Life in Kinmen
It has been exactly one month (and a few days) since I arrived in Kinmen (金門) where I will be living and fulfilling my teaching grant for the rest of the year (through July, 2022).
A little bit about Kinmen: 金門 literally translates to “golden gate” and is a small island about three miles off the east coast of Xiamen, China in the Fujian Province. Kinmen was the primary battle site of the Taiwanese Strait Crises in 1954–55 and 1958, fought after the Communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) took over China in 1949 and political nationalists fled to Taiwan, giving it its name, Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan). The island therefore has a deep military history (although very recent) including many tunnels, tanks, and other architecture left over from the wartime to explore. The people of Kinmen lived under martial law from 1956–1992 due to the conflict and tension between China and Taiwan. The population of Kinmen is around 127,000 people encompassing an island about 70 square miles. It takes about 30 minutes to drive the width of the island which is about 12 miles long. Although it may seem tiny and removed, shockingly there are two Starbucks (which I have not yet visited), a luxury mall, a small mountain (which I climbed last week!), and many (many) other places to explore. The people of Kinmen generally make up an older demographic, and I have never encountered nicer people than here. People are always willing to help you, and will go out of their way to assist you (even if they don’t speak English). If you stand on the street looking super confused at a map, people will literally ask where you’re trying to go and show the way. It has been humbling and refreshing to be around such kind people, and has made settling into this community much easier.
Where I’m teaching: This year, I am an English Teaching Assistant at Jhou Huan Elementary School (卓環小學) on Little Kinmen, also known as Little K (Lieyu County) which is a smaller island off of Kinmen. My commute every morning includes a ferry ride! I co-teach English classes for K-6 students, teaching 130 students weekly and working with three co-teachers. It is a joy to witness the students’ excitement for learning, their willingness to be silly in the classroom, and everything in between. I hope to also become involved with some after school clubs at school, such as the basketball team, as time goes on.
Observations on school: School lunch is amazing. Imagine a home cooked meal every day with fresh vegetables, meat, even seafood! Students and staff bring their “lunchbox” which consists of a bowl or tupperware container, self serve meals, and clean their dishes after. Some things I’ve had: seafood porridge, rice cakes (similar to a rice pasta), scrambled eggs, pork buns, always some kind of sautéed vegetables … I really can’t complain.
The school schedule is structured so that students have 10–20 minutes of recess between every class. Students can play on iPads, or go outside and play basketball, play on the playground, run around the track, etc. The lunch break is 90 minutes long and includes a built in nap period of which students at every age participate in (and staff can too). I would be lying if I said I hadn’t napped at school yet…
Students here clean up after themselves, including sweeping/mopping floors, washing windows, wiping down tables, taking out the trash, etc. There is a twenty minute cleaning period every day. And students actually enjoy it and get excited with clean-up time happens. It could help that they blast “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and “Mama Mia” over the school PA system during clean-up time.
What I’ve been up to: Since arriving and starting teaching, I have spent ample time walking around my small neighborhood of 夏墅 (Xiashu) in Jincheng (金城). Jincheng is the “urban center” of Kinmen and has been described as the “Manhattan” of the island. I live a bit outside the bustling downtown, and have a cow and many chickens as neighbors.
I live with two other Fulbright ETAs who are also teaching on Little K, so we make the commute together every day. I have also spent time practicing riding a scooter (think: moped) and subsequently mastering the bus system, as it is currently my only form of transportation, besides when I kindly receive rides from the English Teaching Fellows (second year ETAs) who already have their scooters. Hopefully soon I will be taking the scooter test (and pass) and will be more free to travel around the island on my own time. A few other Fulbright students and I have been playing pickup basketball with locals ranging from high schoolers to a 71 year old woman (who by the way kicked our asses).
Between eating lots of dumplings, beef noodle soup, and trying all the boba, I try to learn Chinese — so far I have succeeded in learning how to properly order boba, how to ask for a bag, and how to say “I am a teacher” and “I am from America.” I also quickly learned the phrase “hěn gāo” (很高) on my first day of school as it was all that my students said to me. It means “very tall.” Last week I started a Chinese language class at the university (National Quemoy University) so I am hoping my speaking skills will improve!
Fun moments: Two weeks ago I attended the annual taro festival on Little Kinmen. Lieyu is primarily an agricultural community that grows the taro root. They celebrate the fall harvest every year with a festival where you can dig taro, try taro foods, and attend a market with many vendors from the small community.
As mentioned above, last weekend I hiked the one small mountain on Kinmen, Taiwu Mountain (太武山). Although only 293m tall, it gives a birdseye view of the entire island, as well as mainland China. We took a side path to visit a temple in the distance, and stumbled into a cafe in the mountain on the way. We went in to ordered iced teas, and while we were looking at the menu we received numerous free samples of food that the owner was making. We decided to order some food, and each received a home grown, home cooked meal. The owners showed us their garden and plants, and informed us that everything we were eating had been grown by themselves, including an after-lunch coffee!
I am finally starting to feel settled in this new place, and I am extremely grateful for the 18 other English Teaching Assistants and 4 English Teaching Fellows (second year ETAs) that are on Kinmen with me this year. This weekend we are heading to Taipei for a Fulbright conference for “Thanksgiving”, where all 180+ grantees will finally be in the same place for the first time since arriving. I am excited to see a new city and meet everyone else!
