My Taiwan Adventure

Greetings All,

I just finished teaching my first Demo class in Taipei and I must say I feel pretty good about the whole experience. My job was to teach a voice warmup to the class utilizing my 20 minutes. So I had them all stand in a circle and did some basic warmups. Talk about being greatful for my speech & theatre classses in college! It gave me a great pool of information to draw on for the class. I dare say I would have loved to finish the full 40 minute class! This job, although in downtown Taipei where I said I wouldn't work, has some real potential.

A word of explanation. Most teaching jobs in Taiwan are for bushibans which are private for-profit schools that generally run in the evenings up to 9pm. The class I taught the demo for is an actual middle school in Taipei that is farily upper-crust. The movie stars and politicians here all send their children to this school. The opportunity to teach there would be fantastic. Not only would I get to teach drama, which is a particular interest of mine, but I would also be allowed to leave in July should I not enjoy the experience. Thus allowing me to go hook up with the potential job in Keelung. How perfect would that be? Of course this all hinges on getting the position in the first place.

I consider my first demo to be a success. All the kids were involved, even the shyest one... managed an audible response when I asked them to speak LOUD. Of course when I said "soft" he clammed right up! *snorts* I had control of the class fairly well right until about the last 40 seconds of class or so. Looking back on the situation I should have been a bit tougher on them at that point before turning the class back to the regular teacher. However, it all comes with experience right? I'll hear by early tomorrow if I got the job or not. If I do, I just have to find an apartment/roommate to live with in Taipei. That's a potentially expensive prospect.

I've moved in to a hostel just down the street from my last hotel to save cash. The hotel was 900/night and the hostel is 400 a night in my own private room. To describe it politely - my private cell. The room is precisely the length of the bed and 18 inches wider than the bed. The bed is a small single. I would hate to be six feet tall in that bed because even at my height I'm hitting the footboard and headboard if I stretch out.

My phone yesterday was ringing off the hook, which is fairly odd for me. The gentleman I had met in the train station who runs a negotiating firm asked permission to pass along my name to a school who was seeking a new teacher. A school in Changhua called me back and when I said I wouldn't work on Saturdays asked permission to forward me to one of their contacts. And I got everything arranged for today's demo. Plus, I got a phone call from a friend in England last night which was pretty neat.

I'm so excited by the potential of working here. Of course I'll be dissapointed if I don't get this job, but I do know that more are just around the corner. I have to work at keeping myself moving forward and LISTENING to that gut instinct. The urge to go to Hualien has been silent since I tried to get on a bus and the phone rang. *hmmm* Hope I'm doing the right thing, but then again everything seems right so I will continue to have faith.

((HUGS)) to those who want them. Be well dear reader and travel safely.
With love,
T. Destiny

It's great to finally hear your voice after all these years.

I'm enjoying your account of your time in Taiwan. It's something I can't wait to read.  

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