Dada School

A little more detail on the Dada school…it seems to be a mix of afterschool care and English classes.  The first and second graders are done with school most days at 12:30 and 3 or so of them come then and work on homework.  Many more students trickle in at 3:30. 

  There is a mix of taking some to the park to play, homework and activities (I’ve done some English songs with motions).  English classes start at 4 and run til dinner at 6, then from 7 til 9 or 9:30 (different classes run different days).  Since we’ve been here, there have also been 2 American volunteers and a Japanese volunteer.  One American, who got here a few days before us, taught English in South Korea for a year before coming here to work on his Chinese and help with teaching. 

  Each day, Ching lets different people know where their help is needed…taking to the park, helping with dinner, presenting part of a class or helping with specific homework.  

  The curriculum is of Ching’s choice and relies heavily on learning to speak and actually interact.  In their regular school, they begin learning English in 4^th grade weekly and there is little emphasis on speaking.  It has been interesting to speak with the American re: his observations of their English; he says that the kids at Dada speak English so much better than their counterparts in Korea and their counterparts in Taiwan as well.

I find the atmosphere warm and encouraging.  The kids are being taught and helped, but it is a long day.  There are some who don’t leave til 8:30 or 9, and it makes me so grateful for down time…time my kids have to be alone or relax.  It has also made me ask myself “how much harder can or should we be working?”  These kids work HARD and long.  I’ve always wanted so much for that internal motivation to kick in and push them forward.  How much latitude should I allow to give them the room to find that spark?  It’s that feeling of wondering how long it takes to enjoy learning…I remember being conscious that I enjoyed learning in my master’s program….that is A LOT of years of schooling before enjoying it!

Arrival

We've arrived!

This feels like the biggest adventure of my life.  We left Salt Lake Monday afternoon March 26, had a 9 hour layover in San Francisco and visited with friends of Tom's from college.  They fed us a great dinner and showed off all the amazing things they can grow in such a temperate climate...a fig tree, pomengranate, etc.   It was a convincing "move here" discussion with the exception of the close to a million dollar price tag of homes.  Also explored the Oakland Temple grounds and saw a beautiful view of the city.

They dropped us back at the airport, direct flight left at 1 am Tuesday and arrived 14 hours later at 5 am on Wednesday in Taipei.  We took a taxi to one of the two addresses I had written down...but, oops, it was the wrong one.  We were taken to the LDS church in Jhong Li, a suburb outside of Taipei and we had intended to go to the English school we'll be volunteering at. 

 So, with little Chinese on our part, no English on their part, some pointing and guesturing, our benefactor at the English school met us at the church and took us to his school.  It's a casual looking space with loads of magazines and books, a little like a small cafe.  It’s actually called DaDa school, and they teach 7-12 year olds English after school from about 4 until 8 or so.  

We are in an apartment that is 3 blocks from the school, right across from a park,

which is amazing because the city has an industrial feel, so we haven’t seen too much green space. 

We’ve been exploring a bit along with helping at the school also.  Ching asked me to teach a small class the day after we arrived, and I realized it’s been 15 years since I did this, although with church and kids, teaching is a constant thing.  I made a little game and linked it to the Iditarod; so far, the students have loved all things Alaska.  I brought Sam’s photo album of our AK experience—animals and snow and other such particulars and it’s at just the right level for elementary aged kids to enjoy.  Emma and Sam have jumped right in to learning Chinese and meeting 40 or so new kids, playing chess and soccer, braiding hair and listening to English recitations. 

Adoption update: We aren’t able to visit our own “to be” kids in the orphanage until after the judge’s first ruling, but we did get permission to skype the youngest who is in foster care.