Farewell Dinner

The 2007 Pu Tai English Summer Camp Farewell Dinner was on Sunday night. The Grand Master of Chung Tai Chan Monestary was in attendance! That is a picture of him and I. All of the Chinese Teachers and Teacher Assistants and Canadian Teachers and Teacher Assistants and the Pu Tai Board of Directors, many nuns and monks and many others were also there. It was sooo much fun! The school had never done anything like that before so everyone (from Taiwan) were very excited. It was a 13 course meal:
1. Fresh Tomato Hot Pot
2. Stir Fried Vegetables on Fresh Lettuce
3. Sizzling Vegetarian Beef with Black Pepper Sauce
4. Cloud Villa Fried Rice Noodle
5. Braised Cheese Tofu with Chinese Red Sauce
6. Cloud Villa Spring Roll/Sesame Sticky Rice Ball
7. Sweet and Sour Chinese Yam
8. Fried Rice with Young Sprout of Chinese Toon Tree
9. Baked Cheese, Mushroom, Green Bean, Celery in White Sauce with Crispy Taro Base
10. Steamed Dumplings
11. Mushroom, Radish, Bamboo Shoot, Veggie ball in Clear Broth
12. Ice Cream
13. Seasonal Fruits

Quite the spread! All delicious...even the cheese tofu! Wild!

It was a fan-tabulous evening!!

Sun Moon Lake

We had a great opportunity today: Day off and a fantastic tour! We went to a famous Taiwan tourist spot called "Sun Moon Lake". This picture album can be found at www.blogspot.com/ekostick7 .


Surrounded by green mountains, Sun Moon Lake is the pearl of Central Taiwan. It is the largest natural and freshwater lake in Taiwan. The Eastern part of the lake is round like the sun, while the Western part is shaped like a crescent moon - hence the name "Sun Moon Lake".


In the middle of the lake (between the "sun" and the "moon") is an island which has long been a sacred place for the Shao people. This island (Lalu) is off-limits to visitors. Only the Shao people can go there to worship their ancestors. We past it on a tour boat we went on. The beauty of Sun Moon Lake is not Lalu... it is found in the surrounding mountains. From the lake, tier upon tier of countless peaks can be seen rising up into the sky. The nearby mountains appear dark with vegetation. The mountains that echo farther and farther away appear less and less distinct until they fade into the sky.


The lake did not always looked the way it does now. At one time, Lalu was a much larger island, a pearl separating the "Sun Lake" from the "Moon Lake". But in the construction of a hydroelectric power plant, the Japanese in 1934, deepened the lake by directing water from the adjacent lakes at Puli and Yuchih. The depth changed from 6 meters to 27 meters. The surface area of the lake changed from 1.8 sq miles to nearly 3 sq. miles (4.55 sq kms to 7.73 sq. kms). The big pearl became a little pearl. The Shao people were moved from their beloved Lalu to the upper Sun Moon Village.


There were many hiking trails and we got to hike along one of them: Tzuen Pagoda Trail. It was beautiful! This lead us to the Tzuen Pagoda with a 360 degree view of the mountains, Sun Moon Lake and area for as far as you can see.


Tzuen Ta, the pagoda of filial virtue was built in commemoration of Madam Wang, the mother of Chiang Kai-Shek, whom's residence we visited when we were in Taipei. It is on the top of the Mt. Sabalan. (An interesting fact: the mountain is at an elevation of 954 meters, so the pagoda was built 46 meters high in order to reach the elevation of 1000 meters!) This trail gave us a great view of the lake. The trail was less than a half mile (570 m) long.















On the boat ride, we toured around the lake and made one stop to the "Xuan Guang Temple". It was beautiful. This temple was built in remembrance of Master Hsuan Tsang (605-664) . He was a Chinese Buddhist scholar, translator, and author of Buddhist Records of the Western World.











There were also some exceptional views from his temple:











All and all, a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon! I loved it!

Movie Star Status on Pu Tai Campus

Who's the movie star?


Why I am!


I was asked by students of a class in the junior high school grades to be interviewed by their 'newscast' of journalists "Voices of Pu Tai" (VOPT), along with 3 other teachers. My take was today at 100pm and for the 1 minute interview...it took 2 hours to per-fect! Unbelievable. There was the 'Director', the cameraman, the assisting staff...and get this...all monks! At one point, I must of stood there for nearly an hour as the director keep correcting the student. It was quite the ordeal!

Hope it turns out good!

Buddism Q & A

Last night we had the fortunate pleasure to have Master Jin Da come and speak with us about their religion of Buddism and have the opportunity to ask any questions we wanted!

It's a unique and interesting religion. The Canadian Teachers have asked lots of questions and he's been wonderfully honest with us. We were given the compliment last night that out of the 3 groups: US Teachers, CND Teacher Assistants and CND Teachers, we were the most inquisitive and they thanked us for showing such a keen interest in their religion and culture. We celebrated the evening with a Chinese Happiness Cake! Delicious!

7 Days Left...Who's Counting?

I looked at the chalkboard today and realized I see the date of Thursday, July 26th. 26th?! Now I think ... where did the time go!?

When we first got here, time truly seemed to drag on. By the beginning of the 2nd week, we thought, "We've only been here 1 week?" Now..."We only have 1 week left?"

For those of you that I have not spoken to on the phone I may now explain a little. Just a little:

Since the day we arrived, the phrase, "It may change," has been used quite frequently. This organization runs a little differently from the way we are used to. There has been many miscommunications because of the language barrier and through those translations and there has been many expectations of us. And, I mean, MANY. I could start with the near 12 hour days we've had at the school...or the fact that there were NO resources for us to use, therefore doing everything from scratch...or the fact that ... yes, I could go on.

I can honestly say, even though there were these expectations, I truly did not let it truly affect my own personal attitude towards what the purpose was of me being here. Unfair...possibly...however, still exciting...absolutely. I've learned a lot about myself and how I handle situations and how I work in various situations.

I was soooooo nervous and frightened about being in a class with 25 students and ESL students, to boot! When I did my teaching placements in Australia with full classes, I knew that I would never be a 'regular' classroom teacher. Now...with maturity and experience as a teacher, even though not in a classroom with 25 students and in fact, just one on one...I've surprised myself. Yes, I have a hard time hearing, yes, I do not understand the students all the time...but it has been okay. Good, really. I've been buddied/partnered with Monique (my friend from Thunder Bay that came with me) for my class. Her and I have worked together, however, she is not always there as she is also teaching French and when she has not been there...I've done good! I'm soooo relieved and surprisingly feeling confident with being able to manage a 25-student classroom. I've learned that!

Many Canadian teachers have been frustrated, including me, at times as this school does do things differently than we do in Canada. I would give examples...but I'll tell more when I get home. I have taken everything in stride and it's been for the best.

Can't wait to tell you it all!

I will say, too, that I have to most challenging class in the school! They're something! Other Canadian teachers have taught them during various times throughout these weeks and there is a mutual concensus that they're awful! However, they are now great with me and Monique...we've had 4 straight good days with them...they're finally getting it!

How fortunate we've been! Free trip to Taiwan, some free travel within the country...what else can I say!

Best decision I've ever made!

The King of Karoke makes an Appearance!!

While travelling to Taipei, we learned that Karoke is quite popular in this country. Every tour bus has a karoke machine, with microphone and music/lyrics on the TV. So...we Canadians decided to have our moment in fame...one gentleman in particular!

Enjoy the following video, courtesy of Kaylee Dovlet's camera:

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb268/ekostickvideos/?action=view&current=e1f18813.flv

Earthquake...we shook...AGAIN!

Last night, at approximately 9:45pm, 20 miles off the coast of Western Taiwan, there was an earthquake at 5.3, which was felt here at a level of 4.0! I can't belive this!

I asked for an emergency evacuation from our Head of Canada (aka Jason, my best friend) and I have a feeling that it will be denied. I want to come home! No more shakin', please!

Weekend off!!!

Well...since the day we arrived, we finally had a few days off! That's right...we started working on Thursday, July 5 and had our first day off by Friday, July 20. We went on a 3-day adventure to the Northern end of the island. The pictures are at:

www.picturetrail.com/ekostick5

and

www.picturetrail.com/ekostick6

We drove for 5 hours north and had 2 rest stops at 2 unique places. I spent my bus ride trying to take pictures of all the different and unique chinese temples and architecture I could see...I think I did well...you'll see them in my album.

We spent our Friday evening in a city called Danshieu, which is known for their fishing village and is along a the Danshieu River which opens in to the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from China. They are famous for their 'Bridge of Lovers'. Yes, that is what I said. It truly was beautiful:

The fisherman's warf was quite large. Many colourful ships and boats than from what we see.

We then ate at a local restaurant there...watched tanks of a whole variety of fish...which we couldn't eat. Oh...yes...I said that too...we had to eat vegetarian all weekend too...all the meat and seafood at our fingertips and we couldn't have any! OI!

We drove in to a city called Taoyuan, where we arrived at our hotel, the Yaward Hotel - Spa & Golf Course. However, the rooms truly were made for Asian people...my body was too long for the bed...and I could not see in to the vanity mirror as I was too tall. Fabulous. Plus...the 'spa' part of their title, referred to a car beauty shop...not massages. I'm in a foreign country...what can i say.

That night, we arranged cabs and got a lift to a local bar, called 'Drunks' in Chinese, however, it was not big enough to fit all 30 canadians that went out and they asked us to leave, so we went to another bar and it was in fact a 'saloon' style joint. I got to drink Taiwan beer...which really tasted like Coors Light or something.

There was a live band, they played Britney Spears music, a Taiwanese girl trying to pick up one of the Canadian guys, who had his girlfriend there, popcorn, Taiwanese men sitting beside me and sharing a bizarre bean and leaf concoction which was NOT drugs, no matter what Dave tries to tell everyone and there were many Taiwanese people, having a laugh at us. I wonder why? It was great fun!

On Saturday, we had aLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOng day...16 hours of fun, fun, Taiwanese fun!

We went to Yamingshan National Park. It was a fabulous drive up one of these crazy huge mountains, through lush greenery and rainforests, with owl crossing signs and awesome city and ocean and valley views. A stop we made was on a volcano, that did have hot pockets of air coming out. Very cool!

We went to the National Palace Museum. Over 600,000 Asian artifacts which were as old as the B.C. era of time.

A stop at Chian Kai-Shek's Residence, who was one of Taiwan's most established leaders who made one of the greatest impacts in their government, was also made. There were tons of gardens and we couldn't go to the house, as it was all locked up and arrangements had not been made for us to go in to it. So...it was actually 'just' okay. Kind of disappointing, but okay.

We went to a place called the 'Taipei 101'. I don't know how many people know that it is the World's tallest building as of now. Yes...the TALLEST! It was very exciting and fantastic views of Taipei!

Finally, we went to the famous 'Snake Alley' night market. I can't even express to you how many people were there...you'll see from the pictures. I have seen enough market stalls, chicken feet, pig kidney-looking things to last me awhile!

Saturday was then officially over! No Taiwanese bars that night!

On Sunday, we got to chill a bit. We had a late morning, so we enjoyed their outdoor pool! A great refreshing swim in the Taiwan sun! Nothing like it!

Plus, I also got to have EGGS for breakfast! OI! I had not had them since I left Thunder Bay! I love eggs!

We packed and headed on our way to a pottery town called Yingge. We got to shop in a huge pottery market. They had the most beautiful and wonderful pottery selections I have ever seen! I would have bought more...but way to heavy!

We then headed back to Puli to our teacher dorms to start our day the next day!

Great trip!

That's right...pictures!

Okay...a couple more albums in the works...

www.picturetrail.com/ekostick4

and

www.picturetrail.com/ekostick5

In the next few days, I hope to have my weekend trip pictures up on the ekostick5 site. Be patient!

MIA for 3 Days

Some may have noticed some inactivity throughout the weekend. I just woke up, back in Nantou County, after travelling to Taipei and surrounding areas for 3 days. I'll work on my blog for that trip after work tonight and hopefully be able to start uploading some more pictures from it. What an experience!

Chung Tai Chan Monastary Tour

Yesterday morning, the Canadian teachers recieved a tour of the Monastary that founded our school. I put up a post a few days ago talking about it and a website to read about it if you wanted. At www.picturetrail.com/ekostick3 are pictures from my tour. It was phenomenal! The structure and size was breath-taking. You'll see pictures of lots of statues and I hope you can tell how large the majority of these statues were. There are views of the mountains which were taken from the Monastary Viewing Deck of the mountains that surround us and the valley we're in.

Enjoy!

Earthquake Conquered!

Yes...I said earthquake!

This morning at approximately 745am, I was sitting on my couch with my laptop on my lap and believe it or not...the laptop and couch rocked for about 10 seconds. I thought it was in my delusionary state from lack of sleep. It was so slight and so quick, did it really happen? Oh yes! It did in fact happen. Apparently it had nothing to do with the earthquakes in Japan. It was its very own here in Taiwan. A small one, at that, however, the Taiwanese consider it's a good thing here because if there are many, then when the 'BIG' one comes, it won't be as bad or disasterous. Makes me feel good.

I can say...that was the first time I experienced something like that...and it just felt...wrong.

I hope to never experience that again!

Field Trip Pictures!

I now have 3 links to pictures and this new link is all about the field trip:

1. www.picturetrail.com/ekostick2

2. www.picturetrail.com/ekostick1

3. www.picturetrail.com/ekostick

Pu Tai Field Trip

On Sunday, July 15, 2007, the Pu Tai students and staff went on a day trip! That is 12 classes, 12 buses ... big excursion!

We went to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Center. If you're interested in what it looks like or what it's about, check out this website:http://www.nine.com.tw/english/e-welcome.htm . The language installer pop-up will come up and you can click on cancel. Then you can maneuver through the site.

This culture center is 20 minutes from the school. It is build in to the side of one these gorgeous mountains that surround us. It's amazing planning and building! Pictures will be posted soon! 12 buses zipped through the small and narrow streets of two small cities and we arrived with 300 children and almost 100 staff...all wearing the pink-'salmon' coloured shirts! What a sight!

We took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain with the students and proceded to wind our way down through the 9 different tribes that originated in Taiwan (which was formally called 'Formosa', the beautiful island). The students and us the teachers had to give presentations, which were prepared last week, on the different tribes. There were workers in costumes acting out how the tribes once lived and buildings, etc. to look through of their homes, etc.

The park them has a one hour show in an outdoor auditorium going through various tribal rituals and the show was fantastic!

Later in the afternoon, the Canadian teachers got to go their separate ways, from the students, to venture and tour the park on their own. We opted for the Amusement Park portion. We went on rides and shopped in the gift stories. It was a great stress-relief!!! However, we were surrounded by restaurants and yes...in the restaurants there was fried chicken, corn dogs, beer, etc...etc...and guess what?? WE COULDN'T INDULGE!!! As we are from a vegetarian establishment and representing their school, we had to follow those same rules. It was hurtful and we felt like we were being teased.

But still...It was a fun day! We honestly had a blast.

When we returned to our dorms, our Taiwanese volunteer-guide found a pizza place in Pu-li and we ordered their version of pizza!!!! What an eventful and exciting evening for us! We, of course, had to order vegetarian. That entailed no sauce, but with pineapple, corn, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, fake meat and ....................... CHEESE!!!!!! Oh! We have not had cheese since we left Canada! It was soooooooooooo good! Different, yes! But yummy! It actually tasted like a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. As well, the put tomato ketchup packets and salf/pepper mixture in the pizza box to go with it. To be honest...the ketchup really DID work! It was a great treat!

Till next time!

More pictures!

I now have 2 picture websites:

1. www.picturetrail.com/ekostick

and

2. www.picturetrail.com/ekostick1

Enjoy!

Chung Tai Chan Monastery

Pu Tai Elementary and Junior High School was founded by the Chung Tai Chan Monastery. The following website has some information on it if you're interested:

http://ctzen.org/sunnyvale/enUS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=69

Adventure is fully underway!

So...adventure to Taiwan is in full-swing!

This writing was an email that I was sending out, before I finally got my blog in English and not Chinese. If some of you read it...I added somemore info and for others...enjoy!

There were so many problems coming here, it's actually funny. Plane delayed in Toronto due to hydrolic problems...they fixed it...late for san fran flight to tai pai, but they held the plane for us and we got on...we think no problems...we're getting there and all that. We get to Tai Pai, only to find that our 'bus' and 'greeting committee' were not there and found out that the airline (United) called our coordinator to say that we didn't make the plane to tai pai and we were overnighting in san fran. Oh no...we're in taiwan now! Hello...United did not beleive that we were in taiwan. that we were in some hotel in san fran. they had no record of 32 people boarding that plane. we showed our passports and our boarding passes and got on. But now, apparently they're still trying to convince them that we're really here.

We got to Pu Tai school by 300am ...we all had been up anywhere from 32-48 hours straight. Alittle bug-eye indeed! The time difference is 12 hours. Thunder Bay is 12 hours behind us. yesterday we had a tour of the school and got an idea of how we'll be teaching the students. I found out that I'll be working with students who have been working on english for maybe 2 years. Apparently they're 10 years old, I think. I have 25 students and will be teaming up with a New York teacher, have a TA and an interpreter. This is the first year they've done this with all the english teachers coming here...it's not overly organized, yet not disorganized. We're just going with the flow.

Taiwan is beautiful! It's hot, humid and very lush! I think if I ventured in the mountains I 'd feel like I was in a rambo movie.

We're in the middle of Taiwan, we had a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to the school we're teaching at. It's a private school run by a monestary. And get this...the monks are female!!! not male! we've meet some monks so far and they're all so accommodating and happy to have us here. I was supposed to be staying on campus, however, they ran out of rooms, apparently and are boarding the teachers in a dorm about 10 minutes away. Well...our dorm is really a hotel! It's beautiful! I don't feel like I'm roughing too much!

you can look at the school at http://www.putai.org/ and go to the 'Guiding Light of Pu-Tai' link (http://www.putai.org/TC/tglop.htm) and there's a slide show presentation.

So far the food has been good. Exotic, yes, very much so. All vegetarian. Tofu, meat subsitiute, beans, vegetables and fruits, rice of course. I had dumplings for the first time...so good! They are fantastic! We've experienced every type of soup...broth-like, creamy, some with candy in it, with noodles and a whole array of veggies in it too. All rice dishes are different...like a risotto in a way and plain rice, yet it does not taste like we've eaten in Canada. We have had tofu and meat substitute in every shape, form and texture imaginable. The latest: chicken-tofu-fuggets. Yummy...really are yummy...or maybe they're good cause everything else is not. Who knows...we're eating it anyways. They look like chicken nuggets, smell like chicken nuggets...taste like...well, not chicken, but close...spongier texture. The noodle dishes here are our favourite!!! I've eaten lychee, dragon fruit, every other melon, watermelon, bananas, etc. All very experiential. Oh yes...tonight there was fake fish...don't recommend it!

Our first few days was 'Orientation'...not really much of one. More like a pile everything on Canadians' type of few days. We worked on our lessons which were spanned out over 15 days, only to find out by the 3rd day of lesson planning, that in fact, it's only 5 days with 3 groups. See how 15 is derived from that...and that was lost in translation. OI! We puttered around the school and explored and had a tour. Ventured to the restaurant across the street...had milk tea (soooo good!) and started souvenir shopping. Are you really surprised?! Of course...finding $3.00 sandals is a steller bargain! Oh yes!

We've gone to the city, Pu-li, which is down the road from us. So small...compact...smelly...dirty...people living out of their stores, etc. Unbelievable! Things are incredibly cheap here. So we think so, as the money difference gets confusing sometimes...(e.g. approx. 100 NTD (New Taiwanese Dollars) is approximately $3.00 Canadian). That was a great experience...see pics...you always feel like you need a translater...chinese people really truly do not grasp our language if they've not been exposed ot it...no where near the same dialect.

We went to Pu-li again tonight to go to the bank machine...that's exciting...translating 6000 NTD to canadian and is that enough!?

Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip with the whole school to an amusement park. Oh...I'll report on that one! Stay tuned!

Where we are...

Taiwan is a little island off the coast of China. Yes, Taiwan is a part of China. We flew in to Taipei, which is in the north end of Taiwan and we drove nearly 3 hours on a bus to Nantou County. Pu Tai school is on the outskirts of Pu-li. You can see Pu-li in the middle of Taiwan. That is where I am.


It is truly beautiful here. There are mountains surrounding us and little rivers flowing throughout. Check out my pictures to see some pics!

We don't have much time to do that much sight-seeing. We've been to Pu-li and will be going to Taipei for 2 nights next weekend. We're hoping to go to a place called Sun Moon Lake and there is a possible around the island drive that may occur. I'll keep you posted!

Kung-Fu Trainees

The DDKV Productions is proud to present the Canadian class of Kung-Fu Trainees, starring....your's truly.

Parental Discretion is advised, rated R.

Please be seated when viewing and have tissues readily available for viewing as tears from laughter will stream down your cheeks.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

THE VIDEO YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS STRICTLY FOR THE EYES OF MATURE, RESPONSIBLE ADULTS. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb268/ekostickvideos/?action=view&current=d6f02aab.flv

Typhoon averted!

Hope everyone has been watching the Weather Network, as there were threats of a TYPHOON to hit Taiwan. Looks like it will just miss us...we may feel some after-effects, however, nothing to be alarmed about.

I gather from the 0 emails I got of people wondering and showing their concern...nobody watches the Weather Network.

So...I'm here to tell you...we're good to go and will not drown in our valley that we're in as we're surrounded by mountains.

Monks...and more monks...

Here in Nantou County, it is not an unusual thing to see monks around doing a variety of things. I can say that there is a false view of what monks are and what they do. They do everything!!

1. Drive scooters (no pic yet)

2. Photographer

3. Cameraman

4. Eat icecream

5. Share jokes or laugh at Canadians...we don't know which one yet

6. High five!

7. Watch Performance Night

8. Give Speeches and wave flags!

9. Give Tours

10. Withdraw money from bank machines (no pic yet)

11. Teach children how to ride bikes (yup...the photographer monk)

12. Play soccer...no picture available. Shucks! (But it was the photographer monk.)

I've seen it all!

To squat or not to squat?

That is the question...

For us Canadians who didn't know...the toilets are this funny looking 'thing' dug in the ground. So, we come to Taiwan, walk in to the washroom, and there is one, yes, ONE, north american toilet, as that is designated for the elderly Taiwanese. So...every Canadian on this crew heads for that one!

However, we experience a problem, we also know that we put the toilet tissue in the toilet. YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT HERE! Now...the toilets at the school do not work. So...we need to squat...ready....AIM!

And for all you clever ones who are following along, you are asking the question, "What do you do with the toilet tissue?"

Oh...well...you see, there is a trash can by the toilet with you. And, yes...you put it in there. And, yes...you put the tissues in there when you go No. 1 and No. 2.

You understand!

P.S. And, yes, it smells.

I said it right!

Yes! I said the washing machines are outside...gotta problem with that?

The fight of the Laundry

So...we FINALLY have a later morning pick-up time and we get to chill and relax and maybe do some laundry. We work 12 hour days here...everyone know that? Anyways...EVERYONE is thinking the same thing...LAUNDRY.

So...20 people...45 degree weather with humidity...4 laundry machines...all outside.

Who? The narrator? Oh yes...that's me!

What have I gotten myself in to?

So...before I came to this 'place', I was told that there was a possibility of 'story-telling'. Didn't think much of it...got here and now a week goes by. The director of foreign languages, who is the coordinator of this summer camp, approached me 24 hours ago to say, "Hey! The story-telling is a go and it's tomorrow night!"

Wow.

Now, my Canadian crew and I, got our gutso together and performed the story, "No Clean Clothes" by Robert Munsch. It was fantastic! We kicked butt! I was the narrator and I had a crew of 10 actors/actresses who performed the actions throughout the story...again...stay tuned for pics! The looks on the children's faces was superb! I think they really enjoyed it.

The children, you ask?? Oh right...we told the story in front of the whole school...all 300 children. yes...I was the narrator. Too boot...we did it in the cafeteria, had scanned the book on to powerpoint, which led to end up being too small for the '300' children to see the words, yet the narrator and actors kicked butt! Truly...one of the greatest story-telling experiences I've ever done. Thank you to my crew!

Did I mention that we threw this together in 2 hours. Fan-ta-bu-lous!

As of now, we haven't heard a lot of feedback, however, the director that that the book may need to go down a level. We'll see what the Chinese staff and students say tomorrow.

Again...we kicked butt!

The Kung-Fu Fighters

Ni Hao Ma!? (How are you?)

This morning we had a great session on Kung-Fu! I'm not kidding! We learned a bit of a routine and how if you had a partner, how those moves work with fighting against the enemy. There was a small group of us that went...apparently taking the class in the non-airconditioned outdoors was not up people's alleys. However, Jason and I sweated it out and had a blast. Us Canadians have decided that we're "PERSPIRATIONALLY ADVANCED". iIf I haven't said anything yet about the sweating that we do in this country...I'll say it again: This is not normal...sweating in places we didn't know could sweat. Good thing I brought an extra set of clothing. It was not pretty. I don't think words can quite describe how the moves work and what we did...so stay tuned to the pics. All I say is that my flexibility and balance was challenged and I may have tweaked a hamstring muscle. I wonder why?

VIEW MY TAIWAN PICTURES!!!!

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO MY TAIWAN PHOTOALBUM:

http://www.picturetrail.com/ekostick

Enjoy and return frequently for daily updates! (hopefully!)

Meditation sensation...

How relaxed I feel to start my day today. We, the Canadian staff, had an opportunity to attend a meditation class for one hour. Our monk, nice, sweet, funny, took us through the steps and philosophy of buddism. It was a fantastic experience.

We sat cross-legged, hold the right upper-body posture and close your eyes and listen for the air and the wind. Well, our wind was the air-conditioning, but that's okay. Quite surreal really.

We got to ask some questions about buddism and life there and their cultural background. I'm sooooooo relaxed right now. Actually, it would be a good session to do before bedtime. If I could take pictures during thattime, I would, but I don't think it's appropriate.

Don't worry folks, buddism is a long way from how I would lead my life!

Blogger in Chinese...problem!

Ni Hao...
('Hello' in Chinese)

I finally got this figured out. Believe it or not...I started my blog in Thunder Bay...I come here and it comes up in Chinese and it took 4 days to figure out how to get in back to English. Granted...I could have started a new one, that would have been too easy. So...back to it and keep checking as I intend to post daily. Hope you enjoy the stories!

One Week Till the Adventure Starts

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog! I've decided that this may be the best way to share pictures and stories of what is about to be a 4-week Taiwan'ese Adventure. I'm still learning how this works so it may take me a week by the time I get there.

For those of you that don't know, I am going to Taiwan for 4 weeks: July 3 - August 3, 2007. An opportunity of a lifetime appears to present itself and I was not one to ignore this!

I am teaching at a Summer English Camp at the Pu Tai Elementary and Junior High School. I'll have to post some links when I figure that out and then you can look yourself! I don't know a lot of the details, however from what I have been told, it's all about sharing our culture and customs of Canada and teaching them about life in Canada and our history, geography, etc...

Also, with a stroke of great fortune, I am going with 2 of my closest friends: Monique and Jason. We're all excited and pumped!

So, keep checking back after July 3 and I'll do my best to share with you what we're doing over there!

Love you all!
E