Dear friends,
I was introduced to all of the faculty and staff today at Hua Shan Elementary School. It was exciting to meet all of them because they were eager to speak English. Though, some of them were nervous and it was apparent I needed to speak slower. I had lots of fun and everyone was so nice.

Hua Shan Elementary School Front Gate

When I visited the school last week, I learned that I was going to be teaching with both English teachers at Hua Shan, Jia-Ling and Ashley. I mentioned a little bit about Ashley in an earlier post, so let me talk a little bit about my other co-teacher Jia-ling. Jia-Ling teaches the 4th & 6th graders English while Ashley teaches the 3rd & 5th graders. Jia-Ling studied Philosophy of Education in England and we were both so surprised to find out that we both studied philosophy. She has studied Judith Butler & Michel Foucault just like me! We were thinking of starting a Judith Butler Reading group =D. I never knew I would be able to discuss philosophy in Taiwan. What a great coincidence!

Today, I have just been introducing myself to a lot of people. Ashley and Jia-Ling have been so kind in showing me around and helping me adjust. We planned all of next weeks classes today. I am teaching 13 different classes in 3 different grades. Four classes in the 4th grade, four classes in the 5th grade, and five classes in the 6th grade. I want to try to learn all the children's names, but because there are about 30 students in one class, I think this may be a little difficult. I'll still try, though.

Lesson planning with Jia-Ling

Lesson planning with Ashley

I didn't teach today because I am leaving for Taipei this Thursday for a Fulbright Conference. At this conference, I will meet all the other Fulbrighters (researchers and other English Teaching Assistants). It's a 3-day conference so you may not hear from me for those three days. I only went to Hua Shan Elementary School  one day of this week (today) because our coordinators felt we may have been exhausted from the orientation activities and bustling to and fro to visit schools last week.  I officially start teaching my classes on Monday, September 8, 2008. I already met some of the kids today and it was great hearing them respond to my English questions.  I will meet all of the children on Wednesday, September 10, even the ones I'm not teaching English.

The school year officially begins when I come back from Taipei!

Dear friends,
This past weekend, I went to Guan Yin Shan (name literally translates into a female saint's mountain) and Chengqing Hu (Crystal Clear Lake) with one of the local English teachers, Patty. You can find the photo album that corresponds with this post here. The hike up Guan Yin Shan had lots of steep stairs and we only made it halfway because we were meeting Patty's daughters and husband for lunch. On one side of the mountain was a rope we could use to climb up. It was kind of like a beginner's course in rock climbing--pretty fun.

Kate climbing the rope

After we climbed up Guan Yin Shan, Patty took us to eat Sushi Bar. It was very delicious and with our stomachs full, we headed to Crystal Clear Lake (Chengqing Hu). We saw a bee farm, a nine-cornered bridge, and a 7-level pagoda there. You'll see all of these pictures in Taiwan Photo Album 5. We also saw a really interesting fish in the aquarium at Crystal Clear Lake. The fish looked like it had a brain.

Anyway, this is Shiela reporting that it has been yet another grand adventure in Taiwan. Tune in next time to hear about the Fulbright Conference in Taipei that happens this weekend.