Apr II, Weeks 38 + 39: Thanks for the Kin-memories (Thnks fr th Knmmrs)

Over the past couple of weeks, there were lots of earthquakes and rain, but also lots of fun DIY workshops. I also made one final, giant Kinmen trip as well as a Changhua trip with my roommate. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Kinmen, but I know I'll come back someday, and I'm glad I could see everyone one last time.

Monday, April 15th, and Tuesday, April 16th, were pretty chill days at Budai (minus the earthquakes). Roughly every hour or so, I'd sit at my desk, hear a massive rumble as the entire building shook, then keep going about my day. I asked some of my kids if they were afraid of the earthquakes, and they gleefully said that not only were they used to them, but they thought they were fun. The same kids also pointed at the desk of a student who'd been absent for a month and told me that a police officer went to her house for truancy, so I think they just had a lot they wanted to share with me that day.

One of my other favorite parts of school on those days was discovering the kids' 8th grade English textbook, which has a lesson on farm animals and labor rights. It's like if Animal Farm were from an English textbook but the animals had a laptop, a lawyer, and the Labor Department.

Although I didn't do too much after school those days, my roommate and I did make Japanese curry. It was nice cooking on Monday, because our gas went out on Tuesday. Fun fact: you can make fried eggs in an air fryer. Not well, but you can.

On Wednesday, I spent the morning at Guogou teaching the second part of my cultural culinary road trip through the US (featuring deep dish pizza, LA hotdogs, and more). The lesson went well enough, then I got to attend an indigo dyeing workshop in the afternoon. Myself, my roommate, and most of the other Chiayi cohort members rolled up to Puzi Haoshushi (which is a local bookstore and community space), received a handkerchief/bandana and a bucket hat, then were taught how to create different patterns. It reminded me a lot of tie dyeing, which was sweetly nostalgic.

Once we'd rubberbanded, tied, rolled, and folded our hats and scarves as tightly as we could, we were given big buckets of foamy indigo dye and told to alternate between soaking the cloths and wringing them out. I had very little upper body strength to dedicate to the latter, but I think it went well, and I liked how my bandana turned out. My hat was... okay. Everyone else's materials looked great, though!

The other cohort members and I headed to a Viet restaurant for dinner, then played badminton in increasingly mosquito-filled conditions until we finally had to flee. All in all, it was a pretty fun day, and I liked seeing some of the city folks, whom I seldom see.

Thursday was my last day of the week teaching, but boy, was it busy. I decided to make up my classes (補課) for Friday, so I taught the exact same lesson four times. It got a little repetitive, but I liked seeing the kids' reactions to some of the games and activities at least. Then, I caught a train to Taipei and spent the evening hanging out with my partner and his roommates.

On Friday, I flew back to Kinmen!! This weekend was a little crazy; for months, I'd been planning a cohort Kinmen trip that ended up spiraling to include roughly thirty Fulbrighters (which is 1/5th of this year's whole Taiwan cohort). And finally, the weekend had come.

I spent most of the day hanging out with my school from last year. They had a field trip to learn about sea creatures, fishing, and nature, so I met up with them at Xinhu Harbor in Jinhu. My kids were excited to see me, as were last year's coworkers, and I was equally as excited to see them! I miss them so, so much!

I was immediately put to work shucking oysters by an oyster lady, which I think I did pretty well. It was actually kind of meditative. While I did so, I caught up with some of my old coworkers, the principal, and some of the kids. Some of the kids asked for hugs, of course, while others shyly approached me one by one.

The school was split into three groups: first and second graders, third and fourth graders, and fifth and sixth graders. The group I was with was the third and fourth grade group, and I was amazed by how tall they'd grown! They were also very sweet, and they seemed very focused as they took turns diligently washing and boiling their own oysters.

I also briefly visited the fifth and sixth graders upstairs, who were also pleasantly surprised to see me. Unlike some of my middle schoolers, they're doing pretty well at English, and they were eager to practice with me.

After a hearty McDonald's lunch (I had potato curry with noodles instead, thankfully), we went to Shanglin Coastal Beach on Little K. The school split the older kids (fourth to sixth graders) from the younger kids (first to third graders), so I accompanied the younger kids into the oyster fields. The beach and oyster fields were surprisingly green from the heavy spring rain, but they were lovely. As we headed down the oyster path, which was slippery with rain, mud, and seawater, one of the second graders decided to hold my hand. A couple of the kids fell throughout the excursion, but they still had fun seeing all the different flora and fauna.

The kid holding my hand was fascinated by all the seaweed and snails he saw; sometimes he'd ask me how to say something in English or make a comment about different animals. It was endearing to watch him and the other kids hunt for different creatures in the mud, and many of them caught varying sizes of fiddler crabs. Some of them even found baby horseshoe crabs!

As I walked around the beach, I also chatted with the school's principal. It sounds like they miss me, especially since they don't have an ETA/ETF or any other new foreign teachers this year. Sadly, as much as I love Jhuo Huan and I miss it, I think that part of my life is over, and I have to return to the US next year. I accompanied the kids back to school, said hello to the kindergarteners, and hung out with the older kids while they waited for their parents to pick them up. It was a bit of a drizzly day, but I was happy I could see my kids and hang out at school one last time before my time as a Fulbrighter was over. I know they'll do great in the future.

After saying a final goodbye to my coworkers and kids from last year, I headed to the local middle school (Lieyu Junior High) to see some of my former sixth graders. I only saw a handful of them since school had already let out for the day, but it was nice to see them again! They're much taller, and they seem to be entering their "cool teen" era, as my own seventh graders this year are. Hopefully, they continue to be their sweet, fun selves as they go through the rest of junior high and senior high.

Driving back across the bridge broke my heart a little. Is it weird to be emotionally attached to a 3.36 mile-long bridge overlooking Xiamen, China? Perhaps. But Little K and the bridge still hold a special place in my heart, especially when they were such a big part of my life for a year.

For dinner, my partner, some other Fulbrighters, and I headed to Isola Pizza Napoletana. We said hello to the owners, then had tons of excellent pizza, pasta, and more as everyone shared their new Kinmen experiences. We continued the night at Livehouse across the island. Somehow, almost all thirty of the visiting Fulbrighters plus some of this year's Kinmen ETAs arrived, and we spent the night mingling, chatting, playing games, etc. It felt nice to be back in Livehouse, especially when it's so full of people and laughter again. It reminded me a bit of last year, actually.

The next day, I hung out with various other Fulbrighters. I visited Maestro Wu's, then headed to ayi's for some amazing Indonesian food for lunch. There were some pretty rude tourists that ended up pressuring ayi and stealing my food, so I didn't get to eat too much, but I did share some curry and cendol with my partner. Then around 2pm, I went oystering with my partner and fifteen other people.

It was a lot like last year, actually, and everyone had a lot of fun! We waded out to the fields, then spent over two hours learning how to harvest, shuck, sort, and wash oysters as well as eating raw oysters (with Kaoliang spray, of course). My new oyster shucking knowledge from the Jhuo Huan field trip came in handy, so I got to teach some other Fulbrighters how to open the oysters. We also all hunted for little fiddler crabs, plus saw sea snails, feather stars (sea stars with feathery-looking tentacles), and sea cucumbers.

Once we'd collected sea snails and little clams, the oyster lady who helped organize the event brought us to her house so she could cook them for us. I was a bit nervous to try sea snail, but it was surprisingly good. It was sort of like trying a slightly chewier, firmer clam.

That evening, the other former Kinmen ETAs and I went to a final reunion dinner with our friends from last year. Our coordinator and LETs brought their partners and families, and we all caught up over a delicious Thai food dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Even though a lot's changed since last year, a lot's the same, and I still miss it all. I think I always will.

Dinner felt too short, and everyone left too soon, but it was a nice evening. The other former ETAs and I hung out at a nearby FamilyMart afterwards just being goofy and happy together, then headed to Houhu Beach. There weren't any blue tears, but I liked just having a little night beach moment with everyone.

Sunday was my last day in Kinmen, or at least for this year—hopefully, I can come back in the future. Before my partner and I headed out for the day, the old Kinmen cohort called us. They were having a reunion weekend too in Virginia Beach! It felt good to see everyone again, and it was a nice reminder that even though time has passed, we'll all still keep in touch.

I had luroufan in Jincheng with my partner for brunch, then headed to Zhang Ayi's in Yangzhai again to hang out with some other Fulbrighters. I ended up hanging out with another former Kinmen ETA as well as the New Taipei ETAs and even some of this year's Kinmen ETAs. I didn't get to see them for very long, but it was interesting getting to know them. We also went to Yangzhai Old Street for souvenirs, and I ended up buying a tee shirt and keychain. Pricey, but worth it.

In the airport, I met up with the other Kinmen ETA-turned-Chiayi ETF, then we flew to Kaohsiung together. Watching the rest of Kinmen disappear beneath the airplane wings was saddening, but I know it'll always be there for me to come back to. As much fun as the trip was, having this many people and doing this many things was a bit overwhelming, and there's still so much more I want to do and see in Kinmen.

At the very least, talking with some other former ETAs helped me realize that there'll never be a single, perfect goodbye visit. I think part of me will always want to come back, and I'm not sure if I can ever completely feel closure, just the distance that time will create between myself now and myself on that island.

Monday, April 22nd, was another day back at Budai. I kept the Kinmen spirit alive this week by teaching a Kinmen-themed lesson. I also borrowed the idea of postcard-making from last year's EV lessons, and the kids really liked it. Some of them were more than happy to draw Kaoliang on the back of their postcards, while others drew otters, hoopoes, or the Kinmen bridge.

The rest of the day wasn't bad, minus finding out that one of my seventh graders transferred to Yizhu Junior High. One of my coworkers came back from her zhuren (主任) position training, and she brought sun cakes, sesame candy, and some lantern fruit, among other things. I hadn't had a lantern fruit before, but it wasn't bad; it looked like a super round yellow cherry tomato, but it tasted kind of tart and reminiscent of a spice I couldn't really place.

My roommate and I made more curry for dinner, then watched more Physical: 100. It was a pretty uneventful evening, minus a big 10pm earthquake from Hualien. The earthquakes continued through the night, with two big ones that woke me up at 2:45am and 5:30am. I don't think I was the only one who slept poorly; when I went to school, my LET told me she was going to the temple to pray away her bad dreams. We went to Xinwen Temple nearby, and it was a cool cultural experience to learn more about how people in Taiwan pray at different temples.

Then after school, I drove to the city to have some writing time with some city cohort members. We hung out at a place called YJ Coffee, then had dinner at an udon restuarant we've been to before. It was a nice evening.

On Wednesday, I didn't have any classes thanks to the eighth graders' CPR training. I sat around and lesson planned most of the morning, but I also watched some of the kids practice on the CPR dummies. They're doing a pretty good job, I think.

In the afternoon, I had workshop in the city. Workshop went relatively well, then we all had a small belated birthday celebration for one of the ETAs. Even though it didn't last long, it was a nice time. We followed it up with dinner at an Indian restaurant, then I played some frisbee with some cohort members. Even if I didn't do great, I had fun playing, especially with some cohort members I don't usually hang out with.

Thursday was rainy, rainy, rainy. I taught the Kinmen lesson again, and it went pretty well, but the power went out during one of my classes. The third floor hallways started flooding too, so my students were running around barefoot using dustpans and brooms to shovel water off the side of the building. I think they were semi-successful at least? The rain didn't let up throughout the evening, so instead of heading to Yunlin with my roommate, we decided to watch Turning Red and stay in.

Classes and weather the next day were pretty normal. Lots of lesson planning and errands, etc. etc., then after school, my roommate and I headed up to Changhua. It was my first time visiting, and I was especially excited to go with my roommate, who was a Changhua ETA last year. Once we'd arrived in Yuanlin City, the two of us met up with a Changhua ETA at a tasty xiaolongbao and sesame noodle place, then eventually went to the Longdeng Night Market and Longdeng Park.

Saturday was a long, hot day, but it was fun! My roommate and I woke up at 7am, got sweet potato danbings, then we headed to an English camp led by the Changhua Fulbrighters and their coordinators. The two of us helped out a little as we floated from room to room, which included KTV, paper flower making, and capture the flag. I think I pulled something during capture the flag (ouch), but I had a good time anyway!

After the camp was over, six of us went to the Changhua Roundhouse, which is a historic railway roundhouse that's still in use. We got to see a train rotate on the turntable, which was cool, but it was so hot out that we had to take shelter at a delicious papaya milk place afterwards. Some of us also climbed up Baguashan (八卦山) to visit its famous giant buddha statue, which reminded me of the statue on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. In spite of the sweltering weather, I had a good time getting to know the Changhua Fulbrighters and exploring Changhua!

Later in the afternoon, my roommate, some other Changhua Fulbrighters, and I also went to dance class at a place called Dreamer Dance Studio, which my roommate and her cohort went to last year. We learned a fun modern dance routine, and even though my leg still hurt from capture the flag, I had a good time. Then, we visited a Fulbrighter's local friend's house for an evening of KTV and KFC. There were lots of early 2000s and 2010s nostalgia pop, of course, but also some Taiwanese ballads and excellent vibes.

On Sunday, my roommate and I had lunch at a restaurant called Taquería. There were cute decorations and pictures of Mexico everywhere, but the most striking part of the restaurant is the beautiful mural of Frida Kahlo holding some tacos on the wall. According to my roommate, the mural was painted by two of last year's Changhua ETAs, and the names of last year's cohort members are also hidden all over the mural. I liked trying the tamarind soda and the tacos, but my favorite part of visiting Taquería was seeing the bond between the restaurant owners and my roommate—it was sweet to see how happy they were chatting, and it reminded me of our cohort's relationship with the owners of Isola Pizza Napoletana last year.

We headed out to Lukang afterwards, and it was a cute town. We walked down Lukang Old Street, which had lots of little shops in traditional building selling things like crocheted flowers, snacks, and other souvenirs. One of my favorite parts of the day was trying the ice cream at a shop called 山風藍 (Shanfenglan). I had the mango and local jasmine tea, both of which were excellent: very fresh, rich, sweet, and smooth.

The two of us also visited the Lukang Artist Village, wandered the old street again, and did a DIY dough figurine workshop. Historically, people (especially in Lukang) would use flour and water to shape little figurines of different characters, then use them as offerings. My roommate and I used dough with added preservatives (thankfully) to create figurines for keychains; I made the blue Sumikko Gurashi dinosaur (Tokage), and my roommate made Bugcat Capoo. Despite some minor frustration I had with molding the smaller parts, I think our figurines turned out pretty well... for a while. We had a small casualty on the way back to Chiayi: my roommate's Bugcat got smushed under her bag.

These past couple of weeks, I've had fun trying new things, like indigo dyeing and oyster shucking, and classes have been going pretty okay (minus the usual difficulties of teaching middle school). I've also liked visiting Kinmen and Changhua, but they were tough reminders of how much things have changed (for both my roommate and myself). It's been almost a year since we've left it all: our former cohorts, coordinators, schools, apartments, and sites. I think some part of me will always be on that island, and in some ways, I'm glad I will be.

Here's to the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning, and everything in between. Until next week!

Writer's Note: This blog post was originally written on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024.