Aiesec winter explore day 11

Today I went to another church that is near to my new homestay place!

This church is great because it's quite similar to QLC back at home. Also the pastor is really kind and passionate. And today he baptized his own father-in-law and mother-in-law! Really awesome to witness that.

After that I was supposed to meet Jocelyn at raohe night market but it was raining so we decided to change plans spontaneously. I googled the ilo ilo movie and a confusing website with ximending came out so I told Jocelyn. After we reached we realized that I made a grave mistake and ilo ilo was not showing anywhere near ximending... Failed...

We tried to look for cinemas at ximending but the movies showing looked very boring. So we stopped by for delicious but unhealthy (what's new) food again.

In the end we went to party world ktv to sing kbox and eat the buffet. But... They didn't have any kpop songs that we like and we don't know how to do the Taiwanese pinyin so we had to scroll through all the songs (of which 90% we don't know) and select. 

At least the buffet was okay. Booked the room for 4 hours but we got drained after 3 hours (what's new lol) so we watched running man and ate for a bit. 

After that we went to get bubble tea for Jocelyn and headed home. How uneventful lol.

Note to self: need to have wet weather plans beforehand.

Aiesec winter explore day 9

Had 5 lessons today and that completes our goal of finishing all 13 classes a week!

Woah, this is really tiring no joke. I feel sian whenever I have to enter a class to teach but have to gather all my energy and be enthusiastic. 

Today in one of our classes the teacher walked out and suddenly the class became crazy. Everyone was talking and they were super loud. Me and Josephina shouted super loudly and they still persisted in disrupting. Class 201, 给我记住 lol. Sometimes at the video time me and Josephina look at each other, shake our heads and sigh hahaha.

That being said I think I can understand why some people feel the joy of teaching. Today one of the girls from 402 came into the staff room and gave me and Josephina hand made gifts. 

The coke is hers and the fries are mine.

Also some of the girls came over to hang out at the staff room and practice their English with me.

Feels great to have your students like you. ^_^

After school we had the company function where we went to have atas grilled meat!! My eye was feeling sore but I couldn't resist beef so I ordered a combination platter of beef and pork.

Yummeh!

Josephina and I were treated like VIPs and we got to pick out one winner each for the lucky draw lol. That's a first...

And another embarrassing thing happened- i picked out a name with the surname "Xiao" and I didn't know how to read it in traditional Chinese!!! So I had to admit I "不会读” and get the emcee to read it. Sighhhhhhhh.

Today I also moved to my new homestay at huijang's place! Her daughter studies at nanshi (p3) and she has a 16 year own brother which resembles my brother so much in their gaming habits. I can hear him clicking furiously outside XP

TGIF! Going to bed now ^_^

Aiesec winter explore day 8

Today I had to teach 6 classes with Josephina!!!

There is this part of the lesson where we share that Singapore is hot and humid all year round, and the kids will be like "Are there no typhoons?" "Any earthquakes?"

And Josephina will reply that since Singapore is so small we are shielded by other countries and  is relatively free of there natural disasters. The whole class will be like "whattttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!" and will be so jealous lol! One boy even began to bang his head on the table. 0.0 talk about extreme. Then they would all say that they want to live at Singapore. Then at the part of the lesson where we say that chewing gum is not sold in singapore they would change their mind and say they didnt want to live here anymore lol.

We would have some classes that are really interested and ask relevant questions about Singapore but many times they just start to talk about their traveling experience and go on and on. Me and Josephina don't really know how to make the child stop so sometimes we get stuck and the teacher needs to take over.

Anyhow I really like living in Singapore. Travelling is convenient (unlike trains that come very hour and stop their service at 8...) and it's not so cold. *patriotic*
I didnt know I will hate the cold weather so much until I started to wear 2 trackpants and socks to bed every night =.= AND LEAPING FOR MY LIFE IN THE SHOWER TO GENERATE HEAT

So exhausted now, looking forward to going back to homestay place and watching youtube videos to recharge. Yay.

And zhuren says its beef noodles for dinner again. YAHOO!

Aiesec winter explore day 7

Aww! The teacher that led that zoo group yesterday bought me and Josephina Starbucks (even though we didn't do anything much lol)

Debuted as a teacher today along with Josephina and boy was it crazy.

We taught 2 primary one classes today.

After every sentence we say they will have a great reaction! Like we just need to say that we are from Singapore and everyone will talk about Singapore/their traveling experiences!! Was so hard keeping them under control so we had to shout over them. I think the trick for lower primary is to ask them very specific questions that will make them answer the content you want to teach. If we just taught without interaction, the kids might just talk about canada all of a sudden, which was what happened haha. 

After the content class we let the class play charades and they were so enthusiastic for the sweets we prepared. Looks like we need to restock sweets soon! 

The teacher was so nice, said that we did a "perfect" job for first timers.

We were super cold in the morning but during the class we started to sweat profusely! Had to remove coat in the end ._. 

After the class my lips were chapped and dry and my throat hurt. Lol. Really admire primary school teachers. 

But thankfully we crashed into the staff room and there was healthy food!!! Love healthy food so much. 

Aiesec winter explore day 6

15 minutes before midnight and I have debut teaching tmr so I shall make this quick!

Today me and Josephina and Jocelyn followed the special education class students to the zoo for a look! 

It was so cold because the zoo is on higher grounds. Wore headgear to keep our face warm!

We took the train there and this boy was always afraid when the train goes underground so he would cover his eyes lol. He has autism but is gifted in music such that he can play any tune on the piano by ear. I learned piano for so long but can't do that... *bitter*

This boy is hilarious! Everyone brought backpacks to carry their goodies but he brought a plastic bag instead! Haha

And this boy decided to bring a leaf home XD 

My favourite animal at the zoo would have to be the panda! How can it be so fat and cute!!!

And after the zoo trip the funny civil soldier guy (suhao laoshi) brought us to watch hunger games! Not bad but really scary! I don't like the feeling of scary music playing while waiting for the villain to jump out TT

And after that when he sent us home my blurness acted up again. I had no idea where my host home is!! Because zhuren would always drive me to and fro the garage so I would always be day dreaming and not recognize the area around me. Josephina was very shocked at my nonexistent direction sense.

Haih... When will I become street smart?

Aiesec winter explore day 5

Monday! Time to get down to business. Josephina and I attended our first ever teacher's meeting in the morning and were introduced to the teachers. Was quite fun to see the teachers report about their department's affairs and the principal talking about the plans to make nanshi a better school and attract more in-comers. 

We then discussed with the English teachers about our lesson plans and asked them what they want us to share about Singapore. Unfortunately when they asked us about Singapore's art scene, we had to admit that we didn't really have one... And also our famous Singaporean singers like Stephanie sun, Tanya, BY2 and JJ Lin all went to Taiwan before becoming famous lols.  

Josephina working hard.

In the afternoon my first host mum brought us to a tea plantation near nanshi 

The boss was super nice and served us lots and lots of tea (Josephina went to the toilet 3 times in the hour that we were there). He also showed us around his plantation!

Panoramic shots are awesome for scenery!

Haha there is this funny civil force army guy at nanshi. He watched ilo ilo and decided that the way Singaporeans mixed English and Chinese was super interesting so he kept trying today.

We asked him how long would the bus ride to the cinema be and he said "差不多是一个。。。那个hours吧，对不对，我有没有融入到你们的。。。culture呢？”

Hahaha. And he keeps jokingly complaining about his army duties and counts down to the end everyday lol (71 more days to go)

Have to say that all the Taiwanese people that I've met at nanshi elementary school are really nice and friendly. On the first night I told the first host mum that I was cold and she dug out a few jackets for me to try from the basement. I had to take care of her child for awhile and he ended up crying lol.

The jacket that fits me best had a spoilt zip so she went to get it fixed. TT

The current host mum (zhuren) has been very kind and accommodating. Everytime I'm out, she would drive to the bus stop to pick me up even though it's just a 5 min walk back to her house. Also she would give me a bottle of hot water in a thermo flask everyday. 

Today I just told her on the drive back home that my family and friends want me to buy the super Yums yiduzan beef noodle Maggie from Taiwan and after that when I came downstairs to the dining room for dinner and I saw this...

Home cooked yummy beef noodles. Haih why am I so lucky.

All the teachers in the staff room are very kind as well! Me and Josephina just need to say "we feel like watching a movie/ eating fried chicken/ shopping for cheap clothes" and it would become the whole staff room's affair lol. Everyone would just contribute on how to get there in the fastest time and suggest things we could do there. I think the teachers don't travel much so they are not really sure of how to get around but they would immediately do research and help us find our way there. TT

Also because I'm always feeling cold, the teachers keep offering to lend me their jackets so now I think I have 2 extra. Really feel the warmth of the people here. :)

Aiesec winter explore day 4

Today my host mum brought me to a church nearby her place to go for worship! I was put into the youth service where we had 1 hour of singing and another hour of sharing how God has been working through our lives.

Was quite shocked because everyone randomly speaks ups and participated in reading the bible and the rest of the people says "Amen!" unlike back at QLC where we normally we listen quietly to the pastor lols.

At the self introduction part we had to say our name and when did we get saved (baptism or confirmation date which everyone could remember very clearly somehow). I was picked to go first because I was right in front and in my confusion I accidentally said 2012 instead of 2007. Totally failed. Lols.

After that I had a simple home cooked lunch by host mum before chionging to meet the other eps at tamshui. Started off as a group of 10 but everyone separated in the end and I went shopping with Jocelyn only. 

Endless shopping and eating~

After shopping for 2 hours, we got really tired of the crowd (introverts get exhausted from interactions) and we settled at some park to watch running man to recharge. Haha. Very effective btw.

After that we had really good mini steamboat, Jocelyn had mala soup which was Yums!

The group was supposed to congregate and go Shilin night market together but we decided not to join them because the shops were endless and we were tired already! 

My family was having dinner together back in Singapore and they facetimed me, making sure to pass the phone to every family member haha. 

Ps, here is a funny pict of tired Jocelyn waiting for me to buy water from the supermarket lol

Haih, weekend over and have to do proper work tmr!

Aiesec winter explore day 3

For today I finally (after 2 days) got to meet with le BFF Jocelyn because it's the weekend! 

We met at xindian mrt at 1030 and ate KFC breakfast. They had the awesome Portuguese egg tarts that we had during our shanghai ocip!

After that we went to rent bicycles to cycle around the area to enjoy the scenery. Started off wearing denim jacket and thick cloak because the wind at where I was staying was so cold! But i took them all off because I got sweaty peddling upslope. Jocelyn was sweating too but didn't want to take her coat off because she thinks her inner shirt is too uncool. Lol.

After cycling and camwhoring a lot, we went to a nearby local noodle shop for lunch. Jocelyn brought her laptop so she hotspot it using her phone (with unlimited 3G that we both got) and we watched RUNNING MAN while eating! Shiok life~

Next we went to shida market for shopping and eating. Think we walked from around 5 to 10. Had Thai food for dinner!

Jocelyn spent a lot of money buying "functional" items (functional items are not counted to be within her spending limits lol) like a coat and iPhone charger cable and track pants to sleep in. I only got a rabbit tee shirt! So much for all that walking!

At the end of the day we were so tired and our feet were dying that we became delirious. Jocelyn kept laughing every 3 seconds at things that were not funny and I started to say weird things like "when in french, behave like a france" (with regards to the Taiwanese custom of only using chopsticks to eat rice, which we tried to do as well) 

Going to stone for my 45 min bus ride back to homestay place!

Aiesec winter explore day 2

Spent the morning playing "cheling" with the children at nanshi elementary. Pretty easy to do a shoddy job and get the thing spinning but throwing it as high as the pros is unattainable.

Haha in the pic can obviously see my string is tangled and #justposing only. 

Me and my project partner Josephina went to sit in a elementary 5 English lesson and was totally shocked at how enthu the kids were. Everyone volunteered answers even if they weren't confident with English and they read the textbook super fluently and loudly! I think primary 5s in Singapore are totally opposite. When the teacher needs to pick someone to answer a question, everyone waits in fear of being called upon. The silent rule is: never make eye contact with the teacher until someone gets called XP 

Later me and Josephina discussed abit on what we'll do for the lessons (teaching English and singapore's culture) and spent a lot of time slacking and walking around. Boy it was so cold whenever the wind blew!

Finally it turned 4pm and we proceeded to Ximending (45 min bus ride to Taipei main station and another 20 min train ride to ximending)  

We ate ah zhong mee sua! Not bad!

Shopped and ate till 9 and am now heading back to my new homestay at 主任's place! 

Tmr is the weekend which is free and easy! Looking forward ~

Aiesec winter explore day 1

Finally, after all the drama, I'm finally on board le jetstar plane towards Taiwan with Jocelyn. I was telling her yay thankfully got enough leg space, to which she nonchalantly replied, "Leg space is only a concern for tall people." #tallpeopleproblems 

And just now I hilariously had to take out my new cool shoes for it to be passed through the baggage scanner thing. 

Me: do I look like I can fit a gun in there.

Jocelyn: maybe your shoes are unusually long? （−＿−；）(−_−＃)

Back story:

So, me and Jocelyn signed up for Aiesec winter explore program  a month ago and we had to go through Skype interviews with various project leaders of projects from Taiwan, Poland, Vietnam and China... 

LOL just remembered Jocelyn had to do a video for the China project leader and she danced SHINee's Sherlock! We used to stay back after guitar cca back to jc2 to dance Sherlock with Jialing and Eemin haha. Our characters were Angekey, josonew, bongho, jjongling (only SHINee fans will know what I'm talking about keke)... And taemin's high level popping was so difficult so nobody wanted to dance his part LOL. China's project leader was the most responsive and enthu and she selected the both of us, but we weren't so keen because we went Shanghai for ocip last time already. 

Taiwan's project leader (Sonia) accepted me so we were waiting for Taiwan's project leader to accept Jocelyn as well. So one day on Skype I saw her online and asked her about it and realized she was "quite confused" about Jocelyn's application despite having interviewed Jocelyn herself... Ok...

But she said she would be happy to let us both into her project. So ok, we were set for Taiwan!

Little did we know that Sonia didn't actually have a project for Jocelyn and was only going to ask the school after she accepted her... Like yige zai lor. TT but we didn't know that, so we already went ahead with all the plane tics/visa/insurance stuff already.

My mum and dad half suspected this "Aiesec" to be a massive kidnapping scheme lol. Because they only released snippets of details and it was during exam period so we were having a hard time settling all the admin. ***Advice to anyone who is keen on Aiesec winter explore to settle everything before exam. We even had to pay around $200 more than usual for our departure air tic because we booked like 4 days before departure. Crazily rushed right?? :-( thank God that being a Singaporean entitles us to free visa! 

Up to this moment (blogging from plane) Jocelyn still doesn't know her project and we're just hanging on by a thread. Haha kidding la, no project then go shopping and eating lor.

Wish us luck for the next 5 weeks!

Special thanks to my family for helping me pack and buying me stuff and worrying for me. So blessed :')