Halloween came and went.
On Wednesday, I switched classes and co-teachers, so I now work with Mrs. Su instead of Diane. We teach 2nd and 3rd grades, about 10 classes total, I think. We started each class with an introduction session. The kids are really fascinated by foreigners. Even though they'd seen me around the school grounds, they were surprised to see me up close, I guess. I really didn't tell them much, just my name, then let them start asking questions. Su helped them ask me in English, then translated my responses a little when necessary. At least she didn't just interpret for them, but forced them to use some English. First I let the kids guess where I was from. In each class, a few people shouted out "America" (in Chinese) and then others would follow with reasonable guesses-- Australia, Canada, England. From there, they just began naming every country they could.
France.
Germany...
Yes, I'm French but I'm here to teach you English.
Brazil.
Japan.
Korea.
Mainland China.
Taiwan!
Do I look Taiwanese? Japanese?
Hmm... no.
I told them, then asked if they'd been to America. One or two hands would dart up, and then slowly a dozen more, until most of the class had been. Little liars!
Then the real questions began.
Do you have a family? What is your favorite food? How old are you? Do you like Chinese movies?
Ok, these seem like normal questions.
Do you have a dog?
Yes.
Do you have a horse?
Well, my mom has a pony.
WOW! A HORSE!
Do you have a goat? (They'd just learned "G is for goat.")
Well, actually, my mom has a goat, too.
WOW! Do you have a sheep?
No sheep.
Do you have a pig?
No pig.
Do you have a cheetah?
What?
Do you have a cheetah?
A
cheetah?Yeah, a cheetah. Do you have a cheetah?
Oh. Yes, I have a cheetah, but he's sort of free range. Just a stray, really.
Woah! WOW! Do you have a snake?
No. No snake.
Do you have a monkey?
Just one.
WOW! Do you have a tiger?
Yes.
WOW! Do you have an elephant?
Two. They get lonely, you know.
...
Other insightful exchanges included such gems as:
What size are your shoes?
12.
Are you so tall because you drink lots of milk in America?
I don't know.
Are there vampires in America?
No. Well... No. I mean, I don't know. Maybe? What do you mean? Do delusional goths count?
Have you ever been in an airplane?
No, I swam here.
Have you ever eaten a hot pepper?
Huh?
---
That afternoon teachers from my school were invited to visit some kind of national highway office/garage/museum. I went because I thought I should try to be social with them. Horribly boring. Maybe more interesting if I could understand and read Chinese. Mostly it was an exhibit on the Snow Mountain Tunnel, the new tunnel that runs from Yilan to Taipei, and is the longest tunnel in Asia. Kind of cool, but not worth a field trip.
That night, I was late to Chinese class. And unprepared, of course. Fouled up a quiz pretty badly. Have to retake it this week.
---
Hualien is for Lovers.
Friday night, a group of us went to Hualien. We'd signed up for a 5K race about two months ago. Ben, Luke, Zach, April, and me. Advisors Anne and Irene bailed, as did Joel. Diane went, and took Anne's place. Hualien is a pretty little town, comparable to Luodong in size, style, geography. One hour south by train. East coast. There's a big national park nearby, called Taroko Gorge National Park or something like that. Taroko is a huge gorge between some pretty big mountains, along the mouth of a river. Anyway, that night was lame because we just walked around in the rain looking for a decent place to eat, then went to bed early.
Got up the next morning at 4:20, got on the shuttle bus at 5am. Got to the gorge before daylight, waited until 8 for our race. There were about 8,000 registered, but there were a marathon and half-marathon in addition to our 5K "Fun Run," which given the rain, cold, and early hours, could have been a little more fun. Zach got first place, and Ben got fifth. I had no idea they were even trying. I finished a couple minutes later, I believe, but couldn't have kept up if I wanted to. Actually, it was fun. Taroko is awesome. I'll go back and hike around when I have more time to actually see it.
That's the marathon starting.
Aboriginals were on hand to run barefoot in the races (no kidding) and entertain us with their dances.
After the race, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up, checked out, and went to lunch. Lunch was hot pot, which I usually don't even like to do, but this was really good. Then we got on the train and got home at about 5pm.
Found this in Hualien.
Hey Moses-- Maybe we should look this way! Just 19K!
That night, Luke, Ben, Joel and I were going to see a movie, but got there too late. So I bought a DVD player-- I wanted one anyway-- and we ordered pizzas, called more people to come over and went back to my apartment to watch a movie. They picked Dawn of the Dead, coz it was scary enough for Halloween and they hadn't seen it. I've seen it about 10 times, but love it, so it was fun.
---
Yesterday, I had lunch with Conroy. Then I rode west and explored some windy little mountain roads on my motorcycle. Found an insanely rich looking restaurant perched on the side of a mountain, overlooking Luodong but firmly in the middle of nowhere. I pulled up and two servers all in black came out. I just rode up to the building because I wasn't sure what it was and it looked cool. Even cooler up close. But I didn't want to go in, so I just stalled the servers long enough to see a little bit. They told me it was a French restaurant. In Chinese, by the way. I was happy I was able to understand them a little... The whole place was surrounded by what looked like a patio, but was actually a shallow reflecting pool. Can't explain it, and didn't get a pic. But maybe if I need a really great meal, I can go back sometime. Rode on to a park/rec/hiking area on a couple small mountains. Tried to find a waterfall, but couldn't. Rode back after dark.
The gearshift on my motorcycle has been messed up. The pedal was loose from the rod. Tried to tighten it with tools I bought last week. Didn't work. Took it off, and something was missing, and the rod looked all worn out. Broke the little bolt holding it on when I tried to tighten it back on. Crap.
Stayed up late, studying Chinese and cleaning up. It's hard, but I'm learning.
I was awakened at about 3:30 this morning by the sensation of something crawling across my chest and down my arm. Freaked out, brushed it off. My cell phone was nearby so I flipped it on for some light, then fumbled for my glasses. A penny-sized roach. Not huge, but gross. I'm not sure why it was so slow, but it just wandered around while I swatted at it. Got it. First time I'd ever been awakened by a creature like that. Gross. Didn't sleep so well later. Guess it's time for more bug traps, etc.
Got up early because I had to walk to school. Coulda taken my bicycle, but I hate my bicycle.
After work, Diane gave me a ride home. I used a pair of vice grips to put the motorcycle in second gear, and rode it across town with Diane following me to the shop where I bought it. They repaired it on the spot, but I'm not sure it'll last. The owner replaced the pedal but not the rod. Not sure that was the right solution, but I've learned not to question anything until you're certain it's wrong. People are so touchy. Cost me $8US to repair.
