Nĭ hăo (hello) from Taichung!

It has been quite an exciting first week here. We just completed our first week of training, which will continue through the rest of this month.  Training so far has included workshops about education in Taiwan, Chinese language, classroom management, teaching English as a foreign language, and Taiwanese culture.  Our coordinators have also helped us accomplish settling-in tasks such as getting Taiwanese sim cards for our phones (we were in a tiny shop for 2 hours trying to figure out all of our phone plans!), buying bus passes (the bus here is free!), and opening local bank accounts.

There are 10 Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistant) Grantees in our group in Taichung.  There are about 60 ETAs in all of Taiwan; we are spread out in 5 locations around the island and will meet formally all together in a few weeks.  In our group, nearly everyone has just graduated this past May with their Bachelor's degree, and I am the only one who has my Master's.  This helps to balance things out because I am also the only one who has never been to Asia or studied Chinese! Everyone in my group has studied Chinese at the college level, studied abroad and/or traveled in Asia for an extended period of time, and/or has family who lives here.  So the 9 other Taichung ETAs have the advantages of knowing the language and culture well, and I have the advantage of significant experience in the classroom.  It is a good balance and so far we have all been sharing and learning quite a bit from each other.  Not surprisingly, it is an extremely intelligent, well-traveled, and motivated group. I look forward to continuing to work, learn, travel with the other Taichung ETAs!

Below are some pictures to illustrate a bit of what Taichung is like.

Everyday life in Taichung: Mopeds are called "scooters" here, and there are so many!!! It's great to see parents riding with their kids, dogs balancing on scooters, baskets piled up by drivers' feet ... people here make anything and everything fit onto their scooters.

                           

Greenery: The city has quite a lot of plants and trees, which is nice to see. Still, I look forward to hiking in the nearby mountains!

Taichung Park: There are many parks here, and Taichung Park is a big one! One night this week a group of us walked around the park and played frisbee in the fading light :)

    

Chinese/English: There are many little mistakes made here when translating words to English.  Here is one funny example: the yogurt is 100% natural, "Born with only natural ingredients!" Now I am not one to complain, as I came here knowing NO Chinese ... but still I am appreciating the challenges of speaking a second language! I look forward to enrolling in a Chinese language class, which I plan to do as soon as possible. For now though, I have been learning as much as I can through osmosis :)  Everyone in my group have been wonderful teachers, looking out for me and guiding me through the basics of everyday Mandarin!

The view from up high: For our orientation, we have been hosted by a local elementary school. One night this past week, one of the deans (Dean Min) invited us to her house to eat dinner together.  While there, we met other teachers who teach at Shangshi Elementary School as well as some of their children, and enjoyed a delicious meal and a gorgeous view of the city!

Sending my best to everyone ... until next time!