Ok, so today school was cancelled on account of Typhoon. This one is a lil’ bit more intense, at least in theory – it’s a cat. 3, last one was a cat. 1. However, it is proving to be only marginally more exciting. Sure, the laundry room is pretty much flooded, there’s water dripping down the stairwell and the coastline is sort of destroyed, but I kind of expect there to be like, things flying everywhere. Maybe see Dorothy’s house land on the wicked old witch or something. When everything ‘cept paper is stationary, I don’t know if I count it as a terribly exciting storm’s all.
This week I’ve been covering mostly old material, so spent a lot of time playing ‘educational’ games. I’ve bought a bunch of wurthers and cute pencils and stuff, and find that occasionally offering a prize really seems to bring out the volunteers. Koala class is really the one where I find a healthy spirit of competition seems to be a positive force. Each day we start a Teacher vs. Student vs. Student competition – if they answer a question correctly, they get a point. If they answer it incorrectly, nobody gets a point. If they can’t answer it, I get a point! Whichever individual has the most points at the end of the day wins a prize. It’s awesome, because it’s totally subjective at times too – “whoever reads this passage the best gets 5 points and you get 3 points for trying!” It gets them to participate, which is pretty sweet.
I’ve picked up a bit more Chinese from said kindergarten students: Mei yuo apparently means no, or all finished (and given the attitude with which it is usually used, I’m guessing more often they mean the former)… Wei is a greeting they use whenever they play with their telephone. Pretty cute, actually, cuz they’ll get the telephone and say “wei? Wei?” until you ‘answer.’
You know how every time you masturbate a baby kitten dies painfully and slowly (truth, I heard about it on youtube)? Well, every time I walk down the stairs, a baby gecko leaps to its death. Seriously. They’ve all just hatched or something, and my presence on the stairs startles them so much they run and try to jump to the other side of the stairs… and fall down about 11 flights.
On the upside, this has given me a great excuse for being lazy and taking the elevator.
Went to the Belgium bar with Marvis and Allison. Really tasty, rather expensive imported beers, and Allison’s make-believe boyfriend Steven. I told her she’s lucked out because he has all of his teeth. That is apparently not all that common ‘round these parts – or if they’re there, they look sort of like they’re rotting out of their mouths. Current theories proposed by myself, Allison, and several other terribly in-the-know sources include: poor dental hygiene in general, lack of fluoride in the water, the starch in rice, high quantities of kimchi, and the formaldehyde in Taiwanese Beer.
I forgot to mention that the Calgary, the other bar I have visited in Taiwan, had non-Western toilets. I sort of wish someone had mentioned that before I got drunk and went to use the facilities – popping a squat for the first time would have been a lot simpler sober.
Things that May Be of Interest:
- - My debit card works here! I thought it didn’t but turns out I’m an idiot, and had forgotten my pin.
- - Saw a gecko in the house! Very cute, purplish green sort of guy.
- - Finally went up to the roof! I’ve been doing yoga on top of it, but then I saw two gigantic cockroaches and my chi got totally f-ed
- - I think I’ve turned into a total lightweight. Maybe it’s because beers here are usually served by the 22…
- - I’m recognizing a few more words in Chinese, and learned a character the other day – Rou. It stands for meat!
- - I have a stamp with my own name on it, spelled correctly, given to me by the school. It makes me feel powerful, and like a real teacher. Or something.
- - Ate ‘cat cake.’ That’s what Marvis called it. It was pretty good, and she swore up and down it didn’t have cat in it. Since it was in twinkie-esque packaging, I think she may have been wrong.
- - To punish students in Kindergarten, there’s star next to their name on the whiteboard. Good behavior earns new stars, and if they’re bad, you say “Bye-Bye 1 star!” in a really ominous voice. And if they’re REALLY bad and have no more stars? They get a TRIANGLE (dum dum DUM).
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