English | Taiwaneers

Ernie Said It Well

Michael's Posts, Our Friends Orphanage, Our Taipei Life 2 Responses »

Jan 122012

“It was a long time since I had written to the States and I knew I should write but I had let it go so long that it was almost impossible to write now. There was nothing to write about.”

As Emily and I read in A Farewell To Arms this evening we came across the line above and I knew I should get on here and write something…even though it seems there is nothing to write…even though I know that isn’t true.

It’s been just shy of two months since my last post. Since then Emily has been tutoring and teaching up a storm all over Taipei. She’s constantly going to this person’s house and that coffee shop to meet up with kids, adults, everyone, to give them a first rate hour of English instruction, and then on to the next place. I’ve been teaching as well. I’m working at two different cram schools now. It was three nights a week, but I just picked up some more hours so it will be every night of the week, which is good!!! I was also taking Chinese classes at the MLC, or Mandarin Language Center. I had a great teacher and a class with only six other students with three hours of instruction, five days a week, plus homework. I was learning a lot and moving fast. Unfortunately, I stopped going to try and find a morning teaching job and then when I didn’t find a morning teaching job I was too far behind to go back….oh, the regrets we rack up in this life….oh, well….I can console myself with the fact that I am still looking for a morning job….moving on.

The MLC was great and I thoroughly recommend it. It is cheaper than the other popular place to learn Chinese, NTNU’s MTC. Plus, I had heard ho hum stories about how at the MTC sometimes the teachers care and teach well and sometimes they aren’t so good. My short stint at the MLC now makes me an expert and I steer everyone that way!!! So remember don’t go to the MTC, go to the MLC.

I also finished another video since my last post. This one was for Our Friends Orphanage (OFO) in Takeo, Cambodia as a way to show the world what they are doing with their free after-school English classes. You can see it here: http://youtu.be/dM4NTCUX49A

A couple of months ago I posted an email from Samnang about all the flooding there in Cambodia. The water has receded now, thankfully, and lots of the farmers are scrambling to replant and get everything back to normal. I’ve also been contacting Samnang recently regarding concerns raised by Jen, another OFO volunteer who commented on one of my other posts. It is difficult sometimes to know how to communicate clearly with Samnang…and people from very different backgrounds from myself in general. We have such differing ideas about so much and that doesn’t even include the whole language difficulty. It makes me realize just how much simpler it is to communicate countryman to countryman.

Okay so I’ll make the last bit quick. Emily’s mother’s visit has inspired others and we are excited to hear that Emily’s brother is planning on coming for a few weeks in March! We are hoping for another great time with family! We also recently got to visit with our old friend Jonathan Williams and his beautiful fiance Katia Chen who were in town on a tour of Asia. Great times!

Lastly, if you know us on facebook you already know this part: After lots of thought and prayer, Emily and I have come to the conclusion that it is time to move back to the USA for a while. We’re going to miss all our friends here in Taiwan, but following Jesus is always the best. We haven’t bought tickets yet, but most likely it will be around the end of March when our lease is up. We’re still getting used to the idea, even though it has been a while in the making. Oi vei…sweet and sour my thoughts they wander.

The Threat of Losing My Treat is not that Great

Michael's Posts, University 1 Response »

Apr 152010

I’m sure we can all relate to my non-native English speaking classmates. Someone who is supposed to know everything, a teacher, does something that you think is wrong but aren’t sure about, so you assume you were wrong in thinking they were wrong, and then you adopt whatever they did, thinking that it must be right. This is their plight.

If I remember correctly it was a teacher who made the mistake originally in a ppt. And now my classmates have been doing it ever since.

This particular error happens all the time because these MCU teachers are always making us do presentations. And, because we are International Business and Management majors the likelihood that this particular mistake will happen is very high; since we are always doing SWOT analyses or Michael Porter’s Five Forces of Competition analyses. So, this word is always rearing it’s H’less head.

And it’s happened so many times and so regularly now that I don’t want to say anything to end it. It’s downright fun to be sitting there watching presentations and see that once again a student wrote “treat” in their ppt instead of “threat.” The amount of times it’s happened now rules out coincidental typos.

It’s the little things people. Am I wrong not to do anything while laughing on the inside at the absurdity of competitive treats?

Anybody else out there in blogland have another of these stories you can share with us? I love me my laughs.

A Kid with a New Toy

Michael's Posts No Responses »

Mar 242009

As our regulars will have noticed we have a new feature up on the menu. Ladies & Genleman…drum roll please…I give you the Nonsense Shirts Store!!! Its official, we’ve launched our first internet-based business selling t-shirts that don’t make any sense.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long time now. I’ve always thought the nonsense shirts here in Asia, also known as engrish shirts, were hilarious and I own several myself. I’ve used them on various occasions as gifts to friends and family. Needless to say I think they are spectacular and most of the time people agree with me….except for my Asian friends here in Taiwan who just consider them plain old shirts with bits of English on them.

My very first nonsense shirt was one I bought back in 2001 on my first trip to Taiwan with IBLP’s Children Institute Team! It had one of those stick people going through an exit door (you know the sort of drawing style that is used on bathroom signs and exit signs) with text that said “Reality From Escape”.

Since discovering engrish shirts its always been my dream to spread the merriment and earn a little bank while I’m at it. And its finally reality. Within 48 hours of the store’s launch we’ve had one person try and buy one only to discover a gliche and another person actually make a purchase right after the gliche was fixed. Several other people have been saying to look for their order soon!

I’m like a kid with a new toy. I can’t focus. I just keep on checking my email, and facebook, and Nonsense Shirts Store, and everything else looking for something new to feast my eyes on and think how great it is that Emily and I are now entrepreneurs!!!! I’m seriously out-of-control. I just got done bouncing around our apartment telling Emily how great this is as she tried to calm me down so she could do her homework.

My mind is working feverishly trying to figure out new ways to bring shipping (a huge portion of the cost) down and new ways to get the word out and blah blah blah. I catch myself thinking of all the work I’m creating for myself going to the post office all the time and sending emails and dealing with paypal and then I think: “yeah! Isn’t it great I’m creating all this work for myself!!!” God is so good to me to give me this idea and then give me nice people who are generous enough to think the idea’s good enough to fork over some of their hard-earned money.

I’m so grateful to my dad for establishing in me an entrepreneurial spirit early in life. He helped me start my own business when I was really young setting me up with a snack honor-box at his place of work. He’d take me to Sam’s Club, get me stocked up on candy-bars and salty-snacks and get me down to the office on a regular basis to re-stock and count the dough. He even taught me about keeping records and monitoring shrinkage. Thanks dad for all your training and love!

There you have it! A few days ago there was no such thing as the Nonsense Shirts Store and now it not only exists, it has customers!!!