Let's welcome the band

I have to admit, I had my doubts when they told us we would be working at a co-school for two months out of the year, in November and March. How much could happen in such a short, fractured time? A lot, it turns out. My co-school is Li Sing Elementary in Yilan, a larger city school close to my apartment. One of the greatest benefits of working there was observing the differences from my main school. Each grade had more classes and each class had more students, so I only worked with grades 3, 4 and 6. We did fewer activities that involved moving around the class or working in groups - for the most part, student stayed in their neat seated rows. Almost every student greeted teachers in the hallways. Many students cared intensely about their grades.

Another advantage was working with 3 new co-teachers and learning from their varied methods. One of the sixth grade classes was composed entirely of students in the band, and since their English teacher Stella was also their homeroom teacher, she gave me a lot of freedom in the classroom. We didn't focus entirely on the textbook and learned fun, musical things like the hokey pokey and yellow submarine. They were such a pleasure to teach, it showed me why people decide to become teachers. For our last class, we had a birthday celebration for a couple students, and Stella and I gave out prizes to students who did well on the last exam. Several members of the band played:

They even made me give a speech and play the erhu for them, and presented me with this card that the whole class had signed. In just a short month, these students truly touched me. I'm going to miss them.

Manila in Manila

This past weekend I traveled to the Philippines to play ultimate with a pickup team in the Manila Spirits tourney. One of my teammates (left) was coincidentally named Manila -- so she wouldn't forget where she was from, her parents said, before they looked it up in the encyclopedia and found several other cities of Manila. This one has got to be the biggest, though, sprawling and densely populated. The streets are jammed with cars, buses and jeepneys -- the uniquely Filipino mode of public transport, originally made from US military vehicles after WWII and decorated colorfully (right). I've experienced comparable traffic conditions elsewhere, but I've never witnessed such an extreme gap between the rich and poor. I was met at the airport by the family of the girl I'm sponsoring through Children International. That evening I found myself in one of the most exclusive, and heavily guarded, 'villages' in Manila, mingling with employees of Lonely Planet, the Asian Development Bank and other high-powered financial and governmental institutions. In other words, my ultimate frisbee team, the Dharma Bums. (Yes, that's Jack Kerouac on our jerseys.) Despite our average age (35?) and being seeded higher than we could handle, we managed to pull off the Pool B championship. Team Philippine narrowly won the tournament in one of the most intense games I've ever watched... and the crowd went crazy.

PS photo credits go to Ms. Manila

Another picture post...

... but I couldn't resist. This was the beach in Nan-ao this weekend.

Phunny phonics

I had never even thought about English phonics before coming here, but it turns out to be a crucial part of the curriculum. It can also be a hard concept for students to grasp, not only due to the differences from Chinese phonics but also because of the way they learn (or don't learn) it. Instead of building the skills to sound out an English word when they read it, or try to spell a word when they hear it, many students simply memorize the vocab words from phonics lessons. Some of these lessons are pretty darn phunny:

I'm really not sure when my students are ever going to use the word 'vat.'  They might encounter a duke in future literature classes... the point of course is for them to learn the rules and sounds. One thing that seems to work well is having students brainstorm  -- the sixth graders like making lists of words they know that have a certain sound, e.g. words that begin with st, sp, sm, ..., especially when they get to use words like 'stupid' or 'spiderman.' They're not quite as fond of 'study.'

These are a few of my favorite things...

my second-graders

kids' art (this is Jamie's monster... how many hearts do you see?)

my roomie!

my beautiful school

(Ariel and Katie, there are some pics of your favorites here)

P.S.

Dave Holman is my hero.

P.P.S. and if you haven't already, do check out this article.

Urban nomad

The past two weekends I've spent in Taipei, but they could not have been more different. Last weekend I played in an ultimate tournament with Renegade Province, a team composed mostly of expats working or studying in Taipei. Lin kindly let me crash on her couch and play with her amazing dog. We also checked out the hoppin' Shilin and Shida night markets. This time we had a long weekend for Double Tenth Day, and we were invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a morning ceremony and parade, as well as a formal reception at the Taipei guest house, where President Ma made an appearance (right). I was also pleased to meet some delegates from Burkina Faso and pull out my very rusty Bamana (dooni dooni). On Saturday we visited the Taipei fine arts museum, which is actually a modern art museum. It was pretty hilarious. I especially enjoyed the Free Beer exhibit ("free in the sense of freedom, not in the sense of free beer") which involved a game of smashing potatoes with a hammer as they came out of a chute. The graffiti machine and beggar robot were also ingenious. I was surprised to see that they were actually planting vegetables in the courtyard, as part of an interactive exhibit - there are gardening workshops on the weekends! I like this picture from Edible Landscape Taipei imagining a green Taipei 101.

To complete the modern, urban cultural experience, Mary and I went to a contemporary dance performance by Cloud Gate Theatre. The program was appropriately called 花雨 as the stage was blanketed with flower petals and more blew in as they danced to the Bach suites for solo cello. Finally, I stayed with some family friends and got a tour around National Taiwan University before heading back to Yilan.

Paper, Scissors, Stone!

[Alert! Typhooooooon day!! The government has just announced that we have Monday off due to super typhoon Jangmi. Now we return to our regularly scheduled post...]

For whatever reason, people here are convinced that rock paper scissors is really paper scissors stone, even though in Chinese it is 剪刀石頭布 (scissors rock cloth). We use it quite often in class to level the playing field a little in competitions. PS I suggest listening to Scissor Paper Rock by Architecture in Helsinki while reading this post.

Paper. A few people have asked me if I'm taking Chinese classes here, and answer is, not officially. However, I thought I would share some of my informal "textbooks." Auntie Chen got me hooked on Wan-wan comics (left), and our life advisor Kelly kindly lent me the Penguin Revolution series (right). On a less frivolous note, it has been helpful to read the teacher's manuals in Mandarin for supplemental ideas, and Roxanna lent me a great book of kids games that is by now smothered in post-it notes.

Scissors. So what do I do when my fellow ETAs are off at Chinese class? Erhu lessons, of course. As chance would have it, there is a music school right by our apartments. My instructor is an older man, very experienced and enthusiastic. He is intent on sending me back to America with some solid skills, which is exciting (but also pressures me to practice). We've been working on changing hand position and playing 良宵, a piece that 劉天華 improvised on New Year's Eve. One of my co-workers lent me her old erhu -- it was in several pieces but my instructor managed to put it back together again, almost as good as new. He made me watch while he fixed it so I would have some idea of how it all goes together. The typhoon has offered a great opportunity to practice, since there's not much else to do, and the wind is so loud that the neighbors (hopefully) can't hear the dying-chicken screeches.

Stone. As the last bit suggests, we live in a close community. Everything is just a stone's throw away. Occasionally it's mind-boggling how small Yilan is, for instance when I nearly ran into my host sister Rain (such an apt name for this region!) as she biked the opposite direction on the running/biking path we frequent. Or when we saw not one, but two local teachers while scootering in between Yilan and Luodong. It is also not unheard of to run into German tightrope-walkers at the local supermarket. Moreover, as one of our neighbors remarked, Yilan has more 人情味 than most places. People are so friendly and willing to answer (as well as ask) questions, and to help us feel at home. 

哈哈

I'm not sure whether to be offended or just amused.

I think we will be happy in this year

Tomorrow is world car-free day -- good thing I'll be scootering to work. It's also perfect timing for the 6th graders' lesson on environmental pollution... Their textbook has sentence patterns like, "The river was dirty last year. The river is clean now." So I'm going to show them some before and after photos, and have them discuss what changed. I'll also tell them about the burning of the Cuyahoga River. Hopefully it will be an interesting integration of subjects and push them beyond the textbook a little. This grade has been the most challenging thus far. It's a challenging age, but I think there's potential for some real interaction. Last Monday marked the end of the observation period and I started co-teaching officially. To get to know the 6th graders better I had them write a little about themselves... below are two of my favorites (and just in case you weren't sure, Wayne is not in fact twenty years old... sometimes they get confused between twelve and twenty).

I think we will be happy in this year, too, as long as classroom management doesn't become an issue. One of the students has a history of tantrums - purportedly he once stormed out of a class and hitchhiked to Su-ao. Fights have broken out in the other class (not while I was teaching), compelling my co-teacher to spend more class time on disciplinary measures. Anne's mother was also a teacher at our school for many years, and her advice was to find ways to relate to the students. For now some of the girls have been teaching me Taiwanese phrases and games (paper rock scissors, jump!) at recess.

對啊，對啊

Typhoon Sinlaku is coming, so in case the power goes out, here's wishing everyone a Happy Moon Festival in advance! Next Friday we will meet our host families and we're preparing a 'variety show' for them, including some songs, skits and the Soulja Boy dance... Those of you who read Adam's blog will have already seen this, but it was too good not to share - it's a Taiwanese pop song that we are planning to perform, and yes, it is all about eating breakfast.

Good morning, Teacher Mandi!

That's what my kids have to say when they see me each morning. Most of them don't manage all seven syllables, and the first-graders just chant my name, but I don't mind. This is the second week of school and I'm mostly observing to get a hang of different teaching styles. Anne is also a homeroom teacher so when I don't have class I hang out with her second-graders, which is a great way to better understand what it's like being a student here and now. 

This stealth shot shows some of the daily activities I bear witness to: Kiki is finishing her lunch (this arrives in giant pots and the kids help themselves to a balanced meal of rice, meat, veggies and soup), Amanda is wiping off her desk, Michael is goofing off as per usual, and Nina is working on homework. The students here are given many more responsibilities and held accountable for it -- they help clean the classroom and hallways before and after school, bring their own lunchbox and cleaning rag (your ID number will be recorded if you forget something), and brush their teeth before being allowed to play. None of this was a surprise, though, and actually things seem a bit more relaxed than when I went to Hushi elementary school twelve years ago. Although morning assembly has retained its military flavor, we only have it once a week and the students stand in the hallways in the shade (none of that sunstroke I remember...) Teachers use more creative teaching methods and I have yet to see any instances of corporal punishment. Another interesting thing is that in addition to Mandarin and English, the kids also learn Taiwanese. Quite a change from when students were fined for speaking Taiwanese in class. I might try to sit in on a class from time to time. Currently I'm using some Mandarin for the younger kids and pretending to be at a loss for the older ones (Roxanna told the 4th and 5th-graders that I can understand Mandarin but not speak it... so far so good!)

Changes Galore

Due to popular demand, here is the update on where I will be living and teaching for the rest of the year. After an intense two hours of "speed-dating" with the LETs on Monday, we found out our teaching assignment Tuesday morning. I will be teaching for most of the year at Jhong Sing Elementary School with Anne (grades 1-2), Roxan (grades 4-5) and another part-time teacher (grades 3 and 6). This is actually the same school that Ariel taught at when she was an ETA, and it was one of my top choices. Anne and I get along really well, and the other teachers at the school seem friendly as well. I already have my own desk, lunchbox and textbooks! The school is pretty small, with one or two classes per grade, and has its own English Village classroom (a make-believe restaurant and airplane). Pictures to come.

Another exciting development: I now have a common heavy scooter license! First we had to pass a written test to be able to ride a 50cc, and then a driving test for 100 or 125cc. Surprisingly it only took me one try to get my first motor vehicle license ever! Anne took me to look at scooters yesterday, and we picked out a 125cc that rides really smoothly. Since I am still living in Yilan and Jhong Sing is in Wujie on the border of Luodong, I will have to scooter to work every day starting next week. The commute is worth it, though, because I am living in an apartment with my friend Evie! We have more common spaces than my last apartment, and we just finished making a housewarming dinner together. There is still a lot of cleaning and rearranging to do, but I think it will feel homey soon.

Brittany, Faith and I with our respective LETs Crystal, Grace and Anne

Picking Up the Pace

Anita sent us this article today, and I think it gives the reader a good idea of how trash collection and recycling work in Yilan as well. This area in particular is very environmentally conscious and several of the schools we visited were proud of their eco-friendly campuses. More real blogging later - we will find out our school assignment and permanent housing situation tomorrow (!)

Mmmbop!

This week we visited the Nanao and Penglai aboriginal elementary schools located deep in the mountains. Only one ETA from our group will teach there, dividing her/his time between the two schools and living in the teachers' dormitory. Most of the kids belong to the Atayal, the main tribe in this region, but may speak more Mandarin or Taiwanese than Atayal although they can understand it. So both Atayal and English are taught in the schools and share a place in multilingual signs. Coincidentally some of the Nanao students performed at the Yilan International Rain Festival yesterday, so a bunch of us went to the Wulaokeng scenic area near Suao to check it out. The performance consisted of traditional Atayal dances, including a dance about the role of women and another telling the story of a mischievous little boy who stole the witch doctor's magic bag. Nanao also has a western-style orchestra, and they played an arrangement of that famous folk song that goes, 阿里山的姑娘，美如水呀，阿里山的少年，壯如山... The kids were great and looked like they were having fun. On the way back we met some of the dancers and their friends, including the girl on the left here, and they were not shy at all about asking us questions in English (where are you from? what is your name?). The next performance was quite different - a collection of American 'cirque-du-soleil expats' entertained us with handstands, juggling and gymnastic feats of strength, all narrated in heavily accented (but understandable) Mandarin. Both Julia (an ETA) and Brian (the teacher at another aboriginal school) were selected for audience participation and had to lay down on the stage while one of the performers walked on them upside down with his shoes on fire. It turns out the troupe members live quite near us in Yilan, so we may be seeing more of them. Aside from the performances we also frolicked in the stream running through the park, and had our feet tickled by flesh-eating fish. All in all a successful outing.

We've been here over two weeks now, and I'm only just now realizing that I will in fact be living here for a year. I am really grateful for the opportunity to come back to this island. I am also thankful that my parents encouraged me to keep up my Chinese all these years, as it is proving invaluable to be able to communicate with native speakers. Everything is so much easier here than in Bamako or Budapest. Not only can I help fellow ETAs order food or buy bus tickets, but I can sing karaoke (badly) with some of the local English teachers! I think it will also be helpful for developing deeper, lasting relationships with local people. So 謝謝，爸媽!

Back To The Old House

Our days have been filled with lessons on how to live and get around in Yilan, including scooter practice in the afternoons. On Wednesday we visited one junior high and two elementary schools. The last elementary school was right next to the Wai-ao beach, about 30 min. by train from Yilan, and their IT resources were amazing. Their students are using Linux, Moodle, smart boards, and more! We spent a refreshing afternoon on the black sand beach, right across from Turtle Island, and even helped some locals pull in a huge fishing net!

This weekend Julia, Evie, Faith and I took the Kamalan bus to Taipei, which was super comfortable and convenient. We watched kids roller-blading in Da-an park, took the MRT to Ximen for some 麻醬麵, and walked to the Longshan Temple (龍山寺). The temple is over 200 years old and the bodhisattva Guanyin is a central figure. There were many people praying and making offerings for Ghost Month.

Later I met Auntie Chen and her nephew in Nangang, where I lived 12 years ago. We went out to dinner with my former art teacher and her husband. I could barely recognize the surroundings, but we did walk past our old apartment and the park across the street. On our morning walk today we visited the old rice paddy which has now been turned into research plots for the Academica Sinica and a native plant garden next to the new genetics building.

We also met up with Huang Ying, my best friend from fourth grade at Hu-shi elementary. It was really nice to see and catch up with everyone after so many years. Here is Ying-ying with Yi lao-shi:

認識宜蘭！

We arrived in Yilan last Saturday, after a beautiful bus ride from Taipei through the 雪山 mountains -- they just recently finished the tunnels so now the commute takes one hour rather than three. For the month of August, us ETAs were divided into two groups, one living in Yilan and the other in Luodong. Once we receive our school assignments we may move to whichever city is more convenient. For now I am living in an apartment in Yilan with two other girls. This is the view from our balcony, looking out towards the mountains:

On Sunday we set out on a self-guided walking tour of Yilan, led by our fearless leader and navigational expert Jill. We stumbled upon a cluster of hundred-year-old houses, one of which has been remodeled into a traditional music museum. We also went back there later in the afternoon for a demonstration of the 揚琴 :

 

Adam tried his hand at it:

Other highlights of the day included the Yilan distillery and anka museum, as well as a roadside temple (pictured below).

1 more month

The other day we got an informative email from the Yilan Program Staff, which among other things included this tidbit of advice:

"You need to learn to ride a bike before you can learn to drive a scooter."

Indeed.