Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."




I'm FINALLY in my real Taiwan home! :-)

I spent my last day at the Shang An Campus with my Unicorn class, along with T. Michelle's Rainbows and Sparkles class, at the National Museum of Natural Science.

We went into the Life Science exhibit, which included dinosaurs, fossils, and an extreme look into the human body.
It was rather depressing reading their insights on our decaying bodies after the age of 25, they also had a world population clock which sky-rocketed in the 2 minutes I watched it.


I had wondered if smokers lungs were any different than air polluted lungs, my question was answered there as well.







T. Michelle, T. Glory & I :-)









We then went to the Space IMAX theater, where we watched "SeaRex" on a screen that encircled around the entire seating. The chairs reclined almost completely horizontal which was nice. The show was all in Chinese so I made up my own dialogue :-)

It was overall one of my best days in Taiwan. I woke up happy, the sun was shining, and then my kids made me feel so loved as they rushed out to say goodbye to me. I almost made it out without crying, but like that 90s pop star once said, almost doesn't count.

I went for mango shaved ice one last time with the Palace girls. Finished packing, ate at a delicious 100NT ($3) joint across the street from the Palace, then we watched Monster's University which was surprisingly great!


Saturday, Uncle Michael helped my move my suitcases and my bike over to my new apartment where I will be living at the remainder of my time here with Kelly. Uncle Michael is the full time Taiwanese helper of all the Cornel staff. We call him Uncle because he really treats us all like family. He's the one who fixes our broken AC when it goes out in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday, fixes our bikes when the chain falls off, fixes anything really... drives us to places when we don't have a scooter, sets us up with activities outside of school like volleyball or bowling, plays water-sports with the kids, and many more things I haven't even had to ask him for. He showed me a scooter yesterday that I may get, but I am trying to knock down the price from 12000NT to 10500NT. He is a genuine, caring man. We are lucky to have him.


Saturday I spent all day scrubbing and cleaning my room and my FIRST own bathroom!! I am very excited to have my own bathroom. I spent a few hours scrubbing the floors, walls, toilet, tub, trashcan, and sink. I enjoyed the fresh start and now it really feels like mine!

Our apartment is AMAZING and quite spacious for two people. We live on the 9th floor, and we are 5-10 minute bike ride to Nan Men, the campus I work at now. We live a few blocks away from a university, which is nice because there is a track we can use to run! One downside, our apartment does not have filtered water so we have to buy gallons. We do have to use a key fob to get up the elevator, just as in the Palace. We keep our shoes outside of our door as well. The apartment is completely furnished when we move in. Surprisingly, we have really nice living room furniture.The T.V. doesn't work (though I can't recall ever watching T.V. here). We have ceramic tile in all of the rooms. A dining room/hallway area with a small two person table. Off of the dining room to one side is my bathroom, the other side is the kitchen. Our kitchen does not have a lot of storage for food, our fridge is half the size of a regular fridge and there is not much cupboard space. Off of the kitchen is our patio, it is spacious as well. Our washer and dryer are out there as well as the beautiful view of Taichung city and mountains!

                                                                  Sunrise at the apartment.

Down the hall there are four rooms. Kelly's room is larger than mine, she has a twin bed, a desk, and her bathroom is connected to her room. My room has a queen size bed, a miniature patio (as of now it's filthy), and just enough space for me to get around comfortably. We have a spare bedroom with a twin bed, a desk, book shelves, and countless things that have been left by previous teachers. Then we have a dressing room. The dressing room is quite unique. Kelly and I each have our own "closet" and drawers, though there is more than we need. The room has a big mirror and a chair too. It is basically our dressing quarters. Unusual, but neat.

After the move and all the cleaning, Saturday night I was ready to have some fun! Kelly, Brittany, and I went out to XCube. Foreigners are a hit here. It would seem like we are famous. We didn't pay to get in or anything else that night. We were pulled onto the dance stage within minutes of being there, the crowd holds out their hands to us, mimic our dance moves, and we encourage the Taiwanese girls to join us. We met many great people. Two we met were Gina and Vicki, both Taiwanese with very good English, we are making future plans with them.


A HUGE difference about the girls here versus the girls back home: here, the girls want to meet, dance, share, love, enjoy new people. Back home girls compete for a meaningless guys attention, call each other names on the dance floor, stick to their group of friends and don't enjoy those around them. It's things like this that make me never want to leave.




I started teaching "Little Critters," which is Old Jangban, 4-5 year olds. I will teach them for 5 weeks. Devastating because after 2 days they had stolen my heart. It was a bit stressful to get thrown into this class with no observation, no conversation about it, nothing really to prep me for it. There are 12 students, 4 are girls. My Chinese teacher is Teacher Tonya. She probably thinks I'm an idiot since I have been winging it these first days.
After playing outside the students have to change their shirts and get their hair blow dried because they are soaked in sweat.


The kids listen very well, they are engulfed in what I say to them and their memory is very impressive. We spend a lot of time singing songs, reading books, doing crafts, did I mention singing songs? The actual curriculum starts next week, so this week we are reviewing colors, shapes, and learning about baby animals. There are so many personalities in the classroom. In two days I think I've gotten about 30 hugs. 2/3 being from the same little girl Lisa.







I will say they serve an amazing lunch at Nan Men. We are given three different choices, and even some fried food. Today they had dragon fruit, BUT that doesn't beat Shang An having mango!

Fun Facts:
There is NO DIET soda, anywhere on the entire island of Taiwan.
Burping is considered a sign of good digestion, not something to excuse.
The giant skyscraper buildings being built in Taichung will host up to 5 families in the entire building!
Ghost Month starts next week!
--Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave questions below if you have any! -K

Friday, July 26, 2013

C.Y.A.

In preparation for my 3rd grade class that will start early September, I went to a workshop with the other Yves (elementary) teachers which covered the curriculum we would be using. The lecture was quite educational and eye opening. It was not the typical, "You will teach phonics here, and vocabulary there..etc etc."  The speaker gave use real, good, useful insight on teaching English in Taiwan. The differences, the challenges, and what to watch out for.
He told us that English schools in Taiwan of course have their educational reasons for being here, but the commercial reasons play a huge role in them as well. The private English schools are also a business. A lot of what and why they do things is to "sell the school to potential clients" -- something the girls and I had already picked up on.
 What we really are is an EFL, English as a Foreign Language school, but that doesn't sell. ESL, English as a Second Language does. The parents don't want a foreign language, they want a second language. He spoke about the government decisions that effect the public schools, which lead to effect us as well. In Taiwan Public Schools, English is taken as an elective, but it is not allowed for students to receive less than an 80%. Therefore, to a parent, if a student can get an 80% in a free public school, they should of course get a 95% or higher at an expensive private school.
 One of the biggest challenges is that most parents do not speak English, but they put enormous pressure on their child, as well as the school to learn English. So how do they know their child is learning? You can't sit down and explain little Johnny's progress in the classroom. The ONLY way they feel/see progress in English language is being made is through filling out pages and pages of grammar and spelling books. Parents expect every page to be filled. We are forbidden to skip a single page. They also expect high grades, or there will be a call to the school.  Basically, parents don't know any other way their child is learning, other then filled books. Quantity vs quality in it's rarest form.



I have my own views on this practice, but as a former educator once told me before, CYA-cover your ass- and I will refrain my opinion. However, he ended with- "don't stress yourself and create extra work for yourself over things you cannot change. Enjoy the little accomplishments, as well as the students who are some of the best you'll ever have. There is much to enjoy everyday."




We were also warned of the bad reputation many foreign teachers have in Taiwan. Many are thought to be lazy, irresponsible, drug attics, and the men are viewed as aggressive. Part of it is that we don't fit into their conformity of black hair, brown eyes, do as everyone else. We are very unique, independent, with our blonde and brown hair, green, blue, and hazel eyes. But a large part is from the very few foreigners who have stained the image of all foreigners with drinking, smoking, showing up late, and even fornicating not behind closed doors.  Appearance is judged strongly here. It is important to always keep your cool, don't lose "face," and always be respectful when dealing with discipline. "Face" is considered having respect, pride. When you lose it, you are considered unapproachable or unaccepting to the Taiwanese and what they believe in. Also, you DO NOT tell a parent if you think their child has any sort of special need. Here special needs, as well as the elderly, are a responsibility of the families, not the government.


I have ended my time at the ShangAn campus. Summer camp has ended and I will spend the next 5 weeks of Summer with the Little Critters at Nan Men Campus.
The Unicorn class was a mixture of 2nd-4th grade students. They were all given English names when they joined for the Summer. I had an enormous range of ability levels. I had a handful of kids who completed everything so quickly. Then a couple others who would just sort of stare at me when I spoke to them. Towards the end, I was delighted to see them open up a bit and take some risks.
Sammy was my brightest student, she was very quite, but there was not a thing she missed. Her younger brother Beck was also in my class, he claimed to not know English very well, but he was getting it.
One of my boys was definitely in need of some glasses, always squinting so hard in the front row, coming up to the board to stare at the letters, holding his paper two inches from his face. He was extremely dependent on his older brother, who was also in my class. I did well in the four weeks I had with him to pull him apart just enough to were he did complete some tasks on his own. I hope it continues.
My two most spontaneous and restless students, were actually two of my favorites. One was very restless, always messing with things in his desk or backpack, getting out of his seat. But he was also the one student who spoke with me the most. At the field trip he would translate some Chinese for me, he would ask me questions about myself and told a joke here and there.  By the end, I would tease him just to hear him laugh. The other was a new student who started in week 3. He was very wild, I was told he had a "disease" where he would hit other students. Luckily that didn't happen, but he did find it funny to hiss at me like a mean cat and mess up another child's work when I wasn't looking. The last day he continually gave me hugs. 

I had one Korean girl, sweet, pretty little thing. She would always stand with me during our 15 minute outside break and teach me their version of scissors, paper, stone. Or play with Teacher Glory, our amazing Chinese teacher. Multiple students would shout out answers in excitement no matter how many times they were reminded. There were also others I had to continually draw there attention back to our lesson.

They were a great group of kids. We spent a lot of time covering phonics and grammar. Our vocabulary and spelling always pertained to martial arts and street dance, the Summer themes. We spent a few days talking about self-discipline and made goals for ourselves, how to be a good sport when you lose a game or when you win, and we also did some creative writing about different dance styles.
I more than enjoyed finally having my own classroom, being the leader of the room. It was empowering to put my students work up on bulletin boards in the hallway. To set the standards and call the shots about what my kids would write, read, create, do in the classroom. I look forward to the actual school year!




My 7th-8th grade mixed grad class has ended as well. Altogether I had 6 students. Very smart kids, but sadly full of doubt and fear of speaking the English language. More fear in them then any other grade I have seen. Maybe it's being at the adolescent age where everything is awkward and scary. I only had two girls and they stuck to each other like glue. The older one could get a little bit of an attitude, but it never went far. She was very artistic. Always drawing a picture for every assignment we did. I was surprised to see her step up a bit towards the end, not so hesitant as the other girl. The younger girl would reluctantly share her work, very quite and hard to understand, as well as in writing. The boys were all very respectful, young gentlemen. Two were very considerate, quiet, with amazing ideas and the other two were goofy, but also great writers. Most of them spoke very good English, they should have been proud. 

The ideas they had in their writing were stunning. I did provide some great prompts, but they had creativity that still shocks me. Their writing always led back to involve protecting the Earth or humanity. Hunter wanted to plant better trees with stronger roots so there would not be mudslides. Ian wanted to build a machine to fix the Ozone layer so UV rays would do no harm. Jenny wanted to bring rain to the dry places that can't grow enough food for people to live. Wilson wanted world peace. Kitty wanted the rich to share with the poor.

I really had an amazing Chinese teacher, Teacher Glory.  She is so helpful and thoughtful. All of the Chinese staff really just want the English teachers to be happy and have a good time. I am making it a point to include them into my life more!

I had almost made it out of ShangAn without shedding a tear. Until my Unicorn students ran out to say "Goodby teacher Kalee" and give me hugs. The tears and laughter just poured out of me.
--xx - K

Sunday, July 21, 2013

"The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone."

Exciting news! My Valentine story WILL be published in the February issue of Rainbow Time :-)

I also signed up to teach a Public Speaking Class starting in September.

HAPPY ONE MONTH of living in TAIWAN!

Since this is my last week in the Nantun District of Taichung, I have been working on really exploring the area I am currently living in. This area has so much to offer. We are within walking distance of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Natural Science, which includes the Botanical Gardens, a Science Center, a Global Environmental Hall, a Life Science Hall, Human Cultures, and an IMAX. We are also near People's park, many nice hotels and malls. I would say we are downtown in the city, but there seems to be more than one downtown in Taichung.

Taiwan does have its touch of America in it. We have quite a few McDonalds, Starbucks, and Coldstone. I have also seen a KFC and a Subway here and there. You will also see a few cartoon characters that are "American," or at least so I think- Snoopy, Looney Toons, and Mickey Mouse are huge. 
Taiwanese youth seems to be going through- or still is in - a boy band phase. This is fine by me. They love Backstreet Boys. I have seen their old music videos being played in the superstores more than once. They also have their own Asian Boy bands who have some pretty catchy tunes. Especially Only U. If you watch, please wait for the chorus. One downfall to the topic of music here, I have no idea what hits are coming out back home. We can hear tons of English songs, but nothing newer than 2012.

If you are interested in the climate of Taiwan this is a great website to check out. The use Celsius with an average low of 13C in January and February which turns to about 55F. The average highest is 33C in July and August, which is about 94F. 

On Friday after school a small group of us went to the Feng Jia night market. I had been once before, but I was so overwhelmed with how big it was and the amount of distractions that I did not purchase anything. This time I bought a pair of shoes, a pair of royal blue shorts, and a must buy shirt featuring an elephant.
It's odd that outside of the night markets a lot of the shops and places to eat on the streets will open and close when it best suits them. There are times you will stop somewhere in the middle of the day and they've decided to close up shop.  You will never have trouble finding an open 7/11 or a tea shop, that is 100% guaranteed.

We have an ongoing joke among us "white" girls. Whenever we see another foreigner, and because it is somewhat rare, someone in the group shouts out, "Unicorn!" 

Later that same evening Katie, Cassie and I met a few of the other girls down at Hotel One. Supposedly the tallest building in Taichung. We chose this place because it is said to have an amazing view and live music. However the main reason was because of Jeff.  Jeff was also hired at the UNI fair where the majority of us were hired. I met him at the fair just after we had both been offered jobs. He arrived with a group of 10 other teachers (most from the Midwest- even one from Iowa) just over a week ago. So we worked on joining our groups.  You could REALLY see the difference in our groups based on just comfort of being in Taiwan. We have been here for a month now and they were on their 8th day.  We were dancing and conversing with locals and other people outside of our group. They were sitting down and sticking to themselves, just as we may have been.  BUT I do think I am in a very confident, beautiful group of girls that just love to dance and meet people. So I feel blessed :-)
 

On Saturday we celebrated our One Month Living in Taiwan!! Angela, Cassie, Katie and I had a lovely brunch at a place called Mocha Jane's Coffee House. It reminded me of a Panera. We had a wonderful conversation of future endeavors. Where we will visit this year, where we will teach next year, etc. I hope to visit Angela in South Africa someday. There is also a 5k marathon on the Great Wall of China that I hope to do in May.


We then walked to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. There were a lot of sections where no photography was allowed. One artist I took an interest in was Paul Chiang, he specializes in spiritual art. Art is something difficult to put into words, but I will say that art is as big of a focal point to the Taiwanese as protecting the environment. One painting was called "After the Extinction of the Bees." It was a dead, rotted Sunflower inside with cobwebs, out the window (what I took as looking into the past) were beautiful flourished Sunflowers. Quite sad. It also made me remember that I have seen bees being taken care of twice in different areas of Taichung. This countries effort to DO SOMETHING about the environment is noticeable.

On the walk home I purchased my first fruit market mango. I ate half of it today. If I could bring one thing back to America to share with everyone, it would be the taste of Taiwan mangoes!

I have tried to use a mask to block some of the city fumes. It is entirely too hot to wear, but I will try again.














Sunday, the Palace girls and I took a cab to see the giant Laughing Buddha that is famous in Taichung. After we enjoyed him and the surrounding sights we walked to the Botanical Gardens, which is apart of the National Museum of Natural Science. Then we walked through the featured outdoor exhibit which is all about how "Art is good for you." Before stopping at home we had an amazing dinner at Nu Pasta.


Two notable mentions. Some of the Taiwanese, especially girls, get very, very excited to just say 'Hello' to an American. They perk up, wave their hands very quickly, say hello and then giggle, smile and usually turn to talk about it with someone they are with. Also the Taiwanese don't start doing things till later in the day. Both Saturday and Sunday around 3 o'clock all of the sudden it was packed with people everywhere we went. Not sure why this is.




Currently I am reading two books, White Oleander and A Storm of Swords.  --Thanks for reading--XX-K

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

"Wherever I Go, I Speak Of You With Love."

Typhoon season is here! They officially announced the start of typhoon season on Tuesday. By the end of school on Wednesday, Katie and I were riding our bikes home in a down pour of rain, luckily the wind hadn't picked up too badly by then. It was more fun than scary at that point, we were laughing and having a good time all the way home. We were soaked to the bone of course, but it was a great excuse for a night in.

< --satellite photo of the typhoon just before it really hit.

The next day however, I did not have such a great adventure on my bicycle. I made a trip to the grocery store, Carrefour, on my own. For those who know me really well know that directions are not my strong suit, but I made it. The thrill came after getting my groceries. I had bought milk (not quite the same as back home, little creamier), cranberry juice, eggs (smaller, darker yoke), grapes, apples (some of the best I've had), bananas, beef (a little chewy, pork is the better meat here), bread, cream cheese, crackers, yogurt (haven't found the right kind yet), and toilet paper. All that I bought for $770NT or $23 in the U.S. Now remember my form of transportation is a bike. Needless to say, I had my first, second, and third encounter of an almost crash accident all in the short bike ride home from Carrefour.


Pulled over to get a picture with this construction worker ;-)                                      -- >

The blame is partially my own fault, I should have thought more carefully about what I could carry. However, partial blame also has to go to the chaotic driving situations of Taiwan. There are many intersections without stop lights/signs. Cars, SUVs, or scooters will honk and then go right on through, sometimes they won't even honk. Taiwanese have not been driving as many years as we have in the states and no one is required to take a driver's ed course here. In just 3 weeks I have seen a vast amount of people and things riding on scooters around town. I have seen big dogs and little dogs, moms with babies strapped to themselves, dads with a toddler standing between his legs, sometimes even two kids. I have seen couples in love, girls in stilettos, men in bare feet, women and men in dress suits, people who carry suitcases, brooms, food dishes, propane tanks, you name it.  You do have to wear a helmet while scooting and a majority of people will wear a mask to block some of the fumes, something I still need to get! I have also seen umbrellas attached to bikes/scooters to block the sun. Most women will even put on sweaters backwards to block the sun as well. To add on, there is a ton of construction going on everyday. There are at least five skyscrapers going up in our area right now, the roads are either being swept or drilled into. People will pull over, put their hazards on and just leave their cars- not even in a parking spot. You have to be on full alert.
My artwork of what I see on a typical bike ride.

The Typhoon really hit on Friday night and early Saturday morning, continued into Saturday day and was finished by 4 P.M. Since it was the weekend we did not have a "Typhoon Day," AKA no school. The government will make the call on whether or not there is a "Typhoon Day," and almost everything in the city will shut down. My city, Taichung is surrounded by mountains so were we live was protected fairly well from the typhoon. Around the coast lines more than 2,000 people had to be evacuated into central Taiwan. To me, it just seemed to be a very heavy rainstorm with strong winds, nothing you would want to get stuck in, but not scary. The river did swell up quite drastically. I was amazed that within 6 hours of the typhoon passing it had gone back down to it's original level.

Over the weekend, typhoon and all, a few of us went to LUVstock. LUVstock is put on once a year it is claimed to be "Central Taiwan's Biggest Independent Art/Music Gathering." On Friday night, only four of us went, but since the typhoon was heading our way, we were among the few to show up. We had a great time meeting other foreigners, dancing to music, and walking around the site. LUVstock is held at a place called 'The Refuge,' which is an abandoned amusement park. It was captivating to see and climb into some of the old rides, like teacups and a pirate ship.

When I asked for a hula hoop and was presented one I was ecstatic! Hula hooping is a hobby a few friends of mine back home got me in to. I really enjoyed getting to do something I loved so much back home in my new home. Not only that, but they were all amazed at what I could do with the hoop when really my skill level is not that high. We left very late, or very early depending on how you look at it, in the pouring rain. As we ran into the cab, soaking wet, the poor car driver yelled out "My Car!!" We felt pretty bad.

We returned on Saturday with a few more girls. There were many more people now that the storm had passed, and the best part, live music! They had a variety of bands, some were so-so, others were exceptional! We danced all night, had some really good BBQ, and met more foreigners (most being from Canada and almost all were teachers).  The highlight of my weekend at LUVstock was watching the fire show. A woman stepped up, lit a hula hoop on fire and began a jaw-dropping, intriguing, yet elegant performance. She used every part of her body to hula hoop. She even took her shoes off, laid on her back and hooped with her feet!
It is unusual, yet quite amazing to live in a place where the majority of people are happy with their lives. I am finding it true that when those around you are happy, truly happy, they lift your spirit and build onto your own greatness. They are not concerned with petty things, they encourage you to enjoy every moment of your life and take in as much as you can. 
Taiwan is a place where people love you and want you to enjoy being yourself. They want to learn and grow, to share their experiences, and inspire. At least that has been my experience thus far-- I feel very appreciated here.

I wrote a story for the school magazine, Rainbow Time, it is a Valentine's Day story. I don't know if it will be published yet, but I used my nephew's name as the main character. :-)

My dreams have never been more vivid or as frequent, than since I have arrived in Taiwan. Dreams of home, dreams of resigning, dreams of adventures, dreams of family and friends, some sad, though most are good.


I am really enjoying teaching my Unicorn class, as well as my 7th grade grad class. Today I found out that next week will be my last week with them. (Yes, another change. I'm sure there will be more.) It is bittersweet since I am looking forward to getting closer to my own 3rd grade class. Before I do get my 3rd graders I will teach the upper kindergarten class, Old Jangban. Their class name is "Little Critters" and their teacher for the school year is Sarah, my mentor from before coming to Taiwan.

When I showed my students a video on YouTube about confidence, there was a young blonde white woman in the video and they asked if it was me. Made me laugh that they think a lot of "white" people look alike when you hear those same stereotypes from "whites" about Asians.

An amazing article written by an incredible women I thought I would share ----> Date a Girl Who Travels


At LUVstock, I was told by a foreign man from Canada whose been here 6 years now, "You'll want to leave after two years. Don't stay any longer. If you do you'll find it impossible to leave." 

-- I love hearing that people are enjoying my blog. If there is anything you want to read about that I haven't hit yet feel free to leave a comment asking anything. -- Thanks for reading!