I have now started school, and it is very different from school in America, so I figured I'd tell you all about it.
First off there are the uniforms. The exercise uniforms are pink/maroon for girls and blue for boys, and consist of sweatpants and an absorbent shirt (since everyone sweats so much). The non-exercise uniforms for girls are a white collared shirt, blue knee-length skirt, high white socks, and black dress shoes. Boys wear slacks and regular socks with their collared shirts and black shoes. So far we've had 2 uniform inspections... in 4 days!
Secondly, there is the cleaning. Taiwanese students clean their own schools, often multiple times each day. Some classes get twig brooms and sweep the exercise area; others sweep and mop the entrance area or their own classroom. My class cleans our room before lunch.
Another difference is the lunch arrangement. Some students eat in the dormitory cafeteria. Others have to buy their food from the on-campus restaurant (which is similar to the CNM cafeteria). I eat lunch and sometimes dinner in the dorm cafe. Of course, how food is eaten is also different here. Each person gets a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. We generally fill our bowls with rice, then top the rice with other foods from the other communal dishes. I'm getting much better with chopsticks! Another difference - lunch is an hour and fifteen minutes long because everyone naps on their desks after eating. The teachers *encourage* you to sleep in school!
Thanks for reading!
That is the coolest this ever! Ohhh my gosh are you succeeding at sleeping at school? I don't think I could do that... Sounds so much more healthy there! So cool cool cool....
ReplyDeletehaha nope. I have difficult sleeping whilst slumped over a hard wooden desk... so I've been trying sometimes and other times just chilling with people who can't/don't want to sleep either :) and yes, it is very healthy. Especially since I have volleyball practice every morning! I'm going to get in shape!!! :D
ReplyDeleteI love the nap thing. The students cleaning the joint probably makes a difference in how they take care of their school, since they will later clean it. It also reduces janitorial costs. Hey, our local schools could learn a thing or two ;-) Though, I think it would be going too far if they replaced elementary school recess with cleaning. LOL Chopsticks are easier to use when you have sticky rice, too! I learned that when I was stationed in S Korea.
ReplyDeleteHaha yes the glutinous rice is definitely easiest to eat :) and I'm getting much better with the chopsticks. I had known that I held them wrong, but hadn't been willing to work on correcting my grip. Now I can do it properly :D yay me! Haha
ReplyDeleteIt's so cool that you're there for school! I love hearing about the differences in our schools. If only we had naptime and cleaning time in school. I think it would make a big difference in student performance. :) I don't think I could sleep on a desk either, but then again, I've fallen asleep in school before haha. Take care!!! :D -Ian
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