Class is officially underway. Last Friday was my first day, and I arrived at my desk to find a pomelo waiting for me. Early last week, I let slip to some administrators that I liked pomelos, and they warned me that come the end of September, I wouldn’t like them anymore. Shun-An’s branch campus is in the heart of Yilan’s pomelo country, and many students come from families of pomelo farmers. Pomelos are commonly given as gifts during the mid-Autumn Festival, which is coming up in a few weeks. Per my coworkers, I’ll receive more than I can physically consume because I am a teacher, a foreigner, and a self-professed pomelo enjoyer. I’ve made plans to develop a recipe for the perfect pomelo margarita. Stay tuned.
My first day in the classroom was fun. I had four classes at the 30-student branch campus back-to-back with my male LET, Kevin, and he was great about including me in the teaching. Each class would start with introductions, and I quickly got some opportunities to help with phonics lessons. It was nothing groundbreaking, mainly saying a simple word to the class and having them repeat it back to me. At the branch campus, I help out with grades 2-6. Each class has 4-8 students, and most of the time, they all have different English abilities.
Fridays are half-days, so I wrapped up at noon and headed home for the afternoon. This coming Saturday, all the ETAs in my cohort will meet our host families for the first time, and it is tradition that we choreograph a dance performance for all the families to watch. Friday evening consisted mainly of practice…specific details will come next week after we perform. After dance practice, I headed to my local 7-11 with Eric and Brendan to have some beers. While in Taipei a few years ago, I found a 7-11 that served draft beer near my house. I figured it was a Taipei-only thing until I discovered one right next to my apartment in Luodong. We watched Taiwanese baseball before returning to our apartment to host a game night.
On Saturday, most of the cohort took the train north to Toucheng. Once at Toucheng, we took a boat to Turtle Island for an afternoon of sightseeing and dolphin watching. The trip was stunning. Turtle Island is visible in the ocean from basically every beach and mountain in Yilan County, so we were excited to get an up-close look. The island is the only active volcano in the country (last erupted in 1795) and was inhabited until 1977, when it was turned into a military base. In 2000, the island became an ecological park and is now a common hiking and diving destination. Underwater sulfur springs mix with seawater to make the waters surrounding the island a beautiful light blue, dubbed the “milk sea” by locals.
Our boat kept going past the island, and we (along with 5 other big passenger vessels) quickly found a pod of 70-80 dolphins. You’re gonna have to take my word for it, because trying to take a good photo of these things felt like playing whack-a-mole. I was much too slow to get any great footage. The dolphins were beautiful, and seeing them breach in pairs all around me was a breathtaking thing to witness.
After disembarking, we walked over to the Lanyang Museum. This museum has exhibits on the ecological, geological, and human history of the Lanyang Plain, where Yilan City and Luodong City are located. I thought the architecture and layout of the museum were stunning, and it was a perfect way to kill time before dinner and a concert.
For dinner, a group of us found a local seafood restaurant and ordered family style, the most common way to order when eating out in Taiwan. The meal was delicious and pushed all of us out of our comfort zone. The highlight for me was the fried eel, which was lightly breaded and tasted like extremely tender chicken. The squid wasn’t my personal favorite, but I figured I should add a photo.
After dinner, we walked up the beach to catch a “Brazilian fusion band” at Drifters Pizza Pub in Wai’ao Beach. My experience with music genres in Taiwan so far has admittedly been confusing (latin jazz = indie rock, blues & jazz = Chinese pop), but this band was as described— it was refreshing to hear some international tunes played live. The place was packed, and I ran into another group of ambiguously-employed embassy-affiliated buff-looking Americans. Seems to be a common theme. A few of us stayed until the last train home at 10:30 pm and rode back into town with the band. On Sunday, I went back to Wai’ao for some afternoon surfing. I ended up jamming my toe and losing a toenail on my board. Ouch.
Monday through Wednesday has been my first “real” week of school. I’ve been at school from 8 am-4pm daily, splitting time between the main campus (390 kids) and the branch campus (30 kids). I’ve met a staggering number of people over the last few days, but everyone has been overwhelmingly friendly and excited to get to know me. Given my existing trouble with remembering English names, getting everyone’s Chinese names to stick in my brain will be a challenge— I may make a Quizlet or something.
On Monday, I arrived at the main campus at 8:15 am (a 15-minute bike ride) and was whisked into a faculty meeting room, where I was introduced to teachers and presented with a few gifts. I hitched a ride with an administrator to the branch campus, where I observed two periods of 2nd-grade English instruction. I briefly introduced myself to the small classes of English students, allowing my LET to translate. It is the preference of both my LETs that I keep my Chinese language ability a total secret from the students. Both LETs feel that if the students find out I speak/understand Chinese, they will only ever speak to me in Chinese. From what I’ve experienced so far, this seems to be pretty true. I’ve managed to keep the ruse going so far, but it’s challenging when my LETs accidentally address me in Chinese, or students hear me speaking Chinese to other faculty during break time. I don’t think I can keep them convinced for more than a week or two. On Wednesday, a student asked my teacher in Chinese why my nose was so “thin and weird.” My subsequent laugh was the closest I’ve come to blowing my non-Chinese speaking cover.
Jun and I returned to the main campus after lunch, and I witnessed my first big class. A boisterous class of around 20 kids closed out the day, starkly contrasting with the small group we had in the morning. Jun used a microphone and speaker system to ensure she was heard over the near-constant chatter and fidgeting of the students. The respect she commanded with students was impressive, and she never had to raise her voice to get the class to quiet down.
On Monday night, I had my first Chinese lesson of the semester. A group of 5 ETAs (myself included) is taking twice-weekly classes at Fo-Guang University, about a 50-minute commute from my apartment, sans scooter. Before class, we grabbed some congee, or rice porridge, at a well-known spot in Yilan City. I ordered mine with preserved egg and beef, and it was amazing—subtle, savory, and filling. Class went well, and I’m glad to have a couple hours each week dedicated solely to improving my Chinese.
On Tuesday, I was asked to introduce myself to the main campus students during an all-school assembly. Most students and teachers speak limited English, so I had to pantomime the “things I like” (fishing, hiking, baseball) to ensure their understanding. Throughout the rest of Tuesday, I did a self-introduction for each class, discussing my hometown, my family members, and my interests in the most basic terms possible.
Wednesday was much of the same, I gave a school wide introduction to the branch campus and was helping Kevin from 8:30-10:00. Kevin prefers to deviate a bit from the textbook and come up with his own activities. When in class, he lets me lead phonics lessons and help with pronunciation while he clarifies details in Chinese. We met Wednesday morning after class to discuss future responsibilities, and he wants me to give cultural presentations about different parts of the world and design some class activities. He was very curious to hear about my experience learning English as a kid, which I unfortunately can’t really remember. Jun’s approach to teaching English material is different than Kevin’s. She prefers to use activities outlined in the textbook and uses pre-recorded textbook audio for phonics lessons. We met briefly on Tuesday to discuss my involvement, and it sounds like she is open to me helping with phonics lessons and lessons about US holidays.
I’m still trying to sort out the array of experiences I’ve had in classrooms this week. I have deeply appreciated my LETs for including me in their classes and involving me in the lesson planning process. As someone with no teaching experience, I feel unworthy of the importance with which they regard my opinions. These have been the first times since I was a kid that I have witnessed an elementary school class, and the patience, demeanor, and thoughtfulness of my LETs far surpasses what I am currently capable of. My goal is to be a resource for English learning and cultural understanding, not to critique teaching styles and lesson plans. I’ve felt particularly helpful when I can answer a question my LET has about the English language. Kevin at one point asked me what the lowercase-letter equivalent of “capitalize” is (uncapitalize? lowercase-ize?). When I couldn’t think of anything, Kevin quipped about the illogical nature of English. True that.
Classroom dynamics have been an interesting adjustment here, too. Relationships between teacher and student are a bit more formal. Kevin asks me to wrap up class each day by saying, “Let’s call it a day. Class dismissed.” He has instructed students to respond with the following dialogue:
Class leader: Stand up!
*class stands*
Class leader: Attention!
Whole class, in unison: One two! (while stomping their feet)
Class leader: Bow!
Whole class, in unison: Thank you teacher Kevin and teacher Benton! (whole class bows)
It’s happened like 7 times at this point and I still blush and stifle a laugh every time.
Wednesday night, I grabbed some ramen (with extra scallions) and had my second Chinese class. Thursday is my longest day of the week— 6 classes back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-lunch-to-back-to-back. I will be relying on some local black tea to power me through the day.
Soundtracks to my week have included:
More Than Enough by The Universal Togetherness Band
Got To Be Mine by Vulfmon
Bluebird Wine by Rodney Crowell
Thanks for bearing with me on this one— these will get better once I spend some time distilling my thoughts. I want these posts to be somewhat informal, but I also want to be thoughtful about what I include and how. I aim to reflect instead of vent and describe rather than prescribe. Feel free to reach out any time at bwcopel@gmail.com!
quizlet flashcards with all the students name is toooooo real
I swear the food is looking better and better everytime