So this is the second visit to the Hello Kitty Bakery in Taipei. (And probably not the last…)  This time, however, we actually saw the inside of this genius operation.  After being seated at a pink, frilly, fluffy, cushy booth, in a totally pink, frilly room (I guess it is what the inside of Kitty’s house would look like…so good job on that one), and after being ignored for about 30 minutes while people all around us were being attended to by small Taiwanese waitresses dressed in pink and lace…no one wanted to talk to the foreigners in the corner (us), we finally got some attention. Now this might not have been so hard if not for a couple things:

 

For almost 2 WHOLE WEEKS I had a little bit of Pittsburgh (and Philly) come to Taiwan.  Abby, Amanda, and Steve came out for probably our biggest/strangest/most memorable adventure to date. (topping things like kidnapping Abby and throwing her in the car without warning, midnight apple pie runs, and scary-ass road trips through the ghetto).  It’s been said that pictures say a thousand words, and I’m pretty sure this picture sums up the randomness of the trip.  I know I’m going slightly out of order, but this was about midway through the visit when we stopped at what we lovingly termed ‘The Amusing Animal/Golf Cart Museum’.  To answer a few burning questions: 1. yes we are perched on a cow bench in the middle of no-where. 2. No, this was not the only cow bench.  We drove on several cow-bench-lined paths. 3.  Yes I said ‘drove’.  We sped around this ridiculous outdoor museum/park/farm/fun fest in a golf cart. And did donuts and drove on the sidewalk and yelled ‘hello! How are you!’ at passing families.  I think Taiwan is the only place where a lot of people really like when you do that.  Well…not the donut part…but the random English exclamations.  4. Yes, there were also large dinosaur statues in the part of this park-like place called ‘Jurassic Park’.  5.  Yes of course there was a ridiculously large statue of a gorilla, placed strategically in the middle of the path so that when you drive up you have a nice view of his ass.  6. No, we didn’t milk any cows…but I think we could have.

After a full day of awe-inspiring nature, a failed attempt to eat hot pot (we asked for only chicken and pork and we got a pot full of sea creatures and random meat parts…and Steve swears something was still moving), followed by pizza and pi jiu (beer), we were excited for what adventures Chen (the driver) had in store for us the following day.

Which brings us to the most random day by far of our trip.  The weather was crappy, so our plans to go to the beach were scrapped.  But no worries. Chen had several more adventures up his sleeve.  The day started early and by 9:30am we found outselves on a penguin paddle boad, paddling around a lake in the rain.  

Alright so stop number 1: paddle boats.  Stop number 2: aforementioned ‘amusing animal/golf cart museum’.  Again Chen just shooed us out of the car and drove away.  Stop number 3: traditional Taiwanese lunch.  For most of the time we were with Chen, he kept offering to take us to ‘mac don laow’ (translation: McDonalds), and every time we declined, not necessarily wanting to fill the American stereotype.  But after the funny farm, we were ready for some somewhat reliable food and more than excited for some fried goodness.  Oh no….Chen had other plans.  He took us to this ‘famous’ restaurant that only had 6 things on the menu: pork (that was pretty unidentifiable), chicken ( it came out cold, on the bone, with layers of skin, fat, ligaments and other fun stuff), boiled cabbage, bamboo, and 2 other things I couldn’t identify in a line-up.  So we opted for the chicken, bamboo (I thought it was a type of noodle from the picture.  whoops), and cabbage (again, the picture looked more like spinach. stupid deceiving picture menu).  

So in conclusion…we helped ourselves to a few bowls of white rice and some pi jiu and called it a meal.  During this entire dining experience, waitresses came up to us and asked to take a picture of us, and then with us.  And as we were leaving, the owner asked us to take a picture in front of the restaurant, so they could hang it up on their wall alongside all of their famous guests.  

The night wraps up with getting yelled at in Chinese, pissing off Chen (we still really don’t know what we did), McDonalds, 20 piece chicken nuggets and Freedom Writers.

Recently I discovered a magical place that I can’t believe I have remained oblivious to for over 8 months.  A few nights ago, we ran into some foreigners at a nearby night market who told us they had just come out of ‘MTV.’  Now feeling quite confident in my Taiwanese extracurricular activities and having lived here for almost a year and never hearing MTV except in reference to the TV channel, I thought surely these poor foreigners were confused and meant KTV (karaoke).  But no…I was the ‘poor foreigner’ because there exists in Taiwan this phenomenon called ‘MTV’= movie television.  Of course I was intrigued, so the next weekend my friends and I packed a bag of snacks and some beer and headed off to the HUGE neon lights (still can’t believe I remained blind to that one) that read ‘MTV’.  

We go in the bottom floor which reveals nothing but a bunch of movie posters. So we head to the elevator where there is no indication of which floor we should aim for.  So to be safe, and fairly logical, we go for the second floor.  Well this elevator seemed to have a mind of its own, so it took us to the 3rd floor instead.  We stepped into a Blockbuster-type room with shelves and shelves of movies that you could rent..from old to new releases.  After trying to decide what movie to watch (which is probably the single hardest task to complete with a group of people) and finally picking Inside Man (great film, by the way) we were guided to our own private viewing room.  The room was basically one large couch with lots and lots of pillows.  The film was then projected onto a fairly large screen and then we got to lounge and snack and talk and drink until the movie ended.  It was awesome!  I heard MTV makes a pretty good alternative to a hotel room…just rent The 10 Commandments twice and you’re set for the night! (and of course it is open 24 hours).  So if you ever find yourself stumbling drunk in Taiwan, and don’t know where to go and can’t afford a cab home or a hotel room…just head towards the neon lights, grab another beer, and let the dulcet tones of Moses drift you to sleep.

Over Chinese New Year (and a 3 week vacation from school!) Vicky, Dan and I decided to go to Thailand and do a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat.  We also planned a few days in Bangkok before and after in Thailand, so we would feel like we had a little bit of true vacation.  

So let’s start with Bangkok.  It was indescribably nice to see a true metropolitan area that thrived on tourism.  I know that sounds bad, but you have no idea how much we missed a. good food, b. a variety of food, and c. amazing American chains such as Dairy Queen.  So we spent our first day at the National Palace which was the blingiest, decked out temple/building I’ve ever seen.  It was sparkling with gold…and sparkly stuff.

There is a dress code to get into the temple grounds, and since its so friggin’ hot in Bangkok (I believe one of the hottest cities in the world), Vicky and I were obviously wearing tanktops, which are apparently not cool with Buddha.  But lucky for us, there is this little station where you can rent ‘respectible’ clothes that fit over your normal clothes.  This comes down to a long wrap-around skirt and smock-type shirts (like what we wore in art class in elementary school so you wouldn’t paint yourself…or your neighbor.)  This resulted in Vicky and I looking FAB-U-LOUS, (while Dan only got boring scrubs.) Watch out Project Runway!

After that, we dedicated our time to eating good food and getting cheap Thai massages.  Now if you have never had a Thai massage…well there are really no words to aptly describe the experience.  So you’re laying on a mattress…on the floor (at least where we went) and you are in nurse’s scrubs.  Then the masseuse comes in and proceeds to massage your entire body, using her entire body.  You get twisted and pulled and pushed…there’s a point where she’ll stand on your back and legs and butt.  You get turned in directions you never thought possible, and as much full body contact as there is, there is nothing remotely sexual or disturbing about it–which is a plus.  So you leave slightly dazed, but ready to go back again. I would warn against more than one per day though.  I can’t imagine you’d be able to walk.

One of the days after the retreat we decided to go see a movie.  We heard that movie theatres in Thailand are riDONKulously luxurious (kinda like the Kaohsiung MRT), so we decided…’what the hell!?’  There were plenty of Oscar noms out, so we decided to see Revolutionary Road with Leo and Kate.  So we get to the movie theatre, and the VIP seats that we bought (when going delux…go all out) had its own special theatre and a private lounge where you could get a free drink and snack before the movie.  Then you get to a room with about 20 EZchairs total…and these are reclining comfy leather chairs, complete with foot stool, pillows and blankets.  

It was probably the best movie-watching experience of my life.  And before the movie started, there was an ode to the King of Thailand, for lack of a better description, where we noticed everyone else in the theatre stood up as basically an infomercial for the king was played on the screen.  We had no idea what we were supposed to do, so we felt it best to sink lower in our chairs and play the ‘I’m foreign and have no clue’ card.

RETREAT!!

Our retreat center was a few hours north of Bangkok.  After a WAAAY too stressful cab ride to the shuttle bus, we were on our way to the Dhamma Kamala Center in Prachinburi, Thailand.  The first day was orientation and getting situated.  Our vow of silence started at about 6pm on January 28th and ended about 11am on February 8th.  We were not supposed to talk to anyone other than the teacher, and then staff for any logistical problems.  The silence was actually the easiest part of the 10 days.  Its nice not to feel like you have to talk for the sake of talking…and plus, if you really need to have a ‘conversation’, you can make up an imaginary mind friend…like I did.  Its one time where you can talk to yourself and not be considered totally crazy!

We were only allowed 2 meals a day, and they were all vegan, and suprisingly filling and delicious.  After the noon meal, we were only allowed tea.  If you were weak, like many of us were for several evenings, you could have some crackers and fruit.  All other time was spend meditating, either by yourself or in a big meditation hall.  Once we were a little more practiced, we were given a cell. woo-ee!  But seriously, my cell was like the best place ever.  Because it wasn’t too tempting, like your bed, so you could usually avoid going to sleep.  and the floor was cool…and you could strip down to your undies if it was too hot, which it often was, and no one would know/care.  and it was quiet and dark, which are really essential if you are trying to clear your mind from distraction.  So cell = awesome.  

 There were many times during the week when I wanted to run away and I literally wanted to punch myself for not choosing to go to a beach or some place relaxing.  Instead I was sitting straight for hours on end, sometimes bored to tears or fidgety as all hell.  But it was a great experience!  I came out of it feeling the healthiest I have for a really long time, both mentally and physically.  It’s not for everyone, that I can tell you.  But if you have any interest, and 10 free days, I would suggest it.  I was relatively productive though, especially for having no contact with the outside world, no books, no paper or pencil, no music, no nothing.  I composed about 8 emails in my head, a few blog entries (thus the slightly ridiculous Christmas poem), some life plans, my visiting friends’ trip itineraries, and what I was going to eat for the first few days back in Taiwan.  Not too shabby, I must say.

So for those of you interested, here’s the schedule we had to follow for the time we were at the center:

4:00 a.m.---------------------Morning wake-up bell

4:30-6:30 a.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room 

6:30-8:00 a.m.----------------Breakfast break

8:00-9:00 a.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall

9:00-11:00 a.m.---------------Meditate in the hall or in your room

                                according to the teacher's instructions

11:00-12:00 noon--------------Lunch break

12noon-1:00 p.m.--------------Rest, and interviews with the teacher

1:00-2:30 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room 

2:30-3:30 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall

3:30-5:00 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or in your room

                                according to the teacher's instructions

5:00-6:00 p.m.----------------Tea break

6:00-7:00 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall

7:00-8:15 p.m.----------------Teacher's Discourse in the hall

8:15-9:00 p.m.----------------Group meditation in the hall

9:00-9:30 p.m.----------------Question time in the hall

9:30 p.m.---------------------Retire to your room; lights out

So this is old news for many and new news for some, but over Christmas and New Years my family (mom, dad and sister) came to visit!  The trip was planned for a while ever since we figured that none of us could deal too well with a divided Christmas celebration. Since Christmas break is non-existent in Taiwan except for the occasional Catholic school, and I still had to work (side note: working on Christmas day= not fun), the troops decided to have a very Asian Christmas.

Some general highlights:

1. Hello Kitty Bakery. Yes…you read that right.  There is a bakery dedicated to the production of ridiculously lavish Hello Kitty inspired cakes and even hamburgers (!) in a frilly (and entirely pink) environment.  Think life-size doll house.

2. SPORTS DAY!!  My family was invited as special guests at my school’s sports day.  This is basically a full Saturday afternoon of small children running around a track. Not much variety in the ’sports’, I must say.  The games were limited to relay races and a few individual sprints.  The opening ceremony, however, was probably the best thing since sliced bread.  We were asked to sit on stage, in front of the whole school, while people gave speeches and the entire student body marched around the track, class by class.  Each class had a theme…so it was basically like the Macy’s Day Parade…only with small Taiwanese children and no floats…and Sponge Bob Squarepants costumes…

and the ‘cast’ of 300…

Just to name a few.

3. New Year’s Eve EXTRAVAGANZA!!! ok…so we really didn’t do much on New Years Eve.  We actually tried to go to this highly recommended western (read: American owned) restaurant, but when we got there, there were no seats available until 11pm.  Then we walked down to a Taiwanese restaurant, where they told us to wait…and then after waiting for 20 minutes and watching countless other Taiwanese families filter in and just sit down, we figured they were avoiding the Americans.  By that time most other restaurants were closed, even the 3 in our hotel, so my sister and I took a late night scooter ride to Subway while my parents stocked up on drinks and snacks from 7-11 (mom hadn’t learned at that point to be extra observant when picking things out and missed the dried little silver fish on the package of peanuts. One word: gross).  So our Taiwanese New Year’s Eve was spent watching countless episodes of MacGyver Season 4 and eating sandwiches on the beds in the hotel room.  I personally thought it turned into a fantastic night.

4.  Aside from Sport’s Day, my family came into school with me for a few days where we had an ‘American culture’ presentation in my classes.  This consisted of: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, mini candy canes, Small American flags, and a short home video collage of various holidays (ex. 4-year old Dani in my pretty pretty princess outfit for Halloween…this was also trying to show that Halloween costumes don’t have to be scary, but I don’t think the message got through.)  in addition to these presentations, my classes got to teach my mom, dad and sister some Chinese.  My parents (kinda) got ‘I am Dani’s mom/dad’ = ‘Wo shi Dani de mama/baba’ by the 7th class of the week.  (Hey…it was darn cute seeing them try though.  And my students were so excited to teach them…that alone was worth it.)  My sister was able to graduate from ‘I am Dani’s little sister’= ‘Wo shi Dani de meimei’ to ‘My name is Becca’ = ‘Wo de mingzi jiao Becca’.  She got a little flustered when all the kids burst out laughing whenever she said her name, though.  Apparenty ‘Becca’ sounds like the Chinese word for shell=‘bèi ké’, but by the way the kids were laughing, you would think it meant something more like monkey butt or poo.  It was also rather amusing to see the kids expressions when we described a typical American elementary school (aka. 9-3:30, no nap (!!), kids don’t have to clean the school, etc.)

Parents’ more memorable moments:

1.  Having to give an impromptu speech on stage in front of the entire staff and student body at my sports day.  Dad was even able to squeeze in a few Chinese words! (If you ever meet or see my dad, just ask him how to say hello to a large group of people.)

2. Grinding and mixing his own tea in a traditional stone bowl.  It sounded intriguing on the menu…what little English there was about it, but it turned out to be quite an elaborate process.

4.  Getting kidnapped by my host family until 1am.  A little background: We were invited to New Years Day lunch with my host family at this really nice 5 star restaurant.  Like most Taiwanese outings tend to do, this simple lunch turned into an all-day adventure.  We walked around a large department store where my host family insisted on buying every one of us beautiful art pieces.  Then a trip to a distant fruit farm where we were given a huge box of ‘milky jujubees’ (??I think we decided they were some species of date), a quick stop at a nearby lake and Chiang Kai-Shek’s old summer house or something grandiose like that (at this point I’m starting to feel either extremely carsick, food sick, or just plain sick), a detour at their house where we all got to try the most amazing massage chair known to man, drink tea and eat random Taiwanese snacks.  We also somehow accumulated about 10 oranges and a big bunch of bananas–now keep in mind my parents are leaving in 3 days and there’s no way on earth I could eat that much fruit by myself.  So we end the night at this really famous, really delicious Japanese restaurant where foreign presidents have to eat at before leaving Taiwan.  Well I don’t know if it was actually delicious because my stomach was doing more flips than a trapeze artist, so raw fish and fried…parts…was not looking too appealing at the moment.  So my host uncle, Mr. O, made an off-comment about my dad joining him later in the evening for drinks and ‘man talk’. This was a Taiwanese off-comment, so in otherwords it was a strong suggestion.  Since I was sick and my sister is too young for drinks, my mom was just going to stay at the hotel with us, but we left dinner with the impression that we were all going back to the hotel, and then later Mr. O would pick up my dad, and my mom if she wanted to join, and go get a few drinks.  WRONG IMPRESSION.  Becca and I had been riding in a different car than my parents for the whole day, so we weren’t suspicious of anything, UNTIL we pulled up to the hotel and my host sister said, ‘Ok, well if you need to talk to your parents for anything you can just call my cell phone! Bye!’ and then sped off.  Meanwhile my parents are in a different car that shadily started going in the opposite direction of where we came from and from our hotel and were taken to a bar down the street.  Alone in our hotel room, we figured out that mom and dad had been captured, and were forced to spend the night downing shots and participating in ‘man talk’, which was mostly in Chinese.  They were returned at about 1:30am.  Bec and I got dropped off at 9.  I laughed. A lot.

3.  Walking through a night market that when described sounds more like a massacre covered in soy sauce.  What with all of the innards, organs, feet, necks, brains, hearts, legs, eyes…I think they finally understood a. my need for granola bars and b. my love of Subway and uncharacteristic trips to McDonalds.

4.  People stopping us in Taipei and asking to take a picture.  This was not limited to Taiwanese people either.  2 Indian men came up to me, my mom, and Becca and said ‘Hello.  Can we take a picture for you?’.  We thought that meant, ‘Oh, hello.  You look like a nice family.  If you would like, I can take a picture of the 3 of you for you.’  What that really meant was ‘We will stand next to you while our friends take a picture of us with WHITE PEOPLE!! IN TAIWAN!!’  

Becca’s more memorable moments:

1.  Riding on the back of my scooter.

2. A guy throwing up on the side of the road.

3. Stray dogs gettin’ busy in the middle of the street.

4. Buying boots w/ da fur.

I guess a trip to Taiwan isn’t as entertaining for all ages…but I’m sure she has some stories to tell.

I know the Christmas season has come and gone, but I feel that I did not give justice to my first Christmas away from home.  Plus I recently had a LOT of time to think (which will be a topic on its own) and in these hours of self-entertainment, I conducted a short poem.  I apologize for its cheesiness…but isn’t that what the holidays are all about??

A Taiwanese Christmas

‘Twas the evening of Christmas and all were away

From our families and homes where we usually stay.

We all worked that day and the next day as well.

Pretty weird for our Christmas but a good story to tell.

Still the stockings were hung and our puppy was dressed

In a cute little sweater that was sure to impress.

And a fake Christmas tree hung with lights on a rope,

With ornaments of actors from a Taiwanese soap.

Then our friends started coming.  They brought good food and cheer.

(and we’re all in our 20s but yet no one brought beer?!)

Dan carved the turkey and I poured the wine,

And we all served ourselves in a buffet-style line.

There was cocoa and Bailey’s and ridiculous sweaters,

In attempt to feel cold in this Taiwanese weather.

We watched a new movie and made gingerbread men.

Overall I’d give the night a 9 out of 10.

But the thing that was missing I’d personally say,

were the people I’m usually with on this day.

But my family was coming to town the next night,

My Taiwanese Christmas turned out pretty alright.

So there you are…the product of 10 days of silence (that story to come…)

A few weeks ago I decided to get a scooter, since it is the most fashionable and most convenient way to get around in Taiwan.  However, in order to drive a scooter, I had to get my Taiwan driver’s license.  This consisted of two parts: written test and driving test.  I felt like I was 16 again! Except this time, the written part was a little more unnerving.  Here are a few sample questions to show just how important correct translation can be:

True or False:

You can zigzag on the road and change lanes at will, this will not cause accidents.

Multiple Choice:

Motorcyclist’s clothing: (1) is free (2) slippers are ok (3) must be clean
You slip and fall due to oil stains on the road, you must: (1) forget it and leave (2) report to the nearest police station (3) use tree branches or other signs to warn other cars

If a motorcyclist wants to show national pride, enhance social safety and family happiness, he/she must: (1) drive ethically and obey the laws (2) have great driving skills (3) stop smoking and drinkingThe tip for the motorcyclist to solve complex and critical events is: (1) calm and safe (2) to be an adventurer (3) optimistic and let it be

I am a good driver, I obey all traffic laws, I want the highway patrol to: (1) be more strict (2) be relaxed (3) just check but not report
As to ensure the motorcyclist’s and others’ safety, you must: (1) control oneself and help others (2) prevent others to argue (3) think some ways to hurt others
And my favorite:
When a motorcyclist is not happy, usually he/she: (1) is emotionless (2) is not compassionate (3) is angry

Think you have the smarts to pass the written test? Give it a go!! Let me know how you do, cuz it definitely took me a few times to get the hang of it! Motorcycle written test 

So now you can find me scoot scooting around Taiwan on my very pink, slightly ghetto scooter, leopard-print (lined) helmet, and Hello Kitty facemask.  (Picture coming soon)

This past Wednesday my students participated in the city-wide Readers’ Theatre competition.  Here’s a quick rundown of the contest:

• one team per school
• 5-8 students
• original script preferred
• no large props
• performance should be 5 minutes long

On Saturday we were invited to go with Dan’s school’s faculty on an all-day field trip.  This started at 8:30 in the morning when we all piled on a classic ‘luxury’ tour bus, complete with fringed curtains.  And what would a tour in Taiwan be without karaoke?? That’s right, every minute we spent on the bus (which included 1 hr. and 30 minutes to reach our destination and the same on the return home) was dedicated to singing all sorts of Chinese, Taiwanese, and aboriginal songs…at a volume level that has probably limited my  hearing ability for life.

I know I can never give justice to this experience, but this video might give you a little glimpse of the awesomeness that is bus-karaoke: We should get paid for this

Our first stop was an incense factory where we saw incense sticks being made, along with a small museum dedicated to the art and history of incense. stick-making video.

This museum even has a working hotel in it with different scented rooms made from various incense materials.  If you were so inclined, you could stay a night in a lavender or tea-tree scented room and experience full incense-immersion.

Chandeliers made almost entirely out of incense sticks. I imagine they'd be quite a sight to see once lit.

After our tour, we were taken to the restaurant that is attached to the museum.  Now it should be noted, that unless I’m eating Western food here, I usually go the vegetarian root.  At least when the menu is pre-chosen, otherwise I’m sure to get mucho fish and unidentifiable meats.  Lunch and dinner were included in this tour package, so I opted to go veg.  For some odd reason they put the vegetarians at a completely seperate table, probably for ease of service.  Now this wouldn’t have been so bad/awkward if Vicky and I weren’t the only vegetarians.  So there were two round tables of about 10 people each, and then a huge table for me and Vicky.  It kind of felt like we were being punished for not eating meat.  I can kind of understand this for the lunch (pictured above) since we got hot-pot which in itself is rather big and everyone else was eating family-style.  Maybe they thought it would take up too much room at the table.  Ok.  Fine.  But this meat-eating bias came up again at dinner where we once again had to sit far away from everyone else and all of the cheersing and drinking and merriment.  And our meal definitely didn’t take up too much room then.  But oh well.  We entertained ourselves.

Now rewind a bit to after lunch.  We left the incense factory and headed to a traditional candy ‘factory’.  I put it in quotes because it was a small store that was located in the basement of the owner’s house.  But I guess they do make their own candy, thus warranting the title ‘factory’.  

We got to try a bunch of the traditional candies, cakes and seaweed cookies!  

After Willy Wonka’s side shop, we went to a large local temple.

Here we got to offer incense and candy (appropriate considering our previous detours) to the gods.  And then–highlight of the day– we got to meet our semi-god guardian (assigned to us by the year we were born, for us the year of the Tiger.)  We even got to drink some of his sacred water held in a little cup in front of him.

While at the temple, Dan’s co-teacher, Spencer, showed and explained the meaning behind many of the decorations.  The temple, like many other religious houses I’ve seen, contained most of its historical stories and teachings in the art forms filling and surrounding the building.  He specifically pointed out the tile-mosaic decoration on the roof, which turned out to be the focus of our next destination.  

We went to a ceramic museum where we got to see many different kinds of ceramic designs as well as the ceramic-making process.    This is typical of the designs found on the roofs of temples.  This specific dragon-fish (which happens to be the symbol of Kaohsiung) is unique in that it was created solely out of ceramic bowls.  

After the ceramic museum we found our way to a well-known Japanese restaurant in a town outside of Kaohsiung.  Once again, Vicky and I found ourselves banished from all carnivorous tables.  But we were called over when a birthday cake was brought out in celebration of four November birthdays, including our dear Spencer.  

And yes.  That is a Maltese (dog) cake.

I have to admit that when learning a language, it was always fun to know a few bad words: merda, bastardo, Scheiße… you get the picture.  You could swear and your friends and your teachers wouldn’t know what you were saying and thus you couldn’t get yelled at! Come on! How awesome is that?  

Ok, now take that scenario and reverse it.  What do you do when your 11 year old student comes up to you and asks, “Teacher, what does ‘Fuck you’ mean? ” over and over and over again.  Do you admit its a bad word and he shouldn’t say it, obviously encouraging a small boy to say it continuously.  Or do you pretend it means nothing, and risk them walking around saying ‘Fuck you!’ to everybody.  My gut reaction was to tell him it was bad.  That way at least he knew for certain it was bad, since chances are he was going to repeat it anyway.  

Sure enough, 2 minutes later I hear ‘Fuck you! Fuck you!’ in the hall…followed by laughter and more Chinese.

Oh the joys of teaching.