On Saturday, Deborah and I went on a day trip to San Xing (a nearby town in Yilan County) which is about a half-hour drive away. We weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into after they picked us up from our apartment, but the next thing we knew we were stopping at a grocery store and buying a fisherman’s net and a pack of eggs. We had no idea what we were using these for but we didn’t ask questions.
Today after lunch, my principal met with about 25 top-performing students that had been selected to compete in the English Easy Go competition. I walked in on him yelling at them to participate and encouraging them to sign up and that only if their parents said that they couldn’t go would he let them free. Actually, I was a bit surprised to see the students so scared. One of my students, Jacky, who is a really sweet student and would never lie, was trying to tell the principal that he would not be able to come because he had another engagement. The principal did not find this an acceptable answer and began questioning him to the point where it looked like he would cry. With me standing there, the principal turned to me and said in Chinese, “The reason they do not want to participate is because they hate you.” I wasn’t entirely sure if I translated what he said correctly, so I sort of ignored it and figured he was just joking around.
About two hours later, I left my classroom to get some fresh air and saw no less than 10 sixth-grade students approaching my classroom. Usually when they come to the classroom they are looking for Amy or Lisa since they can speak with them in Chinese about whatever problems/requests they have. But, in fact, they were looking for me. The next thing I knew, all of them were surrounding me and talking in Chinese to each other about how to say this since they don’t know how to translate. Eventually, one girl speaks up and says, “We didn’t hate you. The principal…” and then it cuts off because she gets stuck in the translation. Eventually, she continued saying that he was lying and being mean, but that really they like me a lot. They looked so worried that I really thought that they hated me! It was possibly one of the cutest moments I have ever had here in Taiwan. My students are so sweet.
I tend to blog about the fun adventures that I have in Taiwan but I usually leave out the day-to-day activities or developments. So, here goes a summary of my Thursday, March 25.
7:15 AM: Wake up to my alarm. Call my breakfast shop (for the first time in a while) and actually order in Chinese without much hindrance or anyone asking a million follow up questions. This is huge progress from where I started…
7:45 AM: Hop on my scooter to drive over to my breakfast shop and pick up my order on the way to school.
8:00 AM: Arrive at school, eat breakfast, and wait for my co-teachers to arrive (since I am now required to be at school on a clock-in, clock-out type of basis). Watch the fifth and sixth graders play an exciting game of dodgeball in the garage.
Lately, I’ve been checking out a lot of new coffee shops. When I’m not in school, I like to study Chinese. Unfortunately, if I’m anywhere near my computer or in my bedroom, I get absolutely nothing done. So, I’ve been trying to find some good coffee shops where I can study Chinese and sip on some deliciousness.
[Real time update: I know I’m really behind in my blog posts, but I wanted to post a current update]
This past weekend I went back to Kenting but on a totally different mission that last time for the Fulbright Mid-Year Conference. This time, I went with the student teachers that were placed at my school last semester to celebrate them finishing their tests. I felt so fortunate and honored that they had invited me to join their trip and was really excited to see them again after the long winter break. It also was an excellent opportunity for me to personally experience complete language and cultural immersion since all of them are Taiwanese locals that speak primarily Chinese.
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