Things we've noticed in the past week:
-It gets extremely dark outside around 6 o' clock.
-Dogs roam around in the streets in our neighborhood
-Giant pet pigs on leashes
-Pet squirrels and racoons in cages
-The coffee shops don't open until afternoon and stay open really late
-Almost everywhere you look there are natives wearing t-shirts with English writing on them (and we think they really don't know what it means) It's really funny to see.
-The dogs here are all really small. Medium sized dogs are considered huge. You see poodles everywhere
-Dogs are allowed in restaurants
-Everyone is extremely friendly
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday August 30th 2008
Today our friend Patty came over with her boyfriend Pei (pronounced Pay and I accidentally called him Pie) to come and swim in our awesome pool. It was the first time we used the pool and found out that you cannot swim without a swimming cap on (which I was not happy about) I look like a penis in it which is why I am frowning in the picture. Some of our friendly neighbors heard what was going on and they said they were going to the store and offered to pick us up some of the embarrassing caps. As we are waiting to get the caps I noticed that all of the women in the pool are wearing one pieces. So of course I am thinking to myself "great they are all going to be looking at me like I am some kind of hussy wearing my two piece." I felt pretty uncomfortable so I may be purchasing a one piece but there will be no pictures of that being posted!!
After we were done swimming the four of us took a trip down to the Shilin night market. The Shilin night market is the biggest and most famous in Taiwan. It is an amazing thing to experience and see. The streets are so crowded, I don't really have anything to compare it to because I've never seen anything like it. There are hundreds of stands and stores set up of anyhting you can think of to buy. Patty and Pei took us in this building which kind of reminded me of the West Side Market. It had a bunch of different food stations set up selling everything from fruit to God knows what. The first food we tried was an Oyster omelet (Pei's favorite food) and some squid soup. We didn't like the omelette at all, the oyster was good but there was this gooey stuff in the omelet it looked like clear slime and the texture was yuck. They said it was made from rice but it looked and tasted like something Slimer from ghostbusters shat out. The squid soup was prety good because it wasn't the squid's tentacles it was a lot less chewy from when we tried it the night before. The next thing we tried was really good, it was like a fried pastry wrapped in some kind of tortilla bread. Then we sat down to eat what they call coffin bread. They call it coffin bread because they take a piece of bread and then fill it in with whatever you order so it is enclosed like a coffin. Mike and I chose chicken and it was really good. We got scared at first because we saw more gooey stuff but we couldn't taste it. It tasted like french toast with a little cinamon hint to it. We both really liked that. As we were walking around the market Pei suggested we try what looked like a barbeque stand. So we picked out the one that they told us was pork. I ate the first piece off the stick then Mike devoured the remaining 5 pieces. It was so good. So then Pei asks us if we know what we just ate. Immediately I thought "SHIT WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST EAT" and Mike replied, "yeah it was pork." As soon as Pei started laughing, I braced myself for what he was about to tell us. So in his Taiwanese accent he said, "you just ate chicken," well that's not bad, oh but he wasn't finished. Still laughing he said, "you just ate chicken ASS." After pausing a minute to reflect on what just happened then I replied with, "well that was a good piece of ass." I have to admit the chicken butt was good. When we were done eating we just waked around for awhile and then headed home. On our way home we stopped at this dessert place called Monster Ice. It is so freaking good. They have sugar flavored ice and then they top it with fresh fruit and a scoop of sherbet. It is addicting. It was a very fun and interesting day.
After we were done swimming the four of us took a trip down to the Shilin night market. The Shilin night market is the biggest and most famous in Taiwan. It is an amazing thing to experience and see. The streets are so crowded, I don't really have anything to compare it to because I've never seen anything like it. There are hundreds of stands and stores set up of anyhting you can think of to buy. Patty and Pei took us in this building which kind of reminded me of the West Side Market. It had a bunch of different food stations set up selling everything from fruit to God knows what. The first food we tried was an Oyster omelet (Pei's favorite food) and some squid soup. We didn't like the omelette at all, the oyster was good but there was this gooey stuff in the omelet it looked like clear slime and the texture was yuck. They said it was made from rice but it looked and tasted like something Slimer from ghostbusters shat out. The squid soup was prety good because it wasn't the squid's tentacles it was a lot less chewy from when we tried it the night before. The next thing we tried was really good, it was like a fried pastry wrapped in some kind of tortilla bread. Then we sat down to eat what they call coffin bread. They call it coffin bread because they take a piece of bread and then fill it in with whatever you order so it is enclosed like a coffin. Mike and I chose chicken and it was really good. We got scared at first because we saw more gooey stuff but we couldn't taste it. It tasted like french toast with a little cinamon hint to it. We both really liked that. As we were walking around the market Pei suggested we try what looked like a barbeque stand. So we picked out the one that they told us was pork. I ate the first piece off the stick then Mike devoured the remaining 5 pieces. It was so good. So then Pei asks us if we know what we just ate. Immediately I thought "SHIT WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST EAT" and Mike replied, "yeah it was pork." As soon as Pei started laughing, I braced myself for what he was about to tell us. So in his Taiwanese accent he said, "you just ate chicken," well that's not bad, oh but he wasn't finished. Still laughing he said, "you just ate chicken ASS." After pausing a minute to reflect on what just happened then I replied with, "well that was a good piece of ass." I have to admit the chicken butt was good. When we were done eating we just waked around for awhile and then headed home. On our way home we stopped at this dessert place called Monster Ice. It is so freaking good. They have sugar flavored ice and then they top it with fresh fruit and a scoop of sherbet. It is addicting. It was a very fun and interesting day.
Danshui Fishermans Wharf
August 29th 2008
Tonight we went to the Danshui Fishermans wharf. There we saw the famous Valentines Bridge, it was beautiful. It is a very peaceful area where couples and families go to hang out. As we were walking along the boardwalk looking for a place to eat we heard My humps by Fergie (Mikes favorite song to sing) so we decided to go to dinner there. My dinner was pretty good because I ordered lasagna (I wanted to be safe). It consisted mostly of cheese and this green stuff that I still don't know what it was and some pieces of meat. Mike's dinner was interesting, there was a lot of squid in it, and shrimp that had eyes and the whiskers were still on it. We couldn't figure out how to eat so we just let it stare at us. There was also oysters, which we had both tried for the first time and we both thought it was pretty good. Half way through the meal the bumpin music stopped and we the pleasure to hear live entertainment.... it was a little annoying to be honest. So after dinner we just walked along the boardwalk and chilled. We enjoyed ourselves but I think we both went there with high expectations of seeing the fishermen catching all kinds of huge fish and sharks and all types of crazy things but what we saw was like one dude standing on the edge with a pole and catching nothing. It was still a nice time.
Tonight we went to the Danshui Fishermans wharf. There we saw the famous Valentines Bridge, it was beautiful. It is a very peaceful area where couples and families go to hang out. As we were walking along the boardwalk looking for a place to eat we heard My humps by Fergie (Mikes favorite song to sing) so we decided to go to dinner there. My dinner was pretty good because I ordered lasagna (I wanted to be safe). It consisted mostly of cheese and this green stuff that I still don't know what it was and some pieces of meat. Mike's dinner was interesting, there was a lot of squid in it, and shrimp that had eyes and the whiskers were still on it. We couldn't figure out how to eat so we just let it stare at us. There was also oysters, which we had both tried for the first time and we both thought it was pretty good. Half way through the meal the bumpin music stopped and we the pleasure to hear live entertainment.... it was a little annoying to be honest. So after dinner we just walked along the boardwalk and chilled. We enjoyed ourselves but I think we both went there with high expectations of seeing the fishermen catching all kinds of huge fish and sharks and all types of crazy things but what we saw was like one dude standing on the edge with a pole and catching nothing. It was still a nice time.
night market
dont ask, dont tell
biggest sausages ive ever seen
what we ate
chicken pot pie bread
crazy night market crowd
Erin school pics
My school
Right outside my school
Looking out of my classroom
My very own classroom. Patty is posing as one of my studentsroad rage and air raid drills
We witnessed road rage in Taiwan first hand today. After I disregarded Erin’s suggestion we keep going in one direction, we instead took another route and got lost in Taipei this afternoon. We got extremely lost in Taipei, in 90-degree weather. We were on our way to my schools headquarters where I was to go and fill out paper work and get a physical for my employment. After following some misleading directions and venturing off into a totally opposite direction of where we wanted to be, we hailed a cab. We told the cab driver where to go through the helpful guidance of my director, and off we went. Weaving in and out of traffic, not obeying traffic lights, and disregarding pedestrians, we were well on our way to our destination. As our driver was attempting to pass a bus, it started to ease over into our lane. Closer and closer it was coming, with a cement wall running along the other side of us, we were soon to be pinned between the two. As Erin and I nervously watched, the bus came within mere inches of sandwiching us. Thanks to the delayed decision making of the driver to finally hit the freakin brakes, we avoided being drilled by the bus. We let out a sigh of relief after looking at each other when all of a sudden we found the ordeal was not over. After avoiding being sideswiped, our disgruntled cab driver felt the need to let the bus driver know just how bad of a driver he actually was. We found ourselves face to face with the bus when our driver pulled up right next to it and rolled down the passenger window, yelling out what I only assume were swear words and put-downs. Maybe he was just asking directions, who knows really? I haven’t quite got the language down yet. Then our cab cuts in front of the bus and brakes. After driving in front of the bus at almost idle speed for a few minutes the driver must’ve realized he was still carrying passengers and decided to get back on track. All the while we had to keep ourselves from laughing out loud only able to communicate through wide-eyed facial expressions. It was a funny little twist in our day, however I have to say I was a little disappointed because I was totally hoping the drivers were gonna exit the vehicles and throw some fist to cuffs. I for sure would’ve given ours a bigger tip.
Air Raid Drills
We were sitting in the office of my school in Taipei when I was informed of a drill that would be taking place for a half hour. Apparently once or twice a year Taiwan’s government announces a nationwide drill that would be practiced in the event that China tries to attack the country. An Air Raid drill shuts down the entire country for a half hour and no one is allowed on the streets. Drivers must pull off to the side of the road and sit in their cars, pedestrians must take shelter in the nearest home or business, and anyone inside must remain there until the siren is heard. Looking outside reminds you of Last Man on Earth or I Am Legend, as the city is literally empty. It was kinda funny to witness and actually be a part of it (it sounds bad to say it was funny but the people here don’t really take it too seriously either). I was amazed that they had to do this, I guess I didn’t realize how serious the Taiwan-China conflict really is.
Air Raid Drills
We were sitting in the office of my school in Taipei when I was informed of a drill that would be taking place for a half hour. Apparently once or twice a year Taiwan’s government announces a nationwide drill that would be practiced in the event that China tries to attack the country. An Air Raid drill shuts down the entire country for a half hour and no one is allowed on the streets. Drivers must pull off to the side of the road and sit in their cars, pedestrians must take shelter in the nearest home or business, and anyone inside must remain there until the siren is heard. Looking outside reminds you of Last Man on Earth or I Am Legend, as the city is literally empty. It was kinda funny to witness and actually be a part of it (it sounds bad to say it was funny but the people here don’t really take it too seriously either). I was amazed that they had to do this, I guess I didn’t realize how serious the Taiwan-China conflict really is.
mike school
I started working at my school on Tuesday. I haven’t begun teaching but I’ve been in my share of classrooms already. Because I am new to the school, and new to teaching all together, I sit in on classes and observe how the teachers set up the curriculum and hold it down. When I walk into a small classroom with as little as 12 kids in it, it’s hard to go unnoticed. Usually when I walk in I can catch a few different expressions on their faces. Some look puzzled, some look shocked, and some look at me with a giggle. The class then begins with an introduction along the lines of “class, this is teacher Mike, everybody say hi to teacher Mike.” Once the uncomfortable forced interaction is over the lesson begins. Usually the kids just ignore me, but there’s always one in every class…
Jim is a short, pudgy-cheeked, pot bellied 11 year-old boy. A jolly little hypo, whose parents probably put him in an ESL school just to get away from him longer. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim in a class I sat in on Wednesday afternoon. As soon as I walked in I knew he was that kid. Yelling out “teachuh!!” shouting out answers, moving around and spazzing about was how Jim spent the first hour of class time. Then came the 10 minute break between hours 1 and 2. As I’m sitting in my uncomfortable little wooden desk seat, I see a chubby smile on the face of Jim, who was waddling towards my desk. He begins our interaction with hard laughter, followed abruptly by a pinch in the leg. After which he decides to grab my arm, looking closely while laughing, and pulling the hairs that grow from it. After calling the attention of his classmates, the pudgy little punk says something in Chinese while pointing to my arm and begins laughing. Jim turns to me with a big grin and said, “you have long hair arms!” Again following through with more laughter. Scanning upward Jim gets to my head and starts to grab my short hair, again announcing to everyone that it too was different from theirs. “you have short hair!!!” was the next observation. He then told me I had a big nose, which he later pointed out a second time during class. “Teacher Mike has a bigger nose!!” They were learning comparatives (big, bigger, small, smaller, etc.) THEN the time came when they had to pair up and work together. I had an empty seat next to me, which was quickly occupied by none other than my boy Jim. Not concentrating on what he was learning in class, the little oinker decided it would be in his best interest to pat me on the back repeatedly. After a few minutes of hard patting and a chubby smile staring back at me, I had to put an end to Jim’s kind gesture of making sure I wasn’t choking. “it hurt?” he asked. “no.” I said. “just don’t.” I said with a smile. Once the group session was over Jim headed back to his seat, where he spent the remainder of class being the meatball that he is.
The rest of kids were pretty good, one asked me how tall I was and one was astounded that I had blue eyes, but none of them could match what Jim brought to the table. Fat little Jim was annoying but I gotta admit, he made my day interesting,I don’t think I’ve never been made fun of so badly, let alone by a 5th grader. I can’t wait to have a Jim in my own class.
Jim is a short, pudgy-cheeked, pot bellied 11 year-old boy. A jolly little hypo, whose parents probably put him in an ESL school just to get away from him longer. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim in a class I sat in on Wednesday afternoon. As soon as I walked in I knew he was that kid. Yelling out “teachuh!!” shouting out answers, moving around and spazzing about was how Jim spent the first hour of class time. Then came the 10 minute break between hours 1 and 2. As I’m sitting in my uncomfortable little wooden desk seat, I see a chubby smile on the face of Jim, who was waddling towards my desk. He begins our interaction with hard laughter, followed abruptly by a pinch in the leg. After which he decides to grab my arm, looking closely while laughing, and pulling the hairs that grow from it. After calling the attention of his classmates, the pudgy little punk says something in Chinese while pointing to my arm and begins laughing. Jim turns to me with a big grin and said, “you have long hair arms!” Again following through with more laughter. Scanning upward Jim gets to my head and starts to grab my short hair, again announcing to everyone that it too was different from theirs. “you have short hair!!!” was the next observation. He then told me I had a big nose, which he later pointed out a second time during class. “Teacher Mike has a bigger nose!!” They were learning comparatives (big, bigger, small, smaller, etc.) THEN the time came when they had to pair up and work together. I had an empty seat next to me, which was quickly occupied by none other than my boy Jim. Not concentrating on what he was learning in class, the little oinker decided it would be in his best interest to pat me on the back repeatedly. After a few minutes of hard patting and a chubby smile staring back at me, I had to put an end to Jim’s kind gesture of making sure I wasn’t choking. “it hurt?” he asked. “no.” I said. “just don’t.” I said with a smile. Once the group session was over Jim headed back to his seat, where he spent the remainder of class being the meatball that he is.
The rest of kids were pretty good, one asked me how tall I was and one was astounded that I had blue eyes, but none of them could match what Jim brought to the table. Fat little Jim was annoying but I gotta admit, he made my day interesting,I don’t think I’ve never been made fun of so badly, let alone by a 5th grader. I can’t wait to have a Jim in my own class.
Erin school
August 27 2008. I went to see my school today for the first time with my girl Patty and found out it’s almost an hour commute from where I live. It won’t be that bad that though, the only that will suck is when I have to walk in dress pants in 95 degree weather but thanks to Erin and Katie the bus ride won’t be bad because I can just read the books they got me. While I was waiting for the bus there was this little boy who kept staring at me like I had a third eye. I would try and smile but he would just stare, then he started getting closer and closer till he was basically right next to me. He stood there for a minute and then he started singing his ABC’s to me. It was the cutest thing ever, so I gave him a thumbs up and told him good job. He started clapping and jumping up and down. I wanted to put him in my purse and take him with me he was so stinkin cute. The school is beautiful it looks like an old temple of worship, the classrooms are closed on and has air conditioning (thank god) but the rest of the school is very open to the outside, there are little patios everywhere. I love it. It was so awesome because I already have my own desk and locker with my name on it. I also get a classroom to myself which is really nice that I don’t have to move from class to class. I start next Tuesday and I am so nervous because although I have taught before I have never taught in this type of environment and for the first time I will have the classroom all to myself. It’s very exciting and scary at the same time. I am also nervous because I have two classes in which I teach the teachers and those classes do not come with any guide books or anything, I just have to wing it. The schedule really isn’t that bad though, I only have to come in when I have to teach and if I don’t have any classes after that then I can leave. Mondays and Wednesdays are my long days, I don’t get out of school until 5:40 but Thursday and Friday are my easy days. It will be a crazy school year because I have 24 fifty minute classes that I teach each week and I will only see each class once a week. It seems like a really nice school and I think I will be very happy there. I miss everyone a lot. I will post pics of the school later.
pictures
stepping outside of our apartment building
courtyard
taipei 101...again
our new friend, Andy (Taiwan picture pose)
outside of our apartment
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