Dear friends,
I went with my host family biking all around Kaohsiung today. They just bought new collapsible bikes. We rode them from Love River to Dream Mall to Qijing island. To get to Qijing island, we rode the ferry with our bikes. At Qijing, we ate squid on a stick and basked under the warmth of the sun. It was very cool weather to ride bikes today, the weather was probably around the mid 70s.
You can find more pictures from today in this album: Taiwan Photo Set 30.
Dear friends,
It's about time I devoted an entry to my students. They make teaching so enjoyable every single day. I've made an album of them that I will update frequently here.
Do you remember that I teach at Hua Shan Elementary School and Ling Zhou ELementary School's English Village? At Hua Shan Elementary, I keep the students really busy so they usually don't have time to ask me a lot of personal questions. Although I teach at Hua Shan everyday and I feign not knowing Chinese (only works some of the time), I don't give my students a lot of opportunities to ask me personal questions (I give them lots of time to ask me culture questions, though). Please note that in Taiwan, people in general do not hold back in asking about your personal life. It's very typical. At English Village, I only teach two half days and they have the opportunity to ask me a ton of questions because there's more time available. Here are some questions I've been asked:
Curious Student 1: Teacher! How old are you?
Me: Hmm...(This is probably the third time I've been asked this question today and not just by students, but by other teachers) Good question. Guess!
Curious Student 1: 100!
Curious Student 2: 200!
Curious Student 3: 5!
Me: Wow, do I look 100 and 5 at the same time? Try again...
Curious students guess many times before finally guessing my age.
Another question I've been asked many many times:
Curious student 1: Teacher! Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Do you know Spider-Man? That's my boyfriend!
Curious students burst out into laughter. Sometimes, I change my boyfriend to be Batman & Superman. The kids get a kick out of it.
Dear friends,
Billy, a fellow Fulbrighter, and I were featured in a newsletter called the Maritime Capital that is printed in both English and Chinese. See this link: http://mag.udn.com/mag/newsstand/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=161849
The story is pasted below...
Experience a “Fresh” Kaohsiung Meet William and Shiela／高雄鮮體驗 認識William 和Shiela
【Text／Hsin-yi Peng；Photo Courtesy／William and Shiela】
The "International Village English World" is Kaohsiung City's English education project in 12 elementary schools for 5th and 6th graders. On the eve of Halloween, the students had a chance to experience the fun of Halloween with the help of their Taiwanese and foreign teachers, making Halloween masks, wrapping mummies, and hanging doughnuts on a rope for a game. Through diverse curriculum and everyday scenarios, Kaohsiung City Government hopes to inspire students to become interested in learning English.
The Education Bureau, in cooperation with the Fulbright Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, recruits Fulbright Fellows as co-teachers to teach English in the 12 elementary schools that are part of the "International Village English World". In the International Village, there are simulation hotels, restaurants, and an airport for the children to practice, so that they will no longer be afraid to speak English. For the schools that are not part of the "International Village", the Education Bureau has scheduled "International Village study Tour camp", which will Allow an additional 17,000 students to come to the International Village this year to interact with the American teachers and gain more language skills.
William(left) and Shiela (right)(Photo／William and Shiela)
方家樂(左)和李詩媚(右)(圖／方家樂、李詩媚)
The foreign teachers arrived in Taiwan at the end of August and their co-workers are very impressed with their enthusiasm for teaching. William and Shiela are two members of the current team and they are here to share with us their experience in Kaohsiung.
William Billy Fong just graduated from the Colby College. He said he was thrilled to have the opportunity to come to Taiwan and teach, as well as learn about the education system in Taiwan as he gains more experience in teaching. William was assigned to Zuo-ying Elementary School to team with Ms. Chun-yao Fang as co-teachers. Together, they teach English to children between 3rd and 6th grades. William said that he used the website YouTube as a tool for the students to practice their listening comprehension and expressions. His hope is for the students to learn more about the respective cultures of Taiwan and the US, but most importantly, he wants the students to speak with self-assurance, to understand the purpose of learning English, and to increase their confidence in learning English.
The students who attended the "International Village study tour camp" actually practiced beforehand; William remembered one particular incident when he was role-playing as a cashier in the International Village supermarket. He was practicing the conversation with a student when the student unexpectedly took out a home-made coupon! William cracked up right then and there. He enjoyed seeing his student showing their efforts in learning, and that's where most of the fun of this teaching assignment comes from.
William is very impressed with the convenience of life brought by the Kaohsiung MRT. A native of New York, he loves to go shopping on the streets. He arrived in Kaohsiung in August, but already he shops like a native and says that he will "definitely not miss the anniversary sales"! He likes the beach and lighthouse of Cijin District and he strongly recommends the charcoal grilled calamari, a specialty delicacy of the area.
Another teacher here to share her experience is Shiela Lee. She started working in Hua-shan Elementary School only a few months ago, but already she is very close to the faculty and the students, who address her as "Teacher Shiela". Shiela said she is very grateful to the faculty and students of Hua-shan Elementary School. The teachers and students made the transition to Taiwan very easy because they were so welcoming. For that reason, Shiela considers Hua-shan Elementary School the most charming place in Kaohsiung, along with Love River and Cijin District.
Sutdents wear Halloween face masks in Shiela's class.(Photo／William and Shiela)
李詩媚的學生戴上萬聖節面具(圖／方家樂、李詩媚)
Shiela remembered her astonishment when she saw the long lines of motorcycles on the road in Kaohsiung, which is a sight she could not even begin to imagine in her hometown in Colorado. She also shared the memory of her first time sitting as a passenger on a motorcycle, she was so nervous that she squeezed her rider with both arms at full strength. Such unique experiences have left deep impressions in her Taiwan experiences. Shiela likes the convenience of traveling in Kaohsiung City; she hopes to learn more about the customs and traditional holidays and festivals in Taiwan.
Shiela mentions that there are many students with different skill levels that come to the village. When Shiela sees students at English Village, she has to be creative to address the different skill levels. And, she wants to improve the confidence in her students' speaking ability. She likes to teach English through everyday life, such as making Halloween masks, and letting the students learn a different culture through games and experience the fun of learning.
方家樂的學生體驗「包裹木乃伊」活動(圖／方家樂、李詩媚)
Students play wrapping mummies in William's class.(Photo／William and Shiela)
高雄市12所設有「全球村英語世界」(International Village English World)國小5至6年級學生，在12位台灣籍和外籍教師搭配進行協同教學下，於萬聖節前夕，動手製作萬聖節面具、包裹木乃伊和串在繩上的甜甜圈等萬聖 節相關活動。高雄市政府教育局希望透過多元且生活化的英語情境教學引發學生們的英文學習興趣。
教育局透過與美國傅爾布萊特基金會合作，聘請傅爾布萊特青年得獎人進駐全市12所設有「全球村英語世界」的國小１年，擔任小學協同英語教師，在全球村裏模 擬旅館、餐廳、機場等各種情境，讓小朋友們不再害怕開口說英語。對於沒有設置全球村的學校，教育局則安排「英語村遊學體驗營」的方式，預計今年會有 17000學生到英語村與這群美籍教師實地互動、學習。
這群外籍老師於今年８月抵台，和他們一起合作的工作夥伴相當稱許這群充滿教學熱忱的老師們，團員中的William和Shiela與大家分享他們在高雄的感受。
剛從Colby College畢業的方家樂(William Billy Fong)表示他很高興能有這個機會到台灣教書，吸收教學經驗，同時了解台灣的教育系統。方家樂被分配到高雄市左營國小，與方瓊瑤老師搭配進行協同教學， 教導三到六年級的學生英語。方家樂說他會利用YouTube網站來訓練習學生們的聽力以及表達能力，他希望能讓學生對於台灣跟美國文化能有進一步的認識， 更重要的是鼓勵學生勇於發言，讓他們了解學英語目的，增加他們對於學習英文的信心。
前來英語村遊學體驗營的學生事先都經過充份的練習，方家樂談起有回他在全球村扮演超市收銀員的角色，與學生練習對話，學生們出奇不意的秀出一張自備的折價卷，讓他笑翻天，學生們的用心讓他覺得這份教學工作真的很有趣。
他相當稱讚高雄捷運帶來便利的生活，家住紐約的方家樂很喜歡逛街，儘管８月才到高雄，他已經逛到熟門熟路，還樂此不疲地說：「一定不會錯過週年慶的！」除此，旗津的烤小卷是他強力推薦的美食，他也很喜歡到旗津海灘和燈塔遊玩。」
另一位在華山國小服務的李詩媚( Shiela Lee)，她到華山國小才幾個月，卻已經跟華山的全體員工和學生打成一片，學生們都叫她Teacher Shiela，李詩媚說她非常感謝華山國小全體師生的協助，讓她很順利地適應初到台灣的轉折期，也因此，李詩媚說對她而言，龍華國小跟愛河、旗津一樣，都 是她心中高雄最迷人的地方。
談起她第一次到高雄看到長龍般的機車，壯觀的機車場景讓她驚訝不已，因為在她的故鄉科羅拉多看不到這樣的場景，她還提起第一次被載在摩托車上，她緊張地緊 緊箍住載她的人，這樣特別的經驗深深烙印在她的台灣經驗裏。她覺得高雄市到哪都很方便，她希望利用這一年可以多了解台灣的風土人情和傳統節慶。
李詩媚表示，前來全球村體驗的學生每個人的英文程度都不一樣，因此，李詩媚說面對學生時她必須更有創意地調整教學內容，以達到因材施教的目地。除此，李詩 媚也希望能提升學生「說」英文的自信。李詩媚希望藉由生活化英文學習機會，比如製作萬聖節的面具，讓學生從遊戲中認識不同的文化，體會到學習的樂趣。
【本文出自《海洋首都中英文雙月刊》第52期】
Dear friends,
I'm behind on my blogging because I've been so incredibly busy these past four weeks. On Sunday, December 21, the Bureau of Education organized a trip for all the ETAs (English Teaching Assistants), LETs (Local English Teachers), and host families of the ETAs to go to Ping Dong county (Sandimen) & Mei-Nung. If you remember, I have already been to both of those places so I showed my co-teachers and host family around.
From left, the family of my host mom's colleague (whose son also happens to be my student!), me, co-teacher Chia-Ling, and my host family
When we went to Sandimen, I rode a swing made by the aboriginals. Two people need to be in balance to pull the rope strings that swing the swing. It was pretty fun.
Here I am on the swing...
After we played with the swing, all of the ETAs, LETs, and host families went to make clay pottery. Last time I went to Meinung, I made a cup, remember? This time, I made a wall decoration (see picture below). I had my host family and co-teachers sign it. The top two holes are for stringing ribbon through so it will hang. The bottom hole is for me to hang a picture of my host family and co-teachers.
There are lots and lots of pictures of this trip here. Be sure to check it out!
Dear friends,
Every Wednesday, I have lunch with fellow teachers and we try lots of different kinds of food around the Xiao Gang area in Southern Kaohsiung. We've recently tried the-cook-it-in-front-of-you style barbecue (the name of the style escapes me right now) and Korean hot pot.
The cook-it-in-front-of-you barbecue style (above)
I have tried so many different kinds of food while in Taiwan. Be sure to check it out in this album.
Dear friends,
I went to a really amazing restaurant last weekend with my host family. The restaurant was called Wang Steak House. The food was excellent and so pretty! There are more photos in this album. My friend Margaret B. came to visit me from Nanjing, China so she joined us for the dinner and night out. We had a birthday coupon so we all pretended it was my birthday =D. This restaurant had such great service. They took this picture of us, developed it, and gave us a photo frame to put it in! Amazing, eh?
This post is rather short because I've been really busy gearing up for my school's 10-year anniversary this Saturday. I'll write more about that when it happens! =D
Dear friends,
My host family took me, Dan, and Dani to make dumplings at their house today. We boiled the dumplings and they were delicious. Afterwards, we tossed/kicked around a ball before heading out to Kaohsiung Seaport. The seaport reminded me a lot of New York's Pier 21. Kaohsiung's seaport is an industrial cargo port, though, whereas New York's pier is mainly a fish pier if I remember correctly. The area we went to had many factories and coal firing plants. My host mom told me that the villagers that used to live there were paid to leave by the government because it was not healthy to live near the large factories. The pier was still pretty and peaceful, despite the pollutants in the air.
All of us making dumplings
At the seaport, the control tower is shaped as the Chinese character "Gao" for Kaohsiung. After we visited the seaport, we went to a special place where you can watch the airplanes land & take-off while drinking beverages. I thought it was a bit strange at first, but once I saw what this special place was, I liked it very much. The special place is basically an outdoor cafe right beside an airplane landing strip.
It's very cool because they played music from the movie Cape No. 7 (see previous blog) while you were sitting outside sipping your mango sherbert drink or cafe latte. I never thought I'd be excited watching an airplane land & take-off, but it was pretty amazing. You can see pictures of the outdoor cafe in this album.
Dear friends,
Last night I went with my school's basketball coach and some Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) to watch a baseball game. It was so much fun! This was probably the first time I actually payed attention to a baseball game for the entire nine innings. Back in the States, I usually get bored after the fifth inning and want to leave because the game is taking so long. But this time was much more exciting. I think it was more exciting because at the baseball game, the fans had organized cheers. The teams that played against each other were the Taipei Elephant Brothers (yes, that's their full name) and the Kaohsiung La New Bears. Taipei's colors are yellow and black and Kaohsiung's colors are teal and white. We initially thought we were going to cheer for La New Bears because it was Kaohsiung's home team, but apparently Taipei has a larger fan base.
The crowds had organized cheers and would wave their little yellow horns/sticks that make noise. Taiwanese baseball games are pretty noisy, but I think that's a good thing because then people like me don't fall asleep! I enjoyed the cheers very much. There were a lot of cheers that involved saying "Chuan Lei Da!" for "Home Run!" In the end, the Elephant Brothers (Taipei Team) won by one point.
A popular player on the Elephant Brothers team, #23, scored three home runs at the game prior to the one we watched. #23's nickname is Cha-Cha. At last night's game, we saw one home run made by #52 whose nickname is Electric Fireball. It was pretty sweet.
Outside the baseball stadium after the game
Kate, me, and Coach Pao
Kate, Selena (remember her from my previous posts? Her brother owns the Modern Toilet Restaurants), and me
You can find more pictures of the baseball game here.
All the students + me + Tai-Shia
Dear friends,
This afternoon I visited Xiao Gang Senior High School for two hours. My Host Mom teaches English at this high school and she invited me to come speak to one of her English classes. The students prepared 41 questions to ask me! Some of the questions we discussed include:
1) How are you adjusting to Taiwanese life?
2) Why did you choose to come to Taiwan?
3) Have you faced any racial discrimination since coming to Taiwan?
4) How is the education system in the United States different from the Taiwanese?
5) What suggestions do you have for preparing a speech?
6) What is the current economic situation in America?
7) How is the food different in America?
8) What is college life like in America?
9) Have you been to any pubs in America and what are the differences between pubs in America?
10) What is your favorite food in Taiwan?
In answering these questions, I delved into issues of:
China-Taiwan relations (Northern Taiwan is more blue or pro-China + Taiwan relationship and the South is more green or pro-independence), American identity (what does it mean to be American? Must you have white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes?),
Differences in American and Taiwanese students (American students: very vocal, may challenge the teacher, Taiwanese students: more obedient & respectful of the teacher),
Obesity (America has larger portion sizes than Taiwan),
Voting (Taiwanese can only vote in person, not by mail),
Teaching styles (American teachers ask students for input a lot--why do you think this? Why do you think that? Taiwanese teachers teach by memorization of sentence patterns),
UV (ultraviolet) Ratings (In America, the UV rating is zero. In Taiwan, the UV rating is seven. So, lots of people in Taiwan where funny arm garments to cover their skin when driving in the car and walking down the streets. Parasols and sunscreen are also very popular. Needless to say, I have already bought myself a parasol, sunscreen, and funny arm garments.)
Scooters (There are virtually no scooters in America, but in Taiwan, they're ubiquitous. I explained to the students that people in America drive motorcycles and they wear leather clothing to protect themselves if they get into an accident. The students did not understand why Americans wear leather because scooter drivers only wear a helmet and the funny arm garments that protect against the sun in Taiwan. If they get into an accident, they deal with the scars.)
and many other topics I can't remember off the top of my head.
I spoke to the students with a microphone, which is very common in classrooms. You're usually teaching about 30 students in each class so a microphone is necessary. When break time came, the microphone automatically turned off to signal to the teacher that it's time to let the kids go. Break time was actually sweeping time, a time where all students clean their school. I think that sweeping is such a great idea because it teaches the students how to keep areas clean and to be responsible for your own messes. I think American schools should adopt sweeping times to make it easier for the school janitor.
I forgot to mention to the students that in America, we not only don't have sweeping time in schools, but we also don't have nap time. Taiwanese students (elementary to high school) all take naps from 1pm to 1:30pm. Additionally, I forgot to mention that the Taiwanese calendar starts on a Monday whereas the American calendar starts on a Sunday. I've been teaching my fourth and fifth graders about those two differences, "no nap time in America" and "calendar starts on Sunday."
Here are some pictures of me with the high school students.
Speaking to the students. On the far right was the student host who selected questions to ask me. All the students wrote questions for me.
Another pictures with all the students
Me with some of Tai-Shia's English students
Isn't this part of the high school so cool?! The students told me that during break time, they'll stand and just look out into the distance on this cool "bridge hallway."
Dear friends,
Last night, Selena, a colleague of me, Billy, and Kate at Ling Zhou Elementary School, took us to her brother's restaurant "Modern Toilet". Yes, you won't believe this, but the entire restaurant is toilet themed. The chairs are toilets, tables are bathtubs, curtains are shower curtains, etc. It's incredibly funny. The food is also delicious.
The seats at the restaurant
Taking a little shower in the restaurant =D
Hot Pot in a toilet bowl!
Rice curry, chicken, and cheese dish in a bathtub bowl!
Our drinks came in this
Kate getting napkins for Selena!
Dessert: ice cream in Taiwanese squatting toilets =D
And then...came the humongous dessert shaved ice with strawberry, strawberry syrup, fruit, and ice cream.
There are several "Modern Toilet" Restaurants in Taiwan, and they just opened up two restaurants in Hong Kong. We had a really great time at the restaurant. Food was good, atmosphere was great, and company was hilarious. We talked and laughed so much while we ate that the whole restaurant kept on turning their heads and either glared at us, or just stared at us. Good times!
RSS Feed