An eatery, a meal, and tea

In the school

The meeting with teachers went smooth. I briefly explained my study to the teachers, who kindly squeezed 10 minutes from their busy schedule for me. There are 4 second-grade and 5 fifth-grade classes in the school.

One of the teachers approached me after the brief meeting. She was feeling frustrated with the fact that students' academic performances have been dropping rapidly every year. Taiwan has undergone a series of educational reform movements since 1994, and ever since, such kind of comments have been commonly made among teachers in Taiwan.

I took a tour in the school.

Kids pulling the rope during a preliminary contest of tug of war

Cheering for their classmates

A student's art work hanging on the wall

The corridor

The South City Gate again

Progress

I took the bus to the southwest side of the Taipei city to visit the Nanmen elementary school. The name Nanmen means "the south city gate". The school is located nearby the historical South City Gate of Taipei.


The South City Gate

I talked with the director of student activities before the school principal returned from his doctor's appointment.

The director was very concerned about my research not to disturb students' regular classroom activities. She cautiously went over students' weekly schedule with me and I found that there was very little time I would be able to work with the kids. In addition, there are around 100 students in each grade, and I will need at least 90 of them to participate.

However, the director excused herself when the principal returned. The conversation with the principal was a lot more encouraging. He was very laid back and enthusiastic about participating. He asked me to come back tomorrow to explain my research to the teachers.

I feel fortunate to have the support from the principal, but it will be a tougher job to convince the teachers, and they are the people I will work closely with.

It's drizzling today, and I'm getting my feet wet :)

The campus

Kids playing hula hoops during physical education class

Posters on the landing of the stairway

Nostalgia

Pedestrain Friendly
On the cross road, the pedestrains can go diagonally to another side of the street!

On the Streets
So I am in my homeland where I've been away for years. The feeling is complicated as I found myself seeing the place from an outsider's view while at the same time I would smile at somethings that might make a true outsider raise her eyebrows.

Old Life, New Life, and the Present Life
As I began a new life in California years ago, I left a big part of my old life behind. However, old friends' lives went on without me. Most of them are done with schools. Many of them are working for good pay. Some got married, some broke up and some met new ones, and some are raising kids.

From time to time I think about friends in California, wondering what time it is over there and what is happening to my American friends. Everyone's life goes on, including mine.

Many of the unexpected happened, still many of the expected haven't come yet.

We shall see then.


A typical tea house in HsinChu for afternoon tea.


Honey daisy tea and mountain yam pastry.

night life

The night market has often been seen as one of the most renowned scenes in Taiwan.

The one I went was right across the street from the SongShan train station. People hang out there in the open air for a big variety of cheap foods and bargain products. On the photo, there was a line for the delicious pepper pastry.

On the end of the market street is a Daoist temple for MaChu, the Goddess who protects people in the sea is the most worshiped Goddess among Doaist people in Taiwan.

Busy sidewalk at night. It's fairly safe and pleasant to stroll around in the evening. There are bus stops and metro stations around every corner.

where to go for my research?

So I have a few schools in mind.

1. NanMen: http://www.nmes.tp.edu.tw/
located in downtown Taipei. The school principal basically agreed to participate last year. But he wasn't sure how cooperative the parents will be, and the location is a bit far from my aunt's place.

Update 10/27: I got an appointment with the principal next Tuesday morning.

2. SiSong: http://www.sups.tp.edu.tw/
Also located in busy Taipei. The school is within walking distance from my aunt's place. However, I checked out the school website and the principal's homepage looked a little weird to me. The first thing listed on her information was her astrology sign and avocation...But I still emailed her, hoping to pay a visit soon.

Updates 10/27: the principal hasn't responded to my email. The phone calls I placed were all in vain. The campus guide refused to let me in without an appointment.

3. ChongShue: http://163.26.38.2/
Located in central Tainan city. I contacted the school principal and the response was good. They seemed to welcome research and the culture seemed laid-back. I haven't gotten a chance to travel south to Tainan so far. But this school seems to be a great site to work for a few months.

4. ShingAn: updated 10/27
Located in central Taipei. A friend of mine talked to the principal about my research and he wanted to talk with me next Monday.

Allergy and the health clinic

When walking on the street in Taipei, I started sneezing and my nose was running. Here came my old allergy problem! The weather was mild and it was nice to walk around. But when I dragged my wheel case along on the street, I wished the sidewalk to be more evenly paved.

I went to see a family doctor for my running nose at day 3 here. The clinic was 10 mins away from my aunt's place by walk. No prior appointment required. All I did was dropping in, filling out a form, and giving the nurse my insurance card. The whole visit took me less than 30 minutes including the waiting time. I got some immediate treatment inside my nose and walked out of the door with my prescribed medication. The total cost for this visit was 200NT dollars (6 USD).

Everyone in Taiwan (including foreigners with legal visa) receives the public health insurance, with which you pay about 20 US dollars per month and all your medical bills are covered with very little co-pay per treatment.

The down side of this free medicare is that I think the doctor over prescribed. Since the government pays for everything, I got four different types of pills for my running nose...

the high speed rail

I took the High Speed Rail for the first time from Hsin-Chu to Taipei at day 2. The train ran at the speed of over 300km/hr, yet was amazingly smooth and comfortable. The staff were very friendly and cheerful.

The machine for purchasing tickets.
In the train.
Looking out from the window.
The train in the station.

Dinning in the restaurant

Lunch with old friends started at 12, and by the time we left the restaurant, it was almost dinner time. We didn't feel any pressure to leave the restaurant during our 5 and half hours staying. The waitresses continued serving us water attentively.

Ice water and hot water was both served.

They didn't get any tips, as extra gratitude is very uncommon in Taiwan. When I started feeling bad about not tipping them, I was thinking how much I got Americanized along the years.

I'm getting a pot belly with tons of amazing foods here..