My New Blog

I started a new blog with pictures from my everyday life 365 Green Taiwan, check it out would ya. I also thought this video of Dream sneezing and Yvonne laughing was entertaining. Hopefully more to come soon.

Happy Birthday Mr. Joseph

We celebrated Mr. Joseph's birthday on Monday, Tuesday and the celebration continues on tonight with the premeire of Indiana Jones and the Lost Whatever it is. But this story really goes back to Monday. We have a tradition of creating birthday cards for the teachers when their birthday rolls around. Usually Joseph is in charge of creating the cards, but we decided to let him off easy this time. I decided I should take over and surprise Joseph with a homemade card myself. I put in a whole bunch of pictures of Joseph with all of the teachers in the book and then made the children sign it.

It turns out that this picture caused the most controversy in morning kindergarten. All of the kindergarteners decided that Mr. Joseph likes Ms. Laura. The kids were quite excited about seeing Mr. Joseph with so many girls. In facts let's hear what some of them have to say:

So apparently Mr. Joseph likes so many girl teachers and it is apparently hilarious since neither Stacey nor Teresa can contain their excitment over it. But really let's take a delve into the lives of the kindergarteners.

Stacey only likes one kindergartener and his name happens to be Sky. She is more his guardian in morning kindergarten that is always watching out for him. I think he lets her boss him around because he doesn't know any better. But really it is probably not any of my business. So does Mr. Jospeh like so many girl teachers?

He seems quite enthralled with Sara, but this picture was taken on my birthday so his feelings might have changed over the past three months.

This is a more recent picture taken with Jessica and Joseph. Some argue it could be used as a wedding invitation but really I don't think Joseph even realizes she was in this picture. If he knew she could see him and was paying attention his face might look a little more like this.

This face might deter some girls but you'll notice the same face in the photo below and Dream continues to stare at Mr. Joseph daily.

So back to the birthday card and its aftermath. Following the signing of the card by each kindergarten class I made them promise to not reveal to Mr. Joseph that they had signed a card for him. It took them a little while to understand the concept of a secret but then a few of the smarter ones simplified the language so that an average kindergartener could understand what it was that I was trying to say.

Not every child in kindergarten is currently capable of telling Mr. Joseph the birthday secret. This is Jemmy, the newest addition to morning kindergarten. He usually comes about an hour late to class and then walks up to us teachers and wants to be held. For a long time we were allowed to do that and then the secretaries decided enough was enough and he had to grow up. He still doesn't understand anything we say but at least he's cute when he cries.

So to finally bring this blog to an end, Mr. Joseph's birthday went well. No one gave away the surprise although many of the kids in his Basic Reading class were tempted to tell. Too bad they didn't all throw their hands into the middle of the table chanting "Don't tell." Apparently it isn't required though. Well Happy Birthday Mr. Joseph.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the strongest of them all.

When Joseph posted a response to the love note I received from one of my students and further decided to claim that he was stronger, better-looking and more loved by the kids I decided that I had to deflate some part of his ego. I knew that the better-looking claim was probably unfounded so that was out of the question. We can't really determine who the kids love more because usually they forget about us after we walk out of the room, so that only leaves me to prove that he's weaker.

Exhibit A. This is Joseph's muscle. I do understand that it might be difficult to see but he is flexing, so let just pretend with him. Actually he really does have a muscle there and Stacey, one of the kindergarteners loves it when he flexes his biceps. She is going to be one of those girls that swoons over every man that comes into her life, but why not? She doesn't really like the older men though, her heart is set on someone much younger, but this isn't about her. So is Joseph stronger than Corey?

Yes.

Sean? . . .of course not, I see nothing.

Sharon? Well, if muscles are the only thing involved then yes. If we include attitude and potential for harm then Sharon probably wins.

According to Mary, King beats Joseph in the attractiveness category but not in the size of his muscles. So that only leaves one more serious competitor, me.

I can hold a struggling young kindergartener with one hand and take a picture with the other. Though Jemmy may look cute and innocent he is a tiger at heart. Running around all during his Chinese class. Occasionally he'll even come into my basic reading class and hang out with me.

He is fighting to learn all he can. Well I kind of veered off my topic, sorry 'bout that. Back to the strength competition though. I suppose that Joseph takes the cake since he can do real push-ups with five Teddy Bears on his back. Even though they are the lightest group it is impressive. But wait, what's this?

Somehow Sean comes back into the picture and is able to do push-ups with four giant Dolphins on his back. But wait, isn't Joseph suppose to be the strongest? He's be practicing flexing in front of the mirror for the past week and then Sean comes out of nowhere and takes all his glory. You saw Sean's muscles earlier, nothing to be impressed about and then he does this. Apparently is doesn't matter how large the muscles are, it is really what's behind them. So Joseph, though you have the largest muscles in the apartment, it won't stop Sean from bench pressing you Monday in kindergarten.

Fiction (Warning: Some books have been harmed in the making of this blog.)

Prior to moving to Taiwan I swore off reading fiction. I simply got tired to the same old plots and the perfect happy endings. By concentrating on non-fiction I wouldn't have to worry about confusing what I was reading with reality. When I moved to Taiwan I brought two non-fiction books with me and a lovely textbook. I have finished one of the books and I am still working on the other two. However, I have turned over a new leaf and decided that maybe fiction has a little bit to offer.

I might have been as excited about reading fiction as Jasper is about writing. But now I must admit that I follow a little close to Tony's feeling about writing.

But reading is all pretty much the same, just words created out of the same twenty-six letters, if you speak the English language that is.

I count myself lucky because I have already mastered the twenty-six letters and their respective sounds, unlike most of my basic readers and all of the kindergartener. I understand that the letter 'R' does not sound like the letter 'L'. I can read whatever I want provided I have a dictionary on hand so I can look up the confusing words I don't understand. But while I may have the advantage now of being able to read the English language, my kindergarteners will someday be able to read in both English and Chinese. But until then I have the upper hand. But lets move on shall we.

Here I am ashamed of the fact that I am actually reading a book of fiction. But you see I had this brilliant idea while reading this book. I think my dad once told me that my uncle use to cut books apart that he knew he would never read again. When his wife would tell him it was time to leave he would pull up a chair and wait by the door until the fact actually happened. He would causally read and then throw away pages as he read them.

I decided to follow in my uncle's shoes and see how I liked it. It was really nice being able to carry around a book that continually got smaller. I would read while waiting at the train depot and then when the train pulled up I could rip off what I had read and throw it away. But then the tragedy struck. I started really enjoying the book. You see I had already read two of Cussler books prior to this one and though I enjoyed both this one was by far the best. The plot was a little less predictable and there was even a cliffhanger ending. So I probably should have ripped up another book instead, but I have learned my lesson and will never destroy another book. But had the book been wonderful, who knows how many more I would have destroyed before I learned my lesson? So I must apologize to the future Berhan teachers and tell them that I destroyed a book that they could have enjoyed. So really I should be hiding in shame again behind a book, but alas it has since been recycled.

Dance Dance Revolution

So last week Frances, our boss, called a meeting with all of the teachers and asked us to prepare song and dance routines for some of our classes. She was kind enough to allow me to take care of the kindergarten routine. Originally I had visions of the kids being able to pull off 'Be Our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast and having it be the show stopper. My hopes were soon dashed though when I played the song for the kids. They all just sort of stared at me when I turned it on and sat there. I had expected them to at least get up and attempt to dance but nothing happened. Luckily I had two more full CD's of Disney songs for the kids to choose from and when we broke up into groups the chaos ensued.

This is the oldest group of kindergartener's which we have. I turned on 'True to Your Heart' and the kids went crazy. Teresa is the girl with red and yellow sleeves. Corey is the boy in the middle, Stacey is the larger girl and Sharon is the other one. Sean also busted out his breakdancing moves to impress the ladies. Needless to say I decided to go with this song instead since I knew they already enjoyed groovin' to the beat.

This is my kindergarten basic reading class aka the Asian BackStreet Boys. This was not choreographed but improv. You'll notice Michael near the end of the movie off in his own little world providing the echo for the rest of the class. These Taiwanese kids really know how to bust a move and it continues to be quite entertaining watching these kids, trying to figure out exactly what it is that they might try next.

Teaching Kindergarten without a Bachelor's Degree

When I agreed to teach English in Taiwan apparently I had no idea what I was getting into. I figured that teaching kids couldn't be too difficult and they would be happy to follow every command that I gave them. Well it turns out that I was wrong and although the kids like me most of the time and want to play, sometimes they just run around like crazy. At least once a day I allow them to run around like crazy. Well, it isn't really me allowing them to run around but it is more about trying to correct their homework while they "listen" to music. Listening turns into dancing and then running around the room. On this ocassion they opted to dance a little longer then normally happens. Well you watch the video and tell me what you think.

Maybe if I had received my Bachelors degree I would be more qualified to teach these little guys and girls. But alas I must struggle through the next six weeks, but have no fear. I start my final class on the tenth of May and then I can recieve the much coveted Bachelor's degree.

UnfortunatelyI won't be able to enjoy all of the wonderful things about Weber that I was able to enjoy while living back at home. The basketball games were amazing. Sometimes I even managed a small smile when we managed to win a game or two. Apparently we didn't do so well in this game, but were Weber State.

Another great thing about attending classes on campus is hanging out with our teachers. This is Bro. Woodstock, he let us carry him around when his load got to heavy to bear. He even let us come over to his house and have a BBQ. I don't think that I'll get to hang out with any professors while in Taiwan, unless my professor decides to take a few days off and come on a trip.

But let's face it, trips are out of the picture. That means no trips to Sin City this year. Wish I could go back to that life again but I get to stay here and ensure that the ship is sailing smoothly here, but really let's not kid ourselves. The kids prefer running around the room instead of keeping all hands on deck. But being pirates and all I don't think they care much about following the rules. I mean the pirate code turns out to be more a set of guidelines instead of rules anyways.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Being in Taiwan I don't have the chance to spend much time with my mother. But that doesn't mean I don't miss her sometimes and really it would be fun to spend some more time with her and my dad. I even invited them to come stay in Taiwan for a week or so but since my sister is getting married in August she decided that coming to Taiwan was probably not the best choice financially. Too bad though, it would have been nice showing my parents all of the cool site and taking them to the doctors office for only 4 USD. But the good times will have to wait until I get back to America in August, just in time for the Taiwanese to celebrate Father's day. But I'll concentrate on Mother's Day.

This is probably what my mom is doing this Mother's Day. Every major holiday or birthday we get together at my Grandma Simms' house and have a great feast. Usually my mom will wait until we sit down to eat dinner but apparently she was so excited about the string beans that she just couldn't help herself. If I was in the same position though with American cuisine then I would have the same reaction. But let's move on to a picture of her beautiful smile instead.

This was probably just before one of our family prayers when we were holding a family council. I like to think that I have her smile but I'll let you be the judge of that. Sometimes though she perfers to hide behind her smile.

This was Christmas day probably about two years ago. It was probably a cold day in Utah. Luckily there are heaters in Utah though, unlike Taiwan. Sometimes you could even go so far as to say that it gets colder here than it does in Russia. But that isn't the only reason my mom decides to cover her face.

Who knew that a knee brace could be used as a face mask. This is actually quite a common scene in Taiwan. People ride around there scooters with face masks on trying to avoid the pollution. Like I said, my mom really should come over to Taiwan. She could bring her knee brace and use it for other purposes.

I really love my mom though and I want her to know that I love her and would really do anything for her. We had a lot of fun together when I lived at home just a few months ago. We played games everyday after school, ate too much ice cream and Chinese food and sometimes even worked out togethe, but only with an audience, my grandma Adams in this case.

The truth is I am excited to go back to the states and hang out with my family again. Sometimes we act like dorks but really, what are families for? Thanks mom for all that you do and for teaching me so much. Someday soon we can play games again and I might even let you win a few. I hope you have a great Mother's Day and I love you.