Goodbye Shulin (Tons o' Pictures)

The following are pictures taken during my last few days of teaching at the Shulin branch. These kids are the greatest. It was an emotional few days for me, I will never forget them. These are the kids that have helped me become a much better teacher. They inspire me every day.

It was a privilege to teach these kids.

My desk. Gabbing with kids and being silly as they stopped by was my favorite work-time exercise.

"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." -Unknown

1093. The group that started it all. I would take any of these kids as my own. I love each and every one of them.

What a group. They stuck with me even though I pushed them really hard. All of them lead lives that many western adults wouldn't be able to handle...their work-load is daunting.

"It is not so much what is poured into the student, but what is planted that really counts." -Unknown

Of course Tiger (in the green shirt) was being silly. He is considerably younger than the rest of the kids but nonetheless did well. He is a very happy little boy who loved to tease Teacher David.

Sherry. She showed off her dancing skills as part of the entertainment during my going away party. She's got some serious moves.

Olivia was supposed to accompany Sherry in the dance routine but I think she got cold feet. Her and Olivia struggled through most of the past year, but I think they are going to be just fine.

Silly Chris getting ready to wow the crowd with his magic. He can handle the cards very well.

He has one of those smiles that's infectious. Everyone in the class was impressed with his trickery.

Milton. What a kid. A very serious student but I was able to occasionally get him to giggle. A real pleasure to teach.

1106. This group is far wackier than 1093. They are quite a bit younger than 1093, too. Every day was challenge with this group.

The standing on their chairs thing was a spur of the moment decision. I thought it would make for some fun pics. They follow so many rules every day, it was time to break one!

Everything was all well and fine until one of the boys in the back bumped the clock on the wall and it fell and shattered into a million pieces...lol.

This is Alice, Ariel, and Tammy. They pretty much set the pace for the class. These three were always near the top of the grades chart, along with Evan. They were always a good source of silliness when the lessons got intense. These girls are going to conquer the world.

Evan chowing down during our pizza party. I treated 1106 to a pizza party on my last day because they reached a really tough goal I set for them. They amassed 300 perfect quizzes in about 3 months...not an easy thing to do.

Little Doris. She is going to be a teacher some day, I think. A fun little girl who works hard. Her and her sister are students at the school, cute as can be.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teachers demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -William Ward

David. A quiet boy with a smile that doesn't quit. He really liked the pizza.

Eddy. Not one of the top students in the class when it comes to grades, but he always works hard and has an excellent attitude.

These two, Maggie & Anna, came into the class late. They have only been my students for a couple of months. Both of them are exceptional.


"A hundred years from now it will not matter how much was in my bank account, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." -Kathy Davis

Shulin Night Market & Shien Bing?

Perusing the night market near my work. It's located in Shulin, a suburb of Taipei. The little night market is pretty busy most nights. The main reason I go there is because they have my favorite Taiwanese food concoction. I am not certain how to spell it, but it's something like "shien bing". If anyone out there knows the proper spelling, feel free to correct me.

The seemingly endless sprawl of shops selling everything from cheesy t-shirts to stinky tofu.

My favorite food spot. The husband and wife are there every night of the week selling the delicious hockey puck looking things.

Here they are cooking. They fry them for about 5 minutes until they are golden brown. You can order them filled with beef, pork, chicken, or vegetables. I prefer the beef, but the pork is pretty good, too. They cost $25 each, which is about 75 cents American. Yummy!

The packaging they come in. Perhaps this will clarify exactly what they are for those of you out there with a working knowledge of Chinese.

Some of My Kids (Pictures!)

The following pictures are some of the crazy kids I have the privilege to teach. They are great kids. The first group is class 1106. I have been their one-and-only English teacher for the past 5 months. They have a wonderful attitude. This is an incredibly easy group to teach.

This is most of them. The class has 21 students, it's tough to catch them all in the same frame.

Here they are hard at work. Jacky, the boy in the front, is crazy. He always has a smile on his face and loves to mess with me...great kid.

I had to include this one in this group. This is a class that I teach about once every two weeks. They are young and silly as can be. What makes this class unique is that 3 of the girls in this class are the little sisters of 3 of the students in my 1106 class (the class in the first two pics)...what are the odds?

Pictures!

This is the South Bound train board that I stare at every day. I have to chose from this list each day in order to get to work. Normally I catch the 14:21 Chu-Kuang style train that is bound for Shu-lin, the town where I work.

Some of the kids from 1080, a class that I am about to take over from Teacher John. They are reaching the end of their time at Gram. They have just one more book before they finish the 12 book series that constitutes the English learning process at our school. I will be teaching them the final book, which takes about 4 months.

1060 on their final day of class. They just finished the last book. This class was especially important to me because they were the first group that I taught on my own. Over a period of about 6 months, I taught them every Saturday afternoon for 2 hours. It was not easy, they are a feisty group. In the end, I am a much better teacher because of these kids. They invited me to attend the little party they had to commemorate their graduation, it was great. We ate pizza and some cake. A healthy portion of the cake ended up smeared on my face courtesy of a few of these little devils!

This is Peter, one of the great kids from 1060. He is a sweet boy. It's kids like Peter that make my job so enjoyable. I hope that some day down the road Peter will have fond memories of his time at Gram.

Pictures!

Here is some of the umm, tasty things we had to eat the other night. Love the fish staring at me while I'm eating. The plate on the opposite side of the lazy susan had some fish eggs and other insane seafood-related items.

A group shot. There were 4 full tables, nice group. Lydia, in the front of the picture hates to be photographed, hence the napkin veil.

A bunch of the teachers noshing. If you click on the picture to expand it, you'll see the glass of liquid on the lobster plate...it contains its blood...still can't believe I drank the whole glass!

Pretty much every female that attended the shindig. What an awesome group. They can't resist doing the "peace" symbol...ugh.

Pictures!

The view from the train I take to work every day. Space is at a premium here. This type of apartment is common here. Folks don't put much time into making the exterior of their housing attractive, most of them are probably very nice inside. Being so close to the train is not a good location. This is Shulin, not one of the most sought after places to live in the Taipei area.

Same train ride, a minute or two later. Have to cross this river in order to get into the city. Taipei is in the background. I wouldn't drink this water if it was the last liquid on the planet...lol.

This is just bizarre. Taken at Taipei Main Train Station. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. It's OK to fart, pick your nose, and step over your grandma to get on a train, but god forbid you breastfeed in public.

Here is class 1093, the coolest group of kids you'll ever meet. This was taken shortly after our recent ice cream excursion. I'm the dorky looking white guy in the back...lol.