Sucker!

*Editor's note: I mention below that cat's tails are crooked because of human intervention. However, one of my reader's pointed me in the right direction. Street cats are too quick for someone to catch them and break their tails (I've found this out personally). Most Taiwan street cats have crooked, short or kinked tails because most have some Japanese Bobtail blood in them. It's the hallmark of that breed to have an irregular tail. Japan left their mark on Taiwan during their occupation in the early part of the 20th century that is still evident today. I guess they left their mark on the Taiwanese cats, too.

I was sufficiently warned before I left the states about the problem Taiwan has with stray animals...particularly dogs. You will see them everywhere you go but they're nothing like strays in the states. These dogs are friendly and docile. Furthermore, the WHO has declared Taiwan a rabies free country which means you don't need to worry about that disease.

These dogs will wander in and out of stores and restaurants and no one pays them any mind. Many times foreign friends and I laugh about this. A dog in a restaurant would shut it down immediately in the States. The Taiwanese do have dogs for pets but I've noticed they prefer the smaller dogs that they can carry around. I have always referred to those as "rat dogs". I'm not a dog person but if I were, I'd want something that wouldn't fit in my purse.

Taiwan also has stray cats wandering around. You won't see as many of these as dogs. I believe there's a number of reasons why. Cats are considered lazy and bad luck by the Taiwanese. At least, that's what my students tell me. Most street cats have mangled and deformed tails. I was told this is because people break their tails to stop the bad luck (I haven't had this reason verified so I don't know that it's true). I also imagine many of the street cats lose battles with the dogs and become dinner. I suppose it's survival of the fittest at work.

Everyone warned me to not rescue one of these animals. It's difficult to find English speaking vets and sometimes it's difficult to take them home when your time is finished in Taiwan. I was resolved to follow this advice.

That is until I saw a kitten almost get pulverized by a car on my way home from school. Another foreign English teacher gave the kitten and I a ride to a vet in my neighborhood. I struck gold and he spoke English. He informed me the kitten was a one-month-old girl. She was healthy but dehydrated and malnourished. I said I would foster her until I could find her a home and he didn't charge me for the visit. I left the office resolved to find her a home and started by refusing to name her.

However, I'm a sucker and have been yearning for a new cat since shortly after I put my cat, Squirt, to sleep nearly four years ago. By Sunday, I had an e-mail from someone interested in her and my heart dropped to my stomach. She followed me everywhere around my apartment and loved sleeping on my lap. She even cried when I wouldn't let her sleep on my bed. She had made me hers. By Monday, she had the name Xiao Hu (little tiger in Chinese).

I have no worries about adopting Xiao Hu. There's a wonderful organization in Kaohsiung called BARK. They rescue street animals and find them homes. They will give me kitty litter and will spay and microchip her for free. I'm only responsible for her vaccinations. They know that the stray population is too big to find homes for every animal here so they have a CNR program (catch and release). There are strays that they catch, de-sex and release back onto the streets so they cannot contribute to increasing the stray population. BARK will also send pets to the States at their expense to anyone who wants to provide them a home. Check out their web site at www.bark-taiwan.org (Hint...hint...they accept PayPal donations).

Now, I'd like to introduce you to Xiao Hu. Who couldn't love a kitten this cute?

Wu Fu Elementary School

I know you are all just dying to read about what my school is like. First, it's huge. I think there are about 1500 students for grades 1-6. This is much bigger than most elementary schools in Ohio. Even with all these students we have empty rooms so the building is very big as well.

We start construction on an English Village this week. The English Village concept came from Korea and is very popular in Taiwan, especially Kaohsiung County, where I teach. There are various them rooms where students practice practical conversations in English. Students in my own school will visit every other week and students from other schools will travel to Wu Fu to use the English Village, as well. I spend most of my time teaching the English Village curriculum to fifth and sixth grade. The first unit was fast food restaurant. Eventually, my students will visit Wu Fu Burger in the English Village and hopefully, be able to order an entree and drink in English.

I also have the fifth and sixth grade advanced English classes. These students have to test into this homeroom group and they get extra English instruction. They have two 40 minute periods in a row with me each week. They also have class with the native Taiwanese English teacher for one period each week and they have another period with one of the other foreign English teachers.

School buildings in Taiwan are very different from in the U.S. The schools are all open. There are no hallways. You walk along balconies to the next classroom. Restrooms are different as well. They are shared by all boys and girls, students and teachers. This took some adjustment but you get used to it after awhile. We have a track and football (aka soccer) field on the side of the school and basketball courts in the center of the school. We also have various gardens and a waterfall with a koi pond.

The school schedule is very different. There are eight forty minute periods in a day. School starts at 7:50 but the students are there earlier than that to clean the school. They sweep and mop and take out the trash. There are three 10 minute breaks and one 20 minute break in the morning between periods. They clean during the 20 minute break and play on the other breaks. Then there is an hour for lunch and a following lunch a 30 minute nap. Everyone takes a nap, including teachers. It's so hot here that you need it by that time of day. My body is tired then but I can't seem to fall asleep. I'm used to being awake when the sun is out. The afternoon is much like the morning and students go home at 4.

I think this schedule is much better for the students compared to the American way. It gives them regular breaks throughout the day. They aren't expected to sit and attend to class for too long. They're given time to expend excess energy at regular intervals so they have an easier time paying attention. Of course, kids will be kids and I have pre-teens so there is still a lot of talking that goes on but they seem to keep it under control when they have to. They all laugh when I say "Be quiet" in Chinese, though.

Below you'll find some pictures of my school. Sorry I didn't place them all neatly dispersed through my post this time. I just have the time or inclination to play with the html code. I'll do better next time.

My New Home

I am finally settled in my own place and just completed my first week of school. It was an exhausting and crazy week and I spent most nights walking around my area of the city.

I live in a single apartment (kind of a studio apartment but smaller). There is a shared laundry and kitchen area. I guess the other residents here are all foreign English teachers but I never see them because they work at bushibans. Bushibans are English schools that students go to after the regular school day. They leave school at about 4 p.m., eat dinner and then go to bushiban until about 9 p.m. That means all my neighbors have the opposite schedule of me.

My room is fully furnished, including a refrigerator, cable and internet. I have a bathroom that is also my shower. I love this concept. I can wash my bathroom floor and myself all in one shot. I also have a small dressing are/laundry drying room. These rooms are common in Taiwan. They are situated where there is good ventilation because you air dry ALL of your clothes. Cloths dryers are rare in Taiwan and those who have them are usually westerners. I've rigged a plastic chain across my little drying room to hang my clothes from for drying.

I created a little bedroom by using my bookshelf as a wall. It's cozy enough for me. I made sure I can't see the T.V. from my bed so I'm sure to go to sleep right away. Although, I still managed to fall asleep with the T.V. and lights on last night. I guess some habits are hard to break no matter what country you're in.

My neighborhood is full of life. I live near a lot of different city parks. A few blocks east of me is a beautiful park along the Love River. In the evenings, the park comes to life with couples on dates and groups practicing Tai Chi and other martial arts. Just northwest of me is a brand new department store called Han Shins. It's out of my price range but fun to window shop at. They have a huge food court with all kinds of foods and a fancy grocery store right next to the food court. Koahsiung Arena is right next to it. A five minute walk south west and I'm at the KMRT station (their new subway system). I ride to work everyday and it's another 5 minute walk from that station to my school. I think I can get through this year without a scooter or a bike. I walk and ride the subway everywhere.

I live in a trendy and bustling urban neighborhood. There are lots of stores and restaurants as well as food carts. There are also plenty of Western restaurants. So far, I've found Subway, 2 McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Starbucks all within a few blocks of my apartment. I'm trying to avoid those places because I can eat there any time in the States (even though for the most part I haven't eaten at most of those places in over a year). The temptation is strong though because ordering is much easier there. Most of the servers know the English names of the sandwiches and I know exactly what I'm getting. For the most part, I've gone vegetarian since arriving here because I can't stomach how they prepare meat (with all body parts still attached). Even in the States I preferred to not have my meat on the bone because that was to much of a reminder of it's living state for me. I know...I'm weird. The vegetarian options are great here, though. The have all kinds of wonderful fake meats and they do some many things with tofu and mushrooms. I've been enjoying my new eating habits.

I think I'm adjusting fairly well. I have my moments of culture shock or homesickness. It's only natural to have them. I think living in such a busy city and also keeping active with work helps make those moments brief. Keeping myself occupied is the key and there is so much to explore here.

I'll be taking my camera to school next week. I can't wait to share with you about my school and classes. There are plenty of differences but also some similarities. I hope you will enjoying seeing them.

Visiting Taipei

Yesterday we visited Taipei City. It was a great trip. We started off that the Martyr's Shrine and watched the changing of the guards there. The shrine is in memorial to all the soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for Taiwan. Every hour the guards at the front gates and at the shrine go through a ceremonial changing of the guards. They have done this for so many years that that metal piece on the bottom of their boots has discolored the stone on the ground. You can look down and see the exact path every soldier takes on the hour through the shrine and it's perfectly straight. These are guards are much like the guards at Buckingham palace. They must look straight ahead and give no reaction to the tourists taking their picture. There were a lot of Japanese tourists at this shrine. You'll see below some pictures of the shrine and the changing of the guards.


We visited Taiwan Storyland and Taipei 101 while we were there. Below are some pictures from our trip. Including pictures of Taipei 101 in the day and at night all lit up. It's the tallest building in Taiwan.

I've Arrived!

I arrived in Taiwan late Sunday evening. What an experience!

The flight alone was something totally new to me. We flew China Airlines in. It's the government owned airline for Taiwan. I had read that it was the less expensive and lower rated airline of the two Taiwanese airlines (the other is Eva Air) so I wasn't expecting much more than an I do on a domestic flight. I was wrong. I felt like I was in first class. Everyone got headsets for the movie (free...got that U.S. airlines). The service was impeccable and the meals were delicious. If that was economy class, I can only imagine what first class was like.

As we got off the plane, we quickly realized who the teachers were. We met up with a group from Michigan (first teaching job for both) and a group from Indiana. There was also a girl from Iowa who taught here last year.

We made it through customs easily. Who wouldn't at 10:30 p.m.?

The picked us up at the airport and ushered us to our dorms. The dorms are just like those in America. We're staying at the National Academy for Educational Research. It where they bring the top teachers in the country to train and we've been told they include us in that group of top teachers. I think many of us feel that may be an honor we don't deserve. However most teachers I know, feel they're just doing what they love and could always be better.

Our chaperones are fantastic. Leah, affectionately called Mama Leah, is the main chaperone. She actually went to Ohio State for her masters. It really is a small world. We also have Derek, Charles, and Michael who are all English teachers. There are four young men who are doing their substitute military service in the schools as English teachers. They're all Taiwanese who grew up in other countries. They're a great bunch of guys.

We are busy with lots of classes about the culture and teaching here but they've also offered us Tai Chi which was very fun. Of course, there are lots of differences but I'm finding we have a great deal in common too. I'll keep you posted about those things as I get settled in my schools city next week.

I do have some pictures of my room and Karaoke night that I will post soon. So far, I'm enjoying my adventure and am excited to be able to share with you.