What a lovely Christmas

Almost 5 months abroad.

For years, I wanted to try living abroad. As someone who loves to travel and learn about new cultures, it seemed like the next logical step for me in my understanding of other parts of the world. After I became single, the timing seemed perfect to start a new adventure. My drive to live abroad was very strong even though I would be going alone.

I am very glad I have moved here. I have met some wonderful people, learned a lot about Taiwanese culture through my students and enjoyed getting to explore the many natural and cultural sights in Taiwan. Sometimes living abroad is challenging but I am glad I have tried it, or else I always would have wondered. 

After two or three months of living here, I started to wonder whether or not I could see myself living internationally. I loved the financial ease of living here and found the idea of living all over the world exciting.

Recently, I have felt differently. As the feeling of adventure wears off and I am settling into a routine here, I am less enchanted. I have realized I wanted the adventure of living abroad but I do see an end in sight. I wanted the adventure, not the reality. Now that I have that reality here, I understand that I love my reality back home so much more. It has been a powerful realization for me, one that gives me more understanding of my personal drives and life goals.

I am enjoying the clarity at the moment!!

Surprise: Pops is in Kaohsiung

Yesterday afternoon, at the beginning of my 4th period class, my 12th graders got me a tiramisu cake and sang happy birthday to me in English and Chinese. I was telling them how touched I was and how it made me feel better since it was a little hard being away from family and friends with my bday approaching. We were eating the cake when my Dad strolled into my class holding an apple and said, "I have an apple for the teacher." I froze in shock. He had spent the last 24 hours in transit from NYC to surprise me for my birthday. My friend Sue picked him up at the airport in Taipei the night before and was amazing at keeping it all a secret.

We embraced tightly and I started crying.

I am so happy my dad is here. He met all my students yesterday. They were running out of the hallways to meet him. After school, we hopped in the car and drove 2 hours to the southern tip of Taiwan to spend today at the beach.

Words cannot express how touched I am. I am really looking forward to spending the next 11 days with my dad.

Love you, Daddy!!!

My Best and Worst Day

Over the last 18 hours, there have been lots of ups and downs. It has all ended on a good note. Last night, my power went off (and I was told I would have to wait 3 days until it was turned on), I am battling a cold, got food poisoning from my dinner and I got a scratch on my new car. I had to leave work today to go pay my electricity bill. On the drive over, I was listening to the ONLY English radio station in Taiwan and they were offering free concert tickets to this band called Blue. The winner of the tickets would be the person who had the worst day and could sing their blues. Get it? I called into the radio station, told them about all that has happened to me and that it was the week of my birthday. I had the worst story of the 3 callers. And today, when I went to go pay my bill, they said the power would be turned on this evening. What a day!!!

Check out my WHIP!!

Since I was 16 years old, I have wanted my own car. Twelve years later, my dream has come true! This is my birthday present to myself this year. Happy 28th birthday to me. My car is a 1997 white Honda Civic. Still coming up with a name. Thinking about calling her BROOKLYN!!! XOXO

My Baby~ Brooklyn

Burritos for Thanksgiving

I teach a Spanish Language and Latin Culture activity for 9th to 12th graders two times a week. They always tell me they want to try more Latin food. Today for Thanksgiving, I made food to assemble burritos, a food which my students had not heard of, let alone tried.

They loved them and we went around the room and said what we were thankful for.

They loved the refried beans.

3rd Place in Volleyball tournament

I somehow became the coach of the 7th grade girls' voleyball team a few weeks ago and took a bunch of students up to Taipei last weekend for an all day tournament at Taipei American school. Four teachers and about 40 students took a 5-hour bus ride up to Taipei on Friday and we spent the night on the floor of a school's gymnasium. On Saturday, the day of the tournament, there were 6 schools from all over Taiwan and there were 99 games played over the course of the day. The kids had a great time and my team won third place in the tournament (out of 12 schools). Fortunately, when we left Taipei on Saturday evening, the kids were so tired that they slept oo the bus. A really fun but completely exhausting weekend. I really bonded with many of my students and have already seen the positive effects in my classroom. Photos below of my silly, quirky and weirdo children.

ISHOU volleyball tourney oct 2012

Feeling Challenged and Tired

I am, at the moment, questioning my decision to move here. Not because I am unhappy. But because I am overwhelmed by so many new things all at once. There is so much paperwork over the next few weeks that my school requires and it takes away from my ability to plan great lessons for my students. I am in the process of making friends and don't yet have levels of intimacy with people as I did back home, which is to be expected. I am realizing some people I thought I could be friends with are crazy and others that I wrote off are actually pretty cool. Each day is new but the excitement is becoming tiring. I miss being able to just be comfortable in my surroundings. I wanted to move abroad because I wanted to challenge myself. I am certainly being challenged in many great ways but, at the moment, it feels pretty overwhelming. I do not regret my decision but I await when my life is a little more settled here. Love you!

i was a cheerleader in my previous life

this past Saturday-ISHOU School Anniversary Day. House Teams Competition School Mascot too much fun!! in one of the activities, the teachers got to throw water balloons at their students. i kept pegging my students and getting them soaked. after dozens of my students were hit, they all teamed up against me and chased me around the field. i dodged many balloons but 20-something to 1 is not a fair competition. i left the anniversary day drenched from head to toe. it was great fun! some photos of my wonderful students and me.

school anniversary 2012

A day in the life of a teacher

Student: Teechah. I-hahve-ah da blahda een my-ah nohsah. I-ah goh-ah to da nursah.

Me: (looking up student's nose and only seeing crusted blood):  I do not see any blood coming down.

(Student exhales only through his nose, spraying his nose blood all over my shirt).

Me: Ewwww, Isaac! Okay, go to the nurse.

Reflections about teaching in Taiwan

I am 4 and a half weeks into school. I am teaching 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th grade math. Teaching in Taiwan has been a fascinating experience. I feel as though I am getting an upclose look as to how the hierarchical culture is ingrained from such a young age. While many of the students have been at this international bacalaureate (IB) school since a young age, it has been difficult for the students to adopt the culture of questioning and independence that the ideology of the IB purports. Oftentimes, my class-wide questions are met with silence. This is caused by a combination of not wanting to be wrong and lose face, feeling insecure about their English ability and not wanting to stand out. This last notion is wholly unfamiliar to me as a Saint Ann's alumna and teacher. I am trying to be extremely enthusiastic and open with the students so that they will feel comfortable asking me questions. It will be a challenge but I have already seen some progress. Here teachers are revered as gods and even the biggest clown in the class would not even think about questioning the decisions of the teacher. Along with that, the "clowns" maybe make one or two jokes and then get back to work. While there are certainly students who lack good work habits and do not fit into the stereotypical "Asian student" prototype, the majority of the kids care tremendously about understanding and getting ideas "right". Those who are slacking are the ones living in the dorms Monday through Friday and I am convinced they are not trying as a cry for their parents' attention. The school day is long, from 8-5, and I do not have my first vacation day until January. There are 210 school days a year and there is almost perfect attendance every day in each class. My students generally have strong math skill ability but have a very low level of understanding as to how all the pieces fit together and what the conceptual underlying ideas are. After school, most students go to buxibans, after schools where they get math and English language tutoring. These schools are mostly teacher-centeredd where the students get skill and drill. Students oftentimes do not get home until 8 or 9PM. Then they start their homework.

After a trying week, finding serenity and peace at Fo Guang Shan

This week was quite trying for me. After a student hacked onto my Facebook, I was feeling annoyed and violated. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen in Asia????? I guess 13 year old boys are little hornballs everywhere.

From Fo Guang Shan. Sept 2012

From Fo Guang Shan. Sept 2012

From Fo Guang Shan. Sept 2012

Spent Saturday at KHH's gay pride parade and the entire day today at Fo Gunang Shan, Taiwan's largest temple complex. The main temple houses some of Buddha's ashes and offers opportunities to get blessed. One of the monks invited my friends and me to look into the Buddha statue's eyes and then pick out a ball from box that had some words of wisdom on it that the Buddha tailored just for us. The advice I received from the Buddha today was, "A cause will become an effect, which in turn will become a cause. All dharmas are formed by the combination and unity of different causes and conditions." Gave me a lot of food for thought. Sue's friend brought her four-year old child that I played with all afternoon. She was so precious. Feeling rested and rejuvenated for tomorrow.

Fo Guang Shan. Sept 2012

Missing hugs from back home

My friend Derrick's wife just had a baby yesterday. Even though he lives in California and I only see him once every few years, I started to feel this deep sense of sadness about missing out of the lives of all of the people I love back home. Seeing pictures of my parents at a birthday party, looking happy and having a good time, reminded me how wonderful it is to have them as an active presence in my life. I talk to them on the phone regularly but I miss their hugs. Today is the first day that I have really missed being home. Sure it won't be the last but, to my family and friends, I love you all very much. Wish I could be there for all of your joys and all of your struggles. XOXO

I am now a Kaohsiung Rugger

Today another expat Melinda and I showed up for a rugby practice that happens around the corner from my house every Sunday. It is a Taiwanese women's team and, apparently, they play 7's (a less-popular game with 7 players, instead of the traditional 15) and they play against men in the 40 and over category because women's rugby teams are rare in Taiwan. Melinda had showed up to last week's practice and told the coach that I was coming this time around. When we arrived, he took down our ID cards and said he was going to put us in the register for the next game. The team is in desperate need of new players. We got our practice jerseys, team shorts, and a rugby ball keychain with the team's logo on it. I think the mascot is the WHALE.

From September 2012

It was a guys and gals scrimmage today and I completely got my butt kicked. I have not played rugby in 8 years, am out of shape and did not have cleats. I kept wiping out in the puddlse and got completely soaked.

From September 2012

Good times. Going to brush up on rugby rules this week and try to get in better shape before the game on the 29th of this month. Also starting pilates this monday. Classes are monday and thursday for the next month. MISS YOU ALL!! Click link below to see photos of highlights from this past month:

September 2012

Best Weekend So Far!

Met 4 of my 5 classes this week. The kids seem great and I am looking forward to working with them. One of the funniest parts of the week was when I tried to teach my students the word quadrilateral. Because the Rs, Ls and Ds are very breathy in Chinese, it sounded like each of my students was saying, "Qua-ri-ra-ruh-rur". Below is a photo of me on the first day.

From kaohsiung

The first day of school assembly started with a long winded speech by the principal where she made the students raise the left hands into the air and promise to say no to drugs and not not sexually harass anyone. Friday night- karaoke with a new friend of mine and his friends in the Taiwanese Navy.

From kaohsiung

From kaohsiung

Saturday- took the train to Tainan and explored the old city and the streets of the old town. Then went to a Taiwanese BBQ at a friend of a friend's house. Much better than an American BBQ. I ate chicken hearts, pig's blood, shrimp, slied beef, pork, bacon, tofu and lots of vegetables. Click on photo below to see pictures from my trip to Tainan.

Tainan

What's up, KL?

Just spent the last 5 days in Kuala Lumpur, the capitol city of Malaysia. The days were busy with a mediocre training session run by the International Baccalaureate Organization (see previous post for a summary). The highlight of the training was that it came along with a Deluxe Single room in a business hotel with great food.

The evenings were spent exploring KL. I got to get to know some of my colleagues better and met some interesting teachers in my workshop. Checked out a Malaysian club, visited some temples, saw the world's largest twin towers and spent one evening with a friend that I have known for 16 years who came to visit. School starts Thursday.

From somewhere in asia

From somewhere in asia

Teachers teaching teachers- Rarely an engaging experience

Professional development is an experience that CAN be very useful for educators. It allows for the acquisition of new thoughts, ideas and ways of thinking about teaching and learning. In my experience, the instructor spends a significant amount of time talking about the importance of "engaging the student". We NEED to meet kids where they are. We NEED to understand what prior knowledge our students are bringing to the table. We NEED to tailor our presentation and curriculum based on student interests. I strongly believe that these are essential to ensure an optimal learning environment for students. I want to deeply help connect the world of mathematics to their own experiences so it feels important, relevant and interesting. However, in every workshop I have attended where the the instructor talks about the NEED to do all of these things, the instructor, who is usually a teacher, does not meet our needs!!!! He talks at us, he asks obvious questions, looking for obvious answers because he wants to move on with the material in the workshop. He comes to the table not willing to understand where we are, what we know and what questions we have. He clearly sees that everyone is falling asleep and just keeps yammering on. This is a big problem particularly in workshops for teachers taught by teachers. One of the ways students learn is by seeing modeling. If instructors want teachers to meet the needs of their students, the instructors need to be demonstrating what that looks like with the teachers they are instructing. GOOD TEACHING IS NOT TALKING!!!! GOOD TEACHING IS FACILITATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

grrr..Asian women don't have HIPS!

My apartment was set up Monday morning and the typhoon stopped so I have been enjoying the city this week. How I have passed my time: Hiking on Monkey Mountain. A monkey jumped on me, hugged my waist and ripped my coffee out of my hands. I was surprisingly very calm and didn't get burned.

Shopping at the night markets. All the clothes in the night market are super cheap and made of synthetic material. They dry very quickly. However it seems it will be absolutely impossible for me to buy pants here. Asian women don't have hips or round bottoms. Tried the department stores also. Bought a scooter. Grey '97 Kymco 125CC. Meeting locals for dinner through Couchsurfing. They have been taking me to awesome restaurants around the city.

Taking the scooter on exploratory adventures. Rode through the mountains, visited the British Consulate for pretty views of the city, stopped by Pier 2, the city's modern art space and enjoyed some interesting exhibits.

Chinese is like TaiChi

This week has been quite eventful. The country has been experiencing a typhoon, which means that I have been going on errands to decorate my apartment/grocery shop in the pouring rain. You think that would make people more conservative drivers but... NOPE!! I am so excited about my new scooter that I want to take it everywhere I go. My baby doll, Sasha Fierce, has over 95,000 miles on her but she has good acceleration. I am becoming accustomed to the rain so much so that I have started feeling like my poncho is my second skin.

I also started taking Mandarin lessons this week. I signed up for 10 hours of private lessons over 5 days. I am experiencing greater comfort with the tones but some sounds are still very difficult to pronounce. I have had some wonderful teachers who have been explaining the symbolism behind some of the characters. very intersting and informative! My teacher today told me that speaking Mandarin is like TaiChi- there is an energy between the tones that gives the sounds/rhythms balance.

Got my Taiwanese Resident card today so I am now an official Taiwanese resident. Otherwise, I have been feeling supremely welcomed by two lovely teachers here, named Ali and Heather, who have gone out of their way to see how I am adjusting and to invite me to hang outs/meals/parties... Heading to the local fish market tonight with Ali to get some dinner and drink with the locals. Clck on the link below to see some photos I have taken while in Taiwan. Not a huge photographer this trip. Sorry. Maybe it is because I live here.

kaohsiung

Most Productive Day Ever!!!!

At 9:30 this morning, I moved into my new apartment. Unpacked in an hour then met a new friend Ali for brunch. Hopped on the back of her scooter and she took me to the city's second hand market. Then She helped me rent a scooter, buy a cell phone and a full face helmet(I don't mess around with safety!).

I feel like a real person now. So happy to be out of that hotel in the boondocks!

Meeting another coworker for hot pot in 10 minutes. Tomorrow will make a trip to Costco for food, bedding and other stuff for my apt.

Miss everyone back home!!

Check out my new apartment!!!

Rent in Taiwan is so cheap. My apartment building has a 24 hour security guard, an outdoor pool and an indoor gym. After my housing stipend, this 2 bedroom only costs me around 230 dollars!!! Woot Woot!

My New Apartment

Jetlag, I am trying to kick your butt!!

Despite waking up at 1AM yesterday, I decided i would not let jetlag get the best of me. I took a bus to downtown Kaohsiung at 8AM to begin sightseeing my new city. First stop: Visited the Sky tower, Kaohsiung's tallest building and rode the world's 13th fastest elevator to the 74th floor for a nice viewpoint of the city.

Then, a 3.5 mile walk around the city in humid 98 degree weather, along the Love River, various shopping districts and caught an afternoon showing of The Dark Knight Rises to beat the early afternoon heat.

Lastly, dinner and drinks with one of my new coworkers and her boyfriend. I was exhausted by the time I got home and got my first good night's sleep since I have been here!!!! Another coworker called me at my hotel this afternoon to invite me to dinner. Going to "the best dumpling place in the city!!

Hello Kaohsiung!!

Arrived to Kaohsiung at 1AM this morning. It was very dark out and my colleague pretty much just drove me straight to the hotel, which is in the I-SHOU complex. My school is in the complex, along with a university, hospital, library and an athletic center. Just outside the complex is a huge amusement park and a mall. My colleague is picking me up at the hotel in 6 hours to give me a basic tour of the complex and the city itself. Then, the afternoon off to explore myself. I can't believe this day has finally arrived. It is exciting, overwhelming, sad and hectic.

Moving to Taiwan!!!

So, I guess I couldn't stay put for long. A year and a half after 10 months of travel through Asia, I am heading back. To a new country. Not to travel, but to live and teach. To deeply learn about a new culture and its people. To learn about myself. To leave everything familiar to me and just explore and grow. To go alone. 2 years!