Fork in the Road

A coworker wrote me after I left: “You’ll come to see that so many roads will appear before you and choices will have to be made.”

Couldn’t be more true. On Friday, barely a day after I got here, I interviewed at an English school. A friend of mine knew I was looking to tutor so she told me to get in touch with her friend. The interview was set up soon thereafter and I still had little idea what the school or the job was about. Way to be prepared, I know.

I took the train out to Yong-An Market Station. Walked for a bit, got semi-lost, then finally arrived at the Sunshine School. I talked to my friend’s friend and discussed my background. Everything seemed to be going alright… and then all of a sudden she asked me to give a mock lesson to one of the classes. I had 15 minutes to prepare. Oh shit.

I’ve never given a mock lesson before, and now I’m being asked to teach pronouns and plurals to some 4th graders?

Well I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for new experiences and I think I handled it fairly well. The kids were well past the level of material I was teaching, so that was a relief. It also made me reflect on the poorer emphasis on schooling back in the states.

Afterwards, my friend’s friend said she thought I would be a good fit because I’m young; from her experience the young ones tend to give a shit when it comes to the kids’ educations.

Alas came the kicker. They were looking for a long-term teacher, which meant 1 year or longer. I told them about my situation and how I can’t stay in Taiwan too long or else I might be shipped off to Kinmen. They actually laid out a way for me to avoid this and stay past 6 months: I would leave the country and come back with my US passport. Then they’d help me apply for an ARC which would spare me from the military. All they need is for me to sign on the dotted line…

One thing I promised myself when I got here is to be mindful of every opportunity I come across. This one was tempting as hell, but in my heart of hearts I believed the right choice was to pass it up. Life.

They seemed to understand and was even glad I was still willing to fill in as a sub while they looked for a teacher. In fact, just yesterday I taught my first class ever! It’s such a strange feeling. Everything went well, except I found out I crammed two lessons into one by mistake. But these kids are smart; I left very impressed, and worried about America’s future.

A rewarding experience indeed.

At the end of my coworker’s email, she added this: “Just go with your heart and see what’s around every new turn”

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MTC at NTNU

Part II of the summary sheets I made on Google Docs when I was researching programs. Sorry if it looks cut off. I just published it straight from Google Docs.

National Taiwan Normal University

MTC- Mandarin Training Program

1. Address
2. Tuition
3. Application Deadlines
4. Class Timetable
5. Courses

Address

Mandarin Training Center
National Taiwan Normal University
162 Hoping East Road, Sec. 1, Taipei, Taiwan 106
Map

Tuition

General Language Class	Hours/Per Week	Three-month Program	Two-month Summer Session	Single-month Program
Intensive (6-10 students)	15	32,400 = ~$1000	21,600	—
Regular(6-10 students)*	10	25,200 = ~$800	16,800	—
Individual(1 student)*	10	84,000	56,000	28,000
	6	50,400	33,600	16,800
	4	33,600	22,400	11,200
	2	16,800	11,200	5,600

Elective Class	Hours/Per Week	Three-month Program	Two-month Summer Session	Single-month Program
Culture Class	6	—	10,080	—
	4	—	6,720	—
	2	—	3,360	—
Language Class	6	—	10,080	—
	4	—	6,720	—
	2	—	3,360	—
Pronunciation	First Week 2 hours/a day	free	—	—
Chinese Characters	Second Week 2 hours/a day	free	—	—
Supplementary (Large Language Class)	Third week until the end of term 2 hours/per session	free	—	—

Application Deadlines

2009.09~2010.8 Class Dates and Application Deadlines

Term	Class Dates	Application Deadline From Abroad	Application Deadline* In Taiwan
Fall Quarter	Sep. 03 – Nov. 20	2009/Jul./31	2009/Aug./24
Winter Quarter	Dec. 02 – Feb. 25	2009/Oct./30	2009/Nov./20
Spring Quarter	Mar. 04 – May 25	2010/Jan./29	2010/Feb./11
Summer Quarter	Jun. 03 – Aug. 23	2010/Apr./30	2010/May/21
Summer Session	Jul. 01-  Aug. 23	2010/ May/31	2010/Jun./18

*’Application Deadline in Taiwan’ only applies to applicants who already hold a valid visa(or a residence document) covering the period of their study. Applicants must submit their applications in person and present their passports and visas to the admission staff.

Class Timetable

Class Timetable

General language class students attend classes for 15 hours a week.—
（1）Regular class：small language class for 10 hours a week and supplementary language class for 5 hours a week
（2）Intensive class：small language class for 15 hours

Class Type	Small Language Class Timetable (Mon.~Fri.)	Class Size
Regular Class*	8:10~10:00 10:20~12:10 12:20~14:10 14:20~16:10 16:20~18:10 18:30~20:20	6~10
Intensive Class	10:20~13:10 14:20~17:10	5~8
Individual Tutorial(or 2-4 students class)	By request(2 hours minimum per meeting)	1~4

* The class schedule of supplementary class is posted after each academic term begins. * Class schedules and information of elective classes are posted in the end of the first month of each term.

Courses

Level	Class	Content
Basic	Chinese101 ∣ Chinese402	● Pronunciation and basic oral drills ● Introduction to basic Chinese grammar ● Introduction to Chinese characters ● Basic vocabulary building ● Beginning composition writing
Intermediate	Chinese501 ∣ Chinese802	● Business Chinese ● Comparison of cultures ● Introduction to geography, customs and culture of Taiwan and China ● Study of Chinese arts, legends, tales, slang, and idioms, etc.
Advanced	Chinese901 ∣ Chinese909	● Study of ancient Chinese stories ● Introduction to classical Chinese ● Introduction to Chinese fiction, prose, poetry, magazines and newspapers, and contemporary Taiwanese short stories, etc. ● Study of TV news broadcast ● History of Chinese literature ● Introduction to Chinese thought and society

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NCKU Program

Part I of my school research done on Google Docs.

National Cheng Kung University

NCKU Chinese Language Center

1. Address
2. Tuition
3. Application Deadlines
4. Class Time

Address

National Cheng Kung University
College of Liberal Arts
Chinese Language Center
1 University Road
Tainan City 701 Taiwan, ROC.
Map
Campus layout

Tuition

2010 Tuition Fees (10 +5 hrs)
		Spring ,Autumn Sessions	Winter,Summer Sessions	Summer Vacation
Length of Course		11 weeks	8 weeks	4 weeks
Hours per Week		15 hours	15 hours	20 hours
Small Group Class (CG)		NT$29,700 ≒US$990	NT$21,600 ≒US$720	NT$15,000 ≒US$500
Individual Class (CI)		NT$46,700 ≒US$1,557	NT$37,300 ≒US$1,243	NT$29,000 ≒US$967
Study Tour Courses (CT)		Please contact the office for a quote
Enrolment Fee		Students already enrolled: NT$250 （≒US$8） New Students: NT$500 （≒US$16）
Placement Test		New Students: NT$350 （≒US$11）(beginner students N/A)

Application Deadlines

2010Application Dates (10+5 hrs)
	Winter Session	Spring Session	Summer Session	Autumn Session	Summer Vacation Session
Courses Dates	Dec.28 Feb.26	Mar.22 Jun.11	Jul.5 Aug.27	Sep.20 Dec.3	Jul.5 Jul.30	Aug.2 Aug.27
weeks	8	11	8	11	4
Close of Applications	Nov. 15	Jan. 30	May. 15	Jul. 30	May. 15
Enrollment Deadline	Dec. 10	Mar. 4.	Jun. 17	Sept. 2	Jun.17	Jul. 22
Total Hours of Class Time	15 hours per Week (or more)				20 hours per Week (or more)

Class Time

Class Time

At present, students are assigned to one of four,at least 2-hour classes per day (winter and summer intensive courses are 4 hours per day), for a total of 15 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Classes run from:

• 8:10-10:00
• 10:10-12:00
• 13:10-15:00
• 15:10-17:00

Students who wish to enroll in more than 15 hours of class per week can be accommodated. Please contact the Language Center for further details.

Course Info

Main Course Content:

1. 1. • Situational dialogues, daily conversation practice and drill, speaking from pictures.
      • Analysis of sentence patterns and modern Chinese grammar.
      • News and current affairs, news broadcast listening practice, conversation based on broadcasts and movies, interviewing and oral reporting, etc..
      • Reading and writing.

Optional Courses:

Culture classes	Language Courses
Chinese Painting	Chinese Conversation
Calligraphy	Taiwanese Language
Taichi	Simplified Character Workshop
Chinese Opera	Composition and Reading
Chinese Movie Appreciation	Chinese Novel Selection
Cuisine and Culture	Writing Class
	Pronunciation Class

All classes are two hours per week. Students can take as many as they wish, according to their interests and current level of Chinese.

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永和夜市 (Yonghe Night Market)

Since everyone already knows about Shilin night market, here’s one close to my friend’s house.

Busy on a Saturday night

Salted chicken stand. 鹹水雞

Salted chicken with whatever extras you want thrown in

Guess which fish?

Not seen: the squid is stuffed with yellow rice

later squid

You know what it iiiiiiiiiiiiiss... - mango ice. 泡泡冰

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天堂 (heaven)

Right outside my apartment.

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Green Tea Sprite

Endorsed by Jay Chou…

And endorsed by Greg Lin.

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Chillen with Chicken

I was able to meet up with my Taiwanese buddy today. His friends call him “Xiao Ji (小雞)” so I just refer to him as Chicken. We originally met two years ago, while I was doing the TTT internship at Hsinchu Science Park. Over the months we kept in touch from time to time. I let him know I was coming back and was pretty glad to hear that he’d be back in town as well. After chilling with him, I gotta say it’s such a boon to have a few local friends:

For one, it makes it less likely for people to rip you off. Sure, skin-wise I may look native, but just one glance at my attire is sure to raise red flags.

Secondly, I’m spared from experiencing just the tourist parts of Taiwan, at least before I really start to get integrated. For example, I got to check out Chicken’s old hangout spot, located up some secret road near his middle school.

Chicken's old hangout spot. The view blows Jewel Park out of the water.

Chicken’s parents heard I was visiting and treated me to lunch. We had some good ol’ Japanese food.

lunch with 阿雞

They were such gracious hosts; they even let me stay over when it was getting quite late. Chicken’s relatives happened to be over and a few of them played mahjong into the night. They were definitely a fun bunch. I wonder where they get the energy from. They reminded me of college kids, staying up for no reason. Chicken’s dad offered me beer. When I respectfully declined, he brought out the scotch. No thank you sir. Then came the bottle of Kao Liang 高粱 (sorghum wine). If you ever had it before you’d know it’s spicy as a mo’fucka. Thankfully one of Chicken’s aunts took the shot for me. A few minutes later the dad started to show off by doing pushups, while everyone else was focused on mahjong. Then Chicken’s mom took notice and punched him in the ass. I couldn’t stop laughing. The next day the parents were worried I had a bad impression of them but I assured them it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Awesome family.

I think the lesson of the day for aspiring travelers is to really put yourself out there, make an effort to befriend people- and not in a douchebaggy, social-climbing way.

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Hectic Day 1

Taipei shirt. Represent represent!

Arrived at Taoyuan airport Thursday morning (8/26). Plane was a little late but arrived safe and sound. Got my bags and tried to use the payphone to call my aunt. I didn’t know the right area code/prefix to use so I kind of just gave up. Bought myself a ticket to bus it to Taipei city where I was supposed to meet up with my aunt. Since she didn’t know about the plane delay, when she saw my bus reach Taipei Main Station she was relieved.

We didn’t even have time to drop off my bags because my apartment is far out and I actually had to register for classes that very day. I’ll have another post about the registration process. Anyways when we were all done we went to check out the apartment. It was quite the journey getting there because I had all my luggage with me. We had to take the MRT from Guting all the way to the end of the blue line, Yongning. From there we luckily found a cab to take us up to the apartment.

We had quite the scare when we arrived at the doorsteps. I was dead tired from the whole day’s ordeals, so when my aunt couldn’t open the door with her keys… I just stood there stonefaced. Then she discovered she was using the wrong set of keys the whole time. Out of respect, I stayed silent. But it was a moment worthy of a double facepalm.

The apartment, despite being out of the way, is very livable. My aunt actually kept a piano in there, which is pretty pimp. It’ll let me play the Secret song to unsuspecting girls, which would make it actually pimp. There’s a 7-11 outside, very crucial. But better yet… wait for it… there’s also a godamn BASKETBALL COURT outside!!! Once I get internet and a bicycle I’m golden.

For now, I’m gonna stay at my aunt’s house so I can use internet and continue working on the blog. Catch ya later.

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MTC Registration

The day I flew in (Aug 26) was also the last day to register for classes at the Mandarin Training Center. I didn’t even get to drop off my luggage; my aunt and I took a cab from Taipei Bus Station straight to NTNU. Dragging two huge suitcases under the Taiwan heat is not fun. It was even less fun finding out that MTC was on the campus on the other side of the street.

We finally found the right building and went up to the 5th floor. I showed them my enrollment letter, signed in, and was ushered into the auditorium where they happily collected my tuition fee. I was debating whether to take the regular courses (which I originally signed up for) or shell out a few extra bucks to take the intensive course. It’s 10 hours of regular class with 5 hours of supplemental classes versus 15 hours of intensive class and optional supplemental courses too. 25,200 NT vs 32,400 NT (~$800 vs ~$1000 USD). I chose to stay with regular for now and see how it goes. I figured I would boost my conversational skills by being out in the city rather than be stuck doing homework all day.

Get in line so they can take yo money faster. Registering for classes at NTNU.

Afterwards I was brought to a room and interviewed to assess my Chinese fluency. It felt a lot like the oral exams back in Chinese class at Bing. I was able to talk about myself and explain my goals there, so at least they knew I wasn’t a complete noob. Then the woman who interviewed me gave me two passages to read to hone in on my reading level. I was pretty glad I still remembered a lot of the words from before.

The next step was to take a written exam in a computer room. I had about 45 minutes to tackle the test, consisting of fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, and a writing exercise. Pretty standard fare. My swag was immediately when I found I could not bring myself to write out words I would normally have no trouble reading. Sigh, it’s been too long. My handwriting looked like shit as well. Although to be fair, I haven’t needed to use a pen or pencil extensively since college.

Finally, I went to update my contact info and get my student ID. A volunteer student named Michelle helped me through the process. She’s Taiwanese but she is from Australia. Right then I was thinking what a cool world this was. She told me orientation is next Friday and signed up for the morning session. Looking forward to it. Until then, I think I’m gonna pass out for a bit.

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