Get Into the Groove

I have been in Taiwan for almost a month now. I have been in my apartment for two weeks now. My roommate, along with the majority of the returning teachers, went back home for July. So, I have had the past couple of weeks to be independent and figure things out on my own. So far, I can . . .

•  navigate to several places around my apartment building including IKEA, the grocery store, another teacher's apartment, restaurants, and the park. 
• ride the bus to and from work
• walk around without getting hit by scooters or cars
• kind of order food. I need to eat at restaurants with either English or picture menus, so I can point and say "I want one." I also play some charades with the waiters. When they ask me questions, I just smile and say "ok."   
• kind of order tea. There are some kinds I do not know how to order yet, and again either English menus or pictures. 

Yay for small victories! I have gotten used to my daily schedule. I have a couple of go-to restaurants to eat at for dinner. Dare I say, I have gotten into a groove? There is still so much to explore though. Everytime I walk around I see something new. My teaching schedule will also change in August and then again in September. Slowly, I am starting to figure things out though. The actual teaching part has been probably the easiest adjustment. 

This week at camp, it was Olympics-themed. We had a great time! I am really enjoying working with these students. Their English is very good. It is way better than my Chinese! Most of the students have gone to my school since pre-school, so it makes sense that they would be very fluent. As I teach though, I realize more and more how hard it is to learn English. I love both my groups of kids for different reasons. My younger group (grade 1-3) are very sweet and are so excited to learn and try different things. My older group (grade 4-6) is very funny. They love music and will sing/dance along to songs during worktime. I sometimes feel like I am teacher/DJ, because I will get requests for music.

"Teacher, can we hear 'What Do You Mean?'"

"Teacher, can we skip this one?"

On Monday, in groups they had to create their own country. This included naming their country, designing a flag, and writing a cheer for their country. Then we had our own version of the opening ceremonies. Below is a video of our torch relay race. Sorry it is sideways. 

On Friday, we competed in track and field events. I showed my older kids videos of different track and field events. They were most impressed with the polevault. Here are some pictures from this week. 

Next week, I am going to go back to the United States for a couple of days to be in my friend's wedding. I am excited to have a part in her big day, but it is going to be hard to leave Taiwan (even for such a short time).