Back On The Island

Sorry for the long stretch between posts, didn't have time for blogging during my stay in the U.S..

I had a great trip. It was great to see everyone. Here are some of the highlights of my trip...

I flew out of Taipei on Friday night on Singapore Air, a freaking fantastic airline. The flight was about 11 hours to L.A.. The misery of the long flight was lessoned by the great service on the plane which included bigger seats than the normal economy class fare, hot wash cloths prior to eating the fantastic food, an extra pair of socks, a toothbrush/toothpaste, unlimited free drinks/cookies/chocolate bars, and a TV screen with an insane amount of free movies/TV shows/video games included in every seat. Amenities like these make traveling such a long distance tolerable.

I arrived at about 10pm in Las Vegas. Perry & Andrea greeted me with their usual silliness. It was excellent to see them. Life is a whole lot easier knowing that you have such wonderful friends. We threw my bags in the trunk and went to get some dinner at a great little brew pub inside the Main Street Station casino. After eating the scrumptious meatloaf, we headed over to The Plaza casino to play a little poker. We sat at a $2-4 Hold-Em table until about 4am...I was feeling pretty shaky considering I didn't sleep on the plane. I think I may have been down about $60 for the evening, which included an unsuccessful run at a 1 cent Addams Family slot machine. Time for bed.

Over the next few days we ate some terrific meals, gambled a bit, and talked a lot about my potential move to Las Vegas to start a teaching career in Clark County, NV.

*They took me to an excellent Italian restaurant, the name escapes me, but it was awesome.

*I had a chance to meet Cletus, the newest member of the Sundberg household. He is a cute, slightly slow, little feline. I can't imagine Cletus having a better home.

*Andrea introduced me to the latest version of the Wheel of Fortune series of slot machines. It's a penny machine that has a wheel nearly as big as the one on the game show...lots of fun. I managed to win about $250 playing it over the course of my stay...not too shabby.

*Played some Pai-Gow poker. As usual, not much profit or loss. Pai-Gow is a great game if you want to play cards and not lose you wallet.

*Perry & I discussed my joining him for a day at his work. He is a 2nd grade teacher in Vegas. He explained that it would be cool if I would shadow him for a day and see what teaching there was all about. I agreed.

*I simply had to have some good Mexican food while I was in Las Vegas. Willy & Jose's was the spot. Had some killer flautas drenched in guacamole...good stuff.

Time flew and before I knew it it was time to board the plane for Cleveland.
Arrived in Cleveland 6am Monday morning.

*Mom picked me up at the airport and drove home in the nasty cold and snow.

*Mom had some beef stroganoff waiting for me and I ate until I was about to burst.

*I spent the next few days chasing Bubba & T-Bone, my cats, around the house. They both seemed very happy and in good health. Mom spoils them.

*I managed to sort through a lot of my stuff and found a bunch of things I could use here. Mostly clothes and books. Found a few pair of shoes that seemed well suited for my time here. I think the best thing I did was I managed to whittle down all the crap I had stored in mom's basement. She may be moving in the not-so-distant future so I tried to organize my stuff to make it easier to throw in a storage facility if need be.

*Got to spend some quality time with the family. Everyone seemed to be in pretty good spirits considering how miserable and gray the weather was. It was great to see the Hallinans, thanks for coming up to see me you crazy people!

*I barely slept during my time in Ohio. Got to see the sun come up on several of the days I was there...ugh.

*Mom was just doing her thing...she's a tough cookie.

*Made several trips to Marc's & Target to buy stuff to bring back to Taiwan. I was like a kid in a candy store. Walking through the aisles and wanting to buy EVERYTHING! I knew I had a limited amount of space but I was determined to utilize it fully...more on my stash later.

*The Sunday before I left mom threw me a party. I was shocked to see about 20 people showed up to say hello. The food was outstanding and it was great to see everyone. It's cool to know I have so many people back home supporting me in this endeavor. Aunt Janet & Uncle Pat came to the party and they looked great. Grandparenthood is good stuff. They couldn't be more proud. A bunch of the nephews and nieces were there, it's shocking to see how they have grown up. Chris Snyder, a great family friend stopped over to chat. He is a really cool guy that is a valued member of our extended family...always good for a few laughs. The party was a great success thanks to the efforts of my mom and sisters.

*This trip home wasn't so much about visited family...it was more about tying up some loose ends. It helped me better see where I am headed and what I should be doing. It showed me that my life in Ohio is pretty much over. I can't imagine a scenario that would require me to return to living there. There is very little opportunity in Ohio. I love my family as much as the next guy, but I simply don't think I could thrive in that environment.

*After a tearful goodbye to mom, I boarded yet another plane to head back to Vegas for a few days.

*A late arrival in LV on a Tuesday night was not the best plan considering that both Perry & Andrea had to work the next morning. Sorry about that goof, it was purely unintentional.

*The following day they both had a rather hectic schedule so I just hung around their apartment during the day while they did the work stuff. It was a good time to do final preparations for my big flight back to Taiwan. I had an unexpected charge flying out of Cleveland...one of my bags was a few pounds over weight so they charged me an additional $25...ugh. I wasn't about to dig through my stuff at that point. Therefore, I set about on Wednesday to remedy the problem by shedding some unnecessary stuff. I gave a book to Perry and transferred some of the weight from one of the big bags to my carry-on.

*Wednesday night was fun. We went out to a really great Mexican restaurant. It was very tasty. Everything tastes great when you know you won't have anything like it again for quite some time...lol. After the meal, we made our way over to the Sunset Station casino for some more Wheel of Fortune and Pai-Gow. This time I made about $80 and decided to stake Perry & Andrea with $20 each at a Pai-Gow table. They are working hard towards saving money in order to buy a house so I knew they weren't too anxious to spend their money in a casino. I told them that they could pay me back if they doubled their money. I had just won the cash so it really wasn't a big deal. We played for a few hours and Perry managed to come out ahead...Andrea couldn't catch any good cards. Perry & I spent much of the time discussing our teaching exploits. The next morning I was going to go to school with him...pretty psyched about that.

*Thursday morning was an early one. It was going to be a looooong day. I woke up at about 6:30 and quickly got ready to go to school. We arrived at the school and Perry showed me around. Nice facility. He took me through his daily routine. Due to the exploding population, his classroom is in a portable located next to the playground. Although the school is just a few years old, they don't have enough room to support all of the students. The school is located in a rough area of town but you'd never know it once inside. I think it's a very good environment for the kids. His class was simply adorable. About 20 little 2nd graders...cute as could be. They really seemed to like Teacher Perry. It was quite evident from the get-go that Perry is where he belongs. He is an excellent teacher. His room was well put together and the kids seemed very well adjusted. Watching him lead the group was inspiring. These kids all come from less-than-ideal home situations and they need a stable force like Perry in their lives. It didn't take long for me to feel like one of the group...the kids seemed to take a liking to me and I had lots of fun.

*The school visit helped solidify my belief that I am a teacher. It felt good. I think, eventually, I will join Perry as a teacher in Las Vegas. Not sure when it will happen, but it will.

*After the final bell rung, we grabbed some food, headed back to the apartment, and prepared for my departure.

*Sadly, I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Andrea. I didn't realize that I wouldn't see her on Thursday. She is very busy. Her career is taking her places. Seeing what she is doing is very inspiring. Every time I talk to her it seems like she is doing bigger and better things...

*After saying goodbye to Perry I proceeded to the USAir check-in counter. I got a nice surprise from the friendly check-in counter attendant. After weighing my bags and realizing that somehow they were still too heavy, she decided to do a little magic. I mentioned to her that my final destination was Taipei and she asked me for my itinerary...moments later she informed me that USAir has a "baggage agreement" with Singapore Air. This means that she could tag my bags to Taipei and I would qualify for the international weight allowance, 20 more pounds than is allowed on domestic flights...yahoo! What a relief, I wasn't about to part with more of my stuff. Also, this meant that I wouldn't have to deal with baggage check-in at LAX, a big headache.

*The three-hour layover in LA was a drag. What a zoo. I managed to bide my time by reading a few magazines and perusing the over-priced shops.

*The flight from LA to Taipei was grueling. The flight path back is very different from the one that goes from Taipei to LA. Taipei to LA is about 11 hours, LA to Taipei is closer to 14...ugh.

*Thankfully, I had some great food and movies to keep me from going insane. Little Miss Sunshine is an incredible movie, I highly recommend that all of you see it.

*After paying too much for a fancy Mercedes taxi to take me from the airport to my apartment, I arrived home at about 7am Saturday.

*Exhausted, I spent about an hour unpacking some of my bags and then crashed. I slept for about 10 hours and woke up tired...lol.

This has been the never-ending post...sorry, my mind was racing.

Busy Busy Busy

With the trip home coming up soon, I've been busy as a bee trying to tie up everything at work. The other foreign teachers are going to be covering my classes for me so it's my job to get the lesson plans in order for them. As most of you know, I am a bit obsessive-compulsive. This makes handing over my kids to another teacher very difficult. I have very set ways I do things, these kids are in a nice groove. I fear they will do poorly if they don't have that consistency. I am being silly. The other teachers are very good and the kids will probably enjoy the change...

When I mentioned to them that one of the other teachers will be teaching them, they weren't happy. This makes me feel pretty good. Perhaps these kids are enjoying the classes as much as I am? I do work very hard and try to be the kind of teacher that these kids will always remember fondly. I make it a point to be as "human" as possible...I am far from perfect and I think the kids like the fact that I am sorta goofy.

I know I have said this a zillion times but I have to say the Chinese teachers that I work with are incredible. I have learned so much from them. Eileen, one of the outstanding teachers, has helped me soooo much. Her teaching style is impressive. She works at a furious pace and keeps the kids attention at all times, good stuff. She has been teaching my 1093 class once a month in order to help with some of the really difficult grammar points the kids are encountering. When you get up into the higher levels, sometimes the kids need to revert to Chinese to ask questions and get a more clear explanation. As much as I hate to have them use Chinese in class, it's more important that they grasp the concepts. It's great that I have Eileen to help me with this. I have all the confidence in the world that the kids are getting rock-solid help from her.

Ignorance or Arrogance

The rude behavior I experience here on a daily basis is mind-boggling.

The main areas of contention:

*people refusing to walk on one side or another of the sidewalk and slamming into me.
*getting whacked in the head by umbrellas.
*being stampeded when trying to exit a train.
*folks passing gas in a crowded train.
*the every-man-for-himself attitude when getting on a train, an elevator, etc....constant cutting in lines.
*walking incredibly slow three-wide on a sidewalk.
*talking with a mouthful of food.
*talking so loud it's almost deafening.
*having to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit my a motorcycle on the SIDEWALK.
*sheer madness when in elevators...much the same as the train insanity, just in a much smaller space. Taiwanese people are obsessed with the "close door" button. They all dive at the button once they get in the elevator. I don't even want to discuss how many times I have had to push people away that were rushing to get in when exiting.

I don't know whether folks here are just plain rude, or if they have never been taught proper manners in public? I find it hard to believe they think the above behavior is acceptable. As skeptical as I am, I pray that it's ignorance.

This post may seem like I am taking on a "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" attitude, but you actually get used to dealing with this stuff. I have to admit that I have, on more than one occasion, exacted revenge on a person guilty of one of the above infractions...lol.

Earthquakes part 2

The quakes the other day have wreaked some serious havoc in Asia.

Apparently, the quakes damaged some underwater communication lines that have crippled much of Asia's cell phone and internet access. According to the news, several countries have limited or no internet and cell phone functions are choppy. It could take weeks to fix the lines. This is crazy stuff.

It's incredible how much damage these things can do.

EARTHQUAKES!!!!!!!!!!

WOW! That was crazy. Two earthquakes within 10 minutes of each other. 6.7 & 7.2 on the Richter scale...not minor quakes.

One person died in the southern part of the island. Lots of fires and down power lines. No damage in Taipei, the northern tip of the country.

I was teaching my Superwriters class when they hit. I knew the first one was big because the kids were a bit skittish. We get quakes here all the time, just not of this magnitude. When the second one came, the kids were all laughing nervously. These were not your run-of-the-mill tremors.

Fun, fun, fun.

18 Days To Big Trip

Just 18 days until I head back to the US of A for a visit. I can't wait to see everyone. It seems like eons since I've been home. Just got an email from Perry saying they found a great Italian restaurant in Vegas. All of you back in Ohio know that Cleveland has some seriously good Italian joints...Perry said this place reminds him of Little Italy, Cleveland style...yummy! As great as that sounds, I am more excited about just hanging out with him and his boss, errr wife.

Also, I think Shelley and her brood are going to be visiting when I am at my mom's place. It'll be cool to see her and the kids. Perhaps Davette will come too? It would be awesome to have all of the sisters together.

The Definition of Cool

I'm addicted to YouTube.com.

I stumbled on a few extraordinary videos recently. I think they are worthy of a spot in my video link section.

The first needs no intro, it's J.B. doing his thing. I would give my right arm to have a tenth of the groove he's got.

Next up is none other than The Ohio Players. WOW! How freaking cool were these cats??? Check out the threads! This is the stuff I remember from my childhood. I can see my dad with his freaky afro and my sisters clad in pastel colors groovin to this one.

The last one is Big Joe Turner. So cool. Ya can't help but dig this song. The early black artists set the standard for modern music, great stuff.

16 for 16

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my PTA was successful. I managed to convince all the parents of my students in that particular class to re-up for another session, pay for the another year of classes.

I was pleased to hear that. Apparently, this is a much bigger feat than I thought. I mentioned to my boss tonight that all 16 kids are continuing and she beamed at me and explained that this was the first time in nearly 10 years that a foreign teacher has achieved this mark.

Foreign teachers take over classes from the Chinese teachers when the students get to the higher levels. Most of the students are nearing or are in junior high. When they get to this age, their schedules get very hectic. Many of them find taking English classes too big of a time-killer and drop out. The parents, mistakenly, think their kid's English skills are sufficient. It takes a good teacher and effective classroom techniques to keep the kids in the seats.

I guess I have been doing something right. I sense a renegotiation of my contract/pay in my near future...lol.

CRASH!!

It wasn't pretty...my computer crashed!

Woke up Sunday morning. Nothing out of the ordinary, did the usual stuff. Put on a pot of coffee, turned on the computer, headed to the shower while the computer fired up. I came out of the bathroom to discover an ugly sight..."no operating system found".

I spent the next few hours trying to get the computer to function, no response. I feared this day was coming. When I bought this notebook the guy at the store loaded an unregistered copy of Windows XP in English in it for me. Remember, I am in a Chinese speaking country and computers are sold here with Chinese as the primary language. As part of the sale, he agreed to load up an English operating system for me. The problem is the copy he had was illegal. This means that I wasn't able to update my system and it made me very vulnerable to all kinds of bugs and glitches. After running this bootleg version for about a year, it went kaput.

I thought I figured out what to do Sunday afternoon. I headed out to Guangwha market, the greatest electronics market on Earth, and bought a legal version of Windows XP. Came home and loaded it up...no response. I just spent about $120 for nothing!...dern it.

Monday morning I went back to the place I bought the computer and explained my predicament. The tech guy was very cool. He gave me taxi fare and pointed me in the direction of the repair shop. I got to the repair shop and waited for about 20 minutes to talk to a technician. The were very accommodating and told me it would be fixed that afternoon and I could pick it up the next day free of charge. They were going to give me a new, legal version of XP and a new hard drive. This is great except I lost everything I had saved...about 20 gigs worth of stuff! I had saved most of my work files and pictures to CD, thank god. Still, this is a serious bummer.

The repair shop was true to their word. I picked up the computer early Tuesday afternoon. It's running like a well-oiled machine, minus all my files.

One issue I am less-than-thrilled about is the fact that my virus software and my copy of Microsoft Office are no longer valid because they were exclusive to that hard drive/operating system. Two expensive pieces of software rendered useless by the crash.

I guess I should be glad to have this machine back in working order. I can resume wasting countless hours on the internet...lol.

PTAwesome!

This morning was great. The PTA went very well. The kids and parents were exceptional.

We started a little late because it was a Saturday morning, raining cats & dogs, and it's not easy getting 35 people all in the same place. The kids were great. For the past few weeks I've been asking many of the other teachers how they put together their PTA's. Most of them said they give the best 3 or 4 students a bunch of things to perform and have the slower ones contribute just a line or two. That method doesn't jive with me. I knew the parents of the slower kids would be more critical of me. Therefore, I decided to give all the students an equal share of the load. This would give them all an opportunity to shine. All of them did a great job. The silliest moment came when Milton, perhaps the hardest working student in the class, forgot his lines. I gave him the line and he finished fine. The performances by the kids lasted for about 45 minutes and they seemed to have a good time.

I sent the kids to another classroom so I could spend some time selling myself and my methods to the parents. I was kinda nervous. In the middle of the group was a couple mothers that I have met before. They have previously thanked me and seemed satisfied with my work. I just kept thinking about them and it alleviated a lot of the butterflies. After a few minutes, I got into a nice groove. I hadn't really laid out a talking plan, planned to let the parents dictate the direction. It went pretty smoothly. Much of the time was spent discussing methods in the classroom and future plans. I started to feel very comfortable and made a classic American-style comment...I told the parents that I was the best teacher at Gram and I intend to continue to work to mold their kids into great English speakers. This is not something you'd ever hear from a Taiwanese person. I don't care. I have never been shy about the way I feel and I think confidence is important if you want to succeed. Much to my surprise, the parents started clapping after I said it...good stuff!

Other than a few minor issues, the parents seemed satisfied. One mother thought I should get an MSN account so the kids could contact me via chat. Not sure about that idea. I did tell her I was considering using email to help those who miss classes. One mom would like her kid to sit in the front row, not a problem.

Perhaps the best moment came when Johnny's mom told me that before I became his teacher Johnny rarely used English at home...now he uses it a ton and has been buying English-only CD's. That's a nice endorsement.

The truest sign that I am succeeding came after the PTA. My boss told me that all 16 students have paid for the next term. Many of these kids have hectic schedules and the drop-out rate at this level is pretty high. Not for my class!

Mission accomplished.