Living in the Future

Now that I am over in Taiwan, the times have changed. Right now it is Sunday at almost 9 am in the morning! But over in Utah it is almost 7pm in the evening! WHOA! For some reason that just blows my mind. Over in California it is now almost 6pm on Saturday. Well, on the way over here to Taiwan we lost a day! This time change is just something that I will have to get used to. It makes time seem a little more relative than before.

Almost to Taiwan...

I cannot believe that tonight is almost my last night in the United States for a while. I am going off to Taiwan and get into Taiwan around 6am this Saturday. Crazy. I have been pretty calm up until now...tonight, it is just such a trip. No turning back now, I say to myself. This is something that you are going to do and it will be worth it! I know I can do it. It will be interesting to say the least, but it will be wonderful. It will be difficult to learn a new job with so much to know. But I know when the 6 months is over, I will have not regretted it.

Things like this always hit before right before or right after I have started something. Like the first day on track practice in the 10th grade. We had to run ...I made it pathetically around the track one...it was supposed to be 4 times!! I said to myself then what I am saying now: WHAT AM I DOING?? OMG!!! I was out of breathe and dying and I could have said to myself: Forget this...I am crazy...I will never be able to do this... But as proof positive I did complete that entire track season, never medaled, never won a single race, but I was able to go up and beyond what I thought I could do.

I am going to miss my family and friends here in the States. Currently, I do not miss them yet, but I know I will more than I now know. I am up late because a part of me wants to stay here and not leave off to Taiwan. I am thinking of all the little excuses not to go...which I will not humor you with.

But here I go, there I come. USA TO TAIWAN. A different culture, different spoken language, etc... WOW-WEE!!

Preparing to Go to Taiwan

Preparing to go to Taiwan. What a trip in and of itself! This week we had training where we learned all about the ILP (International Language Program) teaching method. It is quite fabulous. I love the system and approach they have. They focus on getting the children to speak in English and not so much memorization but getting them to talk about in English what they already know in Chinese.

I am kind of scared to go over there and teach because I feel inadequate. They did say that the only way to get good at teaching is to teach, so I must go over there and "get her done"! I am sure by the end of the first month I will be loving it! And I cannot see loving kids being against me either. do realize that kids can be quite trying and will try to test the boundaries of what the teacher will allow in the class. "The first test in the classroom, is not given by the teacher , but by the students to the teacher"!

Visas. This has been a hassle. All but one person going to Taiwan has their visa. Everyone else is still waiting for theirs. I am almost to the point where they are going to send mine unless they ask for more information. I am hoping they are satisfied and that they will send it. If not, I hope to get my passport before we leave on Thursday, the 26th of June so I can get my landing visa and not be an illegal in Taiwan. LOL. Most everyone going is in the same boat. It has been stressful and wading through bureaucracy is never fun! Unless you are a Masochist, which I am not.

Today at training, we talked about the culture and that got me really excited. It sounds like lots of fun. I want to go to the night markets, the beach, the movie theatres, and much much more. The main religions in Taiwan are Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. I want to go explore those temples and hopefully be able to watch or participate in their ceremonies. My friend Connie and I have vowed to go see those.

We will be living at the school in Feng Yeng on the 4th floor of the building. We will have Western toilets there, which is very exciting because elsewhere there are just holes in the ground. That will be some adventure. We will also have two washers and no dyers--in Taiwan clothes are hung to dry.

There is much more to tell and see when I get there. I hopefully will be a diligent writer, but since a professor once said to his students: " the past is the best predictor of the future". And if you only knew my track records. Or maybe that was just mailed letter, let's hope.

To all my friends and family, I love you dearly. Thanks for all your support! XOXOXO!