Dear friends,
Yesterday a group of us went to a little dessert store called "Ice Art" at the Cultural Center. Check out some of the amazing dessert we had! For those of you who don't know I have a "Food Album". You should check it out  =) I usually add pictures of the food I'm tasting in Taiwan every week .

Mango + Hazelnut + Chocolate Swirl Sticks

Strawberry, Kiwi, Mango, and Mango Ice Cream Shaved Ice

Grass Jelly Shaved Ice

Mango Shaved Ice

Doesn't this make you hungry?

Dear friends,
I've been practicing my bargaining skills. Check out the cool things I've bought while in Taiwan:

1) Asus Eee PC laptop- NT$9,600, US$291
2) Wallet- NT$150, US$4
3) Haircut at Dream Mall- NT$100, US$3
4) Yummy noodle lunch at the Taiwanese market- NT$25, US$0.75

I'm going to update this blog entry periodically because I've been finding some great deals. Until next time!

Dear friends,
Since arriving in Taiwan, there have been sightings of the following creatures in our apartment:
1) a white lizard
2) cockroaches
3) and more cockroaches.

While I was prepared to deal with cockroaches, I never expected to see a white lizard the first night I stayed in my apartment. Here's what happened that fateful day. I had just finished taking a shower and stepped out of the bathroom. I thought I heard some strange noise so I looked up and lo and behold, I saw a white lizard about 3 or 4 inches long crawling on the wall. Eek! I didn't scream because it was late at night and my apartment mates were sleeping, but I didn't know if I should kill it or just let it be. I decided to let it be because it was so large that if I killed it, it'd make a mess. Plus, I didn't know how to kill a lizard. Do you just whack it? Anyway, that night was my first night in Taiwan (not staying in a hotel). Let's just say, I didn't get much sleep that night because I was paranoid that a cockroach or...a lizard...was going to crawl into my bed. The next day, my program advisor told me that a white lizard is good luck and it eats mosquitos. So, good thing I didn't kill it!

My first sighting of a cockroach in our apartment was also, again, right after I took a shower one night. This time, I definitely heard a squeaky sound and when I looked down there was a cockroach in the middle of the hallway. Not knowing what to do, I immediately grabbed the toilet plunger and capped the little critter. I didn't kill it. I merely put a plunger over it's head. Since I wasn't in the mood to get the cockroach poison out and spray it (remember, I did just take a shower), I left it there until the next morning.

My whole apartment was wondering why the plunger was out in the hallway. After I told them there was a cockroach underneath, they thought my strategy of suffocating the cockroaches by putting a plunger over them was pretty clever...and hilarious. So now, whenever there is a cockroach, I reach for the plunger and Billy reaches for the poison. Once I cap the cockroach, I lift it up a tiny bit and he sprays underneath. Then we leave the plunger on top of the cockroach until the next morning. We have the whole strategy planned out.

Cockroaches beware! Plunger power!

Now, you may be wondering, "Why the heck don't they just buy cockroach poison food?" Well, here's the deal. We did buy cockroach poison food, but it's really rather freaky what the instruction pamphlet said:

(paraphrased) When the cockroach eats the poison food, it will not die immediately. In fact, the cockroach will go back to its home where the other cockroaches are and will die then. After it has died, the other cockroaches will eat its body and the poison will travel through the entire colony. So, when you happen to come across the location of the entire colony in your home (let's say the kitchen),  you'll find a rather large mass of dead cockroach bodies scattered across the floor.

When my apartment mates and I read this, we were really freaked out by the picture:

Who wants to come home to that???? (Cue to look at picture)

I also saw the logic of cockroach food poison as flawed. Why would you want to feed the cockroaches in your apartment? If there weren't that many cockroaches to begin with, you will certainly increase their numbers now that you've put food out; even if it is poisonous food, you're attracting a lot more cockroaches. I don't want my home to be a site where they die...yuck.

Anyway, I think you've heard enough about the cockroach situation =) When you sleep tonight, don't let the bed bugs bite. I certainly will be wishing they don't.

Dear friends,
After a week of meeting the schools and teacher, I finally know the school I will be teaching at and with which teacher. Drum roll, please....I will be teaching grades 4-6 with co-teacher Ashley at Hua Shan Elementary School. I am so excited to meet the kids and to learn a lot from Ashley. She is a very fun and enthusiastic person; I know we're going to have a great year together (She's also really good at karaoke).

Hua Shan is a pretty small school (only 700-800 students) and I like that it's so small because then I can really get to know my students. When I visited the school with the other Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs), I was particularly impressed by their English Village classroom (see past blog for explanation of English Village) and by how friendly the school was. School begins this Thursday and I will meet everyone either Thursday afternoon or Friday.

Visiting Hua Shan Elementary School with the other ETAs (English Teaching Assistants)

Hua Shan Elementary School is South of where I live. It is near the airport and I will be taking the MRT and riding a bike to get to the school. Ashley is going to take
 me to her school the first day so I don't get lost. I am very excited to begin teaching and I hope I can help my students become more confident and comfortable speaking English.

Me and Ashley!

The program administrators announced the matching of the local English teachers (LETs) and the English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) today. The pairing was based on the LETs rankings of who they wanted and also on the ETAs' preferences. After they announced the pairings, we all headed to lunch. After lunch, the Fulbright program coordinators planned Karaoke (KTV- Karaoke Television) for us! Ashley drove me to lunch and to KTV on her scooter. This was my first time on a scooter and I held onto Ashley so tight. I think she could tell I was a bit nervous because I kept on saying, "Woah! We're going so fast. Woah! Woah!"

This was my second time in Taiwan singing karaoke. Ashley and I sang, "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion... Check out our pose =D

Karaoke was a lot of fun. Oh, I almost forgot. Hua Shan elementary school also has an arcade room with pool table, ping pong table, basketball-shooting arcade, and many other fun games. It's known as the fun room and it's open to both teachers and students. Isn't that great? I can have fun with the students inside and outside the classroom.

I'm excited for the school year to begin and will update everyone on my adventures. Thanks for reading!

Dear friends,
Part of what makes for a good experience in Taiwan are the people you are with. As I mentioned earlier, I am here with eleven other Fulbrighters (Kate, Maya, Shana, Billy, Nicki, Vicky, Gered, Dan, Rebekah, Dani, and Katie). They are all very dynamic, fun, and witty people. I live with Kate, Rebekah and Billy (pictured below).

The picture above is our "apartment portrait" =) Billy is from New York, Kate (in the center of the picture) is from Germany, and Rebekah (far right) is from New Jersey. Some of us don't like having bare walls in our apartment, so we are probably going to take more "family portraits" of ourselves.

For the month of August, we are spending lots of time together. We travel, eat, work, and watch Battlestar Galactica (BSG) together. By the end of this year, we will know each other very well and we will also all be addicted to BSG. Good times.

Dear friends,
Since arriving in Taiwan, we have been featured in several news stories. I've pasted one with a picture of me below. Here are other news stories:
http://news.e2.com.tw/big5/2008-8/8452118.htm
http://times.hinet.net/times/article.do?newsid=1688858&option=latest
http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/aug/19/today-education1.htm

美國傅爾布萊特青年得獎人 來台教英文

自由時報 /  2008/08/19

〔記者李開菊／高雄報導〕為使英文教學從小扎根，教育局今年度特別和學術交流基金會合作，聘請12位美國傅爾布萊特青年得獎人抵高擔任小學協同英語教師，將以1年的時間，與小學生親身「接觸」，給予英語環境，讓小朋友的英文自然琅琅上口，不再「只學不敢說」。

教 育局表示，目前台灣僅高雄市與宜蘭縣和學術交流基金會合作，聘請美國傅爾布萊特青年得獎人擔任小學協同英語教師；高雄市將12人分配至有設置英語村的12 所國小服務，昨天教育局安排他們與本地英語教師相見歡，希望他們漸漸融入台灣高雄的生活；教育局長蔡清華熱烈歡迎12位美籍教師到來。

此外，搭配教育局規劃的「英語村遊學體驗營」，也將安排國小五年級學生至英語村，與這群美籍教師實地互動與學習，他們並將協助編著英語教學教材、辦理教學觀摩及成果展演等。

初抵寶島，外籍教師對高雄市的愛河、柴山、高雄港、旗津、六合夜市等美景及小吃非常嚮往，希望有機會趕快體驗一番。

Dear Friends,
This past weekend, the Fulbrighters and I ended up going to the Love River (Aihe), instead of going to Lotus Lake. There was apparently a heat wave that struck Kaohsiung and it was incredibly hot. So, our Fulbright group decided to sleep in and just take the bus to Love River.

You can find the corresponding photo album with this blog post, here. We took a love boat tour and then walked alongside the river. As we were walking by the river, we passed by a glassblower who was selling lots of cute artifacts.

Since I wanted to buy my friends in America gifts, I bought two glass phone charms that glow in the dark at this stand. Right when I was about to leave, the glassblower stops me and says he wants to make me a gift. The other Fulbrighters and I watched in awe as he made me this:

An Angel! It was a very nice gift and now I have a glass angel watching over me while I'm in Taiwan.

Dear Friends,
Today is ghost day of ghost month (7th month in the lunar calendar). This means that many people will be offering food and special money (that denote things like offering furniture, clothes, everything the ghosts need). Usually, people in households and business will do these offerings to the ghosts. When I say "ghosts," this includes the deceased and ancestors.

To do an offering, the Chinese usually put food on a table and bow their heads three times while holding incense. They will say something special like, "Please oh ancestors and ghosts, continue to protect our family and look after our business. Wish everyone long life, safety, prosperity, security, and happiness." Then after you bow, you place your incense into the food. Each food represents something different (longevity, safety, security, happiness, etc.).

I did an offering at San Min Elementary School, where we are currently having our orientation activities. Below are some pictures of what I'm talking about.

The principal of the elementary school told us a myth that people usually do not go out tonight on ghost day, but nowadays, people do go out. I'll keep you posted on other holidays I celebrate here in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Over and out, Shiela.

Dear friends,
After a week of silence, I am happy to announce that I finally got Internet installed in my apartment. I am staying with three other people in our spacious 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment complete with kitchen, living room, laundry room, basic furnishings, and a balcony. The apartment (pictures to come)  is quite comfortable despite the occasional cockroach that pops up. Our apartment is right across the street from the South gate of the Kaohsiung Cultural Center. This is an excellent location because it is near Normal University where I can take Chinese classes. There are also lots of events, fairs, festivals, and activities that happen in the Cultural Center. For instance, every morning and evening I see Tai Chi classes and aerobic dance classes taking place in the Cultural Center. I hope to join one of these Tai Chi classes in the Cultural Center when I have a more concrete idea of what my schedule will look like. My current schedule is pretty relaxed; I take the bus to San Min Elementary School every morning and sit the whole day participating in orientation activities. Do not be fooled, though. Things have only just quieted down for us Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs). Everyday of last week was jampacked with activities. From applying for our Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) to waddling in the water at Qijin island, the Fulbright Program Coordinators kept us extraordinarily busy. Let me recap some of the highlights of last week when I did not have Internet.

When I first arrived, I stayed in the Hotel Kingdom with a fellow Fulbrighter. Since this fellow Fulbrighter and I were arriving a day before everyone else, we walked the city. My first impressions were:
1) There are a ton of scooters in Taiwan,
2) Taiwan's stoplights have a timer on them so you know how long you have to wait for the red light (pretty nice),
3) Aforementioned scooters do not pay attention to aforementioned stoplights, making crossing the street extremely crazy,
4) People love to stare at foreigners (well, they don't like to stare at me all that much because they think I'm a local. Then, they hear me speak and they laugh because my Chinese is "ma-ma-hu-hu" (so-so) and are impressed by my Caucasian friends who speak better Mandarin than I. It's a rather funny situation.),
5) There are palm trees lining the streets, and
6) There's a 7-11 convenience store almost every two blocks! At the 7-11, you can pay your utility bill, buy a SIM card (pre-paid phone card) for your cell phone, get hot dogs, umbrellas, etc. The function of the 7-11s here in Taiwan are much more versatile than in the United States.

The night I arrived, I had dinner with just our Program Coordinators (see pictures in Photo Set 1: Arrival & Settling In) and we went to the Taiwanese Film Archive.  The next day, I met all the other Kaohsiung ETA Fulbrighters. Most of them had a layover in Taipei before coming to Kaohsiung so they were able to chat and get to know one another. On that day (the 2nd day I arrived), our program coordinators took us on an AMAZING shopping excursion.

We all loaded up onto this huge tour bus and went to IKEA and Carrefour (a large supermarket) to buy stuff for our apartments. There are twelve of us Fulbright ETAs and three apartments; four people live in each apartment. Two of the apartments are near each other and are in the same security-guarded complex (that's my apartment, Apartment A, and Apartment B). Apartment C is about two blocks from where we live. We all loaded up into this tour bus and went shopping for four people and an apartment. You'll see pictures of us fooling around in IKEA (sitting at desks) here. After buying all this stuff, we moved into our apartments and were utterly exhausted the rest of the night.

The next day, we rested and took a boat tour on the "Love River" and went to Qijin island. It was incredibly fun and I got to see much of Taiwan. On the boat tour, I saw the Hong Kong Navy (I'm not too sure why it was there), and an oil rig. When we arrived at Qijin, a group of us decided to hike to the top of the lighthouse on Qijin island. The lighthouse was closed, but the scenic overlooks were absolutely beautiful. I had yummy barbecued squid for dinner later that day at Qijin. There was also a Taiwanese boy band playing in the open space at Qijin island. You'll see in the pictures a group dancing and holding a boat on top of their heads.

During the next few days, we applied for our ARCs (Alien Resident Certificate) visited Xiziwan Beach, visited English Village (a place where 5th graders and other students can come practice prearranged English dialogs), and ate/shopped at the night markets (specifically Liuhe Yeshi and Zhong Xiao).

Xiziwan Beach was very windy when we went, but the restaurant there was excellent. I've been eating some amazing food here in Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is a seaport so there's lots and lots of seafood--my favorite!

In Kaohsiung, the government has been spending lots of money on establishing "English Village" sites. These are places where students can go to practice specific English dialogs. Since Kaohsiung, Taiwan will be hosting the 2009 World Games, the government wants the students to be able to interact with English speakers and introduce to them the city's history and people. However, the sites are not exclusively geared toward this goal. The English Village sites have over 20 environments (i.e. hotel, grocery store, airport, bank, post office, etc.) where Taiwanese children can practice conversational English. The English Village we went to in Ling Zhou was housed in a huge building with four levels. The ETAs will be participating in English Village a few hours each week in addition to teaching English at a specific school.

After visiting both Xiziwan Beach and one of the English Villages, the next memorable outing was at the night markets! I really like the night markets because I can practice bargaining. I got a wallet here for NT$150, which is a little over US$4. The food at the night markets were amazing. They had fish balls, barbecued squid (like the kind I ate at Qijin), bubble tea (which I never tasted until coming to Taiwan), and other assorted seafood. Liuhe Yeshi is the tourist night market and Zhong Xiao is a night market by where we live.

We've been very busy these past few weeks and now that I have Internet, I'll be updating much more frequently. This weekend, I planned a day trip for all of us Fulbrighters to go to Lotus Lake (Lianchitan) to visit Confucius Temple (Kong Miao), Spring and Autumn Pavilions (ChunQiu Ge), and the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (Longhu Ta). It should be amazing and I hope the weather will be nice.

The weather so far has been very very humid and hot. I think it's a little more intense than Hong Kong. Kaohsiung is past the Tropic of Cancer so I wouldn't expect it to be cooler. I was very worried about the humidity damaging my clothes, but I bought so many water absorbers for my drawers and closet that I think I'm fine. My apartment also bought a dehumidifier to help dry our clothes in the laundry room.  If you come visit me, though, be ready to get drenched in sweat from the hot and wet climate.

So far, I am loving Taiwan and am so excited to meet the Local English Teachers (LETs). We meet them next week and depending on who we choose, we will go to their school. The Fulbright ETAs will all be teaching at elementary schools because our Kaohsiung group is the pilot group; the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange wants to be sure that the program is successful before moving it to the middle school level. It has been so much fun and I can't wait to begin the year, meet my kids, and mix with the locals!