School visit rankings are almost due. I have spent the last couples days either in a teaching workshop or traveling between 18 different schools and we still have a couple more to see on Monday. The schools are ranging from elementary through junior high and over three different locations.
I will either be placed in Taitung City (where I am right now), Gaun Shan (an hour scooter north of the city through the mountains), or Zhi Ben (a 20 minute scooter ride south of the city on the coast). I completely thought I wanted to stay in Taitung City for the year. It has a lot of food options, things to do, and great transportation to Taipei and the rest of the island. However, the school visits had me rethinking my priorities of why I decided to come at all. It wasn't to just enjoy another city and act as a tourist all weekend. I wanted to become a member of a community unlike my own, have an impact on someone's future (hopefully for the better), and document and bridge the culture through photography and film. Staying in the city might actually diminish my ability to achieve most of that. So... I started giving the other locations a chance, keeping an open mind as we traveled by tour bus around the county.
The school visits included short powerpoints either completely in Mandarin or sometimes (fingers crossed) in English. Most of the presentations were given by the LET, Local English Teacher, who is going to be our co-teacher for the year. The differences between the schools was astronomical. Some had brand new buildings while others looked like the trees had decided the building was now part of the forest. I personally loved the schools that had some of the kids there which helped me to imagine what the school looks like while its in session. We were shown videos of the Reading Theater, a competition all schools in Taiwan participate in where the children create English skits or stories and perform them across the island, and Hakka dance teams. I could see the pride each teacher had in the achievements of their students. One school even went so far as to have a portion of their drum team come and welcome us.
Zhi Ben schools were incorporated into the sides of mountains and little enclaves that you could see the ocean in the background. The commutes were quite complex for these schools as the bus driver expertly maneuvered the large bus up mountain paths. The whole area is all picturesque and great ( I have photographic proof).
The downside being, all the beaches you pass are un-swimmable due to the waves and strong tide being deemed unsafe.
Guan Shan on the other hand is farther from the coast and more agricultural. It is home of the Mr. Brown Avenue which is a stretch of road without any signs and wires, blending in with the scenery a little more. Most importantly, Guan Shan is home to a larger aboriginal and agricultural population. Hosting many of Taitung's famous festivals, Gaun Shan is somewhat of a getaway from urban living.
The schools in Gaun Shan and Zhi Ben were somewhat made for me. Most schools teach about aboriginal culture in their English class in these locations. Using the environment the kids learn about their heritage, county agriculture, and about the world. However, no matter how much I love a school it is out of my hands which is assigned to me. We rank all the schools in order of our interest with corresponding notes on our strengths that could help the school. Then a person in Taipei decides which school everyone will be working at. The decision is then announced on the 21st in which we each give a presentation introducing ourselves to all the schools and to the people of Fulbright as well. ~That's not daunting at all~ To make matters worse later that day is our scooter test (blog post on that to come) so I'll be officially dreading that day. Either everything will go as planned and I get my top school and I pass my scooter test on the first try, or I'm stuck at least another week scooter-less and will have to change my teaching expectations a little.
As the signs in a Taiwanese school's English classroom state...
Updates to come soon! Keep your fingers crossed everything works out!
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