The Twinstar Hotel Taichung

... when a little kid is laughing at you because you said it wrong. <br><br>This past weekend I stayed in Taichung and didn't take any trips. On Friday night we went out for a teachers birthday. It was a fun night out on the town. On Saturday we had a wedding for one of the Chinese teachers from Cornel. It was interesting to see how they were different from American weddings. First, the actual wedding was on Thursday and we didn't see that part. It is ...

... need to observe me. She said that I have been doing a good job and she didn't feel that it was needed! I was pretty flattered by that! She also canceled my 3rd observation. I guess I must be doing something right?!?! :)<br><br>I have also been meaning to write about how a group of teachers, myself included have signed up for a 5k race in Taichung in October. Now before you get too impressed I will be walking it with another teacher ...

... and a lot. I give my students 3 pieces of homework every night, I feel so mean! But anyways I have some students that I get the homework and it is very apparent that they didn't do their own work....their parents or older siblings have!!! This is because the parents are wanting to learn English to so they will do the work with their students. The students have to write sentences with their spelling words every week and I sometimes get ...

... of resources for the classroom. We then went to Chili's for dinner! It is the same branch from in the states! I love that there are American restaurants around, I wouldn't survive otherwise! After dinner we went to the largest night market in Taichung! Wow that was an experience. There were people everywhere, it was hot and there was a lingering smell of Taiwanese food (aka stinky tofu...yes that is what it really is called and rightfully so) These night markets are open air ...

... when the curriculum comes easy and all the in depth lesson planning and writing everything down isn't needed, until them I am staying busy. All the other staff has been very supportive and helpful in offering suggestions and sharing ideas so that is really nice. <br><br>I had an eventful night on Tuesday. It was a teachers birthday so we went out to a restaurant called The Modern Toilet. It is a bathroom themed restaurant where you sit on toilets ...

... other's company while we ate some of Chiayi's home cooking. She then took us on a very nice tour of her house and her dad's business. We then returned to the street and enjoyed a nice cup of Oolong tea and continued good conversation. Later, in true Chinese fashion, Chiayi pulled out the fireworks and sparklers where we had a nice show in the middle of the street for all to watch. The police were not called by the neighbors and the loud ...

... a consistent fifteen or twenty minutes on a crowded highway. However, that didn't stop him from changing the radio station numerous times or trying to hold casual conversation with a group of people who know no Chinese. When we arrived at the lake, we got out of the taxicab and started walking toward a convenience mart to purchase some snacks. I had a sudden feeling of awkwardness and decided to check my backpack for my camera. As I paged through my backpack's ...

... logo...even the police have one on their squad cars and headquarters). What made this experience pretty neat is that I also received a small stamp with my name written in Chinese letters. I would write it on here in Chinese, but I do not know how to write in Chinese on my Mac. However, I can give you the phonetic spelling of my Chinese name: Ann-Szuh-Kai. I believe the first part of the name deals with my family name (Anderson ...

... plan in case one struck during the school day. Her response was rather alarming (probably due to the fact that I come from the Midwest where earthquakes are very rare) stating that, "Well, we really don't have one. Earthquakes are so short that there is really nothing you can do as a teacher about it other than try to keep the kids calm." I did log onto the Internet and did a little ...

... elementary school penmanship) that were addressed to me. I smiled and wished him a "xiexie" (prounced: shey-a-shey, meaning "thank you") and took the packages up to the 19th floor apartment. I went to my room and opened them in private. I cannot say how nice it was to receive items and e-mails from loved ones at home despite the fact that I have not even been here for one month. My family (including both my grandparents) had written letters ...