Cleaning Lady

The cleaning lady came yesterday. Yes, that's right--the cleaning lady. For those who may not know what I am talking about, the cleaning lady is the lady who comes to clean my apartment at regular intervals. She comes with the apartment. I walked in the door after work to find the place not only spotlessly clean but also neatly straightened with everything in its place. That is just how my life here in Taiwan goes. Now, I imagine that there are three different responses to learning that I have a cleaning lady. A third of you just decided that moving to Taiwan is the best idea you have ever heard of and are wondering why you haven't been a resident of this fair, clean island for years. Another third just said, "Yeah, I have one too. I call her my wife." The last third really don't care, because you don't know what the word "clean" means and therefore don't know what the word "lady" means either. To the first third I have say that you are not issued a cleaning lady upon disembarking from the plane in Taiwan. As a matter of fact, I am the only person I know here who has one. To the second third I have nothing to say. Your wife is now saying enough. To the last third, that is disgusting. You may need a cleaning lady, but you probably don't deserve one. As for me, I am going to go on living the good life here on this tropical island. Excuse me a moment as I ring for a drink.

The regular semester starts for me this coming Monday. This means that I will begin making the trek out to the Neihu district six days a week. Some of you, upon learning that I will be working in Neihu, will immediately, and wrongly, suppose that I will be working at Gymbaby since it is "Children's first school for brain based learning." Neither am I working at George School of Language, Cherries English, or Happy Dancing Dinosaur School of Learning. No, I am working at a good school, and one with a decent name. Oxford is one of the best cram schools on the island. It has teachers who have cleaning ladies. In all seriousness, though, it seems that I have been blessed by landing at a really good school. The school seems to be committed to providing a good education, and everyone I have met there has been great. If I can just get used to teaching little kids I think I will really enjoy the job. I do love kids, but it might take a while for me to learn how to teach them English. I wouldn't mind your prayers as I try to adjust to my new job as well as life in a new country! I really would like to be a good teacher, but I have a lot to learn.

With the new, busy schedule that will hit me starting next week, I am not sure how often I will be able blog. This does not mean I will stop blogging. It just means that I may not be able to dash one off every week. Keep checking in! I enjoy staying in contact with people back home even in this small way. Maybe I can use the time I would generally devote to cleaning to blog. Or maybe I will just get my cleaning lady to blog for me.