1. Who's this young man?
There are no young men in this office. Right now it's me and two of the eighth grade homeroom teachers. Two of us are men and one of us is a woman. We're all on the other side of 40.
2. Is it a watch?
I don't know, is it? Is it?
3. And you are...?
I'm the Foreign English Teacher (FET) at this junior high school. I've been here for about a year and a half now. I'm American, my star sign is Capricorn and yes, I like to party.
4. Are you a junior high school student?
Thank God no. Generally speaking it's not a fun age. I remember my two years in a Seattle junior high school being miserable, and it's obvious to me that many of my students are similarly miserable.
5. Are you a student?
Not at present, no. The last time I was a student was in 2004, when I was a student in the Masters in Teaching program at Seattle University. Prior to that I was a student at Tunghai University in Taichung (the Chinese language program), the University of Washington (B.A. in International Studies), Bellevue Community College (A.A.S. transfer degree), Shoreline Community College (also A.A.S. transfer degree), Ballard High School, Asa Mercer Middle School and Greenwood Elementary School.
6. Is it a pencil?
I don't know, is it? IS IT?!?!
7. Is your sister a student?
No, she's a housewife. She's expecting her second kid in a few months. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband. I could be wrong, but I believe the last place she attended school was Shoreline Community College.
8. Are you a math teacher?
I was a fifth and sixth grade math teacher for a several months in Shoreline School District. Shoreline is the "city" north of Seattle. Around that time I was subbing in different schools, mostly in Shoreline and Northshore school districts. It wasn't a good period in my life for various reasons, many of which were unrelated to my work at the time.
9. Is he young?
Are you referring to the teacher sitting across from me right now? No, definitely not. He's not young, and he's an odd dude in his way. I've never heard him make conversation with anyone, ever.
10. Is Tom's sister sad?
The only Tom I know is my dad, and I'm not going to talk about his sister, my aunt, here. Let's just say that yeah, something happened recently, but from what I hear she's doing OK.
11. Is she a short girl?
My aunt? Not really. Average height I think.
12. Is the car old?
My car is definitely getting old. I believe it's over ten years old now. If we move to a city next school year I might get rid of it and just rent cars as I need to. Parking in the city is either difficult or expensive, and I'd rather not deal with the hassle.
13. Is the girl beautiful?
No "girls" here, but I think the teacher sitting to my right keeps herself up well enough. She's much older than I am, but she still puts effort into how she dresses for work.
14. Is it long?
My days are getting long, yes. I have fewer and fewer classes, and less and less to do. Some teachers in my situation would rejoice, but I'm starting to find these "office days" agonizing.
15. Is Mr. Lin a doctor?
Of all the Mr. Lins in Taiwan I'm sure that many of them are doctors.
16. Is it thin?
If you're talking about my cats no, they're definitely not thin.
17. Is Mr. Wang a young man?
Of all the Mr. Wangs in Taiwan I'm sure that some of them are young. This said, there are probably less young Mr. Wangs every year. Taiwan's birthrate is on the way down and there are only so many Mr. Wangs to go around.
18. Who is in your family?
I feel like I covered this before, but here goes:
My immediate family: Me, my wife, my two daughters and our four cats. These cats being, in order of size: Jojo, Mango, Christmas and Milky.
My family in the States: My mom and dad in Port Angeles, my brother and his wife in Vancouver, Washington, my sister and her family in Las Vegas, my aunt and cousin in Seattle and distant relatives I've never been in contact with.
My Taiwanese in-laws: My wife's mom and half brother in Qiaotou District, Kaohsiung City, my wife's father and "second family" in Shulin District, New Taipei City, my brother-in-law and his wife in Xizhih District, New Taipei City, my wife's aunt in Sanchong District, New Taipei City, my wife's uncle in Xindian (?) District, New Taipei City, my wife's grandmother and other family members in Lunbei Township, Yunlin County and that's all I can remember at the moment.
19. What's Nick's family name?
This Nick guy again. I have no idea. Why are you so concerned about Nick?
20. What is the reading mainly about?
It's mainly about me.
And with that, dear friends, I leave you. Chinese New Year approaches, the fall semester comes to an end, and the day after tomorrow the people of this small island decide who their next President will be. Soon, soon, soon -- everything too soon, or else not soon enough!
What about you? Are you a junior high school student? Is your sister? Are you a math teacher? Are you beautiful? Are you a doctor?
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