Alison, working

 

laughing at me!

 

the Immersionary team

 

Immersionary

People have been asking about my company, the reason we decided to locate ourselves in Taiwan. Immersionary is heading in three directions: designing English teaching materials (my project), training teachers in the philosophy and research behind the materials (also my job) and getting a grass-roots movement going that might change the shape of language education in this country. We're thinking now that the best way to start is small classes, taught by teachers out of their own houses -- a tutoring program, with the teachers all trained to use the materials and signing up students on their own. This program can give teachers some extra income, some students a great intensive English course, and a lot of flexibility for all concerned.
The philosophy and research is where I get excited. I am such a strong advocate for children, and all the teaching I'm doing reflects that. I feel nearly evangalistic as I give lectures, with great humor and respect for the fine teaching that is being done here already.

Scooter Sense

Ok. Some basic rules of the road for scooter driving.

Things you can't do while riding on a scooter:

1. Eat. This means, no eating breakfast on the run. Lunch is out of the question, and dinner, even a neatly rolled burrito is not a possibility.

why? Because on the scooter, your right hand is on the throttle. Your left hand is just, you know, holding the thing up, and steering, and operating the breaks, and holding a burrito is out of the question.

2. Think. About anything other than driving the scooter.

why? Because if your mind wanders to your list of things to get done, or to McKinley's vibrato, or to how many days it is before Anika comes home for Christmas, or to the new book you want to write, within the first breath of thought, a road bump will come and smack you on the rear, and you're jerked back into scooter-reality.

3. Talk on the cell phone. I know it's not a good idea in a car, but it is a really bad idea on a scooter.

why? Because of the aforementioned bumps in the road, and the other minor distractions, like random limping dogs (like cars with dented sides, a limping dog is a dog too dumb to get out of the way of a car) or blue farm trucks that know no law but their own, or speeding scooters or 18-wheelers (not too many of these here, but enough to cause a backdraft sometimes) or opening car doors or slow blinking yellow lights that suddenly turn red, or green lights that appear to be green in both directions because of the car speeding through the red side, or.... oh! of course! the helmet. You just can't hear well enough through the helmet!

Things you can do on a scooter:
1. be in the moment. It's nearly meditative. Totally zen. Gentle vibrations from the purring motor, coupled with lunging bumps on the road provide a perfect meditative environment, as long as you stay precisely in the moment and don't wander into profound spiritual thoughts at any time.

2. feel the breeze. Be it cool just becasue you are moving through it, or cooler because it really is cool air, salt air, smokey air, blue-sky air, the breeze in Taitung is blessed and wonderful. There truly are maz moments when you zip underneath the pink blossom trees, driving over fallen pink blossoms like an orchid carpet, and the sky is brilliant and the mountains are just right -- there, and the sea on the right hand side, almost near enough to splash the mountains -- you're much more alive on a scooter.

3. smell. This is the ultimate. Sometimes a smell is so sweet and complex, a flower, but one I've never sensed before, that I just pull to the side of the road and search for the source. Sometimes the smell is strong enough to make me accelerate. The open sewers, running at the side of the streets, when the vapors rise, it is an unplesant scent. But the open market, when they deep fry rotten tofu, the scent is more like things that should have been burried weeks ago. Truly horrifiyng. People say it is tastier than it smells. I say anything that smells that bad is nature's sign that it is not to be eaten. But the woodsmoke, or the money-smoke, because there are street-side barbecues (see August photo) where people burn packets of 'money' at least once a month for good fortune, and the flames and the smoke curl into the air like promises.