Nice Weekend

This weekend was full of me learning new areas of Taipei. Saturday, I spent the majority of the day trying to find a dojang. The MRTs are broken into colored lines. I live near the brown line and the dojang is near the green or orange. Let me give you a detailed review of the stations that I went through. I started at Xihu and then began my journey as follows: (brown line)Jiannan Rd MRT, Dazhi MRT, Songshan Airport MRT, Zhongshan Junior High School MRT, Naning E. Rd MRT, (blue line) Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT, Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT, Shandao Temple MRT, (red line) Taipei Main Station MRT, NTU Hospital MRT, (Green line) Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, MRT, Guting MRT, (yellow line) Dingxi MRT, and finally Yongan Market MRT. Of course, I did a lot of reading on these high speed trains. After getting off the Yongan Market MRT, I had to figure out which direction I should go. I knew I was supposed to go away from the McDonald's that showed up on the right side of the building according to Google Maps. Well, the McDonald's was really across the street. I just laughed and picked a direction. I figured if I didn't run into the street that I was to turn on then, I would just have to turn around and go the opposite direction. I was ready to walk so it wasn't a big deal. I ended up getting a cab. Of course, someone else told him where I needed to go. The driver was very nice! He stated that his English wasn't very good and I tried to convince him that it was because we were holding a conversation. He just kept saying that I was being very nice to him. Once he got me to my destination, he kept saying bye to me even after I closed the car door. It was nice to actually talk to someone for a change. At the school, I was met by a security guard that just happened to be waiting on me to come. He couldn't speak English so he did the usually sign language and motioned for me to follow him. I met all 3 instructors and asked me a series of questions. Questions like "Where do you practice Tae Kwon Do?" "What belt do you have?" "Where do you live in Taiwan?" "Can you come on Saturdays?" and then some questions in Mandarin to which I still have no clue what they were asking. Apparently, that was where their English ran out. A couple of the students could speak a little English and they drew me maps to help me get to the dojang quicker. The younger girl and I exchanged numbers and I promised to help her with her English if she helped me with my Mandarin. After the meet and greet sessions which took about 15 mins (yes, I had a long ride for a 15min conversation), she took me to a bus stop, told me to get off on Gongguan MRT, talked to the driver, and then waved bye. While I was on the bus, a young lady approached me (she was at the previously mentioned bus stop) and told me to get off when she did. She spoke English and felt that I was brave to travel here to teach by myself. We talked on the bus and she also drew me a map so that I could take the route that we were taking at that time. After we got off the bus, we talked for another 15 mins and exchanged numbers. We will also work on English and Mandarin together. On the train ride home, I began to read again. When it was the next to the last stop for me to get off, I closed my nook and looked up to find a 1 yr old staring at me. The expression on her face was priceless! I just laughed and then her mother and grandmother began to laugh. They grabbed the little girl's hand and made her wave to me. I waved back and she began to smile. Such a pretty little smile. I waved bye and exited the train. I have noticed that many people are hesitant to speak to me, but are not afraid to stare or look. Many times when I am walking, they are staring. When this happens, I say ' Ni Hao!" and I don't get a response. After walking about 5 -10 steps, I hear a shout "Ni hao!." That is my sign that they have just gotten over their culture shock! I laugh and keep walking. I make sure that I have my sunglasses in hand and my mp3 charged. I do this for 2 reasons: 1) I know that they will stare. I don't want them to see me staring back at them. lol! 2) When there is no one to talk to, then you always have music for a conversation. Music can take you places that make you feel safe and at home.

Today, I met with a friend named Steve. He has been in Taipei for 2 yrs now. We went to church, then a movie, and then we ate a Japanese restaurant. Ordering consists of me pointing to what I want or saying it in English because it is in English on the menu only to turn around and point at it anyway. I'm still working on using chopsticks. I can tell that I'm getting better because I can actually pick up food. Whether or not it goes in my mouth is the mystery. I just laugh at myself and eat the best way I can. It will eventually become like clock work. I have noticed that they eat a lot and things seem to be super-sized here. I can never finish my meals. After we ate, we walked around for a bit and stumbled upon some kind of temple/offering area. I was very uncomfortable and stopped in my tracks. Steve grabbed my hand and led me thru the temple. On several tables, there were whole chickens and whole fish. The food here were sacrifices to the gods. There was food on other tables, but the fish that looked like it had been sitting there for days had my eyes. The people there were chanting and praying and making marks on this sculpture. It was very interesting to see and watch! I wanted to take a picture, but felt that it would be rude. It seems like there are temples everywhere. They even do a tomb sweep like the Hispanic culture. After saying goodbye to Steve, I went down to the Gongguan MRT to head home and stumbled across some green mascot. Not sure what he was for, but the best pic that I had of him accidentally got erased so I only have the side and back profiles. Sorry! I noticed that I am getting better at knowing when to get off and what direction to go at the train station. Yay, me!

Tomorrow is my REAL first day of school. I thought last week was, but it was only for K, 5th, and 6th. Tomorrow, I will have all of them. We have been testing the students orally. We ask them 6 questions and they are supposed to respond with a complete sentence. Some can, but many can't. This is where the hard work will start. The students are very respectful and eagerly greet me by saying "Hello, Teacher Debon!" I smile, look at the sheet, and try to remember the face and name combination. I don't want to call them by a number. So far, they listen and respond when giving instructions. I have 2 little boys that are in my cleaning group. They are responsible for cleaning the windows and chalkboards, sweeping and mopping the floors, and wiping down counters and tables in the clinic, arts and science room, and the gym. Cute little boys! They keep me laughing with their interactions. This week I will have to show a video about myself. I really don't like talking about myself so this small task was kind of hard for me. I finished it and it should be interesting to see how many actually know what I am talking about aside from the pics and videos. Of course, I inserted a video on fans calling the hogs. I hope you like the photos. I like the video of the crosswalk man. He walks slowly until you have 9 seconds to get across the street. Enjoy!