GONG XI FA CAI

long, long ago, in rural china, a group of villagers found themselves in a very uncomfortable predicament. an unruly monster named nian'shou would visit them each year on the chinese new year and mercilessly harass them. they did their best to defend themselves, but he rejected their attempts at pacification and continued on his rampage. he even ate their friends and family members.

one year, a wise villager named vicky reached the end of her rope. she was sick and tired of nian'shou's evil ways. as she considered her options, an unwittingly fabulous boy named jonathan came frolicking to the foreground. it dawned on vicky that jonathan had been the lone adolescent survivor of nian'shou's repeated attacks... and that his sheer fabulousness was what set him apart. she hatched a plan.

taking inspiration from jonathan's avant garde wardrobe, vicky mobilized the villagers to deck the halls in red. she also suggested that they light explosives, as an added precaution. this time, when nian'shou sauntered into town, the villagers were ready. they shook him to his core with their fearless scarlet trimmings and rampant use of gunpowder. nian'shou ran for the hills and was never to be seen again. to this day, in the fight against mythical chinese beasts, red is the color of choice, and firecrackers the sound of music.

*gong xi fa cai & xin nian kuai le*
*happy year of the tiger!*

the little alligator who loved pizza

the little red hen is a cherished barnyard folktale about a carb-craving chicken and her entourage of slothful companions. the little green alligator is a taiwanese adaptation of said folk tale, with an alligator subtituting for a chicken, pizza filling in for bread, and an octopus, fish, frog, and rabbit standing in for the dog, cat, and duck.

for gaoshu elementary's 3-day winter break english camp, we decided to focus on the little red hen. we liked the theme of "no free lunch." we taught the bare bones of the traditional folktale, emphasizing key vocab such as "will you help me?," "no way," and "i don't THINK so!" then we had the kids pick their own animal principals & food craving, and voilà: the little green alligator who had to have a slice. by day 3, the last day of camp, the kids were ready to roll some dough and confront their protagonist in my backyard.

we rolled dough, we spread sauce, we added toppings (dried fish was a big hit & i was the only one surprised), we baked our personal pies... and waited... and finished illustrating our mini books... and waited... and performed... and then ate it all up.


as a surprise grand finale to the winter camp experience, i took everybody on a field trip to my house-- to check out the 3 alligators who live in my backyard! i'm not sure if the kids were most thrilled by the alligators, or by coming over to my house, or by the giant bottles of soda that they brought along for the walk.

photos: alligator creeping in for a closer look; leah's pizza masterpiece; the first batch; sophia's pizza pattern; fun with toppings; eva patiently waiting; the ensemble cast; justin and the gaoshu gator; 20 kids + sarah at my house

little friends

"xiao pengyou" is mandarin for "child," but it translates literally as "little friend." this term of endearment can be almost as charming as the little friends themselves. and the little friends have been gushing charm lately.

last week, gaoshu elementary had its annual 4k fun run. grades 3-6 followed a beautiful course through the farmland that surrounds our school. the teachers shot a pistol, and the great mass of little friends took off at a full sprint. 2 minutes later, half of the runners were good and tuckered out. they stayed the course, though, and through an admirable combination of full sprinting & bedraggled limping, made it to the finish line. i was the only teacher/inspirational jogger on the course.












gaoshu's little league baseball team is officially #1 in pingtung county. along with today's special assembly featuring 2 members of kaohsiung county's La New Bears professional team, the team has enjoyed such accolades as having their picture in the paper AND appearing on a nationally televised game show.


it's the end of the first term here, and that means heaps of junk food, empty desks awaiting 2nd semester workbooks, and pixar short films during english time. pixar is currently on exhibit in kaohsiung, so it seemed appropriate to show the kids some of their short films. turns out these films are genius in more ways than i could ever have predicted: at least 8 of the 13 tell riveting stories without a single word of spoken language. i couldn't get over the kids' reactions, even after 10 repeat screenings. they laughed so hard that some (warren on the left) nearly gave themselves concussions. brian, one of my 5th graders (as seen on tv), dropped everything to re-enact one film-- "geri's game," where geri (geriatric?) plays the most beautiful and solitary game of chess. one difference is that brian played go, but he also won the game.

photos: sarah's class stretches; pink sweater runs past lettuce; banana boys; frankie must pose by taro; mvp on channel 26; gaoshu cheers; warren's pain; 5th graders chortle; brian's game

your patience is requested

happy 2010 and welcome back, etc-roc'ers! we're experiencing some technical and logistical difficulties here at etc roc. not only has mike left the island, but my trusty 2005 ibook is no longer to be trusted. it has crashed, taking with it the last 5 years of photographic, musical, and text-based history. fortunately, i am viewing this only as a temporary setback and not a permanent catastrophe. in the meanwhile, i'll be scaling back my adventures to better complement my tiny, school-issued Eee PC "notebook" computer. tonight's big adventure: getting a library card and checking out books from a high school surrounded by colossal soybean fields and putrid duck farms! coming soon: riveting tales of sweatpant-scouting, mochi-making, and data-stalking.