The Enterprise Hotel Taichung

I am finally making myself write this weeks blog. I had a hard time getting myself motivated to write it but here it goes.....<br><br>Last week there wasn't too much going on. I had the house to myself since my roommates were all in Japan. They now have me thinking of making a trip to Japan. It was relaxing to have the place to myself. I kept myself busy between teaching, badminton, and Chinese lesson. <br><br>Last Thursday for Chinese we began learning ...

... All the copies that I had previously made, I now have to go back over and make new copies....PAIN IN THE BUTT! I ended up staying a little later tonight and it looks like I have everything set to go for my new student. <br><br>Today I also found out that I will be one of the 3 teachers in charge of organizing events for a Pirate week. This will be not next week, but the following. September 19 is Pirate day so the school is making ...

... I am going to make it into a weekly thing. <br><br>While I have been here I have actually become a fan of Indian food. On Tuesday night I went out with some of the new staff for dinner. We went to a place called Cacti. It was delicious! I still haven't eaten much of the Taiwanese food. The street vendors are just a little scary still. I stick to mostly places that have English menus. Then I sort of know what does into the food. <br><br ...

... was in elementary school but this one I was able to appreciate a little more! The kids enjoyed the time to get out of the classroom and getting to wear some cool glasses that I whipped up that morning! <br><br>After lunch on Wednesday I went to the teachers work room and there was a notice saying that Taichung County would be having an Air Raid Drill from 3:30-4:00 and that no one was allowed on the streets...that meant I was trapped at school for an extra 1/2 hour (I am normally ...

... t read and lots of blinking lights! haha We ended up doing a little shopping at a night market. My favorite part is looking at all the great English translations of the shirts! One kids shirt that had pictures of animals on it had the names spelled wrong for bear (bea) and monkey (monkie). Teaching the children bad spelling right away. Another shirt said "God blessing all men Jesus" what that is supposed to mean I am not sure. We then went to meet up with the other teachers for ...

... business is a pretty big operation complete with conveyor belts and huge hooks to hang large items containing wet paint. Unfortunately, his father could not be in attendance as he was in Taipei for a meeting and would not be arriving home until late in the evening. He extended an invitation for all to stay up late and enjoy a cup of Oolong tea with him once he arrived around midnight, but did not expect anyone to wait around for him. She ...

... to visit was relatively crowded due to the fact that it was the one-day of the year that locals can swim across the lake during the Sun Moon Lake swim festival. I am not positive for the reasoning of the festival other than it may signify the end of "ghost month" on the Chinese calendar. Thousands of locals put on their swim caps and swim trunks in a full-on sprint across the lake. Unfortunately, we did not know this festival was going on, and we had to ...

... a nice feature, as I am in the process of planning a trip to Thailand during Chinese New Year at the end of January. I am very excited! Another reason why this card is important is that I can now become a legal driver in this country. I can own a scooter (legally), apply for a license, and be insured for the remainder of my trip. Additionally, I am now on the national health insurance plan. This is important because we have already had ...

... and Chris, two of my second graders, who yelled, "Teacher Scot!" and raced down the hallway to give me a high five. I must admit that it made me feel good that I must have made a pretty big impact on those kids in my two days with them. It made me feel a little bit better about walking into my first day of teaching third grade. I began my first day of teaching third grade by explaining the definition of a "contract." :)

... a happy birthday. The staff even gave me a card that was signed by all of the teachers, and told me that they wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday and to let them know what restaurant I wanted to go to by the end of the day. What was really impressive was Bih Hua, the founder of the school, came into the office looking for me and presented me with a card and a $30 gift certificate to the local mall. I was really humbled that she went out of ...