Everyone Is Home in Changhua Again

The family is reunited! After 3 weeks of covering classes for my fellow teachers-in-formation, everyone is back home in Changhua and my schedule will go back to normal.
The biggest school update of this past week is that I had my 7 month appraisal with my manager which determines if I will receive a raise and the possibility of renewing my contract for a second year.  I won't discuss my wages because it isn't the most polite of conversational topics, but I will say that the appraisal meeting went in my favor, and I received the maximum raise possible at this point in my contract.  I was told that my "happiness makes for not only happy parents, but also a happy manager" which goes to show how far a positive attitude can get you.  It was nice to hear some positive feedback from my manager because, overall, feedback is not very common in this job (positive or negative).  The positive feedback led to the announcement that, should I be interested in a second year I would be welcomed with open arms.  I would love to stay in Taiwan for a second year because I love [most of] my students, my friends, and Taiwan itself.  Not to mention, the second year pay raise will give me a chance at saving a reasonable amount of money before moving back to the US, and one year is not enough time to truly explore this island.  The only concern I have at the moment is the fact that I need to head back to the states for a contract break at the end of August, and my time-off request will overlap a co-teacher's time off request, but with the help of cover teachers I am hoping this will not pose too great of a problem (if, however, it is a problem, I will have some major life decisions to make in the near future).
The other school update is that I taught my first demo lesson, which is a class where parents observe the initial introduction of the teacher with their children.  There is a lot of pressure on a demo lesson because, if the parents don't approve, or the students don't enjoy themselves, it hurts not only the school but the teacher's hours as well (because if they don't recruit students there will be no one for the class).  My demo lesson was for a Kindergarten class consisting of adorable 3-6 year-olds.  I have no response yet on the success rate of my lesson, but I would predict it went well, and I can't wait to start teaching these kids on a regular basis.
It was a fun week of teaching, but I was so grateful for the weekend (as always).  On Saturday, after 7 months of living in Changhua, I finally visited the Great Buddha of Baguashan during the daylight (I have been to Buddha a few times at night however) which is about a 5 minute scooter trip from my apartment.  The Great Buddha is 86 feet tall, and its interior is hollowed out so people can enter.  The somewhat ironic thing is that, Buddha and his temple are always closed when am there because it is night time, but the day I go during the day they are closed (presumably for religious purposes).  I'm just not destined to enter this landmark.  Following our afternoon with Buddha we went to the Saturday night market, which is, size-wise, the most impressive night market in Changhua, then ended our night in the theaters watching Oz the Great and Powerful.

Relaxing with the Great Buddha of Changhua

Today was a long day on a short amount of sleep, but it was definitely worth it.  We went out to a city called Xitou which is located in the mountains of Nantou county which was roughly 1.5 hours by bus from Taichung.  The trip included tacky souvenir shopping, a nature walk through a beautiful forest, an unimpressive visit to a tree called the Giant Tree, and a good amount of childish fun on a playground.

Enjoying a playground in Xitou

It's time for another of the unwelcome goodbye posts.  This week my friend Joseph returned home to Canada.  I met Joseph many months ago, and while we interacted at the Filipino Disco, and group restaurant nights, I wouldn't say I really knew him until Chinese New Year when he joined me in my scooter trip around Taiwan.  We had a lot of fun during that trip, but if I had to pick one moment that I will always think of when I think of Joseph, it would be on the first day of the trip when we stopped at a red-light and I said "My favorite thing about driving alone on a scooter is being able to sing as loudly as I want, and knowing no one can hear me", and his response was "I was doing the same thing! I was just singing 'Popular' (from Wicked)".  Knowing me and my musicals, anyone who is randomly serenading themselves with Broadway musicals is destined to be my friend forever.

Goodbye Joseph.  I'll miss you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

7 months?! I've been here for 7 month already? I feel like I just got here, but today it was pointed out to me that I am one of the 'veterans' of the group.  I've been here longer than most of the people I spent the weekend with, and that was a weird realization.
No surprise, but the holidays of the week: St. Patty's Day and the ever-so-important Pi Day were barely acknowledged in Taiwan (the latter was not even acknowledged by me, which I am ashamed about!).  Sometimes it can be a little weird living in a different culture's set of holidays.
This week seemed incredibly hectic, which I assume is because I taught more cover classes than my own classes.  Being the cover teacher for someone else's can be much more stressful than teaching your regular classes, first-and-foremost because it involves walking into the unexpected.  On any given day, when I plan my lessons I know who my students are, what they will respond well to, what they already know, etc..  For a cover lesson I don't have that comfort, however, when I cover a class there is a greater chance that everything I do will be viewed as new, fun, and exciting to the students.  This week the classes I covered went really well because of that!
Nothing new happened this weekend, you've read all these adventures before.  The thing that was fun and new was the fact that I got to bring other people around for their first times.  On Saturday I brought some of the guys geocaching in Taichung, which began at the previously photographed military tank cache.  We attempted two other geocaches during our adventure, but were unsuccessful in both.  It is really unfortunate, but it appears that geocaching has not been highly popular in a few years (at least in my area) so a lot of the caches have gone missing and no one has been watching them to notice.  It was still a fun excuse to scoot around Taichung though (and an even better excuse to get dinner at Bollywood, and I will never say no to Indian food).

'Secret Military Reserves' cache in Taichung

Today the weather was perfect so we all got out our bicycles and wandered Changhua that way.  We had a lovely afternoon of bowling and arcade games, and finished up with burgers for dinner.  If it weren't for the surroundings, I would swear that nothing about today was Taiwanese at all.  

My thought of the week is going to sound very random, but it is inspired by the fact that I had my first real salad in Taiwan this evening.  Don't get me wrong, I'd say I've had more fruits and vegetables than ever here, but salads don't appear to be as common, presumably because they don't involve cooking.  Anyway, what I find interesting about salads here is the fact that I can get 1000 Island Dressing everywhere in Taiwan.  There are probably 4 different salad dressings that I have seen here and 1000 Island is one of them, yet back in the states, it is slowly being weeded out of restaurants for not being as popular.  It was one of the things I originally predicted I would miss when I moved here (which is why I was sent a bottle of it for Christmas), but it is definitely not in short supply.  In general there are a lot of things that we expect won't be here when we plan to move, which is silly on our parts because this is a fully developed country.  Why shouldn't there be the same types of stores here? The same things to buy? With that being said, the fact that there is KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino's, etc. never ceases to surprise me (but I completely expected to see McDonald's), because these are things that I did not imagine would be as appreciated in Asia as they are in the states (and all western countries).

Song Lyrics are Funny

I've heard many people complaining about having lost an hour of sleep due to daylight savings, but, as I've mentioned before, we don't adjust our clocks for daylight savings time here.  I am, however, joining you in losing that hour of sleep, it is just a personal choice, not a country-wide choice.  I had forgotten how bad my procrastination tendencies can be, but tonight has been a good reminder, since I have sat here all night avoiding my "homework" as well as my blog.  What's this? Homework? Yes, even though I am a teacher, I am still given assignments.  This current assignment was to write a children's story at the level of one of my classes, to help model creative writing for the students.  The problem with this, in my mind, is that modeling writing for foreign language students almost always limits their creativity (since they take the sample's grammar, and word order, and replace a minimal number of words in it until it can pass as "their own").  I'm a little confused about the purpose this story I have written, because I have already done my writing workshop with all of my classes (and some of my students have produced some amazing stories without having had anything to), but it feels great to be done with that assignment.
This week was hectic at work, partially because one of my co-workers was on vacation and there were lots of schedule changes and substitute teachers to cover his classes, partially because there were lots of side assignments, but mainly because I had my second observation with Shane Head Office.  On Tuesday I was observed teaching my CE01 class, and it went really well.  I was told by my observer that I am a thorough planner (which is interesting since in most things I am very spontaneous), very knowledgeable about what is happening and what could have happened, engaging,  and all-around a good teacher!  It's always nice to get positive feedback.
This weekend was wonderful, but in words it will just sound like a normal 48 hours.  On Saturday a few of us teachers went on a 4-5-hour "hike".  It wasn't the traditional type of hike that involves lot of trails and nature, though it was intended to be like that (though it did involve a mountain, so that is a start).  After walking up the road into the mountain we never managed to leave the road, and before we knew it we had walked the expressway straight into the neighboring city.

Off on a hike with Buddha

After our hike it was time for some food, so we caught a train and went to the Feng Chia night market in Taichung.  This night market was unique compared to the other night markets I have been to because instead of being off-the-beaten-path in a field or parking lot, this night market took over a daytime shopping district.  Behind all of the street vendors were stores to visit as well.

The Feng Chia night market in Taichung

Today was also low-key.  We spend all day singing karaoke at the Holiday KTV.  We must have gone at the right time because we were given the VIP suite, which was a lot of fun because the room was huge.  The exciting realization of the day at KTV was that in the song selection is "The Phantom of the Opera", so I was a happy camper.

Thought of the night: song lyrics are funny.  This week I was sitting in my room when outside my room I heard the David Guetta rap song "Sexy Bitch" slowly approaching.  The accompanying fireworks quickly signaled my attention to the fact that there was a parade out my window, and sure enough I looked down to see cars, percussion, dancers, and dragon costumes, and I thought to myself "Why is this religious parade marching to 'Sexy Bitch'".  The assumed answer is that whoever selected the song did not actually know its meaning, they only knew that they liked the beat.  It made me start to worry about the meaning of all the Chinese songs I have come to like here.

228 and Lantern Festival

Oh, the puns I could use to describe this week...I would say I had some truly illuminating moments, there were definitely some bright spots in my week, some moments where I felt enlightened by the culture of Taiwan, and felt that I was beginning to shine.  Ok, alright, I'm done with the bad puns, they only existed to set the scene for lantern festival which began this week.  Lantern Festival occurs on the 15th day of the lunar new year, and marks the end of Chinese New Year (which is a 2-week long holiday).  I think the typical mental image painted when someone says 'Lantern Festival' is of thousands of sky lanterns being released, and while this is a part of the holiday, it is not the main spectacle.  In Taiwan the main release of sky lanterns occurs in the Pingxi district of Taipei on the 24th of February, and, since I had not realized this detail sooner, I missed it!  However, instead of releasing lanterns, many cities throughout the country host a lantern art festival, and this year the main event was hosted in Hsinchu (just under a 1.5 train ride north of Changhua), and I did make it out to see that.  Hundreds, probably thousands of large lanterns have been created to display various animals, people, places, etc..  The most common themes in the lanterns were zodiac signs (particularly snakes to represent the new year), Taiwanese/Chinese culture (including calligraphy, religion, and pop culture), and animals.

The 'centerpiece' of the lantern festival this year is a multicolored, rotating snake to represent the new year.

As well as visiting the Lantern Festival in Hsinchu, most of our daytime hours were spent sightseeing, particularly at the glass art (aka gl'art).  The museum showed the history of glass-making, and displayed glass designs (like dinnerware, vases, and sculptures) from around the world.

Being sill at the old gate of Hsinchu.

Among the other Taiwanese festivals which occur around this time of year is the Yanshui Fireworks Festival in Tainan.  If you aren't in the mood to release sky lanterns, or view art lanterns, you have the option of heading south to Tainan to get stung by fireworks in the hive of bees.  The hive of bees is considered to be one of the most dangerous festivals in the world, and consists of shooting bottle rockets into crowds of people who are not only willing to get hit by the fireworks, but are often trying to get hit because it is considered to bring good luck during the new year.  Before you judge me for partaking in such a reckless activity, you should know I didn't make it to this festival either, but I really wish I had, so hopefully you will have some awesome reactions for me next year!

I really enjoy working, but I have to say that having short weeks of teaching is the best! This week was one of those short weeks because February 28th in Taiwan is a national day-off in memory of the 228 Incident.  The 228 Incident began as an uprising against the government which was countered by killing thousands of Taiwanese citizens, and eventually led to the Taiwan independence movement.  While my day didn't involve much commemoration of Taiwan's history, it did involve friends and monkeys.  I went on a mini scooter-adventure to monkey mountain in Ershui which is about a hour away from Changhua.  It is always nice to get out of the cities in Taiwan, I loved the fresh air and all the monkeys (though I still really don't love climbing the staircases to get up the mountain).

A couple of monkeys.

Wish me luck for the next couple of weeks! I have a busy week of covering hours for my co-teachers, being observed by head-office, and my 7-month appraisal!

Kind of a Boring Week

Oh dear, I worry that nothing will be able to live up to last week, there were so many stories, and pictures, and adventures, and now I am back to my normal life again (well, as normal as my life in Taiwan can be).
I'd be lying if I said this was a particularly fun week.  I'm pretty sure all I did was work, but I suppose that is the result of having had a 6-day work week.  In Taiwan it is fairly common that, when a holiday day-off is granted that it is made-up during a weekend, and this weekend is when we made up our Chinese New Year vacation.  I've had jobs where I've worked 7 days in a week before, but something about teaching 6 days is so much more exhausting.
I'm searching my memory, trying to think of something amazing to tell you this week, but  I'm drawing a blank, unless you care about the fact that I filed my Taiwanese taxes, but since that is as exciting as American taxes, I can't imagine you do (though, the mile-marker-moment of the week was that I wrote in Chinese (a little bit) on an official government form).
This weekend was very short...Last night the gang and I went out for a joint birthday party at a gay bar in Taichung.  For all the times you guys have probably heard me sing, I think last night was the first time I sang karaoke on a stage, so that was fun.  Then today, after an uneventful day of lounging and cleaning, we went out for massages (it is not going to be a fun transition back to reality when I have to remember that massages are not reasonably priced in the states).
I don't even have an interesting fact of the week, I think I'm really slipping here.  My fact of the week is just a silly observation which most people know holds is one of my hobbies: fishing.  I currently live on an island, which means there is access to water everywhere, so why have I discovered indoor "fishing ponds".  There are areas mid-city here in Taiwan where you can walk into a warehouse-style building with a swimming pool, instead of spending all day on a boat or pier, and kick back with your fishing pole.  A customer will pay by the hour to catch as many shrimp as they can, and then they can grill their catches in the in-site grills (which most of these pools have).  I understand that this may be cheap, and safe, but it still does baffle me in a location where the ocean and sea are so close (regardless, it is something I hope I get to try while I am in Taiwan, mainly since I've never caught a shrimp before).

A Much Needed Vacation

Again I say "Happy New Year".  This past week has been different from any other week here in Taiwan, namely because I didn't have to teach during it.  Instead, I went on a 7-day scooter trip around the entire island with two of my friends.  This was one of the most unique adventures of my life, and I loved every minute of it.  I'm going to try (but fail) at recounting a day-by-day retelling of the week:

Roughly our route around Taiwan, marking where we slept each night

Day 1: We set out on our road trip last week, Sunday.  Seeing as it was the start of the new year, and 2/3 of our party were born in the snake year, it was only right to start at a temple.  Our first stop was at an enormous temple in Shengang, which is actually a neighboring city for Homei (where I work).  Hundreds of people flocked to the temple at alongside us to burn their ghost money offerings, and say their prayers for the upcoming year.  The next big stop of the day was at the second biggest port in Taiwan, Taichung Port.  It was nice to get to the water's edge, but, as I learned throughout the week, the west coast water is nothing compared to the ocean view of the east.  Our day finished up in Jhunan which is several hours north of Taiwan where we set up camp in a city park.  Admission, sleeping though the entire night was pure luck, we weren't in a campground, and potentially could have been told to move on at any time (what's life without a little risk though?).
Day 2: Waking up in Jhunan meant that that was where we started our sightseeing.  We begin with a trip to the rice god temple, then we were on the road again.  We traveled north, past Taipei, and stopped for nothing.  Well, nothing but a fruit break along on the beaches of Tamsui.  The rain held us back that night, and instead of getting to our destination in Yehliu we splurged on a hotel room.
Day 3: Brr! We woke up to a cold morning on day 3, so it was nice to have a nice, warm shower.  There were no destinations in our small town, so we took off immediately for Yehliu which is in the north eastern corner of the island.  Yehliu is known for its unusual rock formations which are caused naturally by the elements (like water and wind).  The rock formations have since been named based on the person/object that they resemble, such as Queen Nefertiti, Cinderella's slipper, a dragon, and a fish.  The rest of the day was spent cruising the mountains and coastlines of the beautiful east coast.  We attempted to set up camp that night in Suao, but the combination of wild dogs, wind, and uneven ground led to another hotel night, and we stayed in the cheapest of cheap hotels (a decision I think we might have regretted in the morning after discovering the mold on our beds, the faulty plumbing, and the lack of hallway carpeting (or finishing for that matter...).  

Posing with the Queen's Head rock at Yehliu National Park

Day 4: Once free of the hotel, we headed out into the ups and downs of mountain roads.  We drove along the Chingshui Cliff, a narrow road which is close to 100 years old, and borders the edge of the mountain above a 1000m drop into the sea.  A few hours later we arrived in Hualien which is approximately the middle of the island, and is exactly opposite from where I live.  Hualien is the area of Taiwan that most people would say is the most beautiful.  Hualien is probably best known for Taroko Gorge, a marble canyon with temples, hiking trails, rivers, and mountains of course.  The area of the gorge which I was most excited to see was the Eternal Springs Shrine, which is a small shrine built over a waterfall.  Following up the walking trail from this point led to more shrines, temples, and a bell-tower pagoda where we each rang the bell to ease the souls of those who died in the building of the gorge roads.  We settled into a hotel room for again that night (as you can tell, camping didn't go according to plan, but the hotels really did make sleeping nicer).

The Eternal Springs Shrine

Day 5: What's a trip to Hualien without visiting the bright, blue beaches? After an ice cream cone at the water's edge we were on the road again, this time headed south towards Taitung.  This was the leg of the journey where we crossed over the Tropic of Cancer for the first time, so, as any good tourist would do, we stopped for pictures.  Did you know that, a vertical pole placed on the Tropic of Cancer will cast no shadow on the summer and winter solstice? It's ok, I didn't either, but that is why markers for the Tropic are typically in this form.  After our slight pit-stop we were off again, and when we arrived in Taitung which is in the south east part of the island, where we set up camp in a hot spring campground in the Chihpen area.  It was fun to stay within walking distance of the springs (and thankfully these springs weren't as sulfuric smelling as some of the others I have experienced).  

Day 6: After a lie-in we explored some of Taitung by following the guide-book's suggested temples.  We saw the Chingchueh temple, which is known for housing two large Buddha's on the main altar, and for requiring the removal of shoes prior to worship, and the Dragon Phoenix temple.  The drive onward took us around the southern tip of Taiwan and back north (slightly) to Kaohsiung.  The biggest adventure of this night was, without a doubt, our attempted camping location for the night.  With the southern weather warming us, we attempted not to set up traditional camp, but instead to sleep on a sheltered platform in the warm night's air.  The only problem with this plan is that we acquired an unwelcome guest who was inexplicably fascinated with us, so much so that he circled us for a while, then settled down under our platform.  That's right, he was under us!  Needless to say, that sleeping arrangement did not last long, but we were able to settle down comfortably on the floor of a guy that lives in Kaohsiung (a friend of one of the guys I was traveling with).

Day 7: Our final day.  I was sad to see the trip end, but we all agreed that during our final section of the drive we were just excited to get back to our own beds.  The morning started with breakfast and a trip to a cafe where you can watch planes take off from Kaohsiung airport.  Then we went to the Lotus Pond, which is a series of temples and shrines build around and on top of a pond (actually, it is more of a lake than a pond).  And alas, the week was over, and we were off towards the north for our final few hours of sights and sounds.

Standing on the tiger pagoda, overlooking the Lotus Pond

I know I've missed things, I know that the other half of the memories of this trip will randomly resurface in my mind from sporadically.  Overall, my review is that this was an ideal way to spend 5-days off of school, and if given the choice, I would gladly do this trip again.  I saw some amazing things, and spent time with some lovely people!  Happy Snake Year everyone!

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Happy New Year! What, you thought that was a month ago? Well, it was, but now it is the Chinese New Year, which is based on the lunar calendar.  We have just completed the last day of the year of the dragon, and are welcoming the year of the snake.  Like many people who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Chinese zodiac, I assumed that celebrating 'my' animal year would be a sign of good luck, but the opposite is true of my horoscope, snakes are supposed to have an unfortunate year.  I can't worry too much about it though, I do live in Taiwan, which means things can't get too bad.
Overall, while I am thrilled that it is Chinese New Year, I am finding it to be complete different from my pre-existing expectations.  For starters, am I the only one that pictures fireworks, temples, fancy outfits, and dancing dragons when they think of Chinese New Year? Those aren't traditions here in Taiwan.  The New Year is celebrated quietly with family, and there is very little for a foreigner to do (unless they have been invited to join a family's celebration (which, I was invited to two family dinners, but I had already committed to my lasagna dinner plans with my "Taiwan [teacher] family" by that point)).
Most of my week was spent in intense anticipation for next week, because I (and the rest of the teachers) have the week off of work for the holidays.  You're initial thought might be "You get a week off for Chinese New Year?! That's a long time", but when you think about it, students in western countries get a week off for Christmas and New Years that Chinese students still are in classes for, so this is just a different timing on the same concept.
My home-life accomplishment is that I made myself a real dinner for the first time since arriving in Taiwan.  It just occurred to me how sad it is that in almost 6 months I haven't really prepared a single meal, but that's just the nature of Taiwan.  I wouldn't say it was a culinary masterpiece by the traditional definition, but I made a crab-meat alfredo which certainly hit the spot for me.
If I had to pick one regret from the week, I would say it was eating what I will now describe as a 'jellied omelet'.  I could not explain exactly what happened to these omelets, but the combination of oysters and something else in the ingredients gives the omelet a very slimy (and relatively flavorless) casing.  It is definitely not one of my favorite food items here.
My random thought on Taiwan this week is about something that makes me laugh a bit.  In Taiwan a lot of stores use sticker cards to encourage business, or have a lot of sales promotions where an item is buy-one-get-one-free (which, since I don't speak much Chinese usually seems like store clerks just giving things away), and literal give-aways.  The give-away that entertains me the most is that sometimes when I gas-up my scooter they give me a free pack of toilet paper.  I fail to see the connection which makes this a logical promotion, and I'm not convinced it is advertised anywhere, it just happens randomly.

Gong xi fa cai,

hong bao na lai.