Teaching

Note: This is a post from last summer, 2013. 

So we're almost done with 1st semester of American Lit. and I can't help but feel proud of my students. This is a great class and I really like them. I like their personalities, I like their jokes, I like that they are responsible, but most of all, I like that they are learning. Or maybe I just think they are. But as I look around the quiet classroom, watching the bent heads of the students and hear their keyboards clicking as they type information into their powerpoint for their presentation tomorrow, I can't help but smile as I remember some of their comments. "Jack London only lived for 40 years - it's hard to find information about him." ... "Edgar Allan Poe married his 13 year old cousin, and on the marriage license it said she was 21." ... "Adeline Yen Mah wrote Falling Leaves." ... "I just finished reading Of Mice and Men so I think it's lucky that I'm writing about John Steinbeck." ... "I finished my presentation. I'm all ready for tomorrow." ... These students are working and not only that, they're learning. At least, I like to think they are. Perhaps they know this already, but they are exactly fulfilling the objective I had in mind when I created this project, which simply was, to find out for themselves about some of the most famous writers in American history. Well, ok, there are some students who think that I gave them this assignment to pay them back, like a punishment for having to teach them :-D I admit it's not a bad idea. Maybe they will think twice before giving me a hard time in class :)

But I can't help but feel proud of them, despite the huge groans and procrastination and sleepy yawns, at least they are learning. And that was the objective. Not only are they learning about American literature, I am learning something too. I'm learning how to appreciate their view of life. I'm learning to see things from their perspective. I'm learning that I like this group of kids. So I just want to say thank you to the American Lit. summer class of 2013 :D You guys rock :P


p.s. I just realised I never posted this last year...probably because I was busy grading presentations...you guys still rock, wherever you are today :) Let's have a reunion one of these days :-D I can't promise, but I will try not to ask you how much you remember of American Lit....

The Inside Scoop

So the other day I was on my way to an appointment downtown and I remembered that I hadn't eaten lunch yet. So off I went in search of a small restaurant where I could get a good-sized meal for a small-sized price tag. I was in a part of town that I didn't know very well so I just kept wandering up and down streets looking slightly lost until I saw an alley with a few small "restaurants." One place seemed particularly interested in getting me to come try their food so I decided to oblige. First I said though, "I'm vegetarian," and waited to see if they had any suitable food. The three waiters/managers/cooks stopped and looked at each other and started shaking their heads until the lady at the sink said yes, they could get me something with just vegetables and was noodles ok? I said that was fine and they ushered me inside to sit down.

So I found an empty table and sat on the plastic stool to wait. By the way, here in Taipei when it is rush hour time for meals, you don't have the luxury of having your own table. If the restaurant is small and there are a lot of people inside, you will have to share a table with perfect strangers, but it's considered normal and everyone usually politely ignores everyone else so you can still feel like you are eating by yourself ... Sort of.

So anyway, I barely had time to rub my wooden chopsticks together before they set before me a steaming bowl of noodles and bean sprouts with some sort of sauce that tasted quite nice.

I was bored so I picked up a plastic menu and began trying to read it. Here's what it looked like:

I could make out the words like soup, noodles, large, small, meat, duck...or was it bird? I wasn't sure. And what was that word before bird...I decided to take out my dictionary and look it up. 

I took out my iPod and began tracing the first character onto the screen. "Ya" or "duck" popped up in the English translation. Ok, I thought, I was right that it was some sort of bird. Then I began tracing the second character. It looked like a combination of "moon" and the second character for soup (except it didn't have the symbol for water in front of it). I was curious what kind of dish this was and waited as the dictionary looked up the options. I choose the correct character from a list and looked at the translation: "intestines." Ugh. Really? I squinted at the screen again. 

Then I began to wonder what the other words were that I didn't recognise on the menu. I began tracing furiously. "Liver" "pellet" "tongue" ... and various animal names like oyster and pig popped up on my screen. 

I'm used to eating at restaurants that also serve beef noodles, Hawaiian pizza, and chicken fried rice, but if I had known I was eating at a restaurant where 90% of the menu comprised of various animals' insides, I probably wouldn't have gone inside. Next time you tell the chef you are vegetarian, if they hesitate for longer than 5 seconds (give them time to process your pronunciation first) then my advice to you is to smile politely, shake your head vigorously, and rush on by. There are plenty of restaurants that serve only vegetarian food and there are even some that will ask you if you mind if the pineapple spoon has touched the octopus meat, and if you mind, they will get a new spoon or even a "kosher" tin of pineapple for you. 

This happened as I was standing in line for a deep fried bake potato at the night market. I know, it's one of the unhealthiest vegetarian things you can buy, and for that reason I usually stay away from it. But once every few months I'll venture back and give it another try.

So the guy who was preparing the food behind his little "Prince Cheese Potato" stand (it's a portable metal food stand in the night market) asked me which kind of vegetarian I was, and I didn't understand the two options so I asked what he meant and that's when he asked if it bothered me if the spoons touched meat. When I hesitated, he brought out a tin of "clean" pineapple and one for the corn. I thought that was very nice. 

Well, I guess that's it for the inside scoop on small Taiwanese eateries. (get it? inside ... or should I say, "insides"...)    -_-

Until next time,

-R

Bus Drivers and Greens

So here's another example of why I love Taipei. The other day I hopped on a bus to go to the MRT station. Just before we arrived at the stop I thought I needed to get off at, I stood up to check the map to see if there was a stop closer to the station so I wouldn't have to walk so far. There were just a few people on the bus and the driver noticed me standing there. "Siao jieh" he called out and asked me in Chinese where I wanted to go. "Jiantan jehyuhn jan" I told him. "I don't stop there" he said. "You have to take the next stop and walk a bit." "Ok" I said. "Thank you." Then a few minutes later I asked, "What about the next MRT station? Do you stop there?" 

"We pass by but you still have to walk. Which one do you want to go to?" "Either one is fine," I replied." "The next one is closer then, just about 3 minutes walk." "Ok," I smiled and trusted him. We drove on and soon he pointed out a street as we drove past. "There-you see? You just walk down that street. When you get off the bus go back and go down that street and you'll find the station." He said some other things I didn't catch but I recognised where I was and I knew where to go even if I hadn't understood exactly what he had just finished saying. I turned and said appreciatively "Sieh sieh" or "thank you," then hopped off the bus as he nodded, smiled, and waved as he zoomed off. I set off happily for the MRT station thinking that I never feel very lost or alone here. Someone is always looking out to make sure I'm ok.

 
After I found my way to the station, I took a seat and looked out the window. I was on my way to Danshui, one of my favourite places. I still couldn't believe I was really back in Taipei. It still seems a bit weird and sudden even after just over 2 weeks. I've acclimatised much faster than the first two times I came, but I still can't believe that I am really back...


There are still things that surprise me. For example, just recently I realised I needed to buy a couple things I might need for the weekend. So I made a mad dash to the small grocery store across the street where I picked up some cute pink packets of tissues, a tin of fried gluten, and a bag of short grain rice. Then I went next door to the Family Mart for the cupcakes that I really like and a cold drink. I happened to see this small drink container that said "Sri Lanka Milk Tea." I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it, so I picked that up too. The only thing was, it wasn't cold, so I wondered how long it would have to sit in the fridge before I could finally drink it. Then my eye spotted the yams sitting in a small half-covered grill and I decided to try one of them too. When I went up to pay, fumbling with my four things, the cashier started ringing my items up, then to my surprise, rang up a small bag of ice. As I watched, startled, she pulled out a plastic cup, poured the ice into it and proceeded to open my carton of room temperature Sri Lankan tea. Before I knew it, she had poured all the tea over the ice and set a plastic lid neatly on top and slid a straw into the hole. And there you had it - iced tea. I had no idea that this tea came with cup, ice, and a straw. But in Taiwan they think of everything you need or want. If you buy a little carton of custard pudding, they include a little spoon. If you buy a drink, they include a straw. If you buy noodles they include chopsticks. If you buy something frozen they microwave it for you (if you want to eat it then). There are so many things that still surprise me even though I've lived here for a year and a half. Like the price of vegetables. 

The other day as I was coming back from 'afternoon tea' at a cute cafe in the Shilin nightmarket, I saw a vegetable truck outside the apartments where I'm staying, so I hesitantly went up to inspect the vegetables lying on the covered flat bed of the truck. The young man selling them watched me as I eyed the infamous bok choy look alike (I still don't know if it really is bok choy or not). 

I was waiting to see what the older auntie in front of me was going to do; I was hoping she would buy something so I would know how to buy something too. If she picked up the veggies herself then I would do that too, but if she just pointed to what she wanted, then I knew I needed to let the guy pick it up for me and weigh it. Unfortunately she walked off before buying anything, so I was left there by myself. So I finally pointed to some leafy greens that look like maple leaf shaped tree leaves, and said I wanted those, so he picked up a handful and weighed them out, then I pointed to the bok choy things and he asked if I wanted all or just half and I quickly said half (half was already enough to feed me for several days). Then he put them all together in a bag and told me "san shir wooh kwhy" or 35 NT. I thought I hadn't heard right, but as I received my changed, I realised it really was 35 NT. I now have enough greens to last me over a week and I only paid 1 dollar and a few cents .... wow....I need to buy greens here every week! 

It's funny, the other day in the supermarket across the street, I heard two ladies arguing with the clerk about what price they thought some vegetable was, and the clerk was explaining it to them, then one lady walked over and held up the 3 long skinny eggplants in a bag and looked at the price and threw it back down exclaiming loudly in a slightly disgusted tone, "too expensive."

I guess now I know why. The eggplant was probably twice the price in the store as it would have been from the young guy with the truck. 

So there you have it, two more reasons to like Taipei: friendly bus drivers and amazingly cheap vegetables.

Until Next time :D

Photo Credits for the bus (not the bus I was on but a similar one) and the potato greens:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Taipei_bus_022-FR.jpg
http://sydney.foodconnect.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sweet-potato-leaves-low-res.gif

But as for Me and My Frozen Carrot...

 Actually, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this blog, but I just felt like writing it somewhere. It came to me as a lunchtime inspiration when I was waiting for my macaroni to heat up in the microwave for the second time. I was hungry and so I looked in the fridge for something to snack on while I waited. The first and only thing I saw that I could readily eat was a fat carrot, and as I reached for it I thought absent-mindedly that it looked like it was frozen. It wasn't, but the thought stuck in my mind, that I would still loyally eat it even if it was frozen. Then perhaps because I've been by myself for the past couple days and it's been quiet and boring, the carrot must have seemed to be my only source of company, so perhaps that why I said "as for me and my frozen carrot..." and then I wasn't quite sure how to complete the thought, except maybe to say "we shall stay cool."

Which brings me to my next picture. I found an app that supposedly tells you the humidity level in your area. If you look closely, you'll notice that it's 92% humidity. That must have been taken just before the next picture, will will show what 100% humidity looks like.











 


This is the dismal view from my window and has been my main view for the past week :(

So, another topic. Washing clothes. Shouldn't be too hard right? That's what I was hoping, until I saw with dismay that the washing machine in this apartment was a "fancy" one with many buttons and options and words I haven't yet learned in my 6 months of Chinese classes.

I hesitantly took a look at the panel of Chinese words and little pictures of clothes and water droplets, trying to figure out the system for choosing a "normal" wash and rinse cycle.

"ee-fu" oh, I recognise that word, it means "clothes." So far so good. "shway" means water, got that. But what about this one - "yu yue"?! It was second on the list of buttons so I thought it might be important, but as I stood there scratching my head and looking at the characters, I couldn't figure it out. It had nothing to do with clothes, temperature, or water.

 So off I went to get my trusty iPod with its "handwrite" dictionary option. I carefully drew the strokes onto the screen and waited for the characters to come up and explain themselves to me.

Sure enough, they popped up on the screen. I looked at the definition:

Yu yue - make an appointment

What? Make an appointment with my washing machine?

There must be something wrong. I erased the words and started again. 

Yu yue - make an appointment.

There it was again. If I wanted to make an appointment with this washing machine, this was the button to use. So much for a "smartphone (or smart iPod)."

Shuttle Buses are a Wonderful Invention

But actually the real topic of this blog was supposed to be about two more things that I love about Taiwan: shuttle busses and spelling.

Last week on my way to get my health check at a local hospital, I had to go by MRT (metro) but since the hospital is about 5 minutes drive away from the MRT station, they have a free shuttle bus that takes everyone back and forth between the hospital and the station. So all I had to do was hop on the shuttle and be driven back and forth. No need to flag down a taxi or trudge the 5 miles in the heat. They think of everything here.

  

Then there is spelling like no other. In this case, the ketchup, catsup, or catchup, was sitting there in the local grocery store, taunting me from the aisle to catch it if I could. But since I don't have a scooter (moped/motorbike/car) or even a bicycle) I have to carry all my groceries in my hands or on my back, so I try my best not to buy glass jars or large tin cans of anything from any store that is too far from home.
So these poor jars of catchup were just going to have to wait for someone else to buy them. But I couldn't resist taking a picture to show you. Taiwan is one place that is notorious for its unique English spellings. Just the other day I saw another sign for a "reversible lane" and I smiled, remembering the first time I was on a bus and it suddenly turned into this "reversible" lane into what appeared to be oncoming traffic. As I stared in horrified panic, I realised that the sign meant something along the lines of "two-way" and that during certain hours, buses could go the "wrong" way on this reversible lane. Now I know.

This is completely random and has nothing to do with the rest of this random post, but I saw this near a beach on the north coast the other day, sitting there calmly waiting for a chance to ride the gently rolling waves.

So I shall leave you with a picture, of a banana boat, to complete the food theme that has been running through this wildly off-topic blog.

Until next time :)

* Carrot picture taken from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxxnEZqltdoeZnJF9ZAUh-ALSLEIcL13IV3mkb2ToAxG7ZyMW6a4DwhvJBxHufykyphrHtZ5DFsKZ_dyXrpgcn_hA0NYecRduC-JoQcobpZmGD0txhrsF9wy7Tu29ZBoFfYO5lqTZahBU/s1600/carrot-with-stick.jpg

Rocking Chair

So today I was sitting quietly in my wicker chair, all six feet planted firmly on the wooden floor, (including the chair's feet) when suddenly I began to feel as if I was sitting in a rocking chair, swaying along with the rhythm of the lights above my head that were also dancing about. I looked over at the door and saw it swinging happily and I knew this must be an earthquake. So what did I do? I stared at the door, wondering if I should get up and go there or not. By the time I got up, about 30 seconds later, the building was still shaking and I wobbled my way over and stood at the doorway listening to the sounds of people in the hallway. No one seemed to be running outside. I stood there for a few more seconds then decided to sit down again. If it got worse I could always go outside. I decided that earthquakes never last long and this would soon end, and thankfully I was right.

I now feel thoroughly welcomed back to the land of rocking chairs and watery heat. And friends :)

Yesterday I got to say hi to most of my friends and it was both exciting and weird. I feel as if I was edited out of a film - as if the tape was paused for a whole year but my part kept playing on a different reel, and then I was placed back into the film at the original spot and everything looks the same, but now I'm no longer the same. Everyone around me looks pretty much the same, but the only thing that's really changed is me. Have you ever felt that way?

Anyway, so I suppose this is part of the transition process I dearly despise.

But let me see if I can explain a bit of what it's like to be here in the city... for one, they never seem to fully rest. Today was Sunday, but that didn't daunt some overly industrious construction crew from coming to the road literally inches away from my windows and drilling a hole to China all morning while I tried to assure my family on Skype that I was indeed ok even though it sounded like I was at the dentist.

It's humid here. And everyone walks at least a mile a day with few exceptions. I feel I must have walked several miles yesterday. You have to walk to get anywhere. You have to walk from the bus stop to the shop, and from the shop to the restaurant and from the restaurant to the MRT (metro) and from the MRT to the bus stop and from the bus stop back home. I love the public transportation here, but yesterday I spent about 2 hours just travelling between two churches and a friend's house. Did I mention that Taipei is a large city?

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church, I realised that I couldn't remember which bus to take to get to the English church. All I could remember was there needed to be an intersection with bus stops on either side of the middle section :) so, being the adventurous spirit I am, I hopped on to a bus to find out if it would take me to that intersection. 4 stops later, it did :) If it hadn't, I probably would still be riding that bus :-D

Here people carry umbrellas everywhere all the time. You never know when the sky might decide to open up and drop down bucketfuls of rain, or sunshine. So you will see umbrellas everywhere when it's too rainy, and again when it's too sunny. So, lesson #1, when planning a visit to Taipei, bring good walking shoes, or be prepared to walk in your non-walking shoes, and bring about $3 for an umbrella. You should be mostly set then.

Well my eyelids are closing and one of these times they won't open again so I had better end here for now.

Until next time

32 Degrees and Counting

Well.......I've finally made it back! After a year and 2 months, I made good on my promise and returned like I said I would. This sounds familiar - did I write this last year? I can't remember. Anyway, where to begin... Let's start with my flight....

My first flight was slightly delayed due to a "situation" in the baggage claim area where some luggage belt was non-functioning and they couldn't get the luggage or something. So they told us "We're not leaving without your bags" - a comforting thought for me since I wasn't about to head off to Taiwan indefinitely with just a backpack. Finally they came back on the intercom and announced that the situation had been cleared up and we could now board, and our bags were definitely coming with us, and though we were a few minutes late it wasn't too late to still fly out on time.

However, once we boarded the plane and began to taxi, the intercom suddenly cackled and the pilot announced that we were going to be delayed for about 30 minutes due to heavy traffic in LA since one of their 4 runways was down.... I sat there thinking, "Ok, who's praying that I won't leave??" And my next thought was, "I hope my family doesn't know my flight's delayed - they're going to panic that I won't make it to my international flight." haha. So I used part of that half hour carefully calculating the latest time I could arrive at the China Airlines check in counter before it would be too late to get on the plane. I figured I still had enough time even if we were an hour delayed, so I relaxed, since there was nothing else I could do, and sat back and started memorising some Chinese characters.

We took off 30 minutes later and landed without mishap or any further delays. I'm so thankful for not having to worry about trying to reschedule my next flight.

Well I've decided that 1:00 am flights are not so bad after all. I slept after "supper" which they served at 1:30 or 2 am, and I must say, China Airlines has some comfortable seats that recline quite nicely. They even have little pillows shaped with a U in the middle for your neck. They don't have toothpaste and eye masks though - you should fly with China Southern for that.

So after we got supper out of the way, the inside of the plane fell silent as about 98% of the people were conked out for a good part of the way. I didn't fully wake up until about 3 hours before we landed, which means I must have slept for 10+ hours. That's good though because today has been a loooong day.

As soon as we landed, I joined the crowds in the "Non-Citizen" line for immigration, then followed everyone down to baggage claim. It was around this time, as I was waiting for the super slow carousel to bring me my super heavy suitcases, that I found out there was free wi-fi, so I immediately began texting everyone to say I had landed safely. My bags finally came and I wandered out of the airport and stood for a few minutes messaging friends. I just wasn't ready to transition back and I knew that as soon as I stepped out into the bus terminal, my life here would officially begin. So I lingered a few minutes, wishing I could get on a plane and fly back because I do miss everyone I just left :-( sigh. That's the trouble with travelling so far away - you can't just pop back for a quick visit whenever you want.

So, fast forward through the bus ride and the ride to the church where I'm staying.... as soon as I sorted myself out here and found some vital items like my chocolate that I needed to get into a fridge asap, I headed out for the school to go see people (most of whom weren't there I may add - where were you guys?!). I found out that since I've been gone they added a new MRT (metro) station close by! That was exciting news. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to find, if you know anything about my sense of direction, you'll understand.

I had a list of things to get done today and I'm so glad I got almost all of them accomplished: I got a new phone number for my expired phone, and went food shopping for the weekend, then went to the city hospital for the health check that I need before I can work. So all in all it's been a busy day and I'm starting to get really tired from the heat, humidity, and walking all over. Oh, and probably a touch of jet lag. It's almost 6 pm, I've been up for 15 hours, and I have another 3 to go before I can sleep. The young people are coming over for supper and vespers soon I think so I have that to look forward to. So does my stomach. It's 32 degrees here and it's hard to be hungry in this weather, but the last real meal I had was my rice-porridge-breakfast on the plane. I did buy a snack on the side of the road here though, and some milk tea with the tapioca pearls! It was just as good as I remembered it!

Ok, signing off for now...this weekend is sure to be full of new adventures and I will try and keep you updated. At least I have internet! What would I do without it? Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

Until next time

Gratitude

My friends went on a 30-hour famine awareness rally this weekend. It made me realise again how much I have and how little other people do without.

But something nags at the back of my mind every time I hear the word "gratitude" or someone tells me I ought to be more thankful for what I have. I understand that I should complain less, but to be more thankful...that's just too risky.

Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps it's a common TCK (Third Culture Kid) fear. Perhaps it's just a reaction to having lost so much growing up. Perhaps it's all of these. Perhaps it isn't.

But to a TCK, being thankful, is a hard concept to come to terms with. In my case, the last time I remember being truly content and peaceful and grateful for the way my life was, was the time my life ceased to be peaceful and predictable.

The last time I remember being grateful for someone close to me, I had to say goodbye as we parted ways. The last time I remember being happy for my nice apartment, I moved away. The last time I remember being happy for my friends, I had to leave them indefinitely.

So you can understand why I might be wary of being "grateful" for anything, at least out loud. I will say I'm grateful, but I will try to keep it as general as possible, for who can tell when the next person I am thankful for, will be the next person I have to say goodbye to. Who knows if the next country I am grateful to live in, will be the next country I have to leave. Who can tell me that the next happy time in my life that I am thankful for, won't be the next time tragedy strikes?

So this word gratitude...it's not that I am ungrateful. I am thankful for every happy memory, every new culture, every new friend and every exciting adventure I have experienced. I guess that means I'm grateful for you. Just please, don't be the next person to leave.