internet.

For those of you that check this blog religiously or just occasionally I wanted to tell you all that I'm still without internet. It's incredibly difficult to sign up because it's all in Chinese– the forms, addresses, phone call etc. Even the smallest task such as riding the bus, getting dinner or signing up for the internet has proved incredibly challenging. I'm stealing internet from a neighbor through wireless but it frequently gives out. I also work– a lot. Monday through Saturday 8am until either the afternoon or the late evening. I'm doing great everyone, a bit stressed, but great. As soon as I get the internet there will be pictures, videos, phonecalls and updates galore. Know that I am alive and I still think about all of you back in the states.

Class.

I finished my first 2 days of Kindergarten. I'm so shaken by it. These kids can hardly walk on their own and are expected to listen to me and repeat every word I say. They can't even stand in line yet. I have full lesson plans and have to skip most of it until the kids calm down. Once you get 2 to sit, 3 more get up and run. I have 3 Chinese Teachers helping me too! They basically told me to leave at 11:30 today, and everyday. I think I was disturbing their routine. I just thought maybe I should help.

 They said it would happen at training and now I know. I feel like a failure as a teacher. I did manage to get a child to warm up to me today and listen to me, but no he and another student fight over who will walk in front and hold my hand. I still need to give myself time to adjust to the kids and them to adjust to me.

I have 2 evening classes beginning at 5 and going until 9. These students are older and may listen a bit more. 

Last night was Rosanna's Birthday and we celebrated by going out to dinner. But we couldn't find any restaurants open at 10pm. We walked for what seemed forever and stumbled upon a japanese barbecue. They set red hot coals on your table with a grill on top. No one spoke any (understandable) english so everyone as quite confused. They brought out their entire selection of meats and veggies for us to sample. This included: steak, pork, chicken, chicken butts, chicken cartilidge, green peppers, prawns, clams, fish, fish jaw, intestines, livers, mushrooms, sesame paste, and sausage. It was actually quite good. It cam to only $29 US for the entire meal! 

I still don't have my own internet so more pictures will have to wait. Wish me luck with my first week of teaching.

alive.

I know there has been some speculation as to my whereabouts and such. I assure you all that I'm alive. But just barely. Training kicked all our asses. It was a grueling schedule. 10 days staright and no days off. 9am to 7pm everyday and homework every few days. The very next day after training at the main office in Taipei, my boss, Elbert, whisked us away for 4 more days of training at on of our local schools. We had to observe 8 classes and keep track of where we were headed to next. 

We did sign a lease for an apartment. It's a gorgeous building in the village of Taishan. It's a european style building with marble floors and a foyer. We use remote controls to enter the building and activate the elevator. We have a security guard that I have still to give a nick name, but we will call him Bill for now. 

This town is a lot smaller than Taipei. It's much more rare for a caucasian to be walking down the street, let alone residing in the town. A lot of people just stare, but I was told just to wave hello and they promptly go back to their business. There isn't much immediately around and since we do not have a car, we must walk. We've been spending a fortune on Taxis. They are only $5 US to get back and forth some times, but if we do that 4 times a day it adds up. 

We visited the worlds largest IKEA twice already. It enormous. We pile all our purchases into a taxi when we're done. We're waiting for our first paychecks to get more furniture. We had to buy beds when we first got here, but they weren't ready until the next day. Therefore the first night we camped out on the tile floors using kids sleeping bags from the school. Not fun. And it's getting quite annoying to live out of a suitcase. 

What else... oh everyone has a scooter. You look down at the street and its a sea of scooters. The government places high taxes on cars just encourage people not to get them. There just isn't enough room for everyone to have a car. The taiwanese are crazy drivers as well. Green means go, yellow means go faster and red is optional. They run red lights all the time. 

Well tomorrow is the first day of class. I observed my kindergarten class on friday. They are soooo cute, but the majority can't even say their own names in english let alone chinese. I guess I have a long road ahead with them. Besides kindergarten I teach about 7 more classes in the afternoon or evenings. It's a 6 day work week, so I also teach on Saturdays. I never had weekends off at home, so nothings new.

Wish me luck with my classes and lesson planning. I'll write more often as soon as internet is installed.