Today was a couple of firsts.
We had our first yoga class this afternoon. It was fabulous. It makes for a long day - about 13 hours from the time we left this morning til we got back from yoga - but it's well worth it. The instructor is a young woman from New Zealand (I think) and all the students are teachers at KAS. I don't think I've been as relaxed as I was at the end of class since I've arrived in Taiwan. We'll be going twice a week.
The other first was parent-teacher conferences. Friday is the scheduled conference day (no classes that day) but I needed to talk to a couple of parents early. The parents were very appreciative of the time and effort the whole school puts into their child's education but I'm not used to having an interpreter. It's tricky figuring out the nuances of communication. I felt like the conferences went well I just need to learn the logistics of who to look at, the parent or the interpreter, and the proper protocol with business cards.
During nursing school we did a couple classes on interpreter use and I've the years I've learned this: look at the person you're talking with; the interpreter is translating your words not your body language so it's important to make eye contact and physically engage (face the parent, gesture to them). I always thank my interpreter before and after the conversation and that's really the only time I engage with them. Hope that's helpful.
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