I've found new respect for my teachers all through my schooling. This is way harder than it looks. Every day I wonder if my lesson plans will be interesting for the kids or not. And when one day gets over with, you have to start prepping for the next day. Maybe i will get to the point where i will get really efficient at planning so that it will be less stressful. Until then, there's always the weekends to look forward to.
So this week Yu's son had a birthday and I got a picture of us standing with him and his cake. I also got some pictures of the rest of the kids, but I'm not sure if I would be able to stick them up on the internet without running into privacy issues. So I'll just put up the ones with the teachers.
Steph came all the way from Utah to be here and calls this place a jungle because it's so green and there are so many animals living here. I guess when compared to a city in the middle of the desert, Taiwan would seem like a jungle. I'm used to hearing animal sounds in the Midwest, so it doesn't surprise me all that much. But at night, if we go outside, there are dozens of bats that fly around catching bugs. They must come from caves in the mountains because that's the only place where I think they could go undisturbed yet still be close enough to hunt in our skies.
An interesting thing about Taiwan is that the government doesn't like English to be taught to children at new young an age. They think English will damage their little brains, or they're concerned with it as an equal-opportunity issue. A lot of families might not be able to afford English education for their kids. Either way, our school has figured out a way to keep from being caught by government inspectors. First, there's a fake lock on the gate outside. When the officers come and want to inspect the place, one of the teachers say that she needs to find the key. Then, she goes inside and sends a kid to the classrooms to let the teachers know that we are having an inspection. The Chinese teachers immediately take over the class and the English teachers start acting like assistants so that it looks like no one is teaching English. Eventually, the officers should be convinced and leave. I think it's hilarious that we even have a system for this sort of thing. We are supposed to have a drill next week so that us new teachers see how it works.
On Saturday, Steph went to Taipei to see the temple and spend some time in the city. I couldn't go because i left my temple recommend back in America, so I spent the day exploring Hualien. I went to the weekend market about 20 minutes away from the preschool to pick up some new clothes. They always have sales on the weekend at the block where I went. They sell stuff like dresses, shirts, and shoes for 100 kwai (which is about $3 in US currency). Yeah, it's dirt cheap and I'm not complaining. I wanted to get some new duds while I was here anyway.
I went to the ocean again and took some pictures before trying to head back to the apartment. I didn't take into account how far south I was, though, and eventually wound up lost in another city adjacent to Hualien. I wasn't even on my map anymore! I got close to the mountains and saw the entrance to a national park. By then I knew I was screwed and that it was time to ask for directions. I stopped near a construction site and tried to ask an older worker who had to ask a couple of younger women on a nearby scooter if they could speak English so I could get directions. They offered to lead me back to the Hualien night market for which I was very grateful! They had a tiny kitten with them that was sleeping in passenger girl's raincoat. I was surprised since I hadn't noticed it at first and I'm not used to seeing cats around the city. Most of the animals I see are either birds or dogs and most of the dogs are strays. They look so gross and mangy I can't help but feel sorry for them. And they aren't like the affectionate animals of America; most will nip at you if you get too close. I miss my adorable pets! At least I can pet them!
Here are some pics I took during the day. I was so wiped out last night from the four straight hours of bike riding, I didn't have the energy to post them.
Steph found this cocoon in one of the plants on our deck. It's eaten a lot of the leaves, more than I expected since it's so small.
They have Catholic churches here, who knew?
Pictures from the birthday party. That was a yummy cake!
I would have put up a pic where the little girl isn't putting her arm over the birthday boy's face, but I look like I'm grimacing in that pic, so I didn't want to put it up. I have to watch how I look on this blog, you know!
Instead of letter H's, people in Hualien throw giant stone triangles into the water for blockades.
While I was riding around, I passed what looked like people setting up for a rock concert. Those seats don't look comfy at all.
A cool fountain thingie near the concert stage.
This is a giant statue of what I think is Buddha. I wanted to get closer, but the path up was blocked off by construction. I'll have to go back in a few weeks and see if it's open again.
An observation tower I stoppped at along the shore.
I spied this huge building just before getting lost. I thought it was a high school, but some gold lettering said it was a kindergarten! Jeez!
A hilltop near the shore gave some scenic views of the city.
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