Random

So the other day I passed by a man who regularly begs on our street near the night market, and I never know what to do or give, so I finally decided that since it was a cold evening, I'd buy him a drink and some hot food from 7-11. So off I went, returning with some potato fries, hot chocolate and some sausage-thing, nice and hot. But when I knelt down to ask him if he was hungry, he told me no thanks, he had eaten, but thank you! I honestly didn't know what to do, but since I was also cold, I was happy for the hot chocolate and I ate the fries and tossed the sausage-thing =D

So, the weather here has been like a roller coaster - up and down from day to day. Yesterday was around 21 Celsius, a nice warm temperature, and today it dropped down to 13 Celsius, and I shivered my way home from work today.

Some random notes from my classes... last week in an effort to practice pronunciation in a fun way, on a sunny day we trotted down to the basketball court, stood in the sun, stuffed our mouths with cherry tomatoes and spewed out tongue twisters as fast as we could. It was kind of fun :)

The countdown has begun - we just passed midterm and I cannot believe it is the last quarter of the school year. While it still seems like there is a long time to wait until the year is over, as I look back, the time goes by faster and faster. And soon I know I will be looking at the end of the school year, as it stares solemnly back at me, and I will question whether or not I really taught what I should have. For a first year teacher, I am just happy to say that I survived, and even more than just surviving, I actually did teach some of the real-life lessons I so wanted to teach. That's enough for me and I can rest knowing I did what I could with what I had.

Now the question is, where to next? Perhaps I shall start a new blog soon from another part of the world.

Until next time,

- RL

Random

So I'm not even sure what to write today. It's kind of late and I guess I shall just describe what I did this week. I know this is quite unoriginal, and as an English teacher I am trying to inspire creativity in my students, so this really is uncharacteristic, but then again, it has been a long week and my energy level has dipped below readable levels again.

So this week I have been out quite a few times. There is a pasta restaurant nearby and I went there twice this week and each time I got the only vegetarian option they have, but it was still good. It came with a soup that looked almost like Borscht, and some sweet-ish garlic bread. Did I mention that bread here is not the same as in the States or Europe? It's more like Wonderbread style wherever you go, and almost like a pastry; it's hard to find the rough and hearty whole-wheat here.

Besides pasta, the night market here (one of many) also has a thing called "Shaved Ice" and it literally is ice that is shaved in a machine into little ice chips. The ice is made either from water or from milk, and is sweet. They put your choice of fruit, red or green beans (green beans here beans that are green, and are a bit like black-eyed peas); they then pour syrup over the whole thing and voila, you have your rather large plate of shaved ice. The last time I ate a whole plate of it I decided I had had enough to last me for a year, so now I try to share a plate whenever I go.

This time though I tried the icecream on the menu and it came in a rather festively decorated bowl with a small parasol perched on top and peaches and banana and strawberries and kiwis gracing the sides of the glass bowl. I admit I was surprised, even though I've lived here a while, but my first bite of the green icecream was quite something. It was green tea icecream, and instead of the sweet flavour I always associate with icecream, it was like eating iced tea with a very strong flavor. It really took getting used to.

Well I must get some sleep now, but it really is fun to walk around between 7-10 at night and look at all the little shops and see the night life. It definitely feels alive and you never feel alone, especially in the night market, as there are always at least 10 people within arms' reach and plenty pushing past and strolling ahead. Well below are some random pictures from my life here :) Enjoy.

Yep, we really were going this fast on the train

Random meal in China

Random decorated tree in a train station

P.S. the picture of the salt shaker and pepper shaker is from the pasta place. I had so much fun playing with them!

"Um, dear? ... I left the parmesan at home..."

"Oh! You should have told me!"

"It's ok, I forgive you.... at least we have salt and pepper..."

Back in Blogland



Shanghai - on the Bund at night



Hi, I've decided to re-join the land of blogging, for today at least. Got a bit discouraged towards the end of the term last semester. So no promises, but I shall try to keep writing to open a small window into my world here in Taiwan.

Second semester started with a rush - for me that means rushing into the classroom along with the students, more out of breath than they. I used the longest possible time I could for vacation, so I flew in late Tuesday night. My first class was 9:15 Wednesday morning :) I always have been a last-minute person.

Shanghai skyline in the day

Now second semester is in full swing and my class load has decreased by an ESL class and increased by another English 1 class, so my student count has risen, along with the number of papers I have to grade. Hence my motto: "Only assign what is absolutely necessary, and no more." Of course that can be debated, what really is necessary. Rule of thumb: less is better (for teacher).



Some projects the students have done this semester are: giving persuasive speeches, on topics such as why we should use public transportation instead of cars; How-to speeches, where we learned self-defense and many lovely recipes which we got to sample; giving directions and following someone else's directions around the school; and now we're working on writing a descriptive essay.



guilty culprits: reason for my night session staring down the loo



My experience of the day was being followed as I walked home from school today. It was quite interesting, although very disconcerting when I realised I was definitely being followed, even as I purposely weaved my way back and forth between aisles in the covered market. Thankfully my friend called me on my cellphone just then and I needed to go back to school for a paper, so I hurried my way back, watching as the man in the red jacket followed quickly behind me. I got a short video clip of him, just in case, with my handy iPod touch, a present from a really good friend back home. It was a great gift - thanks so much! I have recorded so many memories, and now evidence, during my time here in Taiwan!





Hotpot! buy your vegetables, and cook them yourself :)



Now it's off to bed to try and get some rest. I just got back from a holiday in China where I visited friends 

and had a 2-day vacation on my own in Shanghai. It was tonnes of fun, except the food poisoning that kept me in bed all of Saturday. Thankfully I was able to fly back the next day with no problems.



I hope you are all doing well. Take care and keep in touch. There is nothing I like better than reading and writing e-mails, so write away, and let me know how you are doing!

Iceskating, with caution

Or maybe you don't need caution here - as they provide, and require you to wear a horde of protective gear I have never before worn at an iceskating rink! I really was quite surprised and tickled, to walk into the arena today and see dozens of helmets circling the rink and almost as many pairs of kneepads zooming past me as my friend and I gingerly stepped onto the ice.

Just like you get 'sea legs' it takes a while to get 'iceskating legs' so we were going to make several slow circles to get used to gliding on the ice, as opposed to weaving uncertainly, however, I hadn't been on the ice longer than 5 seconds when a 'safety patrol' man in a bright yellow jacket skated past and said I had to have gloves on. Thanks to my friend, who had been there before, and a helpful man by the counter, we found the little shop, knocked on the little window and bought two pairs of gloves for 2 USD. I decided it wasn't bad, but I was miffed at not knowing that gloves were a required item and not provided, whereas the knee pads were not required, but were provided. Thankfully the gloves proved useful and the kneepads took a break (pardon the word usage) sitting on the bench while I glided around on the ice. 

So now I can say I have been iceskating in Taiwan...I feel quite cultured. Next time I'll have to tell you about the Vienna Boys choir concert I got to go to a couple weeks ago. Now that was an event to remember!

Until next time,

- R

Learning...

It's tough when you sacrifice lesson prep. time for a bit more sleep so you can make it through the day, and then you have your 5 classes x 50 minutes each, of teenagers who constantly push the limits and have no problem lying to your face just to escape trouble. It's tough when you realise that your very own students are trying to cheat - when you were sure you could trust them. It's tough when you have to talk to them about it. It's tough enforcing the rules that students know they should follow but still try to sneak around...

So I'm learning...

I'm learning you need to be consistent, for their sakes.
I'm learning that you need to be able to take insults or tantrums or lies and handle them calmly.
I'm learning you need to be on top of things all the time - there's no relaxing at this grade level.
I'm learning that students cheat, and some may not feel any remorse, and will do it again.
I'm learning you need to find people to talk to, because doing everything yourself is too much.
I'm learning that it's impossible to keep up when you are in your first year of teaching.
I'm learning how little I really know.
I'm learning that I need to take more time to relax, but I also need to take more time to study and grade...
But so far I have not learned where that time will come from...

I also learned that there are some friendly tourists around who will stop and talk to you as if you are best friends! It was quite cool and unexpected - tonight while going through the night market for supper, my housemate and I happened across some tourists from Canada and Australia. We chatted about work and travel and had quite a jolly time comparing notes.

I felt a bit less down after that, and from that I learned that you need to take time to connect with people so you can go on and complete the emotionally taxing job of teaching. I am learning that in my job, I need to be both real and firm. And that's tough - for a personality like me :)

Well the unfortunate part of chatting so much is I haven't eaten supper yet and it's after 8:00, so,

Until next time

- R

Some days...

Some days classes just run themselves. Like today. My alarm rang at some unearthly hour again although this time I shot up and turned it off and turned my light on, muttering something that didn't quite make sense but I thought it did in my groggy state. It's a good thing my light was on. I promptly fell over back on to my bed and ended up snoozing for another 30+ minutes. Finally I bolted upright and stared at the time. Great. No lesson-planning time this morning.

Instead I thought about what really matters, and took time to write a bit and read a bit. Somehow I felt much better afterwards and for some odd reason, my day has been going well, despite it being the 3rd day in a row of rain. I was afraid the students would be climbing out the windows to get outside and get some exercise, but today they weren't. And yesterday, when I least expected it, something was up in the air dusting everyone with something unrecognisable...

Well I must prepare for my class, my last class of the day! (relieved sigh)

I shall return...

I have bread!

So I'm walking home at 7:30 pm, a bit too tired to be hungry, but knowing my stomach will begin battling me once my 500 mL of water finishes sloshing around inside of it (don't you just love the mental imagery?). So I begin to think about what to eat for supper, and if I should buy something or find something at home...

The latter option worries me slightly for I cannot remember what I have in my fridge. But I do not feel like buying food from the vendor in the night market that I always go to, for I am a bit tired of the same kind of rice after 2.5 months, and need a bit of variety.

I'm afraid to go to 7-11 for my favorite corn patties (less than a dollar) because I distinctly remember someone saying recently that probably nothing you buy at 7-11 is good for you. So I scratch that idea and continue to head home in the rain, dodging cars as I cross each intersection. Did I mention two of my colleagues have been hit by vehicles during their stay here? Consequently I am very wary when I cross any road, and I look all around me like those decorations you see in cars with bobbing heads that turn in all directions when the car is moving.

Thankfully I am still alive and have not been hit, but I am told it may be only a matter of time... but on to other, lighter topics.

So I come across my favorite grocery store which has everything from toilet paper to gum, as well my favorite vegetable - canned corn. After picking up some items, half of them chocolate snacks to fortify me on my way home, I find my soggy umbrella, thankful it is still raining and I can't walk off without my umbrella like I am prone to do (leave things behind).

The store is my favorite because it is right by my house and I can buy almost everything there that I need for daily life, like the previously mentioned toilet paper and chocolate. The second reason it's my favorite store is because I don't have to walk 2 miles to bring my groceries home.

 I am still not sure what to eat and I am racking my brains trying to think. I bought what looks like already-made egg salad, and I only wish I had bread to eat it with. I desperately try to think of what's left in the fridge and all I can see in my mind is the loaf of .... very .... old bread I still haven't thrown out because I am never home when the compost truck comes around. The egg salad comes in sealed plastic - not a jar and not a plastic box - it comes in a thick sealed plastic bag, and you squeeze it out like toothpaste. It conveniently has pictures of ways you can eat it, which is why I bought it in the first place - the tantalising pictures got my attention. One picture shows the salad on a piece of bread, another picture shows the salad on a lettuce leaf with a decoration on top... Unfortunately, I don't even have a lettuce leaf to eat my salad on... I am definitely feeling sorry for myself. If only I had bread...

I carefully run through my options: run back to 7-11 and buy bread that probably has less nutrients in it than a piece of my bedspread, run forward and look for a bakery that sells bread with a few more nutrients, hopefully, but that is at least 10 minutes walk one-way, or, my last option, go home and eat my salad solo. I decide to go home. I still cannot think of anything, not even a cucumber, to put my egg salad on. But I am hungry enough to eat my salad a cappella, or without accompaniment. I may even make some rice and try the two together... or I'll just eat my salad by itself and skip the rice idea...

So I get home and carefully open my chocolate snacks to try them (for some energy). They're not bad. Usually the chocolate here is quite different and that's really the only way I know to describe it right now.

Then I head to the fridge and peer inside... and lo and behold!!!!!!!! I HAVE BREAD!!!!! there is one seedy loaf sitting on the top shelf looking back at me in silence as I begin to sing gleefully that I have bread. It's raisin bread with poppy seeds, but the mayonnaise here is sweet anyway, and right now raisin bread really is better than nothing.

And on the second shelf I spy a small clear tupperware bowl with some mixture inside - I HAVE MACARONI and sauce!!! (or pasta, for those who do not use the word macaroni). I have food I knew nothing about, and I'm so happy. No need to wait for rice to cook, no need to fry eggs or eat my carefully hoarded cereal (I have to walk very far to get that cereal!). I have supper! So I sing some more.

Because I can't bring myself to mix raisins and egg salad, I pick out the raisins first and then spread my bread. Then I dash into my room to begin blogging about my experience. No need to dwell on the fact that today I almost decided teaching was quite fun, until my last class, choir, when for the first time, I really became upset at the students and they knew it and I felt bad they saw it.

I am thankful I didn't shout, not that I would know how to, (do NOT laugh or you just may hear me practicing my shouting in your direction), but I usually am able to stay calm even when I have someone challenging me and loudly demanding me to explain why I asked the class to do such a stupid assignment. 

But somehow, with the choir singing twice in the next three days, one of those times being for parents and families, and with this being our last practice before our first performance, and with it being Wednesday, and my last and most rowdy, and often least focused class, I guess I just reached one of those breaking points where suddenly you feel a great injustice is happening to you and you have to strike out against it as quickly as you can before it hurts you anymore. Did anyone ever say teaching high school was a breeze? Well, perhaps they were refering to the typhoon season, for 'breeze' in my opinion only refers to way attention spans fly.

But, it's over and tomorrow is another day, and I have several more ideas of how to teach and thankfully, several more chances to try them out. And I have bread!!! I'm so happy!!

just a quick note on the random pictures - one is the pile of grading I had accumulating in my office around midterms - wouldn't you like to be a teacher? (angelic smile). The other, the one with the wide-eyed, glazed over stare, is a teacher in the midst of grading the pile larger than a pyramid.

That's all.

Until next time,

- R