Confucianism & Confused Students -- Part Two

I decided to enroll in a Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Certification Program hosted by NTU. It’s a bit of a drag ‘cause classes are held on the weekends (8 to 5 Saturdays and Sundays), but it’s always good to have it under my belt. Hopefully it’d open more doors when I get back to North America.

All it said on the website is that there would be a writing test and an oral test, but there was nothing on what the tests were about. How typical! For as long as I can remember, test-designers in Taiwan have always had trouble distinguishing the differences between geniuses and industrious people. The fact that they give you as little information about the test as possible shows suggests that the so-called “good students” are the ones that don’t need to study.

Since I had no idea what I was going to be tested on, I had no way to prepare for it. A week before the exam, I thought I’d start reading a Chinese book get myself thinking in Chinese again. However, I was very busy at work last week and the book I chose was extremely boring. I read the news online the night before the exam, just in case if they wanted to discuss some current events. That was about it.

It was hot like a sauna on the day of the exam. The air was not moving at all, and the city was covered in a thick layer of smug. I was walking toward the LTTC and reciting some Chinese phrases and sayings in my head. I saw some people scattered just outside the entrance of the language training center, and I noticed that they seemed to be “studying”. How odd?! They were reading their notebooks and mumbling. “Did I miss anything when I read the information on the website?” The though made my heart miss a beat, but then I started breathing again. It’s Taiwan! I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some kind of a course you can take at a cram school to prepare for this test. I decided to have breakfast in the classroom ‘cause it was air-conditioned. Boy, did I get some dirty looks from my fellow test-takers?! In Chinese culture, my behavior was considered as “showing off” – I’d studied so well that I didn’t have to cram at the last minute. With their little notebooks (I was so curious as for what they’d written in them), other test-takers made sure to make me, the weirdo, feel uncomfortable. It was really very amusing. Little did they know, I wasn’t pretending to be nonchalant. I truly had no idea what was coming up next.

The writing test was a breeze. The topic was “Returning Home”, something that’s up my alley. As soon as we finished the writing test, the staff was eager to herd us upstairs to prepare for the oral test. According to the schedule I printed out from the Internet, I had about half an hour until it was my turn to do the oral test, so I asked a staff member why I needed to go upstairs now. I wasn’t able to finish my question before she started fluttering in the typical Taiwanese “I’m-freaking-out-because-you’re-making-it-difficult-for-me-to-do-my-job” kind of way. This is how it went down:

S: “Okay, okay, everybody. Please hurry up to the third floor to prepare for the oral
test….. Hey! Put your name tag on your chest….(the person had it below her right breast)…okay, now hurry up to the third floor. Thank you.”

K: “I’m #72 for the oral test and, (showing her the schedule from the Internet)
according to this…..”

S: “Okay, please just hurry up to the third floor. You don’t want to be late for your oral
test.”

K: “No, I don’t. But it’s not going to start for another half an hour.”

S: “Please just….. where’s your name tag?”

K: “Here.” (Showing her the name tag in my hand)

S: (annoyed, sigh) “You’re supposed to put your name tag on your chest so the
teacher can see your name.”

K: “Okay, I’ll do that when I get upstairs.”

S: “Which is NOW, right?! I mean, look, everybody is going upstairs.”

K: “I just want to step outside to get some fresh air, especially after sitting down for
so long.”

S: “But why? You should go upstairs.”

K: “May I go to the bathroom?”

S: “Yes, but hurry. And put your name tag on your chest.”

I went out the front door and got a coffee from across the street.

When I finally made my way upstairs, there were three huge lineups outside of the teachers’ offices. The number didn’t mean anything ‘cause it was on a first-come-first-serve basis. There was no point “hurrying up to the third floor” ‘cause I ended up standing in line, (in the very stuffy and hot hallway, I might add), for more than half an hour until it was my turn to go in anyway.

The results come out this Friday.

If I can get in, great! If not, then I’ll be able to enjoy this summer every weekend.