Taoyuan Night Market

Yesterday I was only teaching until around 6 and Rick wasn't teaching at all so we decided it would be a great night to check out Taoyuan city's Night Market. Rick had already been once before when we had first arrived to Taiwan and I was in my zombie-like state of sleeping and sleeping some more. But it was good that he had already been because then he could easily lead us there!

I don't know if Rick was fully aware but on the way there, we saw a pet store. The puppies were way toooo cute and I literally wanted to take home each and every one of them. They were only around $500 CAD, pretty much a bargain, right?! Now I just need to work to convince Rick...

Also on the way there, we stopped at a helmet store because we both need to buy helmets. Even though we don't have our own scooter yet, other teachers have been giving us rides and we have just been using random helmets. I was able to find one I liked for around $25 CAD but Rick wasn't. It is nice to have my own helmet now though.

Around fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the Night Market. Rick said it wasn't as busy as it was when he went, probably because it was earlier and we decided to go on a very dreary, rainy day but there were still so many options. So much food that I had no idea what it actually was and so much cheap clothing! I didn't get to shop a lot but I want to go back already. If only for the desserts that were offered here. We kind of ate dinner backwards as we got out desserts first. The first item we got was basically a small waffle filled with custard, three of them for 25 NT so less than $1 CAD. Then we got these deep fried balls that were filled with cabbage and some meat, they were okay. But my favourite part of the night market was the chocolate banana crepe I ordered. It cost me just over $1 CAD and it was easily the best thing that we got at the night market. Not to mention that the woman who made it was the cutest thing ever. I can't wait to go back!

A funny thing that happened at the night market was Rick tried to order the same beef and noodle dish that he had got last time he was there but we ended up getting something entirely different. We ended up (somehow) ordering a soup that Rick hated, I enjoyed, and that we ended up giving to Sam (one of the teachers in the dorm). But our night was not over yet! On the way back from the night market, we had to make a stop for bubble tea and the fruit and vegetable market. 

We had tried bubble tea a week ago and Rick loved it but our friend David got passionfruit bubble tea with jellies (rather than the tapioca bubbles) and we liked his so much more. We decided to try and get it and success! Easily the best bubble tea I've had (keep in mind I have only had two so far). Our next stop was the fruit and vegetable market for some pineapple and to take some pictures of fruit we had never seen before and aren't brave enough yet to try.

With one final look at the cutest puppies ever in the pet store, we were back at the dorms with time to plan my lesson for today and relax. It was really nice being done work by 6. Did I mention that we both start our first regular classes today? Hopefully they don't hate us and aren't asking where their old english teacher was. Wish us luck!

Loving my chocolate banana crepe! Can you see the excitement in my face?

Rick enjoying his amazing bubble tea in a random store 

Crazy fruit number one!

Crazy fruit number two!

Crazy fruit number three!

- Melissa

Mosquitoes

I currently have a mosquito bite on my knuckle. My knuckle. There is nothing like the buzzing of a mosquito in your ear to shock you out of a deep sleep. There is always at least one mosquito buzzing around our room in the night and while they usually bother Rick (who has about 10 mosquito bites), they are still very annoying. From what I'm told, mosquitoes are one of the only bugs that frequent Taiwan. I'm told that no one has ever seen a bee in Taiwan so I will have to wait to find out if that one is true come summer time.

Rick and I have both been given our first regular classes! We both start on Thursday. Rick was actually given two regular classes. I believe that we were given these classes because a teacher who had been living in the dorms just picked up and left without giving any notice, so it worked out well for us! Not so much for our employer who I assume had to scramble to fill the spot. Regardless, we're excited.

Today we have a mini-workshop for yellow book. It is kind of funny how they do things here. We're thrown into subbing classes (I've already subbed two yellow book classes) but I was never actually trained on HOW to teach yellow book. I observed yellow book, but no one explained it to me. You'd think the mini workshops would be first and then training but I digress. My yellow book sub classes went well and now I will actually learn to teach them so they can only go better.

- Melissa

Substitute Teaching

We have officially been in Taiwan for over two weeks and we are almost finished the observation part of our training. We had to sit in on multiple classes and we were supposed to trial teach for the last ten minutes each time. While I usually got away with not trial teaching, Rickie was forced to do so every time. But somewhere in the middle, we have been given sub classes. When another teacher is sick or on vacation, they send you a schedule (usually the day before) that you will be subbing one of their classes. You get a detailed schedule that states which textbook and what pages they are on and you plan their lesson. Usually, you get there and this all changes and you just have to wing it.

For my first sub class, I was nervous as all hell because all I could think about was the way that I, when I was young, used to treat substitute teachers. Having a substitute teacher in Canada was like having a free day where you barely had to do any work and you could sit with anyone you wanted to. This is not the case in Taiwan. The Taiwanese co-teacher is there with you so the students still can't just play around. Having a good co-teacher can really change the class dynamics. I have been lucky with every one of my subs to have an amazing co-teacher but I have heard horror stories of co-teachers undermining the foreign teacher or speaking Chinese all throughout the class to the students. (Which is counter productive when we're trying to provide an all-English environment.)

Anyway the point of this blog was to talk about my sub class that I had yesterday. They were AMAZING. They were a Smartchoice 3 class so they were pretty advanced and I could actually have a conversation with them. I wish they were one of my regular classes and they all seemed to like me a lot as well. But in other news, I have a regular class now! Thursdays from 7-9 I will be teaching a Red Book Class which means they are younger, probably around 8-10. I am so excited!!!! But before that I still have a sub tonight and one tomorrow. Rick hasn't been given a regular class yet which he is happy about because he really doesn't want to work haha he just wants to hang out in Taiwan.

Heading off to a mini workshop now then off to the hospital for a measles shot. Excuse me while I cry.

- Melissa

Day 6 in Taiwan

We have been in Taiwan for about six days now. Living in Taoyuan City which is just outside of Taipei. We started our observations for teaching about four days after we arrived and we are told this is a relaxed form of the way Gloria usually does things. Other teachers have told us that they started observing and teaching a day or two after they arrived. Whereas we are in the middle of a four day weekend (starting on the 29th to the 1st) and we don't start more observations until the 2nd.

But I am thankful that our transition has been more relaxed because I was a zombie when we first arrived. While Rick seemed to adjust quickly to the time change, all I wanted to do was sleep all day and then wake up at 4AM for some reason. Which worked out well for being able to to skype on Christmas with family but did not work out that well for my sleep pattern. But finally, I think I am finally adjusted to the time zone.

While I am excited to be here, I miss home terribly. I miss my mother, my family, my best friend, and all of my other friends. I miss waking up in my bed. I miss my dog. I miss snow. Never thought I would say that.

I think today this might be hitting me harder as the internet is out in our dorm. So there is a lot less to do to waste the day away. We are currently sitting in a cafe using their free wifi to let our loved ones know that we might be harder to reach in the next couple of days. Hopefully it is fixed before then but I am betting we won't have any internet leading up to New Year's. 

Our plans for New Year's are still up in the air. To go to Taipei, to stay in Taoyuan, or to stay in bed with a good book and a cup of tea. Decisions, decisions.

- Melissa

Countdown: Eight Hours

Our travel plans go as follows:

Eight hours till take off. 
Our flight leaves Buffalo at 6AM to Washington. 
4 hour layover in Washington 
14 hour flight to Tokyo. 
2 hour layover.
5hour flight to Taipei and we arrive.

9PM in Taipei (local time) so we will have (hopefully) arrived by 8AM Eastern.

Exciting day. Terrifying day. Wish us luck.

- Melissa

Less than a month away

I decided I wanted to post and I knew what I wanted to say but now that I'm sitting here, it is hard to put it into words. It has really start to hit me in the past week or so that we will be gone for a year. That I won't be seeing a lot of people for an entire year. I know in my last post I said that I didn't think it would hit me until we arrived but I was wrong. I am just starting to realize how much can change in a year, how different "home" will be when we return.

It is getting scarier to think about leaving and how little time I have left to hang out with friends. But it is still very exciting to think about.  The exact same things that scare me also work to make me more excited about coming back. How different everything will be when I return, not just because things have changed but I expect that I will be a different person after my experience.

Since my realization that this is actually happening, I have been trying to spend as much time with friends and family as possible. It is hard since everyone is so busy with school but I am trying. 26 days till we leave. Wish me luck.

- Melissa

Getting closer..

In 51 days, 21 hours, 54 minutes and give or take a few seconds, we will be on our way to Taiwan. 

We've booked our flight. We leave December 23rd at 6AM and we won't arrive in Taiwan until December 24 at 9PM. Even though we have booked the flight, it still doesn't feel real to me. You'd think it would since there has already been a few occasions where I have broken out into tears over realizing something I will be missing back home. But it still doesn't feel real. I'm the kind of person where I don't start getting scared until the roller coaster starts to slowly ascend, and I wasn't scared when I went skydiving until he said, "Okay now put your feet outside of the plane." Maybe it will feel real when we get on the plane for takeoff and I start to freak out over the pain that my ears endure. Maybe.

- Melissa