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The Taiwan Diaries
Volume 10
(06.06.03)
Whoa Volume 10 already. Have I really been here that long! I can't believe that I will be leaving soon! Well enjoy Volume 10, sorry it is so late coming out. I've been really busy lately.
"Teacher, One More Time."
That is a line I hear often when I ask my kids questions. Then I have to repeat my question a little slower for them. Well, I went to see the Matrix a few weeks ago. On opening night actually, probably before any of you saw it! It was so cool. I haven't seen so many foreigners all in one place since Thailand. I could have been back in a theater in America. I wasn't the only one laughing at the funny scenes. People actually stayed to watch the credits. I could hear gasps, "cool", and "awesome" instead of someone explaining the movie to their child that can't read yet. It was so great. However, there is one part of the movie where the architect talks. He was talking rather quickly and was using some pretty big words that haven't frequented my vocabulary lately. I was doing my best to understand but I felt like raising my hand and saying "Teacher, one more time." It was all I could do to try to understand. On that same note I was reading a book (for fun) last week and there were so many words I didn't know or couldn't remember that
I had to go buy a dictionary to look them all up. So sad!
Go SPURS!!!
I knew knowing stuff about sports would come in handy someday! I now chat nonstop with my junior high boys about NBA. They were so impressed that I, not only knew who the players were, but that I also had been to the games. It was a great time to teach them about Texas too since the Mavs and Spurs were big news there for a while. I have to work on Thursday mornings at the public junior high (which is Wednesday night for y'all). I am now officially the coolest teacher in the world because I let them watch NBA during school. During the 10 min break we turned on Game 1. There was a minute left when the break bell finished and even though it was a landslide victory (GO SPURS!!!), I let them finish watching the game. I think 7 or 8 boys said "Teacher you are so cool," when they left that day!
Chinese Stalker
Yep, I've got one now! There's this guy who lives on my street who I met in my first few weeks in Taiwan. He asked me out about 5 or 6 times. I turned him down every time. He kept seeing Mike McDaniel coming to visit me. So he thought Mike was my boyfriend and believe me I did nothing to convince him otherwise! So he didn't bother me for months. I'd see him occasionally and he'd come talk to me but no big deal really. Well, I finally registered my scooter in my name about a month ago. It was in a friend's name before. Well, you have to have a Chinese name to do it so I had to get one of those and go to the foreign police and do all kinds of paperwork, blah blah blah. A few weeks later my doorbell rang. I thought my flatmate (who was coming home any second) had forgotten her keys. I opened the door and it was the guy! He said hello, Chi Ja Yuen (my Chinese name). He had a gift too. So he came inside. Very few people know my Chinese name so I was a little puzzled. He brought me rice cakes and was offering to take me to the Dragon Boat Festival festivities. I kept asking him how he knew my Chinese name and address. It turns out he is a government worker whose office processes scooter registrations. He recognized my picture and address so he made a copy of my Alien Resident Card which has my Chinese name on it and decided to pay me a visit. He knows my address, phone number, license plate number, Chinese name...everything. I know you're thinking this is illegal in the US, well, guess what, it's illegal here too. I figured maybe he was just being friendly and wanted to practice his English. He does still live with his parents. But if he bothers me again my Chinese staff is ready to call the police.
Factoid--Dragon Boat Festival
A long time ago in old China there was a famous poet and a King. The poet loved his country very much but the King hated the poet. The poet was so sad that the King hated him that he jumped into the river and drowned himself. The people were so sad that they
lined the river and threw rice cakes into the water so the fish would eat them instead of the poet. They rowed boats up and down the river looking for the poet's body. They adorned their boats with dragon heads because dragon heads are lucky. They were never
able to find the body. Today people race dragon boats down rivers in memory of that sad day and feast on rice cakes, which by the way are really nasty! We had this festival on June 4. I went to the Love River and watched the races for 5 hours. It was really fun. There was a foreigner team too! A group of Aussie and Kiwi girls. They won by a landslide and were so excited to see the 20-30 foreigners standing together when they rowed back up river to the starting line. It was great! I was even on Taiwan television. All my Chinese teachers told me the next day at work that they saw me jumping up and down cheering! I should move to Hollywood! Not only do I have football game footage, news stories, Good Morning America, and a Cinemax commercial under my belt but I can now say I'm international! Watch out Liv Tyler, not only do I look like you but I am a star like you too!
Back by Popular Demand...Homework Errors!
Not really any good ones this month so I'm only including three.
Question: Where are the children?
Typical Answer: The children are in the sushi shop.
Funny Answer: The children are in the sushi.
--Sam, age 8
Question: Write a letter to your English teacher saying thank you. (This is not my student. I subbed this class last week)
Funny Answer: [an excerpt] You are a friendly teacher. You are so nice but I didn't learn much of anything at all.
--Matt, age 16
Question: Unscramble the sentence: big as Her bus. A is as dinosaur
Typical answer: Her dinosaur is a big as a bus.
Funny Answer: Her but is as big as a bus.
--Abby, age 10
Not as good as last month's infamous "shirt" but still worth a chuckle.
So only 2 or 3 more diaries...start getting sad. Or maybe get excited about taking me to Trudy's, Hoovers, Hut's or Las Manitas when I get back. I'll be ready! Strangely, I've been craving pot roast lately, so maybe you could make me one of those.