Guess who teaches English at Zhengda Fuzhong: Summary of my 2 days teaching

Thanks to April Wang, who is the language coordinator for CIEE Study Abroad in Taiwan, I was offered the opportunity to teach English at Zhengda Fuzhong and meet my lovely students who all happen to be 10th graders. At first I was very nervous because I have never taught before and I have never had any formal work experience with tutoring  To add to my woes, I did not have an idea of where these kids stand in terms of their level of listening, speaking, reading, and writing English. Hence, I had to experiment for two teaching days in order to figure out where they were. I have realized that I need to create a fun filled activity that can captivate their kids hearts and motivate them to practice their English. I have four very darling students whom I am so thankful to teach. They will try their hardest to do anything I ask them to do.  They are sweet, shy and they typically do what is expected of them in class (something which is expected of them in the Taiwanese academic culture), which I suppose is every American teacher's dream given the butt load of obnoxiously rebellious kids they have to contend with.  As much as I motivate these kids, I feel like I have to constantly work harder at pushing them to speak. I suppose I have not left the American academic culture in the sense that we often force kids to participate in class actively but I guess in this case, I do need to push them and I need to be more fun! Teaching them full sentences does not mean I have to be stiff. I just need to briefly go over parts of speech and how they fit into a sentence grammatically. I don't think I am too worried about what I need to do now. I just need to make them speak coherently as possible! This can definitely be fixed!

Was Taiwan Written in My Destiny?

Never ever in my life have I considered stepping out of my comfort zone to find myself in a foreign country whose culture and customs I am still learning. I never ever thought as a high school junior or senior that I would be in Taiwan learning Mandarin Chinese, a language I never thought I had the potential to master. When one takes advantage of unique opportunities offered in college, you never know what places they can take you. My studying Chinese brought me to Taipei, a busy city with a hodgepodge of colorful buildings meshed together, food everywhere you go, people walking everywhere and  of course no one can forget the  night markets! The people I meet here teach me something about the world. It doesn't even have to be about Taiwan! I ran into someone and I learned quite a bit about Ukraine (I have been quite curious about this country for a while now!) and its declining economy because of failed governmental policy in managing its resources. I am the sort of person that inquires about anything and everything so if you have the pleasure to to talk to me, be prepared to be asked a lot of questions about your country and your experiences.

Having said that I have the tendency to inquire even about the silliest things and some things that are rather deep, I must say that it must not have been Mandarin Chinese that bought me to Taiwan but an inborn sense of wonder and a need to know that brings me to an island so far away from home that it makes anyone wonder what bought me here. People (even foreign exchange and local students) ask me what brings me to this island and I superficially reply that I want to learn Mandarin Chinese and I find Taiwan to be much more livable than mainland China ( I am sure this is not a satisfying answer either). But the biggest question I have to inquire here is that is Taiwan written in my destiny? Was I meant to be here? Why do I love it here so much? To be honest, I have decided to stop asking these questions and embrace my journey to the fullest. Whatever Taiwan may bring to me will change my life. It will be a blessing either way!

A trip to Yangminshan National Park

Well on  Saturday March 23rd, I decided to take a hike on the mountains at the Yangminshan National Park. I went with my good friend Felix and a couple of his Taiwanese and one mainland friend. I must say I adore the greenery that hugs the mountains. These mountains are adorned with the national flower of Taiwan (whose name I cannot recall right now) and other beautiful small flowers. At the mountains I had the pleasure to try 肉棕 which is a type of steamed rice that is covered in bamboo leaves that you have to uncover before you eat it. I imagine we hiked for about 3 hours and then we returned to Zhengda at which I had a meeting on the presentation I have to give in a week. I think I would like to hike other mountains in Taiwan! Pictures shall come soon!

New Taipei, Keelung, and Jiufen

So last Sunday I went to Jiufen, Keelung, and New Taipei with my friends who are from mainland China. We went to the Gold museum (which is on a beautiful scenic mountain coated with greenery and  located near buddhist temples) in New Taipei where Taiwanese prisoners of war were imprisoned in a gold-mine under Japanese rule until World War II. I was able to explore the different types of things that prisoners of war made with gold. Many items such as plates and jewelry that were made with Gold. After we were done with the museum, we took pictures in railroad cars. We also ventured down hill to take pictures with waterfalls and the sea nearby with purple skies. The water was crystal clear with a greenish blue tint. I was mesmerized by it. After glancing and admiring the scenary around us, we took a bus to go to Jiufen, where we got to see the oldest road and a long night market from where I brought a bunch of souvenirs such as a calligraphy brush, a wooden post card, and some flower tea. I also brought some China from the gold museum as a souvenier. We left the university at 7:48AM and did not return until 10:00PM. The day was a blast but I was so tired beyond reason when I returned from the trip. I simply could not get myself to move the next day because I was sore. Amazing how we managed to go to three places all in one day. It was a day worth bragging about!

What I love and dislike about Taiwan

So I have decided that after staying in Taiwan for about a month now, I have decided to write a blog on what I love about Taiwan and what I dislike (hate is too strong of a word to express my complaints that I may have about this country so I chose the word dislike instead).

Let's start with the bad news first since I like to save the best for last:

1. Students are less willing to speak out and participate in class discussions: I mean come on why am I always the first to raise my hand in class? Sometimes I am also the only one raising my hand to speak out because others are too shy or they did not prepare for class. At times, I feel people might become complacent and depend on me to answer all the questions so they can avoid the professor asking them questions. I shouldn't be this upset but I think the fault lies with the education system here in Taiwan that basically demolishes any bouts of curiosity or creativity these students may have had since the educational culture relies so much on testing. On another note, the classes here don't seem engaging here as a result.

2. People staring at me: Perhaps this is something I should expect from a racially homogeneous nation but for god sakes if you've lived in Taipei or been to a bigger city and have seen foreigners, please don't stare at me. I am just a foreigner not a pokemon collection.

3. Passiveness: Okay, if I have done something wrong, please don't apologize for being honest. Just tell me honestly and I will not be angry with you. Too often people hold back on their feelings and do not express them because they don't want to hurt my feelings. It shouldn't be like that. You should be able to verbalize your feelings in a manner that does not offend me but still gets your point across.

4. Hard to find trashcans here!

Okay...that's enough for the bad news...looks like I haven't compiled that big of a list to begin with so that's good news to right? I would think so! Typically, my list would go on to listing more than 20 things but I don't think these complaints are very noticeable. 

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS GUYS....For all you Taiwan enthusiasts

1. THE FOOD HERE IS SENSATIONAL (also convinient to find): Just take a bite and see for yourself!

2. Politeness and kindness of others is unparalleled!

3. Transportation is convenient and cheap!

4. Traditional characters are beautiful!

5. If you are into learning more about the traditional Chinese culture, Taiwan is the place:  Taiwan has preserved many of the ancient historical artifacts of China that would have been other wise lost during the cultural revolution!

6. I have adjusted to this country quicker than I thought

7. I feel really comfortable with the life here because I don't really need to get things I don't need in order to survive.

8. Places and greenery are a sight to see!

9. Taiwan preserves many aspects of traditional Chinese culture within a modern democracy (can you beat that?)

10. And you know what? This place will truly steal your heart!

Tainan, Taizhong, and Taoyuan: A 3-Day Excursion into the Bloody Cold

I guess I haven't touched this blog in such a long time that I feel compelled to write a story of my 3-day excursion to Tainan, Taizhong, and Taoyuan. If the weather hadn't killed the atmosphere of the great time I could have potentially been having, I would have loved it even more. Nevertheless, the sights I have seen in Tainan's ancient Anping,  the redundant but colorful statues of Chiang Kai-Shek and the scenic spot at which his house is located, and  the smells of all the delicious delicacies I spotted in the famous night market of Taichong have yet to leave my mind.Let's start with Taizhong first since that's where we began our three day journey in this unbearable, almost deathly cold.

Taizhong

Friday evening after I shopped for books and make sure I had not left anything behind, I gathered at the CIEE office along with my fellow study abroad students and student ambassadors. Eventually, we all loaded up in the bus singing karaoke to Chinese and Taiwanese songs both new and old. For me it was both amusing to hear others and I found others to have a hidden talent. Let's just say that there was undiscovered talent in our bus and if Taiwan has a version of "Taiwanese Idol", I am sure I would push some of these talented people to audition because they are just out of this world when it comes to singing!CIEE and its ambassadors chose a charter bus that came with the luxury of a karoake. As you know, Asians  die to sing karaoke because it is a significant part of the pop culture here in Taiwan. Singing really passed the time. When we arrived in Taizhong, I knew I had made a big mistake in not bringing a jacket because the weather was just getting worse. Luckily, I made it through the famous night market browsing just about every store and snack stand and trying any dish that appealed to my senses. That was all really but I will return to Taizhong in April for the Mazu pilgrimage. I hope that I can get more of an exposure to Taizhong and all it has to offer. And that brings me to....NEXT STOP TAINAN!

Tainan 

Riding the bus for 2 hours sleeping peacefully I had hoped that the weather would drastically change to Texas style heat. Nothing could have dashed my hopes more than the fact that it just kept getting colder. Nevertheless, I decided to focus my energies on the Anping Tree House. An ancient relic of the distant past that no one would really know about or remember but it was a delight to explore the jail cell within it and scenery surrounding it. I gazed at the plants that hung from the trees like a chandelier ( I forgot what they are called really but they were a wonder). I think I was way too focused on the nature and the scenery instead of the historical facts that my tour guide was telling me about. Next we visited the ten drums where we saw a drum performance by men of various ages that drummed to the beats of nature. I admit that I was ready to go to the hotel because I was tired so I found myself falling asleep but I woke myself up! Then we had the privilege to learn some rhythms on the drums! Interesting sight.

Taoyuan

My trip to Taoyuan basically revolved around the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial park which contained his house located with nature adorned with birds, oak trees, mountains decorated with green leaves,and a beautiful river that stretches far. I enjoyed seeing the soldiers do their ritual before I was allowed to enter the premises. This house in and of itself was elaborate and ornately decorated with Chinese art. In the house there was a mosoleum and there rested Chiang Kai-Shek's body in a black colored coffin. It almost felt as though I was going to his funeral! Nevertheless, the many colored statues of Chiang Kai-Shek was a comic relief from all the seriousness of shuffling through his house. It's interesting how many Taiwanese people showed up to visit his house. I would put my numbers at around 200-300 visitors (this might be an overestimation).


That's all I really have to say about the three-day journey!

2.28 memorial truly captures my heart

2.28 Memorial Captures My Heart

            If I can remember back to sophomore year when I took a class pertaining to the culture, history, and politics of Taiwan, I remember how excited and engaged I was by the content as it inspired my curiosity about a place I now call my new home (temporarily).  I was engaged by the history of Taiwan’s struggle to be an independent democratic nation and I am moved by how the Taiwanese achieved this feat as it involved many years worth of bloodshed and consumed countless lives.  When I learned about 2.28, I was terrified by how the police brutally beat senselessly a woman who was desperately making a living by selling contraband cigarettes.  As inspiring and engaging I found the content of the course, I could not help but think that I can only learn more about this history in Taiwan through others who have experienced it before me.  I wanted to learn more about how Taiwanese people felt about their history, their culture, and their relationship to mainland China.  My wish was granted when I was offered the unique opportunity to visit the 2.28 museums and memorial park. I was honored to listen to a man who represented the victims of the incidents and passionately spoke to the observers on how this incident changed his life and his family’s life and how it changed what he believed about Taiwan.  I did not break out in tears but when I listened to him explain this incident and what it means to Taiwanese people, I felt their deep admiration for bravery and genuine patriotism of those who died to liberate Taiwan.

This memorial captured my heart because it speaks to me of the relentless courage and the sense of duty the older Taiwanese felt to liberate their beautiful nation stricken by the hand of terror and oppression. It spoke to me that in times of difficulties people don’t give up what they truly believe in and that justice is a battle everyone fights for.  In my opinion, the 2.28 incident is truly tragic but I also believe that cries for the liberty after the incident was inspired by the 2.28 incident. In other words, without the 2.28, there would not have been a democratic Taiwan. Although I have gathered this much from the memorial, I may encounter the question of why this incident would matter so much to an American. It matters to me because this incident reflects the fact that no matter how powerful an oppressive regime may seem, it will always remain vulnerable to its people. No matter how powerless a group of individuals may seem against a government backed by powerful armed forces, it has always been a group of committed, passionate individuals that have changed society for better or worse.