Teaching in Taiwan

I can't believe I've been here for 2 months already! I'm in my 8th week of school and the first quarter ends next week. I can't even begin to describe how much I have learned since I've been here. The school where I am teaching has given me such an incredible opportunity and I plan on taking advantage of that each and every day.

First, I get to teach middle school. I tried a couple of times in Portland but even when I got to the final interviews, they always chose someone with middle school experience over me. Now they won't have an excuse to not hire me (let's hope).  I also LOVE teaching at this grade level.  I loved teaching elementary too but this is so different and it is so much fun connecting and building relationships with kids this age.  Also, I don't have the same kids all day long and get to teach 3 subjects instead of 6 or 7.

Second, I have taught more in the past 8 weeks than I would have taught in the first 4 months in the states. In Portland I would have spent hours and hours assessing students - NWEA, NECAP, F&P, Spelling Inventory, and the list goes on. I understand that you need to find out where kids are but COME ON! How about giving us an opportunity to build community, get to know the kids, let them settle in and get to know you and what the expectations are. I bet I could tell you just as much, if not more, about each and every one of my 63 students now after 8 weeks than what all of those assessments would tell me.  I just love that I get to teach them and learn about them right away.

Third, there is such a culture of education first here.  At KAS, students go to school from 8:00-3:00. They have 7 blocks so they go all day - no study halls and little free time.  Many of them go to tutors or buxibans (cram schools) after school to work on English or math or whatever.  When a student is struggling or isn't passing in work, when you contact the parents they respond right away and things get done.  I have been working with students after school and I get the nicest emails and notes of appreciation.  I don't get blamed for their child not succeeding.  In general, they make the child take responsibility and are grateful for any extra support I give.  That doesn't mean that didn't happen in the states but there were many times that kids didn't show up and other times when there was excuse after excuse for a child not getting the work done.

Students are so curious and hardworking.  They take their education seriously and ask me immediately if I've corrected work and when the grades will be put into Powerschool (the online grading system).  They will contact me if their grade goes down 1% and will ask what they can do. That doesn't mean that some of my students aren't struggling but when they see a grade lower than a B, they freak out a bit and suddenly they are all over it.

Last, I feel respected and trusted here...by the students, other teachers and the administration.  I teach 63 sixth and seventh graders and in eight weeks, I have had attitude from only two students.  TWO! Can you imagine that this would be the case in the states?  And these are middleschoolers! Many of my students come from families from a higher income bracket but they don't act like that.  They are respectful, kind and hard-working.

I miss my family and friends but coming here to teach was truly one of the best decisions for me professionally.  It has given me a renewed love and passion for teaching and has completely energized me.  Woohoo!

Massage

Did I just create this wonderfully calm, soothing, fragrant and relaxing image in your mind?  Well, wipe that image clean right now!  I hope I can do this experience justice because it is unlike anything I have ever lived through before.

First, before I begin, I need to give a little background info.  To make a long story short, I had back surgery when I was 9 years old.  They discovered that my back was growing incorrectly when I was 6 and they waited to see if I would outgrow it and I didn't.  By the time I was nine, doctors decided to correct my juvenile scoliosis. I had surgery at a hospital about 4 hours away from my hometown and I stayed in that area for 6 months until my back healed.  Basically they took bone grafts from my hips and placed them along my spine.  It took 6 months of me being in a body cast in a nursing home for the bones to fuse so now I have 13 fused disks and a somewhat deformed back.  I also have amazing posture (which is easy because I can't slouch).

Anyway, I have had back pain my entire life.  Most of the time it's not that bad and I can easily live with it.  Sometimes is pretty bad and I have to create this little compartment in my mind where I place that pain so I can function day to day.  Staying active and stretching helps but ibuprofen helps more.  And then there are times where the pain is pretty much unbearable and it takes everything in me to make it through the day.  Those times are rough but I get through them.  Suck it up, don't complain about it and deal.  That's my motto.  A few years ago I went through the worst stage of this pain and I thought I was going to lose my mind.  Doctors don't know what to do because they, literally, have never seen a case like mine before.  The last specialist I saw said "Holy Shit!" when she saw my x-rays.  That's not the most reassuring statement I've heard from a doctor!  Often, these same doctors, want to prescribe me some heavy duty pain killers for the pain and I refuse.  I do NOT want to live my life like that.  I just suck it up, cry some, force myself out of bed and deal.  That's when ibuprofen becomes my best friend.

During this really rough time I found 3 things that saved me.  First, I started seeing this physical therapist who practices feldenkrais, a different type of physical therapy.  I had never been approached that way before and he looked at how I moved and used my body and helped me make these tiny corrections that made a huge difference.  I also started doing more yoga, which is one of the greatest healing activities ever.  But the thing that made the greatest difference was my finding a massage therapist.  It changed my life.  I still have pain and some days can be bad but I don't feel like I'm losing my mind anymore.

Coming to Taiwan, I've been so busy and have been working 12-14 hours a day that I haven't taken the care that I should have.  I haven't had a massage in over 2 months and I haven't done much yoga. I KNOW!  I'm a bad, bad girl.  This week, I paid the price.  The pain kept me up at night and I had a hard time even getting out of bed a couple of mornings.  I had to find some help, stat!  It's my own damned fault and I'm old enough to know better.

Is massage hard to find in Taiwan?  Absolutely not!  There is some type of massage place on every other street.  The problem is that many are for foot/leg, shoulders and neck (in one of those chairs) or they provide "special services" that I'm not interested in exploring.  More importantly, I needed to find someone who speaks English.  I have to explain why I have several feet of scars on my body. It's not just because I'm built for speed.

Through Google search and a site called Kaohsiung Living, I found a woman who was mentioned twice so I contacted her.  She scheduled me for this morning and I just got back from my time with her.  This is the part I'm hoping I capture as vividly as possible.  Apologies for the long intro but I had to set this up a bit.

She gave me an address that actually is only about a 12 minute bike ride from my apartment.  I'm totally proud of myself for being able to get around this city now and when she told me she was off of Gushan 3rd Road, I knew exactly where that was.  Yay me!  Of course, as per usual, I was a hot sweaty mess when I got there.  That, my friends, is getting old!  Apparently I was having this massage at her apartment which is located in this lane (really an alley) off of a major avenue.  She met me outside and we walked up the 4 flights to her apartment.  What's really cool is that I got to see how a local lives. More about that later.

We spoke for a few minutes and she took me to her bedroom where the massage table was set up. She asked if I wanted to take a shower (which was so kind) but I told her I had just taken one but was just sweaty from the bike ride.  I asked if she wanted me to take a shower and she said that sweat is natural and she hopes the room is cool enough for me.  Windows open and a fan blowing will never be cool enough for me but I told her I was fine.  She asked me to take my clothes off and to lie down face up.  She stood there as I disrobed, which was interesting, but I've given birth so some amount of modesty left me when that happened.

I laid down and she put a bath towel over my torso.  She started with my feet and ankles and moved up to my calves (which are a bit sore from my painful massage from last night) and then my thighs. This is when it started to get interesting.  She started moving my legs in and out, over and under, up and down (all with my kibble and bits  hanging out mind you).  At one point she was standing up on the table pushing both of my legs over my head and her weight pushing against me.  Talk about butt up and shut up (I couldn't even breathe).  Then she had me turn to one side and had my legs every which way, arms up and behind my head and over my head and doing things I have never done with my body....EVER!  Then it was over to the other side and the same treatment.  At this point, screw the towel.  It was now on the floor and I had to just forget about it.  She's a woman; she's seen this stuff before. I felt like I was auditioning for Cirque du Soleil and was in survival mode.

She asked me to turn over and face down on the table.  She began working on my shoulders and back, which is the part I really need some work on, and although elbows and forearms are painful in my back, I know they are necessary for the knots I have residing there.  She then went back down to my feet, worked her way up and suddenly she hopped up onto the table and proceeded to do yoga poses....ON MY BODY!  Downward dog - check!  Feet on my calves, hands on my shoulders or shoulderblades and down she goes. At one point she was doing planks, some side angle poses and, I'm not kidding here, she had her knees in my lower back and elbows under my shoulder blades and was going to town.  I couldn't take a breathe so I couldn't protest even if I wanted to.

She worked her feet, knees, hands and elbows up and down my entire body.  That woman is in some serious shape!  At one point she had my arms straight back with my legs bent up touching her back. She pulled on my arms so that I was shaped like a little boat about to float out to sea.  Holy Mother of Pearl!  This whole process went on for at least 20 minutes!!!! Picture this (image below) but with my legs bent and this petite 100 pound woman doing the honors and her knees on my lower back.  Did I mention that my back is fused?

She stepped off the table and took this mediation bowl (about 10 inches across), laid it on different parts of my body and hit the bowl many times for the vibrations to travel through my body.  Each part of my body was vibrated for about 2 minutes and by the time she got to my shoulders I was practically humming.  This is what Quasimodo must have felt like each time he rang those bells.

Then she spent several minutes laying her hands quietly and calmly on my head, chest, pelvic bone, knees and feet.  Then, it was over.  This whole process was just under 2 hours and cost me about $45.

I got dressed (she left the room this time), poured me a cup of water and proceeded to invite me to lunch.  How sweet is that!?  I was still in a bit of a daze and a little achy so I declined and thanked her.  I made my way home and had to blog about it before I forgot some of the details.  So, only time will tell if the massage helped.  Right now I'm sore and my shoulders and back feel like I went to war but that often happens after a major massage and I also waited too long so I was already sore to begin with.  I'll know in a day or two whether I should make another appointment.  Next time, if there is a next time, I think I'll be leaving the panties ON.

It's ALL about me!

Who am I kidding!?  Of course it's all about me!  This is my blog after all.  What I mean is that this weekend is literally "All about me."

I've been in Taiwan for 2 months already and I have taken only one day off.  I take teaching seriously and since I'm teaching totally new subjects, in a new school and new grade levels, I've had to work every day to keep up.  I took one day off when we had that long weekend a few weeks back and I have to work this weekend too.  I'm not complaining...just saying.  I was invited to do several things this weekend but I decided that I needed a little TLC instead because I realized that I was running on fumes.  So my weekend is all about taking care of me.

This morning I started off my day by brewing myself a pot of tea from tea leaves given to me as a gift by one of my students.

It was fragrant and delicious.

I then rode my bicycle to a local salon to get my hair cut and colored.  I haven't done this since before I left the states and I had to just jump in and do this.  Being a redhead and having short hair, it takes a little faith to get your hair cut and colored because I don't want to look like a character from "Orange is the New Black" or have orange hair.  I asked around and was given a recommendation.  I went to a this cute little salon near the night market and met Felix, who is originally from Hong Kong but has been in Kaohsiung for 12 years.  I was there for 2 hours and it cost about the same as what I would pay in the states but it was a very different experience.

First, when I sat down we had a conversation about what I wanted and he went off to get things ready.  He quickly came back and asked me if I had eaten breakfast.  I told him I was all set but he made me get up and took me outside and directed me to a little breakfast place down the street.  He said everything would be ready for me when I returned.  How funny is that?!

I went to this little place and ordered an egg dish and a cold milk tea (trust me, it's delicious).

 I returned and ate my breakfast as I had my hair colored.

First, the assistant put what looked like small headphones over my ears but what really were ear protective covers.  Then she put what I believe was an oil on my scalp and massaged it in for a few minutes before she began to color my hair.  Then they wrapped my head in plastic wrap and put this contraption over my head that rotated and heated my head.  That's it below.

The assistant then brought me to the washing station and carefully washed my hair.  The chair was by far the most comfortable chair I've ever had my hair washed in before.  Funny thing was that when I was reclined backwards my legs were so long that my feet rested on the cabinets at the foot of the chair.  Hahaha!  They obviously are not set up for us long-legged types. So, she washed my hair, rinsed it and then washed it again.  This time she washed and massaged my scalp for over 10 minutes. It was heaven!  My friend Karyn would have been all over that!  I was rinsed again then some type of conditioner or something was squeezed onto my hair and I was massaged some more.  No rinse this time....back to the chair.

Felix discussed what I wanted and he dried my hair before he cut it.  He did some things using clippers and scissors that I've never seen before.  He really listened to what I had to say and kept asking and checking in throughout the haircut.  After the haircut, they washed my hair again because they don't want all of those little hairs making you itch.  Then he rubbed in some oils and dried my hair.  What a pampering and relaxing experience.

My hair color is rich, shiny, bright and fun.  The haircut is fantastic!  I'll be back!

This evening I'm meeting a fellow teacher and she is taking me to a local foot massage place (and yes Karyn, this day would be a perfect day for you).  Foot massage is a big thing in Taiwan and when you go you pay about $25 for 1 hour of foot and leg massage.  I can't wait!  We have appointments at 7:30 and I'm sure I'll be all relaxed and happy when I leave there.

Then....in the morning, I am getting my first body massage in Taiwan.  I did a bunch of research and finally found a massage therapist.  Those of you who know me know that I have an interesting back (surgery as a kid, fused spine...all that fun stuff) so I had to be careful about finding a place.  There are plenty of "massage" places around but I needed to find someone I could speak with that understood English.  Not only is she only a 10 minute bike ride away but she costs about $45 for 90 minutes. Booya!  I'll let you know how it goes.

By the time the weekend is over, I will be relaxed, ache free (I hope) and ready to face the world again.  

Kaohsiung American School PTA Banquet

Last night (Friday, September 26th) the KAS PTA threw this big shindig to celebrate the beginning of school and to welcome new teachers. What a night! There had to be at least 300 people there (KAS has about 600 students) and this was a big deal.  Everyone dressed up (even me) and new teachers were introduced in this formal and funny fashion. This event was at one of the biggest hotels in Kaohsiung, the Grand Hi-Lai, and it was quite the event.  New teachers got to go for free and everyone else had to pay about $30 a ticket.

 We checked in at the door and new teachers were given name tags.  For some reason I'm also listed incorrectly.  Here I'm ES - Elementary School.  I'm in Middle School.  Also, they say 6th grade but I teach 6th and 7th.  Oh well, that's just logistics.

This is the first picture I post of myself.  Don't worry, there won't be many of those.

New teachers walked in from the back of the room with a boy student and a girl student holding our hands.  I got leid, I mean a lei, and had to walk onto the stage while photos were being taken left an right.  Like I said, this is a big deal! At least I didn't have to say anything!

 There was a program that listed all of the times and events of the eveing, including the introduction of new staff and performances by students and parents.

 We each got a thank you card and this card also mentions that this is not only a Welcome Banquet but a Fundraising event.

This is the menu of the meal we had.  10 courses!!!  It took about 2 1/2 hours.

The food was fantastic!  My favorites were the steamed fish (Ah-Mazing) and the braised vegetables with mushrooms. NomNom!

 As we enjoyed our meal, different students got up to perform from elementary (this violin player and a young boy that drummed to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer") to high school.  Yup, Bon Jovi is even here in Taiwan.

 Hip Hop Dancers

More strings...

And a group of moms from Tainan (a city north of KAS where many of our students travel from every day) did a dance number for us to a Taiwanese pop song.

As it is in the states, students are so happy to see their teachers outside of school.  Students are invited to this event so I got so visit with several of my students and their families.  As we sat there enjoying our meal, between courses parents and PTA members would come up to toast us and thank us.  How cool is that!?  I had a grin on my face the whole night.

There was a silent auction to buy artwork and a raffle for items donated by businesses in Kaohsiung. I won 2 tickets to the movies! They also posted donations that were being made throughout the night. It was busy; it was loud; it was colorful and it was an honor.  It is so nice to be part of a culture where education is so appreciated, valued and honored. I felt very special.

Cooking!

Cooking in Taiwan is interesting because I have to change some of the ways I cook and I only have 2 burners so I have to be creative at times.  I did buy a convection oven so I can make toast now (instead of holding my bread over an open flame like I was doing when I got here) but I don't have a microwave and many of the kitchen odds and ends I'm used to.  I find that I don't roast things anymore - I just use my saute pan. Next time I go to the market I plan on getting a wok, which I'm excited about.  The burners I have on my stove are meant to be used with a wok.

Anyway, yesterday I made my way through the market and bought a few things.  One thing I bought, which I thought was an odd shaped guava was really something more like squash.  I tried it raw to see what the texture and flavor was like and decided it would be better cooked.  I sliced (it had one large seed inside) and sauteed it with a little garlic and ginger.

I added a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil at the end.  The flavor was delicious but I realized, as I was eating, that I should have peeled the vegetable first (it was a bit tough and fibrous) and I should have cooked it a bit longer.  Live and learn!

Next I seared some fish I bought.  Now, I have no clue what type of fish this is.  It looked a bit like salmon or tuna but was nothing like it.  It was a bit oilier but was tender and so flavorful.  This is the problem with not understanding a language, I don't know what to ask for next time.

Finally I cooked up a collection of mushrooms and greens that I bought at the market.  The mushrooms in Taiwan are FANTASTIC!  You can get so many kinds and they are SO cheap!  I can buy a bag full of mushrooms here for a few dollars that would cost me at least 10 times more in the states. So I sauteed the mushrooms, added slices of potato and garlic then added bok choy and some of those greens I found yesterday.  It was delicious.  The greens were a bit grassy and, well, green.

We will see how my living in Taiwan changes my tastes and preparation of food. Should get interesting.

A Stop at the Afternoon Outdoor Market

I ride by this afternoon market pretty much every day. They open at 4:00 p.m., rain or shine, and I have stopped on the outer parts of the market to buy fruit, veggies and that half chicken I got weeks ago. I haven't ventured too far into the market because, frankly, it's a bit overwhelming. Initially it was overwhelming because of the language and not knowing how to communicate. I don't worry so much about that anymore because I somehow make myself understood, although I'm sure that's quite a humorous sight at times. Today I decided to go for it and went deep into the mysteries of the market. Insert organ music here.

First, I tell myself I'm getting used to being stared at but that's a lie. I'm just better at ignoring it. When I'm deep in the local resident's territory it's amazing how much I am outright stared at. I freakin' stop traffic. I'm not exaggerating. People will literally stop dead in their tracks and stare at me as I stroll by. I just smile, say hello, give a little bow and keep on walking. I'm taking pictures of the market while they take pictures of me. Such a strange experience and honestly, I wish I had just a little of that attention in the states.

Entering the market...

The market runs down an entire block from major avenue to major avenue. Unlike the states where they have markets on blocked off streets on quaint village greens, this is open to all bicycles and scooters so it's incredibly crowded, noisy and dangerous. It's sensory overload. Scooters fly by, and there are hundreds of people and scooters mind you, and stop in front of the stalls to purchase everything you could imagine.

Fresh meats being chopped, fileted and bagged.

Some new greens that I bought 2 of.

Woks! Yippee!

Surrounded by fruits and veggies. Again I bought some I have never seen before.

These limes were the size of oranges!

A huge assortment of fish.

There are more alleys and shops behind the booths.....next time.

Fish mongers and butchers fillet and chop to order.

I can't wait to go back. I bought a few things and am about to test out some mysterious items. Wish me luck!

First Movie in Taiwan

This weekend was the first weekend where I wasn't heading off somewhere for a major adventure. My principal and friend, Dawn, had to go to Kathmandu for a training so her daughter Lily has been staying with me.  Yesterday we met up with some new friends here in Kaohsiung and went to see our first movie in Taiwan!

Before we headed to meet them, Lily and went to get some lunch and then picked up a few groceries. There is a major tropical storm/typhoon that is hitting Taiwan today so we wanted to make sure we had a few supplies (and no, I did not buy an abundance of toilet paper and bread like we see in the states).  Here is one of the items that stood out...

Look closely.....

Ummm....what would be the "original flavor"?

They look pretty though don't they?  I think I'll leave the purchase of these for another time.

On our walk I took a couple of pictures of things you see all around the city.  First, when there is construction on the road the men at work sign is...

Don't you love it!?  What you don't see, as I went to the left, is the group of workers sitting in a small group enjoying their lunch and a thermos of tea.

I tried to capture the blaring of the speakers on this little car but it stopped the second I started filming.  Little vehicles like this are all over the city blaring who knows what in Chinese.  This particular vehicle, I believe, may be representing the workers union or some type of politics.  There are some elections coming up and you see these going up and down streets blaring away.  In many ways I'm glad I don't understand what they are saying.

Finally we made it to the MRT (the local subway).  I had not been on the subway yet so I was excited to see the stations.  A new line is being built in my neighborhood so I'll be able to take the train to work starting in the spring!  Yippee!  No sweaty bike ride to work when it's hot out.

The train stations are so beautiful and clean (even the bathrooms were clean).  Many of the signs are in English too so you can navigate your way through it pretty easily.  It cost just over $1 for a round trip to the mall where we were seeing the movie so cheap enough.

There are only two lines right now but you can travel to many places in Kaohsiung including the airport.  Unfortunately the closest station is about a 30-40 minute walk so it's not convenient for me but it will be next spring.

 Sorry it's a bit fuzzy but you can see the Chinese characters on the bottom and the English labels above.  So easy!

 I'm told that each station has amazing artwork or something that makes it unique.  I guess this station is mermaid themed.  

This is an image at the Formosa Station - Gorgeous!

This is what the trains look like on the inside.  Nice!

We went 4 stops to the Mega Mall where the subway stops beneath the mall itself.  The Mega Mall is massive - a 17 floor department store filled with shops, a bookstore, restaurants and more!  

We made our way up a series of escalators then took an elevator to the 11th floor.  Then more escalators to the cinema.  This blurry picture is of the line in front of us.  There were about 100 people in line before us but it's all so organized and calm.  When you get to the counter, you order your tickets and they assign seats in the theater.  You also order the food you want and pay for everything at once.  Then you go further down the counter to pick up your items.  They gave me a free chocolate bar and little notebook as a token gift.  Seriously!

 There are these mascots everywhere.  Here is the movie theater mascot with TW, a fellow teacher.  Cute but still a bit creepy.

We saw the movie "Lucy" in a very comfortable theater.  The movie was in English with Chinese subtitles.  When the previews were in Chinese, they had English subtitles.  I see many movies in my future now that I know how easy it is to get there.  It cost us about $25 U.S. for 2 tickets, 2 drinks and popcorn.  Not too bad...better than the states anyway.

We made our way down into the mall, had Thai food for dinner and walked around a few of the levels on the way to the bottom level where we caught the train back to our original station.  It was a nice way to spend a hot and humid day in Kaohsiung!