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!

 


Comments

Christine
08/26/2008 8:53am

Gosh Shiela!
Everything you wrote you make me giggle.
I wish I were there having fun with you.
<3

Reply
Ashley
08/26/2008 8:59am

Dear Shiela,
I am so happy and excited when the professor announced your name.
I am very impressed with everything this afternoon. Especially you hold me so tight and say "so fast" continually. Ha. I share the experience with my family tonight, and they are interested, too.

Reply
Ashley
08/26/2008 9:01am

Dear Shiela,
One more thing, you don't need to buy a new helmet. I have a new helmet which will be colored by the students. Therefore, it is special and unique.

Reply
Shiela
08/26/2008 11:22am

Wow!! Thank you so much, Ashley. It is such an honor to be at your school and I am very excited to be working with you. I just sent you an email so please check your inbox =D. Oh wait, I don't have your email address...I'll get your email from Chris tomorrow =)

Reply
Ashley
08/27/2008 10:24am

You're welcome, Shiela. I have been excited from yesterday to now, ha. I have sent you an email to check the Friday's schedule. Just check it. ^.^

Reply
Wen
08/27/2008 6:35pm

Hi, Shiela,

I am so glad to see the picture of you and Ashley. I think you two are look-alike, very enthusiastic and have the fun-loving personality. I wish you the best for the up-coming semester. You will be a great teacher.

Are you sure that you want to ride bike to work? Is there a designated bike road? Make sure you are safe.

So, how long does it take you to work?



Reply
Wen
08/27/2008 6:43pm

I Just checked Billy's web site. I love the cockroach war story. He is such a story teller!!

So, is Billy still the Dad, Kate still the Mom?

Reply
Christine
08/27/2008 7:43pm

Can't wait till our Friday skype date. There might be a chance we need to reschedule it though. I am moving this weekend to a more permanent apartment. I will let you know by Friday. Lovvvve, C

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