Taiwan 1

Feb 28th

My first days in Taiwan have been enjoyable but tiring. I have been busy shopping, observing my classes, meeting other teachers and somewhat desperately trying to figure out where I am in Yi-lan. So far I know how to get to a good grocery store and where a great coffee shop is. Today, Sonja (my new friend) scooted me all over. We had a good lunch at a pasta shop ( I had a yummy chicken curry ), then we strolled around a lovely park. There a river cuts through the green area and the mountain hills stand gorgeous in the background. There is also a common area for people to grow a small garden. The vegetation here is vast and varied. There are big trees, little trees, some with huge leaves others are tiny, long, narrow, short and wide. The mountain hills looks impenetrable as the trees are very luscious and dense. As we walked random people told us we were pretty, others practiced saying hello and army boys shouted as they jogged by.

People here sometimes seem somewhat sedated. I can’t figure out if everyone is just incredibly calm or stressed.

Last night was a hoot. I met up with the other teachers at a bowling alley, played three games and then I played poker with the boys at a local bar. Most of the teachers seem very friendly and seem to answer some of my questions before I ask them. Not speaking Mandarin could make this country a very isolating place so having fun and wise crowd of western friends is great. Last night someone said to Sonja, “ Laura is great, I would even hang out with her in real life”. I laughed hard when the message was passed on to me. I guess all the teachers hangout as we have to have someone to talk to. Its nice to know some friendships are genuine, not forced. My friends Sonja and I clicked in two minutes flat. We spend a lot of the day talking and she has been invaluable to me learning the “ropes” of Taiwan.

Things here are cheap, but not ridiculously inexpensive. I am sure some western teachers go home with little savings.

My students here are mostly adorable. There are some obnoxious wankers, but I can deal with them. Everyone calls we teacher Laura or teacher Roara. ☺ Some of the Taiwanese teachers are rude but I can handle them too. I think they may resent us because we make way more money then them. This isn’t really fair so I can see why they are frustrated.

I haven’t busted out my camera yet. I need to start teaching first and then I will begin shooting.