Monday, February 23, 2009
Hi everyone! I am happy to report that I have a new job! Today was my first day and it went really well. The kids are all the same age (some a little older) but it's a language school so I'm only teaching English. One thing about teaching Kindergarten that I didn't like was teaching science and math so really this is a much better fit. Everyone there is ultra nice, and my kids seem really sweet. It will be fun to get to know them. They have tons of curriculum at this school, so I'm just trying to keep up.
I'm so happy to have things to do now. I have been idle way too long for my own comfort. I still have no idea how long I want to stay in Taiwan. I had to go through quite a process with this school to get a contract for just the remainder of the school year. They usually only hire people for a minimum of one year. My negotiation was that I will give them an answer about next school year by May. Part of me wants to stay, and another part misses my life back home...
For now, I will enjoy my time here in Taiwan :o)
Monday, February 9, 2009
So apparently today is a big deal in Chinese culture-- the first full moon after the New Year! Traditionally people use this day to carry around Lanterns and see who has the brightest :o) Also, parades with dancing dragons to bring about good luck are common. It's 8:15pm right now and for the past hour people have been lighting off fireworks like it's their reason to live. Which, it might be for all I know. Haha. I would love to see a parade but I don't know if that will happen or no... Hsinchu is a small city so maybe not. I'm sure Taipei is going crazy. If only I had known, maybe I would have made a trip there.
Instead, today, I made a trip to the impound. No joke! I was walking around one of the markets earlier and came back to where my scooter was parked to find instead a bunch on Chinese and a telephone number scrawled on the road. Apparently, I had parked in a no parking zone. Oops. This nice Chinese guy saw me looking distressed-- trying to reach people who might know how to get my scooter back, and offered to give me a ride to the impound. Just another thing that would have NEVER happened back home. Common response in America: "What? Your car got impounded? Sucks for you!" Here in Taiwan: "Oh, silly foreigner! Please, let me help."
Well, I think I am going to go mime to my doorman about whether or not there will be a parade. Before I go, I should say that tomorrow I have an interview! It's only a part-time job but it's with a school that is really hard to get into. I will let you all know how it goes. Wish me luck!
