“From sweat comes good things.” –me
“Don’t trust a conductor who doesn’t sweat” –a conductor
I have been living in Kinmen, Taiwan, for exactly two months now, and if I were to describe the experience in one word, it would be: sweaty.
This is obviously not to discredit everything else that is Kinmen. My lovely fellow ETAs, Carrie and Ann, Joyce and Phil, the month of orientation, bento box after bento box, Gucheng Elementary School, my Local English Teachers, morning runs, unsuccessful scooter written examinations, nights at White Lion, debauchery at White Lion, my landlords, the list goes on.
I just have been sweaty the whole time. It’s not like I haven’t been expecting this, because before I left for Taiwan, someone told me, “You might be the sweatiest person in Taiwan.” Two months later, I would like to raise them a bubble tea and a half. Let me just regale everyone with a quick story from my first day of school.
I biked to school.
I started sweating.
We had a welcoming ceremony for the first graders.
I was wearing a light purple button down.
We breaked for lunch, but I continued sweating.
I taught my first class.
I was wiping my face with my dripping sleeves.
My shirt turned dark purple. A wet purple.
After class, the principal came over to my desk with a white t-shirt in his hands.
He wordlessly handed to me, and I wordlessly changed.
The sweating stopped!
Just kidding.
But at least no one could really see it anymore.
I’ve always been a sweaty person. When I was in elementary school in Korea, I would walk back home with my head down, rubbing my chin on my neck. It was like a sweaty slip-‘n-slide. I haven’t done this for a while, but will do it again if you promise to try it out.
A few times during orientation, Rebecca (profile below) and I went on morning runs. Considering that these runs took place at around 6:30 in the morning, I’m impressed by how many times we actually managed to get up out of our beds. One of my top priorities this year is to be intentionally active, and my sweaty clothes at the end of the day serves as a daily reminder.
Speaking of being active, this year is going to be a whole lot of bike riding. I just passed my scooter exam after 3 failed attempts at the written portion of the scooter exam, and though I am now a proud holder of the license, I am not going to rent the scooter.
In a lot of ways, this year in Kinmen is an antithesis to last year spent in Shanghai. In terms of being active, living arrangements, interaction with locals, and purpose. In Shanghai, I constantly felt lonely. I was surrounded by 24 million people, lived with great roommates, had access to interesting venues and events, and had fantastic friends, but I still very much felt out of place. In Kinmen, I don’t have roommates my age, don’t have any friends who know me past these two months, and don’t have many things to do, but certainly don’t feel lonely—at least not yet.
Teaching-wise, it’s daunting. I expected it to come easy, teaching English to elementary schoolers. But it’s far from easy, and I find myself respecting and appreciating my own elementary school teachers a whole lot more, who all made it look so easy. I teach at a lovely little school called Gu Cheng Elementary School (古城國小) with 120 students. The largest class I have is my 2nd grade class, with 23 students, and my smallest class is my 5th grade class, with 15 students. I bumble around, procrastinate on making lesson plans, and end up singing lots of songs—Sound of Music, Frozen, Beyonce—you name it. Despite my bumbliness (which I am working on), my students thankfully love to come to my desk to ask for stamps and stickers (NO, Apple), ask about who I have a crush on, and why I look Taiwanese. My students are the sole reason that wakes me up at 6:45am every day, and I really care about them. I’ll definitely post some pictures from time to time. They laugh at my sweaty t-shirts and love to tousle my nest of a hair, which is definitely overdue for a trim.
All this being said, and as fantastic of a place that Kinmen is turning out to be, it’s definitely not crystal stairs. Yes, the locals are friendly and are willing to have conversations with you, but I find myself repeating conversations over and over again (Wow! A Korean-American? But you look Taiwanese? Why do you speak Chinese?) without much depth. I mentioned earlier that I want to be intentionally active this year, and I that includes not only my physical activities but also my interactions with people. Minimal small talk (or Paresky convos for you Williams peeps), so to speak. I realize that with being active, sweating will be inevitable. And as much as I am willing to sweat to run, to teach, to get to know the community, and to learn Taiwanese, I want my sweat droplets to actually matter.
I’ll just have to do this, I guess.
This is my first attempt at writing and keeping a blog, and I don’t know whether I’ll be able to keep it up on a weekly basis. But I will try my best to write at least twice a month, so if some of you want to keep me accountable, I welcome your badgerment!
With that, I present my fellow Kinmen ETAs below!
(The information and views presented on this blog are my own, and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the United States Department of State. )
Karoline
Karoline is my first Kinmen Fulbright friend. We met each other in Shanghai when she visited for a brief weekend visit in May. We have already established numbers of inside jokes, and I keep on telling her that she should be featured in a meme. Woqaaaaaaa~
Katie
Katie hails from a small city in Montana called Bosman, and she definitely has that easygoing, outdoorsy air about her that many people who I’ve encountered from Montana tend to have. Katie is a running beast, and I hope to pick up some tips from her this year.
Karen
If you can’t tell from her photos already, Karen has klass. Dubbed Karen the Kween, she holds herself with much composure. She has a soundcloud page, and despite her embarrassment, I think it’s amazing. So yall should check it out.
Heather
Heather is a Togepi. She’s sweet, makes cute noises, and brightens your day with her bubbliness.
Adrian
As an artistê-ballér, Adrian is someone who has a “finger in every pot” so to speak. He definitely has the “west coast chill” thing down, is swagtastic, his doodlings should be hung in a gallery, and is all in all a great guy.
Brett
Brett is cool. I kinda want to be Brett. He’s your elegant writer-in-residence. I kinda want to be Brett. Brett is cool.
Aaron
An aspiring doctor, Aaron hails from Weirton, WV. He is the second West Virginian that I have encountered, and so far, peeps from the Dubya Vee are simply blowing it out of the water (I see you Kerry! ) This is Aaron’s first time out of the country, and is having a fantastic culinary experience J
Rick
Give Rick a guitar, and he will melt your ears away. Rick is such an easygoing friend, and is a phenomenal roommate. He is a speed demon on his scooter, and is not afraid of going fast. Like, fast. He hopes to beat me in a game of settlers one day.
Jules
Jules once had a pet cockroach and lived with people in a rural, mountainous part of Argentina. She loves to go on walks, and knows a lot of things about phonetics.
Raven
I knew I wanted to be Raven’s friend when I met her in the airport two months ago. Despite 24+ hours of traveling, she looked so professional, and was in such positive spirits. A fellow biker, I look forward to our adventures together on Kinmen.
Ross
Ross is your philosopher friend. But rather than the your typical philosopher that grows out from a shady part of a darkened room like a mushroom, Ross is like an outgoing warm sunlight. Ross loves thinking, and is not afraid to share his thoughts with you. And he knows how to listen with his heart—a trait I hope to learn from him over the course of the year.
Sean
Sean will eat your nerves for a meal. Having been roommates with Sean for a month, I can confidently say that he is one of the most considerate people I have ever met. Sean laughs with his entire body,
Travis
Travis is a beautiful man. His hair would have Rapunzel sulking in shame. His calligraphy would have Kongzi in tears. Want a piece of biting humor? Talk to Travis. Want to learn Chinese? Talk to Travis. When in doubt, talk to Travis.
Oliver
Oliver is unpredictable and always up for adventure. The conversation below encapsulates him:
Why would students in Kinmen study English?
“The Market” –Oliver
Enough said.
Andrea
Andrea speaks, like, five languages. Probably more. Let’s see: English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Andrea studied anthropology in college, and thus makes talking to her such a cool experience. She dances, trains for the marathon, and cooks a bunch at home. We made banana bread together for the first day of classes, and it was a hugggeeeee success. We have a lajiao (spicy sauce) making date coming up!
Alex
Alex is one of the funniest people I’ve met. And he doesn’t even try. He once told us a story about how he once asked a bus driver where Brussels is, and it had us laughing for a good five minutes. We get weekly Sunday brunch, and he is the master of storytelling.
Jessie
Ohhh my gosh; wait, it’s over; I’m weeping. These phrases belong to Jessie, and Jessie only. She is the only person tackling the middle school teaching-life this year, and should be commended for her bravery and grace at how she deals with angsty teenagers.
Tracey
Tracey is a powerhouse. Literature? Check. Dance? Check. Scooter master? Check. Tracey hails from New York City, and is incredibly thoughtful about her surroundings. She is able to talk about it with such eloquence, and is an aspiring academic. I would take all of her classes.
Karissa
In her past life, Karissa was probably a siren. Her voice is mesmerizing, and she will leave you wanting more. If she wasn’t a siren, then she was probably a dinosaur. Her peace signs are legendary.
Stephanie
Stephanie is a homebody, and her dog, Keegan, is actually the cutest dog in the world. She is so down to earth. Down for this, down for that. Ask her to say "elementary school!" She has a wonderful accent :) Her home is always open, but her brownie brittles always closed. Thank God for her fan. A wonderful, wonderful friend to have!
Rebecca
Rebecca is my partner-in-crime when it comes to most things. Morning runs, cooking food, jam sessions, secret handshakes, the list goes on. She keeps my nail biting in check, and as a fellow Korean-American, definitely keeps my Korean alive. She is probably one of the most photogenic people I have ever met! She glowwwwssssss—both on and off the camera.
Well, that’s it for my first post. Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Sam