Just a quick note…
Well, it’s the most wonderful time of the year but it’s not looking anything like Christmas here because it’s just not a widely-celebrated holiday and there is no snow. I’ve noticed that most things that happen in Taiwan are “for show” (at least where I live) and Christmas is no exception. It’s not that Christmas ISN’T a thing here, but it’s like a colorful display window: shiny, loud, and just for people to take selfies in front of. I have been asked to “dress-up” and “perform” for this holiday which was met with a lot of confusion when I said that I wouldn’t, because that’s just not what Christmas is about. Don’t get me wrong – I was never expecting to celebrate Christmas in a western way here. It was my choice to move to a foreign country and experience Taiwan’s way of life and their holidays. There’s a big emphasis on giving the students a “global education” here, which I am all about so I was more than happy to incorporate it into my lessons. I enjoyed teaching about Christmas because most of my students were genuinely interested in learning about it; and it sure helped that I showed them some videos of extreme Christmas light displays and taught them a Christmas song. What I did not expect was to be put on display whenever people saw the opportunity, propped in front of television cameras, and have to do a “photo-shoot” every time I did a Christmas activity with my students. So, I did enjoy teaching Christmas. The other stuff including trying to be forced to take posed photos/ videos when students wanted to simply tell me “Merry Christmas”, I would have loved to have skipped. I feel like I would have felt better and not so painfully isolated and homesick if the holiday hadn’t have been personally acknowledged at all. And I could always do with a little less of the “English show-horse on parade” vibe that I feel every so often. I am still a professional, and although I will admit that I have been a little bitter about this aspect of the job: I’m chalking it all up to experience! Bah hum bug, indeed.
PSA: I also wanted to mention that this was truly my experience and mine alone. Anthony had a different experience at his schools and other Foreign English Teachers had different experiences from me. I can’t speak for anyone other than myself. If you come to Taiwan for a Western holiday, you too may experience something completely different from everyone, it just depends on where you are, what you are doing, and who you are with. Okay: on to more stuff! And thanks for reading through my rant. I’m still trying to find the best means to process through the emotions I am struggling with this year.
Things my students did for Christmas
Enough negativity though! I love Christmas! Christmas is one of my favorite holidays so I did have my students do Christmas things pretty much the entire month of December, which I think is what happens in the US anyway. Hey, I waited until after Thanksgiving too… until December 9th, so I deserve some credit here! Culturally, I feel like there was a lot to teach: we learned different vocabulary words, wrote letters, played games (by the “fire”), and decorated hallway walls which allowed them to not only practice their speaking and listening, but their reading and writing as well. You can check out some pictures above!
My 7th grade classes also watched Olive the Other Reindeer my FAVORITE Christmas movie and at exactly 44 minutes and 45 seconds, it was the perfect thing to get through the class period the week of Christmas. This was also perfect because it incorporated many of the words that I taught them like “reindeer”, “Santa”, “sleigh”, “North Pole”, and more. We initially learned the words through sentence readings and playing Bingo, but this allowed them to see and hear them from a different input which is always great for further learning and comprehension. But Emma, you teach 13 7th grade classes… did you watch this movie 13 times? You bet I did – 5 times on Christmas – and I loved every minute of it.
What I did for Christmas
I must admit that I got the “no-Christmas weepies” a little bit. This is the first time that I haven’t done exactly the same thing that I have always done for Christmas and the first time that I was away from my family and friends for the holidays. As a teacher, I am also used to a bit of a break around this time of year, the excitement and cheer from my students leading up to Christmas day keeping me going strong to the end. This year, that just didn’t happen. Anthony and I watched a few Christmas movies here and there (Klaus being probably one of the best movies I have ever seen and something that I HIGHLY recommend) and did a bit of decorating in our home, but it still just left me feeling sad and burnt-out.
On Saturday, December 21st though, Anthony surprised me by having us hop on the bus first to Taichung to the High Speed Rail Station and then on the High Speed Rail to Taipei for the evening where we walked around and saw some Christmas lights, went to Taipei 101, and got an awesome dinner at a fancy Japanese style restaurant. My parents surprised me with some money that I was not expecting because they are stinkers (we agreed on a different arrangement for Christmas) but it was so appreciated because we probably wouldn’t have been able to have this experience otherwise.
As for Christmas Day, it was a normal work day. Like I said earlier, I watched Olive the Other Reindeer 5 times because I teach 5 classes that day and set up for big school charity fundraiser/rummage sale/school showcase thing that is happening on Saturday (so yes, I also work on Saturday of this week) for the rest of the day. When I got home, Anthony and I watched Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on Netflix and shared a bottle of wine that he surprised me from 7-Eleven. Overall, not a terrible day. I actually couldn’t sleep that night though so I was up around 2 am to FaceTime my parents and company celebrating back home. It was nice to see everyone in the cheer and see the tree all lit up. I also got to see my cat play with some toys that my grandpa got for her. I’m excited to join them again next Christmas but unfortunately, that is truly one year away. Oh well.
Well, that’s it for now. Anthony and I are actually traveling to Japan and Thailand later in January so I will probably make a few posts about that… planning and whatnot. Is that something you’d like to see? Let me know!
Until next time, this has been
Emma Eiden, An ESL Teacher Abroad ✌
An ESL Teacher Abroad 