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| How did your first week in Taiwan go? |
| Awesome, havent left since! |
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66% |
[ 4 ] |
| Not too bad, considering its the other side of the world! |
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16% |
[ 1 ] |
| Not much different than living back home. |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Took one step off the plane and wanted to turn around. |
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16% |
[ 1 ] |
| Where's Taiwan? |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 6 |
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BigWally
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")
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 Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject: First Week Questions |
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Ni Hao,
So I'm getting close to my arrival date, only about 20 days to go, and I thought this might be a good time to post up a few more questions. I've noticed it's been quiet around here lately too...so maybe this can spark up some fun stories
What was your 1st week in Taiwan like? Anything to keep in mind during that initial "culture shock" period?
I'll have about 5 days between arrival & my 1st day of training, any recommendations or advice on what to do these 1st few free days?
What was your 1st week of teaching like? How did the kids treat you? How long did it take for you to get in your "groove"?
Feel free to answer one, some, or none (you can even call me a "noob" for asking "noob" questions if it suits you!  Just please dont mock my pitiful attempts at trying to use some of this mandarin that I've been trying to soak up. 
Thanks again folks!
Ganbei!  |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| BigWally wrote: |
| What was your 1st week in Taiwan like? Anything to keep in mind during that initial "culture shock" period? |
I arrived in Taiwan on November 2, 2004. This is the first email I sent home (November 6th):
When one gets near the mountains, one can get a glimpse of the island paradise that Taiwan once was. Today, the place is an ecological disaster. And concrete; oh, how they love their concrete! Yesterday, I walked by an open area where the concrete had been covered by astro-turf; this is what passes for a city park in Taiwan. And never, EVER, breath in if you are closer than 3ft to a drainage grate.
The air pollution is obscene. A co-worker told me a story about a teacher who, after spending a few years here, went home and was told by his doctor that his lungs looked like the lungs of a smoker, even though he never smoked. I'm not sure if I believe that, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was true.
Taiwan is an interesting place, no doubt about it. Think of the Chinatown of any big western city you've been in, remove the sidewalks, and imagine the whole city being like that. Welcome to Taiwan. Oh yes, I almost forgot, also imagine nobody (vehicle or pedestrian) obeying any rules of the road, yielding any right of way, or stopping for any sign or traffic signal. And yet one never sees a traffic accident; try that in Toronto!
The people are very friendly and try to help whenever they can. Even so, the language barrier is significant. All the English teachers that have come and gone over the years and the only English most people know is hello. I've only encountered a couple of locals who could speak reasonably good English. Some businesses have English on their signs, but don't delude yourself into thinking you'll be able to conduct any business there.
I can't read any of the signs, so I have to peer in every store window to see what it is; only to receive a what's-the-big-sweaty-white-guy-staring-at look from the shop keeper. Even getting something to eat can be a chore. Unless it's the kind of establishment where you can pick it up and take it to the cashier, or point to it, you're screwed. The first couple of days I was living on sushi from one of the innumerable 7-11s. There are street vendors everywhwere, but none of the food they sell is in any way recognizable to me. Fortunately, I found a couple of fruit stands, an open air market, and a grocery store. |
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I_is_teach_English
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 44
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:31 am Post subject: Re: First Week Questions |
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| BigWally wrote: |
| I'll have about 5 days between arrival & my 1st day of training, any recommendations or advice on what to do these 1st few free days? |
Find yourself a home. You'll have enough to think about with the teaching without adding the extra stress of having to house hunt as well. It'll make all the difference being able to go home after class and have a beer, rather than having to go and look for somewhere to live. I arrived ten days early and did this, and we came straight out of our training and started teaching immediately. Other people then found they had a much more limited time to find somewhere to live and were fitting the hassles of moving in around their teaching schedule, also not necessarily finding the optimum place to live.
| BigWally wrote: |
| What was your 1st week of teaching like? How did the kids treat you? How long did it take for you to get in your "groove"? |
Hectic! Getting to grips with the materials, standing up in front of a class, finding my way around my branch and the procedures for doing things. The kids will take some time to feel comfortable, they need to suss you out (this still happens to me when I take over someone else's class, and it can take a month or more before they are completely used to your accent, teaching style and personality). I started to get into the groove after about three months and then really started thinking about better ways of teaching the materials after about six months, when I understood how the program developed. |
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