The Reading of the 500

 This is not my first rodeo in Asia, so I have a few bull breaking techniques for starting the year.  However, this year, unpredictable as it is, started off with a tumble.  Joining class over a month into the first semester, I faced 17 different classrooms and encountered over 500 new faces. I had to hit the ground riding. 

On the suggestion of a colleague and inspired by the 7th grade curriculum book, I decided to introduce myself with a few postcards from home.  Here's a couple I used to introduce myself.  Each had a short text about the picture and what it represents for me.

These postcards were great prompts for where, who, what, how and even why questions!  Then (as any teacher would) I asked my students to return the favor with a postcard about their lives; and if they chose, more questions about me beyond my postcards.  Here are some highlights of what came back, along with amazing insights into their lives and language.

Language in action!  The errors don't even bother this teacher.

Images and explanations give me a glimpse into life in Zhubei and surrounding area even before I have time to travel!  Taiwan's blue butterflies, persimmons drying in the autumn sun and a pictorial exegesis of the national flag!

Some kids ran with this assignment and made works of art, revealing much more than just their names and hobbies!  I had to ask this boy all about the pictures he drew and his vast knowledge of Taiwan's fauna.

Reading and responding gave me the chance to recognize them individually.  I never tired of their questions and had a few myself in reply.

And a few cards made my heart swell to know... kids are growing up with love for family, learning and the strangers of the world that they chance to meet in this brief, beautiful life.

Try Something New

Try Something New          by Jenny

Some of the things we have eaten here that we never knew existed.

 Now we have tried... Fried Oyster flavored potato chips.

See the happy Potato 先生 on the package?

And we've tried Grapefruit Pineapple Pizza. Whoever thought to put grapefruit on pizza was... imaginative.

菱角 líng jiǎo

I actually have eaten these before and really like them. So back in October I was glad to see a street vender selling hot língjiǎo in bags. They are shaped like bats or buffalo heads. I always called them jester hats. But I just looked it up and apparently they are called water caltrop in English. You peel them and eat the starchy nut inside. They taste something like chestnuts. It's a fall treat, just in time for Halloween. 

Flying bat from Woodland Romances; Or, Fables And Fancies by Clara L. Mateaux (1877). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. Public Domain CC0 Image

 

百香果 bǎi xiāng guǒ passion fruit

These have orange juice inside with many crunchy seeds. The soupy stuff on the inside is a little bit sour. I've been eating it with plain yogurt. Soleil loves this fruit and sometimes orders passion fruit bubble tea.

They say the fruit is very nutritious but it is often used to flavor jello, candy, popsicles, and beverages.  I'm guessing you wouldn't become healthy eating passionfruit candy. The picture on the right is of passion fruit plants growing in the garden of the church we attend.

We remembered a restaurant we went to seven years ago called Chubby Bunch 'n Burger, or maybe Chubby Bunchenburger. I don't remember how it was spelled but I know how we pronounced it, because how can you forget a name like that?! We went there again recently. They've since changed their name to Chubby Brunch & Burger. Soleil was so excited to see western food on the menu (and plenty of vegetarian options) that she said, "We should come here again and again and try everything on the menu!" I didn't object until I read the kid's menu, which contains some unappetizing things I'd never pay to eat.

I've noticed that a lot of the vegetarian food around here tries to look and taste like meat. A couple weeks ago we tried a vegetarian restaurant about two blocks from our apartment. Their specialty is this meal including a fake chicken leg. It comes served on a popsicle stick where the bone would normally be. It was pretty good. We discussed gathering the fake bones and taking them home to boil down for soup stock. But we didn't.

This vegetarian chicken leg has the clever name of "G腿," which sounds exactly like 雞腿 jītuǐ, which means chicken leg. Now I'm wondering if an uncooked G tuǐ can be used as a prosthetic for injured chickens who meet untimely disaster when crossing a busy road.

What new foods have you tried lately?

The results are in!

 The results are in!                by Jenny

While you are waiting for the US election results, we do know what animal two groups of Jhubei kids favor.

A few days ago I asked some kids if they knew what was happening in the US that day. Many knew there was a presidential election and some could even name the two most popular candidates. (I doubt many children in the US could name the current president of Taiwan.*) They asked who I supported in the election and I explained that I voted for someone they'd never heard of as my first choice and one of the two main candidates as my second choice. Some kids were audibly surprised that I could vote for more than one candidate. So I explained Ranked Choice Voting, which the state of Maine now uses for many elected offices. 

The Candidates

I asked the students if they were to choose one pet for their class what would they choose? I put up five candidates: fish, hamster, mouse, spider and tiger. Then the voting began. For the sake of comparison we voted the traditional way, where the one who gets the most votes wins, even though they may not reach 50%, and then voted again using the ranked choice system. Hamsters turned out to be the most popular pet. So we won't be bringing a tiger to school after all.

A video explaining Ranked Choice Voting:

A Maine absentee ballot

*

Tsai Ing-wen 

President of the Republic of China She has been president since 2016.

The School Band celebrates an Anniversary

 Students at Zhaomen Jr. High have been practicing their cheers, their relays, and their salutes for the  51st Anniversary celebration of their school.  The 8th grade school band has also been busy preparing to play for the ceremony.  In my free period at the end of the day last week I sat in on their rehearsal and was amazed at their skill and coordination after only a year of practice together!  Their teacher is no doubt a marvelous coach, but the student showed real joy and commitment to their art.

This chamber orchestra has a mix of Chinese and Western instruments (see the cellos and bass in the back) but I was surprised to see the group fronted by a hammered dulcimer!

The music teacher tunes up a zhong ruan.  It's an alto/tenor range 4 stringed instrument played with a plectrum, sounds a bit like a mandola.

Momo is one of the top English students in our school, and loves her sheng (a harmonica like blown organ instrument with bamboo pipes).  Listen to her solo just before the cello in this next video.

9th graders practice their class cheer and choreography.  They compete for a school spirit award.  This class won!

For the 50th anniversary of the school last year they printed a photo book of highlights.  One of my colleagues pointed out that my picture, along with 2 other foreign teachers that taught there in the last decade, appeared on a page about their English program.  Although I wasn't able to attend the ceremony due to teaching at my other school, I felt proud to be a part of their history too.