Schools

I was right about Dr. Wu liking John—John has been asked to be a reviewer of applications for the Fulbright Foundation here. Dr. Wu told him that there were some music applications and he needed John’s help in evaluating them. So if you’re a musician, this is a good time to send in an application to Taiwan! Seriously, I thought that was pretty cool, and I’m happy John has this opportunity!

I finally tested out my commute to Chinese Culture University. I wanted to visit the department before I begin work next week. Door to door, it took about 90 minutes. It actually wasn’t so bad—started out on the bus, got to the subway, then back to a bus. Subways are EASY for me, considering how directionally challenged I am. I’ve navigated subways in almost every city I’ve visited—Barcelona, Vienna, Beijing, Paris, Montreal, London, Kyoto, and NYC! Subways are wonderful because they stop in the same place every time, each stop has a name you can recognize even if you’re a foreigner, a voice on the intercom actually says the stop, and if you miss your stop, you can always get off, cross over to the other platform and come back. PLUS the MRT in Taiwan is wireless, so if you have a smart phone, you can do tons during your commute! Busses, however, are another matter! I am TERRIFIED of busses! There are NUMEROUS nameless stops, and the rider has to initiate the stop—the driver may not necessarily stop where you want, unless you let him know about it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pressed the button too early and have added blocks to my walk for fear of missing my stop. Also, if you want to go to the other side and go the other direction, the stop may be in an entirely different place and not correspond with where you were originally. You really have to know a town well to take the bus, and you have to depend on the kindness of strangers—I’m always having to ask for help from the locals and bus drivers.

That being said, I had no trouble getting around on the subway, and in order to get to Chinese Culture University, I had to change to a bus at a subway stop called Taiwan Main Station. This, of course, is a huge station that’s practically the size of Rhode Island. Taiwan Main Station has a giant food court and indoor mall! When I got off the subway, there were like 50 exits! I had absolutely NO IDEA where to go. I randomly exited and asked a ticket person how to find my #260 bus. OF COURSE she barely knew English and I had no idea what she was saying. I did, however, have “Chinese Culture University” written in Chinese so I showed it to her, plus I knew how to pronounce it since I practiced saying it about 100 times the night before. She told me to go out on Exit 4, so I did. When I reached the outside, I just about freaked out! There were vehicles EVERYWHERE, on all sides of the train station, and the area was so HUGE, I totally panicked! I finally found a #260 stop, but when the bus arrived, the driver told me it was the opposite side. Unfortunately, the opposite side seemed about 3 miles away! After some aimless and confused meandering I eventually found the right stop and found a nice older woman who was going to the same place. She actually walked me to the university and asked a student to help me find the building.

Kay is the administrative assistant for the Western Music Department at Chinese Culture University. She has been my main correspondent over the summer and speaks English well. I also met Dr. Peng, the chair of the department. Even though school hadn’t started, there were students doing playing examinations--our term in the U.S. would be juries. When I asked a piano professor why they were having playing examinations this early, she told me in broken English, “these are extra examinations for the BAD!” I chuckled at her bluntness--totally sounds like something my mom or dad would say! I took that to mean that these examinations were for students who didn’t do very well last spring! Kay told me that by the time I begin work, the university shuttle will be working. Chinese Culture University has a free bus for its employees that goes to Taiwan Main Station, which will be VERY convenient. I will definitely take advantage of this, but I’m also glad to know how to take the city bus, too.

The video is of Lauren reading Chinese! And one of the photos is of Lauren, the principal, Teacher Linda, the principal's son, and us. Lauren REALLY likes her school so far and the Chinese language isn’t bothering her. She's doing so well there, it's SCARY! I'm waiting for something bad to happen! I’m thinking that the reason why Lauren has been OK with all the Chinese is because she’s in her own imaginative world and thinks Chinese is some kind of special language in her alternative universe! But, according to her teacher, she seems eager, raises her hand often, and seems happy. Lauren’s school goes from 8-12 and I’ve also enrolled her in the after school program. The after school program really IS a program--they actually try to teach the children something, unlike my day care in SC! AND, the after school teachers help with homework, which is great, since it's in Chinese! Luke is in a Chinese-language day care named Haw-Sheng, a Christian school. Many NCCU faculty use this school, and supposedly this place has a long established reputation, and they’ve worked with international students. Plus, the price was very reasonable! My other option was the Taipei New Zealand School. This school is REALLY excellent and very impressive, but it’s very expensive! The enrollment fee is over $1000 USD! I may have considered it if we were to be here for an entire year, but for 4 months, I thought it was a bit too much! The day care also expects us to buy bowls and utensils from them, and bring them back and forth, so again, the emphasis against waste. I think this is a GREAT concept! And I've been remembering to bring a tote bag everywhere so I don't have to use plastic bags!

Next up...our first performing gig at NCCU, Autumn Moon Festival, and John's visit to Taipei National University of the Arts...