The Gloria Experience - Part 1 - Initial Arrival

Three current Gloria teachers share their first impressions of the Taoyuan, Tung-An dorm

[Note: teachers' names have been changed to allow them to speak freely about a current employer.]

How was your initial arrival to Taiwan and Gloria?

Teacher Cindy:

I came in during a typhoon. Once I got through customs, I went to go meet [Gloria administrator] Steve. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people standing there. Flights had been delayed so there were maybe 100 different recruiters from schools holding signs. It was crazy. It was still raining pretty good when he drove us in.

The dorm reminded me a lot of college -  people wandering around. We got in late. My room was shockingly bare - the fluorescents just lit up the empty room. It was really bare - just the essentials - a clothes rack, a desk, a crappy chair and a scary-looking wooden platform bed. I was kind of shocked.

My room felt like no one had lived in it. It didn’t give off any feeling of life. The walls were blank and dirty and the floor was weird looking and the room smelled weird.  

I didn’t buy a mattress set from Gloria - I brought my sheets and a pillow from home. I found some extra mattresses lying around and used those. 

Teacher Debby:

My flight was delayed so I had to spend 24 hours in the Japan airport. United didn’t help me out at all. I got to the airport and Steve was waiting, all smiles, with a sign. He drove me to the dorm. 

Honestly, I was expecting the dorm to be a lot worse. I thought it would be really dirty. It was bigger than I expected it to be. We have lots of space in the common area and kitchen And there are two floors. 

My room was decent size. It was big enough for a bed and a desk and a closet. 

Teacher Tom:

My flight from the states to Taipei went really smoothly - 14 hours. I didn’t stress too much about sleeping or not sleeping on the plane. Steve from Gloria was at the airport in his car and he drove me to the dorm. 

My first shock was seeing my dorm room. It was small (9 x 8 feet) and not very welcoming. In it were a wooden bed, a small wooden desk, and a small, broken cardboard closet. The white walls were dirty, with tape, holes, various marks all over them.

“It’s too late now” was scrawled on the wall. The room definitely freaked me out at first. It seriously creeped me out and I decided to paint the walls as soon as possible. Even after picking up some things to made the room more comfortable, I never felt completely at ease until I had painted the room.

Aside from my Stephen King-esque room, my initial arrival went quite smoothly. The other teachers in the dorm were quite helpful, showing me local restaurants and convenience stores. 

The weather forecast. It didn't actually storm every day.