I have now been out of the Canada for about two weeks, and in Taiwan for about 10 days. It has been a wild experience so far. It seems like I have been out of Canada for a very long time, much longer than two weeks. The transition to this very new and very different culture has been hard at times. Couple my feelings of culture shock and missing friends, family and Joelle with experiencing all these feelings in relative relational solitude, and there are times that are very tough. On the other hand, I am experiencing what many only ever dream of. This trip is truly dichotomous, a cohesion of tough times and excellent ones - often all at once!
Keeping with that theme of hard and amazing all in one experience, lets talk about teaching english to kindergarten students. I officially have my own class now. The youngest in my class are 2 years old with the oldest being 5. That is a naturally difficult age range to teach to, never mind the differing language skills. I have a Taiwanese teacher in my class that helps with discipline. By helps with discipline I mean that when a student gets out of line she scares the living crap out them, usually makes them cry and, sometime, gives them a good whack! I am told by other teachers that I will need to get used to my students being hit, because it is going to happen - that is just the way it goes in this country. I have been here one week and seen it one time, although in this case, it was a mild smack on the butt!
The teaching itself is going to be an exercise in energy conservation. I have these young kids for 2 full hours. Trying to keep the kids who are this young focused for that long is a trial all on its own, never mind the reality that they usually dont understand everything I am saying and with the simple action of no longer looking at me, can tune me out at any time. Some kids are better at english than others are, but for the most part, even the simple concepts have to explained in great detail using many different forms of body language.
Although this will be a challenge, it has already been rewarding. Hearing "good morning Teacher Jordan" in their cute little accents is one of the highlights of my day. They are so cute and I enjoy almost every moment with them. It is hard to be a good disciplined teacher, as I have to be here in Taiwan, when all you want to do is give them a big hug! I have a feeling that these kids will be the highlight of my trip!
So, thus far life in Taiwan has been full of many challenges and many good times. I really miss those back home in Canada, but am grateful for every second I am here - I know it is a blessing and an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. And, for all those blessings I have back home, I know that I will cherish them so much more once I return.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Arriving in My New Home
On Friday October 12, 2007 - I arrived in what would become my new home for the next while. It is a diffirent experience getting off the plane and knowing that this is your new home, and yet you have no idea what to expect once you leave the airport! I passed through security, collected my bags and wondered into the unkown. The principle at my school, Ellen, came to pick me up. It was really nice to have a local person who could speak English walk me through the steps. The first stop we made was to meet the English director at the school, Gareth - a guy from Ottawa who has been in Taiwan for 8 years now. From there we went to Walton school, the school I will be teaching at and I took a tour. It is a really nice place - very modern and clean. After I finished my tour, Ellen informed me that an agent was coming to let me look at some apartments with him and that hopefully I would have an apartment by the end of the day so that I wouldnt need to find a hotel! So, in the span of about 2 hours, I had a new city to call home, a new place of employment and was soon to have a new apartment - talk about moving fast! So after looking at about 4 different places, all of which were old and run down, I stumbled accross one in an old run down building that was clean and newly renovated. The furniture was new and I could not find a bug anywhere! Being my fathers son, I didnt want to make a decision too quickly so I said I would hold off on it, even though it had been the best one so far. The land lord realizing I was new in the country and a little unsure offered to let me stay there for the night to test it out, if I liked it I could stay, if not I could just give her a little bit of money and move on. Well, again being my fathers son, I did not want to make any decisions too quick so I asked her to let me stay the entire weekend while I exlpored the city and looked at some more places. She agreed but hers was the best and I will be signing the lease very soon!
The next morning ( that being saturday) I met gareth and he fixed me up with a cell phone and a scooter! I was told I could not survive in the city without one because it is really big and the transit system is obsolete ( although a brand new one will be completed in one year). The scooter was exciting and scary. I have to admit that it was really fun, however, given the fact that the traffic here is insane, it was, and still is, very scary! I spent the rest of the day on saturday on my scooter exploring the city on my new scooter.
Sunday was more aparment hunting and a little relaxation. I found a starbucks about 2 blocks away from the apartment I was staying in(which helped me decide to stay there!). In a time when I was experiencing so many unfamiliar things, starbucks gave me the familiar I needed! It also provided wireless internet which was nice!
Then on sunday night, I went to church. It was not my type of church persay, but the poeple were freindly and they spoke english. I got some phone numbers of some poeple who would be willing to help me if I ever got into trouble which made me feel much, much better.
Then on monday I started my journey into educating young children....which is another blog post altogether!
All in all, Kaohsiung is an intersting city. It is mostly old and run down buildings with new, modern ones popping up and an ever increasing rate. The city that used be characterised as an over polluted, industrial city with little to offer has become a city that is still really polluted, but offers rich culture and some interesting sights. I am looking forward to exploring it, and the entire Island further.
The next morning ( that being saturday) I met gareth and he fixed me up with a cell phone and a scooter! I was told I could not survive in the city without one because it is really big and the transit system is obsolete ( although a brand new one will be completed in one year). The scooter was exciting and scary. I have to admit that it was really fun, however, given the fact that the traffic here is insane, it was, and still is, very scary! I spent the rest of the day on saturday on my scooter exploring the city on my new scooter.
Sunday was more aparment hunting and a little relaxation. I found a starbucks about 2 blocks away from the apartment I was staying in(which helped me decide to stay there!). In a time when I was experiencing so many unfamiliar things, starbucks gave me the familiar I needed! It also provided wireless internet which was nice!
Then on sunday night, I went to church. It was not my type of church persay, but the poeple were freindly and they spoke english. I got some phone numbers of some poeple who would be willing to help me if I ever got into trouble which made me feel much, much better.
Then on monday I started my journey into educating young children....which is another blog post altogether!
All in all, Kaohsiung is an intersting city. It is mostly old and run down buildings with new, modern ones popping up and an ever increasing rate. The city that used be characterised as an over polluted, industrial city with little to offer has become a city that is still really polluted, but offers rich culture and some interesting sights. I am looking forward to exploring it, and the entire Island further.
A Delayed Account of My Hong Kong Experience
After a long flight, a train ride, driving in a taxi, checking into my hostel(which I didnt book until I landed on the ground in Hong Kong) and a short sleep, I woke up in a totally unfamiliar place ready to explore. I went to bed that night with a really wierd feeling - not having any idea where I was in relation to anything else. I knew I was in Hong Kong, but other than that - I was lost. So the first thing I did was get a map! From there I took my backpack and started walking.
I started in Kowloon (Cosmopolatin Hong Kong has two main areas - central Hong Kong which is where all the western businesses are and is the more "international area" and Kowloon, which is accross the bay from Hong Kong and is the more distinctly chinese area). After walking for about 45 minutes I made my way to the water. I found a ferry accross the bay for $2.2 HKD ( about 30 cents) and explored the international side first. I saw the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong version of time square, modern malls, sophisticated technology, old run down buildings and almost everything in between. After my adventures there, I crossed the bay one more time by my trusty ferry and went to Kowloon. There I found the art museum, science museum and the most interesting part of Hong Kong, the chinese culture. Along the main routes you would find modern buildings with some western familiarity. But, when you went off the main tourist path you would find the real Hong Kong. The Hong Kong that, unfortunately, most tourists probably dont bother to see. THe streets were alive with street vendors, the sky was busy with signs jutting out from every possible place on the old buildings. The shops usually sold one or two things. I remember a stretch of road where one shop sold doors, the next door nobs and just two shops down you could find any kind of door bell you wanted. The poeple were friendly, but used to a white face - it is Hong Kong after all. But, the highlight of Hong Kong was that on the MTR ( mass transit railway - their underground subway) the poeple of Hong Kong dedicated a subway terminal after me. Now, you can go to Hong Kong and find Jordan Station! I took a couple of pictures! My last stop in Hong Kong was a light show. Like most things in Hong Kong, they held nothing back. The light show was to a chinese symphony and the buildings in Hong Kong Central were all ecquiped with different lights. The symphony would play and the buildings would literally flash to the music. So there you have it, dancing buildings - that was pretty neat!!
In summation, Hong Kong was really exciting. It was an intersting fusion between old and new, western and eastern. I would definatley recomend anyone to go there and explore. They say in the Lonely Planet that is is possible to stay there for $250HKD a day if you are incredibly frugal - well I am proud to say that yours truly was there for two nights and almost two full days and I spent a total of $200HK....just shows that staying in hostels and exploring everything by foot will keep you richer in your pocket book and, perhaps, give you a richer cultural experience!
I started in Kowloon (Cosmopolatin Hong Kong has two main areas - central Hong Kong which is where all the western businesses are and is the more "international area" and Kowloon, which is accross the bay from Hong Kong and is the more distinctly chinese area). After walking for about 45 minutes I made my way to the water. I found a ferry accross the bay for $2.2 HKD ( about 30 cents) and explored the international side first. I saw the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong version of time square, modern malls, sophisticated technology, old run down buildings and almost everything in between. After my adventures there, I crossed the bay one more time by my trusty ferry and went to Kowloon. There I found the art museum, science museum and the most interesting part of Hong Kong, the chinese culture. Along the main routes you would find modern buildings with some western familiarity. But, when you went off the main tourist path you would find the real Hong Kong. The Hong Kong that, unfortunately, most tourists probably dont bother to see. THe streets were alive with street vendors, the sky was busy with signs jutting out from every possible place on the old buildings. The shops usually sold one or two things. I remember a stretch of road where one shop sold doors, the next door nobs and just two shops down you could find any kind of door bell you wanted. The poeple were friendly, but used to a white face - it is Hong Kong after all. But, the highlight of Hong Kong was that on the MTR ( mass transit railway - their underground subway) the poeple of Hong Kong dedicated a subway terminal after me. Now, you can go to Hong Kong and find Jordan Station! I took a couple of pictures! My last stop in Hong Kong was a light show. Like most things in Hong Kong, they held nothing back. The light show was to a chinese symphony and the buildings in Hong Kong Central were all ecquiped with different lights. The symphony would play and the buildings would literally flash to the music. So there you have it, dancing buildings - that was pretty neat!!
In summation, Hong Kong was really exciting. It was an intersting fusion between old and new, western and eastern. I would definatley recomend anyone to go there and explore. They say in the Lonely Planet that is is possible to stay there for $250HKD a day if you are incredibly frugal - well I am proud to say that yours truly was there for two nights and almost two full days and I spent a total of $200HK....just shows that staying in hostels and exploring everything by foot will keep you richer in your pocket book and, perhaps, give you a richer cultural experience!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Lost in Hong Kong
I arrived in Hong Kong at about 11pm Hong Kong time. The adventure begun. I did not really have a sense for where i was going to be sleeping, though I had got the name and number of a few places. After spending about 25 minutes looking for a phone, I proceeded to find a place. THen, not having any clue where it was or how to get there I went to visitor information and got the directions in english, then written in mandarin. I took a train and then got a taxi. gave him the directions in mandarin and off I went. The wierdest feeling is having to totally rely on someone else. Not having a working phone anymore (which is wierd in and of itself) if something went wrong, I would be in Hong Kong with no means of getting ahold of anyone, and, perhaps scarier, no one to get ahold of.
But, here I sit in my hostel. It is somewhere in Kowloon, which is a district of Hong Kong. The room is small, but private. it is about 5.5 feet wide and about 8 feet deep. The ceiling are normal height, but the bed is small and hard. I have an air conditioner and a little tv and I share a bathroom with about 4 other poeple. The bathroom is pobably about the size of the shower in my house. The only difference is that in that space their is a toilet, a sink and the shower. The shower head comes up to my chest!
So here I sit. In the middle of Hong Kong not knowing anyone and not having any idea where I am exactly. I will endeavor to discover this tomorrow when it is light outside. Until then I will anticipate the adventure to come in the morning.
But, here I sit in my hostel. It is somewhere in Kowloon, which is a district of Hong Kong. The room is small, but private. it is about 5.5 feet wide and about 8 feet deep. The ceiling are normal height, but the bed is small and hard. I have an air conditioner and a little tv and I share a bathroom with about 4 other poeple. The bathroom is pobably about the size of the shower in my house. The only difference is that in that space their is a toilet, a sink and the shower. The shower head comes up to my chest!
So here I sit. In the middle of Hong Kong not knowing anyone and not having any idea where I am exactly. I will endeavor to discover this tomorrow when it is light outside. Until then I will anticipate the adventure to come in the morning.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Awaiting the Unknown
Here I sit in the Vancouver airport awaiting my 13 hour flight to Hong Kong. It is a weird feeling, sitting in the familiarity of Canada and awaiting the total unknown! I saw an Asian travel group not too long ago. The tallest of them came up to my chest, the shortest to my belly button. They spoke fast and with passion, I had no idea what was going on. I imagine this, but on a much larger scale, will be my experience once I arrive in Taiwan. It is scary, yet somehow exciting. Is it madness to step onto a plane and have no idea what will await you on the other side, to go to a country with 1.3 billion people, and yet know no one? Part of the time I think it is, other times I realize that these experiences stretch us and make us stronger. I have no doubt that this experience will be a broad amalgamation of good times, great times, and challenges. It is however the mixture of these that will make it what I wish it to be, the reason I decided to go; a truly life changing experience.
I wish to say to my friends that you are awesome and I can’t wait to come and tell you all my stories and show you all my pictures. We will keep in touch through the marvel of the internet and all its applications (ie. facebook!). To my mom and dad, thank you for everything you have done to help me with this trip. I would not be sitting in this airport without you! Thank you also for instilling in me the confidence that allows me to take on such an endeavor. To Carissa, you are seriously my best friend and I will really miss you, however, not much will change! Instead of me talking to you in which ever random city you are in, I will be talking you on the phone from Taiwan while you are in a random city. To the boys, Jason and Josh, a big brother could not ask for better little brothers, even though one of you is already bigger than me and the other is soon to follow. Over the years our relationship has turned from me baby sitting you and running from charging stools, to a relationship of genuine friendship. There are no other guys on the planet I would rather spend time with than you, I will miss you lots but we will talk often and perhaps send the odd email back and forth! Joelle, what can I say. When I planned this trip about 7 months ago, I had no idea that I would meet someone as amazing as you. The last 5 and a half months have been awesome and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, even though it doesn’t make leaving Edmonton any easier. Your support in this whole situation, and the fact that you are cool with me leaving for 6 months, is incredible. I am a very lucky guy to have you in my life.
Next time I write I will probably be lost in Hong Kong somewhere!!! Until then have fun in Edmonton. It was 27 degrees in Taiwan yesterday (thought you might like to know!).
I wish to say to my friends that you are awesome and I can’t wait to come and tell you all my stories and show you all my pictures. We will keep in touch through the marvel of the internet and all its applications (ie. facebook!). To my mom and dad, thank you for everything you have done to help me with this trip. I would not be sitting in this airport without you! Thank you also for instilling in me the confidence that allows me to take on such an endeavor. To Carissa, you are seriously my best friend and I will really miss you, however, not much will change! Instead of me talking to you in which ever random city you are in, I will be talking you on the phone from Taiwan while you are in a random city. To the boys, Jason and Josh, a big brother could not ask for better little brothers, even though one of you is already bigger than me and the other is soon to follow. Over the years our relationship has turned from me baby sitting you and running from charging stools, to a relationship of genuine friendship. There are no other guys on the planet I would rather spend time with than you, I will miss you lots but we will talk often and perhaps send the odd email back and forth! Joelle, what can I say. When I planned this trip about 7 months ago, I had no idea that I would meet someone as amazing as you. The last 5 and a half months have been awesome and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, even though it doesn’t make leaving Edmonton any easier. Your support in this whole situation, and the fact that you are cool with me leaving for 6 months, is incredible. I am a very lucky guy to have you in my life.
Next time I write I will probably be lost in Hong Kong somewhere!!! Until then have fun in Edmonton. It was 27 degrees in Taiwan yesterday (thought you might like to know!).
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Getting Ready To Go
Well, I am about to embark on my adventure in Asia. Yesterday I booked my flight and I will be off to the wonderful world of Asia. I leave Edmonton on Tuesday October 9 and will arrive in Hong Kong on October 10. From Hong Kong, I plan to move to Taiwan. It will be a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to the good times, and the challenges, that are sure to come. Stay tuned for my many adventures!
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