i-Lan

From i-Lan Field Trip

Today I accompanied my school on a family field trip to i-Lan, a scenic area about an hour from Taipei. When I awoke this morning my voice was still completely gone, but I'm not one to miss a free opportunity to see more of the country. So I drank a cup of tea and hopped on the bus.

The kids couldn't understand why I was only whispering to them. Some of them whispered back, some of them just ran away. There parents were probably thinking, "Great, they've hired a mute to teach my son English." On the bus back to Taipei, I fell asleep and awoke with drool dribbling down my chin. So much for sophisticated foreign English teacher. We'll probably have 30% withdrawal on Monday.

I thought we'd be sightseeing, but it was more of a field day. The kids got to do some crafts and run around in a big grass patch - something they don't get to do often enough in ultra-dense Taipei.

It was good having some time with my little charges where I wasn't supposed to be beating them over the head with knowledge.