Category: Travel
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Eat Like the Locals
Photo courtesy Crystal Jo via Unsplash Mari, my mother’s younger rich sister, wanted to get rid of us. My mother had been calling her nonstop, treating her as her personal assistant, her GPS, her tech support. Mari’s solution was to buy us an all expenses paid tour of the southern area of South Korea. The…
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Teaching English in Taiwan
Students spooking a colleague on Halloween. Go home! The moment classes concluded and students spilled out into the hallway, the Taiwanese administrators hollered, “Go home! Min, go home! Benjamin, go home!” Yikes. I wondered what the students had done to piss off Anna, one of the administrators. She barked like a sergeant dressing down her…
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Students in Taiwan
Students dance to a grammar song. Before meeting my students, I attended training for two weeks. The owner employed specific methods to teach subjects such as vocabulary, grammar, phonics, reading and writing. He observed me teach in person. He filmed my classes for a month to make sure I executed his method properly. However, regardless…
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Living in Kaohsiung Taiwan
Love River, Zuoying, Kaohsiung, Taiwan I was originally hired to teach in Taiwan in 2020, during Covid-19. I had been living in Thailand at the time, living through the shut-down. In order to satisfy the Taiwanese Ministry of Education’s requirement to pass a medical exam at a government hospital only, I flew from Chiang Mai…
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Taiwan: North to South
My first trip to Taiwan coincided with Tomb Sweeping holiday. Unfortunately, hotel vacancy plummeted while prices sky rocketed. That’s how I ended up in this capsule with shared toilet for $70/night in Taipei. The weather in April reminded me of that saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” I didn’t stick around long enough to know…
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Artistic Georgetown Penang
Customers browse this art gallery café warehouse. I arrived in Penang sleep-deprived while holding optimism on a short leash. Given my experience in Kuala Lumpur, I didn’t let myself open the gates to unchecked glee. Although my admiration and love of the art scene in Georgetown is well documented, I needed to check my hotel’s…
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Slumber Party at Kuala Lumpur Airport
Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia re-opened its borders post Covid-19, and I booked my trip. I had fond memories of my previous visits to the country, and looked forward to roaming around the markets and soaking up the culture. Unfortunately, during the two-years of Covid-19 closures, hotel rooms remained vacant, unswept, unkempt. Dank corners became breeding…
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Dear Santa
Students line up to see Santa Claus at the on-campus Christmas parade. Write a letter to Santa Claus Being a Christian school, Christmas time brought as much excitement and anticipation as if it were celebrated in a Christian country. I led my students in the ritual of writing a letter to Santa. They detailed what…
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Students Doing the Work
Students doing the work, and sometimes having fun. Example, one student drew a picture of me while I had them write down classroom rules! I guess the joke’s on me. Lining up for morning assembly. Hilarious students My students had no problems showing me their personalities, beginning at first period with the student who drew…