In case you didn’t know why I’m in Taiwan I am here for about two months in place of Janet who will be the principal of a new American school. She is not able to come at this time so she asked my to take her place.
I arrived at Taipei airport about 5am (Taiwan time) after a grueling 15-hour flight from SFO. I can’t sleep on plains so I was exhausted. Then I had to carry my heavy carrion backpack full of medicines about a mile to customs. (I should have asked for a wheel chair. When I leave Taiwan I will ask for a wheel chair.) I was immediately met after leaving customs by the school secretary, Daisy, and driven about 1-1/2 hours South to the school dorm, which is about a mile from the school. I was exhausted and slept for about 6 hours.
After I woke I was driven to the school (Don’t have pictures yet.) where Tony Chen, the owner of the school, immediately greeted me. I then was then introduced to the office staff and teachers. All of the Taiwanese teachers speak American English. There is now another American teacher besides me. He is AJ and last lived in Emeryville across the bay from San Francisco. Most of the office staff speaks rather broken English.
Jack who is acting as both a teacher and administrator, Tony and I discussed my initial duties. They are to teach some classes, help select science books, set up the science lab and meet any parents that would like to talk with me. Neither AJ nor I speak any mandarin Chinese.
Everyone is so very nice and polite and is very concerned about my comfort and health. They will be a great pleasure with which to work. AJ and I stay at the form 7 days a week while a couple of secretary’s stay when students are there. The students go home at 4:30pm every Friday afternoon by train or are picked up by their parents where they stay for the weekend. This first weekend I’m alone at the dorm. AJ has taken a train to Taipei to meet a friend. The students return to the dorm about 4pm on Sunday.
Last week I worked in the office and science lab only meeting the students. I will not start teaching until next Monday. I have no textbooks and almost no lab equipment at this time. It will be a challenge. Tony just wanted another American teacher there because it is supposed to be an American school. Its name is Alpha Beacon American School. It is on the same campus and associated with a large Taiwanese high school.
I have been fed delicious Chinese food that is catered to the school twice a day. I love trying new foods.
I have forgotten the Chinese name of the town I’m in. There is no one here today who speaks enough English to ask.
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The town has few tourists and the locals can only speak a few words of, if any, English. When I want some food I must point to it. When they tell me how much to pay they have to write it down or hold up fingers so I can understand. You can get a nice Chinese meal for about NT$100 or about $3US. Taiwan law does not allow them to exchange or use US money. Daisy took me to a local bank where they would only exchange crisp new American bills for NT$, New Taiwan Dollars. I was left with more the $100 of used ragged US bills that I can’t use. The locals say something costs so many NT or so many dollars if they speak any English at all.
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The dorm is a clean modern building. My apartment is in the back of several large common rooms that each joins a locked covered enclosed entry area. It is in the entry area where you must take off your street shoes before entering the living areas. I brought comfortable bedroom slippers. The large common rooms (only one has furniture at this time) common room has a bathroom and two rooms connected in the rear. One is a washroom. Mine has a refrigerator, a large wash sink, a washing machine and a water purifier. You should not drink city water or eat any raw foods washed with it. I drink only water from the purifier, alcoholic beverages, hot tea, canned sugar fee soft drinks or sealed bottled water. The other common room has a washer/coin dryer, refrigerator, and water purifier. I have a cell phone provided by the school that does not work inside the building.
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The apartment is a very small (about 10 x 10) with a bathroom. This is literally a bath-room because the entire room doubles as a shower with a drain in the center of the floor. I can not have toilet paper in the bathroom unless I am using it. The toilet paper comes in sheets like paper napkins instead of rolls. The room as a large single bed, a wardrobe, desk, chair and book shelves next to the desk, and an air conditioner over the bed. The desk is provided with a moderately broad band wired PC. The dorm has a slower wireless system, which is shut off between midnight and 7am so students can’t use it in the middle of the night. I brought my laptop and am using it to write this note.