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So, things have been going at a decent pace this week... I've been sick (again) due to the typhoons... the weather has been hot and cold, which is awful, plus the kid germs I'm constantly around... But it's part of the hazards of the job.
Eli started AnchingBan this week. It's sort of an after-school school that most kids go to here. They get homework help, snacks, a nap, etcetera... He has some friends in this one, too, so that's nice for him. He needed to get out of the house a little, and he's really enjoying it. He goes every afternoon from about 1 - 5pm, and a little later on Thursdays and Fridays because of Math Class.
Rhiannon wants to start going too, but we'll see in a month or so. She actually takes a nap, though, when Eli's not there for stimulus.
So, I work in the mornings and evenings, so I'm not home as much, but it's a lot less stressful than the other place, so I don't mind... A couple of kids from my old school gravitated over to my new school to follow me, so it's nice to have them around too. And I've been focusing on corriculum and writing tests and things of that nature... getting to know my students... I have, all in all, about 160 students, now. But teaching here is a lifestyle. Or it should be. I don't exactly have any real days off anymore, but it keeps me busy. I teach Monday to Friday, later on Fridays for some older kids... I only have one class of older kids on Wednesdays, the rest of the time, like on Saturdays, is for office work and marking homework. Sundays are my earliest days, for Mass and the class afterwards. It's an interesting life...
Gosia took Eli, Rhiannon and Calvin to an air show on Saturday. She and the other brain injured kid families went over to the Tainan Air Force Base to view Taiwan's newest purchases from Amarica's military industrial complex. There were plane fly-overs and schoolchildren drumming. Plus ice cream. Eli got a model airplane, one of those with the rubberband so you can wind up the propeller. Nice morning...
Well, the webcast morning Mass from Fordham University is wrapping up, so I'll be getting off the computer soon.
Much love!
Sunday 21 September 2008
Monday 15 September 2008
Monday, September 15th
Well, we're back. Sort of. Last night I got the inclination to start writing here again, so here I am, writing here again.
The posts will still be sparse until we get a new camera (ehem, Christmas present?) but I'd like to at least start it going again.
Things are going pretty well here, all things considered. Calvin has new abilities and tricks, and he's hopefully in the last leg of his teething.
Eli and Rhiannon are both doing well... We has a barbecue on the balcony over the weekend (for Moon Festival), even though there was a Typhoon on. So, they made grilled cheese sandwiches and corn and got to smoke out the neighborhood. We ran low on charcoal, so we used whatever various wooden objects we had laying around. Driftwood and bamboo and the like. So, we had a nice roaring fire going up on the balcony for a while while the neighbors lit fireworks and firecrackers down below while a Typhoon swept through. God bless Taiwan.
It didn't really rain until Sunday, though. Gosia and the kids went to church in the car, but I made the trip on my scooter. Every Sunday after Mass I teach an English Bible study/reading class, so I have to stay an hour and a half later. Driving back was thrilling. The rain feels like needles going even 30 kph... But I get to drive along the freeway's side road which skirts the rice fields and countryside, so it's really beautiful during a Typhoon.
Teaching has been going well. I teach 9:30 - 11:30 in the mornings, and then 4pm till after 9:30 in the evenings. Plus Saturday mornings for three hours. I'm a full time teacher now, so not all of those are teaching hours. I help around the school, grade papers and homework, things of that nature. Over the last year, I'd forgotten what it was like to look forward to going to work. It's a very different school, more human and less sterile. Lots of plants and paintings. I'm getting to know my kids and I have a lot of control over my classes. I'm on "go" from when I get there till when I leave, but I don't mind. I know what they want from me, they know me... Even as no school is perfect, it's going pretty well. We'll see where things are in a year, but for now, it's going well.
Well, that's all for now. As the posts will be sporadic, I'll put up alerts on Facebook whenever there's something new up.
Ad astra per aspera,
Sean
The posts will still be sparse until we get a new camera (ehem, Christmas present?) but I'd like to at least start it going again.
Things are going pretty well here, all things considered. Calvin has new abilities and tricks, and he's hopefully in the last leg of his teething.
Eli and Rhiannon are both doing well... We has a barbecue on the balcony over the weekend (for Moon Festival), even though there was a Typhoon on. So, they made grilled cheese sandwiches and corn and got to smoke out the neighborhood. We ran low on charcoal, so we used whatever various wooden objects we had laying around. Driftwood and bamboo and the like. So, we had a nice roaring fire going up on the balcony for a while while the neighbors lit fireworks and firecrackers down below while a Typhoon swept through. God bless Taiwan.
It didn't really rain until Sunday, though. Gosia and the kids went to church in the car, but I made the trip on my scooter. Every Sunday after Mass I teach an English Bible study/reading class, so I have to stay an hour and a half later. Driving back was thrilling. The rain feels like needles going even 30 kph... But I get to drive along the freeway's side road which skirts the rice fields and countryside, so it's really beautiful during a Typhoon.
Teaching has been going well. I teach 9:30 - 11:30 in the mornings, and then 4pm till after 9:30 in the evenings. Plus Saturday mornings for three hours. I'm a full time teacher now, so not all of those are teaching hours. I help around the school, grade papers and homework, things of that nature. Over the last year, I'd forgotten what it was like to look forward to going to work. It's a very different school, more human and less sterile. Lots of plants and paintings. I'm getting to know my kids and I have a lot of control over my classes. I'm on "go" from when I get there till when I leave, but I don't mind. I know what they want from me, they know me... Even as no school is perfect, it's going pretty well. We'll see where things are in a year, but for now, it's going well.
Well, that's all for now. As the posts will be sporadic, I'll put up alerts on Facebook whenever there's something new up.
Ad astra per aspera,
Sean
Tuesday 2 September 2008
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