Teaching English 7: The MPiLGEF

The Washington Monument

Here's another thing that teaching English in Taiwan can get you: free vacations.  I just got back from an expense-paid vacation in Washington D.C., as part of a team attending Microsoft's Partners in Learning Global Education Forum (or MPiLGEF, for "short").

Yes, teaching English in Taiwan is about more than sexy teaching assistants and arguments over textbooks.  It's also about getting paid to go overseas.

A few months ago, one of my coworkers asked me to help him translate something into English.  Being free that day, I said yes.  By the time I was done, I had translated his entire project for the Microsoft Partners in Leaning summit in Taiwan from Chinese into English, and I was cursing myself for not having asked for money.

In front of the White House

He and another teacher [above] went on to "win" that particular summit, and he was picked to attend the MPiLGEF this November, in Washington D.C.  Needless to say, he was a bit freaked out about visiting an English-speaking country, so that was how I got invited along.

I think this was also his way of paying me back for all those hours spent translating.  If this is so, I consider us more than even.  Had I known that all that translating would lead to a free vacation in Washington D.C., I would have worked even harder on it.

So last week we took the plane from Taitung to Taipei, spending the night in Taipei before the long haul to America.  It's about 20 hours from here to D.C., including a three hour layover in Japan.  The Taitung County Government had already agreed to fund my travel expenses, and Microsoft was picking up the tab for our accommodation and food.

"A funny thing happened on the way to the Microsoft Global Education Forum..."

We spent the next five or so days walking around D.C., and attending the Forum at odd intervals.  A lot of the Forum was relatively "optional," and we took every opportunity to visit the nearest museum or national monument.  I had a great time there, and I would look forward to doing something like that again.

My two coworkers were a bit disappointed when we didn't win any of the award categories during the closing ceremony, but in my opinion the odds were stacked heavily against us.  After the fifth or sixth AMERICAN school was recognized for their "contributions to global education," it was easy enough to laugh the whole thing off.

If any other Foreign English Teachers are reading this, you might pay close attention the next time one of your Taiwanese coworkers asks for your help.  You never know - it might lead to something surprising!

The DC Subway: the most run-down subway I have ever seen.