Week 35: Happy Ari-ster!

Happy Ari-ster, everyone! Since last Sunday was Easter and Saturday was one of our cohort members' birthdays, we decided to combine the two into one celebration: Ari-ster. This week, we also saw the blue tears (which is a kind of bioluminescent algae) for the first time!

Photo credits to Ari Fahimi, 2023.

On Monday, I had my first day back from break. Teaching went well enough, then at lunch, I went to Donglin Seashore Park with my partner for a bit. It was nice and warm, so we just laid around on a grassy structure, from which we could spot a handful of yellow flowers blooming on the beach. Overall, I think it was a pretty good school day.

For dinner, a bunch of us ETAs plus the visiting sister and brother-in-law of one of the ETAs went to the Carrefour Night Market. Luckily, it wasn't raining this time, so we could sit and eat outside together. Then, a bunch of us went to class, and afterwards, my partner and I went looking for blue tears at Chenggong Beach.

Blue tears, also known as sea sparkle or Noctiluca scintillans, are a bioluminescent algae that fluoresce bright blue when agitated. Due to a variety of factors like water temperature and nutrients, they only appear at certain times in certain places. Some places blue tears can be found include Japan, Thailand, Bali, and Matsu. In Kinmen, they occur on the southern coasts of both Big and Little Kinmen in the spring (usually from March to late May/early June).

We spent an hour and a half after class just watching the ocean glitter from the beach. Every time the waves stirred up the algae just right, they flashed brilliant blue in a way reminiscent of lightning sparking in storm clouds or a plume of fire issuing from a dragon's mouth.

Gradually, some other ETAs and our ETF joined us to watch them, and at one point, myself and another ETA scooped up some water with blue tears in it. If we stirred the water quickly, the algae would flash blue, then when we poured the water back onto the mossy rocks, they'd glitter like falling stars as they washed back into the sea. It was probably one of the most magical experiences I've had this year in Kinmen.

Photo credits to Ari Fahimi, 2023 (left), and Tori Estepp, 2023 (right).

Unfortunately, the price to pay for an enchanting evening of blue tears was an exhausting day of sleep deprivation. Tuesday was stacked with classes, as usual, and on top of that, I had a sleep deprivation/sensory overload headache all day. Once I had dinner and took an Ibuprofen, I felt much better, though.

Wednesday was a little better. I taught fifth and sixth grade (my kindergarteners were sick, so I couldn't teach them this week), then called a friend from home. In the afternoon, I went to workshop and picked up boba for myself and another ETA (百香雙Q, or a passionfruit bubble tea, as is the cohort's general favorite) along the way.

Our workshop this week was activity sharing, so each of us shared one of our games/activities for our students. I shared a game I've called "Doctor, Doctor", which is a version of Signs modified for students to practice vocabulary like "toothache", "sore throat", "headache", etc. The demo went a little awry when the game's "sick person" (person initiating different symptoms) played a bit unconventionally, but everyone had a good time anyway.

I drove back to Little K after workshop, taught some folk dance, then got dinner and headed to Chinese class. Class was relatively lowkey. We all headed to FamilyMart afterwards for ice cream, then I went to bed. Although the day was nonstop, it wasn't too stressful.

My only class on Thursday was one of my third grade classes, during which one of my third graders gave me a lovely drawing of myself. It was adorable! She gave me a little crown too. I spent the rest of the day lesson planning, meeting with other teachers, and doing more lesson planning. It was a pretty chill just doing work. I also called my little sister in the morning, which was nice since I hadn't heard her voice in a while.

I had ramen near Carrefour for dinner, then picked up a bag of salted green mango at the night market before going to the cohort's weekly movie night at the Jinning apartment. First, we rewatched a YouTube video of someone reading the picture book "I Want My Hat Back" by Jon Klassen, which I'd shown my partner and he subsequently showed the rest of the cohort. The voice acting and sound effects were excellent, of course, especially for the part when the bear realized who had stolen his hat.

Then, after a group vote, we decided to watch one of the most clever, well-written movies of our generation: Shrek. I'd never seen the entirety of Shrek before (at least as a movie), but it was much better than expected.

Friday was my EV day as well as my planning for my partner's birthday. During lunch, I went with another ETA to a custom embroidery shop to get a custom keychain made for my partner. Then after school, once I'd gotten my oil changed and a scooter tire replaced, I headed to Yangzhai to buy another gift for him: a blue camouflage print mug that says "Old Soldiers Never Die" on it. The day before, I'd also bought three tubes of mini M&Ms for him, and earlier in the week, I'd bought party blowers, a birthday hat, and a birthday card.

I met up with him in Jinsha afterwards at a place called 古多利咖啡 (Gu Duo Li Café), which faced a field that gave major Midwest/Lancaster, PA vibes. We headed to the Indonesian restaurant for dinner, then went back to the apartment. Since everyone was tired that evening, we walked to Meng Jiu Guan (夢酒館) and had drinks there for a little, then all came back to the apartment and promptly passed out.

The next day was my boyfriend's birthday! We went to a beef noodle soup place in Shuitou (the southern part of Jincheng closer to the port), then explored Deyue Tower, Huanghuihang Yang Lou (a western-style house), and a cultural exhibition hall nearby. The architecture was lovely, and I liked learning about the cultural heritage of Chinese-Indonesian and Chinese-Malay inhabitants of the area. My partner and I briefly checked out the old city gate in Jinmencheng nearby, then wandered down a nearby street which had been in use since the Ming dynasty.

Back at the apartment, he had online Chinese tutoring, so I worked with some other Hong House ETAs to prepare the decorations and activities for that evening's festivities. Among other things, we made a banner made up of different photos of my partner, then used smaller versions of the photos for an Easter egg hunt later. I also had just enough time to sign his birthday card, upon which I drew one of his favorite things: a "dumbass-looking dog".

I'd planned a surprise dinner with everyone from the cohort (minus two others who had a service camp in Tainan that weekend), so my next job was keeping my partner out of the house until dinner. We went to the Triangle Fort Café in Jinning for a bit, then went back to Jincheng, where I blindfolded him and we walked to dinner at Mike's Quiches, which is his favorite restaurant in Kinmen.

Although I wasn't super great at getting my partner to the required location while keeping it 100% secret, I think he loved the surprise!! We had hung more photos of my partner around the restaurant, strung up a banner that said "Happy Birthday", and, of course, had party blowers. It was an amazing dinner!

Even though there were seventeen people there, Mike's Quiches did a phenomenal job catering. There were salads, pastas, including one bolognese everyone raved about, and pizzas, including a pizza that I could eat (no cheese!). Once we'd all eaten to our hearts' content, Mike (the eponymous owner of the restaurant) and his friend Allen brought out a huge tiramisu with birthday candles in it for my boyfriend, then we all sang happy birthday. Although dinner was three and a half hours, I think everyone had a great time eating, chatting, and celebrating.

Photo credits to Olivia Cohen, 2023.

We had a party afterwards at Hong House, where everyone dressed up like my partner and we had a variety of activities. The first event was a Blooket (Kahoot-like game) based on trivia about my boyfriend, then we had an Easter egg hunt using the photos of my partner from earlier. The winner received... an interesting Easter-themed self-portrait he'd drawn earlier. Then, we had lots of drinking, dancing, and game playing. Mike and Allen from Mike's Quiches as well as a couple of our coworkers came too, and it was a great time!

The next day, we had a beachside Songkran celebration for Thai New Year. I got brunch with some other ETAs beforehand, then ran some errands before heading over. Songkran was fun—we got to have a water fight. Each of us was handed some baby powder and a bottle of water with a hole punched in the top, then we took turns throwing the powder and spraying each other.

After that, we headed to into the water to bodyboard, play volleyball, and just float. The entire afternoon was pretty peaceful. We played frisbee, ate snacks, took naps, etc. Once we'd rinsed off, we headed to a 熱炒 restaurant (stir-fry restaurant) instead of our usual hotpot place. It was delicious; among other foods, we had fried golden tofu and stir-fried eggplant.

It was a busy week, but a wonderful one. I'm incredibly happy I got to see the blue tears for the first time, and I'm also overjoyed that I could spend the weekend hanging out with everyone. The dinners were amazing, the parties were wonderful, and the company couldn't've been better. I keep thinking about how close the end of the grant period is, and it's definitely freaking me out! Until we have to leave, I'm grateful for the time I have left with my cohort. Hopefully, I can keep in touch with everyone next year!