Today, one of the girls in class hit her friend in the face with a workbook and yelled, "FACEBOOK!" I almost died I was laughing so hard. How am I supposed to teach these adolescents when I'm at the same level of maturity?!

Now that I've mastered the art of biking in the city, I'm thankful that I don't know Dutch. Basically, when people aren't paying attention and cross the bike path in front of me I can't say the things that I'd like to and cause road rage. Instead, I simply manage a sassy "HALLO!" like the natives. Yes. I'm blending in quite well. The new goal is to look as elegant as Audrey Hepburn while I'm out of breath and sweating profusely. 

The weekend before this, I went and visited Allix and Mallory (two other COST teachers) in their home in Oud-Beijerland. We went out to a club to meet up with some of Mallory's friends. Let me tell you, clubs here are VERY different. They are so packed you cannot move, which is mostly okay, since they don't really dance either. If you know me, I am a dancing FIEND. I dance like a complete loser, but I still love to shake it. 

Also, they play a really eclectic selection of music. There was a lot of 90's and no lie, they played a medley of music from Grease the musical.Seriously, "You're the One That I Want" blended into "Greased Lighting" so what was I supposed to do but 

They say culture shock tends to be gradual and then something is a catalyst and makes you hit rock bottom. Let me tell you, I'm doing pretty well here considering the face that the grass is STILL GREEN, the money is pretty colors, and THEY DON'T HAVE BOXED MACARONI AND CHEESE! I tried making it with actual cheese like an adult, but NOPE. Nothing can match the delicious-ness of the artificial orange processed cheese powder. Seriously though, I'm not really homesick. I had one moment, but that was simply because I missed Thanksgiving and I'm a sentimental weirdo. The day after Thanksgiving I got a card from my dad and I opened it and I was a puddle.

BUT my darling parents are coming to visit me next week and are bringing boxed Mac and Cheese, so all will be right in the world! 

I know I'm kind of rambling on and on, but that's what happens when I don't blog for two weeks...

So this weekend Allix and I took two day trips. Saturday we went to Delft and had the most perfect sunny day! We climbed the 376 steps up the tower of the Old Cathedral and got some awesome pictures! (I'll post them...eventually) Mad props to Allix for making it all the way to the top and for going out on all the outdoor ledges even though she's terrified of heights. We ate stroopwafels and walked through the market an quoted The Grinch and had a marvelous time.

Sunday, we visited the local COST Coordinator in his hometown, Utrecht and met two other COST teachers. He showed us around and then had us over for dinner. This weekend seriously could not have been any better. 

I think that's all I've got for now. If you've made it all the way through, I'm impressed. Here's to you.

Hello friends!

I have been here two weeks already! Some lovely people have requested my address, so if you'd like it send me a private message on Facebook and I'll give it to you!

My most recent accomplishment has been riding "my" bike to and from school every day for the past week and a half! It's five miles one way, which means when I arrive at school around 7:45, I have gotten more exercise before 8AM than I usually do in a week month at home. I love it though! I get to watch the sun rise and it's simply stunning. Part of the route that I bike was the prologue and opening stage of the Tour de France in 2010, so I'm pretty much the female Lance Armstrong. Minus the doping charges, of course.

This weekend I was mistaken for a Dutch person! They tried to ask me for directions, I think. Whenever people on the street talk to me in Dutch I say "I'm sorry?" in the most American accent I can muster and that seems to work. They usually switch to English with no hesitation.

The weekend before last I went to Antwerp, Belgium. (which I fondly call Antwerpin'...get it!? like Twerkin'?!) I went with two friends from UWRF and a new friend from Ohio State. They are all here with COST (Consortium of Overseas Student Teaching) as well, teaching in different areas of the Netherlands. In Antwerp I got my first taste of the nightlife. We may or may not have found ourselves in the Red Light District. It wasn't very exciting, more surreal. Anyway, you know how in the US when women go out they sometimes wear low-cut shirts? Well that happens in Belgium, except its the men. There were so many deep vee tees and unbuttoned shirts. As a lady of shorter stature, there was chest hair everywhere I looked. Bars and clubs don't close until after 4AM and by that time you're hungry so of course you have to stop and get Belgian fries. Most people know that I have an affinity for French Fries, so these thick cut fries with any sauce imaginable was a dream come true. Of course, we also did touristy things like visiting cathedrals and an awesome museum with a panoramic view on the roof. We also went to the "Bird Market." I know what you're thinking and yes, there were birds there. There were birds for sale from roosters to cockatoos, as well as bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, and mice. I pet every single one of them. It was hard for me to resist purchasing a travel companion, but I was soon distracted by the delightful food smells wafting from the next street. One cannot leave Belgium without partaking in a Belgian waffle and let me tell you, it was magical. Whipped Cream, Powdered Sugar, and Strawberries. 

Ah. Yes. It's not really that interesting of a story, but it was in Belgium that I convinced two Dutch guys that I was from the UK with my English accent from Acting 2. David Allen Stern would be so proud. There's probably one person who will read this and know what I'm talking about. *ahem*LISA*ahem* They demanded proof that I was indeed American.

Since this is supposed to be a blog about my teaching experiences, I guess I'll include some of those. 

My name can be tricky. I've gotten Ms. Obstacle, as well as Ms. Stop-Over. I give them credit for trying? Then there's the ones who think they're clever and have found me on social media. They tried to call me Brittany...once. 

Before I got here, most people I spoke with said that my experience here would probably be better than the US because European students are so much more disciplined and respectful. Let me tell you, they are European but they are still kids. They like to talk and goof around. Sometimes they forget their homework or just don't do it. No matter what country they're from, 10-14 year olds are pretty consistent.

My students LOVE One Direction! Obviously the girls are a little more vocal about it than that guys, but that's probably just because they're jealous. I told one of the first years that I didn't know a lot about them, so she spent the next ten minutes telling me everything I need to know. Good news! I now have a favorite one. It's the one pictured below. I have been informed that his name is Zayn. It brings me back to the good old days of my obsession with N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys. 

Last week, one of the classes was listening to a recorded dialogue. In the dialogue, an individual from the UK made a comment about an American exchange student being a "stupid foreigner." This was met with shouts of "That's discrimination!" and various other dissenting opinions. My favorite was "That's not true! Americans have swag and can do what they want!"

Finally, I posted this on FB earlier but I wanted to share it here too.

Today, one of my students here in the Netherlands asked, "Is there racism in America?" I wanted so badly to tell them that my home is a place where equality reigns. Some day, I hope the answer to that question will be a definite "No" but today it was not.

I'm pretty sure I remembered everything I wanted to include.

BYE!

Hello Holland!

So. I'm here. I have reached my home for the next three months. In order to keep my blogs interesting, I plan to highlight my daily successes and also my ignorant mistakes as I learn how to live here. I will try to keep exposition to a minimum.

Day #1: I arrive

Even as I was de-planing I recalled why I appreciate European men. Seriously. Do they just do squats in their downtime?!

Anyway. One of my cooperating teachers picked me up and took me to the place where I will be staying. It is an apartment that a couple that rents out on the ground floor of their home. I have my own kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. For all intents and purposes, I live alone.

The host lady took me on a bike ride around the city. I managed this with minor incident. Apparently I did not start quickly enough when the light changed and annoyed a Dutch man. From what I'm told, that happens to people who live there as well, so I shouldn't feel too bad. Let me say, biking in the city is very different than biking in River Falls or Inver Grove Heights.

Day #2

I was not required to report to school until the afternoon, so I slept in until noon. Jet lag had woken me up at 2AM and I was up until 6AM. 

The biggest success of this day was figuring out how to take the tram (light rail) to and from school. (Thanks Google Maps)

On my walk home from the tram station, someone yelled out their window at me in Dutch, something about American...do I really stick out that much? It was dark. I think I'm glad I couldn't understand.

So, I was talking to the teacher who had picked me up from the airport. We were at the grocery store and I mentioned I had brought peanut butter from home because it was hard to find in Europe. She told me why that was and I thought I'd share it with you. A long time ago, people would make butter out of things other than milk in order to lower costs and raise profits. They had to pass a law saying that if its not made of milk you can't call it butter, so they had to rename it. Logically, you'd think they would call it peanut spread, like Nutella is hazelnut spread. NOPE. Want to know what they call it? Are you sure? Peanut cheese. YUP. I like peanuts and I love cheese....but the implication that they are mixed together might be too much for me to handle.

Day #3

Today I met some students. They were the first years (12 years old). After I introduced myself, I said they could ask me questions if they wanted. Two classes asked how old I am. In the second class they started guessing things like 16, 18, and 20. I didn't respond until a student said 72. "Yes. I am 72." And that was the end of question time in that class. Some of the other questions were:

1. Do all Americans like donuts? What about cops?

2. Is there a Starbucks on every corner?

3. How many McDonald's are there?

4. What is Target?

5. Do people say ain't? (and then she dropped the N word "n_____ ain't shit but hoes and tricks")

This is going to be an adventure.

Alright. That's all I've got. Have a lovely afternoon and evening friends!!!

WOW. I'm reeeal bad at this whole blog thing. Let's get caught up! In the last post I was in the final days of an English Language Program in Taiwan as part of my study to become an English as a Second/Foreign Language teacher.

The last days in Taiwan were spent adventuring about the city of Taipei. One of these adventures included me tagging along with Dan, Charlie and some of their students on a bike trip. We rented bikes for a day for less than the equivalent of $10USD. It was so fun! More importantly, thank goodness for ice cream. It was a staple of my diet while I was in Taiwan because of the heat. Also....it's delicious.

This trip was absolutely invaluable to me. It helped me to grow not only as an individual, but also as a teacher. It cemented my decision to change my major officially (even though I'll be in school for an additional year and a half)! Also, it revealed to me the gaps in my knowledge. Knowing where I need further development and more experience has helped motivate me through my classes. Even though some things may be tedious, I now have a goal that I am passionate about and invested in that I am working towards. BOOOOOOOORING. Sorry. I just had to get it out.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!

Good News! I passed the Praxis I! If you're not familiar with it, this is the test that teachers need to pass in order to get into university education programs. In addition to that, today I received the grammar reference book that I bought online. In summation, one, no TWO STEPS closer to being a REAL teacher!

Now on to more exhilarating events. It happened. The moment I had been waiting for. I actually felt old for once.  Most of the time I feel like I'm still sixteen years old and I hate it. Now I'll most definitely regret saying this when I am older but right now, I don't. So it was in my class TED 120, Introduction to Education and Technology (or something along those lines). The teacher made a comment about September 11th and then said, "You guys were in what, 3rd grade when that happened?" Everyone in class was like, "Yea, that's right." As I mumble to myself, "I was in 5th grade." Now this made not seem like a big deal to you, but for me it was monumental, cataclysmic even. Of course, I should have expected it being in a senior in a 100 level class... Don't ask me to explain it because I don't really understand it myself.

Since Thanksgiving was last week, I had the opportunity to spend quality time with my family. (See above image for a brief summary of my holiday) I've apparently reached the point in my life when it's appropriate for people to ask if I'm currently seeing/dating someone or if I have a boyfriend. Maybe it's not appropriate but either way, people do it. A LOT. When I respond with a no or not right now. There is one of four reactions and they are as follows: 1) "Smart! Boys are trouble." 2) "Don't worry. There's someone out there for you." 3) "Good for you! Focus on school for now!" and last but definitely not least 4) "So you don't have a boyfriend? ....Do you  have a girlfriend?" Now I'm perfectly comfortable in my singleness. To quote Kelly Clarkson, "It doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone." But seriously, I'm really happy where I'm at right now. I hate that people react like it's a bad thing. In some ways, it's way better than being in a relationship! Plus I get all the love I need from my wonderful friends and family.

If you didn't notice, I learned how to insert cool things like gifs into my blog. Sorry, I'm not sorry.

Two new posts in two days?!

Well I realized that I forgot some important things in my post yesterday so here we go again!!!

In America during summer the sound of music in the street causes children to go scampering to their parents for money so that they may stop the ice cream truck and purchase an icy melty treat for their enjoyment. So when I heard music here in the streets logically my heart leaped with the joyous memories of my childhood. As the music came closer I saw it was larger than a normal ice cream truck and not as colorful. When it passed so did a not so pleasant aroma and I realized...it was a garbage truck. In Taiwan the garbage trucks play music! What a wonderfully simply way to make trash less unappealing.

Oh. The movie was great last night! It was the first time I'd seen a Hollywood movie in IMAX form. Otherwise I'd only seen IMAX movies at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Every once in a while I got distracted by the Chinese subtitles. I was telling myself that I could totally learn Chinese and that it'd be awesome! But then I tried to learn some words from the students who came with us to the movie and reality came crashing in that it was completely different than anything that I know. 

At the McDonalds here in Taiwan they are doing a promotion. If you buy a meal and a fancy drink (which comes of to a total of $3USD) you get a glass cup celebrating the Olympics. Well my two lovely roommates Nicole and Julia have been brought in by this and have decided they need all six colors! Julia needs only two more and Nicole, who recruited her students to help her has the full set. I have one. Of course I tease them for coming all the way to Taiwan and eating at McDonalds several times a week. The truth is the cups are kind of cool. They are glass and as far as we know aren't in America! Its kind of a neat souvineer and McDonalds is cheaper here so why not?

Every morning for breakfast we go to Ed's. He and his wife have a lovely little shop off the street with tasty food. Because Ed was a flight attendant for China Airlines, he even knows English! He has made a point to learn our names. Even though some days he thinks we are all Ami or Kelly, the two blondes in our group. He recommends us tasty things such as a green onion pastry, cheese shortbread, and passion fruit juice with black tea. Its a great and positive start to our days.

With less than a week left its getting harder to squeeze all the things in that we want to do with our students and the touristy things as well. Today is the last day of actual class :( Tomorrow are our final performances! While rehearsing, I'm sharing with my students some of my favorite theatre warm ups for diction and energy. I'm so pleased with how hard they're working and it will certainly be entertaining to watch!

Well I don't think I forgot anything this time, but if I did you'll hear from me tomorrow!

B

P.S. I'm out of control excited for KTV (Karoake) tonight!

Random Adventures!

Since I haven't posted recently...for a week...this post will be a series of short anecdotes or explanations of what I've been up to and things I've experienced.

Today, for an activity all of the classes participated in an Amazing Race where each teacher was in a location and had a task for the students to perform before they could move on the next task. Each task was designed with a school subject or American culture in mind such as English class or Driver's Ed. Mine was Dance class. I had taught the Electric Slide and the Macarena in my class as had some other teachers, along with the Chicken Dance. So, the only other thing that came to mind was the HOKEY POKEY! Because each group got to each station at a different time throughout an hour and a half, I had the opportunity to do the Hokey Pokey at least 30 times. Seriously. Keeping my energy up in order to encourage all the different levels of students overcome shyness and language challenges was exhausting, but so fun! That's really what its all about. (See what I did there?)

As some of you may know, the restrooms work a little bit differently here. They normally will have the Western toilet that we are used to, but they also have a 'Squatty Potty' or five. Essentially, its a toilet except in the ground. Metaphorically, a western toilet is the above ground pool in your backyard, where a squatty potty is in the ground. Got it? Sometimes there is a bar on the wall for you to hold on to and brace yourself with, but other times you just gotta hope your thighs don't give out. Well, I had managed to avoid the Squatty Potty knowing the time would come when I wouldn't have a choice. Would you like to know the circumstance where this choice was taken from me? Well I'm going to tell you. It was on a MOVING TRAIN. Yup. My first time using a Squatty Potty was on a train ride. I couldn't very well hold it as it was a four-ish hour ride so I had to bite the bullet. I was surprisingly successful. I'm going to stop this story right here though before I reach the realm of too much information. In conclusion, I'm no longer afraid of the squatty potty but it does make me appreciate the convenience of a western toilet and good thigh muscles. 


I don't know if I have a friendly face or what the deal is but when my roommates and I here in Taiwan go somewhere I'm the one who get approached by the kids. I'm going to guesstimate they were around ten to thirteen. The first time was in a store. The roommates were wandering about looking at school supplies so I found a comfy couch. A girl who was there with her friends approached me holding her phone and said something in Chinese. Since I don't know Chinese, I smiled at her and said Hello. Not put off one bit, she then, in excellent English, asked to take a picture with me. Anyone who knows me can easily guess my answer. Of course! So we took our picture and afterwards I was able to chat with the girl and her friends. I was impressed with how well they knew English and with how confident they were! I would say they were about on the same level as the students I am teaching. The second time was in a food court at a festival. I was waiting for my food and two boys approached me and asked where I was from. I was able to talk to them about the festival and they thought it was way cool that I was there teaching English. They weren't quite as proficient but since I've gotten used to speaking more slowly, we were able to communicate. They are just so excited that you are there because they don't see a lot of  'foreigners.'


Last evening, a buddy and I hiked on the Path of the Immortals. It's a lot of stairs on the hill right behind the University but because of those stairs you get a great view of Taipei. We planned to be there to watch the sunset around six. We ended up hanging out up there playing cribbage, drinking wine, and taking pictures of the city lights for quite a bit longer. I've noticed that some of the most memorable things you can do while travelling aren't the touristy things but rather the little things that you could do at home, just in a unique location. Great company doesn't hurt either! Even getting attacked by the giant cicadas (a beetle-y looking insect) on the way back couldn't bring me down. 


Several other highlights of this last week include and thirty minute massage by a blind individual for $10 USD (its sounds sort of sketchy but its a real thing here and its really popular). It was spectacular! 
I went to Xingting Temple and Longshan Temple to experience a little native religion. The structures themselves are beautiful, ornate and absolutely stunning.
A group of the teachers went to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. He was basically the president of China until the communist party defeated the nationalists and he and his government were forced to retreat to Taiwan in 1949.  Wow! I sounded like a person who likes and is knowledgeable about history. To be honest, I looked it up on Wikipedia. But in the bottom of the memorial was an art exhibition of Salvador Dali's work. It was so intensely awesome and profound. Then we fed the fish in the pond outside the memorial and it was so juvenile it was perfect. 
My students took me on the Maokong Gondola where we got a car with a glass floor. It was a great view and the height was thrilling! We stopped for tea on the top of the mountain and then went back down and headed to the zoo. At the zoo, I had the pleasure of enjoying Pandas, Koalas and in the nocturnal animal building there were even hamsters and guinea pigs. The most humorous part for me as a Midwesterner was when I saw they had raccoons! 

Tonight we're planning on going to the Dark Knight Rises at an IMAX theatre. We've made sure it will be in English and as with most American films that are shown here, there will also be Chinese subtitles. All of the teachers here are aware of the tragedy that occurred in Colorado at this film's premiere and some have used it as an discussion opportunity in their class. The solutions they have offered such as "ban all guns" have been an opportunity to explore cultural differences. It does make it difficult to encourage them to come to America and tell them that its 'perfectly safe.' But things like this happen and it doesn't mean that we should live in fear of 'what if.'  My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be in that theatre. I know this isn't a very good note to end on and there's enough talk about it in America but I wanted to mention it.

Other plans for this week include karaoke (which I'm so pumped for!), more night markets, and some hiking! This is a effervescent and magical place and coming home in less than a week will certainly be bittersweet!


Since this blog is about me being a teacher I suppose I should comment on that a little bit more. One of the requirements was that we have to present a skit on Greek Mythology on the last class day in front of everyone. My class chose Sophocles' story of Oedipus. For any one who knows the story, its a great one isn't it? haha. Today they made their props and costume pieces out of cardboard and aluminum foil! We're having a great time getting to know about each other and our cultures!

Love you all and thanks for checking up on me :)

B

So let me tell you about my weekend. Thursday after classes we head to the train station. The train was full but we were able to purchase standing tickets for about $10USD with the knowledge that when people got up we could take their seats. The first hour was spent sitting on the floor napping in the corner. Thankfully a bunch of people got off and we were able to find seats for the last couple of hours. When we arrived we decided to head straight to our places of lodging. Four of the ladies went off to find their hotel while I, my two roommates and three guys went to our hostel. We got there and paid, about $15USD a night. Since we waited so long to book it, the only room left was a ten person, so we were able to make some foreign friends. With the six of us there was a Russian guy, Artem, and a guy from Munich, Germany. They were there both nights. The other two beds were taken by two Taiwanese bikers the first night and a father and daughter the second night. I thought it was great! We all shared one bathroom, but it was cleaner than the one in the dorms so we weren't complaining.

That night we went to the best restaurant of the trip so far with our new friend, Artem. It was all you can eat for about $10USD. There was buffet of rice, raw seafood, meat, and veggies. You chose what you wanted to eat and brought it back to your table. In the middle of the table there was a hot pot filled with two different broths that you could place food in to boil, such as noodles. There was also two grills at either end of the table for grilling meat. At first it was absolutely terrifying not really knowing what I was eating but it was so good that was quickly forgotten. The taxi rides were quite entertaining as well when we listened to some 'Girls' Generation,' a popular South Korean pop group.
     
Friday was awesome! We all met up to go whitewater rafting. This was an interesting experience because the safety demonstration was given entirely in Chinese. In spite of this, we all managed to make it through alive with a few sunburns, bruises, collisions and persons overboard (including my roommate, Julia). When we were near the end, the guide 'let the foreigners out to go swimming' while the natives just watched content in their rafts. This took pretty much the whole day with us exhausted by the end and ready to crash...which is ironic because on our way back from a 7-11 (they're EVERYWHERE here, like every block) we witnessed a car/scooter crash. I can make that joke because thankfully, no one was hurt. It was one of the most bizarre moments. It sounded like a piece of plastic getting run over. Within seconds, a lady police officer had pulled up on her scooter and was diffusing the situation.  


The next day was spent at Taroko National Park.In this park is the Taroko Gorge,which is one of the most famous tourist spots in Taiwan. We hired a taxi to cart us all around to the hiking trails and the best sights. It was beautiful! The water of the river flowing through the Gorge was a stunning turquoise. I love America but honestly, this was better than the Grand Canyon. The most thrilling part was walking across a suspended bridge to the other side. The sign posted stated that the limit was 8 persons on it at a time. Oh. Well I feel safe. At another trail we were given helmets just in case some of the rocks fell. It was nothing if not an exciting, beautiful adventure. We then had the driver take us to a swimming spot where we relaxed and stayed cool until heading to the train station to head back to Taipei. We had seats for this train for $15USD. I also took the opportunity to enjoy a light and refreshing pineapple beer.


I would like to reassure you that amidst all this fun there is learning/teaching happening. The first week of classes went splendidly! My students are all bright and kind. There are a few that have decided to take a picture with me each day. 


Critter Sighting: A cockroach strolling about the streets, some more lizards, and a more startling encounter with a flying cockroach...I might have screamed. The other group saw a giant spider. I can't say I'm sad I missed it.

Well back to lesson planning to catch up from the weekend away. Thanks for reading!