Week 33: Rain, Rain, Go Away

This week was a little rainy, but it generally got nicer as the week went on. This Saturday also marked the start of our April break! Although the Tomb Sweeping Day/ Children's Day break was only officially five days, lots of us ETAs used some vacation time to make the break last nine days instead.

Monday was alright. I had all my classes, and I got to teach my students more slang. The sixth graders loved "dude" and "man", and the fifth graders had fun with "s'up". I noticed that the sixth graders also made a "weather doll" (晴天娃娃) to wish for clear weather. Was it mildly terrifying hanging from the sign outside the classroom door? A little. But it was sweet that they made one. The sixth graders also got matching jackets for their graduation year.

On Tuesday, I had my class-heavy day. As exhausted as I was, I made it through all five classes, then lesson planned for my observation the next day with one of my LETs. It was sunny for a bit in the middle of the day, so I have hope for the rest of the week, but then it started raining again later. During the day, I was also notified that I had been selected as an English Teaching Fellow (ETF) for next year!

I was interviewed by one of my roommates for her technical writing class after school, then I hung out in 3F with some other Hong House ETA's. Since it was my partner and I's five month anniversary (and I had also gotten offered an ETF position), we had dinner at a fancy hotpot place. It was amazing; both the meats and the hotpot broths were excellent, and we also got free milk tea, ice cream, and popcorn.

The next day was my observation day. In some ways, most of the things that could've gone wrong did go wrong. Kindergarten and sixth grade were fine, but fifth grade was difficult. Since the county tee ball game had gotten rained out, all of the sixth graders and several fifth graders had just returned to school. I had also had to change my observation class from sixth grade to fifth grade at the last minute, so that combined with the fact that the kids had been cooped up inside for almost two weeks due to rain spelled a minor disaster for class. Even kids who normally listened were antsy or distracted. Fortunately, the observers seemed incredibly sympathetic.

Also, due to the county tee ball game being rained out, the sixth graders immediately gave their weather doll a face and several offerings. Fifth grade also installed a weather doll outside their classroom (minus the offerings).

Once classes were over, I rushed home, then to a boba shop, then to NQU for a volunteer event. Myself and several other ETAs had signed up to hold a cultural salon with NQU students discussing college life. We talked about our own experiences, which included student life and the application process, then we played rage cage with apple sidra. I think it went pretty well! The students liked practicing English and sharing their experiences, and many of them stayed and chatted with us for over an hour afterwards.

On my way to dinner, I had my first (semi-major) scooter accident. As expected, it was rainy, so the roads were slick. When one of my friends stopped at a sudden red light, I did too, but I skidded a bit before I fell over. Despite having my scooter fall on me, I was okay! Just had a couple bruises and a little cut. The scooter was fine too.

Dinner itself was nice; we went to Night Owl. Then we had class, and I came home to vibe with the other Hong House ETAs. As hectic as the day was, I think it went well enough. It also meant I was one day closer to my nine day break!

Thursday was my last day at Jhou Huan before break. In the morning, I got a new Jhou Huan shirt, which was pretty cool. My classes went well enough, and it was actually kind of sunny for part of today—the weather doll is working! Every time I checked on it today, it had even more offerings. I even left some cherry tomatoes as an offering. Interestingly enough, once the students came back from losing one of their tee ball matches, they added a second sign wishing for victory in their next tee ball game. Unfortunately, they still lost.

During lunch, I went to the honey shop again with my partner, and we got a chrysanthemum tea, a honey latte, and some fruit tarts. The shop was pretty calm until a family arrived and ordered ice cream. Alas, Pipi (one of the shop cats) was in the mood for ice cream, so he leapt on the counter a couple times to steal some.

Back at school, I didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon. I spent most of the time helping my LET record the English audio for my fifth and sixth graders' English midterms.

On Friday, we didn't have any students at EV, so half of the day was spent sorting books, and the other half was spent baking cookies. During the first half, another ETA and I scanned a bunch of books' ISBNs. Besides finding a wonderful picture book about a bear that loses his hat, we entertained ourselves by deciding that ISBNs that start with 0590 are clearly the best (as opposed to ISBNs that start with 978).

In the afternoon, we made matcha and non-matcha chocolate chip cookies, all of which we shaped into squares for funsies. Although the matcha cookies were kinda zombie-colored, both batches tasted pretty good.

That evening, a good chunk of the cohort left for their April break destinations. Those of us left in Mr. Hong House decided to get dinner at the Carrefour Night Market, Kinmen's one and only (also semiannual) night market. The experience was a little less enjoyable in the pouring rain, but I liked seeing all the different stalls. Among other things, I got a beef xian bing (餡餅), a crispy donut-shaped scallion pancake, and a sugarcane juice. I also shared some dumplings and powdered fruit jelly cubes with the other ETAs. Pretty tasty.

Saturday was wonderfully chill. I woke up, did some last minute packing for the trip, then took a nap. Around 6pm or so, my boyfriend and I headed to the airport for our flight. Although we were delayed for ten-ish minutes by the weather, we made it to Kaohsiung and our hotel in one piece.

On Sunday, my partner and I woke up, then explored Kaohsiung. After breakfast at the hotel, we took the MRT to a bridge at the heart of Love River. On the way, we saw the Dome of Light, which is an art installation made of colored glass located at Kaoshiung's central MRT station. The colors were even more vivid than I'd imagined they'd be!

Once we reached Love River, my partner and I went for a short walk. Besides finding a wallet that we returned to the police station, the walk was largely uneventful. Since it was so hot out, we went to a shaved ice/dessert place to cool off. We got a matcha crepe cake and a matcha chocolate shaved ice, both of which were pretty good, but the crepe cake was the best.

Neither my partner or I rented scooters in Kaohsiung, so we chose to bike to the Lotus Pond, which is famous for, as one would guess, lotuses. It's also famous for its various temples, including the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. I loved seeing the pagodas; the architecture was cool, and there were lots of little turtles and ducks swimming through the pond. We also checked out the Spring and Autumn Pavilions and Yuandi Temple before heading back to our hotel for a nap.

For dinner, we met up with another Kinmen ETA at a riverside beer garden, then went to Liuhe Night Market. The market was pretty crowded, but the food was wonderful. There were also a ton of smaller shops nearby, including a turtle-themed store with its own local gang of tortoises.

It's been a pretty good week. Although there's been a little rain and a minor scooter accident (as well as a chaotic class observation), I've had a good time teaching, hanging out, and exploring (Kaohsiung's much cooler than it seemed during quarantine). I'm also incredibly happy that I'll be able to continue living in Taiwan next year as an ETF! The only downside is that I'll have to say goodbye to my current cohort, whom I adore dearly.

It doesn't feel quite real that somehow, it's already been eight-ish months here. We've learned how to ride scooters, find the best restaurants in Kinmen, and navigate the rest of Taiwan, and we've had countless badminton days, bar hops, and hotpot nights together. I don't really want it to end.

At the very least, I'm glad several other Kinmen cohort members are staying in Taiwan next year too (my partner included), so we'll still see each other—I'll just miss seeing everyone together. Hopefully, next year brings another great cohort and another wonderful time in Taiwan. Until next week!