Shake, rattle and roll!
So Mr. Talking Traveller, you’ve got us coming back to your page only to see no new updates during this last month! What’s been happening? Are you losing your way?
Ahem. This last month has had quite some prominent events that are quite worth mentioning. Imagine yourself sound asleep in your bed, drifting somewhere on a pink cloud when suddenly your dream starts transforming into something with rhythm. It is a rhythm that is not really scary or overwhelming but it does arouse some fear that creates a tight feeling in your chest. The reason for the fear is because the rhythm is uncontrollable. It is external to your locus of control. Your mind frantically starts searching for reason to end this confusion and creates ideas and vivid pictures of you experiencing a series uncontrollable muscle spasms, a white dog humping your leg, a monster under your bed, a stranger or lost loved one shaking you awake. Then you suddenly enter a more conscious state due to that fact that your bed is tapping against the wall. You greet the reality and realize that you are in Taiwan and you are experiencing your first earthquake! Within a few seconds you and your half-asleep roommates are standing in doorways giggling at the sight of each other. Fortunately the earthquake did not cause any damage in or near to the area that I live in, so I’m ok, it happened about a week ago.It is the start of a new semester. Six months has past since I first started teaching and I have gained some valuable experience and self-training. This semester I have been given much more working hours and greater responsibilities. Payday for August passed a few days ago and I caught myself sitting in my room, cash in hand, staring at the biggest salary I have ever earned. I realized that I earned this without having to perform any serious intellectual of physical labor. No sweeping of floors, carrying furniture, selling food or pulling of weeds. No studying of datasheets, doing calculations or figuring out how to program the right protocols enabling a certain electronic signal to resonate with a certain frequency at a certain time. I earned this by performing emotional labor. I earned this by controlling and creating emotion in myself and children through clearly spoken words and actions.I earned this by creating emotion and confidence in myself to speak out words in a very articulate way and controlling my emotions not to get upset or angry when there is too much talking and too little discipline. I create emotions of confidence, understanding and joy in children regarding their competence of the English language.
In terms of speaking challenges, I started my Chinese classes at the university this week and it is a wonderful feeling not be overwhelmed by the fear of speaking while sitting a classroom awaiting your gauranteed speaking turn. We have an excellent teacher that only uses Chinese to teach Chinese! We have to perform homework assignments and will be writing a mid-semester and a final exam. Another “upgrade” it that one of the classes that I teach is at a senior high-school. Definate not the kindergarten or the elementary students minds that I’m used to. Neatly dressed, with a warning of “no physical contact” hovering in my mind I teach without having to be a clown or worry too much about discipline.This enables able to direct all my focus on explaining comprehension and pronunciation, and keeping students awake!!
Keep watching as I will be changing my mantra and blog face soon. And some new photo’s and more posts on “the stutter” will be uploaded in due time. Thank you. TT
