We are not Panda

Hello again. Here are some happenings in the land of Taiwan.

I went to a baseball game. What an experience. It was a professional game, so the equivalent of the MLB. We watched the Elephants and the Lions. But unlike home, you choose a team before you buy your ticket. Then you sit on their side - there is no intermingling. And during the entire game, the chanting, yelling, flag waving, sound making doesn't stop. It's crazy. So much energy the entire game. It was a lot of fun. And we were team Lions and they were victorious so it was a success.

Dave, Matt, Dave, Sara, Rachel, Bonnie, Amber

Two weekends ago, I went on a day trip with Kay and her daughter and mother, and some other teachers. We went to Daxi, about a 45 minute scooter ride into the mountains. We went to Kay's father's mountain and picked bamboo. It's really fun. You find baby shoots and then kick them to pick them. It was awesome. Except, I missed the first part that said you kick the baby ones. So I found a nice, big tall shoot that looked nice and healthy and kicked it so hard. Mistake. I thought I broke the ball of my foot. Haha. And when I was writhing in pain and moaning, I told Kay what happened. Her response: Not the big ones! We are not Panda!!!

The view

Meg (lurking), Ashley

Amber and her bamboo

wooooo!

After foraging, we went to dinner at an outside restaurant that was unique. There were pigs running around. As in farm animals that oink and eat food scraps. At one point, one of them put it's front legs up on our bench trying to get at the peanuts in Josh's bag. A waiter came over and whacked it on the head with a menu. It oinked its disappointment and then waddled off to the next table. Don't think I'll ever have that happen whilst eating dinner again.

Amber, Josh, Ash

Kay's adorable dogs.

Relaxing at dusk

Their 'jackets'

super mooon

Last on the agenda for that day was seeing the fireflies. It was great. I just love fireflies. There were about the same amount that a night on the east coast has. But apparently we missed the season. A few weeks before, there were hundreds of fireflies. I would have loved to have seen that!



Rooney and I are transforming our balcony into a garden. It's going great! So far we have tomatoes, snap peas, a gardenia tree, hydrangeas, a guava tree, lavender, thai basil, raspberries, blackberries, a money tree, a cactus and a little tree of which kind I know not. But it's looking great. We have been frequenting the local flower market. It's been awesome. And the gardenias are making our balcony smell amazing!

our balcony (most of it)

Yesterday, I went river tracing with some friends. It was great. River tracing is hiking along/in the river. It's apparently not allowed in Taiwan because the majority of Taiwanese don't know how to swim. ( A very ironic fact seeing as they live on a small island, but we'll let that go.) But we did it nonetheless. It was wonderful. The day was perfect - so hot and sunny. And the river was perfect temperature. We had a lot of fun. We swam, jumped off rocks, made natural water slides, and only lost three pairs of sunglasses.

demeterios and the river

some of the gang

That's all for now!

Teacher, may I speak Chi-neeeee?

So when our students ask if they can speak Chinese in class, many of them forget the 's' and so it sounds like Chi-neeee. Haha. That's where the title comes from.

As I've previously mentioned, I have begun learning Chinese. Like actually learning. I bought a book and have a tutor. Her name is Sandra. She is great. She is about to go back to school for teaching Chinese as a second language so I hit the jackpot.

Let me first remind you all that it is a known fact that Mandarin Chinese is the hardest language to learn. And by hardest, they actually mean impossible for anyone else. Chinese is tonal. That means that the same word can be said 5 different ways (!!!) and have five completely different meanings. Clearly, they didn't want anyone else to master this language. And that is only the speaking part. Writing and reading Chinese is ridiculous. First of all, there are over 400 characters as opposed to the 26 in English that my students say are really hard. Let me address this: t and T are the same and will always be the same. But in Chinese if you add one single little tic to the character the meaning changes completely. It's unreal.

That being said, I have really been enjoying learning Chinese. Sandra is great.  But I really love learning. And I have been practicing writing on my own. It takes a long time but when I can show one of my students or co-teachers a sentence that I wrote in Chinese I get really proud. Haha.

Tomorrow will be my fourth lesson. I'll transcribe some sentences for you in Chinese. I also included some pictures of the book I use because I wanted to show you all that lesson one is already all in Chinese. No acquisition period. They expect you to know it already. Oh man. But I'm doing well. And Sandra is constantly giving me praise so naturally my lessons are good. :)

Wo bu shi Zhong guo ren, shi Mei guo ren.
I am not Chinese, I am American.

Ni jiao sheme ming ze?
What is your full name?

Wo xing Foley jiao Bonnie.
My last name is Foley my first name is Bonnie. 

Wo shi Mei guo ren, ni shi Taiwan ren, ta ne?
I am American, you are Taiwanese, and her?

Zao, Foley Xianshen, tian qi hao re a!
Good morning Mr. Foley, the weather is hot, yeah!?

Tian qi hen hao, bu leng ye bu re.
The weather is nice, not cold and not hot. 

I'll leave you with these few quotes about learning a second language.

One language sets you in a corridor of life. Two languages open every door along the way. -Frank Smith

The limits of my language are the limits of my world. -Ludwig Wittgenstein

You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.


Happy learning!