Morning in the Garden

Sorry all. I have been quite sick lately and done little more than go to school and come home and sleep. So here's part 2 of the 10/25 school field trip. I'm not going to try to explain the layout of the place because I don't have a good progression of shots and it would be too time-consuming, so just please to enjoy a medley of pictures.

Walking to the gardens I turned around and snapped a shot of a part of our group


A shot of one of two ponds. This one had a winding stone path you could walk on.


Two of my coworkers standing next to one of the many buildings. The one on the left is from California and the one on the right is from New Zealand. Both teach English NOT Chinese.


A shot of one of the main garden areas with a decent mountain backdrop and some people wandering about. Nothing special.


Action shot! This is an American ex-pat photographing a South African ex-pat with our Principal.


The other pond. This one is much more open and is set against a beautiful backdrop. Some more of my group are walking along the edge. This pond is actually the entrance to the garden. I am taking this shot as we are leaving so I am standing at the entrance/exit looking back.


A shot of the entrance/exit as we leave. Off to the left is the pond from the last shot.


Finally, a shot of the mountainside. I think this shot one came out particularly well.


Next up, the walk!

School Field Trip to Miaoli and Nanliao

Yesterday was quite the event. We went to a number of different places, starting the day in a beautiful garden in Miaoli County and ending it at a restaurant in Nanliao. There must have been something like 50 people on the trip, including the Chairman and his wife. The Chairman owns the school I work for, the hospital in my city, and a whole lot of real estate. Basically he's loaded. So we all ate and enjoyed ourselves on his dime. Tea at our first stop, the garden was great; lunch was kind of lackluster (although the scenery was amazing); and dinner was a literal feast. I'd say there were 8 or 9 foreign teachers. Which means the majority of the field trippers were Taiwanese. It was nice to talk and meet some Kindergarten teachers and others I had never met. Anyway, enough talking. Picture time!

PS: I'm going to try and stagger the picture uploading in order to make it less tedious. I am thinking of 4 sections: bus ride, garden, walk and harbor.

First up, then: The bus ride from Zhubei to Miaoli County

My View and My School

More pictures (and words) incoming! These are shots of the early morning view from my apartment, my walk to school (all 100 feet), some areas in the school and two of the four classes I teach, my homeroom of 2nd graders and a group of 7th graders. By the way, uploading pictures is tedious, tedious business. So Graeme, just know that I do it all for you.

To start off with, a picture looking through the my nap area's window. That is Xinzhu off in the distance and my school in the bottom left.


Here I have tilted my view slightly to the right and placed my camera outside the window.


Same picture zoomed in. You can see the highway better and make out all the buildings in Xinzhu.


Now we have the view slightly to the left.


If I look to the left a bit more I see my school in all its glory.


And here's a shot of the view from the other side of the apartment. This was taken at a window next to the elevator. I think I lucked out and got a much better slice of the high-rise view pie.


A ground level view of part of the facade of my school as I walk to the entrance.


After taking the last picture I walked a bit more, turned around and snapped a picture of my apartment in all its glory.


Now for the school pictures. The first are of my homeroom. I guess my co-teacher, Tina, was waiting for me to come in with a camera because the second I took mine out, she grabbed hers from her purse, we moved all the desks out of the way and took class photos. Here are some of pictures that ended up on my camera (I tried to get the time delay on each to go off in unison but her's just wasn't as sensitive). I should add that there is one girl missing and that I quickly grew bored of regular peace signs. Also, my homeroom's size of 13 is tiny in this school. Most homerooms are 25-28. However, while I have an ideal number of kids, their English is anything but ideal--these are the lowest level English speakers in Grade 2.

Standard classroom picture.


"Ghost" faces. I tried to imitate the kids.


Here's the girls-only picture. I would post the boys as well, but my head was chopped off it. I think we were standing too close to the cameras. The late girl is in this one. (Bonus points if you spot her.)


The next two are just shots of the interior of the school.




I stepped outside one of the classrooms I teach in and snapped this picture of another class walking by. The kids waving are some of the 3rd graders I teach Phonics and Science to in my 3-5th grade ESL class. I'm not sure if I've explained the school's structure before or not, but here's a quick rundown either way. There are 8 grades worth of homerooms that are grouped solely by age, with 1st and 2nd being slightly more complicated on account of their size. There are 6 1st grade classes and 5 2nd, compared to 1 7th and two 3rd. With few exceptions, these homerooms take the same Chinese classes together. English classes, meanwhile, are an entirely different animal. Based on some test they get put in different ESL groups in grade 3 and up or different homerooms in grades 1 and 2. So 201-205 is a descending scale that measures English ability. But again, the kids all take the same Chinese classes. It gets really confusing in upper elementary and middle school because the kids bounce around from classroom-to-classroom. So, to recap, the 1st and 2nd graders have Chinese and English classes in the same Homeroom while the 3-5th graders are split into different ESL groups and the 6-8th are likewise. But they have their Chinese classes in their homerooms. All the kids' days are split in half (roughly). Either Morning is Chinese and afternoon is English or vice versa.


Here are a few shots inside the abovementioned classroom. This is my 7th grade class who are all lucky enough to be taking Phonics and Language Activities with me. Just like 205 is the lowest second grade English-speaking class, this group, F Group, is the lowest middle school English-speaking class. F Group is also where I have the most issues. These two boys just will not stop, sit down or shutup. Ever. And they are constantly picking on each other, hitting each other or running up to the blackboard to try and draw some lewd picture of the other one.

This is just a shot of (most of) the class.


This is one of the boys, Brian. He's sweet and everything out of class, but he just will not cooperate when I teach. It certainly doesn't help that he has ADHD and his English is non-existent. Also, he hates his hair.


And this is Brian with the other boy, Dennis. If anyone is wondering, Dennis is probably closer to the average size of these Taiwanese middle schoolers. There are some 6-foot 8th graders. Tiny Asians don't seem to exist in this generation.


To wrap things up, here are a few pictures taken in the cafeteria during snacktime.






NO MORE PICTURES KTHXBAI: Or, the face of exhaustion contrived into a smile (and what's up with my right hand I don't know)


Phew, now to go tutor some kids for two hours before passing out.

Apartment Pictures

Finally grabbed a camera today. Here are some pictures of my apartment, a one-bedroom loft that costs roughly $380 US a month. Which is actually a raw deal: co-workers of mine rent houses or 3-bedroom apartments for that much. Anyway, please to enjoy:

My view upon entering.


If I tilt my head up I see this.


My "kitchen," which is to the left of the entrance, complete with a small washer-dryer.


Now for the right of the entrance: please to notice the fridge, it's that grey rectangle at the very right edge of the frame.


These stairs are to the immediate right when I enter.


First in the upstairs half of my apartment is my bedroom. It is to the left at the end of the staircase. Please to excuse the mess.


Now going straight when you get up the stairs instead of left will lead you to my office, where I nap, watch movies, read and play video games.


A close-up of my computer. I bought the speakers today along with the camera. They were around $20 and match my monitor and tower quite well. And there's even a subwoofer you can't see. Very, very cheap and the sound quality isn't half bad. Also, video games, durrrrr.


To the right of the computer is a nice little corner that I set up for reading and movie watching. I've also cat napped here a few times during weekend afternoons. The sun shines on me and it's great. The view is also unbelievable (I'm on the ninth floor facing out toward Xinzhu).


Here I am looking from the computer/nap area across to the bedroom. I think it might help to imagine this bedroom on top of the entrance/kitchen.


And now I am looking straight down to the living area.


Looking down and to the left reveals the fridge in full view and the TV turned to Taiwanese news. No, I can't understand a word they are saying.


Oh, I almost forgot the obligatory bathroom picture.


To finish up for this round, here is the best I was able to do looking out of the window of my computer/nap area (i.e., office). Not sure if my camera can do better, but regardless, you can get an idea (I think) of the height I am at and some other stuffs.


Hopefully I made the layout of the apartment clear. If there is confusion, leave a comment and I'll answer it either in another comment or in my next post. Next up, daytime shots of my view and my school (and possibly shots of a 7-11 or the High Speed Train Station if I go out for lunch).

And no, I didn't choose the couch color. The apartment was furnished by my land lord and land lady before I moved in. Both of whom, by the way, are incredible people. For example: today they took me out to lunch, explained some important stuff to me along the way about Zhubei and roads and stuff and then offered to help me find a camera when I mentioned I was going to look for one. The lord (husband) speaks a tiny bit of English, but we were mostly talking Chinese the whole time. It was fantastic.

Interesting Night and Late Morning

I had quite the night yesterday. Got off work and went home for a shower and some relaxation. At 8:30ish I met up with my neighbor and co-worker and a lady friend of his and we all hopped on the free bus into Xinzhu. I know we make quite the odd pair on the bus and around Xinzhu--me, a 22 year old pasty American and him, a late-30s early-40s colored South African (which is not an offensive term in South Africa). We got into downtown Xinzhu and went to what is fast becoming our usual spots. I'll be sure to get a picture of it, but it's a side road with a few small bars and one of the bigger bars/clubs, the Pig and Whistle. I say usual because these are the only places I have been to more than once. That being said, I am still enjoying sitting in TJ's and talking or sitting outside the Pig and Whistle and talking, or sitting inside the Pig and Whistle and trying to talk, but I can see it stagnating sooner or later. But for now, the night life here is still pretty exciting.

What made last night interesting, though, wasn't the above "usual" stuff but the bar I went to afterward. I met a guy from the States while at the Pig and he showed me this small hole-in-the-wall place called Madonna's. It was basically one room with a small bar, a massive karaoke machine and plush couches all along the walls. Oh, and it's Japanese. Apparently, there are Japanese-only bars around Xinzhu. The only way gringos such as myself gain entrance into these places is by invitation. So I made sure to be extra nice to the bartender at the Madonna's and drink myself stupid on Jack and Coke's. A brief note: there is no tipping whatsoever in Taiwan. I have tried to tip again and again, but it either ends up being used toward the next drink I order or it is flat-out refused. Oh, and you can walk around outside with your beverage of choice--open containers are a-okay in Taiwan! Anyway, my night ended after 4 beers and 4 heavy Jack Jack and Cokes at about 3 am when I asked for a taxi, the bartender made a call, and I stumbled into an unmarked black car. I thought nothing of it at the time, and it wouldn't have amounted to anything anyway, but it is kind of the perfect scenario for a mugging or, heaven forbid, a kidnapping, or, even worse, a murder. But I made it home safe and sound am now much wiser as to the workings of Xinzhu night life thanks to my fellow American ex-pat friend.

This morning another co-worker-cum-friend picked me up and drove me around Zhubei and Xinzhu on a quest for scooters. I've ridden on his scooter many times before, but only ever around the school. Today I went all over the city and I think we were pushing 80 km/hr, so just the driving was quite the experience. I ended up seeing a couple scooters that were nice, but I didn't buy anything today. I wanted to check as many shops as possible, and it turned out that we didn't have time to go back and recheck the two promising scooters because my friend had class (some sort of master's business program). Points of interest: We ate at a decent Japanese fast-food restaurant that I hadn't tried yet (I have eaten at Mos Burger a lot but this place was new to me; I think it was called Yokinasha or something); I paid my apartment bills at 7-11 in 30 seconds; I spoke Chinese and was understood by every shop owner; I met my friend's mechanic, a Taiwanese guy named Adidas who spoke decent English; and I finally got familiarized to the area. Also I was drunk pretty much the whole time. I crashed hard when I got back home.

All in all, exciting stuff. It almost makes up for the ridiculous hours and demands of my job.

PS TJ's might be a gay bar. Which means I've been hanging out in a gay bar on 5 different occasions, which means some people undoubtedly have the wrong idea. But in my defense, it doesn't look like a gay bar, there are tons of mixed gender groups that hang out there, and I haven't seen anyone hitting on a person of the same sex (nor have I been hit on). I think the person who told me it was a gay bar was confusing it with someplace else. Or at least I hope so, because some of the prettiest girls I've seen so far have been there. The Pig and Whistle girls are not quite on the same level.

Also, there are lots of Indians running around on weekend nights. I think they all work at the Science Park but I'm not sure. I'll have to ask sometime.

Update

I now have a stamp with my Chinese name on it and am waiting for my health insurance to clear before I get my ARC (Alien Resident Card) back and am finally able to buy a scooter and cellphone + camera. So I expect to take a lot of pictures in the near future, pictures of the school, my apartment, zhubei and xinzhu. So whoever reads this can expect to see these pictures in the next couple weeks.

There is also a day trip planned for us foreigners to visit a Hakka Village and in Miaoli and do some other interesting stuff on October 25, so in a perfect world I will have many pictures to post after that trip.

Work Ethic, Etc.

The work ethic here in Taiwan is absolutely nuts. Just to give you some idea: I leave school between 5 and 5:30 pm most days, after coming in at 7:30. The Chinese teachers leave anywhere between 5:30 and 7 pm. And the staff--at least the ESL staff--leaves after 9. I know this because I just got home after spending several hours either in a meeting or decorating for Halloween. It is now 9:10ish. There were still 6 people in the ESL staff room. I'm beginning to think an understaffed Bilingual school with separate faculties is the most time intensive and least efficient type of school imaginable. So much miscommunication and busy work it's unreal.

Speaking of Halloween, the school I work for LOVES Halloween. I have gathered from my Chinese co-teacher that a lot of Taiwanese, maybe even most Taiwanese, love Halloween. The amount of effort that is being put into decorating the classes, preparing for the Halloween party-thing, making costumes, is, again, unreal. And they assume it is the same in the States. While it might be for some, I cannot think of any point in my schooling where every single classroom was exploding with cheap Halloween props and posters. And bear in mind this is not an encouraged extra thing for my school; this is a mandatory show and spectacle every single class must take part in. All for the sake of the chairman, who will circumambulate the school four times (for four floors), more than likely nodding and smiling all the while, and then vanish.

Nanliao Harbor (from 9/20)

Just some pictures from a trip to Nanliao Harbor that was led by the ESL staff at Korrnell. These were all taken by Lee, one of three people who are tasked with taking care of the entire English curriculum and English staff. Big ups to him, Stacy and Samson: they all are doing one hell of a job. Unfortunately, he stopped taking pictures when I rolled my socks up. Oh, and when we went to see the City God Temple in Xinzhu (forgot the Chinese name).