Moving

As I write this, I am sitting in my new home. There is a drizzle outside, cooling the breeze that comes in through the sliding door of the balcony. Having a balcony is nice – it offers views of things that, while not spectacular, are preferable to a reddish solid metal wall. It is also nice having a kitchen with a kitchen table, as well as a living room complete with two couches and a coffee table.

My bedroom in and of itself is not as nice as my previous (bed)room. It did not come furnished with a closet, a chair or a small bookshelf, so those must be obtained. In the meantime, I am living from my floor – which is proving manageable to such a degree that the purchasing of real furniture will most likely be delayed for some time. There are also a few dings and marks on the wall, though if this is an indication that I am allowed to adhere things to the borders of my room (and I am making an assumption that it is), this could be viewed as a plus.

Furthermore, my new roommates have not yet turned out to be demonic in anyway. Instead they are maintaining the same degree of graciousness and civility as they do in classes. They also seem to have their own lives outside of the apartment, so it is not infrequently that I am home alone – on the whole, another plus. When they are around and we are communicating, we mostly use Spanish. Sometimes I will slip into Mandarin, as these days it is closer to the tip of my tongue, and I also intentionally impose English on them every once in a while (I am not sure how this is received yet). Inevitably, though, the phrases in foreign languages are repeated in Spanish for the sake of actual comprehension.

This has had two consequences. First, my Spanish has been rejuvenated after three months of severe malnourishment. And second, I have come to the realization that my Spanish is rather bad.

I persuaded my old landlord to sell me her son’s bicycle, so it is now my bicycle. There is want of something better still, however. The options are a sweeter bike (possibly a fixie which I am sure would be one of, if not the first in Tainan), the more convenient Vespa style scooter, or the more awesome motorcycle. In the same way the floor in my bedroom is sufficing as a closet and shelf, however, I am quite sure my current medium of transportation will last for some time.

And in fact, my bicycle is sufficient. Tainan is relatively small (though it is Taiwan’s fourth largest city) and flat, and I ride around with ease. Every week I encounter a new something or other. Two weeks ago it was the vegetarian Jiaozi (I think these are called dumplings in English, but am honestly not sure) place; last week, another tea shop from which I will buy a bag of tea tomorrow to try out; today it was the bakery and an Indian restaurant I will try next week.

The constants in my life are progressing. I feel I am getting a better grasp on teaching, and I picked up a few books on the subject, which will be an additional aid. This is the first job I have had where my responsibilities are not clearly defined. Well, on one hand that is not true. It is pretty straightforward: teach them English. But the methods by which I fulfill that requirement are malleable.

This realization was the first big step in the right direction, as far as teaching goes. It has led to some thinking about what my aims and expectations should be for different classes, which in turn has led to reconsiderations in how I deal with the students. I do not think that I want to be a teacher for a significant part of my life, but I do prefer doing things well to doing things not well. I also think many traits and skills that make a good teacher (of any level) are invaluable even when I am not in front of the class. So, I will continue to try to be better at what I am doing.

The other constant, the one where I am looking at the person in front of the class, is also going well. My ability to communicate with people that only speak Chinese is improving week by week. Still, successful communication is just as rewarding as unsuccessful attempts at communication are frustrating. I have both a carrot and a stick pulling and pushing me onward.

For instance, as my Chinese improves I hear more and more, “Oh, your Chinese is pretty good. How long have been here?”

After I have this brief conversation, which I have had several times and at which I have become quite adept, the conversation regarding how much lettuce I want or where the post office is or by when I need to be moved out, begins.

And this is where that stick really starts beating me over the head. My partner in dialogue is convinced my Chinese is great and usually starts conversing with me in a matter which I find 80% incomprehensible. I, thankfully having just received a complement, am unwilling to stop them mid-tempest-of-incomprehension to explain that they are wrong and my Chinese is still bad, but prefer to smile and squint and bend forward and ask for repetition every once in a while.

Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. Sometimes I do not get any lettuce, sometimes I go to the bakery instead of the post office, and sometimes I move out a week too early.

The weather is cooling down, forcing me to recognize that it was in fact disgustingly hot this summer. Still, I am currently in shorts and a t-shirt and do not understand when I see people donning Mountain Hardware alpine jackets, complete with snow hats.

It was fun watching the election from afar. It made me realize I do like and care about America, was less apathetic toward than frustrated with our little nation, and am happy to see something a little different. I guess we will see how things go, yeah?