Those two are my classmates. Also friends of Rachel - the girl who taught me Chinese before I went to Chihlee College. This picture was taken on a trip to Yingge which I have written about on boonbot.com. Link:

Yingge Ceramics Museum

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Allow me to make a short post today.

Every Wednesday I have Speech and Debate Class and then Pottery and Aesthetics afterwards. The latter is in Chinese so I usually can't participate in the class. Did have a question today though, and I was a bit surprised as I was handed this thing as reward. For asking a question. Wauw.

Actually I did notice on our first class that the teacher would hand out these as a reward to students with questions, but I was assuming that it would only be to get people to listen to something very important.

He's still giving out little gifts though. The teachers is a quite respected artist here so his works aren't worthless. Beautiful aren't they?

Taiwanese students don't really ask questions in classes. At all. You really have to have some extraordinary situation to get them to ask just a few questions, and even though this teacher is giving away gifts for every question he gets from the students, there's not many to come for.
I think this is partly caused by the high schools not really expecting questions from the students and because everyone is under so much pressure from their parents about having to be number one student, so they don't dare ask a question that might show some weakness. Poor teachers.

Honestly. High Schools, at least, are crap here. I can say that with some high degree of certainty because it's just so easy to see. (Besides, I went to a vocational high school myself. One that is rumoured to be somewhat worse than other schools in Taipei. It was a vocational one. I feel sorry for my previous classmates. They are good kids.)

It's probably some sort of cultural problem. People are just used to the high schools being crappy and learning people not to think, so they just accept it the way it is. Of course that makes for a lot of frustration amongst teachers in other education institutions. Especially the foreign teachers that I've met. But I guess it's the way it is all over Asia. I hear that Taiwan should be somewhat better than so many other Asian countries.

Anyway. I'll see this little trophy as a nice souvenir. ("Earned" free stuff just feels so much better than anything else won't you agree?)
I don't know what's more impressing about it: The packing or the content. Anyhow, this quite made my day I'd say.

On Chihlee College, I have pottery and aesthetics class every Wednesday. I'm taking the class because it will be an opportunity for me to listen to more Chinese and at the same time work a little with my hands, which will make it possible for me to participate and possibly have a little more fun even though I can't understand much of what the teacher says.

This wednesday was a little different. In the morning, as in every wednesday morning I had a speech and debate class (in english) with charismatic Tom Harper, who is an Irish new yorker and therefore celebrating Saint Patricks Day. After that, had to hurry and swallow some lunch as a bus was waiting to bring students to Yingge where our teacher lives and produces art for the president, national palace museum and whatnot.