Kiddies

Don't let all the other posts fool you. I know it looks like we have been getting out and doing a lot of fun stuff (because we have), but we have also been working hard and working a lot. This post about teaching has been a long time coming since we wanted to wait until we had some pictures of the kiddies to post.

At the start of this, Luke and I were excitedly looking forward to "an easy year" of work. We would work between the hours of 9-4 and 9-4 only. We would have plenty of time to relax, get out and enjoy ourselves here. And while we have been able to do that, had we asked any teacher how many hours they actually work, they would probably most definitely have said they don't only fall into the hours of 9-4.

Originally, we were planning on both teaching a morning and afternoon kindergarten class, five days a week. Our school asked us to also take on a class of older kids (8-11 yr. olds) in the evenings, three days a week. Between getting to the school early to get materials together, lesson planning and meetings, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are very long days. Usually by the time we clock out we've worked 10-11 hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays are better but we have been subbing for another evening class, thus another long day thrown into the mix.

Even though we are working far more hours than we anticipated, I have to say that teaching has been much more fun and rewarding than I had thought. The hours fly by and are never boring. The kindergarten kids are so adorable and they just love you and are always yelling, "Teacher Katie!" or "Teacher Luke!" when you walk by. They say the funniest things, like one of my kids, Alen, saying, "My house is a toy store!" Or, another good one from Alen, "I am a 7-11!" What?! Who even knows what he's actually trying to say. Point is, they're hilarious. Or, one of Luke's kids, Kai, whose superpower is that "he can eat snaaaaAKKE?!!

I have a small class which consists of mostly three and four year-olds. In my opinion, very young to be in school and learning a different language but if you can believe it, there is another class even younger than this. There are 20 of them and they are a handful. It's taking some time for them to adjust to school and any number of funny/frustrating things happen every day. Crying, taking off pants and running around, spilling food...normal things for any 3 year-old but when there's 20 of them...Well, thankfully we have Chinese teachers in the classroom who deal with most of the dirty stuff during English time. This class has been challenging because the kids are so young but I've also heard that it's the most rewarding because of how much they grow and how much progress they make in a year.

The other day we went to the dentist for a field trip. Here are some of them getting ready to go. Notice the one in the center, giving the peace sign (in case you didn't know, this is pretty much what EVERY Asian does when taking a picture). I wouldn't be surprised if they had pictures of them as newborns doing this. This is Yuki, or maybe it's Ayato. Sitting down just behind him and to the right is his twin brother. Don't let the cuteness fool you...
They are a handful....
Here they are at the dentist, listening attentively to a demonstration of how to correctly brush your teeth. Why can't they be that attentive when I'm teaching?! Maybe I need to start incorporating props like an over-sized set of plastic teeth and a toothbrush into my lectures...
This is sweet, little Patty...
And, Dora...see what I mean about the peace sign thing?
And, crazy David...
I teach another class of older kindy kids (4-6 year-olds) in the afternoon and that class is a lot of fun most days. They are more under control, can speak a little more English and we interact a lot more. They are definitely my favorites right now. I only have pictures of a few of them since Friday afternoons tend to be busy getting them ready to go home. Here is Gemma, a real sweetheart...
And one of Ting-Ting, Gemma and Alen. Remember, Alen is the quotable one. He also loves having his picture taken. In fact, this one and the one before of Gemma are the only ones where he wasn't less than a foot away from the camera (which also made taking pictures of other kids difficult).
See what I mean? ; )
That kid in the back is Eric, another great kid. There are a bunch of them in that class.

Once Luke has some pictures of his kids, he will do a post. He teaches a middle class (4-6 year olds) and a big class (5-7 year olds).

A Friendly Face

It has been a couple weeks since our last post and I have to say that this particular post has been brewing for some time. After the Moon Festival debacle Katie and I looked forward desperately to the next weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We were feeling run down from our schedule and our cozy little apartment was beginning to feel like a fish bowl. It was time to bust out.

So we did some research and made the decision to go to Sun Moon Lake. Arguably one of Taiwan's most famous spots to spend a weekend of relaxation and rest. I was able to contact a bed and breakfast that was reasonably priced and by Monday we were already looking forward to making the trip that very next weekend.


The week was long but we pressed on. Friday arrived with some stormy weather, but the soggy scooter ride to work didn't shake our spirits. Tomorrow we would be in Sun Moon Lake and that's all that mattered. As soon as we got to work our manager asked us if we were still planning on going.

Eagerly Katie nodded and replied, "Yes of course."

Our manager frowned and said, "I don't know if you should." She explained that a rather sizable typhoon was headed our way and the island will most likely be shut down for the weekend. We refused to believe it. The typhoon may be coming, but if we could get to the lake first we would be ok...right?

We watched the storm carefully and it became clear we wouldn't be going anywhere. I quickly e-mailed the bed and breakfast to change our reservations and we were able to make them for the following weekend. Katie and I decided this would be better as we would be in Taichung already for a day of training for school. So this could be a blessing in disguise.

A long story short, the typhoon was pretty cool to watch and we spent the weekend literally in our room watching the storm. We were feeling pretty stuck. Then we began to feel sick.

The next week passed by in a blur of congested lungs, coughing, fevers and teaching but Friday arrived. We were up early to head to Taichung excited to leave the Jubei area for the first time since we had arrived six weeks earlier.

We took the "fast train" down south which is really quite amazing. 10 years ago it would take at least two hours to drive from our house to Taichung on a very good day. The fast train did it in just over 25 minutes. It really was amazing.

11 hours later our training was coming to a close. Katie and I were both worried we would miss the last bus to Sun Moon Lake. We watched the clock anxiously as the final minutes seemed to drag on forever. According to our information there was only one bus left going to Sun Moon Lake and we only had a few minutes to catch it. Suddenly my cell phone rang.

What in the world? We have a cellphone that really functions as more of a watch than a phone. A handful of people have the number and none of those people call us with any regularity. I looked at the phone and didn't recognize the number so I didn't answer. The meeting kept going. My phone rang again...same number....this time I excused myself from the meeting and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Yes, hello is this Mr. Luke?"
"Um...yeah"
"Hi this is Wayne from Laurel Villa" -- the bed and breakfast we were staying at.
"Oh hi!"
"Are you still planning on coming to the lake?"
"Yes, but we might miss the bus..."
"Oh...don't worry! Just take the other bus to Puli...they run 24 hours and I come to pick you up!"

This was my first conversation with Wayne.

We left the meeting shortly after and hopped in a taxi hoping we could catch the bus. We did not (so we thought, actually we were directed to the wrong bus or we went to the wrong bus...who knows...welcome to Taiwan!) but we could take a bus to Puli...and apparently this guy Wayne would pick us up.

I called Wayne and he told me to meet him at the KFC. Pretty random and pretty unlikely, but at this point we were on the bus and there was no turning back.

We looked into the darkness out the window and we started to wonder if this was in fact the bus to Puli. We made several stops and each time a group of high school kids boarded. Oh no...was this the right bus? So I went and asked the bus driver. He confirmed it was in fact the right bus and not to worry.

An hour and a half later (after stopping at a gas station just outside of town) the bus stopped in Puli and let us off next to a big KFC. There in his green Toyota was Wayne.

It is important to note here that the section above really is more of a prolgogue because this is really about Wayne. I can't tell you how badly Katie and I needed to get out and rest...we were sick, tired and desperate. Now we were somewhere in central Taiwan in the middle of a town we had no intention of seeing being picked up by somebody we didn't know.

But here we met Wayne. He picked us up, took us to get dinner (he was worried we would be hungry and all the food stands in Sun Moon Lake would be closed by the time we got there). Then we talked for 30 minutes while he drove us to the lake. Wayne learned English from watching movies and honestly his English rivals some of the staff at our school. He told us about the lake, where to go, what to see and then about his bed and breakfast.

We arrived and were greeted with smiles from his family then shown to our room. The bed was soft and there was a shower (two things we don't have normally!) We woke to a nice breakfast downstairs made by Wayne's wife and then spent the weekend relaxing. They let us borrow their scooter (no charge and they would not let us pay for gas), offered to drive us any where we wished to go, always asked if we needed anything or wanted anything and were honestly some of the most genuinly nice people we have ever met. As we were getting ready to leave on Sunday Wayne shook my hand and said, "I am sorry that I wasn't very helpful to you this weekend. I hope you have a good time here."

He is an amazing guy.

Honestly we didn't see much of the lake...it was quite cloudy and we were tired...but we had a great time because of Wayne and his family.

Here is a picture from outside the hotel

This was from a nice walk we took on Saturday afternoon.

These were from the top of a nine story pagoda in the mountains. Apparently one of the best views in all of Taiwan...too bad it was so cloudy.
Some of the temples here were amazing.

All in all this was a great trip......Until next time!

Home Sweet Home

I've had a few people ask to see pictures of our apartment, so I finally got around to snapping some quick pictures. It's small (about the size of our Seattle apartment) and split over two levels, but since we basically came here only with clothes and a few books and DVDs, it's more than enough space. And it came furnished, which was a huge plus. The building is new and modern and close to a store called Carrefour which is basically like a Target just not as nice.

Here is a picture of the "living room." Trust me, it's not always this clean. It doesn't even look like we live there...
And, here is our amazing kitchen. Yes, there is a lot of cooking that goes on there...
But, oh wait...where is the oven? Where is the microwave? Where is the refrigerator? Oh, yes...here is the refrigerator. Memories of dorm life came flooding back (minus the scooter helmet) when I saw this.
But, that's right...no oven, no microwave. That is a Taiwan kitchen for you. When it's just as cheap to eat out and food goes bad so quickly because of the humidity you get used to not really needing a kitchen. Once the weather cools down a bit we have plans to plug in our hot plate and cook some rice and dumplings.

Also, downstairs is a bathroom that I don't really want to talk about. It's an all-in-one design which I think goes along with the efficiency and economy idea. It is a room of all tile with a toilet, a sink and a shower head. Yes, a shower head but no shower area. The whole bathroom is the shower area which basically means that everything in the bathroom gets soaked when you take a shower. I know that in a month or so we are really going to be jonesing for a real shower.

Then, there is an upstairs area that's like a loft.
The apartment is great because it is on a corner and has big windows on both sides. The loft area is cool because it feels separate from the rest of the place. We have our not-so-comfortable bed (but are getting used to it) and our air-conditioner. Let me tell you, that air-conditioner has been a life saver on many a hot day.
And, last but not least, we have our desk area which is where we communicate with all of you lovely people.
So, that's about it. Home for the next year or so. Hopefully, now when you think of us you can picture us in our cozy little place.

Oh Say Can You See: Best Anniversary Ever

One year ago on September 2, 2007 Katie and Luke joined their lives in marriage. Little did they know the interesting places life would take them...

Our anniversary came at an interesting time: 1. We are in Taiwan (duh) 2. The actual day was during the week (a Tuesday) so any elaborate celebration would have to take place on the weekend 3. The above mentioned weekend ended up being full of interesting surprises. To make a long and rather convoluted story short, this weekend was the annual Moon Festival BBQ at our branch. Normally we would have skipped it and gone to celebrate our anniversary, but our boss repeatedly asked that we postpone or change our plans so that we could attend this event. Wanting to make a good impression and share in some kind of goodwill cultural exchange we agreed to celebrate our anniversary next weekend and to attend the BBQ.

We arrived at 6:00pm ready to talk about Moon Festival, eat some Chinese BBQ and then turn in early after making a good showing to our Chinese co-workers. Had we known what was going to happen, I assure you, we would not have come...

The evening opened innocently enough with a various array of food set out on a table waiting to be BBQ'd. This basically means the foreigners get to play "Name That Meat"...here are some examples:


To be honest the food was actually very good and our hosts went out of their way to make sure everyone had enough to eat. After two hours of cooking, maybe one third of the food had been cooked.

As Katie and I were sitting in the grass with two other English teachers enjoying our meal and thinking about calling it a night, our boss approached us and said, "So we are thinking the 'stage' area will be over there, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" I replied.

"Ready for your performance of course," she answered as if I knew what was happening.

"Um...," we all said at once.

We were then informed that we were to put on a musical performance for the Chinese staff. This might sound funny, but apparently this was a big deal that we were supposed to be preparing for. Who knew? We have become used to being expected to do things we had no knowledge of but to be honest this was especially awkward.

So with two minutes to plan for an "event" that was to be 20 minutes long, what do 3 Americans and 2 South Africans decide to perform?

We kicked it off with an unaccompanied rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" followed by the obligatory yelling of "Play ball!" Next came Luke playing a ukulele-sized guitar and the five of us singing "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. We closed the set with a song we do for kindergarten class, "Skitamarinkydinky-dink." There was a smattering of polite applause, but it was our suspicion that we did not meet the expectation. But again...who knew?

From there we immediatly were thrown into a game of "Who can peel a Chinese grapefruit the prettiest?" All the instructions were given in Chinese hastily so naturally Katie and I did the exact opposite of what we were supposed to do--all the while thinking we were winning. Again...who knew?

When the game finished, we felt a bit embarrassed and the idea of leaving for the night was really appealing. However our boss approached us as the peels were being cleaned up and asked us to go inside for a surprise party for one of the staff members. Relieved that the focus of everyone's attention would be off of us finally we smiled and marched inside.

After a few moments we were marched back outside with the group to sing "Happy Birthday" to the staff member. She was then asked to kiss a man next to her (we think they were a couple, but again...who knew for sure?) for ten seconds while everyone took pictures. Katie and I looked at eachother feeling confused at what exactly was happening when suddenly I was pushed very firmly in the back. I stumbled into the middle of the circle of people followed by my very confused wife. Our boss was saying something in Chinese then everyone yelled and I was given a pink piece of paper.

"Happy Anniversary from your staff," it read. I smiled at them and we thanked them for remembering.

Next I was told that they needed to make sure I had enough strength to carry on our marriage (yes...those were the exact words) and after some confused looks I was told to pick up Katie in both arms and kiss her for 20 seconds while everyone took pictures. So Katie's hat was yanked off, she was pushed against me and I picked her up. Hoping to make it quick by following instructions we kissed, embarrassed and laughing, while cameras flashed (some just a few inches from our faces) and then were told that the kiss wasn't good enough because Katie had been laughing almost the whole time. So there I was holding Katie for over a minute now and being told to kiss her again while the staff laughed at our confusion. After a few attempts we finally appeased the masses and I set Katie back on the ground.

Almost immediately the other American teacher approached us and said very seriously, "I am so sorry you guys...um...that was terrible..." We were thoroughly embarrassed after the weird spectacle that was made of us and grateful that someone had pity on us.

We laughed about it and did the best we could to be good sports. Apparently it is a cultural thing to embarrass your friends as much as you can on their big day. Who knew? Overall it wasn't a terrible night (pretty funny, actually), just one I think we both wished were a little more prepared for. We are hoping that this whole event will bring us closer to those we work with so we are doing our best to always be appreciative and laugh at ourselves.