I got to teach my first class last night, and I survived! One thing here that is a little messed up is that the classes don't seem to be organized well into age and level, and so in some classes you have a large range of both. This class was older kids, probably mostly early teens, and most of them had a pretty good understanding of English. The students seem to be a little scared of a new foreigner coming in though, so every time I asked them questions I got nothing but blank stares. Because of this I got through all of my material way too fast and had no idea what to do. Luckily my Taiwanese co-teacher jumped right in and saved me. They don't like to embarrass people here, so when I asked her after the class for advice on how I could improve she just told me that I did a great job and smiled. Lies, all lies.
After class I went to a trivia night at a near by restaurant put on by some of the other teachers. It was a group of about 15 people, all Canadian, American, and South African. I didn't know any of the answers, except somehow I pulled out that the Steelers have won the most super bowls of any team in the NFL. Justin must be so proud. Our team ended up winning by one point, so I guess I served my purpose. We then headed out to a few bars in the area for some pool and Taiwan Beer. We ended up staying out til 4am, and the bars weren't even closing when we left. On the way home we stopped by a food stand and my roommate picked up a delicious treat of deep fried hard boiled eggs with some sort of meat and mayonnaise sauce on top. Sure beats canyon pizza.
Today I had to go to a new school, so I got a ride on the back on another teachers scooter. With so many people packed into this country, the scooter is the transportation mode of choice. I have yet to see a police man here, and I don't think that traffic rules either exist or are enforced, and so people drive like complete maniacs. Even when walking you always have to be aware of what is going on in all directions because you never know a scooter is going to come flying in front of you. Needless to say it was a very intense trip, and I think I will be learning the bus and train routes very well.
Hey Ali - Wow!! It's so exciting to keep in touch with what you're doing. Really looking forward to coming to visit you! Although I have to say, don't EVER make me eat deep fried hard boiled eggs with mayo on top. Interesting story about teaching. It will come to you as time goes on and get easier. And better. But it's hard to think of you as a scary person, I must say. I LOVE the scooter photos - esp. the one of the line of bikes. I guess I like repetition.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog is just like being there... but safer. I'll bet your teaching was better than you think.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could post without this thing always asking me what profile to use, none of the choices for which is what I signed up as, as a follower of you.
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ReplyDeleteLoving the posts! Your mom is right: teaching gets easier as you go on. As you get more experience, stretching and condensing your material will be second nature.
ReplyDeleteRe: the deep fried eggs--yummo!! They sound like something my friend Simone makes called "Scotch eggs" (hard-boiled eggs, enclosed in sausage, breaded, baked or fried, and served with mustard). If Vlad and I get to Taiwan, deep-fried eggs and Taiwan beer are at the top of our lists!!
See. What did I tell you about driving?
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