Chanukkah in Changhua

Happy Chanukkah (or Hannukah, or Hanukkah, or whatever your spelling preference may be) from the small (and not particularly Jewish) island of Taiwan.  Today is the second night of Chanukkah, and because our small group is so diverse, we have reason enough to celebrate the holiday.  To start off Chanukkah, last night we had a hanukiah-making, candle-lighting, latke-eating, dreidel-playing party.  Tonight while slightly less traditional (slightly may be an understatement), included lighting the Shamash ('helper candle') from the stovetop, the recital of Hebrew blessings by three Gentiles (because there were no Jewish people present due to a last minute scheduling conflict), and the recreation of the Team America theme song (so it pertains to Chanukkah).  As per the traditions of Chanukkah, we will continue lighting candles for the remainder of the eight days.

Sharing Andy's gold coin winnings following the dreidel game.

Since the main focus of my adventure here is my teaching experience, I had better hurry up and share my big accomplishment of the week.  I spend a lot of time talking about my CEI class (the class that I posted Thanksgiving pictures with a couple of weeks ago), which is the class I spend the most time with each week (an average class has two lessons each week, while a CEI has four).  My CEI class began studying at Shane on the same day that I began teaching at Shane (so unlike my older classes who have studied under many teachers in the past, I am their first Shane teacher), and have by far been the class I have struggled with the most. I have a special bond with this class, and I know that despite everything I am about to say, that they genuinely like me (as much as any student could like a teacher I suppose) and I know this because they will visit me before/after my classes and are lovely children, but in-class they have always been, for lack of a better word - naughty.  Unlike a normal class of 7-9 year-olds who tend to be enthusiastic about new games, afraid of punishments, and overall sponges for new information, this class has been mildly-violent and some students celebrate punishments (such as receiving extra homework).  In the last four months I have tried various punishment and reward systems, I have tried a plethora of new games, I have modified my teaching style through varying levels of strictness, and nothing seemed to work.  It appears, however, that I have made a breakthrough with them, which was showcased during their second parental presentation (on Friday), which has been noticed (and complimented) by my TA's, co-workers, and my manager!

That class has been a bright spot on what has otherwise been a dark week.  That wasn't meant to be a metaphor, after 3.5 months without rain in Taiwan, we have been subjected to rain everyday for the last 2 weeks, which has caused a shortage of sunlight.  The upside to this is the fact that it brings this country to an ideal temperature for me (which is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit), but the lack of sunlight, and excess rain make most activities less achievable, and therefore make most days less enjoyable, which is a major downside (also, in a country where you depend on hang-drying your clothes, the lack of fresh air for your "dryer" really complicates the process).

On an unrelated note, this weekend has involved an unofficial, yet ongoing scavenger hunt among the foreigners in all Asian countries (though I will clearly be focusing on how it pertains to Taiwan), which is the quest to find comical examples of Engrish (specifically Chinglish).  That was not a typo, I am referring the misuse of written English in many Asian-countries (known as Engrish) and the narrower category of mis-typed English when translated from Chinese (known as Chinglish) on signs, shirts, products, etc..  While English is not a native language in Taiwan, it is still very popular in education, shopping, and the fashion industry, and while some of the uses of English are perfect, others have errors that provide not only noticeable, but comical mistakes (some of which are so severe they make the entire piece unintelligible).

Dream (not)
 hvops last stop like castle lock
pvats biost off like
roose we came to get storted throw
imbows like some angry
thers our dolvery's pedigres hdaded
sharpoon like the chambass at the wu fang our
shots got that mathod man wann
shong with the otangutans moss op
imbows like some angry
shots got that mathod man wann
shong with the otangutans moss op

Final thought: the countdown to Christmas is at 15 days! Happy Holidays!