Continuation of last post - Week 3

Week 3

July 6-12th

Wow! I know I haven’t been in Taiwan for quite three weeks yet, but I have had three Sundays here, so week 3 it is—time sure seems to fly by!

Monday, July 6th

I started my second week of teaching. I’m really beginning to love the kids, they are so sweet! My 2A-1 class are angels, and 2A-2, well lets just say I didn’t have to put anyone in time-out! Bribery works great with the kids. I bought some big plastic jars and told the kids when they’re good I will give them some candy to start filling the jars, when the jars are full, they get a class party…they love it! So, my 2A classes are second graders and I can’t believe how much the children are affected by what they see in the media. I gave the class a writing assignment that went along with one of the stories they were reading. The worksheet gave them a prompt and they had to fill it in…example, “I am as big as an ______.” One little girl, Gina, commented, “I am as big as an elephant because I am fat!” Ugh, it’s so sad, I didn’t know how aware my kids are of body image at such a young age. No wonder people have self-esteem issues. In another girls paper she said, “When I’m bad, my dad will beat with his long belt…” I never know what I’ll be reading when I correct these kids’ homework assignments. I asked Hanna about the ‘beating’ comment and she said it happens quite often here—horrible! Ha, I remember dad chasing Buck and I up the stairs and threatening to spank us if we didn’t take a bath, but for some reason, I thought it was more of a joke than anything else.

Adam and Rebeckah also left today so us new teachers inherited our new wheels, bicycles! I’m so glad the married’s stayed a week longer so they could help me out and get me somewhat oriented with Taiwan. I must say however, after they fled the country it was nice to think about moving into my own room.

Monday's are long, I get off work at 9:00 pm. After work, we all rushed home because Tabbi wanted to go and see an old high school friend, Dane Hess. He’s been living in Feng Yuan and working as an English Teacher at the Bear Huan school, that’s where all the other teachers are (it’s about 40 minutes North of Changhua). His six months is over so he’s on his way home. Molly (our new Asian friend) was so kind to drive us up there. When we arrived I got to meet some of the other teachers—they are way cool. I also got to meet Dane. How random….Dane said I looked so familiar. As we started talking we came to find out we both went to Dixie State together and Uncle Roy (Ross) was his bishop down in St. George. Once again, connections! He loves Ross and still keeps in touch with him. I’m so glad I have a rad uncle! With the Feng Yuan crowd we went and grabbed a little bit to eat at this nice restaurant where you could actually order fresh sandwiches! It was pretty yummy.

Ordering food at a restaurant here is quite different from the states. You walk in and they seat you. The hostest gives you a menu and then you mark what you want on the actual menu. You don’t really have a server to tell your order to. You usually don’t get a drink with your meal, but some places do serve tea for free—too bad we can’t drink it. I’m getting used to just carrying around a bottle of water with me. You don’t tip either, I like that part of dining out. The restaurant we went to was nice, but there were a ton of mosquitoes every where. They were eating us alive…it must be all the fruit we’re eating!

Tuesday, July 7th

Tuesday was just kind of a regular day. Work was very rewarding because the younger kids, the SPE’s, are starting to talk on their own without my help! I love it! I also moved into my room today—it’s the smallest of the rooms, but after a little rearranging (my dresser and bed), everything seems much more spacious! I still need to go and buy some new sheets and a pillow, I’m currently using Hanna’s. Apparently there’s a little mini Costco here called Carrefour nearby, it has everything, but biking there can be a bit of a trek. Hanna and her scooter can get the job done though…we’ve just been so busy we haven’t had a chance to make it there yet.

So, I live on the second floor near the kitchen. Sara is also on the second floor but she is currently traveling Hong Kong and Thailand—it’s a bit quiet without her, but I do get the bathroom to myself for a few weeks. Oh the bathrooms in Taiwan….at least I have a real toilet, but…I can sit on the toilet and be in my shower at the same time, haha, love it!

Wednesday, July 8th

As with Monday's, I go into work around 9:30-10:30 and I have class until 9:00 p.m. You see, Maryland (my school), is a cram school. All the kids come to cram schools after regular Chinese school…I don’t know how they do it! You would think 12 hour days are dreadful, but I have lots of breaks in between and it’s nothing like hard labor so I’m not complaining. Once I get more organized at school I will probably leave the school on break and tour around Changhua.

After school Sam and I took another way home to see some more of the city and we found a nice little Japanese restaurant. We decided to check it out. When we got inside the hostess handed us the menu as usual, but this time there were no pictures! All we had to work with were Chinese characters, haha, so funny! Most places here have pictures or English written underneath the Chinese characters, but we were out of luck. We asked if anyone could speak English and the little Asians just smiled, let out a little giggle, and started shaking their head "no, no." To help us out, our hostess went and found another guest at the restaurant who could speak English. I couldn’t believe she just interrupted this lady’s dinner, but at the same time, I was thankful for some help. I’m sure they were thinking, what stupid American’s! The English speaking lady pointed out some of her favorite dishes so Sam and I took her word and tried the fried rice, fried noodles, and bbq pork! Wow….this was probably one of the best meals I’ve had here. Everything tasted just how it smelled and looked, usually that’s pretty hard to find! …and, it was fairly inexpensive. We each paid $105NT, which is about $2.50 for a good sized meal.

Thursday July 9th

I am still pretty strict with my students. When they get a bit rambunctious I raise up my hand and yell, “Give me Five….four….......three…” oh if you could see how fast they scurry and shut their mouths. They don’t know what will happen when I get to ‘one,’ but they know it isn’t good. I think they are finally realizing that they can’t push me around just because I’m new….I’ll show ‘em who’s boss, jk…it’s not like that, they’re all pretty good! Man, it sounds like I’m a nazi.

Hanna and I had to meet with one of the student's parents because they want their son (Joe) to move up to Basic Reading, but he just isn’t ready. In all reality, Joe has some major behavior issues and I think he just needs a little more attention. Sherry, our boss, translated for us as we talked back and forth with the parents—I could tell Joe’s dad is very well-to-do. I believe he owns some hotels nearby. It’s so interesting to me how many of these kids are only children and don’t get the love they should (they only have one child so they can fit their whole family on a scooter, ha). Maybe I’ve just been sheltered growing up in Utah, but many of my students are only children. Joe’s parents agreed to keep Joe in our program and Sherry was very pleased because she is very much a business women—not much of an educator.

Thursday night Tabbi and I decided we are determined to not get the rice belly (it may be too late…whoops). Eating out on Food Street is convenient and cheap (about $1.50 per meal) so we never eat at home. We decided to go running on the track at Changhua University. The school is close by and there are so many people there all the time! We saw some ladies line dancing and some others playing bad mitten and soccer, it’s the place to be I guess. It’s so funny because you will see lots of Asians running or walking around the track in their regular clothes just going barefoot. I guess that’s how they like to do things here. I’m surprised I don’t see more people wearing tank-tops or shorts with how hot it is along with the humidity, but….as I may have said before (I can’t remember)…it’s the Asian way for the women to cover themselves up. They don’t want to get ‘black’ as they say. Asian women want to be white and someone with fair skin is looked at as very beautiful. If you have darker skin you are said to be in the lower class. It’s so funny…in the middle of the day you will see whole families riding on one scooter and the women will be covered…jackets, gloves, oven mitts….whatever they can use to not be in the sun.

When we got home from running we found our first flying cockroach in our apartment….ugh, so GROSS! We starting screaming like little girls (yes, I know we are girls…but we were so grossed out), it was huge! We had Sammy take care of that one! Hanna said that’s only the second roach she’s scene in the house, so I’m kinda curious as to how it snuck its way in.

Friday, July 10th

Friday came sooooo fast! After work all of us decided to try out a Thai Restaurant in town. Actually, I wasn’t too impressed. Tabbi and I shared some thai noodles and some coconut chicken curry, but it was all very bland. I haven’t had much Thai in my time, so I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to taste like, but Tabbi, who is the thai expert, commented that it wasn’t that great! At the restaurant everyone was staring at us—like I said, they love Americans. I haven’t experienced this yet, but Hanna said she’ll even have people come up to here asking for a picture, they think she’s famous or something. We have our own paparazzi here in Taiwan!

Molly and two other friends came with us to the restaurant, Morning (oh the Asian names) and Ahmit (PH.D. student from India). Morning started writing down some weird Chinese characters as we introduced ourselves…we asked him what he was doing, and he told us he was just writing down ways he could remember us. As curious us girls are, we asked just exactly how he was going to remember us….I don’t remember the other girls’ memory log, but I will never forget mine. He pointed to the symbol and said “big nose.” Laughing out loud, I asked, “You mean I have a big nose and that’s how you will remember me?” He answered, “Yes, you big nose!” I thought it was hilarious. Molly turned to me and told me that wasn’t a bad thing and that most Asians wished they had bigger noses. She also said if you have a big nose you will be rich….I guess that’s one upside. I didn’t feel that bad, us Maygorans (‘American’ in Chinese), get bizarre comments all the time. At least I haven’t been told I look like a man yet. Steve, another Asian friend, told Hanna she looks like Bill Clinton, quite the compliment right? We were laughing about that one for awhile.

After dinner Manti and Sean came by to visit. Then we went to the night market here in Changhua. Once again, lots of food, clothes, jewelry, shoes, accessories….everything! We went for the Coconut Juice, so delicious!

P.S. Buck, I showed my kids pictures of my family and they think with your long hair you look quite Taiwanese...haha! They also loved the 'guns' in our Christmas photos we took a few years ago.

Saturday, July 11th

Well, it seems as though bad habits die hard….I’m getting back into my old ways of staying up late. I stayed up pretty late Friday night so I slept till about 11:30am on Saturday….ahhh, I hate it when I do that, but for good reason. I wanted to get enough sleep so I could have energy for hiking! I went with Manti, Sean, Steve, and some other friends. Hanna, Tabbi, and Sam were going to come but they were afraid it was going to be too hot! We left about 2:00 pm and when we got to the mountains the heat wasn’t too bad, just the humidity, but when in Taiwan…do as the Taiwanese….sweat it out! Ha, I figure I’m only in Taiwan once! The hiking is incredible here.

First of all, the mountains are more like jungles; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a jungle, but it was very green and lush. The place we went hiking is called Da Kung—it’s just outside of Tai Chung, about an hour away. Alright, second….hiking here is like the StairMaster on steroids! Instead of hiking on the ground, as most people do, the Chinese hike up logs, as if you’re climbing stairs. It’s incredible! I loved it….I actually thought it was more fun than just your regular ole’ hike. They have ropes on either side of the path so you can hold on as you go up….some spots were straight vertical, it was sweet! You’d see little old, eighty year old grandmas on the trail. I asked Manti how the oldies do it, he said it’s all about the Tai Chi. Haha.

We met some other folks on the trail, and yes…they wanted to practice their English with me. They asked me where I was from and why I was here, all the regular questions that I can almost answer in all Chinese.
After hiking we drove into Tai Chung to go to one of the biggest night markets. Traffic was crazy and there were a ton of people. Oh my, sitting in the front seat of Manti’s car felt like a roller coaster ride. We would be sitting on a one lane road with two cars trying to squeeze, scooters on the side, and people on the side of them, unbelievable. As we were driving I also saw some missionaries so I poked my head out the window and yelled out to the Elders, they looked over and waved…kinda fun!

When we arrived at the night market it was packed. With all the people, it felt like we were cattle—packed like sardines if you will. We walked around for a bit, but with little money and being exhausted from our hike, all we wanted to do was sit down and eat. As we were looking around for food we got some fruit smoothies, this time I ventured away from my Mango and got Banana Milk, so yummy! After a bit of walking, we found a little place to sit down and eat. We had noodles with a tomato sauce that reminded me of my childhood favorite, spaghettios (sp), not much of my favorite now, but it was good. Of course there was nothing to drink and dinner was a bit spicy so the boys went over and got some soup for us to sip as our drink….YUCK…one sip and I was done, it tasted like toilet water!

I got done eating and Manti noticed that I hadn’t yet finished my soup, I told him I was full and he said it was disrespectful for me not to finish my meal. Ha, I thought, I paid for this meal…I don’t have to finish it (I’m pretty sure he was joking). Manti and I made a deal…if I tried one of the floaties that was swirling around in my soup I didn’t have to finish the whole bowl. I asked what it was, but he was reluctant to tell me (of course). I scooped up the floaty and chewed fast, fast, fast….it tasted just like the soup but worse! “What was that?” I asked. “Oh, just pigs blood!” he responded. What a dirty rotten little…….haha! So yes, I am becoming more and more accustomed to the culture here. Its fun, I like it!

From pigs blood we went to another little vendor that serves a type of dessert like shaved ice, but instead of syrup on top, the Tawainese add red bean, almond, pineapple, taro, tapioca pearls, gelatin stuff, jam, and more. You can choose what you’d like….I got almond bean, strawberry jam, the pearls, and pineapple. It was a different treat, not too bad, but very interesting when all the shaved ice melts. After the night market we were beat from our all day excursion so we just came home!

Sunday July 12th

Oh I love Sundays! We actually found the English Branch today. It’s about an hour commute, first by train, and second by bus. The Chinese ward is, like I said before, very close, but it’s kind of nice going to church and actually being able to communicate (it’s a nice break from our daily routine here). The senior missionaries, mission president and his wife, branch president, and all the other members are oh so nice. There are only about 40 members or so…mostly made up of us English teachers from around Taiwan. You know what a small branch means, CALLINGS! It was our first day at church and we’ve already had a meeting with the Branch President—he assured me I’d have a calling by next week. I’m kind of excited though, callings aren’t so bad, they help you feel more apart of things, right???

In my interview, the President asked me what my goals are for my time in Changhua. I’m sure he was hoping for something spiritual, but I just told him what I’ve been thinking about: (1) To do something fun and exciting every weekend, (2) Learn Chinese, and (3) Read my scriptures daily. As far as the fun goes, I’m right on track. Next week we are planning on going to the World Games down south in a town I can’t pronounce and we are going to watch Sumo Wrestling. As for the Chinese, well…read my last sentence once more and you can see for yourself my progress there, ha. Thank goodness Sam just got Rosetta Stone…I need to get motivated.

After church we walked around for a bit in Tai Chung and found a sweet old Buddhist Temple of some sort, then we just came home. When we got back, Manti, Sean, and Julie came over to visit and we went to Bagwasan to see the Big Buddha. Wow, that is neat. This huge Buddha statue perched on the mountain. There are other statues and waterfalls nearby, along with another temple. The architecture is so interesting with lots of colors. I will try and post pictures soon!

Lets see….after Bagwasan I got to talk to my mom and dad! Yay….we talked on skype for about two hours! If anyone has skype or wants to download it for free we can chat!

Wow! Once again this is super long....so sorry. I miss you all and love you very very much! Email me and keep me updated on life! tanierg@gmail.com Loves XOXOX T