Mui Ne and Dalat Beginnings, Week One, Southern Vietnam

Well, it's clear that Sim's leaving me to carry on the blog flame now that we've hit Vietnam's shores. I can see why he's hesistating - it's a bit of a stretch to describe our surrounds. Nonetheless...


We'd spent the past few days in the little town of Mui Ne on the coast of the South China Sea, some 3-4 hours drive north of Ho Chi Minh City. Mui Ne is essentially a budding village-cum-beach-resort, which was reflected in the large amount of construction around the place. Not to cite too much from the Lonely Planet, but they capture it exactly - "Despite its location... Mui Ne.. retains a rickety charm." We spent three nights staying in our own personal beach hut, only 10 steps from the white sandy beach and the sways of the South China deep. My image of Honolulu/Tahiti/Fiji combined! We've done little but swim, drink beer, read, and soak in the suns sweet rays.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Today we decided to head onto our third Vietnamese town, a place called Dalat - "The City of Eternal Spring." Dalat is the honeymoon capital of the Central Highlands, settled in mountains some 1500m high (so we've rugged up for the first time in months.. its about 17C outside.) Six hours on the bus, so we arrived safely late this afternoon.

We're set for lakes, waterfalls and other sights au naturale tomorrow, upon the motorbikes of the local tour guide bikies - the "Easyriders". Can't wait!

Soon to Welcome a Long-Awaited Sea-Change

Phrase: "A sea-change": A radical, and apparently mystical, change.

Origin: Shakespeare's The Tempest, 1610:
ARIEL [sings]:Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.


Today marks an important day in the Taiwan phase of Leese and Sim's life...

Most of you know that Sim and I had taken on a bunch of extra hours as part of 'intensive' sessions designed to keep kids busy during their summer vacation. Three hours a day - sometimes six hours - Monday to Friday - it's been incredibly tough on us both. We've been leaving the house most days at about 9am, only to return as late as 10:30pm most days.

The bad news is that I've never been so physically and emotionally burnt out, in all my life. I've never worked so damn hard! It's been gruelling on us physically and emotionally - I've never been so anxious before.

The good news... This morning was my final day of summer classes, some 8 weeks since it all began. We are so woozy from the fatigue of it. The subsequent relief is sure to hit us in the next few days, and when it does... Look out! :) A huge lifestyle shift in order... because life is too damn short.

We've already organized yoga sessions, Chinese tutelage, and sessions at the gym (to help me shed this little belly I've put on since being here. Eating at 11pm each night will do it to you!)

Change is as good (and often as necessary) as a holiday, no? A sea-change is looming and soon we'll be prepared to grasp it tightly - unapologetically - with both hands.

NTNU... Here we come!

How time flies when you're having fun.

Simon and I had planned to study Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University for months now. The application dates have always seemed so distant; until, of course, they creep up on you in a flash! Realising that the final registration day is only days away, I headed into 'Shi-da' to find the Mandarin Training Center and give over our documentation.

I was a little worried that we would be rejected on the basis that we don't have $US 2,500 in each of our accounts (not anytime soon, me thinks!) which was a stipulation of our approval. Likewise, I was unsure if our joint account would be accepted on the basis that its only under one name. So I headed in, a little nervous - mostly because I just couldn't imagine having this dream snuffed out, one which was strong enough to bring us to the northern hemisphere in the first.

Fortunately, however, it was all so easy! After handing over bank statements, residency documents, passports, visas, photos, transcripts and diplomas... we're set to receive our orientation information in two weeks time! As of September 1, we will officially be students of National Taiwan Normal University! Hooray!

Washing Up and CNN on a lazy afternoon

There comes a point when your body says.. enough is enough.

This afternoon, on my way to work (after a long morning of apathetic, resentful 16 year olds), my body decided it was the time to behave irrationally and squeal at the ongoing maltreatment I've been bestowing upon it. I found that I just did not have it in me to travel onwards to my next class; the first time since we've arrived, I honestly couldn't do it. The gig was up, and I knew it.

Another sigh; honestly, I'm so awful at knowing when to stop, and calling it a day. God knows that that weakness pushed me through five years of hospitality (I swear, never again). So too did it get us the muhlah to get to this great city. So it's not all bad, that's for sure. That said, I couldn't concentrate for how awful - physically overwhelmed and emotionally overburdened - I felt. The slow trundle home was the worst I've felt in a long while.

It's no surprise, really. You know things are totally unbalanced when you feel physically sick at the thought of the next day's undertaking.

So I'm here now; having cleaned our bathroom and washed our week's worth of shirts, I can feel my body resonate to the sounds of sweet domestic bliss. What's an amazing apartment if you have no time to spend in it?

Thank godness for my other half, honestly. I'm so immensely grateful for the solid foundation that is my relationship with Sim. We often try hard to find the time for each other during the hectic day; we had a lovely (if brief) lunch together today at a local vegetarian buffet. Honestly, these work hours do nothing for maintaining healthy and happy coupledom; thank godness for him, and us.

I just finished watching the Youtube Democratic Party Candidate Debate on CNN. For how utterly pathetic CNN's coverage is of world news: "And in today's news... Civilian deaths... And Tom Cruise steps out in style!" the debate was fascinating stuff. CNN covers a fair bit on what they have label 'citizen journalism' - consistently making calls for people to send in scoops and photos, typifying Murdoch's investment in that area. I've not felt in the past that this has been a legitimate attempt to diversify accountability, but rather, to monopolise on this area that will inevitably develop much further in the future. However, today's debate did seem to convey the passion for genuine change, transparency and accountability on behalf of American citizens towards their public officials. This felt like the greatest reason for optimism I've felt towards American politics over the entire course of my interest in this area; really, since 9/11.

A few qualms, however. Firstly, the focus was clearly on Obama and Hilary, which delinated from the impressive performances of the other candidates; particularly Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson, whose passion and expertise were quite striking. It's an impressive line-up of "diversified leadership in unity," I must say; something all too missing from, say, the ALP frontbench!

Most evident, though, was the total lack of political expertise on part of the CNN host, Anderson Cooper. From what I can tell he's somewhat the 'poster-boy' of CNN coverage (a bit like Andrew whatsis from Channel 7 - the 'Deal or No Deal' guy?) and was clearly chosen for the job of debate host for that reason. Ultimately, I can't believe that there's genuine support for a citizen's right to public accountability on behalf of the media giant when they can't see the worth in providing a mediator with a little more political grit. The guy is so clearly unaware of major areas of contention; such as, for example, how the candidates have actually voted in the Senate/Congress on major issues that they spouting off about. While each candiate was kept to time, and kept on question - as critical to a politician as a musician staying on key - you can't distract from how critical a contribution political commentators make towards genuine public accountability.

Just some thoughts. x L

"She's Only Happy in the Sun"

As I set here in our little piece of heaven, in Liuzhangli, Da-an District, Taipei City, Taiwan... I think, god I love this city.

Today I experienced the first afternoon off that I've had since beginning full-time at the school, due to a couple of cancellations. I can't say enough how strange it feels to be given a blissful reprieve after the hectic schedules we've undertaken over the course of the past two-three months. (Feels like so much longer.)

In the afternoon sun, a light breeze and little humidity, it was absolutely blissful to travel from northern Taipei City, with the majestic Yang Min Mountains in the backdrop... total serenity. Copy of Slaughterhouse 5 and Chinese books in hand... it's just a priceless, totally unique feeling.

Taipei just harbors this beauty that haven't yet really objectified - something totally unlike my experiences in mainland China, though closest to our time in Dalian, back in 2004. I felt then - and most certainly agree now - that Dalian is one of the most beautiful cities that mainland China has on offer. Perhaps a virtue of its distance from Beijing and other surrounding states, Dalian always felt like it held a beauty in itself, unreplicable, a city formed around its natural geographical features, thereby allowing its people to always maintain a sliver of sanity in their hectic working lives.

So too does Taipei harbor this beauty. A field of cosmopolitanism with a natural backdrop that never fails to render me a little speechless. Just as Carlton's trees, wide streets and overwhelming availability of lazy lattes reminded me to get out and about with my life, so too does Taipei City encourage this, when I head out daily in the direction of the mountain valley, on the way to our Shilin branch.

Perhaps its this closeness to nature that encourages a focus of liveability within the general populace. Without fail, the mountains remind me to live a life that is sustainable, in both the individual and greater sense.

And here, in a south-western corner of the bustling capital of "the beautiful isle," I can't help but smile.

The Australian accented, tenor tones of Peter Allen

I've been to cities that never close down/From New York to Rio and old London town/But no matter how far/Or how wide I roam/I still call Australia home/I'm always travelin'/And I love bein' free/So I keep leavin' the sun and the sea/But my heart lies waiting over the foam/I still call Australia home/All the sons and daughters spinning 'round the world/Away from their families and friends/Ah, but as the world gets older and colder/It's good to know where your journey ends/And someday we'll all be together once more/When all the ships come back to the shore/Then I realize something I've always known/I still call Australia home...

Comment Reactivation

Upon boarding the MRT this afternoon I was given a wry look by an alternative looking, foreign woman. The woman proceeded to leer, wide-eyed at her daughter sitting opposite whilst motioning towards me with raised eyebrows. I wonder what she was thinking? Perhaps she saw a man dressed completely in black and was signing to her daughter, "It's one of those washboard mormens, with their uncooth demeanour and Reggie Mantle haircuts." I would have preferred a Johnny Cash analogy.

Comments have now been reactivated on our blog (it took us a little while to work out the language configuration for the site.) We'd love to hear from all our visitors.

好久不見

So it has been a while since Simon's mutterings appeared on this blog. Partly because teaching has left me with little to no (creative) energy. Things, however, have fallen into place in the past week and a half following the securement of a new place for Leese and I. The serenity of our new home has gone a long way to revitalizing our spirits. It could not have been better timed. As of next week our schedules will accelerate to 45hrs p/w with no brakes (pun intended.) So whilst we will be spending precious few hours here in our apartment, they will be worth their weight in gold, vis-a-vis the hours spent in a convenient but dank youth hostel; the creature comforts that hard earned money can buy.

So the teaching machine still retains it's glean, although under the hood a bit of tinkering is needed. I know the car analogy is cliche but I'll keep the stream of consciousness going. One mechanical problem is being able to stop momentum; a proper brake system or better yet gearbox. Many of the classes I currently teach are of an advanced level. With particular private students (mano e mano) I can carry a conversation without the need of material (although I always have it handy.) For example, with one young student I talked about the problems associated with emancipation. We talked about her Bhuddist beliefs and how they provided her with a different centre of gravity to that of to her peers. The student talked about the reconciliation of her vocational goals with those of her spiritual life and the strength that she garnered from her strong sense of self. The conversation flowed freely from topic to topic with the constant injection of new vocabulary into her lexicon. The critical thinking she applied to her experiences and her general ontology was/is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise claustrophobic Taiwanese environment. Don't get me wrong, this kind of student is rare in Taiwan. The ability to speak English at an advanced level, although immensely difficult for the Taiwanese learner and by which I am humbled, is not entirely rare. The ability to converse about one's life without being overly concerned about 'face' (面子) is, however, as the Chinese ESL speaker would say, seldom found. Nor am I being overly caviling of the Taiwanese learner in regards to critical thinking (If anyone wants a greater insight into this issue, you will need to ask Lisa about her conversations with a Taiwanese professor and the difficulties they face, both professionally and conceptually, in teaching critical thinking to their Taiwanese students.) Critical thinking is not a large part of Taiwanese/Chinese culture; from my understanding, the rigid, Confucian teacher-student relationship makes it difficult for Taiwanese students to engage their teachers critically. And again, for some (particularly men), the idea of losing face will further discourage students from speaking publicly (this will be emphasised if their boss or superior is in the same class as them.) Hence even advanced learners of English will be muted by the concept of 面子.

Last week I took a risk with some of my upper-intermediate, corporate students by discussing the issue of 'ethics'. The textbook from which this lesson was taken is fantastic: it incorporates a nice balance of grammatical exercises, listening/reading comprehension, conversational questions, language utilization, and problem solving. The rhetoric or ethical framework used by the authors is, however, somewhat universalistic (or Western-centric.) This becomes particularly clear in regards to ethics, which is, like it or not, culturally bound - a system of moral principles in regards to a particular group. Hence while the material discerned that nepotism, labour exploitation, and intellectual theft was unethical, my students thought quite the opposite. In the hope that my understanding of Taiwanese/Chinese culture increases, perhaps these arbitrary opinions will form part of a larger system: a Taiwanese/Chinese ethical system that has rather profound implications for universalists and international governance. Now I know this previous sentence may sound rather artless or virginial, but experiencing the weight of this difference is very different to the conceptual understanding I received at university - abstract versus experiential.

So once upon a time when this waffle began I was talking about momentum. Now, irregardless of whether students are inhibited or unwilling or to discuss their lives with a degree of humility or openness, or whether the teaching material acts as a cultural anesthetic, at an advanced level, the conversation can continue with relatively few conceptual or methodical speed-bumps. Changing gears in order to compensate for obstacles and speed-bumps, however, can prove to be the most difficult part of a teaching week. It is difficult to slow the momentum, to pump the brakes, so to speak, when oscillating between advanced students and elementary students. Without sounding paternalistic, it's hard changing from fourth to first (not healthy for the teaching engine, God help me with these metaphors!) Part of this is difficulty is selfishness: my inability to conduct little cultural experiments with enough penetration. My mind has a lot of momentum, but in practice I need to slow down and meet the needs of my students. This has positive and negative consequences for both parties.

So the problem of momentum will only accentuate as Lisa and I's schedules accomodate the demands of holidaying students. At least we now have the privilege of learning, reading, cooking and conversing inside our own home, whilst somewhat unknowingly the streets of Taipei bustle around us.

- SS

Musings in Liuzhangli, Taipei City

I'm sure some of you may have received emails or text messages from us saying that we'd finally found an apartment in downtown Taipei (it's posted all over our facebook pages too, hee hee.) We've been here since Wednesday, and must say, it's really starting to influence our perspectives on daily life here.

For the first time, we have a sanctuary, a little space in a sprawling chaotic city. We're away from the street so we hear nothing of the city that bustles beneath us. We have space and beauty and comfort and cleanliness and convenience. We live in a little neighborhood which is far enough away from the universities to harbour few other foreigners, and therefore enjoys a genuine community feeling - lots of kids, oldies and little markets, a genuine Taiwanese experience. We walk out our door and buy our mangoes from a little stand whose owner puts own his noodle bowl - though not his cigarette - to charge us for it. (The market is not unlike those at the Queen Vic, though a little more haphazardly placed).

Being in the south-east of the city centre, the world's tallest building - the Taipei 101 - looms large above us as we take the three-minute stroll to the Metro.

Simon had a couple of spare hours on Friday and headed down to the local Ikea. He bought some lovely homey things, both aesthetic and practical. Honestly, the things he bought - like a gorgeous white vase with beautiful white and purple flowers, tall enough to highlight the high ceilings - are such Simon's style. He often reminds me of Robyn in that way - clearly a knack for interior decorating! The way in which he organises his personal space has become something so familiar to me, a real sign of my home-life.

So there's picture frames of us and our favourite books lined up along our shelves... what a dramatic shift. We're certainly in this for the long-haul.

It's a little confronting, actually, seeing the same neighbours on my walk home each night, exchanging smiles and glances of burgeoning recognition. This morning we ate breakfast - a total experience here, totally worth skipping museli for - at a little sandwich and tea house, dining out on egg sandwiches and OJ out on the street. The lady who owned the place could speak English (in fact, she had her Master's degree, so her English-language skills were quite good!). She asked if we lived in the neighbourhood and seemed so pleased that we lived in the area, saying, "oh, that's great, we're neighbours!" It really doesn't get more welcoming than times like that, especially as she offered us a complimentary sandwich afterwards and said that she was looking forward to seeing us again.

Likewise, next door to our building live an elderly couple who run a scooter repair shop (which, courtesy of the sheer number of scooters that dominate the landscape, can be found on every corner.) Our landlord kindly introduced us to them on the first night that we arrived. Since then, it's a great feeling coming home, wandering past the shop and seeing their big smiles as we yell out a hearty "nin hao!". Welcome to the neighbourhood.

In fact, this afternoon we officially signed our one-year lease, which begins tommorrow.

This Thursday begins our summer class schedule. This will be the insane two-month period in which Simon and I work 10-12 hour days, six days a week, in order to deal with the huge intake of students that our school takes on over the summer vacation. (Makes me think of Australian lazy summers down at Carnegie pool, Chadstone shopping centre, lazing about inside watching daytime TV and hanging out with friends... not a common experience here! Instead, students are sent by their parents to intensive English classes until they go back to school for the new semester.)

The summer will allow us to make a ridiculous amount of money by student-standards (a bit like the slog we did in our mutual crummy jobs before we left). It will no doubt render us totally burnt-out by the time it's over. This will mean that we can put the money that we save away for travelling after Taiwan, and be able to pay for our Chinese class-semester at National Taiwan Normal University, which begins on September 1. We're still harbouring dreams of seeing the Lhasa Palace and the Taj Mahal before we come home!

On that note, as I sit here I know that my body is squealing at how inadequate I've been at keep myself healthy in the past month or so. I'm convinced that now we have a fridge and a house that will change! And we're so ready for it.

In fact, we're so ready for this moment. To finally immerse ourselves in Chinese cultural heritage in a beautiful city with a people who are so free-thinking, open-minded, welcoming and overwhelmingly friendly. Taiwan is the Chinese experience I had always hoped for, and as each passes, I feel closer and closer to the little isle of Formosa, the underdog of the Far East.

Dragon Boat Festival

Apologies to any of you that have been hanging out for another post! We've been a little slack on the blog front lately, so there's a few things to catch up on.

Firstly, Simon has been quite sick over the past week. About a week ago he started complaining of sore throat and a fever. After a few days we realised that it was a little more serious than a cold, so we've since fed him a bunch of antibiotics and its done him a world of good! The difference has been a little startling, to be honest! This definitely confirms what we've heard so far about the quality of the health system here.

Also, we've had much more time for R and R than usual, being a long weekend here in Taipei. (We've also got tommorrow off, hooray!) This is because the Taiwanese are celebrating 'Dragon Boat Festival' ((端午節, Duānwū Jié). It's a traditional festival held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and its said that once the festival begins, so too does summer.

The exact origins of Duan Wu are unclear, but one traditional view holds that the festival memorializes the Chinese poet Chu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC). He committed suicide by drowning himself in a river because he was disgusted by the corruption of the government. (One of our good friends shares in his ancestry!)

The local people, knowing him to be a good man, decided to throw food into the river to feed the fish so they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. They also sat on long, narrow paddle boats called 'dragon boats', and tried to scare the fish away by the thundering sound of drums aboard the boat and the fierce looking carved dragon head on the head of the boat. Other thoughts are that after Qu Yaun committed suicide, that because the people loved him so much, they raced out to recover his body, and the races signify the boats skimming across the water to find him.

However, researches have also revealed that the festival is also a celebration that is characteristic of ancient Chinese agrarian society: the celebration of the harvest of winter wheat, because similar celebrations had long existed in many other parts of China where Qu Yuan was not known. As interactions between Chinese residing in different regions increased, these similar festivals were eventually merged.

In the early years of the Chinese Republic, Duan Wu was also celebrated as "Poets' Day," due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first poet of personal renown. Today, people eat bamboo-wrapped steamed rice dumplings called zongzi (the food originally intended to feed the fish) and race dragon boats in memory of Qu Yuan's death. (Delicious!)

So our celebration of Dragon Boat Festival was shared today with some of our fantastic Taiwanese friends, Margaret and Leo. Being life-long Taipeiers, they offered to take us to Jilong River (on the city's outskirts) to see the famous Dragon Boat races. It was fantastic! Lots of teams competed, including local high schools and the Taipei Police. The event had the air of a high school sports day, with lots of people running around and lots of eskies filled with ice-creams and watermelons to combat the heat. I guess the photos really say it all.

From there Margaret and Leo took us for a tour of the area surrounding National Taiwan Normal University ('Shi-da' for short) where we'll be learning Chinese in a few months. Being a student area, it has a really different vibe to other parts of Taipei - heaps of well-priced food (especially Malaysian and Indonesian to cater to the international student community) and funky little stores, just gorgeous. It's definitely the place for us. So we had a lazy afternoon lunch over noodles (also v. delicious!) So we'll be back there over the week or so to look for houses with those guys, which will be great.

So that's the update for the moment. Simon's having a peaceful nana nap beside me, as he's pretty zonked from his first day out and about since he got sick. When he wakes up, it'll be time for some more West Wing (there's a few duds in season six, I must say... not cool!) and perhaps some online Lateline too!

When it rains, it pours...

The weather here over the past few days has been absolutely incredible... It's just rained and rained, absolutely pouring most of the time, for at least three days now.

The city is still functioning as per normal, thank goodness. It's just strange seeing so much water around the place after coming from drought-stricken Australia.

It's also really strange being in the pouring rain whilst it being so warm - it was a balmy 27 degrees here today and 25 degrees overnight.

Beitou, in northern Taipei - our favourite little hot springs spot, so close to the city! - has experienced some of the heavier floods over the past few days.

We've been told stories about the floods of 2001 in which Taipei City received four months of rain in one day; flooding houses and low-lying areas, soo too was the whole metro (subway) system forced to go down. Sounded like chaos.

The weather is set to continue like this for the next week or so, with most people staying indoors when they can. Hopefully, our little island will be spared from anything more drastic than that.

KTV!

Last night I indulged in one of the most popular Taiwanese night-life activites... KTV! For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's basically Japanese-style karaoke and is one of the most popular things to do in Taiwan.

Some of the teachers here organised for a small group of us to go along - since its quite expensive on weekends, we chose to go last night between the hours of 11pm and 2am.. which felt a little strange. Simon has been working very hard and decided to give it a miss as his Thursdays are quite busy... hard-working lad that he is!

Basically, you're ushered into what looks like a plush little lounge-room with big couches, a large table and a big TV. (There's also a private bathroom.) Then you can choose from a little screen either English or Chinese songs. The English selection is absolutely hilarious, with numbers from Billy Ray Cyrus, the Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears alike! You could also choose from a couple of Eric Clapton numbers... With Eric Claypton's Chinese name translated as "beautiful old man", it's generally pretty funny.

So then, of course, there's beer to dissipate any nerves on the microphone. Needless to say, I'm a little tired today and my heads a little sore (I think it was the vodka that did it.) Oops, must run, student has arrived... :)

Resident Visas Ahoy!

An open-ended visa for Formosa

Whoop-de-do! We have finally received our resident's visas. We are officially citizens of one country and residents of another. So they can't officially kick us out. Well, that may be stretching the truth. I'm sure they could very easily kick us out if they were determined to wade through the bureaucratic swamp of Taipei. But having resident visas will make it a touch harder.

Lisa and I are enjoying beer and sunflower seeds on our bed (not tim-tams, as the above photo may suggest). We've become quite the sunflower seed enthusiasts, so much so that our bedroom floor resembles that of a large birdcage. It's been a long day of teaching and we're looking forward to our one day off - the Sabath. Tomorrow we will visit an independent artists festival and perhaps find a local gym for some well needed exercise. The weather is becoming very tropical in Taipei - hot and humid. Thankfully nearly every interior space here has air-conditioning, the catch22 being of course that the power used for air-conditioning will exacerbate global warming. 'Tis the dilemma of our age.

Lazy Fridays, Taipei

Today Leese celebrated her first day off for the week (after 4 days, 10-12 hours each) - exciting stuff! We were finally able to spend some time together, with Sim also enjoying the luxury of an afternoon off. We spent the day lounging about drinking coffee and trying out a bunch of Taiwanese food that we've yet to try.

i. We were hugely chuffed when we found this huuuuge packet of Arnott's Tim Tams sold in a pharmacy here (yes, chemists sell Tim Tams.) Amazing, and discounted, too!

ii. We also went to a noodle house, where we tried some amazingly fresh beef and veggie noodles over Asahis... While watching the chefs throw about the noodle dough, twisting and kneading like nobody's business. Awesome stuff.

Leese poses for the Papa

iii. We also finally decided to try "Beard Papa", the Taiwanese sweet store! Beard Papa is a Japanese concoction, a little stall which sells pastry puffs filled with vanilla and strawberry... Absolutely delicious!

iv. Summer is most definitely on its way - it was 38 degrees here in Taipei today, absolutely steaming. And we're set to experience the humidity which comes with the typhoon season, also set to begin soon. On the upside though, we did enjoy some delicious mango and starfruit today, to celebrate the beginning of the mango (and avo!) season.

v. We also realised that the two-and-a-half year mark just passed us by... Woohoo! (Note: We're still celebrating with Asahis, just like the good old days.) :)

Photos soon! x

Teaching - Musings - Week Two

It's so strange to be getting into the swing of a full-time teaching career. We're both working 20 hours this week, with at least another 10-15 hours preparation time, plus travel time, which all adds up. I have two twelve-hour days in which I have to travel between the branches, which is tiring and a little frustrating. I much prefer being at Shilin, the northern branch, where the majority of my classes are. The vibe there is pleasant and the other teachers are really lovely.

Most of my classes are really fantastic. With my advanced students, I can choose any topic that I feel is relevant/interesting to both the students and I, and prepare material on it. The freedom on not having to work to mostly mediocre English language lessons is great; the more we find out about the students, the more "tailoring" can be done, and the more we enjoy it. Mostly, though, its the freedom to speak in a complex manner, explaining concepts and ideas, that we love. For example, yesterday my topic was 'job fulfillment' - instead, we ended up musing over definitions of "fulfillment" and "contentment" using Maslow's theory of hierarchical needs. Since most of the students are university-level psychology students, it was great!

We also have private students who we see either in small groups, or one-on-one. Twice a week I have a group of three housewives who are absolutely lovely, and we talk about children, child-rearing, parental expectations, and Taiwanese husbands! Fascinating stuff! Likewise, I have a class with a senior lawyer at one of Taiwan's biggest law firms. Talking about his expertise is also really interesting and keeps my brain ticking over.

I'm ranting a little from the fatigue of it tonight. I have one particular class in which I'm not sure how much the students are enjoying it. They seem fine, but really, it's so hard to know! Because they are intermediate English students, its takes more time to explain everything (which is a little tedious) and it generally takes more out of me. At this stage of their language learning, students require far more from their "role-model" and confidence-building exercises. Afterwards, I feel like crumbling into a heap from the sheer energy that it takes to muster these students into a comfortable space with their conversational English.

Also, I feel that the risk that the materials/exercises/games are too difficult for the students is much higher with the intermediate level. I'm told that at this level, students require a set structure of the class above all else. This makes me feel somewhat hesitant about trying new methods of engaging them - something I'll have to work on.

So it takes time. For the minute though, we'll keep taking deep breaths and throwing ourselves in head-first.

Happy Mum's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the fantastic, incredible mothers and women in our lives; we love you dearly! In our thoughts today, and all our love. x

Teaching in Transition

So, aside from everything else, there are some options that we're considering at the moment.

At this point, our lives feel so transitory. This is liberating and a little frightening, though each day we've felt more at ease in this context.

Our first paycheck is tommorrow, and though it won't be much, it'll keep us afloat in the meantime. In the following few weeks, we should be able to settle down a little bit more, as we'll have enough money for a deposit on an apartment, and will no longer be living in this hostel.

Aside from that, though, the question is: What do we want to concentrate our energies on? English teaching is enjoyable, but is it enough to sustain us? Teaching in this style of cram school, where the focus is on the student as a consumer that needs to be "satisfied with a product," is markedly different to any actual education system, we feel. The students consistently need to feel as though they're "getting their money's worth", as ultimately, it's an extra-curricular activity for them. For this very reason, there are no tests, no certifications, no real rules in the class and not much actual authority in the hands of the teachers. It's our job to make these students (clients?) feel as though their English has improved, whether or not this is the case. It's interesting, to say the least, but we can see how it won't be enough for us to be "service providers" full-time.

Teaching, rather, "tutoring" in this way, is immediately "rewarding" in that you can see how some students warm to the opportunity to speak to a native speaker. Gaining their trust, allowing them to feel as though they can make mistakes, is "rewarding" in that sense; but, on the other hand, I'm not sure if a number of "little satisfying moments" actually add up to an honest sense of job satisfaction. By which I mean, we derive so much joy from reading about the state of the world, polarization and globalization, all that boring stuff :) - but that's what we love, and the sense of satisfaction that we derive from that just doesn't compare. Learning Chinese is also in that bracket. We're really really looking forward to having a steady paycheck so that we can pay for lessons during the mornings, and teach in the evenings.

We can see how being good for the "business of supply and demand" will enable us to have other options at hand. But we can also see how you could become so involved with it, that other goals like learning Chinese and taichi and more about Taiwanese local culture could just fade away. Ultimately, we have to stay true to the people that we are and hopefully, this transitory period will allow us to do that. As the lovely George Smith told us... We just have do all we can to "just be happy."

Health Issues

Since Sim's birthday, we've had a little trouble on the health front.

The past week or so had me feeling pretty strange. Every morning I'd wake to feeling really around my ribs; then, each time I'd go to the bathroom, I'd burn painfully. I found myself going to pee (not that I'm blushing!) every hour during the night, so by the time we woke up at 9am, I'd still feel really tired. The worst thing was feeling my energy just drain away in a great whoosh every afternoon - making me impatient and generally pretty grumpy. Two nights ago, when I went to the bathroom and realised that I was peeing blood, I thought "time to see a doctor."

So yesterday we found ourselves at Xinguang Hospital in Shilin, northern Taipei City. Our lovely Taiwanese friend Margaret took the afternoon off work to drive us there and back, convinced that the Taiwanese hospital system would be way too overwhelming for foreigners, even with our minimal Chinese. Wow, she couldn't have been more right. The hospital felt more like a market-place, with scores of people in every room. So we were given an immediate appointment to see a urologist, who fortunately spoke great English. The diagnosis? I have a urinary tract infection. The doctor thinks that three days of antibiotics should be enough, but he took a urine sample and I'll be back there on Friday. The only concern would be if it had spread to my kidneys, but without signs of a fever, that's unlikely. I have to drink three litres of water each day for the next few days and stay away from alcohol and coffee (!!). So yes, today I'm feeling a thousand times better, much more energetic (and less grumpy, thank goodness.)

Last night, Sim came down with our first minor bout of food poisoning. He's feeling okay, though a little crampy and nauseous, so last night he had a few gastrolyte tablets. He's well enough to work today, but he's staying away from food. Hopefully by the time he comes home (about 10pm), he'll be ready to eat again.

A day in the life

How a week is a long time in politics... Things have changed for us so dramatically in the last few days!

Firstly, our jobs have stepped into full swing. We've both now done the teacher training sessions, the mandatory observational classes and our first real teaching classes (as emergency substitutes.)

Ohh, it's strange stuff. It's weird for me personally to have gone from being in a 'backpacker', observational mindset to realising - hey, I have a career here! It's odd walking into the centre and realising that I'm a TEACHER, not a student. The authority of it is strange, and being an employee in a big company - also odd, but good!

One of the most interesting things about our school so far has been the secretaries who run each of the school's branches in Taipei. Firstly, when you walk in, there are about 4-5 secretaries who organise class schedules and new students, etc. They are all locals, and are totally equipped to deal with anything that we need! They also deal with various complaints from the students, so it's been interesting realising just how much influence they hold in the successful running of the entire company. And we've been told to keep them on side, as the number of hours we receive totally depends upon them - they decide who receive the new classes and any new students that sign up! :)

So.. our school is one of the biggest 'chain' English schools in Taiwan. It's all over the internet, the TV and radio channels, so it's very well known. They have four branches here in Taipei - Simon has been allocated to the Fuxing branch, and I the Fuxing and Shilin branches. We've been allocated specific intermediate and advanced classes, so too private one-on-one/three-on-one student classes (which are more expensive and mostly held on Saturdays.)

Also, next week Simon will undertake his first corporate class (!) teaching business English at the offices of Far Eastern Airlines. Incredible stuff! We're earning over $20AUD per hour teaching the groups and private classes, and about $22AUD + transport for the corporate classes (which sound kind of intimidating!) so it's a great wage over here.

I can't leave a post without mentioning that today, just as we were leaving work and about to jump onto a bus... Sim really hurt himself! We were about to get onto the bus, so we hurried a little, dodging the crowds. In the process, Sim didn't see the large rear-view mirror of the bus and smacked head-first into it... Ouch! The crunch sound was absolutely horrible, and I looked over to realise there was blood on his face, I thought he'd broken his nose. Instead, he's got a slight gash on the top of his nose and a rather sore forehead... But he's okay, no headache even, which I think is amazing. I guess if that's the most dangerous thing to happen to us so far... ?!

Tommorrow is Simmo's 24th birthday, of course... And how excited we are! We're teaching tommorrow night (Sim - 2x advanced classes to whom he taught about 'religion' and 'civilisation' yesterday, and I'll be teaching the first lesson of a class that I'll hold for ten weeks!) so we went out tonight for dinner and drinks. We found this AMAZING place called Sababa which is a tiny hole-in-the-wall place serving amazing Moroccan and Iranian food! So we had pitas and falafel and hummus and moroccan style-chicken (for Sim)... So so so so good. Totally on par with Moroccan Soup Kitchen (though I would argue better, no?) Way to go, we love you multicultural Taiwan, you are amazing!

Then off for cocktails and beers at the local expat hangout, which could be likened to a Hard Rock Cafe. Shitty music and old guys hanging out with women far too young to be drinking booze! Either way, we loved it, bopping around to Prince's 'Cream'... and so the birthday celebrations begin!

First Classes

Cancel that! Jobs started... tonight!

Just a quick post. We got a phone call this afternoon from our school asking me to be a substitute teacher for some advanced classes this evening. It was a fantastic experience though fraught with a few obstacles (as to be expected). I taught two classes to separate groups of students. Though I'd been told that they were both 'advanced' classes, they seemed at very different levels in terms of their vocabulary and their confidence to speak up.

The first group I felt I'd overestimated their level of advanced English and perhaps the material was a little too difficult, at least, explaining 'emotional intelligence' wasn't as straight-forwarded as I'd hoped. I was using the material that the regular teacher had provided, which has its drawbacks, as it feels rather foreign. I'd expected to have access to the internet at work so I could cover a little more about Gardner's '7 intelligences' (thank you, year 12 psychology!) but it was down when I got there, so materials were a little short on supply. That said, I think it went okay.

The second group had a better grasp on idioms and the like, so too were they much more confident to speak up. They were largely business students who had years of English language training under their belts; all of whom sought to improve their English in order to take advantage of broader job opportunities. Following the absent teacher's instructions, I was all set to teach another round on 'emotional intelligence' - only to find that it had been taught a few weeks earlier! So... rather embarrassing, though I guess being an emergency substitute is not an ideal situation in the first place. So instead I offered to do a review of their earlier topics, or have a general chat (remembering that its a coversational class) which was actually really great. Everyone had travelled widely so we had a good chat about cultural awareness and bridging cultural barriers - good stuff.

That said, I'm absolutely knackered - all that talking and consistently thinking on your feet! So the lovely Simon took me out afterwards for beer and a gorgonzola pizza (which is honestly one of the best things we've ever eaten - it's amazing!)

Simon got an email back from the Hess Educational Institute (the largest English chain in Taiwan - they're just everywhere!) saying that he'd been hired! So the next few days will be interesting as we decide whether to take on both major language chains. Either way, it's great to know that we're getting started... hooray!