Hey guys,

 

I just finished meeting the new teachers.

Both are Canadians from the Toronto area. They seem pretty cool and they seem to want to work.

Unlike the other ones that we have had before.

They also took the first apartment that I found them. Sadly, we saw 2 cockroaches in the apartment.

I was scared that they would not take it because of them. Fortunately, they did.

Now, we just need them to observe classes, get settled and start enjoying their stay with us in Taiwan.

Cheers,

LeTouriste  

Hey guys, I had a traumatic experience at work.

They promised me a new kid today in shaoban (youngest class).

Well, they delivered beyond their promise and gave me 4 new kids.

Of these four only one did not cry.

Imagine me, a sleep deprived idiot, teaching kids with 3 students crying at the top of their little lungs.

They can yell loudly and for a long time. It was terrible. Fortunately, there was this little girl whom never cried.

I focused on her and that helped me through the morning. I know they will get better with time, but today was just not that great of a day.

Good news, I will finish cleaning the storage area tomorrow. It will have taken me almost 14 lunch periods. I think I'll be able to get away with billing the school for the cleaning process, but probably not the full 18 hours.

Tomorrow will be better because I am planning it now.

Cheers,

LeTouriste 

The SuperTyphoon came to an area 200 kn away from my place. Here we only got the rain and some violent wind, but nothing that lasted a long time of was stron enough to break things. As I cycled today, I only saw leaves all over the place. Garbage had also been moved, but trees had for the most part survived the wind. So, this is the closest I've been to a typhoon, but there really wasn't anything to it.

I'm OK. 

Woke up this morning to a light cloudy day. No wind or rain was in site. The night had not been eventful either.

During the day, however, the wind did pick up. It shook my patio doors a lot. I don't know what their breaking point is, but I was a little concerned given their proeminent position in my room. I looked outside and saw plant wrappers thorn apart and even a water tank tilt and fall.

Nothing major, but this is not even the main storm. The eye of the storm is still 2 hours away from my place, but it did jump the mountains.

More later,

LeTouriste 

So the super typhoon is coming our way.

Yesterday, the radio station mentioned that it was 400km away from Taidung which is about 300 km away from here, but there is

a chain of mountains that separates the two cities. Personally, I don't think typhoons can jump mountains, so I don't expect much of this typhoon to hit my place. However, my Taiwanese colleagues are not as confident. Hence, tonight's second class was cancelled ans so were tomorrow's open house and higher level classes. This is diappointing because I won't be able to go cycling and I've seen all the good movies at the theatre, so I am heading into a boring weekend. I guess this will provide me with the time needed to make some props for my classes.

 

See you during or after the super typhoon,

LeTouriste 

What better way to spend a rainy Sunday than to hit the theatre. I spent all day there watching The Bourne Ultimatum and The Simpsons. The first was the best because the action was packed, but it was smartly coordinated and not too exagerated. The ending was even a thriller with a mix of deception and hope. The Simpsons was surprisingly good. Moralistic, as in the show, yet hilariously funny. The Taiwanese crowd that showed up was roaring the whole time, not just the foreigners so it has a little for everyone.

On my way back, I bought two pairs of pants for a third of the price indicated on the labels. Shopping in Taiwan is so confusing because you ALWAYS pay less than the price tag. The best example is my glasses. I bought two pairs for less than the price tag of the cheapest pair!

I am not complaining, but if I knew how much I'd be spending, I might buy more. Maybe next time.

Cheers,

LeTouriste 

Hello guys,

I last wrote to you back in March, saying that I had been silenced for one month. Now, I say that I have been silenced for 6 months.

I am back, however, and with lots of free time. What has happened since March? I went to Macau, Shenzhen, Kinmen and Taidung. Several teachers were promised to our school, all failed to show up. I taught 47h/week. I hosted 2 graduation ceremonies. I hosted 10 performances. I stopped drinking Coke and started again. I suffered from a cold for one month. My best friend left Taiwan for England. In addition to cockroaches, I now have ants in my apartment! My next vacation will begin on September 29. I am returning to China. One of my friends got engaged, another got divorced and the other got his wife pregnant again. An uncle of mine got a heart attack and a cool friend got diagnosed with something scary.

I think this sums it all up. A lot of bad and little good has happened to me since the last time. That's OK, it's part of life and I can't say that I was miserable during this period. I just had to work a lot. The good news now is that 2 Canadian teachers are scheduled to arrive at our school in September. The bad news is that they will take over all, but one of my classes in bushiban. This is very upsetting because I will go from 47h/w to 29h/w. I used to enjoy having the highest number of hours, now I will have the least. I must think positively. This will finally give me the chance to rest, exercise, read, learn Chinese, meet people! Less money, but more time... isn't that a non-sense. Yes, but I will profit from this time off.

Cheers,

LeTouriste