We have joined AirBnb. Our first AirBnB placement is in the SongShan district. Even though it is in the center of town, it is incredibly quiet. Our host, Yogee is as helpful as can be, even letting us arrive early. He rents out two rooms and our first roommate was a Korean man in the next room.. After that, a German fellow joined our household. It is so comfortable that we feel part of the family. Barbara has been all over town looking for jobs. Even though there is an excellent underground train, she still spends about 2 hours trying to locate the schools. She had two interviews. One of them seems very casual, but the other is just the opposite and she is not interested. Apparently she had a bad experience with some school in Vietnam to which I heard her referring as she walked down the street after non casual school interview.
We spent our last Taipei night in a new BnB. This one better reflects the city-clean, spacious, airy. The last one was a bit musty and dark which was a good transition from Vietnam. We went to our first night market, the Raohe, which is literally right around the corner. Tomorrow we go to the railroad which is literally right across the street. We depart to Tainan, a smaller city where Barbara hopes to find a job. We will stay in a BnB run by a couple of teachers who promise to help Barbara find a job.
Note: If you are thinking to join AirBnb, check with your friends for a referral. You both get some dough
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Taiwan: Types of English teaching jobs
The franchise schools advertise on tealit.com. As of this writing, the big names are Kojen, Sesame Street, Hess, Joy English. I, or my friends have experience with some of them:
Kojen. It pay $590 TWD per hour. It has its own curriculum. A foreign teaches an hour of class and a Taiwanese the next hour. Up to 25 students are allowed in one class. There are no computer or electronic aids of any type. I was offered a job there but as you can imagine, I did not take it.
Sesame Street also has their own curriculum which includes all the favorite SS characters. The first book focuses on listening and speaking. There are no words in the first book. The Teacher's manual directs every move you make such as, "Put your right hand in the air and point with you wiggle your little finger in a circular motion."
Joy English: They also have their own curriculum and direct every movement..
Kojen. It pay $590 TWD per hour. It has its own curriculum. A foreign teaches an hour of class and a Taiwanese the next hour. Up to 25 students are allowed in one class. There are no computer or electronic aids of any type. I was offered a job there but as you can imagine, I did not take it.
Sesame Street also has their own curriculum which includes all the favorite SS characters. The first book focuses on listening and speaking. There are no words in the first book. The Teacher's manual directs every move you make such as, "Put your right hand in the air and point with you wiggle your little finger in a circular motion."
Joy English: They also have their own curriculum and direct every movement..
How to find a job in Taiwan or Vietnam
My plan was to walk down the street and knock on doors as a more efficient method of finding a job. This works in Vietnam but not in Taiwan. Your bet for finding a job in Vietnam is to employ this method. You can read my Water Bottle Chronicles to get a feel for the English education in Vietnam. Basically, they are desperate for teachers. My first Vietnamese job was obtained while in the USA by Skype interview and then there was the whole stress and expense of driving all over the state of California to apostalize and authenticate documents in order to obtain a Vietnamese work permit. I taught at a place for four months and though I submitted my documents the first day I was there, I never did see the work permit. Hence, it is not actually needed. I soon discovered that most schools in Vietnam prefer to pay cash, and then have you do what is called a Visa Run every three months. This is where you cross the border and cross back again. The first teaching job was kind of a nightmare and when employees couldn't take it anymore, they soon found out that you could just walk down the street and get a better deal. I was in a suburb outside Ho Chi Minh City called Bien Hoa. On my street alone, there were 8 English schools with new ones popping up every day. If you want a job, go there!
Taiwan is much more professional and walking down the street is getting me nowhere, so I signed up the website called tealit.com. I already have several interviews set up.
Update December 2016: I taught in Taiwan for 6 months at a locally owned buxiban (English language school) and have now returned to Vietnam, but this time in a beach town called DaNang. Walking down the street worked in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, but not in Da Nang, Vietnam. They are not desperate for teachers here! There are plenty of jobs but most are part time. It's okay. Arin and I are starting our own online English school. See my blog: Starting a business online.
Taiwan is much more professional and walking down the street is getting me nowhere, so I signed up the website called tealit.com. I already have several interviews set up.
Update December 2016: I taught in Taiwan for 6 months at a locally owned buxiban (English language school) and have now returned to Vietnam, but this time in a beach town called DaNang. Walking down the street worked in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, but not in Da Nang, Vietnam. They are not desperate for teachers here! There are plenty of jobs but most are part time. It's okay. Arin and I are starting our own online English school. See my blog: Starting a business online.
Backdate to Taiwan arrival day
Culture shock!!!! After spending 6 months in Vietnam, I am in culture shock for two reasons. The first thing I notice is how clean Taiwan is and I think it must be the cleanest place on the planet. Taipei is modern and best of all, pedestrians have the right of way. There are signs posted with this statement. My second observation is that people come in all shapes and sizes. The Vietnamese all look the same in body shape and size Everyone is very short and thin. It is very rare to see any hint on weight on the Vietnamese or any height over 5'4", even in the men. Even though I am myself from from Sacramento,, California USA, the most culturally diverse county on the earth, my brain has acclimated to Vietnam and the varieties in people feel chaotic to me, unsettling, confusing. Of course, everyone here has black hair and eyes, so the only variety is in height and weight. I can't imagine what it is like for a newcomer to the United States with the exponential of eye, hair and skin color. Wow, I am speechless. Give me a couple of days before I can post again.
Cinji, a beach for ghost month
Let me tell you about the Asian's relationship with bodies of water and the sun. They don't like either. Also, nobody walks anywhere; they ride scooters. And when they ride scooters, they cover up; whereas the Vietnamese literally dress as mummies covered from head to toe in masks, skirts and gloves whenever venturing onto their motorbikes, the Taiwanese are not quite as fearful. The Taiwanese will wear a long sleeve shirt to cover their arms, but their feet sport only flip flops. Yes, you heard me. In Asia, riding a scooter as well as everything else is done in flip flops. In Vietnam I saw a man arc welding in flop flops. The reason for this is simple. Every home, as well as many restaurants and offices must be visited only in bare feet. This tradition facilitates frequent changing in and out of shoes, thus the advent of the easy to remove flip flop. Myself, I wear Crocs. Crocs saved my life. Many thanks to my sister Janet for introducing them to the family. If you have not tried them, take my word for it.
Anyway, back to the sun/water relationship. Ghost month or not, Asians rarely go swimming. The reason goes along with the fear of sun. They do not want their skin to get darker. Believe it or not, there are those here in Asia who are lighter than I, a light skinned California girl. Case in point, many Vietnamese doused themselves with skin bleaching cream and they were considered the most beautiful. If they were in California, the natives would be claiming, "You need a tan!" While in Vietnam, one of my friends was from South Africa and she was aghast at this bleaching trend. She said that politically in Africa it would be taboo. Recently, I saw that these whitening agents have been outlawed in parts of Africa.
OK, so enough about the Vietnamese and Taiwanese culture. Suffice it to saw that they do not like the beach but the California girl loves it, so, in spite of Ghost month, Arin and I sneaked away and took a ferry to the island of Cinji in Kiohsiung county and swam today. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. We were lucky to catch the tail end of the two month Black Sand Festival so were treated to music and a sand sculpture contest. Ha, ha, the ghosts did not get us!
Anyway, back to the sun/water relationship. Ghost month or not, Asians rarely go swimming. The reason goes along with the fear of sun. They do not want their skin to get darker. Believe it or not, there are those here in Asia who are lighter than I, a light skinned California girl. Case in point, many Vietnamese doused themselves with skin bleaching cream and they were considered the most beautiful. If they were in California, the natives would be claiming, "You need a tan!" While in Vietnam, one of my friends was from South Africa and she was aghast at this bleaching trend. She said that politically in Africa it would be taboo. Recently, I saw that these whitening agents have been outlawed in parts of Africa.
OK, so enough about the Vietnamese and Taiwanese culture. Suffice it to saw that they do not like the beach but the California girl loves it, so, in spite of Ghost month, Arin and I sneaked away and took a ferry to the island of Cinji in Kiohsiung county and swam today. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. We were lucky to catch the tail end of the two month Black Sand Festival so were treated to music and a sand sculpture contest. Ha, ha, the ghosts did not get us!
The ghosts will get you!
The government set up a new beach in the Tainan area and James, our host whose house we inhabit, promised us a trip to the beach today. Well, Grandma got wind of this and forbid any visit to the beach area. You know, she climbs to the fourth floor three times a day to refresh the water cups in the ancestor's room. As far as she is concerned, the ghosts are here.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Ghost Month
I woke to the smell of food combined with burning incense because today is August 3, 2016, the first day of Ghost month in Taiwan. This blog chronicles my life as an English teacher and gives information about working in Taiwan, but mostly I will describe the culture. The reason I am able to learn so much about the culture is because my son and I are living in the home of our employers and have daily access to their culture. My next four posts are about ghost month and after that I will backdate my post to May 10,2016, my exit date from Vietnam and my arrival date in Taiwan. Then the posts will give information about getting a teaching job in Taiwan, but I since I happened to be starting this post on the first day of Ghost Month, I am going to go with that. After all, what could be more interesting?
Who are the ghosts? They are the dead who have no living relatives to provide them with their daily food and water. During ghost month, they are allowed to roam Taiwan and feed. Yes, this does include feeding on people, but that only those who dare to swim in the ocean. You see, especially dangerous are those who died in the ocean because they will grab and eat you if they can access you. To ward off this ghost menace, on the first day of Ghost Month and on the lat day of Ghost month, Taiwanese display food of which all ghosts are welcomed to partake. They are provided chopsticks, water and even a bowl for washing hands. Strong importance is placed on the ancestors. You see, in the home of the oldest son, there must be a room or area designated for the them. The ancestors must be visited and provided with nourishment three times a day. In my house, my bedroom happens to share the fourth floor with the departed ancestors. I had been calling it the Buddha room because there is a statue of one on the alter, but this just shows my ignorance because it is not his (or her, more about that later) room, but it belongs to the ancestors and Buddha only gets to hang out there. People ask me if I am scared, but since I do not believe in those ghosts, the answer is no. Previous to Taiwan, I taught in Vietnam. A student of mine commented to me, "When you are walking at night, you are scared of encountering strange people, but I am afraid of the ghosts."
Culture shock!!!! After spending 6 months in Vietnam, I am in culture shock for two reasons. The first thing I notice is how clean Taiwan is and I think it must be the cleanest place on the planet. Taipei is modern and best of all, pedestrians have the right of way. There are signs posted with this statement. My second observation is that people come in all shapes and sizes. The Vietnamese all look the same in body shape and size Everyone is very short and thin. It is very rare to see any hint on weight on the Vietnamese or any height over 5'4", even in the men. Even though I am myself from from Sacramento,, California USA, the most culturally diverse county on the earth, my brain has acclimated to Vietnam and the varieties in people feel chaotic to me, unsettling, confusing. Of course, everyone here has black hair and eyes, so the only variety is in height and weight. I can't imagine what it is like for a newcomer to the United States with the exponential of eye, hair and skin color. Wow, I am speechless. Give me a couple of days before I can post again.
Who are the ghosts? They are the dead who have no living relatives to provide them with their daily food and water. During ghost month, they are allowed to roam Taiwan and feed. Yes, this does include feeding on people, but that only those who dare to swim in the ocean. You see, especially dangerous are those who died in the ocean because they will grab and eat you if they can access you. To ward off this ghost menace, on the first day of Ghost Month and on the lat day of Ghost month, Taiwanese display food of which all ghosts are welcomed to partake. They are provided chopsticks, water and even a bowl for washing hands. Strong importance is placed on the ancestors. You see, in the home of the oldest son, there must be a room or area designated for the them. The ancestors must be visited and provided with nourishment three times a day. In my house, my bedroom happens to share the fourth floor with the departed ancestors. I had been calling it the Buddha room because there is a statue of one on the alter, but this just shows my ignorance because it is not his (or her, more about that later) room, but it belongs to the ancestors and Buddha only gets to hang out there. People ask me if I am scared, but since I do not believe in those ghosts, the answer is no. Previous to Taiwan, I taught in Vietnam. A student of mine commented to me, "When you are walking at night, you are scared of encountering strange people, but I am afraid of the ghosts."
Culture shock!!!! After spending 6 months in Vietnam, I am in culture shock for two reasons. The first thing I notice is how clean Taiwan is and I think it must be the cleanest place on the planet. Taipei is modern and best of all, pedestrians have the right of way. There are signs posted with this statement. My second observation is that people come in all shapes and sizes. The Vietnamese all look the same in body shape and size Everyone is very short and thin. It is very rare to see any hint on weight on the Vietnamese or any height over 5'4", even in the men. Even though I am myself from from Sacramento,, California USA, the most culturally diverse county on the earth, my brain has acclimated to Vietnam and the varieties in people feel chaotic to me, unsettling, confusing. Of course, everyone here has black hair and eyes, so the only variety is in height and weight. I can't imagine what it is like for a newcomer to the United States with the exponential of eye, hair and skin color. Wow, I am speechless. Give me a couple of days before I can post again.
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