That's the newest code word around here for when a student thinks she's in trouble and is trying to get out of it. I got it this morning from one of my girls after she rolled up a sheet of clay into a ball and then found out I wanted to cut it into strips. While helping some other students, I heard little Sharon say "Teacher, uh-oh!" and turned around to see her holding the clay up sheepishly.
Not that I would have punished her for so minor a transgression. But even if I had been angry, that little interjection had me laughing so hysterically I couldn't possibly have yelled at anyone right then. The other kids laughed too, though I couldn't tell if it was at me or at Sharon.
"Teacher, uh-oh!"
I love my kids.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Sunday, July 25, 2004
A very tense young lady
There are no tenses in Chinese. The literal translation of a sentence like "I am going to the store" is "I go store," while "I went to the store yesterday" is "I go store yesterday." In other words, the two are exactly the same except for that last word, and you can only tell from context that the latter is in the past.
This makes tenses one of the more difficult things for our students - the concept is totally new to them - and it can also be tricky for us when speaking English with people whose proficiency we are unsure of. A colleague of mine discovered this in a rather uncomfortable way this past weekend.
Our Story: It seems my friend met a young Taiwanese woman (or a "bird," as New Zealanders tend to call them) at a party or a pub or some such place last week. She spoke English well enough for the two of them to exchange phone numbers, at least, and so they did. A few days later, not wanting to seem too forward, my friend sent her a text message on her cell-phone, to the effect of "Hi there, would you like to get together this weekend?"
Her response: "Hi handsome, where do we meet?"
Delighted, my friend responded, still by text message: "Do you want to come to my place?"
And her response: "Look, a&#*$le, I tell you I don't remember where we meet! Who are you and why are you so rude?"
I'm still scratching my head at how her English could otherwise be that good if she had no grasp at all of the past tense. Fortunately, my friend is pretty laid back about these things and thought it was all pretty funny. Which I must agree it is!
This makes tenses one of the more difficult things for our students - the concept is totally new to them - and it can also be tricky for us when speaking English with people whose proficiency we are unsure of. A colleague of mine discovered this in a rather uncomfortable way this past weekend.
Our Story: It seems my friend met a young Taiwanese woman (or a "bird," as New Zealanders tend to call them) at a party or a pub or some such place last week. She spoke English well enough for the two of them to exchange phone numbers, at least, and so they did. A few days later, not wanting to seem too forward, my friend sent her a text message on her cell-phone, to the effect of "Hi there, would you like to get together this weekend?"
Her response: "Hi handsome, where do we meet?"
Delighted, my friend responded, still by text message: "Do you want to come to my place?"
And her response: "Look, a&#*$le, I tell you I don't remember where we meet! Who are you and why are you so rude?"
I'm still scratching my head at how her English could otherwise be that good if she had no grasp at all of the past tense. Fortunately, my friend is pretty laid back about these things and thought it was all pretty funny. Which I must agree it is!
Monday, July 19, 2004
At last, my heart's an open door...
Halfway through that last post, I did remember one big piece of news that I'd been putting off sharing here and for which I think the time has come. After a long stretch of uncertainty (well, not really so long, but it felt that way sometimes), my Rare Montana Treasure will now be coming to Taiwan in about a month. It's likely, though still not certain, that she'll be joining me in Longtan. Which means that after a year and a half, our long-distance relationship will finally lose the first two of those three words - something we've both been hoping for for quite a while! Let them never say it can't be done, as long as both people are patient and committed. After some past misses in that department, it comes as a nice surprise to me!
Back to GRE prepping. I used to be so good at the math section...
Back to GRE prepping. I used to be so good at the math section...
Still Ramblin'
Just checking in and trying to break up what's turning into a lengthy absence! Things are still going fine, but I'm finding myself in one of those odd stretches where I'm too busy to spend much time on things like blogging and at the same time, nothing too newsworthy has happened. Even the most adventurous jobs are just jobs now and then.
Got to see my first ever televised rugby match on Saturday afternoon, at a popular Western hangout in Taipei. It was Australia vs. New Zealand, and I was tagging along on the trip with one colleague from each country, which made for interesting banter after the game. I can't say I have any more use for organized sports now than I ever have before, but watching the rain-drenched game on the big screen in a dark and cool locale with cheering fans around and the tropical craziness of Taiwan miles away on the other side of the pub door was the coziest feeling I've experienced in a while. I think I'm going to enjoy cold weather just a little bit more when I leave here.
Got to see my first ever televised rugby match on Saturday afternoon, at a popular Western hangout in Taipei. It was Australia vs. New Zealand, and I was tagging along on the trip with one colleague from each country, which made for interesting banter after the game. I can't say I have any more use for organized sports now than I ever have before, but watching the rain-drenched game on the big screen in a dark and cool locale with cheering fans around and the tropical craziness of Taiwan miles away on the other side of the pub door was the coziest feeling I've experienced in a while. I think I'm going to enjoy cold weather just a little bit more when I leave here.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Remember when the music was the best of what we dreamed of...
It was 23 years ago today - July 16, 1981 - that we lost Harry Chapin under still-murky circumstances on the Long Island Expressway.
These things are always tragic, of course; but it always strikes me as particularly unfair when it happens to someone who gave so much to so many. During his too-brief singing career, Chapin raised millions of dollars - and gave huge sums of his own money - to the cause of fighting hunger and malunutrition throughout the world. He was committed to the singularly unfashionable idea that we can do more to help the poor than just telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps - a belief that has been political poison in my country since just about the time he died, actually. We could certainly use a few more like him these days!
Fortunately, neither his music nor his humanitarian efforts have disappeared. Click here to learn more about World Hunger Year, the organization he founded back in the '70s which carries on his most noted cause. (By the way, George W.M.D. Bush recently cut the funding for some of the programs that help finance WHY, a fact I hope my American friends will think about on November 2). And while you're at it, if you don't already own any Chapin albums, do yourself a favor and buy this (yes, that is my review halfway down the page!), or this, or this, or, if it's in your budget, this. If you have any fondness at all for singer-songwriters and/or low-key folk-rock, you owe it to yourself to have at least a couple of his CDs.
But music was his life,
It was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy
And it made him feel so whole,
He sang from his heart
And he sang from his soul,
He did not know how well he sang,
It just made him whole!
These things are always tragic, of course; but it always strikes me as particularly unfair when it happens to someone who gave so much to so many. During his too-brief singing career, Chapin raised millions of dollars - and gave huge sums of his own money - to the cause of fighting hunger and malunutrition throughout the world. He was committed to the singularly unfashionable idea that we can do more to help the poor than just telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps - a belief that has been political poison in my country since just about the time he died, actually. We could certainly use a few more like him these days!
Fortunately, neither his music nor his humanitarian efforts have disappeared. Click here to learn more about World Hunger Year, the organization he founded back in the '70s which carries on his most noted cause. (By the way, George W.M.D. Bush recently cut the funding for some of the programs that help finance WHY, a fact I hope my American friends will think about on November 2). And while you're at it, if you don't already own any Chapin albums, do yourself a favor and buy this (yes, that is my review halfway down the page!), or this, or this, or, if it's in your budget, this. If you have any fondness at all for singer-songwriters and/or low-key folk-rock, you owe it to yourself to have at least a couple of his CDs.
But music was his life,
It was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy
And it made him feel so whole,
He sang from his heart
And he sang from his soul,
He did not know how well he sang,
It just made him whole!
Friday, July 9, 2004
The inevitable bubbles up at last
I haven't talked about it much with anyone - mainly because it really isn't much of an issue with me - but my time in Taiwan has been the first time in my life in which I've been a minority. It has been somewhat eye-opening for me, much as I had expected. I can't say I've learned too much more than I already knew about being oppressed, because I'm probably just as far from being oppressed here as I was back home. The only assumption anyone here has made based on the color of my skin is that I speak English but not Chinese. That might bug me if I did speak Chinese, but since I don't, I see no cause for complaint. The worst thing this has ever led to was a random store clerk here and there wanting to practice his or her English at a time when I would really rather just pay for my cranberry juice and my Snickers bar and head home. But of course, I always indulge people like that - it's flattering to be asked, after all, and it is more or less an extension of my job.
Most of the people in my company who have my job - Native Speaking Teacher - are white. I had hoped all along that this was a coincidence, but apparently it isn't. A couple of more experienced NSTs explained to me last night that parents tend to complain if their children are placed with ethnic-Asian teachers, even if said teachers were born and raised in America and can't speak a word of Chinese. It's all based in something about wanting their kids to get used to the full American (or at least non-Asian) experience, or even assuming that anyone who looks like them probably can't speak English any better than they can. This, of course, leads the company to be reluctant to hire ethnic-Asian teachers, although they do so occasionally to avoid being sued.
So, what we have here among the parents is straight up racism - against one's own race. Bizarre. I haven't given it enough thought yet to come up with any grand conclusions. Suffice to say I find it pretty damned disturbing.
Most of the people in my company who have my job - Native Speaking Teacher - are white. I had hoped all along that this was a coincidence, but apparently it isn't. A couple of more experienced NSTs explained to me last night that parents tend to complain if their children are placed with ethnic-Asian teachers, even if said teachers were born and raised in America and can't speak a word of Chinese. It's all based in something about wanting their kids to get used to the full American (or at least non-Asian) experience, or even assuming that anyone who looks like them probably can't speak English any better than they can. This, of course, leads the company to be reluctant to hire ethnic-Asian teachers, although they do so occasionally to avoid being sued.
So, what we have here among the parents is straight up racism - against one's own race. Bizarre. I haven't given it enough thought yet to come up with any grand conclusions. Suffice to say I find it pretty damned disturbing.
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
A table near the street, in our old familiar place...
Kindy graduation is over at last!!
Saturday night had its ups and downs, of course. The ups included seeing all the kids with their very proud parents, all of them doing their best to thank us in English for teaching their children, and watching "The Ugly Duckling" go off without much of a hitch, and us teachers doing our big star turn in our "Lollipop Lollipop" exercise routine - punctuated by yours truly telling the audience "thank you on behalf of the group and myself and I hope we passed the audition" in my best John Lennon impression. (Yes, I was and am aware that most Taiwanese people probably wouldn't get the joke.) The downs included one of the older kids' plays in which one of the main stars didn't show up, so "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" became "The Two Billy Goats Gruff," and then one of the two billy goats got into a fistfight with the kid playing the bridge.
But on balance, it was a great evening. We had everything squared away just a bit after 9:00, and since the five of us were uncharacteristically dolled up in suits and dresses, it called for something other than a quiet return to Longtan (the ceremony was held in an auditorium in the neighboring town of Pinjen). So it was off to downtown Chung Li for a pleasantly grown up dinner. We ended up at a nice upstairs place with comfy booths and romantic lighting and...an American-style cover band playing in the corner. Just about perfect, if you ask me. The salads and dumplings were great, but the only-in-Taiwan moment came when somebody happened to look closely at the English menu. The last page featured a long list of wonderful sounding cocktails, replete with some unfortunate misspellings: among the choices of mixed drinks were a nice "gasshopper," or a "sexy on the beach," or a "long iced tea." There were others, but those are the only ones I remember offhand.
And the heading of that page? There, in big block letters, it read "COCKTANS."
I got a priceless picture of a friend and colleague holding the menu up and pointing at the unfortunate word with her immaculately manicured finger. Too bad I didn't think to get one of myself holding it, then I could post it here.
Saturday night had its ups and downs, of course. The ups included seeing all the kids with their very proud parents, all of them doing their best to thank us in English for teaching their children, and watching "The Ugly Duckling" go off without much of a hitch, and us teachers doing our big star turn in our "Lollipop Lollipop" exercise routine - punctuated by yours truly telling the audience "thank you on behalf of the group and myself and I hope we passed the audition" in my best John Lennon impression. (Yes, I was and am aware that most Taiwanese people probably wouldn't get the joke.) The downs included one of the older kids' plays in which one of the main stars didn't show up, so "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" became "The Two Billy Goats Gruff," and then one of the two billy goats got into a fistfight with the kid playing the bridge.
But on balance, it was a great evening. We had everything squared away just a bit after 9:00, and since the five of us were uncharacteristically dolled up in suits and dresses, it called for something other than a quiet return to Longtan (the ceremony was held in an auditorium in the neighboring town of Pinjen). So it was off to downtown Chung Li for a pleasantly grown up dinner. We ended up at a nice upstairs place with comfy booths and romantic lighting and...an American-style cover band playing in the corner. Just about perfect, if you ask me. The salads and dumplings were great, but the only-in-Taiwan moment came when somebody happened to look closely at the English menu. The last page featured a long list of wonderful sounding cocktails, replete with some unfortunate misspellings: among the choices of mixed drinks were a nice "gasshopper," or a "sexy on the beach," or a "long iced tea." There were others, but those are the only ones I remember offhand.
And the heading of that page? There, in big block letters, it read "COCKTANS."
I got a priceless picture of a friend and colleague holding the menu up and pointing at the unfortunate word with her immaculately manicured finger. Too bad I didn't think to get one of myself holding it, then I could post it here.
Monday, July 5, 2004
Mmmmmm. Big My.
When my days in Taiwan come to their inevitable close, there are some things I'll miss and some things I won't. I won't miss washing my clothes in the bathtub and then holding my breath for two days in hope that it doesn't rain while they're drying out on the porch. I won't miss the lack of a decent steak anywhere in the country (although, having lost 25 pounds/12 kilos since I got here, I guess I shouldn't complain much about that!). I won't miss having to depend so much on nonverbal communication. I won't miss the biggest spiders and roaches I've ever seen.
On the other hand, I will miss the dirt-cheap rents and food. I will miss the adoring children. I will miss random strangers coming up to me just for a chance to practice their English. I will miss being so close to so many exotic places I never imagined I'd be able to visit on a shoestring. I will miss the sense of adventure that comes with almost every day - something I have always wanted out of a job and never had until now.
And boy oh boy, will I ever miss Big My!
Kind of a funny name, isn't it? Who knows what it means - maybe it's another one of those too-literal translations that are so common here. Big My is my favorite local restaurant. It's a hibachi-type grill place, only a little more lowbrow than the fancy Japanese ones you usually see in the States. Or, on second thought, a lot more lowbrow, and by extension a lot cheaper! They grill the food up for you while you watch - usually very hungrily. Shrimp, snapper, onions, cabbage, rice, and an onion omelette for dessert, that's my favorite lunch - all that and a drink for a bit less than US$7.50. The folks there don't speak English at all, but they do have an English menu, which I don't even need anymore since I've memorized the location of the items I always order on the Chinese one.
Local color at its finest. No doubt you don't need me to tell you that real Chinese food is nothing like what you will find at that buffet down at the strip mall, but who knew it would be this much better?! If you find yourself willing to walk to a restaurant in the rain when there's a free lunch available at work (as was the case for me today), you know it's pretty good, huh?
So, yeah. Big My has joined the ranks of Blake's in Manchester, Rube's in Iowa, Spices in DC, Mango Mike's in Alexandria, Thai Taste in New Haven and The Waverley in New York on my list of so-good-I'll-never-forget-them restaurants. (I did try to think of a place in NE Pennsylvania to add to that list, but I'm blanking here. Most of my culinary memories of there involve Arby's - which, by the way, desperately needs to open a branch in Taiwan!)
On the other hand, I will miss the dirt-cheap rents and food. I will miss the adoring children. I will miss random strangers coming up to me just for a chance to practice their English. I will miss being so close to so many exotic places I never imagined I'd be able to visit on a shoestring. I will miss the sense of adventure that comes with almost every day - something I have always wanted out of a job and never had until now.
And boy oh boy, will I ever miss Big My!
Kind of a funny name, isn't it? Who knows what it means - maybe it's another one of those too-literal translations that are so common here. Big My is my favorite local restaurant. It's a hibachi-type grill place, only a little more lowbrow than the fancy Japanese ones you usually see in the States. Or, on second thought, a lot more lowbrow, and by extension a lot cheaper! They grill the food up for you while you watch - usually very hungrily. Shrimp, snapper, onions, cabbage, rice, and an onion omelette for dessert, that's my favorite lunch - all that and a drink for a bit less than US$7.50. The folks there don't speak English at all, but they do have an English menu, which I don't even need anymore since I've memorized the location of the items I always order on the Chinese one.
Local color at its finest. No doubt you don't need me to tell you that real Chinese food is nothing like what you will find at that buffet down at the strip mall, but who knew it would be this much better?! If you find yourself willing to walk to a restaurant in the rain when there's a free lunch available at work (as was the case for me today), you know it's pretty good, huh?
So, yeah. Big My has joined the ranks of Blake's in Manchester, Rube's in Iowa, Spices in DC, Mango Mike's in Alexandria, Thai Taste in New Haven and The Waverley in New York on my list of so-good-I'll-never-forget-them restaurants. (I did try to think of a place in NE Pennsylvania to add to that list, but I'm blanking here. Most of my culinary memories of there involve Arby's - which, by the way, desperately needs to open a branch in Taiwan!)
Thursday, July 1, 2004
The Subway Dilemma
A funny thing occurred to me last weekend in Taipei. I don't get up there nearly as often as I'd like these days, and while Longtan is great as far as immersion in Taiwanese culture is concerned, Taipei is still, well, the big city.
Which means, among other things, that they have Subways there. Not the trains (although they have those too), but the restaurants. And when you've been away from most Western foods for a while, things like Subway become a treasured delicacy. Fast food does exist here: McDonalds and KFC are just about as easy to find here as they are in America, and there are a few Burger Kings here and there. But Subway - which is at least a slightly healthier choice than the others to boot - is found only in Taipei. So that's one more treat to look forward to when I go up there.
The problem? There's a lot more of everything in Taipei, including all manner of food options. So I always find myself feeling like I should try something more local rather than something I could always get back home anyway. The trouble is that "home" at the moment is a small town where I can't always - or ever - get that old familiar taste. Sometimes the more exotic choices kill my Subway cravings, but sometimes I go ahead with the guilty pleasure.
I think there may be a brilliant political theory thesis floating around in there somewhere.
Which means, among other things, that they have Subways there. Not the trains (although they have those too), but the restaurants. And when you've been away from most Western foods for a while, things like Subway become a treasured delicacy. Fast food does exist here: McDonalds and KFC are just about as easy to find here as they are in America, and there are a few Burger Kings here and there. But Subway - which is at least a slightly healthier choice than the others to boot - is found only in Taipei. So that's one more treat to look forward to when I go up there.
The problem? There's a lot more of everything in Taipei, including all manner of food options. So I always find myself feeling like I should try something more local rather than something I could always get back home anyway. The trouble is that "home" at the moment is a small town where I can't always - or ever - get that old familiar taste. Sometimes the more exotic choices kill my Subway cravings, but sometimes I go ahead with the guilty pleasure.
I think there may be a brilliant political theory thesis floating around in there somewhere.
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