Snapshots...

Sunset with the overshadowing mountains in the background, from Taipei bridge


JOY RIDING on Green Island...
Reflecting on the beauty of the moment....




Catching my breath & just chillin' by the seaside...
Enjoying a quick stroll in the pristine
waters of the Pacific Ocean...

"Reflection from a Scooter Helmet"

View from above: Hiking in Sansia, Taipei County

Ministry of Education - Foreign Teachers in Taiwan - Aug. '05

On August 19, 2005, foreign teachers from Canada began to arrive at the National Academy for Educational Research in Sansia, Taipei County. During the next several days, teachers arrived from Canada, the United States, Ireland and Scotland.
Teacher training was for 7 days and included origami, Chinese calligraphy, tai chi, introduction to Mandarin, t-shirt dying, a visit to the old temple in Sansia, Yingue Ceramics Museum and a stroll to the Shilin Nightmarket in Taipei City.

Teacher's Day!

Happy Teacher's Day to all teachers!
Teacher's Day card given to me from class 5-4!
It's always satisfying, humbling & an honour to feel appreciated & loved as a teacher!

Taste Buds Field Day: Savor the Food!

Favourite Drinks: Passion Fruit Green Tea, Pearl Milk Tea
Favourite Foods: Beef noodle soup, Fried chicken steak, dumplings...


BEST TASTING Pork ribs in rice noodles - Fengyuan, Taichung County

水果冰 - FRUIT ICE: A mountain of shaved ice, topped with ice & smothered in dark sugar!

牛肉麵 - BEEF NOODLES: big chunks of tender beef in a aromatic beef broth with green veggies & preserved cabbage...
涮涮鍋 - SWUN SWUN GUO
臭豆腐 STINKY TOFU: Get over the smell & it's really yummy...add some sweet & sour cabbage & cucumber...

酸辣湯 - HOT & SOUR Soup: A tad spicy at times; usually has shredded meat, mushrooms, sliced carrots & other goodies...

水餃 - DUMPLINGS boiled in water, normally wrapped with pork & green chives...

蔥油餅 - GREEN ONION PANCAKE

Teaching @ Jhendong E.S.

Taking direction from the English Teacher, Ms. Hsu


Cathy (a.k.a. Elephant) lifts the weightlift
Barry, a.k.a. Bongo the Monkey, rehearses the rhythmic gymnastics scene





DRAMA TEAM - Oct. '05
Jhendong E.S. entered a drama team consisting of mostly grade 5 & 6 students. At the annual English Drama competition for Junior High & Elementary School students, Jhendong placed 4th out of 14 schools. The various teachers, along with myself were extremely proud of their dedicated efforts! Way to go!
arduously practicing our Drama play entitled, "Animal Olympics"...
Making the props...

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OY OY OY
Teacher: "Aussie Aussie Aussie" Students: "Oy Oy Oy" This method is a classroom management technique that I use to gather student attention. Once I say, "aussie aussie aussie" in a loud voice, the students respond by saying, oy oy oy" & in doing so they need to: STOP LOOK & LISTEN. CONVERSATION 101: My main objective at Jhendong is to help the students develop their English oral language. We do a lot of repetition, group work, role play, chants, choral reading & games. READING FOR THE LOVE OF IT: I'm reading a beloved Robert Munsch story ( Mortimer) to my kindergarten class. They hallowed & loved it! 1st Day Jitters: I did a simple introduction during my first day of teaching & showed them where Canada is.
JHENDONG Top 10
1. Students call me, "Teacher"..or more correctly, "Tea-CHUR"!
2. Students clean the school - classrooms, washrooms, etc...in the morning everyday!
3. School, study, cram school is the name of the game
4. Grades 2-4 have only 1/2 day school in the morning
5. Staff enrol in the school lunch program where daily food is served at the "Retired Teacher's lounge" (Ha Ha!)
6. Chain of command: Principal, Director of Academic Affairs, Dir. of General Affairs, Dir. of Personnel, Dir. of Guidance, & Dir. of Student Affairs.
7. Students also enrol in the lunch program where they're notoriously famous for literally scarfing down their food!
8. Students bring so much lunch leftovers back to the kitchen!
9. I have a daily 20-25 min. naptime!
10. There's weekly teacher workshops scheduled right in the school day!

Dec. 14/05
I Never Knew Dodgeball Could be so Painful!
This morning, class 5-1 finally got to see Ms. Yee in action! I went out with this class to play dodgeball, Taiwan style! In my teaching attire & loafers, I pinned several students! I, myself, got pegged as well! Ha! After all was said and done, my body began to ache like crazy! My throwing arm felt especially lame since the students kept saying to throw to me! Dodgeball is played differently here with different rules and students standing around the perimeter of a rectangle. The ball is also much harder here so if you get hit, it's going to hurt! What a fun....and painful I might add, experience! Nonetheless, the kids finally got their wish in getting the foreign teacher out onto the game court. Dodgeball is a beloved pastime sport here..if you haven't seen the game in action, it's quite exciting. I loved it...and they all loved it..that's all that matters!

Toys Toys Toys

HIGHLY recommended! "Lao Fu Tze" comic books are classic! The other day, I got my good friend, Emily to pick up some of these comic books for me. When I was young, I used to go with my dad to the bookstore in Chinatown & indulge in book after book! I'm so happy to locate some as they bring back nostalgic childhood memories. You don't need to read Chinese characters to get a hoot from the comic strips. Pick up a copy & they're bound to give you a hoot!


GUNDAM, aka Woo-de-tay-jing-gung...is a childhood favourite of mine & when I saw this toy, I just felt that I needed to get it! Although I had to cough up 600 NT for it, I really love it!

KERORO is a new interest of mine and include a group of interesting different coloured frogs. I believe they hail from Japan. Each character frog has its own unique features. Whenever I look at the red one, I am reminded of my little sister...man, that red one looks bent! I mean, M-A-D!! Ha!

Scooter Baby!

To the ordinary Taiwanese person, riding a scooter is no big deal BUT for me, it was like driving all by myself in a car for the first time! I love it! My good friend, Ava has lent me her scooter to ride. Hers is a Yamaha Vino. It rides really well!
I'm considering buying one & bringing it back to Canada with me!