On Friday night, Rick got into a scooter accident on the way to class. During the accident, his scooter fell on his foot which caused him to fracture a bone in his foot. Originally, the doctor had told him it would take eight weeks to heal. He was pretty upset, considering his plans to travel around Taiwan and elsewhere. We were 99% sure that he would be coming home with me on December 30th. But he had a follow up appointment first and we were hoping for the best.
Our friends, David and Monica, offered Rick to stay on their couch while his leg healed and then he could travel. Rick's spirits were lifted. He was thinking of asking to work at Gloria longer while he healed and then doing his trip around Taiwan (but now on a train) and then going to Sri Lanka. We headed to the doctor yesterday with high hopes. He said it was a 4-6 week healing time so that was very exciting. Rick decided on staying and working and he just had to talk to our boss.... who told him he can't work for Gloria any more because his working permit will be expired :( Set back again but Rick has decided to stay and try and look for some work during his healing time.. then travel once his leg is back to 100%.
So now instead of thinking I won't see Rick for about a month to two months.. 4-6 weeks is now added on top of that. I will miss him a lot BUT I am very excited to get to see all my friends and family. Hopefully everyone will keep me busy. (Mom and Dad, I don't mean busy with housework....)
In other news, Tuesday marked the beginning of saying goodbye to our classes which has turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. I thought that the younger classes would be harder but so far, saying goodbye to my older classes has sucked. I have been given so many cards and hugs, it feels so bittersweet to be saying goodbye. I am going to miss all my students, co-teachers and friends so much. I really wasn't expecting it to be this hard to say goodbye so maybe that is what is making it harder. I think a big aspect of it is that when I left Canada, I knew I would be back. I don't know when or if I will ever be back in Taiwan. I think that is more sad than anything.
Only eight days to go.
Showing posts with label teaching english in taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching english in taiwan. Show all posts
22 January 2014
16 January 2014
Two Weeks To Go
Officially two weeks until my flight. Still doesn't feel real. This week, I am telling the rest of my classes that next week is my last week. With my younger classes, my coteachers and directors didn't want me telling them yet so now I will tell them. I told one baby class yesterday and it was so sad. They are one of my favourite classes, along with one of my favourite coteachers. Every Wednesday from 2-3:30, I will miss them.
In other news, Rick and I booked a trip to Tainan this weekend! Tainan is the old capital of Taiwan, before Taipei so it is one of the bigger cities in Taiwan. It is also in the Southern part so I am hoping it is a little hotter there than it has been here. Lucky for us, Taiwan is so small so we will be taking the High Speed Rail after work on Saturday night and back on Monday morning. We wanted to do something a bit further away but were unsure of what to do because of Atlas and then one of my friends reminded me about Air BnB. We've used it before and always had a great experience. With Air BnB, you are renting someone's home to stay in for a few nights AND we found a place with pets allowed.
Tainan will be our last trip within Taiwan before I leave which will be pretty sad but I am so excited. Today, we are off to lunch with some friends who are leaving for a vacation before we leave so we won't get to see them a lot. Last night, we went to a nightclub in Chungli with two other friends. It is called Search and its pretty popular among the teachers at Gloria bu we had never been before. One more thing I crossed of my to do list before leaving.
In other news, Rick and I booked a trip to Tainan this weekend! Tainan is the old capital of Taiwan, before Taipei so it is one of the bigger cities in Taiwan. It is also in the Southern part so I am hoping it is a little hotter there than it has been here. Lucky for us, Taiwan is so small so we will be taking the High Speed Rail after work on Saturday night and back on Monday morning. We wanted to do something a bit further away but were unsure of what to do because of Atlas and then one of my friends reminded me about Air BnB. We've used it before and always had a great experience. With Air BnB, you are renting someone's home to stay in for a few nights AND we found a place with pets allowed.
Tainan will be our last trip within Taiwan before I leave which will be pretty sad but I am so excited. Today, we are off to lunch with some friends who are leaving for a vacation before we leave so we won't get to see them a lot. Last night, we went to a nightclub in Chungli with two other friends. It is called Search and its pretty popular among the teachers at Gloria bu we had never been before. One more thing I crossed of my to do list before leaving.
14 January 2014
13 Things I Won't Miss About Taiwan
So I have been getting a little sad lately about leaving Taiwan. Leaving the place I've lived for a year. Leaving all these people and places that I see on a daily basis and will probably never see again. I have decided to combat this sadness I will make a list of things about Taiwan that drive me crazy aka 13 things that I won't miss.. one for each month that I have been here!
1. Driving a scooter in the rain
2. Not being able to just order what I want at a restaurant without some kind of language barrier
3. How much it rains
4. The amount of times I have been sick in the past year
5. Lunch boxes, pig's blood, chicken butt, red bean soup, red bean anything, taro, squid balls, fish ball soup; Taiwanese food dishes that I do not understand
6. Mosquitoes
7. Eating dinner every single night at 9:30 or even later
8. The complete disregard that drivers have for each other
9. Not being able to properly discipline children because they don't speak enough English
10. Scaring children in stores simply because I am a foreigner and they've never seen a foreigner before
11. Knowing enough Chinese to know that people are talking about me but not what they are saying
12. Learning the frustrating language that is Chinese
13. "You're Canadian.. why are you cold?"
1. Driving a scooter in the rain
2. Not being able to just order what I want at a restaurant without some kind of language barrier
3. How much it rains
4. The amount of times I have been sick in the past year
5. Lunch boxes, pig's blood, chicken butt, red bean soup, red bean anything, taro, squid balls, fish ball soup; Taiwanese food dishes that I do not understand
6. Mosquitoes
7. Eating dinner every single night at 9:30 or even later
8. The complete disregard that drivers have for each other
9. Not being able to properly discipline children because they don't speak enough English
10. Scaring children in stores simply because I am a foreigner and they've never seen a foreigner before
11. Knowing enough Chinese to know that people are talking about me but not what they are saying
12. Learning the frustrating language that is Chinese
13. "You're Canadian.. why are you cold?"
8 January 2014
Twenty Two Days
It feels really weird to be having a countdown for coming home. Especially when you consider that I started this blog with a countdown for coming to Taiwan. I only have 22 days left in the country and only 19 days left until I am finished working. The other day I started to get stressed out about all the stuff I have and not being able to fit it into two suitcases, so I did what every other sane person would do. I started packing.
This only made me more stressed out. That one suitcase is half full and that is only souvenirs, some shoes (not even all my shoes), and some random little tidbits. I still have all my clothes, toiletries, medicine, shoes, coats, and all my favourite coffee mugs to pack. I want to scream. For now, I will just obsess about it and send another box of stuff home. But then every time I send a box home, I start to think, what if when I do leave, I have all this extra room because I sent so much home in boxes? What a conundrum.
This week, I've started to tell my students that I am leaving because after teaching this week's class, I will only have two more weeks with them. So far, I have only told one class. Some were confused.
"Why are you leaving?"
"Because I have to go home."
"But you live in Taiwan.."
"But my mom doesn't live in Taiwan."
"But my mom doesn't live in Taiwan."
"She should move to Taiwan."
Or: "So when are you coming back to Taiwan?"
It was actually pretty sad to tell this particular class. I have been their one and only foreign teacher and I've gotten to watch them learn so much. I will really miss them. I'm hoping that it gets easier to tell my classes each time but I'm thinking it will actually be the opposite.
24 December 2013
Teaching Christmas
Since we arrived right on Christmas Eve last year, we kind of missed the crazy that is Christmas at Gloria. For the past week, we've been having Christmas parties in all of our classes. Its been a lot of fun but I am so exhausted. Rick and I decided that we didn't want to just make Christmas cards with our students which is what they usually do. So I researched and found some crafts to do with different levels. With our older classes, each student gets to make a wreath and decorate it. The younger classes made reindeer with their hands for the antlers and their foot for the head. Here are a couple pictures of my cutest kids or the best jobs done to explain...
In one of my classes, we made gingerbread houses! I was pretty impressed with them. Their houses looked a lot better than mine ever have...
Our week of Christmas parties isn't over yet! We still have tonight and tomorrow. Tonight I am making Christmas cards because its their first Christmas at an English school. The next day we are making a Santa craft, and then more wreaths. All of these Christmas parties have really helped to put me into the Christmas spirit while being so far from home. It also helps that Rick surprised me with a Christmas tree! And we've been watching a lot of Christmas movies as well.
We just realized actually that as of today, we have officially been in Taiwan for a year. When we first got here, I never would've thought I'd make it the full year. And now its only 37 more days until I am back in Canada. Time really does fly.
28 October 2013
Halloween Week in Taiwan
Day One of Halloween has gone pretty good so far! We had our classes at Ching Si and I had a lot of fun with all of them. I decided not to wear a costume but now I am wishing I did. They all had a lot of fun talking about Halloween. At the end of each lesson, I showed them a bunch of pictures that have "ghosts" in them. The last picture is of a forest and tells you to focus on the middle of the picture, and then a very scary face pops out. Rick said I shouldn't show it to the kids but they LOVED it. A lot of people believe in ghosts in Taiwan so they were sooo into the ghost stories I told and 100% focused on the picture when it happened. Everyone screamed. It was amazing. Happy Halloween! I'm also getting to know my students better and better every week. There are these two girls who come to see me throughout the day. Today, they told me who they have a crush on in the class. Soooooooooooo cute. They like the meanest boy though, I tried to tell them they should like the nice boys. The one girl said to me, "But because he is mean, he is more handsome!" Ughhhhhhhhh. I feel sorry for her later on in life haha.
Today, I have a demo in one of my kindergarten classes. I'm always so nervous for these days but so far, they have gone pretty well. I'm really worried about this one though because we rushed it. Since next week I will be on vacation, we pushed the demo backward one week instead of forward. We shall see how it goes!
Last night, Rick and I got into the Halloween spirit by finishing watching the latest season of True Blood. Also, we made cut out pumpkins to play a game in our upcoming classes. Starting tomorrow, we get to dress up in our classes for Halloween. I'll post a picture of me, Rick, and Atlas in our costumes when we get all dressed up.
Day Two: We headed off to Costco with Rick's coteacher Julian to grab some candy for our kids. Planned some games, dressed up and we were off. Where we work, we are expected to have regular class for one hour and then a Halloween party in the second hour. The students are allowed to trick or treat to the other classes if they want, or we can do Halloween related activities. My class wanted to trick or treat so off we went. The kids have to sing a song and then, the kids in that class give them candy. The song is kind of dumb and having to sing it really ruins it for the older students who are still torn between participating and not caring. My coteacher was genuinely shocked when I told her we don't actually sing that song when we go trick-or-treating in Canada, that we just say, "trick or treat."
Anyway, the students had fun. We taught them some Halloween words and played a couple games. They got some candy and a lot of them gave me some candy. I'm actually really excited for the next day of my Halloween week. My first class is so adorable, my second class has a test so I get to relax, and my third class is a lot of fun too.
Day Three of Halloween was my longest. Three classes. One of my favourite classes in the afternoon with one of my favourite coteachers. The kids were adorable, my coteacher's costume was fabulous, and they got a shit ton of candy. It was a great time. My second class was an older class but we have so much fun.
Unfortunately, it was a test day for them. Since I am going on vacation for the next two weeks (and so is my coteacher actually), we had to have the test during Halloween week. Since they were older, they didn't really mind and they all enjoyed the candy I gave them after they finished the test.
My last class was a bit older but not too old to have a Halloween party. We played games, listened to music, had some Halloween fun.
Day Four was my final day of Halloween, and it was actually Halloween. On this day, I have one younger class who were totally excited and another class who are too cool for school. Regardless, I had SO MUCH fun with my first class. They were all totally in the Halloween spirit. It was amazing. So much fun.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Today, I have a demo in one of my kindergarten classes. I'm always so nervous for these days but so far, they have gone pretty well. I'm really worried about this one though because we rushed it. Since next week I will be on vacation, we pushed the demo backward one week instead of forward. We shall see how it goes!
Last night, Rick and I got into the Halloween spirit by finishing watching the latest season of True Blood. Also, we made cut out pumpkins to play a game in our upcoming classes. Starting tomorrow, we get to dress up in our classes for Halloween. I'll post a picture of me, Rick, and Atlas in our costumes when we get all dressed up.
Day Two: We headed off to Costco with Rick's coteacher Julian to grab some candy for our kids. Planned some games, dressed up and we were off. Where we work, we are expected to have regular class for one hour and then a Halloween party in the second hour. The students are allowed to trick or treat to the other classes if they want, or we can do Halloween related activities. My class wanted to trick or treat so off we went. The kids have to sing a song and then, the kids in that class give them candy. The song is kind of dumb and having to sing it really ruins it for the older students who are still torn between participating and not caring. My coteacher was genuinely shocked when I told her we don't actually sing that song when we go trick-or-treating in Canada, that we just say, "trick or treat."
Anyway, the students had fun. We taught them some Halloween words and played a couple games. They got some candy and a lot of them gave me some candy. I'm actually really excited for the next day of my Halloween week. My first class is so adorable, my second class has a test so I get to relax, and my third class is a lot of fun too.
Me and Atlas as matching minions
Day Three of Halloween was my longest. Three classes. One of my favourite classes in the afternoon with one of my favourite coteachers. The kids were adorable, my coteacher's costume was fabulous, and they got a shit ton of candy. It was a great time. My second class was an older class but we have so much fun.
Unfortunately, it was a test day for them. Since I am going on vacation for the next two weeks (and so is my coteacher actually), we had to have the test during Halloween week. Since they were older, they didn't really mind and they all enjoyed the candy I gave them after they finished the test.
My last class was a bit older but not too old to have a Halloween party. We played games, listened to music, had some Halloween fun.
Is it bad to have favourites? Oh well, I do. These are them.
Our crazy boys.
Day Four was my final day of Halloween, and it was actually Halloween. On this day, I have one younger class who were totally excited and another class who are too cool for school. Regardless, I had SO MUCH fun with my first class. They were all totally in the Halloween spirit. It was amazing. So much fun.
Getting pretty hyper before the party started. We're required to do half a class of actual work and then we are allowed to have a party, they were pretty excited for the party.
Ruby is one of my best kids in this class. So helpful, always so excited and so dang smart. She is the one shooting her arms out and looking like its her birthday,
Bob (with his tongue out) made his own costume and was so worried it wouldn't be good enough! Me and my coteacher took lots of pictures to try and show him how great it was!
Singing their little hearts out. "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care, I can see your underwear!"
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
18 October 2013
The End is Near
So our boss emailed us back and our last day of work is January 26th. I will be booking my flight home in the next week or so and then we can all start the official countdown. The second I told my mother, she started counting the days.
I don't think I mentioned it on the blog yet but Rick is not coming back to Canada at the same time as me. He wants to stay in Taiwan for a few more weeks to do some more travelling around the island. After that, he is planning on going to Sri Lanka, then Vietnam and possibly Cambodia. I still don't believe he will actually go through with this travelling alone thing but only time will tell. If anything, I really hope he does go to Sri Lanka. One of our very good friend's (Tarisha) is from there and her father had told us before we came to Taiwan that if we wanted to go to Sri Lanka, all we would have to do was book our flight and the rest would be taken care of. So Rick is taking him up on that offer. I really don't have any interest in doing any more travel than we already have done/will do. Plus if you take into consideration my debt from school, along with the fact that I will be making more school debt when I come home, I can't justify travelling any longer. I also just really wanna get home.
I think I have found a friend to watch Atlas while we are in Thailand. He said yes but on the condition that his roommate is okay with it. His roommate has allergies and was concerned about Atlas staying there for two weeks so we are doing a dry run this Sunday. Let's hope it goes well or off to the kennel for my baby!
This Sunday, we are headed to Taipei so it worked out well that Kyle wanted to watch Atlas for us. Rick is participating in a research study, he will be getting an fMRI procedure done. They will be watching how his brain reacts when he is shown English words in comparison to someone who is a non-Native speaker. Originally, we were both supposed to do the study. But when they called to confirm, they mentioned if there is a history of epilepsy that you cannot do the procedure. While I didn't have epilepsy, I told them about my seizure disorder. They then said I couldn't do the study because the procedure has the ability to cause a seizure. So I will go to support Rick and watch him get poked and prodded. Before the study, we are going to eat some nice Greek food and cupcakes. I am pretty excited.
I leave you with pictures of the cutest dog in the world...
I don't think I mentioned it on the blog yet but Rick is not coming back to Canada at the same time as me. He wants to stay in Taiwan for a few more weeks to do some more travelling around the island. After that, he is planning on going to Sri Lanka, then Vietnam and possibly Cambodia. I still don't believe he will actually go through with this travelling alone thing but only time will tell. If anything, I really hope he does go to Sri Lanka. One of our very good friend's (Tarisha) is from there and her father had told us before we came to Taiwan that if we wanted to go to Sri Lanka, all we would have to do was book our flight and the rest would be taken care of. So Rick is taking him up on that offer. I really don't have any interest in doing any more travel than we already have done/will do. Plus if you take into consideration my debt from school, along with the fact that I will be making more school debt when I come home, I can't justify travelling any longer. I also just really wanna get home.
I think I have found a friend to watch Atlas while we are in Thailand. He said yes but on the condition that his roommate is okay with it. His roommate has allergies and was concerned about Atlas staying there for two weeks so we are doing a dry run this Sunday. Let's hope it goes well or off to the kennel for my baby!
This Sunday, we are headed to Taipei so it worked out well that Kyle wanted to watch Atlas for us. Rick is participating in a research study, he will be getting an fMRI procedure done. They will be watching how his brain reacts when he is shown English words in comparison to someone who is a non-Native speaker. Originally, we were both supposed to do the study. But when they called to confirm, they mentioned if there is a history of epilepsy that you cannot do the procedure. While I didn't have epilepsy, I told them about my seizure disorder. They then said I couldn't do the study because the procedure has the ability to cause a seizure. So I will go to support Rick and watch him get poked and prodded. Before the study, we are going to eat some nice Greek food and cupcakes. I am pretty excited.
I leave you with pictures of the cutest dog in the world...
My own personal minion
He really needed a haircut!
13 October 2013
Thanksgiving Intermission!
Slight intermission in my Hong Kong posts to say.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope everyone has an amazing couple days full of turkey and stuffing because I sure won't be eating that. Therefore, everyone I know has to eat enough for the both of us. Being away from home during holidays has really shown me how much my family and my friends mean to me. I am definitely thankful for all of them. Even if I am not home to show it.
Three small things to update on!
1. Atlas was neutered last week. He was pretty depressed for the first few days but he is back to his happy self! We haven't been making him wear the Cone of Shame lately except when we are not around to watch him. Today, we went shopping and when he returned, he had managed to take it off his own neck. I would love to know how. Hard to be mad at such a smarty pants.
2. We went to see Gravity last night. Such an amazing movie. I was so stressed the entire time. There really isn't a better way to put it. I highly suggest going to see it, and going to see it in 3D, If you have been to the movies with me, you know that I HATE 3D. I always leave a 3D movie with a pounding headache and its generally because the 3D was not done right. However, leaving Gravity I was left with the feelings of a movie that finally did 3D perfect. I was also nauseous but that is because of how much stress I felt for the characters during the movie. Our scooter ride home was terrifying because of my stress level. Seriously. Go see it.
3. Since our vacation time off to Thailand is booked (currently planning the trip!), we e-mailed our boss to let her know we would not be renewing our contract for a second year and that we are planning on returning home once it is finished. We have to give them at least two months notice in order to get our contract completion bonus and I didn't want to give them ANY reason to keep that from us. Plus, I need to know our official contract end date so I can book my ticket home. (Probably in the next week!!)
Off to do some student comments and then continue writing Hong Kong blogs.
Three small things to update on!
1. Atlas was neutered last week. He was pretty depressed for the first few days but he is back to his happy self! We haven't been making him wear the Cone of Shame lately except when we are not around to watch him. Today, we went shopping and when he returned, he had managed to take it off his own neck. I would love to know how. Hard to be mad at such a smarty pants.
2. We went to see Gravity last night. Such an amazing movie. I was so stressed the entire time. There really isn't a better way to put it. I highly suggest going to see it, and going to see it in 3D, If you have been to the movies with me, you know that I HATE 3D. I always leave a 3D movie with a pounding headache and its generally because the 3D was not done right. However, leaving Gravity I was left with the feelings of a movie that finally did 3D perfect. I was also nauseous but that is because of how much stress I felt for the characters during the movie. Our scooter ride home was terrifying because of my stress level. Seriously. Go see it.
3. Since our vacation time off to Thailand is booked (currently planning the trip!), we e-mailed our boss to let her know we would not be renewing our contract for a second year and that we are planning on returning home once it is finished. We have to give them at least two months notice in order to get our contract completion bonus and I didn't want to give them ANY reason to keep that from us. Plus, I need to know our official contract end date so I can book my ticket home. (Probably in the next week!!)
Off to do some student comments and then continue writing Hong Kong blogs.
29 September 2013
Goodbyes, Manhood, and Teachers' College
We have been back from Hong Kong for about a week now and we got right back into the swing of things! This week I am planning on writing the blogs about Hong Kong. We did SO much while we were there, that I feel like it was for more than 4 days so let's see how long these blogs take me to write.
In the past couple days, we have had to say goodbye to some good friends leaving Taiwan. Saying goodbye is kind of surreal but really sad. And the goodbyes are nowhere near finished. Still have more friends leaving in the next couple weeks and it will be really hard to say goodbye.
In other news, we have booked Atlas' surgery to have his manhood removed. Our vet speaks a little English so we went in to book the appointment. Getting your pet spayed or neutered isn't that popular in Taiwan, a lot of people think it is pointless and they don't have it done. But the government here is really trying to promote it because of the massive stray dog problem that Taiwan has. So it is really cheap to get done here. In comparison to the $400 CAD it would cost us in Canada, it will cost us $62 CAD in Taiwan. So we are going for it.
The funny thing is when we went in to the vet, we kept saying to her we want to get him neutered. And she didn't understand the word. So we keep gesturing and nothing. I have an app on my phone that does translations for me so I search it and show her the Chinese character for what we want and she goes, OHHH. And then proceeds to write down "castration," on the calendar. Which I thought was interesting because even though I know that is what they do to him, I've never heard it called that before in reference to a dog. And then I realized we probably call it neutering in Canada/America so that pet owners don't feel bad about what they are doing to their dog. Regardless, the date has been set. October 5th. Atlas will go from a boy to a man to a boy. He doesn't seem aware of his fate.
Next piece of news is that I have officially applied to Teacher's College! Said goodbye to $423 (I cried..), and I have applied to three schools; Brock, York, and Western. Brock being my first choice, obviously seeing as I would love for my mother to continue making my meals when I return. York is my second choice as Toronto is super convenient for people from Niagara to come see me and easy for me to make my way home. Western is my third choice because I love the city of London and a lot of people there. The easy part of applying is done, they have taken my money. However each school has another form I have to fill out. I will basically be writing the same essay three times about why I want to be a teacher and how my experiences will help me. Anyone want to do some editing for me? I am already 75% finished the Western supplementary form, just one part to go. Western is nice enough to make their form available online ahead of time. I have to wait until mid-October for Brock's and York is supposed to make it available to me once they have received confirmation that I have applied.
Other than that, nothing is new here. Keep an eye out for what we did in Hong Kong, that will be up soon! And just wanted to say Congratulations to my cousin Chris and his amazing wife Chelsea! They got married today and I wish them the best! Sad that I couldn't be there but I was thinking of them all day today!
In the past couple days, we have had to say goodbye to some good friends leaving Taiwan. Saying goodbye is kind of surreal but really sad. And the goodbyes are nowhere near finished. Still have more friends leaving in the next couple weeks and it will be really hard to say goodbye.
In other news, we have booked Atlas' surgery to have his manhood removed. Our vet speaks a little English so we went in to book the appointment. Getting your pet spayed or neutered isn't that popular in Taiwan, a lot of people think it is pointless and they don't have it done. But the government here is really trying to promote it because of the massive stray dog problem that Taiwan has. So it is really cheap to get done here. In comparison to the $400 CAD it would cost us in Canada, it will cost us $62 CAD in Taiwan. So we are going for it.
The funny thing is when we went in to the vet, we kept saying to her we want to get him neutered. And she didn't understand the word. So we keep gesturing and nothing. I have an app on my phone that does translations for me so I search it and show her the Chinese character for what we want and she goes, OHHH. And then proceeds to write down "castration," on the calendar. Which I thought was interesting because even though I know that is what they do to him, I've never heard it called that before in reference to a dog. And then I realized we probably call it neutering in Canada/America so that pet owners don't feel bad about what they are doing to their dog. Regardless, the date has been set. October 5th. Atlas will go from a boy to a man to a boy. He doesn't seem aware of his fate.
Next piece of news is that I have officially applied to Teacher's College! Said goodbye to $423 (I cried..), and I have applied to three schools; Brock, York, and Western. Brock being my first choice, obviously seeing as I would love for my mother to continue making my meals when I return. York is my second choice as Toronto is super convenient for people from Niagara to come see me and easy for me to make my way home. Western is my third choice because I love the city of London and a lot of people there. The easy part of applying is done, they have taken my money. However each school has another form I have to fill out. I will basically be writing the same essay three times about why I want to be a teacher and how my experiences will help me. Anyone want to do some editing for me? I am already 75% finished the Western supplementary form, just one part to go. Western is nice enough to make their form available online ahead of time. I have to wait until mid-October for Brock's and York is supposed to make it available to me once they have received confirmation that I have applied.
Other than that, nothing is new here. Keep an eye out for what we did in Hong Kong, that will be up soon! And just wanted to say Congratulations to my cousin Chris and his amazing wife Chelsea! They got married today and I wish them the best! Sad that I couldn't be there but I was thinking of them all day today!
15 September 2013
Baishawan Beach and Elementary School
Last Sunday we headed to Baishawan beach with a bunch of other foreign teachers. I was hesitant to go because a good friend of mine had told me it is a really big hassle to go there and not worth the time it takes. We did have a really good day but I definitely won't be going back to Baishawan beach. It was a hassle to get there! First, we had to take a bus to Taipei (30-45 minutes). Then we had to take the MRT to the end of one line (30-45 minutes). THEN we had to take a bus from the MRT stop to the beach (45 minutes). It was exhausting and we weren't even at the beach yet. Once we got there, we did have a lot of fun! I am really glad we went. It was nice to spend time with some of our friends. Especially since a few of them are leaving pretty soon.
Another negative to Baishawan is you are not allowed to swim in the water unless you have rented a boogie board. The Taiwanese are really nervous and odd about water, which is super weird to me considering they are an ISLAND. Surrounded by WATER. A lot of my co-teachers don't know how to swim, as well as the students. So they have a roped off area that you can freely swim in. By freely swim, I mean there are 100+ people in this roped off area. Or the open sea where you can also freely swim.. with a boogie board attached to you. I am really making it sound like we had a horrible day but totally not the case! It was a lot of fun, Atlas got to swim and relax on the beach. It was his first time in sand which was super cute. I brought my camera but beaches always make me nervous about taking pictures, I know I am a child. My friend, Emily, took a lot of pictures and as soon as she posts them, I will add them here!
The day after Baishawan, Rick and I were starting our new job at the elementary school. We weren't really sure what to expect but it definitely went a lot better than either of us thought it would. Forty minutes per class goes by really fast. I had hoped to learn all of their names and that definitely isn't happening. It is such a different environment compared to our cram school. No co teacher and 25-30 students in every class. By the time we had our lunch break (an hour after three forty minute classes), we were exhausted. We're lucky to live a two minute drive from the school so we went home to see Atlas and we just sat in silence. So so tired. Hopefully tomorrow we are better suited to the hours.
Today is Sunday, our day off! And we have a lot planned. There is a restaurant across the street from our building called Hot Dog Man. We kind of love it. The lady there speaks really good English and she is super nice, we really want them to succeed. Every time we have gone, we are the only people in there. They are having a promo day today with free hot dogs so we are going to that. After that, we are going swimming at Bobo's apartment (our amazing Chinese teacher). Then she invited us to the Performing Arts Theater. They are having a free festival there, not really sure what is going on but will update later.
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends back home! Miss you all lots!
Another negative to Baishawan is you are not allowed to swim in the water unless you have rented a boogie board. The Taiwanese are really nervous and odd about water, which is super weird to me considering they are an ISLAND. Surrounded by WATER. A lot of my co-teachers don't know how to swim, as well as the students. So they have a roped off area that you can freely swim in. By freely swim, I mean there are 100+ people in this roped off area. Or the open sea where you can also freely swim.. with a boogie board attached to you. I am really making it sound like we had a horrible day but totally not the case! It was a lot of fun, Atlas got to swim and relax on the beach. It was his first time in sand which was super cute. I brought my camera but beaches always make me nervous about taking pictures, I know I am a child. My friend, Emily, took a lot of pictures and as soon as she posts them, I will add them here!
The day after Baishawan, Rick and I were starting our new job at the elementary school. We weren't really sure what to expect but it definitely went a lot better than either of us thought it would. Forty minutes per class goes by really fast. I had hoped to learn all of their names and that definitely isn't happening. It is such a different environment compared to our cram school. No co teacher and 25-30 students in every class. By the time we had our lunch break (an hour after three forty minute classes), we were exhausted. We're lucky to live a two minute drive from the school so we went home to see Atlas and we just sat in silence. So so tired. Hopefully tomorrow we are better suited to the hours.
Today is Sunday, our day off! And we have a lot planned. There is a restaurant across the street from our building called Hot Dog Man. We kind of love it. The lady there speaks really good English and she is super nice, we really want them to succeed. Every time we have gone, we are the only people in there. They are having a promo day today with free hot dogs so we are going to that. After that, we are going swimming at Bobo's apartment (our amazing Chinese teacher). Then she invited us to the Performing Arts Theater. They are having a free festival there, not really sure what is going on but will update later.
HOT DOG MAN
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends back home! Miss you all lots!
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