Funny Things My Students Say and Do part 1:

This is a picture my student made for a small project: "I'm really scared of:" All the other kids copied my example...they drew ghosts, sharks, jellyfish and spiders as did this one but this kid went a step further to confess that he is indeed afraid of falling off Tapei 101...
(I think you can click it to see a bigger image)

Unfortunately as teachers, we don't have to time to record EVERY funny or hilarious thing our students say, do and write, but I have been trying. I haven't recorded any in a long time, but here are some of my favorites. You have to understand though....these kids write and talk about "poopoo" or kissing and killing. BUT...I would much rather them talk about something such as killing and joke about it and KNOW that it is wrong and NOT do it! My students are awesome and are ALL good kids and make me glad to be a teacher!


OK on with the crazy quotes and stories:

These are from my former upper level class that I taught. I left EVERY class laughing hysterically!

A question one of the boys thought of for an oral test:
"Do you prefer an emergency or a car accident?"

I mean...how in god's name do you answer such a question?! But it made me laugh so hard!

"If I don't do what Jim say he will hit me, so he is really pushy."

"I always count my fruits because everybody give me fruits"

"The evil scientist will kill everyone if no one catches him."

"Jim alway count his money because he is very cheap."

"Jonathan was counting mosquito which he had killed yesterday."

It is these gems that I find in the homework or hear in class that show that these kids are trying to be creative and express themselves...and make my job a lot more interesting! We know that kissing(actually all of my students seem to be pretty disgusted with the thought of kissing-haha!) or killing or even poopoo aren't the ONLY things they think about, but they just want to be funny and break the mold of the doldrum school life and I am fine with it as long as it doesn't go too far. They are learning and trying and as long as they have that and keep working hard then it's fine.

Maybe you don't agree, maybe you do, but it is how I feel.

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Anyway, I did buy a new scooter! I love it! It is so liberating...although my fear of left turns will never seem to fade. Even when I drove a car I hated left turns and my scooter is no different...so I try anything I can to avoid left turns if possible.

Boyfriend was in Osaka and Tokyo for the week on business and had to work on his birthday, but he got to do some sightseeing in Tokyo this weekend and I can't wait to see the pics! I am planning that if he ever goes back to Japan on business that I might tag along and do sightseeing while he is working and if he has time off do sightseeing with him...that'd be cool!!!

I've just been so busy and next weekend one of my friends is coming to visit me, but I am so nervous because I am not sure what will happen...I have an itinerary, but no back up itinerary.And I don't know my way around Taichung by scooter well enough so am not sure where else I can take her...:( I'm so nervous! I hope she has fun!!! And on Sunday I wanted to take a bus to Dakeng, but seeing as my Chinese is limited it is damn near impossible for me to find information and times!! Public transportation does suck in Taichung unfortunately :( I was so spoiled in Amsterdam: buses, trams, metros and the night bus system were wonderful!!!!! Taichung's MRT won't open till 2017 supposedly...*sigh* So at least I have a scooter now :)

but I did do some shopping yesterday and today I deep cleaned my apartment only to have shattered an unopened bottle of the homemade strawberry wine we bought in Dahu :*( I was so distraught as it was so yummy PLUS it got all over my floor!! Ok, I am going to go get some dinner and come back and start grading HW! VERY VERY busy week!!!

And the week after next week...LUDAU/GREEN ISLAND!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!! Thank god!!! My brain is fried! I love teaching so much BUT I need a vacation!!!!!

Introducing My Students Episode 2 and My TEN YEAR High School Reunion...

OK here are some more pics of my students during a Performance Day for the parents..this is one of my fave classes! These students are upper mid level and are a blast!



These pictures are from a KTV/Karaoke Contest for the lower/basic levels (or Kid's Club as we call it). These kids are just starting to learn English. These pics are my students and I'm so proud! Be warned: These pics are definite cute overload! I couldn't be there because I was at Sun Moon Lake otherwise I would have taken video.

The girls singing "Teddybear" You know the song, "Teddybear, teddybear turn around..."

The boys from my former class singing "Bingo"

The girls from my former class singing my favorite song for teaching English, "There's a Hole in the Middle of the Sea." such a fun song and the kids LOVE it!!!

So today I was browsing through Myspace to see what people from High School are doing and saw that there is a special page for 1998 graduates so I went there and saw that there is going to be a TEN YEAR High School Reunion in October.

I've thought about this for years now. What I would wear, what I would say. I even thought about drinking too much and cursing everyone in the place and cursing the American education system, BUT...I threw that idea out the window right away!

And now the time has come for me to make my decision: To go or not to go. Actually, after seeing it today it only took me 5 minutes to come to a decision and my decision is No, I'm NOT going....

Why?

1. I have to save a buttload of money for what? To fly 16-20 some hours to my hometown to a bar (Yes, the reunion is being held at a bar of all places) for one night that would probably be shite for me anyway as I didn't have a good high school experience.

2. Said money that would have to be saved is going to be going towards a trip to Phuket Thailand in November....

Let's see here: Dreaded 10 year HS reunion in crappy hometown or a VERY possible holiday with Sunny warm beaches, palm trees, Thai massages, coconut chicken, AWESOME temples and cool shopping in Phuket...What would you decide???

Think about it: US$1,000 which is about NT$30,000 gets me a 4-5 star hotel, breakfast, roundtrip flight, possible snorkeling and etc in Phuket (besides, I only plan on spending NT$20-25,000 for this trip-although it could be 30,000 including food and shopping)

The flight ALONE for this trip to my hometown for this reunion is probably US$1,000. Then I pay for the reunion ticket, food, drink, etc etc. It wouldnt be much but it would still be more than Phuket.

Yeah, I want to see my family in my hometown and in the states, but it's just too much money for me right now. Plus, my goal is to travel Asia! It is something I have been wanting to do for years and now I have the chance!

Plus: I feel like if I go back it is taking a step back in time to a time where I was miserable. And seeing these people married and with kids...I'm not sure I'm ready for that. That whole pressure and to hear them talk about the latest cleaning products, baby spittle and how they are all probably going to vote for McCain and I can just imagine some of them freaking out that I'm converting to Buddhism/Taoism and not a Christian anymore. I just don't want to deal with it. Yeah, I could not mention all of that stuff and try to "fit in" but that is what I did in HS and it did NOT work!!!! I'm weird, I like to be different-it is just who I am.

Anyway, enough babble. My decision is made and I'm OK with it. So now I have to make this Phuket dream come true!!

Our Weekend at Sanyi and Lavender Cottage

Temple in the Mountains

A spectacular view

The view from atop Lavender Cottage

This weekend was Tomb Sweeping Weekend where families reunite to clean their family tombs, burn paper money for good fortune and put paper money on top of the tomb and secure them with rocks which I think is also supposed to bring good fortune.

So after Boyfriend did that with his family on Friday he surprised me by taking me to Sanyi-the woodcarving village. He's been wanting to go there for some time and I've just been wanting to get out and see more of Taiwan!

It was very interesting! We didn't go to the woodcarving museum, but there were lots of stores and each store had statues big and small of Guanyin, Buddha, the God of War, etc, etc, etc. So Boyfriend bought me a Buddhist bracelet with the Chinese character for Buddhism and Guanyin on a lotus flower carved into each bead of the bracelet. Guanyin is the goddess of mercy and is a great goddess to me.

So then we went to this Hakka Lifestyle store and they sold this stuff with the brand name "Lavender Cottage" it was nice stuff and so Boyfriend and I each bought a sachet with fresh lavender to put in our apartments. Then we picked up a postcard and saw that this was actually a place nearby so we bought a postcard so that we could go there and visit one day. Then, we ordered some Hakka dough balls(I had mine covered with chocolate) and Hakka tea that is Green Tea mixed and ground with rice and red beans. It's called in pinyin Lei Cha (擂茶) and here is the wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_cha

For some wiki info on the Hakka people go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka

So then on our way home it was getting late and as we were driving home, I saw a sign for Dahu. I've been wanting to go to Dahu because they are known for their strawberries. So I saw the sign and said, "Oh, Dahu!" and Boyfriend said so spontaneously, "Do you wanna go?" and I said, "Now?! Are you serious?!" Apparently he was because that is where we went! Unfortunately when we got there everything was closed, but this stand that sold strawberry dumplings(but they stopped selling the dumplings for the evening..shame :( ) But after we had mentioned that I wanted to buy some strawberry wine (and the stores were closed) the guy at the stand went and found a guy who makes and bottles strawberry wine on his own!! So while we were waiting for him, the guy's mother or mother-in-law and this other woman and man were there so they asked if we wanted to try the strawberry liquor-50%. So we said yes. I took a sip and WOW!!! It may be strawberry, but that stuff was harsh!! My chest was on fire! So I decided against the strawberry liquor. When the guy came back he brought back another guy who must make the wine and two bottles. So boyfriend and i taste tested both wines and they were good! Super sweet like strawberry jam, but oh so yummy! Perfect mix with champagne and/or sparkling wine!

so after that we were back on the road and Boyfriend wanted to take me to a rest stop where they supposedly have a nice view of Taichung at night. But...not Taichung City like I thought...Taichung County..and well...much to my dismay the view was more of the parking lot and darkness in the hills...so not much of a view I'm afraid. But we did eat dinner there and saw the shark tank there which, doesn't it figure has sharks that are found where? Green Island which is where I'm going in May and these sharks are found in shallow waters by the coral reefs WHICH is where I will be snorkeling!!! Boyfriend loved teasing me about that because now I'm scared! I've never gone snorkeling before and this makes me nervous!

So then on Saturday, we got up late and decided to go somewhere else! We were going to go to Sun Moon Lake to admire the cherry blossoms, but it would have been 17:00(5pm) by the time we got there and that is too late, plus the 3 hour drive back. So Boyfriend mentioned going to this "Lavender Cottage" place so that is where we went!
Lavender Cottage
http://www.lavendercottage.com.tw

Little Blessing Cards people put on the trees and plants at Lavender Cottage

Lavender Ice Cream made with REAL Lavender....YUM!

Needless to say, this place was in the middle of the mountains and the drive was so beautiful and breathtaking for me (and a pain in the ass for boyfriend with all the winding roads up the mountain and narrowness). So then we got there and walked around and it was soo relaxing! We got to see many flowers and lavender and I even got to eat Lavender ice cream which was so good!

So then at night we decided to stay for the firefly tour which first started off as an informational thing where a guy talks about the firefly. Then he warns you that there may be poisonous snakes on the walk...Man! I'm just starting to become adventurous aren't I? snorkeling with sharks, walking around areas with poisonous snakes...this is a braver me than 10 years ago! That's for sure!

So anyway, the walk was beautiful!! When we got to a point to see the fireflies it was like we were in a fairy land. It was so dark, but the clear night sky(the clearest night sky I have seen in Taiwan and have seen in months!!!) and being in the mountains made it so breathtaking! The fireflies looked so much different than when I was a kid. It seemed so much more magical. And the sounds of the frogs and crickets made it so much more amazing!

This is the only video I could get of the actual fireflies. You only see a couple flashes from the fireflies in the beginning and then you hear me "Ssshing" Boyfriend because I hate talking on video because I always sound dumb! Which this time is no different-haha! I sound so ridiculous-anyway...here is the video:






So basically, that was my weekend...a lot more happened but I've typed enough here anyway. I did buy a scooter helmet though-it is pearlescent white with a black silhouette of a butterfly on each side and with a purple tinted long visor and the guy also threw in a mirrored UV short visor for free. So...I have scooter masks, I have a scooter helmet...now all I need is a scooter and to learn how to drive one!! So Boyfriend and I are planning on going next weekend to start comparing prices. :) Yay! I need me a scooter!

OK...talk to you soon!

My 5 Year Plan

Last night, my mom and I were on the phone and the subject of me learning Mandarin came up. She always says that if I became fluent in Mandarin that I could really go places and find good jobs and couple probably make a lot of money.

Sometimes us kids think that is all our parents care about is that we are rich and successful and that they don't care about us. And when she first said that it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like she was saying "If you don't do this, then you will go nowhere. Maybe you are going nowhere now..." But then I put myself in her shoes.

She has had so MANY struggles to get where she is today and had many downs before many ups. My stepdad as well!!!! After my parents divorce, my mom and stepdad started from pretty much nothing and worked their asses off (not to mention suffer a few heart attacks) to get to where they are today: in a comfy home near Amsterdam and having the opportunity to travel, see the world, experience new things and etc. with the BEST dog in the world no less :)

So these comments that she makes are because she doesn't want me to miss out on the wonderful things that are waiting for me. She also just wants me to be happy and to be able to support myself and my (possible future) family if that ever happens. She wants that my future children won't have the aches and pains we have had with college tuition.

So I think when most parents say things like this, it may come out as being selfish, but maybe it really isn't. It is just concern for our happiness. They love us and my mom and stepdad are ALWAYS telling me how proud they are of me!! :)

Another thing she asked me was if I was sure that I wanted to stay in Taiwan. She said that after 6 months being here that I am still in the "Honeymoon" phase of living here. But I do disagree with that. Usually after 3 months is when expats in Taiwan go through "Culture Shock" and it seems a lot of expats here are miserable. But I'm not! Of course there are shitty things about Taiwan: the pollution, the stupid ass driving and traffic here, the fact I can't get an ATM/Debit/credit card without having someone I know who is Taiwanese sign some paperwork for it and etc, but there are bad things ANYWHERE you go!!! It is how you handle them that makes your experience good or bad.
It's the good things about Taiwan that make me realize it is a good place. The people, the cultures, the history, the temples, the festivals, the traveling(I mean I can travel to BEAUTIFUL places here in Taiwan or go to beaches like in Thailand or the Phillippines, go skiing in South Korea in the mountains, have an electric experience in Tokyo, see all kinds of awesome nature and animals ANYWHERE!)

I think I would LOVE to live here and then just travel everywhere else whether for business and/or pleasure! I mean I don't know if I will be here forever, but hey if it works, it works!

Another topic we talked about was me getting my Masters here. I am seriously considering it and my mom also mentioned that I devise a professional 5 year plan. I've never done one before but know that it is a good idea as most employers will ask you that dreaded question at job interviews "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

So I am not sure if this is how you do it, but here is my first draft of my 5 Year Plan:

My 5 Year Plan

6 Months

1. Higher level in Chinese speaking and writing proficiency
2. Continuing to work hard at my current job
   
3. Researching Universities in Taiwan for Masters Programs in English
4. Saving money for said Masters Program
5. Stay in Taiwan

1 Year

1. Higher level in Chinese speaking and writing proficiency
2. Close to that 2 year experience point at current job
   
3. Continuing University research
4. Continuing saving money
5. Stay in Taiwan

2 Years

1. Higher level in Chinese speaking and writing proficiency
2. Applying at Universities for Masters Programs
3. Continue to save money for Masters Program
4. Stay in Taiwan

3 Years

1. Higher level in Chinese speaking and writing proficiency
2. Masters Program
3. Job hunting for after graduation
4. Stay in Taiwan
5. If no Masters Program yet, then possibly DELTA certificate first

4 Years

1. Higher level in Chinese speaking and writing proficiency
2. Masters Program
3. Job hunting for after graduation
4. Stay in Taiwan

5 Years

1. Continue to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese
2. Masters Program (if 2-3 year) or hopefully graduated from
3. Working at a good company making good money so that my (possible) family and I can be financially secure, and if I have a child, have enough money to put away for college.
4. Stay in Taiwan

This No Scooter Thing Has Worn Incredibly Thin

I must say, that this has to be my first "bitch post" on this blog, but I've had it! I need a scooter!!

What has brought this on?

Well, nothing really, but I've been sick for a couple of months now and have been trying to get better. I had the flu this past weekend and am STILL recovering from that as well! I have Chinese classes this morning, but I cannot go because 1. it is raining and cold. 2. the one chance that I had to get a proper raincoat(suited for bike/scooter riders) and I didn't do it and have completely forgotten to buy one since and am kicking myself profusely right now and 3. I have my bike and because of 1&2 if I go out in the rain riding my bike to Chinese class without a proper raincoat, I will get sick again and I CANNOT afford to!

This may not seem like a big deal but I really enjoy and need my Chinese classes and I hate missing them! I had to miss Friday's lesson because of the flu and now today and I'm really peeved...at myself mostly, but am also cursing the rain gods.

So now you are probably asking, "So what does a scooter have to do with this?"

Many reasons. My bike is good exercise and I like it, but when it is raining, it is the BIGGEST pain in the ass to ride my bike in the rain. I am left wet, cold and eventually sick. My immune system still seems to be getting used to Taiwan and teaching kids (who constantly cough WITHOUT covering their mouths) does not help the situation. So when it is raining, it is a lot better to have a scooter. Also, when I have been sick, I've had to take a taxi and even though taxis are cheap here (Unlike Amsterdam where it is so effin expensive), it would still be better for me to drive myself to the clinic. I cannot ride my bike when I am sick obviously, but a scooter isn't a lot of effort and would make it better.
A scooter can take me farther than a bike in a shorter amount of time. This aspect concerns shopping. Usually on weekends, I need to go to places like Carrefour and buy toilet paper, laundry detergent, fruit, etc, etc and I like to buy bulk because I don't have time to go every couple of days like I did in Amsterdam. I usually go every couple of weeks. Plus my grocery store isnt across the street like it was in Amsterdam. And Carrefour and all those other places are pretty far and actually pretty dangerous by bike. Very busy area, massive traffic and not exactly safe for a bike rider. And I always rely on Boyfriend and I don't want to have to rely on him. He's busy enough as it is.

There are soooo many other reasons, but it is silly to list them all.

So that is my rant. Next month, come hell or high water I am buying a damn scooter!!!! And once I have more time and money, I am going to go another clinic to help me get rid of this post nasal drip that I've had for like 2 months and to another Chinese medicine doctor to help KEEP me healthy...I'm so fuckin sick of being sick all the time!

Hopefully my next blog post will be somewhat more positive :)