As I mentioned, last Sunday Julianna picked me up to make a practice run to Wen Fu so that I would have no problems finding my way there. The trip was a bit lengthy, but easy enough; we even joked about her "showing me around" since I take public transportation every day and Julianna drives her car (I don't blame her--in the U.S. I do spend a lot of time with Zeek, my silver Escape). After returning from the practice run I figured that I would need to set aside about 2 hours for my commute to school each way, so I was very excited when Shana told me that her co-teacher had introduced her to a bus that would take me directly to the train station about three blocks away from my school. I was pretty confident that I would find the stop with no problem, so I decided to test it out on Tuesday morning when I went for the first time to introduce myself to the staff.
Tuesday morning came and I walked to where I thought the stop was supposed to be. I didn't see a sign for the bus, but I did see all of the other landmarks that had been described to me. I asked a few people on the sidewalk, but none of them were familiar with that particular bus. Passersby saw me asking directions from others and soon gathered around in attempt to determine where I needed to be. An elderly man on his scooter was the last to pull up, and when I explained that I knew I could take other bus lines that would take me to places where I could then transfer, he told me he would take me there. I was wearing a nicely tailored dress that I bought about two weeks ago to make a good impression on my first day. I looked at his scooter, then down at my dress and back to his scooter before I asked how I could ride it. He politiely told me not to worry, just to sit with my legs on the side and assured me that he would drive very slowly. It was getting late and I was worried about making it on time so I accepted the ride and made my way to the other bus station. I have to admit I did feel like a lady riding sidesaddle while trying as best I could to gracefully rest my hand on his shoulder and convince onlookers that I was a well-seasoned rider (even though it was my first time).
I realized when I got to the bus station that unless a bus came right away, I would never make it to the station with enough time to take the MRT and walk the rest of the way to school. I decided to hail a taxi and had to wait another 10 minutes before I was even successful in that. I knew it would be very expensive (by Taiwanese standards for a cab ride), but I had no choice, so I got in and told the driver the name of the school. The driver didn't seem to recognize it, but I was sure that I had told him correctly, so after a little bit of explanation about where it is located, I told him to take me to the Zuo Ying MRT station. He then proceeded to ask me about five times if I wanted to take the MRT, and each time I told him that I didn't want to take the MRT, I just wanted to go to that station so I could walk to school. My heartbeat slowed down just a little bit after I realized that he must of understood that I wanted to go to Zuo Ying when we began making our way over the bridge. By then he had said that he recognized the school, but I still had my doubts so I started saying things like, "Wen Fu is the elementary school located right by Ban Ping Mountain, right?" He always affirmed what I was saying so I thought I might be okay. And then he dropped me off at an American school...near the old Zuo Ying station. I knew I wasn't where I wanted to be but I also knew he wasn't going to get me there, so I thanked him, paid my fair and hopped out to ask the school guards where to go. I was very dismayed to know that I was, in fact, at the old station, and would need to take a transfer bus to the new station before I could walk to Wen Fu. I got to my school at 7:55, 5 minutes early, but I was a sweaty mess. Luckily I had 15 minutes to dab at my face with a tissue in an air conditioned room before I stood before all the teachers and introduced myself in both Chinese and English.
Everyone was extremely friendly and I was able to introduce myself to one of Julianna's classes. Most of the children couldn't ask me questions in English, but we let them use Chinese and Julianna translated them into English to maintain the appearance that I don't understand Chinese (that probably all went out the window the next day when the principal announced to the entire student body that they could try speaking Chinese to me too since I study it). One very eager but very shy girl in the front row asked me if I have ever used binnoculars. When Julianna asked the class if they were curious about binnoculars because they liked to use them to peep in their neighbors' windows, I knew right away it'd be a fun year. The kids were fairly shy, but I could tell they're excited to learn and I can see us getting along just fine.
The next morning I also had to be to school by 8am, this time to introduce myself to the students at the school-wide assembly. I set my alarm for 5:45...and woke up at 7:30. Without any time to get ready, I threw on a dress, clipped back my hair, grabbed my purse and rain downstairs to take another 220NT cab ride. This time the driver was wonderful and knew exactly where I needed to be. He engaged me in conversation, which calmed me down, and when I told him that I was so worried because I had overslept and was supposed to be at school in 15 minutes, he told me he understood and off we were. He was a very safe driver, but he did squeeze his way up to the front of every light so that we were the first to go. We even managed to talk about his family as we raced through town, and when we reached the front entrace as the clock turned 8:01, I had a new friend. I was so grateful for his kindness that I gave him a big tip and he in turn gave me his card and told me to call him whenever I needed to get somewhere.
The day turned out to be a great one. After I introduced myself to all of the children in the morning, I was greeted with "Hello, Teacher!" all day long. The students shyly peered into my office when they walked by, and when I smiled and waved, they broke into ear-to-ear grins and hunched their shoulders as they giggled and waved back. Some students were brave enough to come in and tell me their names and their grades. I won't have the chance to teach many of them, but I love being someone they all want to say hi to.
After cleaning up from a long day of work, I met my friend Su. I asked if she knew where I could buy a few things I needed for school and she offered to give me a ride to a mini department store. I was so excited for a real ride on a scooter that I clapped my hands as I bounced up and down. She thought it very funny to watch, and when I awkwardly climbed onto the bag of her scooter and began giggling like a maniac, she too started laughing uncontrollably. I had a song that I heard the day before on the radio stuck in my head, and when I started to sing as we rode along, she chimed in too. There we were, riding down the street with the wind that comes right before a storm whipping our hair and faces and my hands holding on to her tiny waist. It was so much fun!
After dinner at a place that we both love, I brought her by the apartment to introduce her to Leo before she took him for the weekend. Who is Leo, you might ask? My new pet hedgehog! That's right, I am now the proud parent of a hedgehog! A week ago yesterday I went back to the pet store to see if the bunnies had come in. I had been thinking about Leo ever since meeting him and found myself very excited to see him in the store again. Billy came with me, and when he commented on how in love I seemed to be with Leo, I bought him! The store owner gave me a great deal and with hedgehog in hand, I walked Leo back to his new home. He seemed a bit nervous for the first night, but we had a breakthrough the next morning. After adequate rest (hedgehogs get very grumpy if they're sleepy), I was finally able to bring him out to play on my bed. His little legs carry him pretty far pretty fast, and he's a big fan of wriggling under my comforter. Hedgehogs annoint, which means that whenever they smell something new they often lick before biting to familiarize themselves with the smell/taste. They are then supposed to make a froth from it that they lick onto their quills, but I haven't seen Leo do this step yet. So far he's just a biter. Although his teeth are a bit sharp, he doesn't draw blood, and if I stay still and push my finger toward his mouth, he usually releases. I can usually avoid him biting me if I don't shower right before I play with him and if I wait until he's walking around his cage and anxious to play. We usually have late night playdates so that he's most happy. I was sad to leave him for the weekend, but very thankful Su was really excited to take care of a hedgehog! I was too afraid to send Leo home with her on her scooter, so I called my taxi driver friend to pick them up. When I called to explain the situation and told him that I'd prefer to have Leo ride in a car than a scooter, he very firmly said he agreed with my feelings and was soon waiting down stairs to take Su and Leo back to the apartment.
With Leo in hedgehogcare and my bag packed, I was off to Taipei!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment