I've been doing not much of anything else recently. But I feel good for it. It's great to feel organised. And then not panic when things haven't been done.
I have a lot to do over the next couple of days. I have to be organised for when we get time off...make sure all the grading has been done. There is a work banquet at the weekend, which I'm very much looking forward to. I also have two performance days. Where I have to do a teaching demonstration in front of the parents who watch the kids perform stuff. I'm a little nervous about it, but I know it will all go well.
One is for my treehouse class. It's coming to the end of the first level. They are superb kids...but kids are kids and don't like to do what they're told. But it should go well. I have goodness knows how many report cards to fill in and certificates/prizes to organise.
But it will be great to see them on performance day. I'm making crazy certificates with the help of crayola.com. It's an awesome resource. If you register you can print off anything you like. Coloring sheets, information and a great page where you can build certificates. It's amazing what little things can bring joy to a teacher :D hahaha.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Kids are quick
A forwarded e-mail from my Grandad. It made me giggle. So here you are.
Kids Are Quick
__________________________________
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
____________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it..
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it.. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
___________________________
Kids Are Quick
__________________________________
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
____________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it..
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it.. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
___________________________
Monday, 18 January 2010
Prancing in the Castle
This weekend, well this Sunday, was spent with good friends. We first rendezvoused in Taichung and headed out to a beautiful place in the mountains. It's English is known as Summit Resort. Chinese 新社莊園, meaning, Sinshe Manor, romanization: xīn shè zhuāng yuán. It is in Sinshe Township.
It is a place with a 'lake' and Medaevalesk European buildings. It was wonderful. They had areas: where there were big rocks...so I played exploring hobbit for a short while :D, wonderful flower beds, curious architecture, and a fountain.
It was wonderful. In areas you felt you were in Spain, in others in Mexico, and in others Holland or Germany.
http://www.summit-resort.com/
These rocks were so cool. I had the urge to do Buddha poses, so others joined in on the fun :D we did have to do a bit of climbing. eek.
Lisa, Me, Renee
Perry and Zach
After that we had a quick go on go-karts. We had passed it on the way to Summit Resort, and could not resist. I did attempt to do so to start with, but it looked so exciting I had to have a try. It was exhilarating!
Getting strapped in.
An action shot, thanks to Renee who opted out.
After that we headed back to Taichung. Lisa returned to ChangHua, the rest of us went to a wee place called Ouzo. It was a lovely little Greek place near the 'Early Bird Cafe', literally around the corner, down a little side street.
Then I followed Zach and Perry to Chien and Ray's place to watch a movie. We watched two :D and chatted, then I headed home. I managed to climb into bed not long after 3am. Needless to say I slept well!
-------
How to get to Summit resort (新社莊園), in Sinshe Township (新社鄉), Taichung County.
To get there from Taichung city centre. The long way around: You won't get lost going this way.
Driving away from the Railway station on JianGuo Road (建國路)
Drive up Taichung Port/harbor Road (台中港路), so driving towards Sogo (I remember things by obvious stuff nearby).
Drive to the intersection for WenXin Rd (文心路). At the intersection turn right.
Then drive along, it is literally a straight path until you get into Sinshe Township. Then there will be signs for the resort. But generally you get into town, there will be a really cool part with lots of whirligigs (americans call them 'pin wheels'), then you go left. Follow the road. When you drive up the really big hill, lots of turns to get up it, winding up the hill. There will be a gigantic sign with lots of information in Chinese on it. You can go left or right, take the right road (means you carry on straight) follow that road. That takes you straight to the resort.
For those not scared of maps:
From the railway station. Looking onto the road. Go right. You will drive past the Bus station area. Keep going. That will be the tail end of ZiYou Rd. Drive onto Shuang Shi Rd, keep going until onto BeiTun Rd. When you get to the intersection for WenXin Rd sec 4, turn right onto the smaller DongShan Rd. That takes you straight to Sinshe Township. Same direction advice as above for the rest.
It costs NT$250 to get in, but that serves as a NT$100 voucher for any food or drink you buy. You have to use it in one transaction.
Hmmm. After all that info. I think i'll take more pictures on my future mini-adventures. Much easier to follow those than waffly words.
It is a place with a 'lake' and Medaevalesk European buildings. It was wonderful. They had areas: where there were big rocks...so I played exploring hobbit for a short while :D, wonderful flower beds, curious architecture, and a fountain.
It was wonderful. In areas you felt you were in Spain, in others in Mexico, and in others Holland or Germany.
http://www.summit-resort.com/
These rocks were so cool. I had the urge to do Buddha poses, so others joined in on the fun :D we did have to do a bit of climbing. eek.
Lisa, Me, Renee
Perry and Zach
After that we had a quick go on go-karts. We had passed it on the way to Summit Resort, and could not resist. I did attempt to do so to start with, but it looked so exciting I had to have a try. It was exhilarating!
Getting strapped in.
An action shot, thanks to Renee who opted out.
After that we headed back to Taichung. Lisa returned to ChangHua, the rest of us went to a wee place called Ouzo. It was a lovely little Greek place near the 'Early Bird Cafe', literally around the corner, down a little side street.
Then I followed Zach and Perry to Chien and Ray's place to watch a movie. We watched two :D and chatted, then I headed home. I managed to climb into bed not long after 3am. Needless to say I slept well!
-------
How to get to Summit resort (新社莊園), in Sinshe Township (新社鄉), Taichung County.
To get there from Taichung city centre. The long way around: You won't get lost going this way.
Driving away from the Railway station on JianGuo Road (建國路)
Drive up Taichung Port/harbor Road (台中港路), so driving towards Sogo (I remember things by obvious stuff nearby).
Drive to the intersection for WenXin Rd (文心路). At the intersection turn right.
Then drive along, it is literally a straight path until you get into Sinshe Township. Then there will be signs for the resort. But generally you get into town, there will be a really cool part with lots of whirligigs (americans call them 'pin wheels'), then you go left. Follow the road. When you drive up the really big hill, lots of turns to get up it, winding up the hill. There will be a gigantic sign with lots of information in Chinese on it. You can go left or right, take the right road (means you carry on straight) follow that road. That takes you straight to the resort.
For those not scared of maps:
From the railway station. Looking onto the road. Go right. You will drive past the Bus station area. Keep going. That will be the tail end of ZiYou Rd. Drive onto Shuang Shi Rd, keep going until onto BeiTun Rd. When you get to the intersection for WenXin Rd sec 4, turn right onto the smaller DongShan Rd. That takes you straight to Sinshe Township. Same direction advice as above for the rest.
It costs NT$250 to get in, but that serves as a NT$100 voucher for any food or drink you buy. You have to use it in one transaction.
Hmmm. After all that info. I think i'll take more pictures on my future mini-adventures. Much easier to follow those than waffly words.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Teacher Gill at work
Here are a few photo's taken by Vickie. She is my wonderful colleague! She burned me a cd so I could have a copy. So I have posted a couple here.
We had to move to the reading room for a parents day. When the parents are invited to watch the lesson.
Tree House class practicing a song for their performance day.
Story time in the reading room.
My with my Tree House kids :D
I do love my tree house kids. They are amazing! I can chat to them about so many things. Their language ability is phenomenal.
We had to move to the reading room for a parents day. When the parents are invited to watch the lesson.
Tree House class practicing a song for their performance day.
Story time in the reading room.
My with my Tree House kids :D
I do love my tree house kids. They are amazing! I can chat to them about so many things. Their language ability is phenomenal.
Snowy UK
I was looking on the BBC website to find out news of the UK and I came across this photo taken on the 7th January. Goodness me! It makes me miss the homeland but on the other hand, I know that i'd be complaining about the cold!
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Taipei/Nantou/ChangHwa- Sunday 3rd
Sunday morning...well I didn't see much of that as I had another lie in. No surprise, considering the time I went to sleep at.
After getting ready Kurt and I went back to the cute coffee shop that has all the cats. It was awesome! This time I had a banana latte. It was delicious.
Then he walked me to an MRT to begin my journey back to Nantou. I was fortunate that I didn't have to wait long on my bus to Nantou. (for future reference I should note for myself that the time it left was 4.30pm).
Once back in Nantou I quickly went back to my apartment, ate a snack then headed out to Chang Hwa to meet some folks. Zach had just returned from the States, so I was going mainly to meet up with him. I ended up in Johnny's, a favourite haunt of theirs, until the wee hours. I didn't get back in to my place until 4am. It was well worth the trip though. I had a great time.
Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got in.
After getting ready Kurt and I went back to the cute coffee shop that has all the cats. It was awesome! This time I had a banana latte. It was delicious.
Then he walked me to an MRT to begin my journey back to Nantou. I was fortunate that I didn't have to wait long on my bus to Nantou. (for future reference I should note for myself that the time it left was 4.30pm).
Once back in Nantou I quickly went back to my apartment, ate a snack then headed out to Chang Hwa to meet some folks. Zach had just returned from the States, so I was going mainly to meet up with him. I ended up in Johnny's, a favourite haunt of theirs, until the wee hours. I didn't get back in to my place until 4am. It was well worth the trip though. I had a great time.
Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got in.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Taipei- Saturday 2nd
We had a little lie-in on Saturday. Understandable really, considering not going to sleep until nearly 4am.
We had decided the night before that going to see Avatar in 3D was a must! So we sat down at the olde computer and booked some tickets online. Unfortunately we could only get the 11.30pm showing so Hans couldn't join as he had work the next day. Still...I was incredibly excited at this point!
After rising and getting ready Kurt and I checked out a local tea/coffee place literally on the next street to his place. It was amazing. It's called 'Minimal' and it's full of cats. That and it does a great coffee. I ordered a caramel latte and he got a coconut latte. Both of which tasted great! And we got a wee plate of cookies. They were cute and tasty. There was one that was Rosemary cookie. I think that was both our favourite. I had never come across that before. Unfortunately I found out that i'm allergic to cats :( good to know though.
Yummy coffee and 'cookies'.
After that we wandered around the corner to grab a bite to eat at a Bornean place. It was awesome. Delicious! I had some kind of beef noodle dish. After the coffee it was taking quite an effort to eat it. We were rather full by the time we left there.
A clever way of numbering tables methinks.
Next was a walk to get a bus to head to an Artist 'village'. On the way we stopped in an artist shop so I could pick up a little sketch pad and a couple of flat pencils. Kurt had the most amazing idea about what to do with my apartment...turn it into my own studio! I can't believe I never thought of that before. I have plenty of space to do whatever I want. So when I can afford it, i'm going to buy the bits and bobs I need. I definitely am going to have a clay corner :)
Butterflies near Kurt's apartment. He said it took them one day to turn a plain concrete wall into that. I love Taiwan!
On the bus.
Once in the area for the artist village we spotted a farmers market. So in we went! It was so cool. Lots of things happening. Some of the foods smelled great. But we were still so full from lunch so eating was definitely not on the cards. We stopped at a honey stand that had live bees there. We also stopped at a tea stand where we were given some kind of lecture about tea. Kurt knows a lot more Chinese than me, so i'm sure he understood a lot more than I did. I relied on hand gestures and little snippets that I know. He bought some tea from there and I purchased something from another stand...one more thing to add into the package to send home.
HUGE fruit!
This is Kurt's photo that I ever so slightly pinched from facebook :D
Busy bees...and a reflection of Kurt :)
Anyhoo...we were in the artist village and had a wander around a couple of artist galleries and an exhibition about tea. There was a man giving some kind of presentation...but of course I understood not a word of it :)
There were some live performing artists dressed in costumes. They were great! I took a couple of sneaky shots. I think they are supposed to be the seasons of the year. That's what makes sense to me.
There was a really long que for folks waiting to see a band perform. We heard some of the music. It was good! I took this pic because it looked more like a prison to me. I think the whole area used to be fancy warehouses back in the day.
The 'artists village' had some room installations. Here is one, traditional tea setting :) very calming.
A close up.
I would love this in my apartment :D
I think this was a kind of fountain or paddling pool with this pretty feature in the middle.
After chilling on some strange seats we headed towards the MRT to get to Miramar mall. Once there we had a wander around to find out where we were supposed to go later to get our tickets. There was a science shop inside. It was amazing!! So much cool stuff inside!
The most amazing Amethyst in the science shop!
They have a ferris wheel on the top of the mall...so of course that was a must! It was a little scary. They have two transparent carriages, I managed to pursuade Kurt that was a bad idea. I'd be bad enough in an ordinary one. We waited a little while in the cue, not too long, and then got on (oh the cost NT$200- weekend price). The view was great. It wasn't as bright as I thought it would be, because the mall is not in a built up area. Also 101 wasn't lit up, unfortunately. That would have been fab to see! It was still good fun. The wheel itself was lit up and had extra lights on that made it look like it changed colour, so that was cool.
My good friend Kurt.
Then we returned and had another wander around and got our tickets. The film was, wow, it was great on an ordinary screen, but in 3D on imax was just brilliant! I enjoyed every minute of it. I did get a little sleepy at a couple of points but I managed to make it through to the end.
So we didn't get back to Kurts until around 3am. Another late night. But a great day!
We had decided the night before that going to see Avatar in 3D was a must! So we sat down at the olde computer and booked some tickets online. Unfortunately we could only get the 11.30pm showing so Hans couldn't join as he had work the next day. Still...I was incredibly excited at this point!
After rising and getting ready Kurt and I checked out a local tea/coffee place literally on the next street to his place. It was amazing. It's called 'Minimal' and it's full of cats. That and it does a great coffee. I ordered a caramel latte and he got a coconut latte. Both of which tasted great! And we got a wee plate of cookies. They were cute and tasty. There was one that was Rosemary cookie. I think that was both our favourite. I had never come across that before. Unfortunately I found out that i'm allergic to cats :( good to know though.
Yummy coffee and 'cookies'.
After that we wandered around the corner to grab a bite to eat at a Bornean place. It was awesome. Delicious! I had some kind of beef noodle dish. After the coffee it was taking quite an effort to eat it. We were rather full by the time we left there.
A clever way of numbering tables methinks.
Next was a walk to get a bus to head to an Artist 'village'. On the way we stopped in an artist shop so I could pick up a little sketch pad and a couple of flat pencils. Kurt had the most amazing idea about what to do with my apartment...turn it into my own studio! I can't believe I never thought of that before. I have plenty of space to do whatever I want. So when I can afford it, i'm going to buy the bits and bobs I need. I definitely am going to have a clay corner :)
Butterflies near Kurt's apartment. He said it took them one day to turn a plain concrete wall into that. I love Taiwan!
On the bus.
Once in the area for the artist village we spotted a farmers market. So in we went! It was so cool. Lots of things happening. Some of the foods smelled great. But we were still so full from lunch so eating was definitely not on the cards. We stopped at a honey stand that had live bees there. We also stopped at a tea stand where we were given some kind of lecture about tea. Kurt knows a lot more Chinese than me, so i'm sure he understood a lot more than I did. I relied on hand gestures and little snippets that I know. He bought some tea from there and I purchased something from another stand...one more thing to add into the package to send home.
HUGE fruit!
This is Kurt's photo that I ever so slightly pinched from facebook :D
Busy bees...and a reflection of Kurt :)
Anyhoo...we were in the artist village and had a wander around a couple of artist galleries and an exhibition about tea. There was a man giving some kind of presentation...but of course I understood not a word of it :)
There were some live performing artists dressed in costumes. They were great! I took a couple of sneaky shots. I think they are supposed to be the seasons of the year. That's what makes sense to me.
There was a really long que for folks waiting to see a band perform. We heard some of the music. It was good! I took this pic because it looked more like a prison to me. I think the whole area used to be fancy warehouses back in the day.
The 'artists village' had some room installations. Here is one, traditional tea setting :) very calming.
A close up.
I would love this in my apartment :D
I think this was a kind of fountain or paddling pool with this pretty feature in the middle.
After chilling on some strange seats we headed towards the MRT to get to Miramar mall. Once there we had a wander around to find out where we were supposed to go later to get our tickets. There was a science shop inside. It was amazing!! So much cool stuff inside!
The most amazing Amethyst in the science shop!
They have a ferris wheel on the top of the mall...so of course that was a must! It was a little scary. They have two transparent carriages, I managed to pursuade Kurt that was a bad idea. I'd be bad enough in an ordinary one. We waited a little while in the cue, not too long, and then got on (oh the cost NT$200- weekend price). The view was great. It wasn't as bright as I thought it would be, because the mall is not in a built up area. Also 101 wasn't lit up, unfortunately. That would have been fab to see! It was still good fun. The wheel itself was lit up and had extra lights on that made it look like it changed colour, so that was cool.
My good friend Kurt.
Then we returned and had another wander around and got our tickets. The film was, wow, it was great on an ordinary screen, but in 3D on imax was just brilliant! I enjoyed every minute of it. I did get a little sleepy at a couple of points but I managed to make it through to the end.
So we didn't get back to Kurts until around 3am. Another late night. But a great day!
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