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

"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

"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!

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls."

Now that all of the teachers who did not resign have gone back home, and all of the teachers who have resigned for next year are back in their home country enjoying a two month break, it is only us new teachers here. Well-- actually there are two teachers left from last school year that will stay to teach through July and two girls who are training through Cornel have joined us. The girls training will go to teach in China later this month. The people here, and the girls I am with, always make me feel very important and beautiful. The compliments still happen at random and all throughout the day. The Taiwanese people always ask to take photos of us, sometimes they sneak up out of no where just to snap a photo without us paying any attention.

The first actual week of school went very well, though everyday was different and a little better than the last. My 2nd-4th grade Summer students are all visitors to Cornel, meaning they have not actually gone through Cornel, so their English is much lower than what a Cornel 2nd-4th grader would know. I quickly realized on day one that the majority of what I had planned would not be attainable. Wednesday was better because I now had plans for what they could actually accomplish, however I was still having trouble filling 2.5 hours on just a set of 10 vocabulary words. It wasn't until after my second day that I was informed that grammar and phonics should be incorporated for a half hour each! Needless to say Thursday was the best day!

Friday I went on a field trip to Chung-she Flower Garden. It was beautiful! I was the only English teacher going, but I didn't mind that they spoke Mandarin the majority of the time. The students and the staff are respectful enough to que me in every now and then and the rest I just observed and read body/facial expressions. When we arrived, we all dispersed to different tables to start the BBQin'! Luckily I was placed with two of the older Korean boys who apparently were very good with cooking meat and using the two different grills at our table.  We continued to cook and eat for almost an hour, I was stuffed! The students spent 20-30 minutes playing, then they were called back to the tables to finish any food left, majority being meat. They are not allowed to waste the food, the students at my table were even playing 'scissors, paper, stone' to see who had to eat what pieces left. The garden was delightful, though the kids were more interested in running around, I made sure to get some great photos.

My 7th grade class only meets twice a week. The class is small, only 6 students, but I really like it. Surprisingly, they are the most shy students I have met. The class is aimed at getting the students confidence up, getting them to speak in public, share opinions, and be willing to talk with foreigners! It is a challenge to get them to speak, but I am proud to say I have been successful! We read an article about a man whose visa expired in Taiwan and since he did not have enough money to leave the country, he decided to build a raft from logs and Styrofoam and sail to Japan. He claimed to be inspired by the movie The Life of Pi. He didn't make it, if you were wondering. The students really enjoyed that story. I had them create their own alternative ending and change the title. It was a great topic, and their creativity and artistic ability was jaw-dropping. At the end of every class the students stand up and say "Thank you, Teacher Kalee." :-)

After moving in Sunday, making my first trip to the grocery store, trying out our exquisite pool, and surviving my first week of teaching, it was really nice to get to see the other girls who don't live at the Palace for the 4th of July! We had a small celebration consisting of burgers, chips, dumplings, and a couple adult beverages.  It is a great feeling to be apart of something like this. A group of strangers from all over the U.S. that came together and formed relationships and collaborated so quickly. I still have many times I stop to appreciate it all and almost don't believe it's real. The night continued on with games, conversations, and songs. Singing, or karaoke, seems to be quite popular here and it's rubbed off on all of us.

Friday night we went out to celebrate one of the girls' 22nd birthday. Cassie (bday girl) is the 2nd youngest of the group, Kelly (my roommate) is the youngest and will be 22 in March. We went out to a dance club. --Actually, as of 3 years ago, dance clubs are the only kinds of bars you can find in Taichung. There was a very bad fire in a pub style bar where 9 people died and 12 were injured, so now regulations have changed and you cannot find any pub style bars around Taichung.-- Before the club, we ate at a very well decorated vegetarian restaurant where we all sat on the floor to eat, no shoes allowed there either. The club was $300NT so about $9 to get in, but then unlimited, free drinks all night! Later that night, a few of us met some other foreigners. They were from Canada, kindergarten teachers as well, and have lived in Taiwan for over 5 years!

Today, we went to Sun Moon Lake. It is the largest body of water in Taiwan and is named one of thirteen Natural scenic areas in Taiwan! Many mountains, hiking trails, temples, and other tourist attractions surround the lake, including an amusement park! Swimming in not allowed in the lake except for once a year during a 3-km Swimming Carnival around Mid-Autumn. The lake is a holy ground for the Thao tribe and due to a dam breaking many years ago, some temples have been removed.
 Cassie, Katie & I
We were all supposed to meet at the bus station to take a 2-2.5 hour bus ride to the lake. When it came time to board, only three of us were there so we knew we had to be in the wrong bus spot. (We've come to realize that sometimes the taxi drivers do not know where they are going-- happened twice now.) Only one of the new teachers have a phone and it was not one of us. When we finally got a payphone handy, I saw 4 of the girls on a bus drive by. The three of us thought we could chase it down, that did not work out for us. Luckily, a nice, friendly old man said he would get us to the lake. He led us to a taxi driver who would take us for $1000NT ($30). We took the offer! It only took us 50 minutes to get there. We arrived first and by some miracle all 15 of us found each other, even with 5 different forms of transportation getting us to the lake.

Half of the girls wanted to hike and see the temples, the other half wanted to take the cable car ride and go to the amusement park. We did all go on the boat tour. I wanted to do the cable cars, see a few shows, and do the park so I did that. The cable car ride was simple enough, but the view was spectacular. The park had a few roller coasters and other thrill rides, then we quickly saw a show were they danced. The whole park had a Mayan theme. The bus ride back took almost three hours!

 Beef and noodle soup

Sun Moon as a storm was coming in.
Work week 2 begins tomorrow! --Thanks for reading--

FYI; The bug repellent has been working, when I put it on three times a day. I had to get indoor shoes for work, the hard marble was killing my poor high arched feet. Elevators do not have sensors here, so we have to be very careful not to be in the way when they shut.

BTW; The trash man here plays a song loud through the streets when he comes by. I think they do this so trash doesn't sit outside for all the giant bugs to get to. However, the music sounds like an ice cream truck, and I've noticed my intake of ice cream has drastically increased.