My fellow ETAs and I have completed our first semester as the foreign English teacher at our schools, and I am so proud of us. We began our winter break with the Mid-Year Conference at Great Roots Forestry Spa Resort, located just outside of New Taipei City. After our first day of presentations, my friends and I relaxed at the hot springs, which gave me the space to reflect on the past six months of my life.
In some ways, I have adjusted to the norms of the school and in some ways, I am still learning. I still question myself if I am making an impact with my students’ English skills since they have my “English listening” class only once a week. With four other local English teachers (LETs), I teach all of the 7th-9th graders at 金沙国中 Jin Sha Jr. High School, totaling up to 264 students. (And yes, I inevitably do have favorites. Whoops!) My students continuously amaze me with their curiosity, kindness and wild energy. I get excited when they talk to me, even if it is a nonchalant greeting of “hi Teacher” as I pass by the hallway. Greeting a teacher is actually part of the Taiwanese culture, so it’s actually not that special. Still, their small acknowledgements mean a lot to me; they make me feel part of the community and at home.
My students, whether they intend to or not, make me fall in love with life. On the last day before break, I was feeling quite overwhelmed with my to-do list. Luckily, we had early dismissal and when I got home, I went out for a walk to fill up the water jugs at the water tanks located two minutes away from my apartment. After I filled up the water jugs, I saw two of my seventh graders turning around the corner towards me. I bump into my students outside of school often, so it is usually no big deal; it’s actually one of my favorite things about Kinmen because these are the moments I get to know my students a little bit more and have them use English outside of the classroom. But this time, I wanted to hide because I was legit struggling with carrying the two water jugs, even though I have done it before without a problem. So, there I was, trying to make sure I don’t embarrass myself and playing it cool with my water jugs.
“Hi Michael! Hi Dana! Where are you going?”
Though our conversation was quite ordinary, I somehow managed to embarrass myself, regardless of the water jugs. I mispronounced “年糕 (niángāo)” a sweet rice cake eaten at New Year’s dinner, as “年國 (niánguó)” literally translated to “year country,” and of course they easily broke into laughter, which in return made me laugh. As our conversation was coming to an end, Michael said that my Chinese was 很好 (hěn hǎo) pretty good. That little compliment reminded me that even in the midst of traveling prep and planning, there is no need to stress and life is still beautiful.
“Aww. Thanks Michael, but don’t you remember?!?! I just said “年國 (niánguó)!”
Ahh yes, they broke into laughter once again.
As first semester comes to an end, I realize how lucky I am to be their 外籍老師 (wàijí lǎoshī) foreign English teacher. We get a three week winter break, and I am traveling with my dad, brother and sister. I can’t believe how much I have missed my family, so I am beyond lucky and privileged that I get to see them. But now, as second semester approaches, I want to continue learning more from my students and need to prepare myself for missing my students.
Comments