So today is my first Typhoon day. Taipei County and Taipei City both declared today to be a Typhoon day. That means it's a holiday for those areas.
Yesterday we went to the supermarket to stock up for the next day spent in the apartment. It was like one of those scenes from a movie about the impending apocalypse. The shelves weren't totally empty but they were definitely sparse. The lines at the checkout were very long also. We of course stocked up on the essentials: tonic water, chips, beer...oh and water of course. We also went to the video store and got a couple of movies. All the while it was pouring rain with gale force winds.
Typhoon day: today was the actual typhoon. I ventured out in the typhoon for more essentials: coffee and breakfast. Plus I had to go out in my first typhoon. Just about everything in my neighbourhood was closed, except for a couple of breakfast places, a coffee shop, convenience stores, and of course the internet cafes. The weather was great, more pouring rain and driving winds. It almost tore my umbrella to shreds but I survived.
The unfortunate part about all this is I only get paid for four hours of work when normally I work seven hours on Mondays. Ah well I'm getting paid for staying at home and watching movies all day.
I have now experienced my first typhoon. One more notch on the belt of Taiwanese experiences.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Artsy Fartsy pictures
Here is my attempt at being artistic, enjoy.
Alishan national park
Random tree
Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park
Alishan national park
Random tree
Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park
Lover's bridge in Danshui again
Fashion (continued)
Just wanted to mention something I forgot in my post about fashion. Roots is everywhere. Yes that Roots, as in the Canadian clothing store. I literally don't go a single day in Taiwan without seeing someone wearing something from Roots. I think it might be more popular here than in Canada.
I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.
Anyway that's it for now.
I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.
Anyway that's it for now.
PICTURES!!!
I have a lot more pics up on my facebook but here are a few.Havin a little too much fun at the zoo.
Taiwan has the coolest bridges. This is Lover's Bridge in a tourist area on the ocean called Danshui.
I have developed this weird fascination with Taipei 101, I can't stop taking pictures of it.
This is Alishan mountain at sunrise.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Fashion
Taiwanese fashion is a mix of just about everything. There doesn't seem to be any real trend or style per say.
Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.
Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!
Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.
And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.
Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.
Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!
Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.
And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The land of efficiency
Taiwan really is the land of efficiency. Everything is done to get you in and out with the minimum of both human contact and hassle, and they usually are connected in some way.
First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.
The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.
I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.
I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.
We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!
Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.
First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.
The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.
I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.
I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.
We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!
Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Kid Castle - a model of disorganization
The name of my school in Taiwan is Kid Castle. There are two parts to the school: there is the kindergarten which is just like it sounds; then there is the cram school which is for older kids who go to a normal Chinese school in the morning then come to us in the afternoon. The kindergarten has kids as young as 2 years old and goes up to about 5 or 6. Then the cram school has kids all the way up to their early teens I think.
I've been teaching for about 3 weeks now and getting the hang of it. Most of my kids are good, although you've got the occasional shit disturber, hmmm...sounds familiar. I've learned to become a bit of a hard ass with the kids sometimes. For example today my oldest class was a real pain in the ass. They wouldn't stop talking and goofing around every chance they had so I laid into them a bit today and told them there was no fun stuff until they smartened up. And when I want I can really yell at them. Surprisingly my voice hasn't given up yet from all the yelling. We are supposed to get a Chinese teacher in every class as the disciplinarian, except I never seem to get one so I have to discipline them myself. I have yet to smack a kid. Notice I said yet.
Anyway what really steams my whistle about this school is the total lack of organization. Let me give you a couple of examples. Last week I was asked to sub for a sick teacher at another Kid Castle branch. I spent about an hour preparing for the class and was all ready to go. I walked over to the other branch, about a 20 minute walk, sat down and read over my notes when my boss showed up, she also came to sub for a sick teacher, 8 minutes before the class started she told me I was to sub for a different class. So I had to wing it for a 2 hour class which I had 8 minutes to prepare for. My hour of preparation went right down the shitter.
Another example. Yesterday I was asked again to sub for a class at the other branch. Apparently my boss knew the teacher wasn't going to be there for 3 days but did not ask me to sub until 45 minutes before the class, remember it's a 20 minute walk, but I also had to go home first to get warmer clothes because I was prepared for a 6 minute walk to my place, not a 20 minute walk to the other branch. This kind of last minute stuff is apparently the norm around here. The good thing is that I can't be blamed for not being prepared for class because I'm not really sure when I'll be teaching a class. Schedules are changed all the time. I've only been there 3 weeks an already had my schedule changed numerous times.
In a two week span 4 foreign teachers have quit with 3 naming the schools disorganization and 1 naming my boss specifically as reasons for quitting. The good news is my boss is being replaced on February 1st by Andrew who has done the job before and been at the school for 12 years and in Taiwan for 15. He's a much more competent individual and I can't wait for him to start. Unfortunately some of the disorganization happens above my boss so not all of it will disappear.
I also love the curriculum. The books and curriculum are specific to Kid Castle. The best part is the numerous grammatical errors in the books and the instructions to the foreign teachers. For example we had a song to have the kids listen to then answer fill in the blank questions for listening comprehension. The word fishes was in the song. Fishes! We're supposed to be teaching proper English to these kids who will take our word as gospel concerning the language and we have the word fishes in the song. I had to explain to them that it was done to make it sound good in the song but it is actually incorrect. Nice and confusing for the kids. Good job Kid Castle!
Oh and I think I might have convinced another foreign teacher not to sign a contract with the school because of the lack of organization. Oops. Ah well she was leaning that way anyway. Actually it's funny because the teacher who is leaving and cited my boss directly as the reason said she convinced a couple of other potential foreign teachers not to sign with the school. Should be a memorable next 11 months. Anyways that's about it for now. Later.
I've been teaching for about 3 weeks now and getting the hang of it. Most of my kids are good, although you've got the occasional shit disturber, hmmm...sounds familiar. I've learned to become a bit of a hard ass with the kids sometimes. For example today my oldest class was a real pain in the ass. They wouldn't stop talking and goofing around every chance they had so I laid into them a bit today and told them there was no fun stuff until they smartened up. And when I want I can really yell at them. Surprisingly my voice hasn't given up yet from all the yelling. We are supposed to get a Chinese teacher in every class as the disciplinarian, except I never seem to get one so I have to discipline them myself. I have yet to smack a kid. Notice I said yet.
Anyway what really steams my whistle about this school is the total lack of organization. Let me give you a couple of examples. Last week I was asked to sub for a sick teacher at another Kid Castle branch. I spent about an hour preparing for the class and was all ready to go. I walked over to the other branch, about a 20 minute walk, sat down and read over my notes when my boss showed up, she also came to sub for a sick teacher, 8 minutes before the class started she told me I was to sub for a different class. So I had to wing it for a 2 hour class which I had 8 minutes to prepare for. My hour of preparation went right down the shitter.
Another example. Yesterday I was asked again to sub for a class at the other branch. Apparently my boss knew the teacher wasn't going to be there for 3 days but did not ask me to sub until 45 minutes before the class, remember it's a 20 minute walk, but I also had to go home first to get warmer clothes because I was prepared for a 6 minute walk to my place, not a 20 minute walk to the other branch. This kind of last minute stuff is apparently the norm around here. The good thing is that I can't be blamed for not being prepared for class because I'm not really sure when I'll be teaching a class. Schedules are changed all the time. I've only been there 3 weeks an already had my schedule changed numerous times.
In a two week span 4 foreign teachers have quit with 3 naming the schools disorganization and 1 naming my boss specifically as reasons for quitting. The good news is my boss is being replaced on February 1st by Andrew who has done the job before and been at the school for 12 years and in Taiwan for 15. He's a much more competent individual and I can't wait for him to start. Unfortunately some of the disorganization happens above my boss so not all of it will disappear.
I also love the curriculum. The books and curriculum are specific to Kid Castle. The best part is the numerous grammatical errors in the books and the instructions to the foreign teachers. For example we had a song to have the kids listen to then answer fill in the blank questions for listening comprehension. The word fishes was in the song. Fishes! We're supposed to be teaching proper English to these kids who will take our word as gospel concerning the language and we have the word fishes in the song. I had to explain to them that it was done to make it sound good in the song but it is actually incorrect. Nice and confusing for the kids. Good job Kid Castle!
Oh and I think I might have convinced another foreign teacher not to sign a contract with the school because of the lack of organization. Oops. Ah well she was leaning that way anyway. Actually it's funny because the teacher who is leaving and cited my boss directly as the reason said she convinced a couple of other potential foreign teachers not to sign with the school. Should be a memorable next 11 months. Anyways that's about it for now. Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)