Current music: Merry Happy by Kate Nash
I finally found out how to put up pictures. The short answer: a flash drive and someone else's Internet connection. They will all gradually get up there.If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll put captions.
My first and hopefully last PTA was on Tuesday night. It was an interesting experience to sit in front of a room full of parents of young children, most of whom do not speak English, and tell them what their tuition money is being spent on. Everything that I said had to be translated, which was hilarious in itself. But for the most part, as expected, the parents were extremely gracious to my face.
It's another experience to try to explain to a parent why her 3 year old child sometimes has trouble concentrating. The answer is because she's three. But parents that are paying money for pre-education can't hear that. So, I lie and say its based on external things.
I have to go pick up my BBQ tonight. I bought it from a nice couple who are leaving to go home to Canada. The wife is from Newfoundland and has been here for six years. It must be crazy to try to adapt to going back. I can't even think that far ahead yet.
Jump Start is taking a schoolwide field trip to the zoo next week. I think I am more excited than my kids are. I love zoos, and zoos here are probably three times as awesome.
I keep debating whether or not I should get a dog. Or whether or not I should catch a lizard to keep as a pet. There are lizards everywhere and I like them because they eat bugs...and bugs can sometimes be a problem. I haven't seen a giant spider yet, but Elyssa has. The lizards aren't as big as the ones in Costa Rica, but they are everywhere.
I have to come up with some ideas for my Christmas show. I am seriously considering writing something about Christmas hobgoblins, but I am completely sure that only my little brother would find that funny. The public speaking abilities of my children worry me.
The typhoon that hit here moved on to China where it killed seventy something people. I heard of only one death in Taiwan. I guess we got off easy, relatively speaking. The damage is still everywhere.
Thing I miss of the day: Ketchup chips. It seems all the chip flavors here are based on meat or fish products. Seriously. There are prawn flavored pringles and sushi flavored kettle chips.
Sidenote: Sonja showed me a fantastic sushi place that I'm going to live at.
I have nothing else to say.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sit back and wait through the daylight
Current music: Sun Hands by Local Natives
It's already hot as hell out and it's 9:30 in the morning. It's gonna be a bad one today. Thank goodness everywhere I need to go has AC.
I have a conversation partner that am going to meet today. She is a local Taiwanese girl that wants to improve her English skills. I am a foreign Canadian crazy person that wants to get any Chinese skills. It's a match made in heaven. Hopefully I can learn to say something besides the random scattered words that I know...they can't even make a feasible sentence.
I'm getting antsy because I don't have a scooter yet. Elyssa found one where the papers don't need to be transferred right away, and I'm insanely jealous. I don't dislike biking to school, I've gotten used to it. Daniel showed me a fantastic bike path yesterday that goes right past these amazing fish farms. I'm going to bring my camera on Monday and take pictures. Plus, it cuts about 10 minutes off my drive, and there's no traffic. Which is amazing, as traffic is scary. I almost get clipped on a regular basis by the damn scooters.
My PTA is on Tuesday. Basically, my kids' parents come and scrutinize every decision that I've made thus far. The worst part is that they all will probably be polite to me, but will discuss their problems with Vera, my Chinese teacher, and I don't want her to have to deal with it. That's a PTA though. It's impossible to please everyone. Peet tells me not to worry so much. All I need to do is make sure that my rooms are colourful.
Hopey had a BBQ on Moon Festival, which apparently is the thing to do on Moon Festival. Barbecues and fireworks and drinking...it's like Canada day or May 24 on crack. We also went bowling, and I remembered that I can't bowl for real. Wii bowling, forget about it. Hopey's girlfriend Milla drove me there in an actual car, and I can't fathom ever driving a car here. She's a lovely Taiwanese girl who works in cosmetics and showed me how using acupuncture on your ear can cure different ailments. Basically you just stick little needles in different parts of your ear, and they look like earrings. She's going to bring me a set the next time she comes down from Taichung.
I tried bamboo for the first time, and it turns out it's delicious. I probably ended up having more bamboo than actual food. Barbecues in Taiwan are amazing.
Current music: Alternative Ulster by the Stiff Little Fingers
It's someone else's birthday party tonight, so Amanda tells me we're going out clubbing again. I never really know whose birthday I'm celebrating at these events, but it never really matters. The point is, I love the beer here.
My balcony is almost ready to entertain on. I bought a little barbecue for it. I'm going to have a killer balcony when it's done. I found a little plant shop for as to furnish it. Once I figure out why pictures aren't working on my godawful Internet connection, all shall be seen.
No more typing. I'm going to make coffee. I bought a coffeemaker too. It's the best purchase I've made thus far.
Thing I miss of the day: Tim Hortons.
Off to sit outside and drinks my coffee. Which thankfully is basically the same word in Mandarin.
It's already hot as hell out and it's 9:30 in the morning. It's gonna be a bad one today. Thank goodness everywhere I need to go has AC.
I have a conversation partner that am going to meet today. She is a local Taiwanese girl that wants to improve her English skills. I am a foreign Canadian crazy person that wants to get any Chinese skills. It's a match made in heaven. Hopefully I can learn to say something besides the random scattered words that I know...they can't even make a feasible sentence.
I'm getting antsy because I don't have a scooter yet. Elyssa found one where the papers don't need to be transferred right away, and I'm insanely jealous. I don't dislike biking to school, I've gotten used to it. Daniel showed me a fantastic bike path yesterday that goes right past these amazing fish farms. I'm going to bring my camera on Monday and take pictures. Plus, it cuts about 10 minutes off my drive, and there's no traffic. Which is amazing, as traffic is scary. I almost get clipped on a regular basis by the damn scooters.
My PTA is on Tuesday. Basically, my kids' parents come and scrutinize every decision that I've made thus far. The worst part is that they all will probably be polite to me, but will discuss their problems with Vera, my Chinese teacher, and I don't want her to have to deal with it. That's a PTA though. It's impossible to please everyone. Peet tells me not to worry so much. All I need to do is make sure that my rooms are colourful.
Hopey had a BBQ on Moon Festival, which apparently is the thing to do on Moon Festival. Barbecues and fireworks and drinking...it's like Canada day or May 24 on crack. We also went bowling, and I remembered that I can't bowl for real. Wii bowling, forget about it. Hopey's girlfriend Milla drove me there in an actual car, and I can't fathom ever driving a car here. She's a lovely Taiwanese girl who works in cosmetics and showed me how using acupuncture on your ear can cure different ailments. Basically you just stick little needles in different parts of your ear, and they look like earrings. She's going to bring me a set the next time she comes down from Taichung.
I tried bamboo for the first time, and it turns out it's delicious. I probably ended up having more bamboo than actual food. Barbecues in Taiwan are amazing.
Current music: Alternative Ulster by the Stiff Little Fingers
It's someone else's birthday party tonight, so Amanda tells me we're going out clubbing again. I never really know whose birthday I'm celebrating at these events, but it never really matters. The point is, I love the beer here.
My balcony is almost ready to entertain on. I bought a little barbecue for it. I'm going to have a killer balcony when it's done. I found a little plant shop for as to furnish it. Once I figure out why pictures aren't working on my godawful Internet connection, all shall be seen.
No more typing. I'm going to make coffee. I bought a coffeemaker too. It's the best purchase I've made thus far.
Thing I miss of the day: Tim Hortons.
Off to sit outside and drinks my coffee. Which thankfully is basically the same word in Mandarin.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Grapefruit moon, one star shining, is all that I can see
Current music: The Getaway by Velveteen
'Tis the night before Moon Festival, my first official holiday in Taiwan. From what I understand, it signifies the night of the year when the moon is its roundest or something. Basically, we all get a day off to look at said moon and eat moon cakes. I actually received a box of moon cakes sent to me by the mother of one of my kids, Evan. The ones I got were kind of like a cold meat pie in pizza pocket form, but smaller. They're not good, but not bad, either. Apparently you can get really really bad ones. I was just happy to get a present. Parents that think bribing your kids' teacher works: it totally works.
We get tomorrow off, and coupled with yesterday's typhoon day, this week is a three day week. I was actually hoping that today would also be a typhoon day, just for my selfish reason of wanting a five day weekend, but once I saw the real damage that it did today, I'm glad we got off relatively easy.
Current music: Big Me by the Foo Fighters
Although it's hard to say that that was easy. I have never in my life seen a storm like that. It lasted for about 2 days solid. My balcony flooded, and the tiny woodshed that I had out there is now a pile of wood splinters that I now have to carry downstairs piece by piece. I pray that someday my balcony won't be gross looking.
I walked around today during my break and it was crazy to see the damage. Entire trees were uprooted, steel fences were flattened. Peet went for a walk with me, and he told me that this wasn't a small typhoon by any means, but there are far worse, the kind that kill people. I didn't hear of any deaths this time, probably because we had lots of warning. It still rains on and off, and last night, we had a mini thunderstorm. I had a serious case of cabin fever though, so I braved the storm to bike to the bar, and then was scootered to Thai food. It was the second Thai place I've been to since I've been here, and I was most impressed.
I went for a walk for about an hour this evening. I have gotten into the habit of walking up and down the canal each night. Today was different though. Instead of having random fireworks displays, the people set off constant firework displays. All the time. From everywhere. The sky was (and still is) lit up from every direction. I came home and watched them from my balcony for a long time. I met some children on my walk, and they taught me how to fire their weird Roman Candle things into the canal. Children love to talk to me, because they all learn English at their respective schools and love to demonstrate what they know. I often find I break into impromptu English lessons on the street. I should start charging.
Thing(s) I miss of the day: Cat Czyrnyj and Danielle Blab. Both have just promised to come visit me in the future. And they better. Or pain.
I get to sleep in tomorrow. Hopey is having a BBQ tomorrow, I am stoked for some beer and barbecue. He also challenged me to Mariokart on Wii. And its on.
Off to read, then sleep.
'Tis the night before Moon Festival, my first official holiday in Taiwan. From what I understand, it signifies the night of the year when the moon is its roundest or something. Basically, we all get a day off to look at said moon and eat moon cakes. I actually received a box of moon cakes sent to me by the mother of one of my kids, Evan. The ones I got were kind of like a cold meat pie in pizza pocket form, but smaller. They're not good, but not bad, either. Apparently you can get really really bad ones. I was just happy to get a present. Parents that think bribing your kids' teacher works: it totally works.
We get tomorrow off, and coupled with yesterday's typhoon day, this week is a three day week. I was actually hoping that today would also be a typhoon day, just for my selfish reason of wanting a five day weekend, but once I saw the real damage that it did today, I'm glad we got off relatively easy.
Current music: Big Me by the Foo Fighters
Although it's hard to say that that was easy. I have never in my life seen a storm like that. It lasted for about 2 days solid. My balcony flooded, and the tiny woodshed that I had out there is now a pile of wood splinters that I now have to carry downstairs piece by piece. I pray that someday my balcony won't be gross looking.
I walked around today during my break and it was crazy to see the damage. Entire trees were uprooted, steel fences were flattened. Peet went for a walk with me, and he told me that this wasn't a small typhoon by any means, but there are far worse, the kind that kill people. I didn't hear of any deaths this time, probably because we had lots of warning. It still rains on and off, and last night, we had a mini thunderstorm. I had a serious case of cabin fever though, so I braved the storm to bike to the bar, and then was scootered to Thai food. It was the second Thai place I've been to since I've been here, and I was most impressed.
I went for a walk for about an hour this evening. I have gotten into the habit of walking up and down the canal each night. Today was different though. Instead of having random fireworks displays, the people set off constant firework displays. All the time. From everywhere. The sky was (and still is) lit up from every direction. I came home and watched them from my balcony for a long time. I met some children on my walk, and they taught me how to fire their weird Roman Candle things into the canal. Children love to talk to me, because they all learn English at their respective schools and love to demonstrate what they know. I often find I break into impromptu English lessons on the street. I should start charging.
Thing(s) I miss of the day: Cat Czyrnyj and Danielle Blab. Both have just promised to come visit me in the future. And they better. Or pain.
I get to sleep in tomorrow. Hopey is having a BBQ tomorrow, I am stoked for some beer and barbecue. He also challenged me to Mariokart on Wii. And its on.
Off to read, then sleep.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Current music: Ambling Alp by Yeasayer
I have Internet now! And it sometimes works. It was hilarious getting it set up, as the installer man did not speak a word of English, and I don't speak a word of Chinese, save for a few random words that have nothing to do with the situation. I suppose I could have said that to him, but it would have made no sense.
I was forced to call upon one of the security guards in my building, who thankfully speaks very broken English. He has been my savior many times in the past week, and I just learned today that his name was Simon. He is a funny little man that is way too defensive about his English skills. I constantly tell him that he speaks very well, and he starts laughing and denies it, today he even fell down in protest. He is just one example of the Taiwanese hospitality that I have been told about. People say that Canadians are nice. We have nothing on the Taiwanese.
I was debating on going to the pub tonight, but during the past week, everyone has predicted an epic typhoon that looks like its about to hit as I type this. The sky blackened in the past ten minutes. I'm stoked that I got home, as I was out shopping before, and I do not fancy biking in it. I biked home during the last typhoon and almost died.
Speaking of the pub. Willy's. The place to be in Tainan. They have pizza. Westerners have no idea what it means to have good pizza here. And Willy's pizza is good. Very good.
The bar is owned by an Englishman named Andy and a Welshman named Alun. I met Andy last night and told him that I would most likely be living at his bar. He was cool with it.
Current music: Black Steel by Tricky
The foreigners in Tainan also all hang out at Willys. All the time. Sonya and I went for a drink yesterday, and pretty much everyone that was in the bar was at the party on Saturday night. It's kind of funny how small this city is.
I realize that I have written very little about my job. Things are going very well, I have the kind of freedom that I would not have at home. I have a curriculum, but I don't really follow it. I still love my kids, for the most part. There are some days when I have to hold myself back from backhanding them. This is where the Chinese teachers come in.
Vera and Joan (pronounced Joanne) are my eyes and ears and occasionally my asskicking boot in both classrooms. One sentence from them spoken in harsh Chinese and my kids shut the hell up. It's glorious. I've had to yell at them a few times myself. I hate doing it, because I honestly don't care if they run around like monkeys, but apparently the school does. The kids hate it when I yell, they call me Monster Jess.
The babies have just learned to say their own names. I have never been prouder of them. Every two weeks, the bilingual classes have an assembly where they demonstrate what they have been learning lately, whether it be a song or whatever. And my babies didn't fuck up. It was basically my proof for Peet that I can teach like the best of them. Whenever they do something right, they are rewarded with a high five from me, and they love high fiving. I have Ben to thank for that, he taught them last year. I have been trying to teach them to high five each other, but they usually end up smacking each other in the face, because they have no coordination yet. It's the funniest thing ever. And it seems that I am unintentionally teaching violence as a reward. I'm alright with that.
Current music: Master of Puppets by Metallica
The Bi-5 class, which I call the 'munchkins' and occasionally 'oompa loompas,' try to push my limits. That's why I have Jess's patented X and smiley face system. It works like a charm. On most. One is immune to it, so all I have to do is threaten to make him run laps in the sun. The textbooks they gave me have the theme of Jack and the beanstalk, which makes no sense, because I highly doubt that native-speaking kids of that age would understand that story, let alone my kids, who can't read "magic beans" let alone understand what they are. But I digress again.
It is not legal for ex-pats to teach kindergarten English in Taiwan. Unofficially, every primary school does it. However, if anyone from the government shows up at the school and finds foreigners there, the school can get fined. Les told me that it is possible to deport you as well, but they probably wouldn't. Anyways, Jump Start has an alarm system for when these raids take place, which sounds like birds chirping. The funny thing is, no one told me, or Elyssa for that matter, about the alarm before I heard it. So, on Tuesday, when I heard birds chirping throughout the school, I honestly thought that it was in my head. Having had migraines for so long, you sometimes doubt your own perception of things. Then, the alarm rang for a second time, and I realized it wasn't a hallucination, which was even stranger. After about 2 seconds of me looking confused, Vera pushed me out the door of my classroom, and I saw her hiding my stuff. Hopey ran over to me, and said "We have to go, now." After about 3 seconds of me looking confused, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stairs of the school. The other English teachers were running out the door, to the section of the campus called Head Start, which is a private elementary school run by the same company. Once we are over there, we are technically not doing anything illegal, but its still not a good idea to be seen. So we had to hang out in a classroom for about 5 minutes, as it wasn't an official raid. Victoria told us that they were just there to pick up papers. Elyssa suspects that it was a drill, and I am inclined to agree.
The alarm sounded again yesterday, which I think may have been a real raid. This time was less confusing, however. It only lasted for about 15 minutes of us reading the newspaper. Apparently, the raids can sometimes last for hours. I do not look forward to that day. Hopey told me to keep my purse by the door, so that next time we can all sneak out and get coffee.
Current music: Love Song by The Cure
I grow weary of typing. This typhoon is supposed to last until Tuesday, and I hope that it does. If school gets canceled, I still get paid. And I can say that it was because of a typhoon day. Snow days be damned. It's really fucking windy. Yet there are still fireworks right now. I imagine that that's very dangerous.
Thing I miss of the day: Autumn. People claim that there are seasons here. They lie.
I'm going to go sit on the balcony until the rain hits.
I have Internet now! And it sometimes works. It was hilarious getting it set up, as the installer man did not speak a word of English, and I don't speak a word of Chinese, save for a few random words that have nothing to do with the situation. I suppose I could have said that to him, but it would have made no sense.
I was forced to call upon one of the security guards in my building, who thankfully speaks very broken English. He has been my savior many times in the past week, and I just learned today that his name was Simon. He is a funny little man that is way too defensive about his English skills. I constantly tell him that he speaks very well, and he starts laughing and denies it, today he even fell down in protest. He is just one example of the Taiwanese hospitality that I have been told about. People say that Canadians are nice. We have nothing on the Taiwanese.
I was debating on going to the pub tonight, but during the past week, everyone has predicted an epic typhoon that looks like its about to hit as I type this. The sky blackened in the past ten minutes. I'm stoked that I got home, as I was out shopping before, and I do not fancy biking in it. I biked home during the last typhoon and almost died.
Speaking of the pub. Willy's. The place to be in Tainan. They have pizza. Westerners have no idea what it means to have good pizza here. And Willy's pizza is good. Very good.
The bar is owned by an Englishman named Andy and a Welshman named Alun. I met Andy last night and told him that I would most likely be living at his bar. He was cool with it.
Current music: Black Steel by Tricky
The foreigners in Tainan also all hang out at Willys. All the time. Sonya and I went for a drink yesterday, and pretty much everyone that was in the bar was at the party on Saturday night. It's kind of funny how small this city is.
I realize that I have written very little about my job. Things are going very well, I have the kind of freedom that I would not have at home. I have a curriculum, but I don't really follow it. I still love my kids, for the most part. There are some days when I have to hold myself back from backhanding them. This is where the Chinese teachers come in.
Vera and Joan (pronounced Joanne) are my eyes and ears and occasionally my asskicking boot in both classrooms. One sentence from them spoken in harsh Chinese and my kids shut the hell up. It's glorious. I've had to yell at them a few times myself. I hate doing it, because I honestly don't care if they run around like monkeys, but apparently the school does. The kids hate it when I yell, they call me Monster Jess.
The babies have just learned to say their own names. I have never been prouder of them. Every two weeks, the bilingual classes have an assembly where they demonstrate what they have been learning lately, whether it be a song or whatever. And my babies didn't fuck up. It was basically my proof for Peet that I can teach like the best of them. Whenever they do something right, they are rewarded with a high five from me, and they love high fiving. I have Ben to thank for that, he taught them last year. I have been trying to teach them to high five each other, but they usually end up smacking each other in the face, because they have no coordination yet. It's the funniest thing ever. And it seems that I am unintentionally teaching violence as a reward. I'm alright with that.
Current music: Master of Puppets by Metallica
The Bi-5 class, which I call the 'munchkins' and occasionally 'oompa loompas,' try to push my limits. That's why I have Jess's patented X and smiley face system. It works like a charm. On most. One is immune to it, so all I have to do is threaten to make him run laps in the sun. The textbooks they gave me have the theme of Jack and the beanstalk, which makes no sense, because I highly doubt that native-speaking kids of that age would understand that story, let alone my kids, who can't read "magic beans" let alone understand what they are. But I digress again.
It is not legal for ex-pats to teach kindergarten English in Taiwan. Unofficially, every primary school does it. However, if anyone from the government shows up at the school and finds foreigners there, the school can get fined. Les told me that it is possible to deport you as well, but they probably wouldn't. Anyways, Jump Start has an alarm system for when these raids take place, which sounds like birds chirping. The funny thing is, no one told me, or Elyssa for that matter, about the alarm before I heard it. So, on Tuesday, when I heard birds chirping throughout the school, I honestly thought that it was in my head. Having had migraines for so long, you sometimes doubt your own perception of things. Then, the alarm rang for a second time, and I realized it wasn't a hallucination, which was even stranger. After about 2 seconds of me looking confused, Vera pushed me out the door of my classroom, and I saw her hiding my stuff. Hopey ran over to me, and said "We have to go, now." After about 3 seconds of me looking confused, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stairs of the school. The other English teachers were running out the door, to the section of the campus called Head Start, which is a private elementary school run by the same company. Once we are over there, we are technically not doing anything illegal, but its still not a good idea to be seen. So we had to hang out in a classroom for about 5 minutes, as it wasn't an official raid. Victoria told us that they were just there to pick up papers. Elyssa suspects that it was a drill, and I am inclined to agree.
The alarm sounded again yesterday, which I think may have been a real raid. This time was less confusing, however. It only lasted for about 15 minutes of us reading the newspaper. Apparently, the raids can sometimes last for hours. I do not look forward to that day. Hopey told me to keep my purse by the door, so that next time we can all sneak out and get coffee.
Current music: Love Song by The Cure
I grow weary of typing. This typhoon is supposed to last until Tuesday, and I hope that it does. If school gets canceled, I still get paid. And I can say that it was because of a typhoon day. Snow days be damned. It's really fucking windy. Yet there are still fireworks right now. I imagine that that's very dangerous.
Thing I miss of the day: Autumn. People claim that there are seasons here. They lie.
I'm going to go sit on the balcony until the rain hits.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
If you say run, I'll run with you
Current music: Island in the Sun by Weezer
So, as previously mentioned, I have been without regular internet access for the past week or so. Which has been quite inconvenient in many ways that are too uninteresting to document. However, it was suggested to me by my dear friend John that I should type up my adventures beforehand and use the miracle of copy and paste using the school computers. Simple. Genius. Johnny, I am in your debt. (By the way Johnny, I know you're reading this and if you were here you would be so very tan. I think you'd like it.)
I get into daily adventures and unfortunately, it is likely that many have left my memory in the past little while. So I'll do my best to cover the big things.
I have an apartment now. It is on the 13th floor of a gigantic building in the Anping district of Tainan. Anping is gorgeous, and is very different from the rest of the city. It's quieter, more scenic, slightly less crazy and most of the foreigners in the city live in the area. I am getting to know my way around the city now, which means I get lost a lot less. I still get lost of course, but less.
There's also a canal that runs down the middle of the city. I go along it every day to school and it reminds me of Ottawa.
Current music: Love You Till The End by The Pogues
I have a bike now. I found it in the back of a new fancy bike shop, and it was the only used one there. I bartered using hand gestures and got the bike, a safety light and a lock for $2500 NTDs. I think in Canadian that's a little less than $100. Not too bad considering the new ones were going for $10 000 on average. It's a hilarious bike that makes strange noises and the brakes sound like someone is slaughtering a seal, but it's my baby and has gotten me to work every day. It's name is (roughly transcribed) "two bow bow" which means 'baby bunny' in Mandarin. For reasons that now escape me, that was one of the first words I learned. Which seems really random, but there you go.
I bike to school every day, and to be honest, it's a miracle that I'm not roadkill. To navigate the roads in Taiwan, on a bike in particular, is to have no fear of death. But I'm not dead yet, and have several people checking up on my biking experience every day. Which I kind of think is annoying and unneccessary, but if they are concerned, they're concerned. I've kind of enjoyed the biking adventure thus far. But I'm tired of being a sweaty person and changing every day at school, so the day I get a scooter, I will be happy indeed. But I can't buy one until I am legally in the country. The same goes for a cellphone. Woe.
Current music: Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying by Belle and Sebastian
I have found that foreigners in a strange country literally have no choice to band together for companionship. It's like making friends by default, which would never happen in Canada. I'm starting to get to know the other teachers at my school and they have all kind of taken me uner their collective wing. Hopey has gotten into the habit of biking home with me to show me new routes and things. He's on a scooter though and has to go slower for me because I am easily distracted on my bike, which I know really pisses him off. Ben has been looking for a way to find me a cellphone, but I have a feeling it's futile, and I can last the next two weeks without one. Thank god for Facebook.
I've also gotten to know the rest of the English teachers at my school. Les is the head teacher for the full English section of my school. He's from California and seems to have been in Taiwan forever, but I have no idea how long he's actually been here. Daniel is Australian and lives down the road from me. He claims he can teach me to surf, and I keep telling him it's going to be embarrassing. I'm still going to try though. it'll be hilarious.
Current music: The Road Goes On by Robert Earl Keen
Elyssa and I went out drinking last Friday with Les and Hopey. Random sidenote: never challenge an Englishman who is twice your size to a drinking contest. It can only end badly...or awesomely, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, two American friends of Hopey showed up and they now are my unofficial group of friends, with Elyssa. Amanda is from North Carolina, has a very strong accent and an unlimited supply of excellent stories. I forget which random state Sonya is from, but she's a sweetheart and took me on my first scooter ride, which convinced me that I needed to get one. She and Amanda took us to a party on Saturday night, which was attended by almost every foreigner in the city.
I love the atmosphere when hanging out with a group of ex-pats, it's like being surrounded by people exactly like me. Which I obviously love. I met my first Canadians at the party, and about a million other people whose names I can't remember. But I have a feeling I'll learn them all rather quickly, as every foreigner is easy to spot out on the streets here. I actually met a girl from Kanata, which was kind of a surprise. There are more Canadians here than I thought. My new best friend Brent is Canadian and had an Autobots T-shirt, and he and I discussed Transformers at length for a long while. His poor wife, being Taiwanese, is unfamiliar with Western 80's cartoons, and couldn't contribute much to the conversation, I felt bad. I also now have about 10 ex-pats who want to show me around places here, so my weekends are busy now. No time to get over jet-lag, it seems. They took us to a club that was very much like Pier 21 in Ottawa. It was weird.
Current music: Children's Work by Dessa
I know there are many more stories, but I'm very tired and need to sleep. I finally got a bed for my apartment about an hour ago. I will describe my place in detail when I feel like it. There is also another random firework display going on right now and I want to go see while it still a novelty. They happen at least five times a night, from random places in the city. Thankfully I can see the whole city from my balcony, so I can see them all.
Thing I miss of the day: Iced Tea. Real Iced Tea, not the American version, which is essentially cold regular tea.
Next time on Jess's blog: the story of how I fled from deportation, the finding of a western bar/pizza place, the hilarious security guard in my building, and the tiny dog dress-up pageant festical I came across last Sunday. And other things.
Fireworks, then sleep. More later, Internet soon probably. Goodnight moon...
So, as previously mentioned, I have been without regular internet access for the past week or so. Which has been quite inconvenient in many ways that are too uninteresting to document. However, it was suggested to me by my dear friend John that I should type up my adventures beforehand and use the miracle of copy and paste using the school computers. Simple. Genius. Johnny, I am in your debt. (By the way Johnny, I know you're reading this and if you were here you would be so very tan. I think you'd like it.)
I get into daily adventures and unfortunately, it is likely that many have left my memory in the past little while. So I'll do my best to cover the big things.
I have an apartment now. It is on the 13th floor of a gigantic building in the Anping district of Tainan. Anping is gorgeous, and is very different from the rest of the city. It's quieter, more scenic, slightly less crazy and most of the foreigners in the city live in the area. I am getting to know my way around the city now, which means I get lost a lot less. I still get lost of course, but less.
There's also a canal that runs down the middle of the city. I go along it every day to school and it reminds me of Ottawa.
Current music: Love You Till The End by The Pogues
I have a bike now. I found it in the back of a new fancy bike shop, and it was the only used one there. I bartered using hand gestures and got the bike, a safety light and a lock for $2500 NTDs. I think in Canadian that's a little less than $100. Not too bad considering the new ones were going for $10 000 on average. It's a hilarious bike that makes strange noises and the brakes sound like someone is slaughtering a seal, but it's my baby and has gotten me to work every day. It's name is (roughly transcribed) "two bow bow" which means 'baby bunny' in Mandarin. For reasons that now escape me, that was one of the first words I learned. Which seems really random, but there you go.
I bike to school every day, and to be honest, it's a miracle that I'm not roadkill. To navigate the roads in Taiwan, on a bike in particular, is to have no fear of death. But I'm not dead yet, and have several people checking up on my biking experience every day. Which I kind of think is annoying and unneccessary, but if they are concerned, they're concerned. I've kind of enjoyed the biking adventure thus far. But I'm tired of being a sweaty person and changing every day at school, so the day I get a scooter, I will be happy indeed. But I can't buy one until I am legally in the country. The same goes for a cellphone. Woe.
Current music: Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying by Belle and Sebastian
I have found that foreigners in a strange country literally have no choice to band together for companionship. It's like making friends by default, which would never happen in Canada. I'm starting to get to know the other teachers at my school and they have all kind of taken me uner their collective wing. Hopey has gotten into the habit of biking home with me to show me new routes and things. He's on a scooter though and has to go slower for me because I am easily distracted on my bike, which I know really pisses him off. Ben has been looking for a way to find me a cellphone, but I have a feeling it's futile, and I can last the next two weeks without one. Thank god for Facebook.
I've also gotten to know the rest of the English teachers at my school. Les is the head teacher for the full English section of my school. He's from California and seems to have been in Taiwan forever, but I have no idea how long he's actually been here. Daniel is Australian and lives down the road from me. He claims he can teach me to surf, and I keep telling him it's going to be embarrassing. I'm still going to try though. it'll be hilarious.
Current music: The Road Goes On by Robert Earl Keen
Elyssa and I went out drinking last Friday with Les and Hopey. Random sidenote: never challenge an Englishman who is twice your size to a drinking contest. It can only end badly...or awesomely, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, two American friends of Hopey showed up and they now are my unofficial group of friends, with Elyssa. Amanda is from North Carolina, has a very strong accent and an unlimited supply of excellent stories. I forget which random state Sonya is from, but she's a sweetheart and took me on my first scooter ride, which convinced me that I needed to get one. She and Amanda took us to a party on Saturday night, which was attended by almost every foreigner in the city.
I love the atmosphere when hanging out with a group of ex-pats, it's like being surrounded by people exactly like me. Which I obviously love. I met my first Canadians at the party, and about a million other people whose names I can't remember. But I have a feeling I'll learn them all rather quickly, as every foreigner is easy to spot out on the streets here. I actually met a girl from Kanata, which was kind of a surprise. There are more Canadians here than I thought. My new best friend Brent is Canadian and had an Autobots T-shirt, and he and I discussed Transformers at length for a long while. His poor wife, being Taiwanese, is unfamiliar with Western 80's cartoons, and couldn't contribute much to the conversation, I felt bad. I also now have about 10 ex-pats who want to show me around places here, so my weekends are busy now. No time to get over jet-lag, it seems. They took us to a club that was very much like Pier 21 in Ottawa. It was weird.
Current music: Children's Work by Dessa
I know there are many more stories, but I'm very tired and need to sleep. I finally got a bed for my apartment about an hour ago. I will describe my place in detail when I feel like it. There is also another random firework display going on right now and I want to go see while it still a novelty. They happen at least five times a night, from random places in the city. Thankfully I can see the whole city from my balcony, so I can see them all.
Thing I miss of the day: Iced Tea. Real Iced Tea, not the American version, which is essentially cold regular tea.
Next time on Jess's blog: the story of how I fled from deportation, the finding of a western bar/pizza place, the hilarious security guard in my building, and the tiny dog dress-up pageant festical I came across last Sunday. And other things.
Fireworks, then sleep. More later, Internet soon probably. Goodnight moon...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
'Cause when your mind don't move, then your knees don't bend
Current music: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D by Bach
After much swearing loudly in the streets (people don't speak English and stare anyways, so I can curse like a sailor with no consequences) I am able to walk again. My makeshift cast out of a Fairweather scarf saved my life.
I have learned that Taiwan pretty much shuts down on Sundays. So I was successfully able to navigate the streets on a bicycle and live to tell the tale. I'm going to graduate to scooter as soon as I get my ARC, but I found out you need to take a test to get a scooter license. Seeing as how I have seen people on scooters do crazy shit that I'm not even going to mention, I think my chances of passing are pretty high.
Found two possible apartments today. I now have to pick which of the following I value more: a bathtub, or a big balcony with a gorgeous view.
I'm going to start a thing I miss of the day, just to keep my sanity. The opening submission is: La Maison in Ottawa. My home away from home. Except even their cheap beer would be expensive by Taiwanese standards.
I have a curriculum now, so I'm off to plan my week. And hide from the typhoon.
Cheers
After much swearing loudly in the streets (people don't speak English and stare anyways, so I can curse like a sailor with no consequences) I am able to walk again. My makeshift cast out of a Fairweather scarf saved my life.
I have learned that Taiwan pretty much shuts down on Sundays. So I was successfully able to navigate the streets on a bicycle and live to tell the tale. I'm going to graduate to scooter as soon as I get my ARC, but I found out you need to take a test to get a scooter license. Seeing as how I have seen people on scooters do crazy shit that I'm not even going to mention, I think my chances of passing are pretty high.
Found two possible apartments today. I now have to pick which of the following I value more: a bathtub, or a big balcony with a gorgeous view.
I'm going to start a thing I miss of the day, just to keep my sanity. The opening submission is: La Maison in Ottawa. My home away from home. Except even their cheap beer would be expensive by Taiwanese standards.
I have a curriculum now, so I'm off to plan my week. And hide from the typhoon.
Cheers
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Stage 2 of the stages of acculturation has set in.
Went to the doctor today. Apparently I am healthy enough to teach English.
Sprained my ankle this morning, trying to make my way through the maze of the streets. Everyone was very helpful, but it hurts to walk.
Thankfully, the director of the school, Victoria, has been driving me around Amping looking for an apartment. Nothing of interest yet, but we're trying again tomorrow.
Can't do anything I wanted to do today. It seems an evening of Vincent Price movies is in order. I found a giant Heineken. It helps.
It's typhooning again. I wonder if it will flood.
Goodnight.
Went to the doctor today. Apparently I am healthy enough to teach English.
Sprained my ankle this morning, trying to make my way through the maze of the streets. Everyone was very helpful, but it hurts to walk.
Thankfully, the director of the school, Victoria, has been driving me around Amping looking for an apartment. Nothing of interest yet, but we're trying again tomorrow.
Can't do anything I wanted to do today. It seems an evening of Vincent Price movies is in order. I found a giant Heineken. It helps.
It's typhooning again. I wonder if it will flood.
Goodnight.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Leave my door open just a crack, cause I feel like such an insomniac...
Current music: Prieto by Chocquibtown
First things first: the random burger place I found while exploring today rivals any Western fast food. No question.
I'm teaching random people on the street to say English words. It seems I take my work home with me. Today's lessons were 'picture' to a homeless man and 'twenty' to my cab driver. Oh, and 'orange juice' to the guy at the 7-11.
I met one of my kids' parents today. She seemed lovely, even though I'm constantly warned about parents. Apparently they talk to the Chinese teachers behind our backs. They also like to randomly watch our lessons on surveillance cameras. For reals. Pressure...pushing down on me....
Whoever told you that you can buy designer shit in China for cheap was not lying. At all. It's completely true. I will need to spend weeks on end shopping.
So very tired. I'm gonna watch The Tudors and go to sleep.
P.S. One of my kids flawlessly said 'marijuana' today, with no teaching from me. I have no idea what that's about, but I laughed for about three minutes.
First things first: the random burger place I found while exploring today rivals any Western fast food. No question.
I'm teaching random people on the street to say English words. It seems I take my work home with me. Today's lessons were 'picture' to a homeless man and 'twenty' to my cab driver. Oh, and 'orange juice' to the guy at the 7-11.
I met one of my kids' parents today. She seemed lovely, even though I'm constantly warned about parents. Apparently they talk to the Chinese teachers behind our backs. They also like to randomly watch our lessons on surveillance cameras. For reals. Pressure...pushing down on me....
Whoever told you that you can buy designer shit in China for cheap was not lying. At all. It's completely true. I will need to spend weeks on end shopping.
So very tired. I'm gonna watch The Tudors and go to sleep.
P.S. One of my kids flawlessly said 'marijuana' today, with no teaching from me. I have no idea what that's about, but I laughed for about three minutes.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The road goes on forever and the party never ends...
Current music: The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen
It is the end of Day 3 here in Tainan.
It is almost like another planet here. But more on that later. First, my job.
I am teaching two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Jump Start is split into two sections: English immersion classes and bilingual classes. I have two bilingual classes, Bi-1 and Bi-5. They are thankfully smaller than the immersion classes, and I have got all my kids' names down. I also don't have a curriculum yet, ahaha. So I've been winging it this whole time. Public relations/guy-who-hired-me Eric called me today to apologize for the fact that I've had to wing it thus far. But since I've written about a frillion lesson plans in my day, it hasn't been too difficult. But I lose my voice every day from shouting. Not angry shouting, just shouting shouting. I have officially become Teacher Jess. That is my name.
Peet is a lovely South African man who has been my sort of mentor this far, and he is responsible for writing the curriculum. I'm not going to push him to finish. Mainly because he is awesome and tells me how to handle my kids. He has been at Jump Start for twelve years, so I think he knows what he's doing. He also loves musicals as much as I do. He previously taught my kids to sing West Side Story songs, and today we talked about how awesome Cher is and sang Sound of Music songs. But I digress.
Current Music: I Was Once A Loyal Lover by Death Cab for Cutie
On to the chill'uns...
The big kids:
Max is rowdy when he wants to be, but speaks English very clearly.
Duncan is a little smartass, but he knows when to be quiet.
Elma is the girl. She is late for everything, and Peet calls her grandma.
Chris is the leader. He is the biggest and is the best at English. He pretends to be teacher too often, though, and Teacher Jess feels threatened because he's smarter than me.
Ray is the little one, he is a year younger than the rest. He moves slower than the rest, but he is smarter than he lets on. Peet calls him grandpa.
Ted is autistic, but I honestly wouldn't have known if I wasn't told. He's very bright, and doesn't need any more direction than the rest of them.
Jason is a hellion. He learns when he wants to, and the rest of the time he does his own thing. I feel like tranquilizing him most of the time. I know we're not supposed to have favourites...but it's hard not to love him.
Current music: Teen Lovers by The Virgins
The babies:... 3 and 4 years old. I taught them to high five, so I feel my work here is done.
Elaine is the tallest, and knows the most English. But she's lazy, and I have to push her to try.
Yvonne is a cutie pie and helped me clean up. She is also very good at English.
Chie loves to learn colours. She points them out to me whenever she can.
Evan is hyper and high fives more than most. The school thought his name was Alvin yesterday.
Benjamin makes me laugh. All he does is run in circles. It's awesome.
Howard likes to make my life a living hell by continuously yelling. He is my time out expert.
Sam is the cutest thing I've ever seen. She is a little pudgy thing that bounces around and randomly likes to nap in the middle of the floor.
Aisan likes to push his limits, but listens if he feels like it.
Lisa is half Japanese and the littlest one. She knows English when she wants to.
Sam never left his mother before yesterday. He has cried constantly since I met him, but I finally got him to high five today. I was the proudest I've ever been.
I think that's all of them. I'm a horrible Teacher Jess if I forgot any.
Current Music: Bottled in Cork by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
I'm staying in this hotel until the weekend. It's so darn cozy. It took some crazy gesturing to let the friendly hotel staff know what was going on, but I like this place for now.
I've gotten into the habit of randomly walking around. I get lost quite often, but I'm happy when I do. Literally everyone stares at me. Cars slow down to look at me. Eric says that I shouldn't feel self-conscious about it but I really haven't so far.
There are no discernible sidewalks, you literally walk through storefronts to get anywhere. Most stores make up the streets, except the fancy ones. I have learned to depend on 7-11s. They sell liquor here, and I was able to buy Corona like you would a Sprite. It it quite lovely. They have bank machines, printers, the works. There is porn everywhere. It's strange to get used to. In summary: 7-11s = awesome.
People's dogs seem to wander around everywhere without leashes, like squirrels do in Canada. Everyone has a scooter and they drive around like insane people, often with their children or animals riding in front of them, presumably without seatbelts. Most cabs I've found do not have seatbelts either. My driving instructor Blaine would have been appalled if he wasn't a crazy lunatic.
No one smiles at each other on on the street. But they all make eye contact. Eric says it's a foreigner thing. I'm inclined to agree.
Current music: Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John
I'm still getting over jet-lag, but it's almost gone. So tired. Drank my Corona, it was sooo worth it. And freakishly cheap, like everything else here.
Still kind of tumbling down the rabbit hole... The next project is finding a house. There are fireworks outside right now. There are also entire stores dedicated to fireworks. I'm going to go watch.
G'night.
It is the end of Day 3 here in Tainan.
It is almost like another planet here. But more on that later. First, my job.
I am teaching two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Jump Start is split into two sections: English immersion classes and bilingual classes. I have two bilingual classes, Bi-1 and Bi-5. They are thankfully smaller than the immersion classes, and I have got all my kids' names down. I also don't have a curriculum yet, ahaha. So I've been winging it this whole time. Public relations/guy-who-hired-me Eric called me today to apologize for the fact that I've had to wing it thus far. But since I've written about a frillion lesson plans in my day, it hasn't been too difficult. But I lose my voice every day from shouting. Not angry shouting, just shouting shouting. I have officially become Teacher Jess. That is my name.
Peet is a lovely South African man who has been my sort of mentor this far, and he is responsible for writing the curriculum. I'm not going to push him to finish. Mainly because he is awesome and tells me how to handle my kids. He has been at Jump Start for twelve years, so I think he knows what he's doing. He also loves musicals as much as I do. He previously taught my kids to sing West Side Story songs, and today we talked about how awesome Cher is and sang Sound of Music songs. But I digress.
Current Music: I Was Once A Loyal Lover by Death Cab for Cutie
On to the chill'uns...
The big kids:
Max is rowdy when he wants to be, but speaks English very clearly.
Duncan is a little smartass, but he knows when to be quiet.
Elma is the girl. She is late for everything, and Peet calls her grandma.
Chris is the leader. He is the biggest and is the best at English. He pretends to be teacher too often, though, and Teacher Jess feels threatened because he's smarter than me.
Ray is the little one, he is a year younger than the rest. He moves slower than the rest, but he is smarter than he lets on. Peet calls him grandpa.
Ted is autistic, but I honestly wouldn't have known if I wasn't told. He's very bright, and doesn't need any more direction than the rest of them.
Jason is a hellion. He learns when he wants to, and the rest of the time he does his own thing. I feel like tranquilizing him most of the time. I know we're not supposed to have favourites...but it's hard not to love him.
Current music: Teen Lovers by The Virgins
The babies:... 3 and 4 years old. I taught them to high five, so I feel my work here is done.
Elaine is the tallest, and knows the most English. But she's lazy, and I have to push her to try.
Yvonne is a cutie pie and helped me clean up. She is also very good at English.
Chie loves to learn colours. She points them out to me whenever she can.
Evan is hyper and high fives more than most. The school thought his name was Alvin yesterday.
Benjamin makes me laugh. All he does is run in circles. It's awesome.
Howard likes to make my life a living hell by continuously yelling. He is my time out expert.
Sam is the cutest thing I've ever seen. She is a little pudgy thing that bounces around and randomly likes to nap in the middle of the floor.
Aisan likes to push his limits, but listens if he feels like it.
Lisa is half Japanese and the littlest one. She knows English when she wants to.
Sam never left his mother before yesterday. He has cried constantly since I met him, but I finally got him to high five today. I was the proudest I've ever been.
I think that's all of them. I'm a horrible Teacher Jess if I forgot any.
Current Music: Bottled in Cork by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
I'm staying in this hotel until the weekend. It's so darn cozy. It took some crazy gesturing to let the friendly hotel staff know what was going on, but I like this place for now.
I've gotten into the habit of randomly walking around. I get lost quite often, but I'm happy when I do. Literally everyone stares at me. Cars slow down to look at me. Eric says that I shouldn't feel self-conscious about it but I really haven't so far.
There are no discernible sidewalks, you literally walk through storefronts to get anywhere. Most stores make up the streets, except the fancy ones. I have learned to depend on 7-11s. They sell liquor here, and I was able to buy Corona like you would a Sprite. It it quite lovely. They have bank machines, printers, the works. There is porn everywhere. It's strange to get used to. In summary: 7-11s = awesome.
People's dogs seem to wander around everywhere without leashes, like squirrels do in Canada. Everyone has a scooter and they drive around like insane people, often with their children or animals riding in front of them, presumably without seatbelts. Most cabs I've found do not have seatbelts either. My driving instructor Blaine would have been appalled if he wasn't a crazy lunatic.
No one smiles at each other on on the street. But they all make eye contact. Eric says it's a foreigner thing. I'm inclined to agree.
Current music: Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John
I'm still getting over jet-lag, but it's almost gone. So tired. Drank my Corona, it was sooo worth it. And freakishly cheap, like everything else here.
Still kind of tumbling down the rabbit hole... The next project is finding a house. There are fireworks outside right now. There are also entire stores dedicated to fireworks. I'm going to go watch.
G'night.
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