Aden

This might be the only picture where Aden has decided to set down and relax for a second. He is also sitting by another student, which is kind of a big deal. You see Aden loves everyone in kindergarten and wants to be everybodies friend, but nobody wants to be Aden's friend because they'll get into trouble.

Aden is or should I say was a student who loved to eat and still smiled even as the food went down. I say was because his parents had to take him out of Berhan half way through the semester so we haven't seen him for a while now. You might also notice that the apron he is wearing belongs to a girl named Angelica. Apparently he forgot his one day so they gave him the apron that belongs to the bosses daughter.

Maybe one of the real reasons Aden always got into trouble was because of his love for sugar. He downed this fudge like there was no tomorrow and then ran around the room like a wild animal. Well I guess I should say that all of the kids eat it like there was no tomorrow, but you're only a kids once, right?

At least he finishes all of his meals and is even willing to show us his progress when kindly asked. I think that someday we might see Aden over in the good old USA. He's got the energy to run a large business and if he can figure out how to make friends without getting them into trouble then he'll win the hearts of millions.

Oscar

In an effort to retain readers of my blog while I am away on adventures throughout Asia, I have decided to give ya'll a recap of the kids I have adopted in the past few months. So we start with Oscar.

Oscar is the kid that loves to snuggle with anything that moves. But sometimes he has a tendency to get hurt, as seen by the above picture. He is a Teddy Bear and because of that I se him for at least an hour everyday three times a week. Near the end of the semester he has decided to get a little crazy and he pouts a little more. All of the Teddy Bears want to sit by me during our snacktime and when Oscar doesn't get his way he will shed tears, but at least it isn't everyday.

He is usually a pretty good sport about things. When I taught art as the first rotation we would always finish before the next teacher came and we would play under the desks. Somedays we pretended to be snakes and other days we just hid from one another. But if Gerald is reading this I should probably just say that we eat snack and tried out best to keep the kids from going nuts.

Sometimes Oscar isn't allowed to eat some of the snacks we get but today he was allowed to eat what the other kids had too. Sometimes the culture is funny here and parents are afraid that if they allow their children to eat cold foods, like ice cream, then the children will get sick. I suppose with that mentality I should be dead. So to make the long story short, I'm not sure if Oscar can't eat this food or if his parents just don't want him too.

Oscar and I have fun times together though. He understands enough English to hold a small conversation and give me the encouragement needed to aid in blowing up a balloon.

Graduation

Graduation was a few days ago and on Friday they let us take pictures at the rehersal. Of course I took advantage of the situaiton and ended up taking about one hundred pictures and videos. Each of the Chinese classes performed at the graduation as well as a few of the English classes including the morning kindergarten class, which I taught. I had to start out the blog with the best part of the show in an effort to convince my readers to continue reading.

We ended up perfoming "Following the Leader" because the staff did not like our first selection for our performance: "True to Your Heart." But we tried to make the most of the situation and a few of the kindergartens got to dress up as animals. I suppose one could say that we pulled it off but I perfered the other song.

The other songs performed were quite entertaining as well. My kindergarten basic reading boys were in a native like dance that was pretty cool. Although I'm not sure if they were dragons or green monsters. The boys were really into it though and I think they did manage to impress the girls quite a bit. At least the girl teachers were quite impressed with what the boys had to offer.

The morning kindergarteners were involved in a shower dance. I have no idea where this dance came from but it made most of us laugh.

Of course no graduation would be complete without someone receiving flowers. Cindy, one of my KBR students decided that I was amazing enough to receive my first bouquet of flowers. It was really sweet and quite surprising. She also gave me an MP3 player. Apparently I made some sort of impression on these kids. It really was amazing to see the transformation from simply teaching the sounds of the letters to seeing the kids actually reading. Maybe someday they will even be able to read my blog.

After the graduation Frances, our boss, took us all to a great restaurant with all of the teachers and secretaries. The food was really good, I especially enjoyed the candied shrimp, something I'll miss in the states. We found this sweet heart and ended up taking pictures with some of our favorite secretaires. Sue is in charge of the Old School where Joseph, Laura and I spent all of our time. She decided to adapt me while I was there because I am the same age as her son. She was super kind to us and provided us with food every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on our half hour dinner breaks.

We finally got home about 2 and I had to take a nap. Then later in the evening Ray's family took Destiny and I out to dinner. I had my first chicken cordon bleu in six months. It was a great ending for the six months of teaching. But really it doesn't matter what I tell you 'cause only I'll know how great it really was, so I'll just stop now.

The Tin Man

Jellen

Michael

Cindy

William

Jasper

Melody

Bairt

Ray

Tony

Harry

Jellen, Bairt, William

Cindy, Melody, Jasper

Ray, Harry

Michael, Mr. Adams

Ray, Tony, Bairt

Melody, Cindy and William

True Love in Taiwan

Well I have almost made it through six months of teaching English in Taiwan and I can say that I am getting no closer to finding a girl to marry than I was when I began teaching. It hasn't been without trying though. It just never seems to work out. Here in Taiwan most of the same rules apply. For example, two people must be interested in talking to one another and usually it helps if they have something in common.

Destiny and I both major in history/political science stuff. Although it would seem that would be a wonderful way to start a relationship it hasn't quite worked out. We get along well enough and even talk late into the night sometimes but Destiny is destined for other things. She is turning in her mission papers to serve somewhere. So although we get along great I might have to just wait a few more years.

Another necessity is that someone actually likes you. I was recently told by Amy, a secretary, that Yvonne's mom said that Yvonne talks about me frequently after she gets into the car to drive home. Yvonne is the girl on the left. So I have been haming it up with Yvonne making her giggle. Sometimes Yvonne and Dream, the girl on the right, will walk by my classroom and laugh while I make crazy faces. Maybe she's got a little crush or maybe she just thinks I'm crazy, either way it gives me enough confidence to try my skills on the older ladies.

Unfortunately my recent moments in the spotlight have been less then desirable. I was recent cast in Berhan's graduation program as a lion. I lay on the floor, wake up, attack other teachers with a jump rope and then drag them off stage. Maybe I am getting a little too into the role and scaring girls away. I can't help it if I have a role to play, it's my job. I get paid to look and act like a scary monster.

Joseph, of course, comes out looking like the hero. Here he sits looking all fatherly and unscary. Not only do the kids come flocking to his side but the girls come too. He has recently managed to convince some of the girls to wear clothes that match his:

Well the first picture doesn't really count 'cause Tammy already has a boyfriend. However, Sain is currently single but thinking about changing that status if given the option.

So Joseph has pretty much won over the hearts of the girls in the apartment. Well you know what, I still have the kindergarten girls. Last week we had a activity where we talked about kissing. I jokingly asked the kids if they wanted to kiss me and they actually said yes.

Now the problem is becoming how to stop them from kissing me. It seems that Teresa and Sharon have decided it is a game to play and then a few of the other kids join in too. Sure it feels great to be fought over, but it would have been nice to have the older girls, teacher really, fight over me instead of fawn over Joseph. But I guess you can't win them all. I'll just have to look for love in the good old USA.

p.s. School isn't finished yet

Yes I like to read. Unfortunately it will be required once again. I have one final class to take before they'll give me my college degree. But in order to get financial help I have to be a full-time student. So the plan is to become a full-time student, finish International Marketing, among other things, and take some exciting political science classes. I know it sounds super excited and just under the surface of my disappointment lies a sense of relief that I have some sort of plan for when I get home. But really the tissue paper says it all: "I'm excited for school, but will it ever end?"

KBR Ghosts

Teaching a class of eight boys tends to add a new twist to every art activity which we do as a class. Usually when making an Easter basket we in the states try to put cute little bunny ears and a cotton tail on the back of a paper bag. I thought about trying to force the boys to put ears on them and then glueing tails on the bag but then I thought better of it.

Ray had worms all over it, Tony had spiders on the outside and inside. Michael loves little ghosts, the smaller the better, in fact so small that it makes it nearly impossible to glue them on.

But I continue to allow them to express their manhood as they simultaneously create amazing works of art. Bairt made a dragon that was suppose to have a design on the body but instead he drew spiders and the star of David. I'm not really sure how they go together but he managed to fit them together.

But I think the real reason they love spiders, ghosts and snails is that I continue to encourage it. Whenever we go outside I help them look for snails and then they ask me to take pictures of snails and rat skulls. So I finally decided that I would give in and design an art project where making a ghost was the final desired outcome. It went about as expected but the highlight was when we turned off the lights and our ghost came alive.

Just Another Playground

Sometimes when I go to class I think that my kids think I'm just another playground they can abuse. They can't wait to jump all over me during our break and even when we give them a jungle gym to play on they continue to use us instead. I haven't figured out why climbing all over the teachers gives these children such a thrill but somehow it manages to entertain them nonetheless. But let me tell you a secret, us teachers are a lot more exciting than an ordinary jungle gym. Perhaps the most exciting thing about using teachers as a jungle gym is the unexpected. These children never know exactly what we will be planning next.

This picture is a prime example of the endless possibilities which could happen when playing on a teacher. Jasper decided that it would be a wonderful idea to climb on my back when I was sitting down on my chair. I didn't realize it when it was happening and when he finally climbed on my back I thought I would go with the flow. We had a good time but then he kind of started choking me. I never to get him off and in my desperation I accidently backed up a little too far and smacked him against the wall. He was a little disoriented and I think I had to send myself to the corner because I smashed him against the wall. It was not my proudest moment but proof that us teachers aren't as durable as the playground monkey bars.

But even when using the monkey bars to exercise on the kids still manage to drag us into the mix and we continue to function as part of the playground. Laura's boy Koala decided to take the lazy way out and hitch a ride over on his teacher. Not a bad idea mind you. This would have to be one of my more favorite jungle gym activities because the weight doesn't rest solely upon us. But then again when another child is swinging from the other direction there is always the possibility of getting kicked in the face.

The easiest activity to participate in as a piece of equipment would have to be tackle tag. In this game one teacher, usually Joseph, runs around the playground while all of the children have to catch them. I haven't figured out how Joseph manages to outrun twenty-six kids but perhaps I should take a few lessons from him.

Turns out being an animate playground isn't always such a bad thing. We can poke back and threaten to sit on them just like they sit on us. We can also decide when we are finished playing and stop being a fun playground and start being a mean teacher. So I guess being a playground isn't such a bad thing.

Besides, I am sure the playground doesn't get as many hugs or kisses that we get. Or if they do maybe I should be a little bit more cautious about the kisses I'm getting from these kids.

Teacher, I feel sick!

While teaching younger kids you are bound to have some of them throw up on you, it just kind of goes with the territory. One mintue everything seems just fine and the children and smiling and even laughing, but then things take a turn for the worse. Lately it seems that I can't keep the kids from throwing up or crying. I'm not even sure what the problem is anymore. I went to KBR this afternoon and within twenty minutes two of my students were in tears, although not for health reasons. Melody had been whacked in the mouth when Jasper stood up and then Michael started crying because Tony kissed him. I never knew how emotional these kids could get. I have learned when to expect the tears though. The warning sign comes in there voice and then their eyes start to glaze over. I have seen Michael cry enough in the last few weeks that I am beginning to expect it and besides he kinda looks cute when he cries.

But then stuff like this happens and it totally throws me for a loop. Here you have four little kindergarteners and me all poking our hands into Owen's face. He just sat there happy as can be because we were pretending to give him his check up. He made it out without any tears and that is mostly what surprised me. I got down next and I couldn't handle all of the little fingers in my eyes trying to pry them open. It was all I could do from jumping straight up and running into the corner to cry.

Well we continued to give one another check ups to determine if any of us were sick. Corey, as you can see, passed the test and was able to go home without any additional medicine.

Even Jenny was able to pass with flying colors despite the wonderful tea flavored jello-like substance which she had managed to swallow. I tell you, had it been me it probably would have made me sick I then the kids would have to go calling for a doctor. But really most of the time I can judge if the children are feeling sick and when I ask them about it they will give me a straight answer.

But the problems occur when you gain new students. Recently Eli and Shayla joined our ranks. If you think their names are strange you can blame them on me because they had me come up with the names on the spot, but that's another story. Anyways, we were sitting down to have a wonderful snack of hotdogs and Shayla had just taken a couple of bites when it all came back. We had to pause snack for a few minutes to ensure that no one else would join in the fun and try the same antics. Luckily we were saved from further incidents.

But tears, blood and whatever else the kids happen to throw at me doesn't scare me like it use to. Maybe it's because I know that most of the time the kids are pretty cute and don't usually do it on purpose, but then again maybe some do.