inservice and mom's visit

Wow, I haven't written at all during these two weeks of vacation...where do I start.
Well I guess at the beginning would be nice.
Picking Mom up from the airport. More difficult than one would expect. I took the High Speed rail to Taoyuan, where I was told I would take a free bus to the airport. I got on the bus and waited as it filled up with travelers for Chinese new Year. Well, the bus driver came over to me and started saying really fast Chinese so I didn't understand...then he breaks out English and tells me I need to buy a ticket. So, I bought the ticket that wasn't too much....feeling confused as why the signs say "free airport shuttle bus" but you still pay. Hmmm. About 45 minutes later I arrive at the airport and meet some other foreigners that guide me to where I should wait. I was getting so excited to see someone from home. I waited probably 45 minutes before I saw mom. While I waited, I decided to use a piece of my journal paper and write "MOM" on a piece of paper. When I arrived in August, I thought it was awesome how someone was holding a sign with my name...so I thought maybe she would get a kick out of it too. She walked in the opposite direction when she came out of the terminal, so I ended up yelling her name before our movie-scene reunion (the big hug that ends up me getting twirled around). So, I figured out how to get her, now how to we get back to Taipei to find the hotel? We walked around the airport trying to find a shuttle to the MRT, which was more challenging that I had expected. I know she was exausted and the last thing she wanted was to walk around aimlessly, but I hadn't really expected that delay. After another shuttlebus, the MRT, and a taxi, we arrived at the hotel and got to bed around midnight. We had to wake up at 5 am to catch our 3 hour train to the Hualien inservice. I had planned to sleep on the train, but Mom was so excited and wanted to catch me up on everything, so we chatted and observed the countryside. Once we got to the train station, we were shuttled to the resort and taken right into the inservice where I gave my speech within 5 minutes of arriving. What a whirlwind morning. It was nice to see everyone and catch up. I finally got to breathe as we took a lunch break before loading up a tour bus to check out Taroko Gorge. I don't typically tour places in a group, so at times I felt as if we were rushed or "hurded," but we got to see a lot in a short amount of time. We had an awesome little old man as a tour guide and he had some great history of the Aboriginals that live in Haulien. Men used to hunt for human heads by fighting with their bare hands. The more skulls they had, the more worthy of a man they were. Facial tattoos also showed the status of an aboriginal person. When the Japanese were in rule of Taiwan, they banned the Aboriginal human head hunting, which caused major problems between the Japanese and the Aboriginals. I'm going to look more into the history online sometime....I found it to be a very fascinating story. The gorge was absolutely beautiful, and though it's a cliche, pictures truly could never do it justice. After the gorge, we were all ready for a little downtime. Mom had misplaced (or customs took it) her blood pressure medicine, had jetlag, and some culture shock, so as you could imagine...she was being such a trooper at this point. once we arrived back at PromisedLand Resort, she hit the bed and was out for the night. I knew before long, we were going to have to find a way to get her medicine...or else she would not be able to do any of the things we had done. So, while Mom was resting, the group had a "bbq dinner" which I was expecting to be the typical Taiwanese bbq...a lot of meats and squid over an open flame. Boy, was I wrong. This was a five star resort and definitely a five star meal. Crab, Italian food, you name it. Oh delicious. After being stuffed to the max, I decided I wanted to re-join mom and perhaps relax for once in a few days... so I filled a plate of food for her, and went back to the room. I felt bad making commotion, but she got up for a bit...pretty much to tell me to join my friends because she was down for the count. So, I got on my suit and hit the hot springs with the rest of the group. This was the most fun I've ever had in a hot spring. There was a really hot pool, hot tub-ish temp, bath water, then really cold pools....so of course the big water slide went into the really cold pools...and we all had a blast acting like little kids going down the slide, screaming at the cold water, then running to a hot water spring. It was a great time. Since I was running on nearly no sleep, I called it a night early. Everyone else planned to watch Obama's inauguration at 10pm....so I left at about 930 and watched some tv before going to bed. The next morning was free time...which was awesome. Mom and I walked around the resort, which was absolutely paradise! I feel bad that this was mom's initial impression of Taiwan, because once we went back to my town, the culture shock really set in for her. We took a 15 minutes boat ride around the resort, and checked out the rest of the area. We were both so excited that the horse-riding was so cheap...and we love riding together so we jumped on that opportunity. Well, it ended up being an adult pony ride. I had help getting onto the horse, and was led around in a cirlcle with someone leading the horse with the reins. Good thing it was only a few minutes, because I was about to explode. PromisedLand should've been the last part of the trip so she could leave Taiwan after relaxation and pampering. I'm glad we got to spend the day and a half in Hualien though...it was awesome.
After our departure from Hualien, we were set for Taipei and back to the hotel we stayed at mom's first night. Now that it was just us two, we were free to roam on our own time and at our own pace, which was really nice. The first night after settling into the hotel, we hit the night market in Taipei city. It was enormous and packed. I don't think mom was crazy about the night market atmosphere, but I loved it. Great bargains, so much to see! One interesting thing that I've never heard of or seen happen...we were looking at an item and said we'd think about it and come back...and the lady kept saying no we will leave if the police come...and we weren't too sure what that was about...but about an hour later we figured it out. We saw all the vendors that were set up in the middle of the market take off down alley-ways and hide their shacks on wheels. They must need a permit or something to sell, and so many don't, so they have a look-out person and once police are spotted, they call it a night. It was pretty funny how everyone just accepted this and got out of the way of the hustling vendors.
Mom was dying to try new foods before coming to Taiwan, but after the night market where she saw more unidentifyable foods and smelled stinky tofu, she had no appetite. I convinced her to atleast eat McDonalds. Its not a favorite of ours, but something recognizable was necessary at this point. My happy meal definetely always makes me happy. (If you've gotten the bad e mail from Greg Oshust forwarded to you, you know why I was hesitant to write about McDonalds. I was highly criticized for eating western food and "wasting my cultural experience" HA!)
Day #2 was the Taipei Zoo. We were both really hoping to see Twan Twan and Yuen Yuen, the two Pandas that were given to the zoo from China as a peace offering. But, they were not on display until after Chinese New Year, which was still about three days away. The zoo was very empty, but the animals were extremely active. It was a great time. We took our time, took some great shots, and saw active animals throughout the entire zoo. I especially enjoyed the zebras that were running and jumping on one another. Even the hippos gave us a show!
After the zoo we had planned to check out Taipei 101. The stores are a little above our standard, but I still wanted to give mom the chance to be in the tallest building in the world, and perhaps gawk at Tiffany jewelry. We got there around the time everything was closing, so it was a short tour of 101. We had decided to have a nice dinner around 101 that night, so we found Chili's and ate there. Mom was wanting a steak, and I just wanted something delicious, so we both were satisfied. It was an abnormally expensive meal for two people at Chilis, but that's what you get at a restaurant that makes foreign foods. Well worth it in my eyes.
After dinner we were both ready to relax. The next morning, we slept until 11 and neither of us could believe that we slept in that long. We were going to take the train at 12, but didn't want to rush, so we ended up taking the high speed rail back to Chiayi.
Mom was in awe at the business front of my house, just as I had expected. She loves furniture and antiques, and all of it is french inspired, so she was ooh'ing and awe'ing for quite sometime. LOL.

Dad's response

I have always said that my Dad has a magical way with his words....here is his response to my last blog titled "I am a TEACHER"
Thank God for supportive parents and words like these.....

"

Good way to get your frustrations out! Yes, you are a teacher and I hope you never lose that attitude. That is the attitude we need in our schools. So many teacher (and probably in other professions as well) either never had it or have gotten burned out and over stressed. Therefore, for their own "survival" they preserve themselves and their "sanity" by adjusting their attitude to one that is not healthy for the school or the students. It is a shame but it happens all the time. Luckily, I think almost all teachers start out with the attitude you have (hopefully all of them) but over time after being taken advantage of, personal problems, family demands, unsupportive administration, budget cuts, unappreciative students/parents, bogged down with new curriculums and teaching theories every couple of years, more "cover your butt" paper work (see NCLB) and being forced to teach in a manner you may think is ineffective, you just throw up your hands and "hold on"-----self preservation. This does not happen to all teachers. Some have found ways to cope with these certainties of education over a 30 span and still have that drive to do "what is best for kids". I wish they would share their secret because, unfortunately, I see more of the later. I am sure you can recall teachers you had who were well into their career or maybe even at the end and were outstanding teachers and then I would imagine you experienced some that were just "holding on". Think back, I know you did because I knew a number of your teachers and I know you had both.

Try not to be too idealistic about your profession, every profession has its darker sides and education is not exempt. On the other hand, do everything you can to remember WHY you chose education and what a difference you can make in a child's life, not just in the present but in the future as well. To do so you will have to rise above all those things I mentioned above and not let them get you down or beat you down until you are just a shell of the teacher you started out to be or want to be. It is not easy, but others have done it and you can too. If, in your career, you feel yourself slipping into that "abyss" I suggest you contact a teacher you know who has kept that "educational torch" burning for a long time (20 years or better) and seek their consul and advise. We all need "recharged" from time to time and redirected back to why you chose this profession. No better person than to help you do that than one who has walked your walk, came out the other side and is still walking tall in his/her educational field.

I didn't mean to get this lengthy but you know me when I get started. You will always have some "turkeys" in the barnyard, the trick is to have staying power and act like the eagle that you are instead of gradually acting as the "turkeys" do, lest you be mistaken for one of them. "

Thank you for always being there and helping me through times of trials, Dad! LOVE YOU!

I am a TEACHER

Being a teacher is a major commitment. Everyday, I have the opportunity to impact a child's life for the better of for the worse. The choices I make decide this feat.....will I make it a positive impact or not? What can I do to help this child? These are just a few of the responsibilities that need to be carefully considered by teachers and education professionals. This morning a colleague said to me "I don't really care, as long as I show up on time and receive my paycheck, its all okay" This breaks my heart. This is not the profession to be in if all you want is a paycheck. I would advise going to a factory or a labor-related job if all you're looking for is to collect a check. It breaks my heart for the students that have to have a teacher that has that mentality.
As you can probably tell, I am at a point of extremely high frustration. There are three of us foreign teachers and we are responsible for planning a week-long winter English camp. My other two colleagues have decided that they don't care about this camp and have left me to do all the work. Not only that, they are mocking me for taking this seriously and acting in an extremely unprofessional manner. I have prepared everything for the camp and gave them a schedule of what they are expected to do. They laughed and said we should just let them run around. If we were to let 250 students run around for 4 hours we would have mass chaos. They are mocking me for being organized and taking this seriously. I am so stressed and frustrated that this has all been put on me and my colleagues are using me to do a group project. That happened in high school, but in the business world should not happen. I am disgusted by their behavior and unprofessionalism. Luckily, I know who I am and I know where I stand. I will do this to the best of my ability, and confront them later about their unprofessional demeanor.
Too add to the already unbelievable amount of stress, I am told that some parents will attend the camp to observe and help out. So, if everything goes chaotic like I fear, I will not only be upset with my co-workers, but also humiliated in front of my students' parents.

Chemo Treatments

Okay, before you panic...I don't have cancer. You will understand the title after reading this short story.
After two months of owning my first laptop, it is infested with viruses already. I have downloaded anti-virus programs, but I obviously have something big that a professional needs to take care of. Another teacher at my school, Bette, told me about a "computer hospital" in my town, so I decided to take it there. This "hospital" was actually just an internet cafe that was really fancy. Net cafes are usually stinky and smoky and people have been sitting in the same seat playing computer games for the last ten hours. This one had nice computers set in wooden cabinets with very nice and comfortable looking couch chairs. A very welcoming environment for the addicted computer gamer. Anyway, I asked the man behind the counter if he fixed computers. In Chinese, he asked me to say it again, so I asked again. He only laughed...but then went to the back to get someone else. This person spoke a few English words and asked me what I needed. He didn't quite understand, so they took my computer and turned it on. Luckily, there was a gamer sitting close by that was able to translate for me. I told him that my computer had a virus and I needed help making it go away. His eyes lit up and he said "oh! I understand, your computer has cancer." Virus/Cancer....okay...I guess it's similar. Unfortunately, the boss was unable to do anything because he only understands the Chinese operating system. Lucky for me, he was nice enough to escort me on his bicycle across town to another place that was more "efficient." So, I was on my way to the Cancer Treatment Ward. He dropped me off and I expressed many thanks. A lovely lady greeted me at the door and I asked her if she spoke English. It took her a while to think about it, and the answer was finally a clear "NO." We stood in silence for about 60 seconds before she decided to try calling someone. Then I told her in English I had a virus and I showed her on my computer what happened. We ran my anti-virus programs while she kept trying to call people. Finally, she said "tomorrow" so I figured I could pick it up tomorrow. Well, she packed it up and handed it to me, so I'm guessing I need to take it back tomorrow. I pointed to my watch to ask "what time" and she told me 9am...so I'm going to have to sneak out of school to drop my computer off for it's first Chemo treatment. I hope it works and she becomes cancer free soon! Keep her in your prayers! LOL!

New Years Taiwan Style

I didn't decide to join my friends in Taipei until Wednesday during school. After school, I had Mr. Huang take me to the HSR (high speed rail) station to begin my weekend by the seat of my pants. No plans, just a backpack and some money. So, Kevin and I met at the HSR station before 7pm and decided find our way to Taipei 101 and figure out some plans for the evening. It was surprisingly easy to get around the MRT(subway) in a town I've only been to once before. Once Kevin and I were around 101 and scoped out the area, we decided to find Outback Steakhouse for a nice New Years Dinner. It took a while, but once we found it, our appitites has preceeded us! Dinner was nice, and I treated myself to a fancy drink. With still two hours until "the ball dropped" we walked around a little, got some drinks amidst the crowds, and found our seat with a great view. Not many people were drinking, I noticed, but everyone was sitting in the streets waiting for the excitement. At about 11 pm, Kevin and I decided that we had better pick our seat and get situated before it's too late. For the next hour, we took turns walking around and going to 7-11. The last time Kevin left, people decided to make his seat the new walkway - they were stepping all over me and I was about to lose my patience. There was a crosswalk for the road only 100 feet away....but they chose to walk through the crowd. Mere seconds before I blew up, Kevin came out of nowhere to rescue me like the big Long Island Angel that he is...and he got everyone to stop walking through....in a nice polite way.
When there were only a few minutes until midnight, we waited with anticipation and excitement of not knowing what would happen. There was no countdown, and I think the fireworks started 2 minutes after midnight. I was so surprised by no countdown...I thought that was a world-wide thing. No one knew when it was really midnight. Just AROUND that time, the lights to Taipei 101 went out and seconds later the fireworks began. To my surprise, the fireworks were set off the actual building....I was expecting fireworks in the skies by Taipei 101...not off the actual building! That was really cool! The fireworks lasted a whole 6-10 minutes and on the last explosion, Kevin screamed "HAPPPPYYYY NNNEEEWWW YEEAARRR" and everyone, thousands and thousands of people, got up and left. I'm sure it was just a funny coincidence, but it seemed as if Kevin's yell was the announcing of the end of the show. Being a new yorker, Kevin knew that when a huge show like this is over, it is not the best idea to get up and leave with the crowd...there is a lot of pushing and frustration. So, we sat and watched everyone else leave. Many people wanted to get their picture taken with the funny and loud Americans. For one couple, Kevin layed completely on his back so he could get a good shot with 101 in the background. Many others found this awesome, so he took about 5 more couples' pictures in this position. Onlookers were even taking pictures of Kevin because it was quite the scene.
Since the whole Taipei trip was last minute for me, I had no place to stay. When Kevin told me that he had reserved a bed at a hostel, I figured he had a room where I could sleep on the floor. Unknown to me, a hostel is a bunk room for cheap travelers, and you can't have guests. Kevin didn't have a hostel bed for the first night, so we both agreed to not worry about where we would sleep until after 2am so that we could have a good night. Eventually, we would find somewhere to sleep. This is the craziest thing I've ever done, and I wouldn't have done anything like this if I weren't with Kevin. Kevin is like an uncle to me...he's a lot of fun and a crazy guy to be around, but he's responsible and always puts my safety before anything else. So...I figured we'd be ok. So, we walked around Taipei around 101 for a few more hours and carried around drinks (it's legal to drink in public). When the clock struck 2am, I decided we had better try to find somewhere because I was getting cold and tired. We both refrained from drinking much, because in the back of our minds, we wanted to have control when it came to finding somewhere to stay. We got on the MRT and went to the stop where our hostel for the next night was. Kevin was trying to follow some directions, but later we found out we were walking completely in the wrong direction. We walked into about 3 hotels where they nearly laughed us when we asked for a room. At the last hostel that rejected us, that was on the 3rd floor of a building, Kevin decided to find a nook in this building that we could crash. He left me in the stairwell to find a spot. He came back and said that it was the best place we were going to find...so he led me up some stairs to a balcony with two comforters either drying out or airing out in the wind. There were some walls to protect us from the wind, and some blankets to lay on....so we each took an end and soon Kevin was snoring. I don't think I fell asleep until after the sun rose, and soon Kevin was telling me that we needed to leave before we were found. So, about 9am January 1, we rolled into McDonald's after a night of being homeless, and refueled.
Kevin was able to check in to his hostel after 12 noon, so we were able to lock our bags and take a shower. Being a hostel, there is nothing provided....no towels for wet hair, no shampoo, conditioner...etc.... This I didn't realize until after I'm in the shower. Yesterdays clothes worked well as a towel, and I found a sample of shampoo that worked for everything else. Still feeling homeless. I asked the hostel if they had a bed for that night, and didn't, so I told them I would sleep on a couch. Later, after a day and night of walking around Taipei with my friends, I was told they gave the couches away. So, there I fell asleep on a lounge chair...until I was woke up and told that the small couch was available. Another bad night of sleep, but atleast I felt a little rested.
Emilie, James, Kevin, and I decided to do some touring around the museum district on Friday. We met Julie and Tony and we all went to the National Palace Museum. We spent about three hours there, but many more hours could've been spent. It was great...my favorite was the pottery...ancient Chinese and Chi'ing dynasty pottery and artifacts. It was really disappointing that no pictures could be taken.
After the NPM, we had lunch, departed from Tony and Jules, then checked out the gardens. We were all feeling tired, but we still wanted to see the Aboriginal Museum, so we walked across the road to see that. It was only three small floors, which we saw in only an hour. It was clear that everyone was ready for a nap, so we got back to the MRT, to the hostel, and everyone took a nap. Once we were rested, we decided to find hot pot for dinner, then we would go to the Taiwan brewery because a band was playing that night. My shoes has done a toll on my feet (I have bad feet anyway...so walking long distances is difficult) and I had horrible blisters, so I was becoming frustrated when we couldnt' find the place....so we decided to go into the next nice place we saw...which was a Korean BBQ. It ended up being really good and decent priced. We were all satisfied. The meat was boneless, skinless, marinated, and delicious. Something new for my 4 months here so far :-)
After dinner, we walked to the brewery where the band was playing for a small crowd. They played cover songs from the 80's and were pretty good. A little girl that knew the words to a song was invited on stage and was like a miniature star....she was adorable! Then, it must've been her baby brother, wanted to join too....and he just imitated everyone's actions. He was so cute! Of course, I was going nuts because kids are so adorable and I love em!
When everyone was ready to walk on to the next bar, I was feeling like going back to the hostel, and James mentioned it, so we decided to walk back together. I fell asleep in Emilie's bed until there was a cancelation. They woke me up and showed me to my very own bed for the night! WOW! Finally a bed to myself, with blankets and a pillow! Luxury! lol!
I knew I was going to go home on Saturday. As much as I enjoy being with my expat friends, my feet were killing me, I needed a decent shower, and just wanted to relax. So, after breakfast I had planned to go home. But, when I woke up, my glasses were missing. I knew that I left them at the hostel, and aparently, someone stole them. For about 30 minutes I looked everywhere and asked everyone, with no answers. I left a note with my phone number since I will be back in the area in three weeks. I'm pretty sure they are gone for good, which is very disappointing. I left all my friends in a bad mood, which I feel bad about....I was so upset about my glasses.
I decided to take the normal train instead of the high speed, to save a few bucks. HSR is about an hour and a half, but the slow train took more than 4 hours. After the train and the bus to my house, I was traveling for 6 hours...boy was I glad to be home!
So, overall, New Years was enjoyable...I definetely learned a lot about travel around Taipei...my Mom comes to Taiwan in 3 weeks and we'll be in Taipei, so I'm glad I have some experience of traveling there so I can show my Mom around!

KEVIN'S RENDITION ON THE EVENING: http://www.kevindennis.com/2009.01.04_arch.html#1231330138533

LINK TO TAIPEI 101 FIREWORKS AND ME SINGING: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=sDnsuX8O6ww