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Published: April 17th 2006
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They say that on average, it takes a person 21 times of repeating a new behaviour to shed a bad habit. Apparently nose-picking in children wasn’t being tested in this study….
Teaching -
still something I am learning about, and loving more and more as each week passes…although… if one more kid sneezes in my face I think I might snap! Unleashing ones ‘natural’ bodily functions / noises anywhere, anytime is common practice here, so there are a lot of those ‘functions’ that happening all the time (aren’t you glad I’m telling you this?!). It’s something to get used to…
One great policy they enforce at many schools is that anyone who is sick has to wear a hospital mask when at school...sure it may look a little Silence-of-the-Lambs-ish, but without it, we would all have the flu for a year straight.
Right now is exam time for my classes, so I have written exams for all of them and plan on testing them this week. I am a little nervous - I don’t want to be that teacher who I hated for putting irrelevant or tricky questions on the test… so I was OBSESSED with making sure I
Rowing Practice - Pool
This photo isn\'t of the best quality, unfortunately. Our team lines up along the pool and we row for intervals of 1, 2, 3 and 4 minutes. It\'s one of the most challenging things I have ever tried! was fair…to the point of maybe making it a little too easy - but, I figure, these kids are rushed to school pretty much upon exiting the womb…so, it’s time they get somewhat of a break. I have been trying to give them a lot of review beforehand so that they hopefully are not too stressed. Many parents put a lot of pressure on their kids to get straight A’s…in some English schools, a B+ is a fail….almost certain I would still be in grade 6 if that were the case in Canada. Hooray for mediocracy!
Anyway, in addition to the midterm they take for me, there is a board-wide English exam that many parents pay for their kids to take called the JET test. There is a CD that comes with the booklets, and the kids have to listen to English dialogue and answer questions…it is possibly the worst thing I have EVER heard. For example, one of the ‘stories’ they have to answer questions on, is this man talking about how fat his sister is. It starts “My sister eats too much! She is always buying hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza…” (Why was I the only
One Night After Practice ...
A few of my friends and I at the 'dance club' that sponsors us...and yes, those are faux leopard covered chairs you see in the background. one laughing??)
The other one they have to hear is a woman making fun of her “poor uncle who has no money cause he’s a janitor”…I felt like saying - ‘don’t laugh too hard, kids….that might be your future’…(not that there is anything wrong with that…)
Recently I took a trip up North, to a city called Taichung for a friend’s birthday party and to sight-see. We ended up at the National Museum of Science and Technology, which would have been more fun had the IMAX we went to been in English (45 minutes of badly dubbed Chinese is not exactly relaxing background noise when you are trying to sleep in a really straight chair). Later that day, we walked around the city…checked out their massive and extremely interesting night market, went to the party and finally slept at a seedy little hostel by the train station.
The next day, my friends and I set out for Taiwan’s largest fresh water lake - Sun Moon Lake. This place is incredible - it’s essentially a gigantic circle surrounded by forest-covered mountains dotted with Buddhist temples, and a few lavish spa resorts. It’s illegal to swim in the lake any
Torture
These are the bad-boys we have to run up and down...on hands and feet... time of the year except during one weekend in September where there is an annual “across the lake” swim. (Not sure why…)
On the way to the lake, we drove through a beautiful little town called JiJi which was one area badly affected by the massive 921 earthquake. Many of the older buildings have not been restored yet - and having them situated next to the newer ones creates an eerie visual of how much damage can be done to a town in just seconds. Pretty creepy especially since all of Taiwan is in a giant seismic zone, so really, there could be an earthquake at any time here.
Actually, there have already been two since I came - one of which I missed cause I was on this trip…the other I never noticed cause I was in a really ‘deep sleep’ (it was a Sunday morning, what can I say?!)…I’m beginning to think I should learn what the emergency procedure is when trapped in this kind of situation….especially considering stop, drop and roll is the only thing I was taught in school…something tells me I am screwed.
In other news - I have decided to go ahead
Head Coach
...and this is the reason we all DO those stairs without complaining... with the Dragon boat thing after all. I have taken a break from the soccer team for the next couple months so I can train for this competition, which is at the end of May. Two months of intense training for a 3 minute race…amazing.
For 4 times a week (twice in the early morning) we split our time between running in the mountains, racing up a flight of 100 stairs both on our hands (with someone holding your legs up), and by foot….weight training at a local spa and learning to row at a pool. Eventually we will be practicing in an actual boat on the water at an obscenely early hour.
I don’t know about anyone else - but I didn’t think that paddling for 3 minutes would be THAT bad…I mean, I canoed a bit a couple years ago….
BIG misconception.
I think rowing is the most exhausting thing ever - the technique they want you to use feels really awkward (probably since it is) and it takes an enormous amount of upper body strength (which I clearly lack). I can just see myself getting exhausted and catching the water as I bring my oar
"The Wheelbarrow"
Speaks for itself. out of the water and somehow causing our boat to capsize…I
could always blame it on the quality of my paddle, I suppose…(“I think this one was a little warped to begin with!”)…
Anyway - I am really happy I made the competitive team…the people I have met are awesome, and I am sure to make some lasting friendships from this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The festival is a National holiday in Taiwan, and apparently the day of the races is insane - the streets are closed off by the part of the Love River where the races take place (pretty much an Asian version of the Rideau Canal - but with more garbage juice in it), and thousands of people come to watch.
To be quite honest, this is all I know right now…I will write more about it when I learn more…joining the team was initially a decision I made to help burn off all the fried food I consume in a week…the second biggest reason being the cultural experience of it all…so…when I become more cultured, I’ll let you know. I am sure the history is gripping ; )
Rebecca-seeking-inflatable-bathing-suit-Orsini
ps: I am having problems with transferring my pictures right now - but as soon as I can figure it out, I'll add some here....this is mainly for you, Sarah. O., since I know you'll call me and ask me why I didn't post any... : )
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Kathy
non-member comment
Stroke
Hey Rebecca--Can we send you an "unwarped" paddle so you don't fall into the "pristine" waters there? Let us know! We'll be looking for you on the Dragon Boat circuit here in Canada.........Speaking of mediocracy, do you want me to send you any EQAO sample test questions for your students? If they are 5 years old, I'm sure that they can handle the grade 3 test questions here....hmmm..maybe even the grade 6 questions. When you find the secrets to education over there, let me know so that my grade 5s can remember to put their names on their papers and multiply 5 x 5. Want to trade places??((-: I'm signing you up as a guest "teacher" in my class when you return. Enjoy. we love to read your adventures. Cheers--Kathy