Monday, July 7, 2008

Engrish names

So, most people here, for the convenience of foreigners, choose an English name. I have to admit, it helps a lot in class, seeing as I have something like 42 different students now. There are various methods used for choosing a name. Some hear a name that they like and use it as their own, while others choose to honor a hero (usually an athlete or celebrity), and a few people take their Chinese name and choose the closest sounding Anglo name. All can have interesting results.
Some of them are what you'd call run-of-the-mill (in an old fashioned way): Esther, Joyce, Eileen, Carol...
Others are a little more more modern: Aliyah, Katrina, Jessica.
And then there are the unforgettable ones: Moss, Kia, Apple, Cherry...
But for me, one stands out above the rest. I have a student who has hands-down one of the best self-given names I've heard so far: Champion. Champion Chu. Could it be one of the best names ever?

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Jingmei Girl's High School

So I did it. I hopped off the bus in front of the old high school I'm obsessed with and worked up the guts (and an excuse as to why I was there) to walk onto the grounds. I don't know what I was worried about, because the "security guard" didn't even look up when I walked by. The place was awesome. I didn't venture past the front of the huge grounds, because I got nervous that someone would stop me and ask what the hell I was doing there, but I took a stroll around the perimeter and got a glimpse of some of the other buildings on the campus.
Here are the main structures that I see from the street every day:







Click here for more... Oh I also added a photo album of retro window cages, gates, tiles, etc that I keep seeing around town. You can see it here.
Next photo adventure topic: It's always Christmas in Taiwan.