After training ended, it was time to move into my apartment!! During training, we were told where we would be teaching and that the school would help us find an apartment near by. It was a little crazy going from training all day to looking at apartments at night, but it must by done!! By the end of the search, I decided on a place close to my school and in downtown Taipei. A little pricey but a great location!! (and still cheaper than what I would have paid at home) On August 5th, we all had to leave the hotel and go to our apartments or cities, for those of the teachers that were placed else where in Taiwan. It was a sad day watching everyone part ways but we all still talk in one form or another.

After a short taxi ride, I arrived at my apartment. However, the room I signed on to rent still have someone living in it, so I lived in an empty room down the hall. The transition room was much bigger than the room I was renting and kept forgetting that I would not be living here for a year. I spent half a week in this room before I could move down the hall into my real room. During this time, I met with teachers in my school and was shown around the area by the director of the schools in that area. Her name is Vicki and she helped me get adjusted into the new life I was about to start. I live near Taipei 101 which is one of the tallest buildings in the world!! Also, the Living Mall is a 5 minute walk from my place and it 8 floors with a movie theatre in one of it's 2 basement levels. I explored some in my first few days, and watched lots of tv too!!

I also began to observe other teachers teach class and got the chance to take notes on what they did. Eventually, I began to teach half a class with a more experienced teacher. This helped out a lot. Soon I began to get the names of the students and become better at lesson planning. A week or so later, I began to teach a class alone. At first it was a little rocky, but gradually got better. Every day I am learning new and better ways to teach English and become a better teacher!!