Back-to-school orientation

 One of the main reasons we were so excited about the possibility of moving to Taiwan was that our boys would be able learn Chinese really well and gain a better understanding of the culture. With this goal, we began researching schools way before we even knew if Ben had the position or not. I envied my parents' position when they were in a similar situation a few decades ago: when I was a kid and my family had our expat assignment to France, it was an easy decision for my parents to put us in French public schools--there was no other option in our small town. After researching the options and receiving many answers to our prayers through help to network and open up doors, we were blessed with being able to enroll Ryley at a private bilingual Taiwanese school called "Wagor." Back in Utah, Ryley already had one year of Chinese/English dual-immersion school under his belt and this would be a similar situation--only flipped, with English as a second language instead of Chinese. To make sure that Ryley's Chinese foundation is strong enough and that he won't be too overwhelmed, he's going to stay in 1st grade again. We'll see how that goes.

 A week ago Saturday was 1st grade orientation. It was a wonderful icebreaker for both Ryley and me. We took a $3 taxi (have I mentioned how inexpensive they are?) together to his school and were able to walk into the classroom setting hand-in-hand. That definitely helped reduce anxieties. Most of the students already had their uniforms from summer camps. They are these preppy violet dress shirts with gray plaid shorts or skirts. Ryley's are ordered but won't arrive until later. Hopefully before the first day of school!

Ryley's homeroom teacher, "Teacher Stephanie", is his main ESL teacher who speaks very good English (obviously a job requirement). Out of the many 1st grade teachers, she was the willing soul who agreed to take on the extra burden of a foreign student with 2 foreign parents of non-Chinese speaking status. I could tell she felt the weight of the challenge. She is hopeful that a part-time 6th grade ESL teacher will be available to come tutor Ryley a few times per week and help him with homework and me with correspondence questions.

Part of the orientation included having a famous guest lecturer speak to the parents while the kids stayed in the classroom doing activities. He was apparently very funny. I clapped when everyone else did, but had a hard time laughing at the jokes I didn't understand :)

I did actually have the good fortune of meeting another American/Taiwanese family at our church the week prior and it turns out their daughter is going into 1st grade at Wagor too (but different teacher). Adam sat next to me at the assembly and did translate some. The parts I did get were very motivational. This gentleman works with troubled youth and helps them learn how to overcome adversity by learning how to unicycle--they do a trip around the entire island! His main message was emphasizing to parents to not force their children to conform to a specific mold (pressure to succeed at school exams, etc) and to help them focus on their strengths first and to build bridges to other things from there.


I think Ryley really enjoyed the orientation festivities. They went all out (based on their tuition rates, I think they have the resources for such things :) Ryely did have a moment of disillusionment, however, when their panda mascot took his head off to mop his river of sweat. I don't know how he managed not to pass out!