Teacher's Day Goodies

Today is Teacher's Day here in Taiwan. Yes, there is an official holiday to honor teachers and it's a wonderful gesture.

It was established in 1939 and coincides with the birthday of Confucius. Here is a excerpt on the topic from Wikipedia:

"The day honors teachers' virtues, pains, and also their contribution not only to their own students but also to the whole society. People often make use of the day to express their gratitude to their teachers, such as paying them a visit or sending them a card. This date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Confucius, believed to be the model master educator in ancient China."

My students & employer went above and beyond the call of duty this year. I received tons and tons of chocolate goodness from several of my students and a really cool thumb drive for my computer from the boss lady. The thumb drive, or USB drive, has my name on it...I like it!

It's always great to get stuff from the kids, it makes me feel like a million bucks. I love my job so the gifts are icing on the cake.

Teacher's Day - I Scored Big

Friday was Teacher's Day. It's sort of a holiday here, I guess. We don't get the day off but teachers usually get gifts from some of the students and the school leadership. It's nice to be recognized for your efforts. I was pleasantly surprised by the stuff I received this year. I didn't expect much because I have been at the Dunhua branch for just a few months. Apparently I have made an impact on some of the kids...I scored big!

The "vase" isn't ideal. I am a guy...I don't have spare vases lying around my apartment! The bottle of wine is from Annie; the box of truffles is from Betsy; the rose is from the office secretaries; the chopsticks and spoon/fork thingy are gifts from the school. There were some other things that were eaten before I could get them home. All-in-all, I think I did pretty good.