Taiwan Summer Camp

I can’t lie, I wasn’t looking forward to summer camp. It’s written into our contracts that we have to provide our school with either a summer or winter camp and my school and I together decided a summer camp was best for everyone, but that didn’t mean I was looking forward to it! I had 8 days to relax before I left Taiwan after school was over and camp was taking 3 days of that…and I just wasn’t the happiest of campers. But, as time got closer I quickly began to realize that I had as much freedom over camp as I wanted and my directors only request was that we “have fun time”…fun? I can do that!

They were hoping to have 25-30 kids sign up for camp from 8am-12 for 3 days right after school was out. I’d be the main teacher but would also have a co-teacher each day along with Clement our English military guy to help out…easy peasy….until it wasn’t. They blamed it on the fact that my name was on the signup sheet and I was [I quote] “popular with the kids”, but the next thing I knew, we had 68 kids signed up and only a small classroom to hold us all in…oh buddy, things are going to get interesting!

After a little revamping my original camp curriculum we came up with a plan that would work with more than double the original amount of kids and still hopefully be a blast for the kiddos. Next began Clement and I's mad dash around Hsinchu to locate some of the odd ball materials I was hoping to find {{can anyone say piñata hunting in Asia?!}} I'm still not exactly sure how we did it, but we found everything we needed (or suitable substitutes lol), got all the kids situated in a single room, and had a blast doing it!

Here's a quick rundown of our week:

Monday - What do you look like?

On Monday we kicked camp off with learning how to describe a person, their figure, and hair types. The only obvious way to follow up this lesson was to play the largest version of Guess Who that I have ever witnessed! After a couple practice rounds against yours-truly I supplied small groups with mini, printed versions of the game and let them have at it. They had never seen the game before and had a blast! I was asked to play one movie during summer camp and it fit perfectly into Monday's schedule, so while the students were watching "How to Train Your Dragon" {hey might as well pick something I'll like as well!} I set up my popcorn maker for a little American style popcorn...holy moly, the kids went nuts CRAZY! They had never seen a popcorn maker before! They plowed through 2 pounds of kernels before the movie was half over and left not a single crumb behind! Needless to say...day one was a hit!

Tuesday - Kickball fun!

In Taiwan children LOVE to play baseball and badminton. During any given break throughout of the school day you can ALWAYS find children playing both games around the playground. Unlike many of the students in the US though, none of them knew how to play kickball! I thought summer camp would be the perfect time to introduce them as well as working in a little baseball vocabulary into the mix for them as well. We went over the rules and logistics of kickball {pretty quick and easy after playing baseball everyday!} and then practiced some terms and phrases that we could yell {{kindly!}} while playing. Then we let loose. 6 teams were created allowing us to have 3 games going at once [remember...68 kids!] so one game inside the air-conditioned-ish gym and the other 2 outside...it was a ripe 92 degrees and 80% humidity...needless to say we didn't last long before we moved inside too! We created a last minute tournament of sorts and allowed the teams to compete inside. The last 45 minutes of camp we offered a teacher vs. student game and the kids went wild (in Taiwan I rarely saw teachers or parents interacting with the kids at their level...as kids). We happened to have 6 adults handy and about 40 of the kids wanted to play...I'm still not sure how the team of 6 managed to win, but the kids had an absolute blast! Day 2 of camp...complete!

Wednesday - Let's go to Mexico!

Holy moly was Wednesday a blast! I had been looking forward to this day and I am happy to say that fun was had by ALL! We started our day off by learning a little about the country of Mexico, where it was, what we eat, and what some places in the country might look like. The kids also tried their hand at counting to 5 and saying hi & bye in Spanish {they decided this was much more difficult than English!} Afterwards we learned a simple Mexican partner dance {I may have never laughed so hard as I did watching the kids trying this dance!} and then broke open the "Mexican food" [first I have to give my disclosure here...Mexican food doesn't exist in Taiwan...anywhere! I had my mom sending my hot sauce because I couldn't find ANYTHING! So, we went with the twisted Taiwanese forms of Mexican food!] First up the kids tried a popular Mexican candy called Pulparindo, some like it while others ran for the trash! Next up was cucumber pieces dipped in Tajin (a powdered lime & chili seasoning) and most of the kids came back for more! Lastly was our Dorito party {I warned you of a twisted form of Mexican food!} Clement had bought 12 bags of Doritos and the kids devoured them! We had mild and medium salsas along with Valentina sauce from Mexico. Though the kids were reluctant to try to spicy we began with a few brave ones and pretty soon they were all trying and mixing all the sauces...they were hooked!

To end our fun filled we headed to the gym armed with 2 piñatas, waayy too much candy, a baseball bat, and 68 over-the-top excited kids....it was piñata time! ;)

Last Week of School

I say it every year, but this year was especially terrible. I feel like it was just August and I was meeting my students for the first time, and here I am now planning last week of school activities for the little guys I have come to love so dear! Our school year here is a tad bit longer and the dates are a little skewed from the typical western school calendar, so our last day of school wasn’t until Thursday, June 30.

When I taught first grade back in Ohio I always tried to make the last day full of fun memories for the kids. I know many teachers like to multitask and put in a movie while they finish up end of the year work, or have the students help prepare the classroom for summer, but for me it’s a time to celebrate! We’ve all made it through another school year and we all need time to relax and have fun!

Enter Miss St. John’s “Minute-to-Win-it” games!

I have over the last couple of years compiled a group of fun minute-to-win-it games that require few supplies and are easy for the kids to understand, and I most certainly didn’t want to deprive my Taiwan students of the fun! If you have never heard of minute-to-win-it games before they are essentially small games that you try to complete in under 60 seconds. They are fast, fun, and easy, and always a hit with the kids!

This year, since we only have 40 minute periods, I narrowed our games down to 4 including eating a cookie placed on their forehead without using their hands, keeping 2 balloons afloat for 60 seconds, stacking 36 cups into a pyramid, and getting a tissue paper fish to cross a finish line by fanning it with a plastic folder. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I promise you…we all had fun! J

Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {Taiwan Janitors}

As briefly mentioned previous HERE most schools in Taiwan don't employ janitors or grounds workers for their schools. Yet, most of the schools here in Taiwan are always immaculate. How is that you ask? Simple, we don't let children ever enter the school grounds! OK, ok, just kidding! The kids clean the school, and I love LOVE it!!

Twice a day (once first thing at 7:30am and then again before last period at 2:50pm) students are given 20 minutes to clean their assigned area of the school. The classes are split into smaller groups and are given their assignments that last the remainder of the school year. They are monitored somewhat while they are cleaning, but they do all the cleaning themselves: dusting, moping, sweeping, emptying trash cans, raking, scrubbing the stairways...all of it!

Some areas the children are assigned to include:

Their own classroom
Other classrooms in the school
Public bathrooms
Teacher bathrooms
School offices
Playground
Hallways
Side yards
School entrance 

Sadly in the US I feel as though many parents would complain and accuse the school of "corporal punishment" or make other extreme accusations towards the school. Here though it is looked at as part of their education. Children not only learn the "how's" of cleaning, but they also learn to have respect for their school environment and how to help out around their home. Children here know that if they make a mess of their school it will be them that has to clean it up later, thus helping to keep our campus beautiful. 

It was surely a strange sight at first, but I have come to love this idea as the year has progressed and appreciate the values that are being instilled in these young children!

My Mommy's in Taiwan!

So if you don't follow me on any other forms of social media {Shameless shout out! You can check out my Instagram and Facebook here!} and you didn't know my mom made it...well...my mom made it! It might have taken 9 months, lots of convincing, and promises of limited scooter rides, no nasty food, and monkey sightings; but, she's here!

She left Ohio Thursday morning bright and stinkin' early and landed in Taipei Friday evening a little after 6pm Taiwan time (I'll do the math for you...24 hours of flying and 36 hours lost with time change included!) on Friday, April 29. We grabbed some quick food in the airport and headed back for my home in Hsinchu to prepare for sports day Saturday morning. (Funny thing about schools here in Taiwan...they don't mind making you work an occasional Saturday, but you're always compensated for the day...so we got Monday off instead...whatever makes you happy!)

Sports day on Saturday included many waves from the students for my mom and many MANY stares from parents at the 2 lone white people that some didn't even know existed in the town {I'd blow their minds if I told them there was a white guy teaching at the Junior High as well! haha} Guys, I promise I'm not exaggerating this stuff! I had a mother of a first grader follow me around for a good 45 minutes taking numerous pictures of me and telling me over and over again in Chinese how beautiful I was and that she loved my nose...I've said it before...but I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried! After sports day (early release at 1...heck yes!) we headed home, quickly packed our bags, and hopped on the Train for Taipei {mom avoided a scooter ride here and I allowed her to breathe more easily on the local bus!}

We arrived to Taipei a little after 4pm, checked into our hotel, and Tour Guide Tracy got right to work on the extensive list I had been given to accomplish in Taipei {I'll brag for a second and say we covered everything on the list my mom gave me and then some...and we both lived to tell about it!}

First Stop...Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall 

{previous visits HERE & HERE}...with sightings of 101!

Next up...Longshan Temple

{previous visits HERE & HERE}...a must see temple in Taipei!

And finish the night off with...Shillin Night Market

{previous visits HERE, HERE, HERE, & HERE}...clearly I have a problem with night markets!

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Sunday brought along a whole new set of adventures and exhaustion (I can't lie though I love traveling so, it can be quite tiring at times as well!) We slept in a little bit to help cope with our long day the day before {and possibly a previous 24 hour flight around the world!} and then headed out for our day's first adventure...and one that my mom was madly in love with!

First stop of the day...Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall 

{previous visits HERE}...mom was quite smitten with the architecture of the buildings in this area AND that she got her first ever jumping picture in front of the Memorial Hall {it's truly the little things in life!}

After we were starving and caved for a late super late lunch, Hello...Din Tai Fung!

{previous visits HERE & HERE}...I can't lie, I think this restaurant is wonderfully delicious and I will miss it something fierce when I finally leave my island home. Needless to say...mom was also a fan, it's hard not to be!

We finished lunch and headed to...Ximen District...to walk off our food babies & see what we could find!

{previous visit HERE}...I can't say this is a must see in Taipei, but if you are in the area for several days and are wanting to see a different vibe of the city, this up & coming district is the place to be and a great way to spend an afternoon or evening, or in our case, a little of both as the nightlife here proved to be unique in its own right as well!

Last up for the night...Taipei 101 sighting at night!

{previous visits HERE, HERE, & HERE}

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Monday was our last official day to gallivant through Taipei, remember thanks to sports day...no school Monday! And we started off with a bang and ended again way late; tired, but with full bellies and happy smiles!

First up, breakfast...Traditional Taiwanese Cold Peanut Noodles!

These can be bought just about anywhere, but I have been introduced to a popular street-side shop and knew she would love it!

Afterwards, the Taipei must see...Taipei 101!

{previous visits HERE, HERE, & HERE}...You just CAN'T go to Taipei and NOT go into Taipei 101! The building is beautiful, the dampener inside is legendary, the elevator is one of the fastest in the world, and the views are incredible! We spent a good 2 hours checking out the inside of the tower and lucked out when the outside observatory was open for visitors as well! Afterwards we took our grumbly tummies down to the first floor food court and found some delicious noodles for lunch!

There was ONE more item on her to do list...National Palace Museum!

{previous visit HERE}...This museum is incredibly beautiful both inside and out! It is interesting enough the largest (or one of the largest depending on your sources!) collections of ancient imperial Chinese artworks & artifacts in the world and constantly rotating its collections for an ever changing museum display. Needless to say we spent several hours exploring the museum ending with their borrowed exhibit from the Vatican.

The end of the museum sadly also signaled the end of our long weekend in Taipei as we headed back to Hsinchu to prepare for school the following day.

Taiwan Children's Day

Kids in Taiwan, the lucky little boogers here get a whole day devoted to them, and boy do the schools go all out for them!

April 4 in Taiwan is the national holiday of Children's Day. Kids here are extra lucky that it coincides with tomb sweeping in which they receive 2 days off school, thus giving the kids a 4 day weekend "for children's day".

Both my schools had fun activities planned for the kids, and lucky me was able to participate in all of them! Fu Long (my smaller school) celebrated early and took the kids the Hsinchu Little Ding Dong Scince Park for the day. This large park is divided up into area devoted to different fields of Science allowing the kids to learn while exploring and playing their way through the park. Their favorite part of the park (naturally on a beautiful 75 degree day lol) was the indoor "ski resort" aka-a hill covered with artificial snow for sledding. But, when you've never been sledding before, anything works! The kids had a stinkin blast and I can't lie, I had fun myself hopping on sleds with a couple kids as well!

Friday my school schedules were flip flopped around a bit and I was able to spend the day celebrating with my students in Hsinfong. The day started with a school wide assembly followed by an hour long magic show for all the kids. The reminder of the morning was spent rotating groups of kids through the gym which had been transformed into our very own Taiwanese carnival!! Before the big day the kids had opportunities to win tickets that they were then able to cash in at carnival to play games, get snacks, or win small prizes; they had a blast! The afternoon was spent relaxing in their classrooms and watching movies...not too shabby for a Friday before a 4 day weekend if I do say so myself!

 Pictures starting top left & working left to right: giggling at the magician, enjoying their snacks, chocolate covered marshmallows & sweet green bean soup, air gun target practice, popcorn for the win, chocolate covered marshmallows, making pins to wear, CO2 pop, air cannons, punch box fun, selecting their prize, & girlies enjoying their day! 

{Below - Teachers scored big during Children's Day as well! Holy Food!}

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from all of us at HsinFong and Fu Long Elementary schools! Wishing you the spookiest of holidays and candy-filled trick-or-treat bags! 

Ultra Expressive!

Oh the expressions one ends up making while teaching children English! I'm glad I don't have to see too many of these pictures!

Scooter Video

I've been wanting to take a video like this for some time now, but the logistics of holding a phone while driving a scooter is easier said than done! Lol, I'm totally joking! But it did take some rigging  to get the camera to hold sill enough to not make you sick while watching the video! Also I've learned for next time I need to point the camera up more....I'll get better (or buy a GoPro haha)

I still want to get some nice footage of my drive to Fu Long in the mornings as the countryside is beautiful, but mother nature and her love of rain in this country often have other plans for me!

This video has me starting at my house in Xinfeng Township and driving  south to Xinfeng (the actual town) about 2.5 miles away to the local train station. The actual drive is between 8 and 9 minutes, but I cut out several chunks of waiting for the stop lights and long stretches of nothing as well as slightly speeding some portions of the drive up. What we have left is a close to 4 minute video glimpse into some more of my daily life here!

Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {Lunch Time}

Lunch time here in Taiwan...lets just say it's special! Some days lunch is amazing, other days my tummy's not quite full, most days though, I just eat it without asking questions before hand!  

Lunch is served for the students in their respective home room classrooms and for the teachers in our common office area. Students all take turns serving their classmates (yes even grade 1 and 2 serve lunches) and almost all of the students buy a lunch {you can't beat $1 lunches!}

Students bring a bowl or two and a set of chopsticks from home and everything goes in together; food in one and soup in the other (soup is their only drink served at many meals). We have rice, EVERYDAY, sometimes it changes colors, but it's always there! We have some type of meet or tofu and a veggie or five each day as well. Monday we also get a piece of fresh fruit and there is milk given out as a snack on Tuesdays. 

Is lunch here different than in the U.S.? Oh my goodness yes, am I learning to enjoy it...most certainly!

Sideshow!

So area schools that do not have foreign English teachers can sign up to bring their students to my classroom for a morning where we read books & learn songs in English as a field trip. Today I had my first class like this and as I walk in I hear 40 students saying “wow”, “so pretty!”, & “she really is American!”…yes folks…step right up to the Miss St. John carnival sideshow!

First Week of School...DONE!!

But  really, it was an exciting, nerve-racking, and much anticipated week that ended up much better than I could have ever expected!  My schedule is a little crazy and will most likely take some getting used to, but this first week is always the hardest! I am working at 2 different elementary schools about 5 miles apart (and currently relying on school personal to drive me to the farther school 5 miles away!)

I did it! I survived my first week of school! And there were no tears, not even from the students! Haha

I work at Hsin Fong Elementary School Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and over the course of the semester will have worked with each of the 600 children at least once. I see each of the 5 fifth and sixth grade classes once a week and have between 28 and 33 students in each class! Monday's and Tuesday's I rotate groups of 1st & 2nd graders and groups of 3rd & 4th graders to have what they call a "sing and dance class" which essentially means {please plan 40 minutes of English activities for our students, but we have  no idea what we actually want you to teach, but promise to love whatever you come up with}. Also on Tuesday's I will work in the English Situational classroom at my school where other schools in the area can sign up to  have their children come see me and have this "sing and dance class" with me....yes, basically I'm a school  attraction! ;-)

On Wednesdays and Fridays I catch a ride to Fu Long Elementary school where there are only about 45 students grades 1-6. *it's my baby school!* the classes have only between 3 and 11 students in them which although difficult to play some games with so few students, it also allows me to work much more closely with each of the children. I will see the 3-6 graders twice a week including individual class lessons for each of these grades, as well as English Story time for each of the grades 1 - 6.

The local English teachers that I am working with have been nothing but amazing and they have showered me with candies, local foods, teas, and local food suggestions. The children are beyond adorable and I cannot walk more than a couple yards without seeing huge smiles and hearing "hello Teacher Tracy! Hello!"...needless to say, I think the year here is going to be amazing!

I Have a School!

OK....well technically 2! I continue to be asked if I know where I will be teaching at and I now have an answer (on a side note I'm not 100% sure why I was so excited to find out, it's not like I know any of these schools anyways! But nonetheless!). Initially we were given a list of each of the counties in Taiwan that had positions open and asked to rank the counties that we would like to live in, not knowing where to start I began ruling out places that were not options in my mind; counties that only had middle school openings, counties located on the western and much less populated side of the island, the teeny remote (like 11 sq. miles remote!) island off the coast of Taiwan...you know, rule out those types of options! I then, more blindly than anything, began to rank the remaining counties.

I received an email the other day stating that I had been placed in 2 schools nearby each other and that both schools were relatively small. Both schools are located in Hsinchu county on the northwestern side of the country just over 50 miles southwest of the capital Taipei (if you use the map above it is the light purple county).

The schools I have been assigned to are Hsin-Fong Elementary School, and Fu-Long Elementary School (again...like I said before I'm not sure why I was so excited to find out, clearly I have never heard of either of these places before! :) )

Since finding out my placements I have been scouring (ok trying to with the language barrier!) their websites. If you click on the pictures below they will take you to each schools' site to have a look for yourself!

Fu-Long Elementary School

Hsin-Fong Elementary School