Letters from Taiwan

I received such a pleasant surprise in the mail last week--an actual piece of mail. And from Taiwan at that! I've been home from Taiwan for a little over a year and a half, and had thought my students had all but forgotten me. But to my delight, they definitely haven't!

Madline (on the right) was in my fifth grade class that I had twice. She is now in Junior High, which is super intense (I'm so glad I went to school in the States. It's pretty cut-throat from what she tells me). A couple of other students from that class have added me as friends on Facebook (Frank and Nancy (on the left)), and it's been so nice to keep in touch with them all--to know how life is treating them after Berhan.

I think I probably drive people crazy with how much I still talk about my time in Taiwan (I really do--just ask any of my friends). It doesn't help that I know I can get cute Asian stationary and a place in Seattle that makes dong gwa milks. I would move back in a heart beat if I didn't know that I need to stay in the States for a while. But I do hope I get to visit sometime in the next couple of years...right after I go back to the Czech Republic!

I guess I can satisfy myself with the fact that Madline is still writing her pen-pal that I set her up with, and that they've become great friends. One of the things I really wanted for my students.

This is just another reminder that my heart is in teaching, and that I need seriously focus on grad programs and Teach for America!

Wo ai Taiwan!

A Non-birthday Celebration!

In a normal world, pinatas are normally reserved for fiestas, birthday parties, large celebrations if you will. But in my world as an English teacher, pinatas are made and hit just for the fun of it.

Well, maybe that's not entirely true. For my fifth graders, the pinata making began at the beginning of October in anticipation of Halloween. But due to unforeseen events, namely the papier mache not drying in this humid clime,  we didn't end up busting them open until the middle of November. And here is the documentation of this fun-filled, celebration of sorts.

As you can see, Luke is overjoyed with excitement!

We had to improvise and hang the pinata from the basketball hoop. Doesn't it look like a rainbow colored beehive?

















We began with a blind-fold,  and with spinning them around--you know, the usual. But then, that proved to be too difficult. Apparently the glue/paste we used was too hard for the plastic bat we were using. So we were forced to remove the bandanna and use a broomstick.

 Overall, it was a fabulous day.

Here's to pinatas, and uncelebrations!

Giggles, Tickles, and Dancing

Days with my first graders are never dull, old, or ever lose their gleam. I can never get enough of their little giggles, and high pitched shrieks of delight. They think they are so smart, clever, etc. They've taken to trying to scare me every time I walk into the classroom. Today I had to leave class briefly, and when I returned the only girl present looked at me with bewilderment--the boys had disappeared. And where to? It took me only a second to discover them hiding behind the trash can, under their desks and squished up against the wall trying to disappear into the side of the cupboard. What gave them away was Derek's little giggle.


AND, they are tickling fiends. Some days it's an all out war. Derek and Koala will sneak up behind me and start tickling my knees or try to get to my feet. Most days I win, but on occasion they outsmart me and have me rolling on the floor. Last Friday I let the kids decide what they wanted to do for their activity and immediately Stephani raised her hand and said, "Tickle Miss Shannon." Oh, no, I thought. They promptly held a vote,  there wasn't much I could do...I was out-voted 6 to 1. And let me just say that I much rather be the tickler than the one being tickled--being tickled hurts. It was a great act of charity and good-will on my part to actually follow through, and honor their vote. Though the tickle session was short lived.

AND we've recently started teaching all of our kids how to dance. Not your booty-shaking, break dancing, free-styling bit, but the cultured, distinguished, refined kind. The owners of the school decided that they wanted to teach the kids etiquette and manners and it's going to culminate with an end of the year dance. I'm pretty excited about it. Let's be honest, I'd never refuse to attend a dance party, at least not now. Last Friday we had an assembly if you will, and two of the teachers demonstrated how to do the waltz. They had several of the students come up to try it out, to help them warm up to the idea of dancing in pairs. I didn't think it would work, but I'm AMAZED at how much enthusiasm all of my students have displayed!Today in both of my first grade classes, I taught my students the basic steps and then had them practice. My second first grade class got so into it, and the boys even wanted to dance with the girls. They picked it up so quickly and are going to be pros by the time we have to learn a second dance this Friday.

Anyhow, I'm grateful for the little joys in life: giggling, tickling, and dancing.

{Derek attaching himself semi-permanently to my leg.

This is at least a bi-weekly occurrence}

Yeah, my students are awesome!

One fine day, a few weeks ago, two of my first graders (did you know I taught two 1st grade classes? Well, I do), entered the classroom with very familiar-looking, long, black cases. I was overcome with excitement, probably because I haven't seen a stand case since I myself was in band many, many, many, many years ago. Well, maybe not that many, but you get the picture. They were also carrying lots of bags, so I knew an instrument of some kind was hidden amongst all the other junk they have to take to their plethora of schools each day. And I was hoping--man, oh, man was I hoping--that it wasn't a "flute."

Let me explain. Most of my students play the "flute," but do not let the name confuse you with the beautiful, melodious, silver instrument coveted by most 5th grade girls. Oh, no. These so called flutes are actually recorders. And having played the real flute myself for eight years, I'm quite particular. I'll admit I wasn't the best flute player in band, but I do have some pride. A flute is not a recorder, and there's no way that a recorder is a flute.

All that hoping paid off. Kai and Keith pulled out identical, square-shaped cases, that could only house a clarinet. I was really excited. Really.

Don't tell my parents (or maybe I just did), but I secretly wished in 10th grade that I had chosen to play the clarinet instead of the flute. I love the mellow, muted sound that the clarinet makes. At that time, some of my fellow flautists were really quite annoying, and persistantly played the shrillest notes at the loudest possible volume, trying to "outdo" each other. I frankly thought they were being a headache and in the mean time they were giving me a headache. But I digress.

I should say that I love the mellow, muted sound that the clarinet makes when it's not squawking like a duck. Luckily, these two fine young men are pretty skilled for their age of nine:

Miss Shannon's First Graders

I've decided that it's about time for "meet my students." I teach four incredibly cool classes (how could they not be? I mean, I am their teacher), and this will be the first of a four part blog series. :)

These kids a hilarious! The boys are a bunch of rascals and the girls are angels. It sure does make for some amazing classroom antics.

Meet Derek. Derek is a pint size bundle of energy. Rarely can he sit in his seat, and often I find him not standing, but skipping next to his desk while writing his work. He always has mischievous twinkle in his eye and is always up to something. He's always coming up with ways to scare me or to sneak in a tickling session. He probably has the cutest laugh I've ever heard. Unfortunately, all of his cuteness can't keep him from getting in trouble.

This is Miss Stephani (without an 'e'). This quirky gal is hilarious. Whenever I ask her what she did yesterday, or over the weekend, the answer is the same: "I ate Miss Shannon!" For some strange reason she has an obsession with eating me. And she really can't sit. I've tried. At any given moment I'll glance at her and she'll be lying on the ground. But she is one smart cookie. Really smart. And has the most beautiful handwriting.

This is Koala. I frickin' love this kid. At the beginning of the semester he was my most challenging student. He was openly defiant, and I hated teaching him. Sending him to the secretaries just didn't work. At a loss, I asked my boss, Gerald, what I could do. He suggested doing a different sort of discipline, one that was a bit more creative. I thought over it and remembered that a friend once had his students dance in front of the class if they got in trouble along with a hug from the teacher. I decided to try this out.

The first day when Koala got his name on the board, I told him he had to get a hug. He freaked out! Like I've never seen a kid so shook up just from getting a hug. But I had to do it. He cried and cried and cried, and I had to send him to the secretaries anyways. I have to say that I was pretty shook up too. It's all ended up well though. I since had the class come up with their own punishments for not following the rules and they now have the option of picking between a hug or doing 10 push-ups when their name goes on the board. And they can do a wall sit or dance in front of the class when they get an X by their name. I mainly added the other option for Koala, but wouldn't you know it that he always picks the hug over the push-ups. And he's been so much better behaved since then too. I think he was testing me, and somehow I broke him. He is seriously a joy to have in class, and is sooooo funny. He is quite the ham--I guess your typical class clown. His great big toothy smile just melts my heart!

 This is cute Miss Kelly. I love her face! She's the younger sister of one of my favorite students, Cheryl, who was in my 3rd grade class last year. She is so sweet, and sooooo easy going. She's petite and quiet, but don't let that fool you. She's pretty fiesty, and doesn't let the boys take advantage of her. Quite the tom boy she runs faster than the boys, loves basketball, and is our classroom champion of the wall sit. Her record is 5 minutes. No joke. I'm lucky if I can even make it for 2 minutes.

Meet Mr. Eric. He is the biggest cuddler and finds any excuse to tickle or hug me. At the beginning of the school year he used to slide down my legs because he thought it was fun. Eric is an observer, and a very good one at that. He has the biggest brown eyes and nothing seems to escape him. Lately he has noticed that Derek and Koala get attention for their bad behavior, so he's decided to be crazy to get attention too. Still trying to figure out how to counteract that. Any ideas? Eric is also a smarty pants. He works a bit slower, but his perfection pays off. And seriously, who could not love that smile?

This is Miss Kristine, the Hermione of our class. This girl is a whiz! She's new to this class, but English is not new to her. Like Hermione, Kristine knows pretty much everything. In addition to English class she also goes to math class, swim class,  piano and recorder class, and some other class thrown in there too. She has a dream of traveling to Paris and writes about it in weekly journals. She is a perfectionist and incredibly hard on herself. She's come a long way though. At the beginning of the year it was hard to get her to even participate, but it's surprising to think that she was so quiet before. EArlier in the year she wrote me the cutest note with a book mark. Lovely girl.

I teach these kiddos four days a week for two and half hours each time. My heart is going to ache when I leave this cute kids!!!

lai, lai, lai...

Come, come, come!

Where, where, where? you ask. The Science Fair! Yeah, you got it. Berhan's very own Science Fair, and my 5th graders pretty much rocked it! (Well, there may not have been too much competition considering we were one of two classes in the actual fair, but still, we rocked it).

It was kinda funny to see my classes attitude toward the science fair this year. Last year, I was stressed out and was feeling the pressure. This year I didn't really care about it. It was more of an opportunity to have fun. And luckily all of my students didn't really care about talking in front of the other students this year. All of this equated a very good presentation. They were all chill, cool, and collected.

And, their display was spectacular.

And you're probably wondering what our project was. A friend told me that if you plug your nose you can't tell the difference in taste between an apple and a potato. We tested all the classes and found that this was false. So the next day we tested them on difference between different flavors of Skittles. And this one worked a bit better.

I found out a lot about my students through the process as well. I found out that even though Luke may not be the best English student, he is an excellent artist. He was in charge of the art on the poster, and he spent a great deal of time and craft creating the perfect apples and Skittles to paste on our board. Simon's favorite subject is Chinese. Frank is a natural presenter, and Madline is good at organizing and delegating specific tasks. Hello to enlightenment!

And hello cuteness:

Will you be my pen pal?

I remember the one and only time I had a pen pal. I was in first or second grade and my pen pal was from Wisconsin or one of the other states in the middle of the country. I remember getting letters in class from my pen pal, and thinking how cool it was that I had a friend in another state. Unfortunately our writing stopped at the end of the school year.

Since then I have wished that I had had a pen pal from some other cool place like France, for instance (I was totally obsessed with France from fourth grade on through high school and most of college. It wasn't until I lived in the Czech Republic that that obsession died down a bit). But alas, I never did find one. And, I must admit, I'm horrible at writing. So nowadays I try to write my real friends that I do know, rather than finding myself a pen pal. But that doesn't mean that I can't find pen pals for other people!

And that's just what I did...well, my mom did actually, and now that I think about it, I can't really take the credit for the idea either--that would be Connie. In any case, all nine of my fifth graders have pen pals in America thanks to my amazing mom! And my kids are totally stoked about it.

Most of today we spent talking about what kinds of things you would include in a letter. Questions about there families, about their hobbies, about their schools, etc. Some of my students were more excited than others, or at least on the surface. At the end of class today, I was really surprised to see how much they were able to write, and how good their writing was.

It's fun to have a class project, and a way for my fifth graders to have another reason why they should learn English other than the fact that their parents said that they had to. I'm excited to see how this all pans out. I'll definitely keep everyone updated.

Who knows? Maybe their relationships as pen pals can become life long friendships.

Things to do: find cute stationary for girls, and manly stationary for boys (yes, my boys wanted stationary, which may prove to be a very big challenge).

Five things....

So, I really haven't been the best at keeping up the gratitude list thing. But will try to do better. I'm so glad that the week is almost over. I just have one more class tomorrow morning. Teaching 6 days a week isn't the greatest, but I guess I can't complain because I'm fortunate enough to actually have a job. And that would be number one on my list...

1. That I have a job. I remember the days back in Jan.-April when I didn't have a job. And it sucked. Having all that free time at first was nice, but there is such a thing of getting sick of having nothing to do. I did A LOT of reading. But it was nice to finally get a job at Trader Joe's.

2. Having a good day of teaching. All of my classes went really well today. Normally Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are my most dreaded days, but today I was pleasantly surprised. One of my kids pretended to take a bite out of my arm and continued on saying that I tasted good. Really funny.

3. Chill nights out. Tonight after work was perfect. Arwyn, Lisa, and I headed down to my favorite Teppanyaki joint and had good food and conversation. Then on the way home we decided to get bevs at 85 C, a coffee shop. Once there we spotted some other teachers from the school and joined them. We stayed there all in all for about an hour and a half. It was just pleasant to get out and enjoy one's self.

4. Nice co-workers. It really makes a big difference on how I feel about work.

5. Being able to sleep in. Today I didn't get to, nor will I tomorrow, or Sunday, but it makes me appreciate the days that I can so much more!

I know that was terribly  short, and probably not that interesting. But I'm not going to worry about that now. I just finished Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason, and realized that it was loosely based on my favorite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion. That made me happy, because I feel like I can relate to Bridget apart from all the booze and promiscuity. Anyways, she always makes me laugh, no matter what mood I'm in.

Here's to happy things in one's life!

5 things...

Today it's going to be short and sweet (hopefully) because it's getting late. :)

1. My friend Lex. I just had the most amazing chat with her over facebook (it is good for something!), and it was exactly what I needed.

2. Running. I love the way I feel after I go running. Endorphins are amazing. And I especially love running when i have new music to run to. Today it was Lady Gaga.

3. Hamburgers. Every once in a while I crave a good ol' hamburger. Unfortunately the best place to get a burger here is at McDonald's, but today it sure did hit the spot.

4. Having a new teaching schedule. This was the first week of Chinese school for our classes, so my teaching schedule got switched around a bit. Now on Tuesdays I only teach one class. It was so nice to have those extra hours to myself which I then spent on doing progress reports for my first graders.

5. Good health. Today when I went into my class two of my students had eye problems and another wasn't feeling very well. I'm grateful for being healthy, and for not being sick at the moment. Hopefully I will stay that way for a while. And I'm grateful for cheap medical insurance. If the States could go to a system like Taiwan's, I'd be a happy camper.

That's all for today, but like I promised before, I'll be posting something else soon. I promise!

Twilight, fifth graders, and chinese vampires

So as many as you may know, I'm teaching one of my former classes. When I had them a year ago they were sweet, tender 4th graders. Now they are flirty, angst-ridden pre-teens.They try to put up a front, but I just laugh at them. There's no hiding behind a wall of attitude with me. Mainly because I won't let them. I remind them all the time that I already know them, and know them well. Last year this was one of my favorite classes, so it's been great having them again.

Each class period we have journal writing time. They are good writers, so instead of having them write about pictures, I've been having them write about scenes from a few films. One day, one of my girls came to class with Twilight. I happen to really enjoy the Twilight series, and even own all of them (I know, I know. I'm probably too old for vampire romances, but hey, they do take place in Washington). I got the idea to show parts of Twilight the movie, in class. The girls have loved it, and I think quite a few of the boys have as well. It's been funny.

I remember talking with this same class around Halloween last year. I tried to give them some Halloweenesque spelling words and vampire was one of them. I tried to explain what a vampire was to them, and I swore they didn't get it.

me: You know, they suck your blood with sharp teeth.
them: Yeah, yeah, and they jumps like this....

They would then get up and start acting like a stiff, hopping zombie. I didn't get it. And finally this past week I had it explained to me. Western vampires and Eastern vampires are nothing alike except for the blood drinking thing.

Connie was talking to our mutual 1st grade class, and they explained it to her. I walked by their classroom yesterday, and they started hopping toward me like little vampires. I decided to play along and flee with my hands around my neck. They started laughing hysterically! I love these kids.

Anyways, I found this little video on youtube that explained the differences incredibly well. So hopefully you'll find it both entertaining and informative as I did.



Here's to knowing what to do if attacked by a Chinese vampire!

Formosa, otherwise known as the beautiful isle of Taiwan...

So I've mad it to Taiwan after 24 long hours of traveling. And I already love it. I've gone back to my regular routine (as much as possible), so much so that I keep on going into the wrong fridge to grab my food. I'm staying in the same room with the same fabulous roommates. I've biked the circle road, gone to Woo's had 2 bingshas and 2 dong gwa neo nais. Went to Carrefour. Life is bliss!

The only thing is that I forgot my battery charger for my camera, the cord that connects my camera to my computer, and my external hard drive. How int he world did I do that? Those are like the most important things when traveling to a new place.

Seeing my old friends again has been wonderful! Seeing my old students has been amazing! I found out that I'll be teaching my fourth grade class again (they are now fifth graders) and I'm totally stoked about it.

Some things have changed, but many have stayed the same. I guess that's how life is though. I'm really excited for this next semester! It's going to be great.

I'll post pictures as soon as I have everything under control.

Here's to do something meaningful in one's life!

I...

1. Decided that this is my new favorite font, so hopefully you like it too.

2. Am craving this: And this would be my favorite tepanyaki place in Feng Yuan. I got addicted to certain restaurants, and would frequent them. After my 6:40-8:40 pm class I was too tired to cook anything, so I would get take-out. It was actually cheaper than cooking for myself. I am craving the lamb, the bean sprouts, and the fried cabbage like none other!

3. Am reading this:

The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeannette Walls. A wonderful story-teller, Walls shares with her readers her bizarre upbringing, and I'm guessing (because I'm not done reading it yet) how she was able to come out a normal person. And of course my incredibly small summary won't do the delicious book justice. Her writing is amazing. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to start this book because it seemed like it would be depressing, but her ability to tell her story is remarkable. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

4. Want to play this:

Red light, green light was my BR class' favorite game. I miss their rambunctioness!

5. Miss her...:Gloria is one of the secretaries that works at Berhan, and is one of my great friends. I could go to Gloria for anything. She taught me Chinese, took me to the doctor, let me use her internet when the school's wasn't working, took me hiking, and supplied me with hours of good conversation. Gloria was like my mom away from home, and I miss her so much!

6. ...And them:
These are the four girls from my fourth grade class: Leia, Nancy, Wendy, and Madline. I looked forward to going to this class every day. They were the greatest!

7. Want to rock out like this:

This was an FHE activity where each room had to come up with a lipsinc. Sadly, I don't remember the song we did, and I think we had more fun dressing up than doing the actual lipsinc. And I just think that Connie looks freakin' awesome! Not to mention Megs awesome tattoo!

8. Miss the freedom of driving one of these:

Or should I say ride, because I was often too scared to actually drive one. And when I actually did, I happened to end up in a ditch all to often. Go figure. But I do really miss zipping around town and the feel of the wind blowing through my hair, the bugs in my mouth...you just got to love the whole experience.

9. Am currently obsessed with this:

The Soundtrack to the Original Motion Picture Amelie= HEAVEN! I can listen to this soundtrack over and over again and never get tired of it.

10. Am excited to be here:

Ok, so you can probably tell that this picture was taken the last time I was in DC, but that doesn't mean that I don't like being here now. Especially since it's so bitter cold. :) I'm glad I made the decision to move out east, and I think I'll be here for a while.

Christmas Berhan Style!

Last Day of School

December was a whirlwind, and I've finally been able to catch my breath, and reflect on it. December 19th was the last day of class, and our afternoon classes had a day of performances, games, and candy. My BR kids combined with Miss Erin's class to perform a play about Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, written by Erin. It was adorable, and I was so proud of my kids for memorizing their lines.

Their hats were so cute! The boys especially would goof around and have them stand up straight on their heads. Jason didn't want me to take a picture of him, so he hid under his hat. They were all so well behaved during the performance, it was really funny. I felt like, why couldn't you be this good for me?

Some of the other classes did musical numbers, recited poetry, and Lindsey's class did a dance that she choreographed to Hillary Duff's "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." It was pretty awesome. Check out her blog for the video.

The 4:40pm and 6:40 pm classes were all combined that evening, and a humongous extravaganza of competitiveness ensued. The previous night my fourth graders were involved, and lost. As a result I had to join them on the stage as they were humiliated (in a good way) in front of the school.

Caroling

Frances, our boss, had the brilliant idea of having us, the Americans, carol as advertising for the school. When we first heard about it, we had no desire whatsoever to comply. You'd have to know our boss and how she treated her employees to really understand how we felt. It was hour last Saturday, and we had to packed up and out of the school by Monday morning. The last thing we wanted to do on Saturday was to spend the majority of the day advertising for the school.

In the end it was a ton of fun! I felt guilty for previously being against the idea. We met at Berhan at 8:30 on the morning of the 20th. Then us and the secretaries caravanned over to a community where some of our students lived. We were a sea of red. My student Cheryl lived in this development along with Dustin's student Anne. It was a lot of fun to be there and to meet her family.

Then the lot of us headed over to Sogo, the big department store in the center of Feng Yuan, where we were to put on another production. Oh, no. This was not just singing songs door to door like we do in the States. Nor did we sing traditional carols. It really was a production. Dustin was Santa Clause, we had the blow up snowmen as seen in the picture above, and along with our songs were elaborate dances. We were totally cool. I went with the secretaries to get Dustin into his outfit and it was quite a process:

When they were done dressing him he went around the children's department handing out candy. It was funny. Some kids liked him, others were scared of him. My favorite was the kid that was so involved in playing Nintendo that he took one glance at Dustin, and then continued playing.

Caroling at the store was awesome! So many of our students and their families came. It was like saying goodbye to them for the second time. It was a bit hard for me. Luke was so cute. He kept on taking pictures of me with his mom's cell phone. It was really cool to finally put siblings together and see who they belong to. Below are some pictures of me, Dustin, and our amazing kids: