Emily and I are headed to Taichung to visit the Spinellas this weekend. Hsinchu (the city where we live) is about half way between Taipei and Taichung. We are leaving tomorrow straight after work. They invited us out for the weekend and we have been looking forward to it all week!! I have heard that it's a really neat city to visit, and during my phone call with Mr. Spinella this afternoon I learned that they have a Chilis there! Whoohoo! I bet I will have some great stories to share after this weekend and lots of pics! Until then... Stay classy San Diego...
Oh yeah, one more thing. Got a message from my cousin Grace and she said that she and my cousins Laura and Rachel have talked about coming to see me for their spring break. So all day long I have been really excited just thinking about it. I hope you guys come!!! We'd have the best time!!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
INTERNET OK!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT!! I NOW HAVE THE INTERNET AT MY APARTMENT!!!
This might not seem like a big deal, but I was literally losing my mind over the issue. The sweet girl that is in charge of "dorm life" at my school had a guy come out to our place who knew NOTHING about Macs but after an hour he said "Ok it's fixed." I spent the next 5 minutes jumping up and down the hallway saying thank you thank you thank you. I also invited him to come visit in Texas--hope that's ok Mom and Dad!! I wanted to take him to dinner and buy him flowers but he acted really awkward when I suggested it.
Anyway, I have the internet which is HUGE in my life as I can now feel like I am in contact with the rest of the world.
This might not seem like a big deal, but I was literally losing my mind over the issue. The sweet girl that is in charge of "dorm life" at my school had a guy come out to our place who knew NOTHING about Macs but after an hour he said "Ok it's fixed." I spent the next 5 minutes jumping up and down the hallway saying thank you thank you thank you. I also invited him to come visit in Texas--hope that's ok Mom and Dad!! I wanted to take him to dinner and buy him flowers but he acted really awkward when I suggested it.
Anyway, I have the internet which is HUGE in my life as I can now feel like I am in contact with the rest of the world.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
take me out to the ball game!!!
I just want to say that I hope I can adequatly describe my first experience at a baseball game in Taiwan. I think it was my favorite thing here so far:) The Taiwanese love their baseball...
So a few of us from work went to a baseball game here in Hsinchu--the baseball stadium is about a 5 minute scooter ride from our apartment!! Tickets for the outfield cost about $3, but its actually really close because the stadium isn't that big. You can bring your own beer/peanuts/snickers bar to the stadium--so cool!! Well we walked in, and were looking for a spot to sit and we saw that one of the players in the outfield had the name "Gonzalez" on his back--the only one we could read because all the rest were in Chinese. Apparantly he's pretty big time over here. So we picked his team to win! It was the Bears vs. the Elephants. Since Gonzalez played for the Bears, that was our team.
The stadium was just pulsating with chants, one of which was to the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" which I really got a kick out of. All the people in the stands had these noise maker things that you clap together, and lots of people had whistles and horns. There are horn routines that they know... one guy does a set of hoots, then everyone else copies him. The announcer is really into it too and gets really excited. Of course it's all in Chinese so it sounds really funny to me. It's great!
I have never been more into a game before in my life. We cheered for Gonzalez until we were hoarse. They have a chant for every player at bat and his was "GONZO! GONZO! GO! GO! GO!" which is really fun to yell over and over again. Every time he was in the outfield we would yell for him. He was only about 30 feet away because the stadium is so small. Then Emily and I had the bright idea that he might know Spanish, so we started yelling "Vamonos Gozales!!!!!" and that really got his attention. So much so that he walked over to us DURING THE GAME and we had a chat!!!!!!!!!! He asked us where we are from, what we are doing, what city we are in (he's a busy guy and can't keep track). Gonzo is a very nice man originally from Puerto Rico who now lives in San Diego. He is here for another 2 days. Loves playing for Tawian, the pay is good. It was brilliant!! All these kids swarmed over to where we were sitting to tell him that they love him, but he didn't seem too interested in talking to them. So for the rest of the game he kept turning around to chat with us. I WAS SO EXCITED. We taught all those kids a chant too and they were absolutely beside themselves when Gonzo turned around and tipped his hat at us!!!
I loved it, I can't wait to go again. I have never cheered so much or jumped up and down so much in my life at any other game. It was so much fun. Two of our co-workers had never been to a baseball game before so it was a great first experience for them.
I will post the photos I took of the game soon so you can check out the photographic evidence. I was really excited while writing this so sorry about the gramatical errors!!
So a few of us from work went to a baseball game here in Hsinchu--the baseball stadium is about a 5 minute scooter ride from our apartment!! Tickets for the outfield cost about $3, but its actually really close because the stadium isn't that big. You can bring your own beer/peanuts/snickers bar to the stadium--so cool!! Well we walked in, and were looking for a spot to sit and we saw that one of the players in the outfield had the name "Gonzalez" on his back--the only one we could read because all the rest were in Chinese. Apparantly he's pretty big time over here. So we picked his team to win! It was the Bears vs. the Elephants. Since Gonzalez played for the Bears, that was our team.
The stadium was just pulsating with chants, one of which was to the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" which I really got a kick out of. All the people in the stands had these noise maker things that you clap together, and lots of people had whistles and horns. There are horn routines that they know... one guy does a set of hoots, then everyone else copies him. The announcer is really into it too and gets really excited. Of course it's all in Chinese so it sounds really funny to me. It's great!
I have never been more into a game before in my life. We cheered for Gonzalez until we were hoarse. They have a chant for every player at bat and his was "GONZO! GONZO! GO! GO! GO!" which is really fun to yell over and over again. Every time he was in the outfield we would yell for him. He was only about 30 feet away because the stadium is so small. Then Emily and I had the bright idea that he might know Spanish, so we started yelling "Vamonos Gozales!!!!!" and that really got his attention. So much so that he walked over to us DURING THE GAME and we had a chat!!!!!!!!!! He asked us where we are from, what we are doing, what city we are in (he's a busy guy and can't keep track). Gonzo is a very nice man originally from Puerto Rico who now lives in San Diego. He is here for another 2 days. Loves playing for Tawian, the pay is good. It was brilliant!! All these kids swarmed over to where we were sitting to tell him that they love him, but he didn't seem too interested in talking to them. So for the rest of the game he kept turning around to chat with us. I WAS SO EXCITED. We taught all those kids a chant too and they were absolutely beside themselves when Gonzo turned around and tipped his hat at us!!!
I loved it, I can't wait to go again. I have never cheered so much or jumped up and down so much in my life at any other game. It was so much fun. Two of our co-workers had never been to a baseball game before so it was a great first experience for them.
I will post the photos I took of the game soon so you can check out the photographic evidence. I was really excited while writing this so sorry about the gramatical errors!!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Lost in Translation
Yesterday I wrote about the little girl who cried all day... well today our Taiwanese teacher, Angela, told us that "why" in Chinese means bad. So all day we would ask her "Why are you crying?" and so she thought we were telling her she was bad. She went home and told her parents that we don't like her and we told her she was bad over and over again. I think that's one of the funniest things that I've ever heard. Hahahahahahaha. I keep bursting into laughter every time I think about it.
So her parents and Angela explained that we were just trying to make her feel better. Today, since she is still crying, I say "What is wrong?" instead of "Why are you crying?". Oh my dear soul.
So her parents and Angela explained that we were just trying to make her feel better. Today, since she is still crying, I say "What is wrong?" instead of "Why are you crying?". Oh my dear soul.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
MY ADDRESS
If anyone wants to send me anything (letters, postcards, chocolate, pictures of your kids, Christmas cards, Etc.) here's where you send it:
Bethany Wallace
c/o American Eagle School
No. 76 Sec. 2
Dongda Rd.
Hsin-Chu City
Taiwan 30054
Looking forward to getting lots of mail now... HA!! :)
Bethany Wallace
c/o American Eagle School
No. 76 Sec. 2
Dongda Rd.
Hsin-Chu City
Taiwan 30054
Looking forward to getting lots of mail now... HA!! :)
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands
This week has flown by! Teaching has gotten easier and I don't feel as stupid as I did last week. I am starting to discipline kids now if they don't pay attention--it's actually kind of fun to be authoritative, but it's hard for me to take it seriously. Come on, they're three!! They should be playing!! It's kind of a weird balance teaching kids this young because they still need to be taken care of and they need some compassion but their parents expect teachers to maintain a pretty strict class so they learn a lot. I'm still getting used to that.
Today we have had 4 of our kids crying off and on, which is actually the first time any of them have surprisingly enough. One little girl cried the entire class but still participated, so she was just sitting there sniffling away and every once in a while a little sob would sneak out. It was hilarious because she still answered questions and it sounded so funny--you know how it sounds when you try to talk but you're crying?? She was very unhappy but she knew that she still had to do everything. It was really comical to watch. We have a Taiwanese teacher named Angela (she's so helpful and wonderful!!) who enforces the rules most of the time and helps explain things for us. My co-teacher Glenn and I share the teaching load so I actually only teach every other day. The days when I'm not teaching I just sort of help control the class.
Right, so those oven mits I mentioned earlier are for grip on the scooter. But it seems like they would just make your hands really sweaty and defeat the purpose. I'm not getting any for my scooter--they look stupid.
Emily and I went to FE 21 last night which is the big mall here. It's sort of like a miniature version of Harrods but Asian. It was really overwhelming how much stuff they have (Lyd--they have a great shop just for Hello Kitty and it's extremely high quality and expensive!!!), and not much if it is familiar. As we browsed through some cosmetics we noticed that they sell WHITENING LOTION. So it actually makes your skin lighter. In the US we sell tanning lotion here they sell whitenint lotion. As Emily said; "No one is happy just as they are." It is interesting because people will wear long pants and long sleeves when it's hot as blazes outside so they don't catch the sun.
Last night when I went into the kitchen to get water to brush my teeth I saw a massive roach trot accross the floor and under a cabinet--it was too fat to run. Such vile creatures. I haven't seen many besides that, only a few small ones here and there. As long as they stay in the kitchen and out of me room, and especially off of my while I'm sleeping, then I might survive the year.
While we were walking home yesterday we stopped by a stand where a man was selling sugar cane and he gave us some for free! It was really good too! People are so nice here, especially if you are foreign. We get waved at and people say hi to us all the time. I'm a somebody in Taiwan... (Ellie, no one has told me I look like a supermodel yet which is relly shocking).
We are going bowling with our co-workers tonight which should be exciting, I have been looking forward to it all week.
Well I think that's all I have to say today, looking forward to the weekend!!!
Today we have had 4 of our kids crying off and on, which is actually the first time any of them have surprisingly enough. One little girl cried the entire class but still participated, so she was just sitting there sniffling away and every once in a while a little sob would sneak out. It was hilarious because she still answered questions and it sounded so funny--you know how it sounds when you try to talk but you're crying?? She was very unhappy but she knew that she still had to do everything. It was really comical to watch. We have a Taiwanese teacher named Angela (she's so helpful and wonderful!!) who enforces the rules most of the time and helps explain things for us. My co-teacher Glenn and I share the teaching load so I actually only teach every other day. The days when I'm not teaching I just sort of help control the class.
Right, so those oven mits I mentioned earlier are for grip on the scooter. But it seems like they would just make your hands really sweaty and defeat the purpose. I'm not getting any for my scooter--they look stupid.
Emily and I went to FE 21 last night which is the big mall here. It's sort of like a miniature version of Harrods but Asian. It was really overwhelming how much stuff they have (Lyd--they have a great shop just for Hello Kitty and it's extremely high quality and expensive!!!), and not much if it is familiar. As we browsed through some cosmetics we noticed that they sell WHITENING LOTION. So it actually makes your skin lighter. In the US we sell tanning lotion here they sell whitenint lotion. As Emily said; "No one is happy just as they are." It is interesting because people will wear long pants and long sleeves when it's hot as blazes outside so they don't catch the sun.
Last night when I went into the kitchen to get water to brush my teeth I saw a massive roach trot accross the floor and under a cabinet--it was too fat to run. Such vile creatures. I haven't seen many besides that, only a few small ones here and there. As long as they stay in the kitchen and out of me room, and especially off of my while I'm sleeping, then I might survive the year.
While we were walking home yesterday we stopped by a stand where a man was selling sugar cane and he gave us some for free! It was really good too! People are so nice here, especially if you are foreign. We get waved at and people say hi to us all the time. I'm a somebody in Taiwan... (Ellie, no one has told me I look like a supermodel yet which is relly shocking).
We are going bowling with our co-workers tonight which should be exciting, I have been looking forward to it all week.
Well I think that's all I have to say today, looking forward to the weekend!!!
In response to Aunt Mary's Email...
Kids here do go to school year round, they have about two weeks off in the winter and two in the summer. I don't teach on the weekends, but I'm not sure if they go to classes elsewhere. Lots of students go to Chinese school during the morning and English during the afternoon. Some kids go to bilingual schools so it isn't separate. The school where I teach is just for English. I teach at a private school so parents pay somewhere aroung $1500 US per month per child to send their three year olds to be taught by me!!! Unbelieveable. They don't have to start school at three although parents want their kids to be the smartest so they send them as early as possible. We have a class here for two year olds!! I'm not sure what their parents do but this city is where they make a lot of electronics and computer stuff so I'm guessing a lot of them are involved with that. My students are at school from 9am until 4pm, and lots of kids have piano or some other lessons after that. My students don't read or write yet, but they do speak a lot of Chinese (from the sound of it) and a fair amount of English already. Most of the students I am teaching were in the class before this one so they know their colors, shapes, ABC's and basic stuff like that.
The really horrible looking wound in the latest photo album I added was Emily's. She got too close to the exhaust pipe on our scooter and just melted part of her leg off... very painful looking eh? It's actually a really common thing here I guess because everyone is like "Oh yeah, that kills!"
Hope this answers all your questions and please ask more!!
The really horrible looking wound in the latest photo album I added was Emily's. She got too close to the exhaust pipe on our scooter and just melted part of her leg off... very painful looking eh? It's actually a really common thing here I guess because everyone is like "Oh yeah, that kills!"
Hope this answers all your questions and please ask more!!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Some Observations
Teaching three year olds all day is really tiring! Last night Emily and I feel asleep at 8:30 while watching a dvd--I hope I'm not that useless all year! We went to eat at a good Thai place last night that my friends Allison and Taylor recommended, I got a really really good Thai currey for only 160NT which is about $5!! I will definitely be eating there again soon. I am really happy that we have been able to find so many great places to eat in such a short time because food is very important to me, and liking the food is a plus! It's amazing how inexpensive eating out is here.
Okay, I meant to mention this before because it is so funny: garbage trucks tend to run in the late evening, and you know they are coming because they blare all sorts of music. Kind of like an ice cream truck with the volume as high as possible, you really can't miss it. So a garbage truck went by the other day, and I couldn't believe it but it was playing "Fur Elise"--the ice cream truck version and only the first part of the song OVER AND OVER VERY LOUDLY. That is weird to me.
Most Taiwanese and some foreigners wear masks over their faces I am guessing to keep out the pollution? Does that really work? It just looks scary to me, like everyone is infected with some deadly virus. I am starting to wonder if I should get one too but I just can't bring myself to buy one. Emily got a really nice plaid printed one yesterday but it sort of suffocated her, I tried to warn her that it was a bad idea. Anyway, they make them out of cloth so you see all sorts of prints; teddy bears, polka dots, Burberry you name it. So strange.
Also, on a lot of scooters you will see people wearing what looks like big oven mits on their hands. I am still very puzzled about what they are for. My only guess is that when it rains it keeps your hands dry for gripping purposes??? I will find out and get back to you on this.
I notice strange things everyday and laugh to myself thinking "where the heck am I?"
Our snack this morning was a runny porridge looking substance with tiny minnows floating around in it. They still had their eyes and everything and looked really disappointed by their fate. Needless to say, I didn't eat it.
Well my break is almost over and it's time to go to lunch. I am a little nervous about what I will find in my food today...
Okay, I meant to mention this before because it is so funny: garbage trucks tend to run in the late evening, and you know they are coming because they blare all sorts of music. Kind of like an ice cream truck with the volume as high as possible, you really can't miss it. So a garbage truck went by the other day, and I couldn't believe it but it was playing "Fur Elise"--the ice cream truck version and only the first part of the song OVER AND OVER VERY LOUDLY. That is weird to me.
Most Taiwanese and some foreigners wear masks over their faces I am guessing to keep out the pollution? Does that really work? It just looks scary to me, like everyone is infected with some deadly virus. I am starting to wonder if I should get one too but I just can't bring myself to buy one. Emily got a really nice plaid printed one yesterday but it sort of suffocated her, I tried to warn her that it was a bad idea. Anyway, they make them out of cloth so you see all sorts of prints; teddy bears, polka dots, Burberry you name it. So strange.
Also, on a lot of scooters you will see people wearing what looks like big oven mits on their hands. I am still very puzzled about what they are for. My only guess is that when it rains it keeps your hands dry for gripping purposes??? I will find out and get back to you on this.
I notice strange things everyday and laugh to myself thinking "where the heck am I?"
Our snack this morning was a runny porridge looking substance with tiny minnows floating around in it. They still had their eyes and everything and looked really disappointed by their fate. Needless to say, I didn't eat it.
Well my break is almost over and it's time to go to lunch. I am a little nervous about what I will find in my food today...
Photos
Thanks to some help from my friend Barrett (thank you so so much!!), I now can share my photos with the world!! My photo website is:
www.flickr.com/photos/bethanyjoywallace/
I will probably be adding lots of photos so get ready!
www.flickr.com/photos/bethanyjoywallace/
I will probably be adding lots of photos so get ready!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Ni Hao!!
Emily and I are sitting in the computer lab at school during our break. Today was my first day to work with my co-teacher Glenn (the kids pronounce it Grin). He just got here from South Africa and has some experience teaching which is really good because I'm still totally clueless.
Lunch was rice, pork with carrots, cabbage with tiny little shrimps hidden in it which was really shocking when I discovered them, and guava. Everything was a bit dodgy except for the guava which was very nice. I love the fruit here, its so fresh and so ripe! There are lots of good places to eat, we had really nice sushi the first night I was here, and the pizza hut was great! But sometimes I'm not so sure about the food, at school it isn't the best. Emily and I were laughing the other day because once you eat this food for several meals in a row your taste buds go into shock. I was eating a rice cake and literally couldn't tell if I liked it or not. I couldn't tell if it was sweet or salty!! So I think it will take some time to get used to the food. So far half the time I don't know what I'm eating and I don't know whether or not I even like it.
Today I learned how to say bathroom in Chinese, it sounds just like "meow meow" but with an "n" so it's "neow neow". Until now I wondered why my kids were meowing at me at random times. Ohhhh, they need to go the toilet. Seriously, I have been saying things like "No, we aren't playing animals right now, we are coloring." Wow, language barriers are funny. I am learning words and phrases very slowly. I now know how to say what my name is (Bethany), bathroom (neow neow), and "I want an egg pancake". Egg pancakes are very good and I recommend them highly. Just say "Done bing" and they will figure out what you want. Tasty.
Well I am still trying to figure out how to get photos on here, I want to just put a link up or something. Help me. I hope to get that all organized soon so I can stop thinking about it.
Until next time.....
Lunch was rice, pork with carrots, cabbage with tiny little shrimps hidden in it which was really shocking when I discovered them, and guava. Everything was a bit dodgy except for the guava which was very nice. I love the fruit here, its so fresh and so ripe! There are lots of good places to eat, we had really nice sushi the first night I was here, and the pizza hut was great! But sometimes I'm not so sure about the food, at school it isn't the best. Emily and I were laughing the other day because once you eat this food for several meals in a row your taste buds go into shock. I was eating a rice cake and literally couldn't tell if I liked it or not. I couldn't tell if it was sweet or salty!! So I think it will take some time to get used to the food. So far half the time I don't know what I'm eating and I don't know whether or not I even like it.
Today I learned how to say bathroom in Chinese, it sounds just like "meow meow" but with an "n" so it's "neow neow". Until now I wondered why my kids were meowing at me at random times. Ohhhh, they need to go the toilet. Seriously, I have been saying things like "No, we aren't playing animals right now, we are coloring." Wow, language barriers are funny. I am learning words and phrases very slowly. I now know how to say what my name is (Bethany), bathroom (neow neow), and "I want an egg pancake". Egg pancakes are very good and I recommend them highly. Just say "Done bing" and they will figure out what you want. Tasty.
Well I am still trying to figure out how to get photos on here, I want to just put a link up or something. Help me. I hope to get that all organized soon so I can stop thinking about it.
Until next time.....
my students so far
Yoyo, Ryan, Karen, Yui, Mia and Kanon
They are all three years old and very smart!!
They are all three years old and very smart!!
Scooter Driving 101
Today I went for my first scooter drive. Going against all advice we have received, I started out my scooter driving experience with someone on the back (Emily), in heavy traffic going through downtown, and while it was raining constantly. We followed our lovely South African flatmates (Helga and Barbara) through the crowded streets and I am really happy to say that WE LIVED!!! The whole drive lasted about 2 hours as we stopped off in various shops and to have a bite to eat at Mos Burger. It was actually really really fun and exciting and I can't wait to go back out... I laughed the whole time.
Here are some rules I observed:
1. Traffic lights- green means go, red means go, yellow means go
2. Never look behind you or check your side mirrors, it's better to take your chances with what the people behind you are doing that risk the people in front of you stopping suddenly while you are looking elsewhere
3. It is okay to drive down the wrong side of the street
4. It is okay to suddenly stop and reverse in the middle of the road
5. Parking-it is okay to block people in so they can't move their scooter
6. If you get pulled over, play dumb
7. Weaving dangerously in and out of cars, busses and other scooters is necessary
8. If you want to turn left you have to go around the entire perimeter of the intersection until you get to the road you want to go down
9. No right on red, but if you want to, you can turn right on red
Now you too can drive a scooter in Taiwan!!!
Here are some rules I observed:
1. Traffic lights- green means go, red means go, yellow means go
2. Never look behind you or check your side mirrors, it's better to take your chances with what the people behind you are doing that risk the people in front of you stopping suddenly while you are looking elsewhere
3. It is okay to drive down the wrong side of the street
4. It is okay to suddenly stop and reverse in the middle of the road
5. Parking-it is okay to block people in so they can't move their scooter
6. If you get pulled over, play dumb
7. Weaving dangerously in and out of cars, busses and other scooters is necessary
8. If you want to turn left you have to go around the entire perimeter of the intersection until you get to the road you want to go down
9. No right on red, but if you want to, you can turn right on red
Now you too can drive a scooter in Taiwan!!!
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