5.31.2006 photos: a day off in Keelung

Labels: Keelung, taiwan, Taiwan day trips

5.23.2006 ESL teaching: They don't know they're funny Pt.2

My older students have been crying when it comes time for Grammar class. Actually I cry when it comes to Grammar class since most of what I'm teaching them now I have to teach myself before I even teach it. It's really weird to think that we use all these rules in our day to day speech without having any knowledge of them.

Anyway, the assignment was modals. I wanted to find a way to get them motivated and even laughing so I scavenged the net for some humourous pictures. Most of them I found on ebaumsworld. I asked that the students give each person/animal in the picture advice using modals: can/could/should/why don't/ought to/had better/must/mustn't/have to.

Well this isn't so much about bad English, for the most parts my students used excellent English. It's just the advice, sometimes completely conflicting, that they gave that cracked me up. I have disguised their names using names that I think are appropriate for them. Enjoy!



Student Sunshine
To the cat: You mustn’t kiss to the dog!
To the dog: You mustn’t kit the cat or I will (drawing of an axe)!

Student Trouble
To the cat: You should run away.
To the dog: You should chase the cat.

Student Insane-laugh
To the cat: You must go always.
To the dog: You can hit it.

Student Crazy Flower
To the cat: You must run away.
To the dog: You don’t need to eat the cat.

Student Sweets
To the cat: You must run away.
To the dog: You can bit the cat.



Student Trouble
To driver one: You must stop and let him go first.
To driver two: You too!

Student Silent-but-smart
To driver one: You should have let driver 2 go first.
To driver two: You shouldn’t crash into driver 1.

Student Insane-laugh
To driver one: You shouldn’t go with car 2.
To driver two: you can tell car 1 give me dollars.

Student Sweets
To driver one: You should drive other road.
To driver two: You mustn’t drive in this road.

Student Likes-to-shut-people
To driver one: You should use grenade to throw to him.
To driver two: You must run!



Student Trouble
To the driver: You should call the manager.
To the passengers: You could scream.

Student Insane-Laugh
To the driver: You can help him to push leg.
To the passengers: You must go to back to wait train station.

Student Crazy Flower
To the driver: You shouldn’t push the train.
To the passengers: You should tell the driver to stop pushing.

Student Teach-aaa-aaa-aaa!
To the driver: You musn’t come out when the train is driving.
To the passengers: You must be carful.

Student Sweets
To the driver: You shouldn’t push the train.
To the passengers: You can go away.

Student Likes-to-shut-people
To the driver: You must stand on the middle.
To the passengers: You must use gun shut him.



Student Sunshine
To Santa: You should put the girl drow.
To the little girl: You should run now!!

Student Trouble
To Santa: You can give her some candy.
To the little girl: You can cry louder.

Student Silent-but-Smart
To Santa: Why don’t you calm the little girl down?
To the little girl: You can get down if you want.

Student Insane-Laugh
To Santa: You can make joke with her.
To the little girl: You must don’t cry.

Student Teach-aaa-aaa-aaa
To Santa: You mustn’t hug the girl.
To the little girl: You must tell the santa you are afried.

Student Sweets
To Santa: You must cry too.
To the little girl: You can hit the Santa.

To Santa: You should throw her away. (note: picture has been modified with a pencil so that the little girl has a knife up to her own neck, demonic eyes, pointy ears, and a machine gun nose sticking out of one of her sleeves.) To the little girl: You better cry louder.

Labels: ESL teaching, taipei, taiwan

5.22.2006 100th post - honouring the honourable!

It's time once again to tell you a story to prove how much my roommate Meg rocks.

Lately I've been depressed and have been sleeping way too much. One Sunday morning Meg went out venturing without me while I snoozed the day away.

She came back wide-eyed and excited while I was trying to drag myself out from underneath my mosquito net in the late afternoon and told me "do I have a story for you!"

As you may or may not have known Meg is a painter. She graduated from NASCAD with a degree in Fine Arts and this summer she will be starting her Master's program with an American University.

So Meg wrapped up one of her paintings that was in our room and went off to this really cool cafe she'd been to a year ago hoping that she could get them to put it up. When she got there the whole cafe had been remodeled and completely had lost all the appeal that had made her want to put her painting up....She remembered a really cool restaurant across the way and decided since she'd lugged the painting all this way she may as well see if she could get them to put it up. The restaurant unfortunately had been demolished.

Meg gave up and decided to shop around a bit. She went into a store she remembered being really cool that sells all kinds of weird vintage stuff. This store is one-of-a-kind since Taiwan doesn't really seem to believe in "second-hand". Everything is just thrown out. There are next to no second-hand stores. Everyone wants new. Anyway, this place has a mix of old and new and Meg found some really old chocolate bar stickers for me because they had reese peanut butter cups on them. She figured since my mission to find reese peanut butter cups in Taipei has come to a dead end (haven't found them at Jason's yet!) that it might be the next best thing.

While she was in the store she had them hold the painting behind the counter. When it came time to pay they handed the painting back to her (which was in a garbage bag). Meg decided she didn't want to lug the painting back home and decided to see if they'd put it up. She motioned to ask them if they wanted it. They opened up the garbage bag, looked inside and offered her a calculator (for her to enter in how much she'd like for it). Meg said she's still pretty uncomfortable in this kind of situation so she just made a motion for "one minute". She disappeared downstairs and came back up with a shirt. The workers made a phone call and then when they hung up they nodded that it was ok.

So this shirt...... wasn't even for Meg! She got the shirt for me!!!! She knows how much I love the ridiculous non-sensicle shirts here and she gave up her painting for me!! How awesome is she?

So here it is:



Isn't it true..... isn't it true!

I just can't believe someone gave up a rockin' painting they created to get a shirt for me.

ps - I must add an extra shout out to someone who rocks my world. Meg had a whole bunch of roommates before I came here. One of them is named Janelle. Well Janelle recently mailed Meg a care-package, and by some crazy chance included a couple packages of REESE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meg being the awesome rocking queen that she is gave me a full package! (a 4 cup package at that!). I nearly cried. I think I actually drooled a little. You don't know me Janelle, but I love you, thank you.

Labels: relationships

5.20.2006 photography: abandoned

Meg and I climbed a mountain named "Hemei mountain" in Xindian last weekend. At the bottom was a Buddhist temple where monks were chanting. We sat and listened for awhile and then roamed up a path. The next interesting thing we hit was a strange cement block abandoned building with trashed amusement park rides littering the front. We took some pictures and made a note to come back and explore more later.

As we wandered a bit further up the path we found a cement tunnel that went through a hill. At the end was an opening with a good view of the scenery below. By the mouth of the opening was a flat stone that had two moldy rotting Buddhist manuscripts I imagine that one of the monks uses this place to worship.

On our way back down we decided to try and find a way into the back of this cement block building I think it was somehow the base of the amusement park because on top there were strange circles with metal poles coming out of them that seemed like they could've been the base of the rides. We climbed up a muddy slope and found our way into the bathrooms and a strange huge open room. Both were filled with smashed squatter toilets, mirrors, misch clothing, and strange medicine bottles.

The photos in the "abandoned" gallery are what I captured from our explorations.

Labels: Photography, taiwan, Taiwan day trips, Xindian

5.15.2006 cuttling coffee

awwww it says cuttle coffee and it has a picture of a cuttlefish on it..... cause cuttlefish always make me think of cuddling..... and ... coffee. too cute.

Labels: Only in Asia

5.13.2006 Photography as a voice: one image added

Labels: Photography

5.12.2006 And now for a game: Guess the product

Is it:

a) perfume
b) a candy treat
c) eye drops

The cap as well as the label were conviently removed by a zealous washing machine even though I checked all my pockets for stuff 50,000,000 times.

scroll down and stand on your head for the answer ....

Labels: Only in Asia

ai-yewwww! First Taiwan doctor experience (updated)

updated: photo added

I've had a few Taiwan hospital experiences (a medical, an infection, an allergic reaction to medication given for an infection) but I had my first doctor office experience in Taiwan this week.

I got an ear infection. I'm not sure if ear infections are catching but one of my co-workers had one, now I seem to have one.

I'm extremely uncomfortable with medical related experiences even though I spent the first half of my life visiting my sister every weekend in the IWK hospital, and the Regional. I waited probably half a week to make sure it was really an infection (smart is right). So finally once a jaw ache was added to the ache in my ear and the loss of hearing I decided it was time to see a doctor.

I asked Meg if she knew of a ear, nose and throat doctor. It happens that there is one just across the street. I made Han come because that's one of his duties as my boyfriend, and just in case there were any communication problems.

I got checked into the doctor's right away even though it was really late (like 10:30) and he saw me right away.

On first sight I nearly lost it, nearly broke into a bad giggle fit. I'd been having one of those goofy nights with Han. Laughing at everything together... when I walk in and see this little doctor who is shorter than I am (I'm about 5' 3") with one of those oldschool surgery hats on, or like the ones cafeteria workers wear, and then the classic reflective round head thing like doctors always wear in cartoons. I managed to contain myself at this point (at this point).

He sits me on an examination chair and looks into the infected ear. The first thing out of his mouth is a loud "Ai yew!!!! infection". I all but bit my tongue off to stop myself from laughing.

In Taiwan usually you hear "ai yo". I think "ai yo" and "ai yew" are two distinct phrases. "Ai yo" is usually general disgust at something. If someone annoys you, or you see something you don't want to see, or you forget something you'd hear someone exclaim "ai yo!!!". I've heard it used in an angry context too when I've made students do something when they didn't want to. "ai yew" seems to be the equivalent of "YUCK!!!!" or "GROSS!!!!!!" or "ewwwwwwwww!!!!".

So this doctor looks into my ear and exclaims "Ai yewwww! (deeply) infection".

I contained myself.

The next thing out of his mouth "You shouldn't pick your ear so much!!! (make motions with his finger in his ear).

At this point I lost composure and laughing I said "I DON'T pick my ear!!!!!"

"Yea, don't pick your ear so much. Infection, you know infection??? You have an ear infection"

"yes, I know"

:) anyway I was in and out within 15 minutes... 5 of these spent trying to convince him that I was really really sure that I was allergic to penicillin and that if he gave it to me it would make me really sick, at least 3 of these minutes trying to convince him that I wasn't an ear picker, and 5 minutes filling out a form.

Really though it was a great experience and now I'm not so nervous about seeing local doctors. I am leery that he gave me 5 pills per dosage (2 times a day)... but we'll ride it out and see how it goes.

When I came back I told Meg about the whole thing. She said she went to the same doctor about this problem she was having with her nose and he did the same thing to her. Not the "ai yew" part but he told her she shouldn't pick her nose so much. I don't know what kind of foreign girls he's seen on the streets but I can testify that I have yet to see Meg's finger up her nose. I promise to take a picture when I do.

I just can't believe a doctor who only specializes in three areas and would probably look in at least a dozen ears a day would exclaim "ai yew!" as soon as he looks in mine. I talked to one of my Taiwanese co-teachers about it who's a nursing student. Her theory is that probably his English isn't very good and he just didn't know how to express how bad it was. I don't know.... the ai yew seemed to slip out quite naturally :D

Labels: Only in Asia, taipei, taiwan

5.05.2006 the tightening of the leash

My latest project is up. A new folder called "the tightening of the leash" has been added to my "photography as a voice" section of my photography page. Click the image to proceed to the gallery.

Labels: Photography

5.01.2006 deaflypmics - does this ad bug anyone else?

I have a deaf sister but I don't claim to be an expert on deafness trivia... but still... shouldn't anyone know that Vincent Van Gogh just cut off one of his ears and that he wasn't deaf? Did I miss a history lesson? Nothing I can find on the net suggests he was deaf at any point or time. I get why Beethoven is on the ad but Van Gogh????? This is in a few MRTs in Taipei.

Labels: Only in Asia, taipei, taiwan