Children's Day

Thursday, April 4th was Children's Day so we had a holiday! Woohoo!  And on Wednesday I showed up at school and was informed that there were going to be special activities all morning for Children's Day.  In fact it was starting in just a little while with a fun run.  The only problem is that the words fun and run are oxymorons in my book and my LET suggested I could run with the 5th graders (their class is one of the most fun ones).  I asked if she was running, but no, she was standing at one of the corners of the course directing kids where to go.  I tried to get a job like that too so I wouldn't have to run but to no avail.  I was leaning towards declining (I just really don't like running!) but then she said the student who has leg braces and who has to use a walker was doing it, so I would be okay.  I felt like I needed to do it after that...

And so I ran the fun run.  It was a struggle, but I made it.  It didn't help that all the other grades had just gone once around the course so I thought that was all I needed to do but as I neared what I thought was the end, I noticed the lead kids going around a second time.  I hoped that I would be able to discreetly stop after once around (in my exhaustion forgetting that the only foreign teacher in a tiny school can't "discreetly" do anything).  But as all the other students and teachers began cheering "Teacher Charissa!! Teacher Charissa!! Jia you!!!  I found some inner strength to keep running (at least while I was within their line of vision!)

Anyway, once I had recovered from the run, the jump roping was starting.  Jump roping is much more up my alley so I went to go check it out.  I thought it was going to be some kind of competition, but it was just like half an hour of jump roping fun.  So I just moseyed around between groups and joined in the jumping, sometimes twirling the rope for other jump ropers.  I joined it with a huge group of 5th graders to see who could jump the longest (and won!) so I was feeling pretty good.

The last activity we did was have all the students make paper airplanes to throw off the second floor.  I think they were supposed to write their hopes and dreams on them and it was something about letting your dreams fly.  Anyway, whatever it was, it was super exciting for everyone (especially the first and second graders whose classrooms are only on the first floor).  And after they threw them down everybody spent a few minutes just throwing the airplanes around and at each other.  I was constantly turning around to small voices yelling "Teacher Charissa!" and an airplane would come flying my way.  Everyone was in good spirits and it was a really fun day!

The Staying Healthy Dance

At 10:15 every day we get a 15 minute break that the kids usually spend running all over the place or doing who knows what, but on nicer days they spend about 7 minutes doing this dance-type activity to keep themselves healthy.  In fact, at certain parts of the song they all shout something about staying healthy.  It's a little hard for me to understand them, since they don't yell it exactly it unison.  Anyway, the other day I whipped out my camera and tried to capture some footage.  The closest students in the video are the 1st graders.  We've had several new students the past couple of weeks so some of the students who are standing around and not really participating are new...some of them are just students who apparently didn't feel like getting involved that day.  The confused little fellow who kept getting re-directed by the principal is one of the new kids.

Peanut Butter and Jelly?!?

I'm going to try to tell a few more anecdotes from school, but the thing is, amusing things happen pretty frequently, but so often it's all about the facial expressions and just knowing the kids, that I'm afraid they lose some quality in the retelling.  But I'll just tell a few things that have made me chuckle lately anyway.

Actually this one happened around Christmas time.  I had a first grader ask me if I seen Santa Claus and I told her I hadn't and she seemed absolutely shocked.  I started to wonder if I had heard her correctly when she exclaimed "Doesn't he go to foreign countries?"  My teacher took over for me here,  since my Chinese wasn't able to cover any sort of answer, unless I told her straight up "Santa isn't real" which seemed like would have been a bad choice.

A couple times I've been teaching about something or other (once it was teaching the vocab word "sandwich" and another time about American lunches) and the fact that American eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (for lunch no less!) shocks the class.  I've never seen my sixth graders so passionate about anything before as they were about how outrageous peanut and jelly is.  My co-teacher tried to compare it to stinky tofu saying that Americans think that stinky tofu is terrible because we aren't used to it and they think peanut butter and jelly is terrible because they aren't used to it.  But the students would have none of it.  They said things like, "But stinky tofu is so good!" (I had to bite my tongue at that point...I would bet large sums of money that whoever you are reading this, you would not like stinky tofu).

Anyway, in second grade the other day we were teaching the word net to go with the letter n and there was a little clip on the e-book of someone using a net to try to catch a butterfly, which he didn't end up catching.  We watched it a few times, saying "N, net"and then the kids would all start yelling, "jia you! jia you!"  Cheering for the guy to catch it this time...apparently no one had caught on that it was the exact same cartoon each time.

A couple weeks ago, after my new fifth grade class a student came up and asked me to draw something.  I told him I didn't know how to draw and he asked if I'd draw a person.  Well, I really can't draw people so then when he asked if I would draw a rabbit I thought I had better agree before it got too difficult.  So the next thing I knew I was sketching a little rabbit in the middle of his Hello Darbie! English book...only after I started did I realize that a teacher probably shouldn't be promoting drawing in the middle of textbooks, but I was using a pen so it as too late.  Anyway, he seemed happy enough with it and the next week a small group approached me after class with a pen and a post-it note requesting another rabbit.  He brought his book along to show me "like this one".  So I drew another rabbit (and signed it this time).

All the students here carry pencil boxes around full of all kinds of things besides pencils and pens.  Once I watched a third grader pull out five rulers and three erasers (nothing like being prepared!)  And nearly all of them have exacto knives and/or scissors in there which I generally forget about until they start fooling around with them, usually by threatening other kids (although thankfully, I've only see that in jest).  Oh the excitement never ends...

Thailand!

Yes, that's right! We went to Thailand for two weeks of our winter break. Woot! True, this was a while back, but I started writing this when we got back and then didn't add to it for ages, so I figured I'd just quickly finish it up so as to not let it go wasted!

So in mid January the semester ended and we kicked off our winter break at the Fulbright mid-year conference at this cool resort in Northern Taiwan.  And just a couple days after the conference was over, some friends and I boarded an early plane to embark on our journey to Thailand!  We split up the trip by the three places we were going (Bangkok, beaches and Chiang Mai) and different people planned each section.  I actually was the only person who didn't help plan anything...oops.  But in all honesty, that was probably for the best for everyone.

We started the trip in Bangkok where we stayed in a neat hostel, Mile Map Hostel, I believe it was called.  The couple of days we were in Bangkok we spent most of the time touring various places, like the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, the Grand Palace and Wat Arun.  For those of you who like me, didn't know what a wat is, it seems to mostly mean a temple in Thailand, Cambodia or Laos (don't quote me on this, I'm not sure of the exact definition).  At the temples and the Grand Palace all the girls had to wear ankle length skirts and not wear tank tops either.  Fortunately, the places all had skirts we could rent since we were not dressed appropriately since it was sweltering in Bangkok.  One day we also went on a bike tour which was a super fun way to see some parts of the city we wouldn't have visited otherwise.  And after a few days in Bangkok we got on the overnight train to head south to make our way to the island of Koh Tao.  When we got our train tickets we also got bus tickets to the ferry and ferry tickets to get to the island which we were told was the way to do it...although I'm not convinced that it ever is the way to do it even under normal circumstances.

The overnight train was an interesting little set up.  There were single seats facing each other on both sides of the aisle and around 10:30 or so someone came around and folded them into beds and also pulled down beds from the the ceiling.  Shortly after we started our trip though, the train stopped for over an hour and later it stopped for a long time again.  For some reason, I didn't think about the fact that that would probably affect our arrival time, but sure enough we got there about two hours after we were supposed to, and to cut a long story short, we missed the bus and the ferry but eventually made it to another pier where another ferry left at 1pm which we arrived in plenty of time for...over 4 hours in fact.

So we eventually made it to Koh Tao which was a beautiful island...oh, I wish I were there right now...Anyway, we spent most of our time relaxing on the beach (some people from our group played a lot of volleyball, I was not one of them).  One day we did go snorkeling and I was slightly petrified.  I went along figuring I could always just stay in the boat, however I got so seasick that being able to get off the boat into the water was actually a relief! Anyway, I ended up having a lot of fun and enjoying myself despite the fact that I can't really swim (obviously we had lifejackets though) and had to get towed back to the boat by one of my obliging friends each time we stopped.  Perhaps one of the low-points was when I wasn't getting pulled along fast enough for the guy in charge so he threw me the life ring and towed me to the boat himself.  I probably should have been more embarrassed by that situation than I was though...

After several relaxing days in Koh Tao we ventured on to our last destination: Chiang Mai!  Because we put off buying tickets until the last minute and because there was a big party on a neighboring island, we ended up having to take an overnight seated train back to Bangkok instead of a sleeper.  This was a fairly unpleasant ride since we had to sit up all night and I was freezing most of the time (that pesky air conditioning) and also it felt like the train was going to derail at any minute.  The train was only two cars long so perhaps that had something to do with the derailing feeling.  Anyway, we made it to Bangkok where we took a plane to Chiang Mai.  I really liked Chiang Mai because while the other places we visited were very neat, they were also very touristy and Chiang Mai just seemed more livable, although plenty touristy as well.  We saw a bunch of temples there, wats, if you will, and I for one, truly enjoyed all the great puns (if there is such a thing as a great pun) you can make with the word wat!  "Wat" was one of them, you might ask?  Well, I'll spare you the details, because you can probably get the idea.

While there, we also went to some kind of elephant reserve where we got to feed, wash and ride the elephants.  This was really neat although I was kind of nervous.  Elephants are huge.  We rode the elephants in pairs and of course the elephant that Emily and I had was a trouble maker and insisted on carrying a log around with him the whole time.  Doing so made him trip occasionally and made his head go all over the place and at one point when we were going downhill, I was convinced that I would just tumble off over the front.  Stressful.

Oh, also, it should be mentioned that going to Chiang Mai fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine because when I was about nine years old my family moved to a different city in China, and my friends there would go to a conference in Chiang Mai over the Chinese New Years break and my family's were always in China (which was also cool, although I didn't realize it so much at the time).  Anyway, I got this idea that Chiang Mai was a magical place that I needed to visit, and I'm so glad I finally was able to.

Anyway, after Chiang Mai, we just went back to Bangkok for one day where we checked out the floating market.  Or we thought that's what we were doing.  We found it all right and walked along the river but thought we would take a boat around to where we thought the main part of the market was but we ended up accidentally just taking a boat tour with no market in sight, so I think maybe we were already at the main part...I'm not really sure.  The next day we made our way back to Taiwan and enjoyed the next two weeks off from school. Lovely.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say a grand ol' time was had by all!

Finally Some Firecrackers!

It was Chinese New Year last weekend and every night since then fireworks have been going off.  I didn't get in on any of the action because I didn't see any fireworks for sale ever, but some friends and I had been talking about getting some and then this Saturday night it finally all came together because Tyler knew where the firework stands were and I found out that he and Sarah hadn't set any off before!  As an enthusiastic pyromaniac, I couldn't just find out that information and not take any action, so Emily and I set off to purchase some fireworks.

So we got to the fireworks stand and began to inquire to the saleslady after the prices.  She also recommended a few as we were picking up pretty much everything there and inspecting it.  We had only been looking about a minute or two when a jolly, portly, slightly intoxicated, middle-aged man came up from somewhere within the store and began miming what each of the fireworks did as we picked them up.  We would kind of nod and smile and at one point the clerk told him that we already knew what they were.  I assumed that he was her husband or at least had some affiliation with the store and he eventually stopped miming and took out a cigarette and lit it (right over the table of fireworks) and then casually started flicking his lighter on and off.  Although he was holding it a foot or two above the fireworks, I couldn't help but think it wasn't a great idea.  He also would randomly burst into song, joining in with the music that was coming from somewhere in the back of the store.

For some reason I asked them what their favorite fireworks were and the store clerk said something like "they're all good" but this man picked up this massive snowman one and tried to make me buy it.  He also wanted us to buy matches but we didn't need any, but then with a benign smile, he gave me his own lighter that he had been fiddling around with.  Eventually Emily and I were satisfied with our selection and decided to make our purchase so we paid her and the clerk bagged them up for us and this man started grabbing handfuls of those butterfly fireworks and tried to put them in our bag telling us that they were a gift. The clerk however, kept taking them out of the bag and pulling it away from him saying that she had already given us a discount.  At this point I still thought the man worked there and I thought to myself "ah, we can see who is the business minded one here."  When the clerk turned around to get us our change, the man sidled up to me and discreetly handed me a giant stick of punk, which I took and discreetly put it into my bag.  Please remember that I thought he worked at the store and wouldn't rest until he had given us something.  The last part of that is probably true too: he was very persistent!  Well, we turned to leave and he started offering me a ride home on his scooter which I declined and Emily and I had only walked a little ways before who should pull up on his motorcycle but that man! Again, asking if we'd like a ride, but this time throwing in in English "only one! Only one!" (since he apparently couldn't fit more than one of us on his scooter.  I am fairly confident that in his state he should not have been driving at all, let alone with a passenger! Anyway, we declined again and he drove off somewhere and right about then it hit me that he probably did not work at that stand...so I guess I just kind of stole the punk...oops.

Anyway, the fireworks were super fun and the clerk's recommendations proved to be solid so we went back later that evening to get more to light off (that man was no where to be found, but I think the clerk's actual husband was).  And for those of you who are wondering Roman candles get you the most bang for your buck.

Christmas Weekend

So the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas were rather exciting days...well, they were different from my typical weekend anyway.  Saturday was a workday in exchange for getting Monday, December 31st off, but my school decided not to make it like a regular Monday and had a school wide talent show all morning, which was fun for the first hour or two.  But after nearly 4 hours and watching Gangnam Style get danced to 3 different times, I was ready for it to be over...There were a lot of really cute performances though and some were just funny, so I'm definitely not complaining about having a talent show instead of classes!

On Sunday my other school had Sports Day.  I guess December 25th is their school's birthday so they had a big event that Sunday morning to celebrate.  It was super cold that day and raining at first, so I was quite thankful for the complimentary matching pink vests all the teachers had to wear that day.  I was grateful for every layer I could fit on.  The day started off with a couple of speeches.  Somehow I found myself sitting on the stage with all the important people, and even though I had been told to sit there, I spent most of the day walking around getting closer to the action.  After the speeches, there were several performances.  First there was a recorder choir and then there was a special lion dance that they've done at at temple before too although I'm not really sure what the significance is.

Besides the four lions (each one had two kids under it) there were two kids with massive head/masks who waved green leaves around

At the end this bigger lion came out and held a banner

The recorder choir was made up of fourth, fifth and sixth graders

After that the students also all did dances that they've been working on for a while.  Below are some clips of them.  The first one was a kind of warm up dance type thing that all the students did.  The person leading them is our principal.  Then there is the fifth and sixth grade dance, the first and second grade dance and a really short clip of the third and fourth grade dance.

Then there were some performances by two groups of middle aged women (actually the second group had some men too).  They mostly danced to Chinese music but I nearly lost it when they started dancing to "Achy Breaky Heart".  It just seemed so out of context.  After that amusing interlude, I spend the rest of the day watching the kids compete in goofy little contests.  Although some of them were really cute because there were so many parents and grandparents there that about half the activities included them and it was just really nice to see the kids and parents and grandparents all working together and having fun.

This group also did a dance with fans

This is the whole school standing with their grade 

Some fourth and fifth graders dancing (the one in the front is the same jump roper in the photo at the end)

Sixth and fifth grade

Third and fourth grade

The fifth grade contest involved a relay of putting tennis balls on the frisbees and then picking them up again...it was much more exciting than it sounds

The sixth graders had to race around while only stand on those foam squares

The third and fourth graders competed in a jump rope race relay.  This little guy couldn't jump rope at all (you can see everyone else had finished by this point).  He even lost his shoe during it but he never stopped smiling

After Sports Day was over, I hopped on my scooter and drove to the orphanage to see what they were up to for Christmas.  That was what really got me in the Christmas spirit I think because all the kids (well, not just the kids) had so much excited energy there and it was contagious! There was a massive gift exchange and they had even gotten me a gift! It was so sweet of them! All in all it was a wonderful day!

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays!!

Well, Christmas has come and gone...but in a small way I sort of feel like I'm still waiting for it.  This year was definitely different, which is no surprise of course.  First of all, being in a totally different climate this year didn't prepare me as the bitter cold and snow of Minnesota usually do, by making me realize it's winter and that Christmas will be coming.  Then of course, there weren't finals (not that I can say I missed those!).  But I've sort of gotten used to those as being the last thing to conquer before I can really delve into Christmas festivities completely.  And finally, here in Taiwan we had no Christmas break and in fact, I also had to work on the weekend before Christmas (more on what those days involved later), so I joked about the 12 Days of Work instead of the 12 Days of Christmas...which doesn't actually sound funny now, but for some reason I found it amusing at the time.  Anyway, despite all that, I would still consider it a really great Christmas! And the title of this post isn't trying to be ironic or something, it's just stating a fact.  There really is nothing like being with your family for Christmas! But I had the joy of being with my family via skype on Christmas Eve during our family celebration.  Besides the fact that I wasn't actually there to give everyone hugs...it pretty much felt like I was there (until I signed off and went to work...that was probably the low-point of the day).  But through skype we all took turns opening our gifts just like usual and I even had some to open due to a wonderful friend from college (thanks Amy!).  Then my dad read the Christmas story from the Bible (which we usually do before presents, but in the excitement of skyping we got things a little out of order).  Anyway, I was (and am) very thankful for technology because it really makes the distance seem much smaller!

Despite the fact that (and maybe because of it) Christmas isn't celebrated much here, I got to teach about it in school.  We even got to have class in a different classroom with a projector that day just for the occasion! We sang some songs and I gave a little presentation about Christmas traditions and then shared what my own family does.  Cutting down Christmas trees was a subject of fascination and one fourth grade class in particular asked tons of questions.  They wanted to know how much they cost and if you had to pay more for bigger trees and if you could just pay fee and then take as many trees as you'd like, and lots of other things...Then some of the classes got to play Pass the Parcel which is always a big hit.

Just talking about Christmas to one of the classes

Who will get to unwrap the parcel?! (Clearly that's what they're all wondering)
By the way, if you noticed the face mask on the little boy, that's totally a common sight.  People wear them whenever they have a cold or cough

The excitement of Pass the Parcel never ceases!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l3e-xe9iEg

Here is a link of the second graders at one of my schools doing a funny little dance to Jingle Bells.  They could sing it really well, but multi-tasking was a little difficult for them.  They actually practiced this for a couple lessons so  performing it and getting recorded was the reward.

And below is a video from one of my first grade classes on Christmas Day!  This was at my other school and the first graders are singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas (and also doing a funny little dance).  This was only a one day thing, but I think they did a pretty good job! In the video they are practicing because they went back and performed it for their homeroom teacher.