Yesterday, I was supposed to discuss "eyes" with my K1B Science class. Because they don't really understand any English, you typically have to make a lot of funny sounds, gestures, or bring in funny toys. I decided to have them all try on a pair of sunglasses, although I did not explain the purpose of sunglasses. I mainly just wanted to take pictures of the cute little kids. I posted them on Flickr so check 'em out. They're adorable!
I also documented some of the mystery foods that are common in Taiwan. Check out those pictures too and you decide for yourself what they are and if you would eat them or not. I personally have not been brave enough to order one of these goods. I have had some pig's blood dishes and that's a big deal for me. It actually did not taste nearly as bad as it sounds like it would.
Last topic for the day...I just tutored a girl for about 3 hours and earned $70. She is interviewing at a university next week and her parents wanted her to talk to a foreigner to practice her English. She wants to major in English literature. The whole thing was fairly awkward because we were sitting at a table in uncomfortable chairs and had to talk for 3 hours straight. I basically had no material to work with so I asked her about hobbies, sports, movies, music, and when that ran out, I looked up online sample interview questions. It was a fairly laborious 3 hour conversation but it's over now and it's another experience I can put under my belt I suppose. One interesting fact I learned during our conversation...there are over 1 billion Chinese speakers in the world and roughly 500 million English speakers. The third largest language in the world is sort of a tie between Hindustani and Spanish. However, the order of these languages changed on every site I looked at but Chinese was always the largest.
Other than that, I'm feeling a bit sick and quite lazy, so no more fascinating news for now. I'm trying desperately to get better so I can keep feeding you guys interesting news.
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These last few posts are really beginning to give us a flavor (well the meat pictures gave us a flavor also!) of what life is like for a young American on the other side of the planet. Its remarkable how much more you're "living the experience" than you were in the first couple weeks there.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know that you're going to learn more Chinese there in the first 6 months than you could learn in 6 years of classes here. And if you think about it, the money you made from the tutoring will buy you about 6 hours (or more?) of Chinese lessons!
The video of the scooters in Taipei is unbelievable - where are they going? Don't they ever stop? I'm not sure it would be a good idea for you to join the parade - but it looks irresistable. It almost looks like an attraction on the boardwalk in NJ. Please oh please wear a helmet!
Keep sneaking pictures of the kids - and maybe you should try putting a couple of them in the Magic Portrait format. Their parents may go for that in a big way!