Week 15: I'm scootin' in the rain

Returning to classes this week from our weekend in Taipei felt a bit like getting hit by a truck. After all the sleep deprivation of the weekend, plus the lack of turnaround time, I think most of us slid facefirst into the work week. Personally, I hadn't had time to prepare all of my materials, but I made it through the day, plus even got to work on the anger management poster I'd created for one of my classes. After school, I immediately launched into running errands, and I barely had time to get dinner before Chinese class. Even during Chinese class, I felt like I had one foot out the door trying to get home to write one of our monthly Fulbright reports.

The nicest part of the day was probably going to a nearby beach with the other Little K ETAs during lunch. It was a pretty chill outing, but we all just chatted. I collected a couple shells. We saw a bunch of tanks being cleaned for military drills. Typical Kinmen stuff.

Unfortunately, Kinmen finally decided to show us what rainy season was like this week. Up until now, it hadn't really rained since we'd arrived, but from Tuesday to Friday, it was all rain almost all the time. I trudged through my Tuesday classes, then came home and decompressed a smidge before I got dinner and did some work on another project with another ETA.

As a still somewhat-novice scooter-er, I don't feel super great driving in the rain. I think the bridge was okay, but driving in the rain at night in Jincheng? Anxiety-inducing at best. I think I also felt like I was at my limit on Tuesday. With the rain, the sleep deprivation, and the sheer amount of lesson planning I had, I was ready to lie face down on the floor for the next couple days.

Wednesday went more smoothly than I'd expected, so I felt less exhausted than I'd been the past couple days. Once classes had ended, I took a nap at the apartment and did some work, then went back to Jhou Huan to help with Chinese folk dance. Wednesday night was also the night that plane tickets for Lunar New Year went on sale, so part of my night was spent sitting anxiously by my laptop with my partner. Booking tickets took much longer and was much more frustrating than expected, but I booked mine!

Unfortunately, I booked the wrong ones (I switched the destinations), so I tried to call the airline, but to no avail. The best solution was to go directly to the aiport to fix them. Great.

I think the rainiest days of the week were Thursday and Friday. Thursday went well enough, and I got to do my weekly piano and dance practice. I think the screen part of the door to the music classroom was open, because while I was practicing piano, I had several visitors (students and teachers alike) wander over to see who was playing.

Thursday was also the first of the two days of the semester that my fifth graders went to EV. They came back at the end of the day excited to tell me that they'd seen my photo in the classroom, and that they couldn't wait to see me on Friday! I was happy they had a good time, and I was excited for EV too.

Back at the apartment, the weather was so rainy that my partner and I ordered from FoodPanda instead of going out for dinner. Two other ETAs did though, then got massages (which were recounted quite vividly as soon as they got back). Although the massages were apparently a little intense, they had wonderful results. I spent the rest of the night chatting with everyone, then eventually went to bed.

Friday was my EV day, and I was excited to see my kids! I scooted to Jinhu, then chatted with the other ETAs while we waited for the kids to show up. This week, it was both my and my boyfriend's schools' fifth graders, so both the Jhou Huan and the Xi Kou kids came. The energy that they brought? Insane. Even though they weren't always the best behaved, they were an incredibly vibrant group, and I loved seeing them.

After school, I did some stuff at the airport, bought some rain gear at Poya, then had dinner with one of my LETs. Back at the apartment, I chatted with some other ETAs, which included the Mr. Hong House ETAs, then eventually went to bed. Although it was definitely a long day, I had fun at EV! I had less fun scooting in the rain, but it is what it is.

The next day, we had our fall potluck, so I spent the whole day doing errands and prepping for my contribution: brown sugar boba. Besides buying some ingredients, I also bought a space heater, we hung some Christmas lights, and I reorganized my room. I was short on time, so I panicked a smidge while making my bubble tea, but I got it done.

The potluck was amazing: we had Korean fried chicken, roasted potatoes, frybread, dumplings, green beans, beef stroganoff, and more. Our game of touch football was rained out, but I liked chatting with everyone, especially the other ETAs that I don't get to see during the week.

I slept quite poorly due to the fact that I decided (unwisely) to drink some black tea, but I made it to Chinese folk dance without falling asleep. It was the last class of the semester! I wasn't terribly present mentally, unfortunately. Dancing was fine though.

In addition to a bag of pumpkin mantou, I also got handed a voucher for $200 NTD of free food from a coffee chain by the teacher. Everyone's been quite sweet, so I hope I see them again next semester!

After I had lunch with some other ETAs, I ventured out in search of a mattress pad with one of them. Somehow, I did okay navigating mattress pad buying in Mandarin (while simultaneously translating for the other ETA). I did well enough that the store person even complimented me on my English (in Mandarin) and asked if I was Taiwanese! I don't think I did that well, but it was nice to hear.

Back at the apartment, I completely crashed. I walked upstairs, tried to help proofread an article for my partner, then promptly swaddled myself and took a half hour nap. I vibed with the rest of the Mr. Hong House ETAs once I woke up, went to our weekly hotpot, etc. Not much else.

The week was definitely long and rainy, but I think it was okay. Seeing my kids at EV and having our fall potluck were probably the week's highlights for me. I hope there isn't much of a rainy season here, because I can't imagine scooting in the wind and the rain here, especially across the bridge.

The weather this week didn't help the fact that the semester feels like it's dragging a bit now. We've certainly reached that point in the semester. I still very much enjoy teaching and seeing the kids everyday, but I wouldn't mind a nice little break. Only a month more until New Year's!

Writer's Note: This post was originally written on Sunday, November 27th, 2022.