The Hello Kitty Scooter Gang starts training.

Hello friends!

It's been a few days since I've posted, so I figured I would fill you all in on a few things we have been doing!

Last week was our first week of training. We usually start around 9AM and end around 4PM, followed by an hour of scooter training (which I will talk more about too). Each training day focuses on different aspects of teaching. So, Wednesday, we had one of our TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language) instructors, Emily, come to give us a TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages) overview. I learned a few new strategies to encourage participation and we ended up doing a mock teaching session. We were given instructions on how to teach different skills. In my case, I had to teach two other ETAs how to clip two paper clips together without touching the paper clips. It was a pretty neat trick, so I'm going to stash that trick away and whip it out at the next time I'm at a children's birthday party. But that activity just shed light on just how important clear, concise directions are. Teaching English, especially to foreign speakers, is also a rather deliberate conscious effort, where you really have to think about word choice and clarity. Now that we are in the midst of training, the fact that we are going to be teaching students is starting to feel more and more real!

Then, there was the day of training where all we did was play games. Needless to say, it was awesome! We played games that were familiar, like what seemed like the German adaption of Jenga and Twister. But we also played games I've never heard of before, like Ugli Doll and Halli Galli. But it wasn't all fun and games, because we then had to brainstorm ideas for how to adapt these games for English learning. It's pretty neat to see and experience all the ways of English learning!

Trying not to make the building tumble! It was a success!

As I mentioned before, after training, we normally have an hour of scooter practice. I'm not going to lie--riding the scooter for the first time was, to put it lightly, mildly terrifying. I was incredibly nervous getting on the first time and let out quite a yelp when taking off. Iris was even chasing after me to make sure I didn't crash! The following scooter practices have been better; I'm less nervous and getting the hang of it, but I'm pretty sure I won't end up investing in a scooter since it's pretty dangerous. And as someone who once fractured her toe trying to do a cartwheel, let's face it--I'm not the most graceful gal.  I will just have to appreciate this aspect of Taiwanese culture from the confounds of a parking lot!

First day of scooter practice and nervous as a clam! Luckily, Iris is only a few feet away for moral and physical support!

But that brings me to what one of my fellow ETAs, Chris, has lovingly named our group the Hello Kitty Scooter Gang! We even have our official symbol -- a gentle pawing of the face not unlike something the glamorous Hello Kitty would do. Considering my preexisting love for Hello Kitty, I'm pretty happy with our name. We will probably even purchase official Hello Kitty Scooter Gang T-shirts (pictures to follow when that imminent day comes)!

On Friday, we toured 6 different elementary schools and we tour 6 more elementary schools tomorrow. In a few days, we will rank the schools by preferene and then be placed in one of them! Although I was initially nervous about what school I would be placed in, after touring the first 6, I can honestly say I think I would enjoy any of the schools. Each school had incredibly warm and welcoming staff. It almost felt like we were celebrities; we had our private bus, and were showered with beverages and snacks while staff members snapped candid photos of us throughout our tour. Although there were slight differences in the school size, location, and extracurricular activities, each school shared one thing in common -- they were all genuinely devoted to providing quality and well rounded education to their students. I feel so fortunate to work in any of schools, given how incredibly inviting the staff are and the pride each school took in caring for their students.

On the next post, I'll have to talk about my weekend trip to Taipei and karaoke. Hopefully, I will know my school placement by then too!

I'm going to hit the hay!

Chia