau of Education officials. And I'm trying to nail down some winter break plans. My parents bought their flight here, so that has me looking forward to February!
A final note: since I've changed my website, please be cautious about clicking on "Next Blog" in the top left corner of the page. This will take you to another person's random blog and the content is unpredictable.
Monday, November 2, 2009
November 1 - Post accident blog
The last few weeks of my life may have disappeared into an un-bloggable vacuum. After Kenting, which is my most recent update, my teaching went unremarkably well and I continue to love and enjoy my students.
The weekend after Kenting, I went to Taichung, which is in the middle of Taiwan's West coast. Winnie and I took the High Speed Rail together and stayed with a friend of hers from high school. He, his wife, and son, Anson, showed us around a bit and treated us to a delicious curry lunch. Winnie and I stopped by a local jazz festival and enjoyed some surprisingly smooth English jazz and beer. Then we visited a local university's beautiful campus and walked around their night market.
The next day I met up with my friend Elly, my close friend from London whose hometown is just outside Taichung, and we went for brunch at an American diner. Every foreigner in Taichung was there! It was worth it to have blueberry pancakes and bacon, though. After that, we visited the art museum, which I loved. It had some really interesting Taiwanese and Korean artists ranging from impressionist to modern styles. The architecture of the building itself and the surrounding sculptures were also noteworthy.
Finally, we went to Taichung park and I saw Elly's church. Grace Church is a small red brick building in the corner of this massive park; a bilingual place welcoming of locals and foreigners. The park itself is gorgeous with a lake, gazebo, a few bridges, and on that particular day, a Cantonese concert. Winnie and I had planned to head home that afternoon, as I had much work to prepare for the next week at school, but she stayed longer with a group of friends from college. I enjoyed the solitary train ride home, though it wasn't exactly peaceful. A man across the aisle from me was snoring ridiculously loud and all of the children in our train car were cracking up. They were thrilled to look at me and see that I was laughing too!
That Monday I started a new story-telling tactic for the 5th and 6th graders. I decided to tell James and the Giant Peach and scrap the Power Point idea. I bought a costume, turning myself into James, made stick puppets of the main characters, and put together a few background slides with English countryside, the inside of a peach, and an ocean. I acted out the story and had students come up and pretend to be the puppet characters. They loved it! Finally they were engaged and the story lasted the entire period.
Teaching that week started off well, as I recall, and I also tried a new tactic with my Free Talk class. We did a pseudo English Village enactment of taxi rides. They had a blast pretending to be my rowdy customers and practicing the typical English dialogue.
Unfortunately, that Wednesday after classes, I was in an accident on my scooter. Though I intentionally neglected to mention it, for the past two months I've been driving a scooter to various places in Kaohsiung. That day, I was driving to meet Winnie for lunch, about ten minutes away from Fushan. It was an unavoidable situation caused by incorrect assumptions on my part and that of the bus driver.
The bus was rather small, more like a van, but the driver made an illegal U-turn and I couldn't get out of the way. He hit me as I was trying to go around him, so luckily we were both going quite slow. I was wearing my helmet, but flew off of my bike, which then slid down the road.
I will continue with the grimy details later, as I am back at work today after taking a week to rest.
The weekend after Kenting, I went to Taichung, which is in the middle of Taiwan's West coast. Winnie and I took the High Speed Rail together and stayed with a friend of hers from high school. He, his wife, and son, Anson, showed us around a bit and treated us to a delicious curry lunch. Winnie and I stopped by a local jazz festival and enjoyed some surprisingly smooth English jazz and beer. Then we visited a local university's beautiful campus and walked around their night market.
The next day I met up with my friend Elly, my close friend from London whose hometown is just outside Taichung, and we went for brunch at an American diner. Every foreigner in Taichung was there! It was worth it to have blueberry pancakes and bacon, though. After that, we visited the art museum, which I loved. It had some really interesting Taiwanese and Korean artists ranging from impressionist to modern styles. The architecture of the building itself and the surrounding sculptures were also noteworthy.
Finally, we went to Taichung park and I saw Elly's church. Grace Church is a small red brick building in the corner of this massive park; a bilingual place welcoming of locals and foreigners. The park itself is gorgeous with a lake, gazebo, a few bridges, and on that particular day, a Cantonese concert. Winnie and I had planned to head home that afternoon, as I had much work to prepare for the next week at school, but she stayed longer with a group of friends from college. I enjoyed the solitary train ride home, though it wasn't exactly peaceful. A man across the aisle from me was snoring ridiculously loud and all of the children in our train car were cracking up. They were thrilled to look at me and see that I was laughing too!
That Monday I started a new story-telling tactic for the 5th and 6th graders. I decided to tell James and the Giant Peach and scrap the Power Point idea. I bought a costume, turning myself into James, made stick puppets of the main characters, and put together a few background slides with English countryside, the inside of a peach, and an ocean. I acted out the story and had students come up and pretend to be the puppet characters. They loved it! Finally they were engaged and the story lasted the entire period.
Teaching that week started off well, as I recall, and I also tried a new tactic with my Free Talk class. We did a pseudo English Village enactment of taxi rides. They had a blast pretending to be my rowdy customers and practicing the typical English dialogue.
Unfortunately, that Wednesday after classes, I was in an accident on my scooter. Though I intentionally neglected to mention it, for the past two months I've been driving a scooter to various places in Kaohsiung. That day, I was driving to meet Winnie for lunch, about ten minutes away from Fushan. It was an unavoidable situation caused by incorrect assumptions on my part and that of the bus driver.
The bus was rather small, more like a van, but the driver made an illegal U-turn and I couldn't get out of the way. He hit me as I was trying to go around him, so luckily we were both going quite slow. I was wearing my helmet, but flew off of my bike, which then slid down the road.
I will continue with the grimy details later, as I am back at work today after taking a week to rest.
October 16, 2009
The Kenting weekend was a success! Though it started out rough. We ended up leaving late, almost 2 PM, on Saturday and didn't arrive until a little after 4 PM. Me and two of my friends, Miss Kou and Yi-xiu, drove together in Margaret (Miss Kou)'s car. I waited at Yi-xiu's house and met her family. They live in a 5 story condo with an elevator in it. But it is her, her parents, her brother (who owns the house), his wife, and two children. Crazy. We took off our shoes at the door as always and I was given slippers to wear while I was there. Unfortunately, I forgot to put my shoes back on when we finally left, and had to borrow Miss Kou's flip flops so that I wouldn't have to walk around Kenting in house shoes.
We were booked at a cute bed and breakfast right by the water. What is interesting about Taiwan beaches is that practically no one wears a swimsuit. Partially because of their desire to have absolutely no sun on their skin, and partially due to modesty, the Taiwanese are fully clothed on the beach. So there was no swimming involved in our trip, but we did many other fun activities.
First, we went to the beach. Everyone does water sports instead of swimming, like banana boats, para sailing, scuba diving, and water skiing. None of my friends wanted to join me, so I postponed those activities for another trip. Then we went in search of the Erluanbi Lighthouse. We got lost and ended up on a long trail to the "Southern Most Point" of Taiwan...which I touched. Cool, I know. On our way back down the trail we saw a worm the size of a snake and everyone jumped and screamed. It was hilarious. Finally, we found the beautiful lighthouse with the most amazing view of mountains and ocean I've ever seen. Check out my photos! We walked down another trail to the ocean, though it was marked as closed due to the typhoon, and we basically had a photo shoot around Kenting.
Our third friend, Yu-xiu, and her husband, met up with us at the lighthouse. Then we all drove into downtown Kenting and had dinner on Main Street, which had become a night market by that time. We ate an incredibly delicious Thai meal and then walked down the entire stretch of road, looking at various shops. I bought a wind chime made of traditional Taiwanese seashells to hang on my balcony (speaking of which, my camera died and I failed at taking pictures around my home!). We then drove to the outskirts of town and looked out at the stars. Everyone decided that they wanted a midnight snack, so we returned to Main Street and had corndogs and milk tea. It was delicious, but a bit gross! We went back to the hotel with our snacks and watched Taiwan Idol (i.e. American Idol in Taiwan). The winner was a young guy who sang Hotel California. All I could think about was the Big Lebowski.
The next morning Miss Kou had to leave early to go teach a class in Kaohsiung. The rest of our group drove to a beautiful cliff area and looked out over another breathtaking view. We just rested and enjoyed being at the beach. Then we went go-karting, my first time ever, and I loved it. I sped around the track faster than everyone and all of the locals were cracking up on the sidelines. I guess I'm used to driving my Honda-go-kart at home. After that, we visited a couple more famous beaches and looked for seashells. We snuck into the biggest and most luxurious hotel in Kenting, the Caesar, and used their bathrooms and washed off our feet. It reminded me of all the times I did that with my American friends in Florida and Hong Kong.
Finally, we packed up and headed home. I had an appointment with my personal trainer at the gym that I had already put off for a month. On our way back, we stopped at a famous restaurant owned by a Taiwanese TV star and got bao-zi to go. The dumpling was filled with cheese and sausage and was AMAZING. We also stopped at a famous dessert shop just outside of Kaohsiung. The "dessert" is made of hot, sweet soup, with red beans and potatoes, covered in ice and condensed milk. It was actually quite delicious and the shop had pictures of the owners with various movie stars, famous singers, and even President Ma!
I really enjoyed the vacation and had another decent week of teaching at school. I'll update about that later. I've also had several lizards in my room; one whose tail I accidentally cut off when I tried to catch it in a cup. I was reassured that their tails grow back and encouraged to just let them roam my room. Apparently they eat mosquitoes (if they aren't eaten by the giant roaches). I'm on my way to Taichung tomorrow where I will meet up with my friend Elly from London and spend some time seeing the city with Winnie.
We were booked at a cute bed and breakfast right by the water. What is interesting about Taiwan beaches is that practically no one wears a swimsuit. Partially because of their desire to have absolutely no sun on their skin, and partially due to modesty, the Taiwanese are fully clothed on the beach. So there was no swimming involved in our trip, but we did many other fun activities.
First, we went to the beach. Everyone does water sports instead of swimming, like banana boats, para sailing, scuba diving, and water skiing. None of my friends wanted to join me, so I postponed those activities for another trip. Then we went in search of the Erluanbi Lighthouse. We got lost and ended up on a long trail to the "Southern Most Point" of Taiwan...which I touched. Cool, I know. On our way back down the trail we saw a worm the size of a snake and everyone jumped and screamed. It was hilarious. Finally, we found the beautiful lighthouse with the most amazing view of mountains and ocean I've ever seen. Check out my photos! We walked down another trail to the ocean, though it was marked as closed due to the typhoon, and we basically had a photo shoot around Kenting.
Our third friend, Yu-xiu, and her husband, met up with us at the lighthouse. Then we all drove into downtown Kenting and had dinner on Main Street, which had become a night market by that time. We ate an incredibly delicious Thai meal and then walked down the entire stretch of road, looking at various shops. I bought a wind chime made of traditional Taiwanese seashells to hang on my balcony (speaking of which, my camera died and I failed at taking pictures around my home!). We then drove to the outskirts of town and looked out at the stars. Everyone decided that they wanted a midnight snack, so we returned to Main Street and had corndogs and milk tea. It was delicious, but a bit gross! We went back to the hotel with our snacks and watched Taiwan Idol (i.e. American Idol in Taiwan). The winner was a young guy who sang Hotel California. All I could think about was the Big Lebowski.
The next morning Miss Kou had to leave early to go teach a class in Kaohsiung. The rest of our group drove to a beautiful cliff area and looked out over another breathtaking view. We just rested and enjoyed being at the beach. Then we went go-karting, my first time ever, and I loved it. I sped around the track faster than everyone and all of the locals were cracking up on the sidelines. I guess I'm used to driving my Honda-go-kart at home. After that, we visited a couple more famous beaches and looked for seashells. We snuck into the biggest and most luxurious hotel in Kenting, the Caesar, and used their bathrooms and washed off our feet. It reminded me of all the times I did that with my American friends in Florida and Hong Kong.
Finally, we packed up and headed home. I had an appointment with my personal trainer at the gym that I had already put off for a month. On our way back, we stopped at a famous restaurant owned by a Taiwanese TV star and got bao-zi to go. The dumpling was filled with cheese and sausage and was AMAZING. We also stopped at a famous dessert shop just outside of Kaohsiung. The "dessert" is made of hot, sweet soup, with red beans and potatoes, covered in ice and condensed milk. It was actually quite delicious and the shop had pictures of the owners with various movie stars, famous singers, and even President Ma!
I really enjoyed the vacation and had another decent week of teaching at school. I'll update about that later. I've also had several lizards in my room; one whose tail I accidentally cut off when I tried to catch it in a cup. I was reassured that their tails grow back and encouraged to just let them roam my room. Apparently they eat mosquitoes (if they aren't eaten by the giant roaches). I'm on my way to Taichung tomorrow where I will meet up with my friend Elly from London and spend some time seeing the city with Winnie.
October 9, 2009
I had a fantastic week back at work. Though my storytelling didn't go well on Monday -- the kids thought the story was boring and childish, which means I have to redo another story Power Point for this coming Monday -- my class lesson was fantastic. Of course, the kids were ecstatic about my return after the week of illness. But they also really enjoyed the activities in class and excelled more than ever. We reviewed phonics, learned about he versus she, and how to ask who someone is with fun pictures of famous people. Then we divided the class into beginner and advanced groups and I led the advanced kids in several one-on-one conversations. I am so proud of them!
My Free Talk class was great on Tuesday. Everyone read an English article I selected about evolution and human nature. We talked about aggression, compassion, war, and ancestors. Then we discussed travel, where we want to go, if we would ever live abroad (ha!), and I was astounded at the philosophical levels we were able to traverse with limited English ability.
I also got back to the gym this week, almost every day in fact. Body combat, yoga/tai chi, weight-lifting and running. Though I am feeling much better, I still have a pretty bad cough and went to the doctor twice this week. Supposedly, the deepest parts of my lungs are still infected, which means if I start to cough I can't stop.
This evening was a prime example of that fact. I went to dinner with a new friend and her mother. We met on the bus I take to school every day -- her name is Joanna and her mother was so excited to welcome me to Taiwan. Joanna attends the Wenzao Language College and is 19 years old. Both of them are very sweet and Joanna's English is excellent. Tonight we went to a cute restaurant and had hot pot. Mine was Korean style with kim chi, vegetables, and pork. You cook it in boiling water and eat it with rice. The food was delicious, but not five minutes into the meal, I start choking to death. Joanna's mom is kung fu chopping my back, Joanna is staring in horror, and I wonder if the moment will ever end.
As a result of this embarrassing scenario, Joanna and her mother insisted on taking me to a traditional Chinese medicine expert. On a small, dark road at 10 pm we pulled up to a little shop lined with jugs of various colored powders. This expert, a man Joanna's mother has known and gone to for over 30 years, felt my pulse on both wrists and diagnosed my illness (with some explanation from Joanna about my symptoms). He mixed up 8 different powders onto plastic paper squares. Despite my resistance, he, his wife, Joanna, and her mother insisted that I take the first dose in front of them. This pile of brown powder, about a tablespoon in size, was mixed into a quarter cup of water and handed to me. I drank it down and found it tasted surprisingly delicious; almost like herbal tea. Smart decision or not, it was a cool experience and I hope there will be no adverse side effects.
I especially want to be well because I am traveling to Kenting tomorrow with 3 friends -- two teachers from Fushan and one who formerly taught at Fushan. We are the "Good Friends Group" and we're driving to the beach tomorrow morning. We will spend one night and I look forward to posting pictures and exciting experiences!
Next week I will take pictures of my apartment, school, and more with my students. After over 2 months of living in Kaohsiung, it is a bit ridiculous that I haven't shared my surroundings with you all.
My Free Talk class was great on Tuesday. Everyone read an English article I selected about evolution and human nature. We talked about aggression, compassion, war, and ancestors. Then we discussed travel, where we want to go, if we would ever live abroad (ha!), and I was astounded at the philosophical levels we were able to traverse with limited English ability.
I also got back to the gym this week, almost every day in fact. Body combat, yoga/tai chi, weight-lifting and running. Though I am feeling much better, I still have a pretty bad cough and went to the doctor twice this week. Supposedly, the deepest parts of my lungs are still infected, which means if I start to cough I can't stop.
This evening was a prime example of that fact. I went to dinner with a new friend and her mother. We met on the bus I take to school every day -- her name is Joanna and her mother was so excited to welcome me to Taiwan. Joanna attends the Wenzao Language College and is 19 years old. Both of them are very sweet and Joanna's English is excellent. Tonight we went to a cute restaurant and had hot pot. Mine was Korean style with kim chi, vegetables, and pork. You cook it in boiling water and eat it with rice. The food was delicious, but not five minutes into the meal, I start choking to death. Joanna's mom is kung fu chopping my back, Joanna is staring in horror, and I wonder if the moment will ever end.
As a result of this embarrassing scenario, Joanna and her mother insisted on taking me to a traditional Chinese medicine expert. On a small, dark road at 10 pm we pulled up to a little shop lined with jugs of various colored powders. This expert, a man Joanna's mother has known and gone to for over 30 years, felt my pulse on both wrists and diagnosed my illness (with some explanation from Joanna about my symptoms). He mixed up 8 different powders onto plastic paper squares. Despite my resistance, he, his wife, Joanna, and her mother insisted that I take the first dose in front of them. This pile of brown powder, about a tablespoon in size, was mixed into a quarter cup of water and handed to me. I drank it down and found it tasted surprisingly delicious; almost like herbal tea. Smart decision or not, it was a cool experience and I hope there will be no adverse side effects.
I especially want to be well because I am traveling to Kenting tomorrow with 3 friends -- two teachers from Fushan and one who formerly taught at Fushan. We are the "Good Friends Group" and we're driving to the beach tomorrow morning. We will spend one night and I look forward to posting pictures and exciting experiences!
Next week I will take pictures of my apartment, school, and more with my students. After over 2 months of living in Kaohsiung, it is a bit ridiculous that I haven't shared my surroundings with you all.
October 5, 2009
I haven't updated in so long! The main reason being that last week I missed an entire week of work because I had pneumonia. I am pretty much fully recovered and now back at school, thank goodness. That week of rest was much needed after pushing through my symptoms the week before. And I was able to finish my law school applications in between sleeping and doctor visits. I feel very free to engage Taiwan and Kaohsiung now and just wait to hear back from the various schools.
The main occurrence other than my illness was the Moon Festival this past weekend, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Saturday, once I was feeling better, I met up with my host mom and sister. We visited my mom's school and a traditional market. That is where I want to start buying all of my groceries! The veggies and meats so are so fresh. In fact, I saw them tossing chickens into the de-feathering machine and saw several whole chickens, heads, necks, and feet still attached, laying across tables. Tracy should be sending the accompanying photos soon.
After this lovely trip, I went to Winnie's parents house for some traditional food and fireworks. Her mother cooked tons of dishes, including some fish, which I actually found delicious. Her father and a couple of his friends also knocked back an entire bottle of Hennessy, each shot toasting "Zhang chao jie kuai le!" or "Happy Moon Festival!" We also bought several fireworks. Winnie, her sister, her two daughters and I went behind a local temple where there was an empty slab of concrete and lit them up. Sparklers, a couple of rockets, and one giant sparkler that I held over my head, made the evening a blast. The moon was at its fullest and we were able to see it clearly. It was a beautiful night and I felt very at home with Winnie's family.
More updates soon; I hope to travel in the coming weekends and am making progress on my women's group. Kaitlyn and Kristin want to help me organize the events and we are planning to have our first meeting on the 25th of this month. This week we are visiting a local women's center to talk about volunteering with them in November and throughout the year.
September 20, 2009
Week two was more challenging, but taught me a lot and moved me in the direction of routine life. Storytelling on Monday was a success, though sadly I was asked to change books yet again so that the school could buy the book to give to all the kids. It is still a balancing act trying to find material that is suitable for the kids' age level, but also suitable for their English comprehension level(s). I have pretty much lost all possible nervousness about public speaking. Luckily that only took a few weeks of ridiculous teaching activities in front of large crowds.
Classroom teaching was the biggest shock this week. I suddenly realized that my kids are third graders and can barely complete the conversation, "Hello, my name is Kelley. What's your name?" The activities I prepared for them were too difficult, making them and me equally frustrated. After a few painful days of adaptation and exhaustion, my co-teachers and I attended the first Fulbright workshop with all the other ETAs and LETs. This was a lifesaver. We heard ideas about how other people plan and divide up the work. My co-teachers were much more willing to plan a few weeks in advance, tell me specifically what the goal of the lesson should be, and give me a specific responsibility from the textbook!
A weight was lifted after the meeting and our lessons improved the rest of the week. We prepared ideas for the entire next unit and received helpful feedback from our principal. In the midst of my learning curve, I gave a Free Talk with Kelley class on Tuesday for my fellow teachers to practice their English. We informally discussed music, movies, questions they had about me, and I was very impressed with their ability to understand and speak English. Fifteen people showed up and this week we are planning to discuss current events.
Chinese class continues to bestow useful vocabulary and proper pronunciation upon us all. I made several new friends this week at church, the grocery store, and on the bus because I was able to communicate in Chinese! Everyone flatters me about my speaking ability, but I take it with a grain of salt because I know that most of them just like my foreign appearance. My co-teachers and host family are much more willing to correct me, though they do get a kick out of my Chinglish.
This was also my first week at English Village. I go to San Min twice a week and work in the "department store" section of the English world. For two hours I see eight groups of 5-8 kids and teach them a couple of typical dialogues. The first day I felt like the kids didn't learn much or truly understand the sentences, even though they are all 5th graders. So my second day, I came in prepared to translate the sentences into Chinese (if need be) and they thought that was hilarious. I could tell that they learned more and participated more effectively.
Friday I spent the afternoon with Winnie; we walked around a department store where she helped me find some cheap, healthy international food. Then we went to a plant shop on a street corner and I bought a beautiful jasmine plant for my room. My room smells delicious! Winnie brought me back to her apartment for a bit and it was really cool to see her setup compared with mine. She had huge photos of her and her husband hanging on the walls and her daughters have apparently been instructed to call me "Kelley Jiejie" (Sister Kelley, basically).
Saturday I visited with my host family at their apartment. Few people live in houses in Kaohsiung, just as in most cities in the US, but they all have beautiful apartments. They were surprised to hear how much I pay for rent...but I think I live in a very nice area and have my own bathroom. Anyway, my family taught me how to make dumplings and we ate a very delicious meal together. Then my host sister's friend Amy joined us and we went to the Rui Feng night market, which was right by their apartment complex. It was more crowded and bigger than most markets here, containing not just stalls of food, clothes, and every imaginable trinket or toy, but also carnival games. Mahjong, a game similar to dominoes, bowling, shooting balloons, and ring toss were among the brightly lit games. We didn't buy anything, but had fun walking off our dinner and chatting in various languages.
I'm finally making progress on my law school apps and hope to send off most of them before next weekend. Several of the Fulbrighters are planning to take a day trip to Tainan next Saturday, so I'd like to join them. Speaking of the Fulbright crew, we were also in a local newspaper this week. A story about our teaching and the ridiculous picture of us in aboriginal hats made the news! Here is a link to the story (in Chinese only): http://udn.com/NEWS/DOMESTIC/DOM6/5133453.shtml
I'm not sure if I should update more frequently or about fewer subjects; maybe focus on the details of a particular experience or insight? But I hope everyone is still enjoying the blog.
September 13, 2009
First week of teaching under my belt and at this particular moment, I feel great! I just completed a storytelling lesson plan (thanks to major technical help from my wonderful mother!) and received encouraging words from Firefly, my coteacher. The week itself had ups and downs, but here is the (rather long) summary:
Last Monday I briefly introduced myself to the entire school, 2700 students, plus teachers and staff. My intro was video-taped, as was my storytelling lesson that followed, and as my lessons will be in the near future. It is a unique experience being this school's first Fulbright ETA; judging their expectations and matching them to my abilities has been challenging thus far.
Storytelling for two 5th grade classes began after my introduction. I taught The Three Billy Goats, which the students claimed to like, but I found it to be a bit boring and the kids were relatively unresponsive. Things got better as the day went on...I say hello to all of the kids I see in the hallways and they are usually very excited to yell, "Kelley Laoshi! (Teacher Kelley!)," and wave to me. I feel very welcome.
The principal also welcomed me by inviting me to have tea and cookies with her in her office. It was pretty much a one on one language exchange, but we had a lot of laughs. Her English is better than my Chinese and we both attempted to speak each other's language. I asked her why she applied to have a Fulbright ETA come to Fushan and she said that she wants her students to see English as a part of their everyday life, something easy and natural. I think I can help achieve that this semester and was glad to hear some of Principal Cheng's expectations.
My classroom lesson transformed, as did I, throughout the week. I taught three classes with Firefly, two on Monday and one on Friday, and she was quick to tell me that I had improved dramatically as a teacher! I was relieved to hear that, though I had noticed myself that I gained a better sense of time management, how to relate to the kids, and what was doable in my lesson plan.
My lesson consisted of 4 parts. The kids made English nametags so I could get to know them, I introduced myself, we did some tongue twisters with the letters A through E, and finally, I taught them some colloquial American greetings and farewells. Several homeroom teachers and parents told me later in the week that their kids loved my class and had a lot of fun.
What I found to be the funniest aspect of my class was the reward that Hsiao-ping developed for successful completion of the class. I gave the kids my signature in their workbooks!!! And they were literally thrilled to receive it. Unbelievable! But so endearing. I think I am some sort of foreign princess; several students told me, "Teacher you are so beautiful!" and I respond, "You are beautiful!" They think it is hilarious.
I can already remember a handful of my kids' names, so I think I may be able to remember all 500 within the next 2 months. There are very apparent differences in students' levels of English proficiency. Many have gone to cram school and are conversational, while others had their first ever English class with me this past week. My lessons will have to include advanced and remedial level activities from now on.
I also have a few physically or mentally unique students in my classes. One boy has ADD, another seems to be autistic and shouts out uncontrollably on occasion, a third cannot walk and is thus a bit shy to participate, and one other is especially dear to my heart. Her name is Shine. She is 9 years old and in my first class on Mondays. Shine's family is also a host family for Carl, another Fulbright. You can see her in some of my photos. I wondered about Shine the first time I saw her because she appears to be 3 years old, but is in the 3rd grade. In fact, she has leukemia and is not expected to live very long. Yet she skips through the hallways, now confidentally shouting "See you later." At our host family reception, she asked when she would next attend my class and held onto my wrist throughout the evening.
I have a wonderful new family here in Kaohsiung and you can also see them in the latest photos. After a tour of some cultural exhibits at a local vocational high school, we had a reception Friday evening to meet our host families. We ate dinner in random groups, then each ETA went to the front of the room and said some of the things we knew about our families. The families were then expected to shout out, "We are family!" once they recognized that the ETA was speaking about them.
I love my family already. I have a father who is a captain in the military, a mother who is 46 and a 1st grade homeroom teacher, a 14 year old brother named Ray who is in the 9th grade, and a 17 year old sister named Tracy who is in 11th.
Ray had to leave early for a calligraphy class, which my father drove him to, so my mom, sister and I were left to complete a ridiculous task assigned to each family. We had to come up with a slogan and corresponding dance moves related to our family, then perform for the group at large. My family's last name is Bao (I am now calling myself Bao Kai Li), so I suggested that our slogan include various Chinese words that have "bao" in them. Our dance turned out like this: "We are the Bao family! (Pointing our thumbs to our chests)," "Baozi (we pretended to eat, as this word means dumpling)," "Baozhi (this means newspaper, so we pretended to read)," "Baobao (we rocked our arms as if holding a baby, since this means baby)," and "Baobao (we hugged! a different pronunciation of this word means hug!)."
Tracy just called to invite me for dinner next Saturday at my family's home. I'm off to bed since I have an early start to the week, but I am really excited to get into the swing of things and interact with my adorable kids. High hopes for a great year, though it is already flying by!
September 7, 2009
The weekend in Taipei was a relative success. We stayed in the Wing Hotel, had our own rooms and discovered that it is some sort of "love motel." I had a heart-shaped bathtub and other indicative amenities, but it was beautiful, air-conditioned and quiet.
After the rat incident, I went with a few of the Fulbrighters to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, which was right by our hotel. The gorgeous pictures are in the Photos section of this site. It was really cool to see the Taiwanese soldiers perform something similar to the changing of the guard at DC's Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Though not quite as reverant and deliberate, it was interesting to ponder universal military culture and performance.
We then visited Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan and the second tallest building in the world. I didn't go up to the top that day, but Friday I left the Fulbright Conference early and went back with two friends. My close, wonderful friends from my London days, Elly (a Taiwan native who lives in Taichung) and Mariko (who flew in from Japan for the weekend), met up with me in Taipei. They even stayed at the Wing Hotel! I was very sad to spend so little time with them, but I was occupied with the requisite conference activities. Luckily I did leave and spend the afternoon and evening of Friday with them. Taipei 101 was phenomenal. As you can see from the photos, all of Taipei is visible from the 91st floor! The elevator only took 37 seconds to go from floor 5 to floor 89. Incredible.
That evening, the three of us went to one of the night markets, though not the largest. There we wandered about in the rain and tried some local foods. We had Lu Wei, which is a large dish of meat and vegetables cooked in a spicy soup. What makes it special is that you fill a basket with fresh vegetables, tofu and meat of your choice and they cook it right there. Very fresh and quite spicy! We also had tea and a dessert that consisted of a giant, crispy crepe with bananas and chocolate.
The best part of our visit was reminiscing about our times together in London. It was as if we had seen each other just yesterday. Mariko of course brought me gifts of delicious Japanese chocolate and some Green Tea-flavored KitKats, which were actually quite good. We had breakfast together Saturday morning as well, but then the two went on to Taichung, while I remained in Taipei for the rest of the conference.
The conference took place at the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, which is the institution that coordinates the Fulbright Program between local Taiwanese Education Bureaus and the US Department of State. They served us many snacks, but kept us all day for various presentations. The American Institute in Taiwan, our pseudo-embassy, sent staff to brief us on their role here and to give us safety and living tips. We also met the other Fulbright English Teachers from Yilan, in the northeast of Taiwan, and the research Fulbrights who will do their respective studies around the country.
Several of the research projects were fascinating: translation of Taoist texts, the relationship between marriage and crime, prisoners recidivism rates, ancient dream journals and methods of interpretation, and avian influenza. We also presented about our various schools and cities, mentioning what we hope to do in our free time. I shared that my biggest goal, outside of school, is to start a monthly or biweekly women's group. The group might consist of my coteachers, neighbors, mothers of my students, and friends. I hope that we can discuss our lives and experiences as women in our two countries, read a book or articles about the lives of women around the world, and talk about cultural perceptions of various women's issues and rights. Beyond discussion, I would like us to engage our community and do something positive. The most obvious might be volunteering with typhoon relief in Kaohsiung County, but we will see if I can even get several women interested in meeting over the next few weeks.
Since this is such a long post, I will resume my update about my first day of teaching, which was today, at a later date. Small doses are best I think.
September 3, 2009
I have just been traumatized. I'll take it in stride, but I am completely grossed out and still shaking. While waiting for a fruit drink with my Fulbright friends in Taipei, a GIANT rat crawled across my foot and I kicked it onto the wall. Never before have I experienced something so gross!
In other news, I am in Taipei for the weekend for our first Fulbright conference. We will meet up with the other teachers from Yilan, Taiwan, and the research Fulbrights who live in Taipei. Each group will give presentations about what we are doing this year in our locations and we may give individual presentations on the same subject.
I begin work Monday morning at 7 am. The past few days I spent trying to create a lesson plan with my co-teachers, though our communication is not always easy. I hope that they understand that things will be bumpy at first until we get used to working together, so we should just wait it out before getting too stressed. My co-teachers are also quarrelling with each other, which makes it difficult for me to work with them...I am hopeful that after next week, everything will begin to move smoothly.
Time to start saving money and adjust to a routine life in Taiwan.
August 29, 2009
Kirsten is 18 today and in college now; I can't believe it!
I am on the other side of the world becoming an elementary school teacher. Also pretty unbelievable. Friday I went to Fushan Elementary School, where I will be teaching for the first semester, and I got a bit lost. More and more I am wanting to buy a scooter to get around Kaohsiung. Three of the Fulbrights have scooters and I bought a helmet so I can ride along. Winnie also let me practice driving hers yesterday. My decision will depend on if I can build the confidence to drive in Taiwanese traffic.
When I arrived at school, sweaty and a few minutes late, I sat with Shopping in a one hour, all Chinese staff meeting. No big introduction of me happened; I was just asked to stand and say hello. So I waved and said, "Dajia hao," which means hello everyone. The staff laughed and seemed surprised that I spoke in Chinese. Unfortunately I didn't get to follow that phrase with, "Wo hui shuo yi dian dian Zhong wen, yi dian dian," meaning I speak a little Chinese, very, very little. I do believe that my Chinese will progress rapidly here and I start a Monday/Wednesday Chinese course in about a week.
After the staff meeting, I met with Firefly, Shopping, Winnie and Tom (the head administrator for English teachers at Fushan) in what will now be my office. I have a desk and my co-teachers presented me with a bag of gifts containing a place mat, a large bowl, a mug, a spoon, and chopsticks. There was also a very sweet card saying that they feel we are already sisters and are glad I am teaching with them.
Then it was time to discuss my schedule. I teach every day, Monday through Friday, and have additional tasks besides classroom English teaching. It seems pretty intense and Winnie got in an argument with Tom about how much they're asking me to do (she believes it is beyond my duty as a Fulbright ETA). But I think that until my Chinese improves significantly, the easiest way for me to volunteer my spare time to the community will be at school. So here is the break down of a typical week (though this schedule begins September 7th):
Monday: Arrive at 7:20 to teach an English phrase to the whole school during Morning Meeting. From 8:40 until 10:15, give a dramatic storytelling to a class from 4th, 5th or 6th grade. From 10:30 until 2:00, lesson plan on my own, study Chinese and eat lunch, because I have almost 4 hours of unassigned time. From 2 until 4, teach two 3rd grade classes with Firefly.
Tuesday and Thursday: Spend the morning at Lingjhou or Fudong elementary schools and run the English Village courses for their students. Then after lunch, go to Fushan and teach 3 classes with Shopping.
Wednesday: Teach 4 classes from 8:40 until 12 with Shopping, have lunch, and then (every other Wed.) go to San Min for a workshop with the other Fulbrights and co-teachers.
Friday: Arrive at 9:30 to plan for next week's lesson with Firefly, teach 2 classes from 10:30 until 12, and spend lunch with Shopping, preparing our lessons for next week.
What is most interesting is that all of my classes are different groups of students, so I teach the same class 14 times each week. That requires little lesson planning, but I will be preparing storytelling and morning meeting activities for every Monday as well. Tom has also asked me to come in early on some Wednesdays to help students prepare for English reading competitions and/or to review the school's website for English mistakes. Lastly, we are planning to establish an after school English class for teachers every Tuesday. Depending on level of interest, I intend to teach practical things like how to write an email or order a meal at a restaurant.
My schedule is very tight, but I still hope to squeeze in time to work out, cook and travel. We'll see how things go.
August 27, 2009
I am teaching at Fushan and Shinjuang Elementary Schools this year!!! This means that I am co-teaching with Firefly and Shopping for the first semester, and Winnie for the second. I love all three of them and am really glad that they listed me as their top choice for a co-teacher. The real work begins now.
Tomorrow morning at 7:30 I am attending our first staff meeting of the school year. I'll be introduced to all of the other teachers and administrative staff. The commute from my apartment to school is about an hour, which is tough, but the schools are worth it. I walk 1o minutes to the metro from my house, then ride and change trains, which takes about 40 minutes, and then walk 10 more minutes from the metro to school. Hopefully I won't be drenched in sweat every morning when I show up for work.
I also have to start coming up with lesson plans for 3rd graders. This will be their first year learning English officially, although many will have started earlier in cram schools (school after school). I will teach 14 classes each week, but do the same lesson 14 times since each class period is with a different group of kids. Three classes I will co-teach with Firefly and the other 11 with Shopping.
Next week I will only be in class Monday through Wednesday. Thursday all of the Fulbrights are going to Taipei together for our first Fulbright conference. There we will talk about our plans for the year and introduce ourselves a bit. We will tour the city a little too and I hope to meet up with two of my best friends from London (Elly, who lives in Taiwan, and Mariko who is visiting from Japan next weekend).
Throughout this transition to Taiwan and becoming a teacher, I have been on the verge of feeling overwhelmed. I have so many goals for the year and many different responsibilities that I've never experienced. But I just go with the flow and relax; I know I am in the right place at the right time and because of that, I will do great things.
Now I'm off to a personal training session at the gym.
August 26, 2009
This week marks the end of orientation. We start school next week! So I should catch up on everything that has happened in the past five days...
Saturday my flatmate Bekah and I baked blueberry bread in our mini oven. We took some around to each of our neighbors and introduced ourselves. There are 3 other apartments on our floor and we wanted to get to know the people in them. Directly across the hall is Mr. Pong, a retired man who spends much of his day at home. He doesn't speak much English and was surprised to see us at his door. To the right of our apartment is Ms. Xie (said sort of like Shay). She speaks a little English and was very friendly to us. Shuiguo mianbao (fruit bread) is a favorite of hers, apparently. Lastly in the opposite corner of our floor is a young couple who both speak very good English. Unfortunately, I cannot remember how to say their names yet! But they invited us into their apartment and we exchanged emails. They plan to show us around the city sometime. We are lucky to have such friendly neighbors!
Sunday I visited a church for the first time since I've been in Taiwan. In a fluorescent-lighted basement, the Bilingual Community Church met and performed the service in simultaneous English and Chinese. A good number of other foreigners were there and overall people were friendly. I think I will try other churches before settling on one though. The biggest problem for me finding a church I like is not usually the people who attend, but the poor quality of the sermons and the shaky theology (especially in comparison to my dad!).
After church, several of us Fulbrighters attended a football (soccer) match at the World Games stadium. It was Hong Kong versus Taiwan and sadly, Taiwan was terrible! They lost 5 to 0 and had maybe one legitimate shot on HK's goal. The stadium was huge and we had fun cheering and booing with the crowds, chanting "Tai-wan, jai-yo," (Taiwan, add oil -- a typical phrase of encouragement used in Mandarin).
Monday began all day tours of our potential elementary and junior high schools. We saw 7 schools on Monday, 8 Tuesday and 4 today. It was so intense and hot, but we still tried to put on a smile and learn as much as we could about each school. The downside to all of these fun events has been my development of a sore throat and slight earache. Probably from lack of rest, I have a cold now.
Luckily, yesterday I saw a doctor and I was blown away by the quality of the Taiwan National Healthcare System. For less than $4 US, I waited 15 minutes to see a doctor and received medicine. Unbelievable. The doctor was able to communicate with me in English, though some of his instruments for looking into my ears, nose and throat were different from what I'm used to at home. I can't be too impressed yet, however, because the medicine hasn't done much to improve my sore throat. We'll see what happens over the next few days!
Winnie, hopefully my future coteacher, took me to the doctor that she has gone to for years. It was really wonderful of her to do that for me because it took time away from her birthday dinner. She turns 32 on Friday and had originally asked me to come to dinner with her and her family yesterday. She kindly postponed the dinner for an hour to take me to the clinic! We ended up having dinner at Mamma Mia, an Italian restaurant chain, where I ate the most delicious lasagna I've ever had anywhere. I also met her husband, younger sister and spent time with her two daughters again.
Her 6 year old, Lily, tries to help me learn Chinese. We played tic-tac-toe and sang the Chinese version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." She does get frustrated with me rather easily and will start saying things very loudly and slowly in Chinese...hoping that I will somehow figure out what she's trying to say. Winnie's other daughter, 4 year old Angel, sat across the table from me and kept shouting "athlete's foot" in Chinese! It is a new phrase her mother learned recently and when directly translated from Mandarin means "Hong Kong feet." I felt so welcomed by this family and Winnie has already begun to call me her younger sister. She and her family are such a blessing to me.
Finally, after finishing the school visits today, we did speed dating with the teachers from each school. We asked the teachers a few questions and they asked us about our teaching personalities. Both the teachers and Fulbrights have been stressed and nervous over the past couple of weeks. People are very concerned about which school they will end up teaching at and which Fulbright will come to their school. I really believe that we are all great teachers and will succeed wherever we are placed. I was shocked today to find out that the junior high schools adamently wanted me to teach at their schools. They pressured me to list them as number one on my ranking of schools. Several other Fulbrights really want to teach there and I had no idea they were interested in me! It was difficult to explain that I have to turn down their offer. But I found out from Winnie, Firefly and Shopping that they also planned to put me first on their list of teachers. And they are the schools I want to work with most. We find out tomorrow morning which school we will be at for sure.
I am excited to become a teacher and begin a regular routine.
August 21, 2009
The weekend is here again, thank goodness. It was a fun, but busy week and I'm ready to relax during our free time. I've become quite the gym rat over the past few days though, so I will probably keep that up. Body Combat (aka cardio kickboxing), Body Jam (ie hiphop, pop and Latin dance choreography), and intense cycling classes have worn me out. I will definitely be in shape by the time I come home!
Teaching for the first time was also a great experience. I learned a lot from my Fulbright friends who have taught previously and know tons of games and class management techniques. Working with the kids in conversations, storytelling, and classroom lessons has helped me to recognize the troublemakers, the quiet kids, and gender dynamics of elementary school.
One girl in particular will stick in my memory. Her English name is Ashley and she is 9 years old, heading into the 4th grade this year. She reminds me so much of myself at her age. She is quite tiny for her age and is rather shy, particularly about group games and speaking up in class. But she speaks impeccable English and understands every word I say. She is a wonderful friend and a kindhearted girl!
During one of the group games, Ashley came to the side of the room and sat by me. She pulled out a little binder from her backpack. It was a Friend Folder, one of those notebooks young girls have and fill with names, phone numbers, and favorite things of their friends. She asked me to fill out one of the pages! We ended up liking a lot of the same things and she really hopes to email with me.
The sweetest thing was that Ashley filled out a Friend Profile about herself and gave it to me. In the section where you write a message to your friend, she wrote, "Kelley you are beautiful!" I can already tell that I will love befriending and investing in these kids. Ashley was also vindicated as the shy girl at the end of our class today. Each child came forward and said two sentences in English for the rest of the class. Ashley's vocabulary was by far the most advanced and all of the Fulbrights praised her for saying, "I think English is fantastic."
August 19, 2009
I finally added photos to this website! There are tons from this whole month, all taken by Fonda, our Fulbright coordinator and the person who helps us with absolutely everything.
This week has been pretty relaxed so far. Our "how to teach" classes are over and we are working at the Ling Jhou English Village. These are classrooms turned into faux post offices, airports, metros, hotels and restaurants, where students can practice their English in real life situations. We also have to perform a couple of skits tomorrow and Friday. We'll be teaching a group of kids to sing Hello, Goodbye by the Beatles and telling them the story of the Three Little Pigs. We are acting it out and I am the first little pig that lives in the house of straw.
In the free time we have during the evenings, I've been preparing my law school applications and working on a budget for my time in Taiwan. Food is pretty expensive here, at least healthy food from grocery stores, so it may be a struggle to manage. I'm sure I will get the hang of it though! This evening I am trying out the World Gym with a few of the other Fulbrights. We're going to attend a cardio kick-boxing class...just to really amp up the exhaustion ;-)
More stories to come after I get some feedback on how I can improve my blog and photo captions. I really appreciate your responses!
August 16, 2009
This has been a fabulous weekend, my second, in Taiwan. Friday we completed a week of teacher training and met the former director of the Fulbright program in Taiwan, as well as the new director. Dr. Wu and Dr. Chen are both renowned throughout Taiwan and are quite humorous men, as we discovered when they took us to dinner at the Horny Pig. After the meal, several of us Fulbrights went out to Latin Night at the Join Us club near the elementary school we visit during the week.
One day this past week, as we were walking to the MRT (what they call the metro here), a 20-something American guy ran over to us and invited us to visit the nightclub he co-owns. Being new to Kaohsiung (pronounced Gow-shung), we took him up on the offer and the night turned out well. We participated in salsa lessons and then put our skills to the test with a live salsa band.
Saturday we headed to City Hall in the early afternoon to volunteer by packing and loading supplies for those hurt by the typhoon. We were advised not to travel to any of the damaged cities at this point because our language skills are insufficient to meaningfully contribute during these early stages of chaos, but we weren't much more help at City Hall. Unlike most volunteer events in the US, there were hundreds of local volunteers at City Hall when we arrived. We basically stood around for a couple of hours in the volunteer vests while everyone gawked at us. But it was fascinating and really moving to see how many people came out to help victims of the typhoon. We hope to contact the American Insititute in Taiwan or the Red Cross to see if there are other ways we can help typhoon victims or volunteer in our communities in general during the next year.
Today, Sunday for me, I went with a couple of the local teachers to the Sin JyueJiang clothing market near Kaohsiung's Central Park. I didn't bring many clothes or shoes to Taiwan because I knew I'd want to look for cheap, Taiwanese style clothes and ones that are made for the extremely hot and humid weather (it has been 105 heat index all week with near 100% humidity). I love how Taiwanese girls dress. Everything is mixed and matched, loose and comfortable. Skirts and Converse tennis shoes are a perfect match here, as are jumpers and tshirts.
My company during the market trip today was also fantastic. The local teachers, Winnie and Firefly (their English names), brought some of their family with them and I really enjoyed getting to know them better. Firefly brought her Hungarian husband, Frank, and Winnie brought her two daughters, Lily and Angel (ages 6 and 4). I also received a couple of AWESOME belated birthday gifts from my new friends. Bob Dylan's Freewheelin' album (his second ever produced and one of the best) and a handmade, beaded bracelet. Not to be repetitive, but the Taiwanese people are so welcoming to us and I really feel at home with the cashiers at our local 7-11, our security guards at our apartments, and the local English teachers we will be working with this year.
While I wish I had photos of all these great experiences, the accompanying pictures are currently lagging behind. I do not have a well functioning camera and I have not retrieved any of the many photos that Fonda (our Fulbright coordinator extraordinaire in Kaohsiung) has taken of everyone. Hopefully I can paint pictures with my words until the actual photographs make it to this website!
August 14, 2009
It is early Friday morning here in Taiwan, but I am writing to let everyone know I am still quite safe! I leave for Taiwan and all of a sudden typhoon horror stories are all over CNN. Crazy. Although Morakot damaged many parts of Taiwan, and several trees and buildings were blown down in Kaohsiung, the Fulbrights did not experience more than a thunderstorm. We are lucky and thankful.
Since the typhoon ended, we have spent the week at San Min Elementary School learning about how to teach. This is especially helpful to me since I have never been a classroom teacher. And I now realize just how poor my English grammar is; this blog alone is filled with hundreds of grammar mistakes! Hopefully an emphasis on American culture and colloquial language can make up for some of my grammatical shortcomings.
I really like several of the LETs (Local English Teachers) that we met this week and hope I will be placed with my top choice for the rest of the year. I find out in about 2 weeks which schools and teachers I am assigned to in Kaohsiung. During this week of learning, we were also able to practice preparing a lesson plan and teaching in front of the group. When my group acted out our lesson plan (for 4th-5th graders), I was one of the co-teachers and I thought the demonstration went well. I'm starting to think I will be a natural at teaching young children...Many of you know me as shy, but would you believe that here I am one of the charismatic, energetic and outgoing people?! Funny, huh?
I have also been riding a scooter! Not in the road, but around a courtyard and small street for practice. It is really fun and I'm getting better at it, but know that I will probably never buy one and drive around in the busy streets. Traffic laws are not obeyed here very often.
My birthday celebration was also a success. Everyone came to my apartment for dinner and we went to KTV for several hours after. The next day we explored around the Love River (the river that runs through downtown Kaohsiung) and had my birthday lunch at Outback Steakhouse! A nice break of Western food, but not as good as Outback in the States. On our way home from that part of town, we stopped at a 17 story shopping mall. One of our funniest discoveries to date: a t-shirt that reads, "Velocity. I just want to ride my bicycle. I love shadow art. Snappy snap, I accidentally crossprocessed my film."
...whose job is it to make up these ridiculous English t-shirts?!
TGIF and I promise to post photos/videos this weekend when I have some free time!
August 8, 2009
I am now in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan and have been here for almost a week. Jet lag is gone and I'm settling in nicely! The other 11 Fulbrights in my city are fantastic and we all get along as if we've been friends for years. I share an apartment with 3 of them (Rebekah, Carol and Kevin). We drew numbers to determine which apartment and which room we would have for the year. I ended up with the biggest room; it is quite beautiful with a balcony and furnishings...the only problem is: large roaches. Everyday I've found a couple in my bathroom. But I'm almost used to it and still hope that I can get an exterminator.
We have been busy every day since our arrival, visiting elementary schools (where we've been welcomed as celebrities!) and getting to know the city. Our apartment complex is across the street from the Cultural Center and is surrounded by delicious street vendors, supermarkets and restaurants. The Taiwanese people are unbelievably friendly. And the weather is unbelievably hot and humid. We sweat buckets and then wait days for our laundry to dry in the wet air.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will meet local teachers and visit our potential schools. The last day of the month will be our first day of teaching. Many of us are also looking into Chinese language courses and martial arts classes. I think the year is going to fly by. It is already my 22nd birthday (tomorrow) and we are celebrating tonight with dumplings, crepes and hopefully KTV (Asian-style karaoke). However, Typhoon Morakot may prevent us from going anywhere. The city was shut down yesterday and most things are still closed today. The wind and rain are relatively strong, but we are completely safe and have food to eat.
I look forward to hearing comments and especially questions from everyone at home. It will help me write about what is most interesting to everyone!
July 29, 2009
Packing and To-Do list are both complete!
Also very interestingly, Agnes Scott and I got some great press in the Washington Post today. To my surprise, my father has been in communication with college-guru Jay Matthews for the past few years. Their correspondence led to Mr. Matthew's blog entry praising my accomplishments, but more importantly, small, liberal arts colleges like Agnes Scott for investing in and nurturing outstanding students.
July 27, 2009 First Blog Entry
My first blog entry on my first website. It takes a lot longer than you would think to put together this simple, free page via Google. But I think it will be a great way to share my experiences over the next year (and maybe beyond) with family and friends! Once I am in Taiwan I plan to update frequently and look forward to feedback from you.
Cheers (I revert to my London slang),
Kelley
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