Half days and lots of traveling

October 6, 2011

           Today was a half day at school. The kids get tomorrow off, and half of today off so that we teachers can spend all the time and our Saturday in meetings! Isn’t that the most exciting thing you have heard of ever. I am quite exhausted but I am looking forward to spending time with my family here is Taichung including my dad and grandpa. I am also looking forward to getting together with my job-a-likes and gaining from their experiences.

            Tonight, after rushing to the HSR and running through the station to barely get on in time, we ate a 3 course meal in about 15 minutes. Then, we attended this really interesting meeting about the culture and beliefs of the people in Taiwan. This was followed up by a comparison of the cultures here to the culture of US.

            After the meeting all of us who went to New York together went out to get Bings which are kind like giant snow cones of shaved ice, fresh fruit and condensed milk. By the way-they are really good. Anyway, we had a great time catching up on the lives of people from the Taichung campus and getting to know how their lives are different from ours. I will be spending the next couple days here in Taichung but not sure how much time I will have in between all the meetings to write.

Taipei

October 2, 2011

           I just got back from a weekend with my dad and grandpa in Taipei. What a trip. We spent Saturday touring all the big tourist attractions. I came into town around 11, set my bags down, grabbed some lunch and we were off. We went to a movie, the national museum, dinner at Taipei 101 and up to the top, and then we finally headed back to the room. Don't worry we probably took about 101 pictures too.

            On Sunday, we went to 2 great church services with lunch and a nap in between.  (It really made me realize what I am missing here is Kaohsiung and what I should be looking for.) Then we grabbed dinner at the HSR (High speed rail) station. I was home by 8 and I am exhausted. It was great to see my dad and grandpa but boy was it crazy busy and now I'll see how much grading I can get done before bed.

Amazing People

September 30, 2011

Well today was an adventure. It all started when I was stressed out trying to get everything done before the day was over-I failed. However, a couple of us went out to dinner anyway. We drove to a food court area to get tapenyaki (like the Japanese food they cook in front of you). It was so good. Then I decided I needed a cookie from Subway. I walked over there and decided to splurge on two. Before I paid the girl in front of me said “3 for 45 is cheaper” I of course knew that but figure alright they sold me on it  I’ll get 3 and eat them all weekend.

            We did a little shopping and then decided that it was time to go home. In the elevator the same girl and her mom were there. We joked about how they saved me money and talked me into another cookie. They got off on another floor and we said bye. We went to our car and it wouldn’t start. We tried and tried and then tried some more. Then we started troubleshooting-who can we call? Who is free? Who speaks Chinese? Where do we take the car? How do we get home?

We finally decided to walk into the mall where it was cool when we ran into the same girl (Peggy) and her mom (Anna). They had parked right next to us. They called our mechanic, the towing company and even helped us some with the taxi. The stuck around and visited with us for the whole hour that we had to wait. They were so kind and patient. It was so nice and unusual in Western standards. In the west someone that does that is so kind-here it is normal. Eventually, everyone (the taxi, the tow truck, and our local mechanic) showed up and we got to leave. We finally got back to school and then on to our apartments. Now, I am working on lesson plans and packing because I am off to the capital (Taipei) tomorrow to see my dad and grandpa.

Party, party, party...

September 25, 2011

We did a combined birthday party today. It was low key, and simple but great. It’s definitely the life of a missionary, when you have a birthday party for 5 people and one cake. We played organized games like your basic cake walk with no prizes and soccer, socialized, and watched the kids play basketball. I still can’t decide whether the men being more competitive at the cakewalk than the kids or our ELL teacher Christel sharing her birthday party with 4 kids under 4 and having to play the games with them was more entertaining. Then I went home to do some more grading and meet Danielle, my cleaning lady.

School BBQ

Septeber 24, 2011

Today was our school BBQ. It was like no school BBQ I have ever been to with a mix of western and Taiwanese food on tables indoors (probably because it’s too hot to eat outside). But, it was good because I got to meet and eat with parents in a more casual setting where you talk about what they like to do or what types of vacations they have gone on in the past. The other cool thing as that there were local artisans set up in classrooms not only showing of their craft or skill but also teaching people how to do it too. I think the biggest hit was the sculpting room. He showed everyone how to make angry bird pencil toppers. It was pretty awesome and I am sure it will be a great distraction in the weeks to come.

Well that was pretty much my day besides grading, sleeping and cleaning.

Another day in the life...

September 23. 2011
This week has been another great week. True my class wanted to talk ALL week but we spent a lot of time practicing being quiet. Sunday I drove (without a license) for the second time but for the first in town and was excited that I could find my way around. Monday I successfully navigated Christy to the local Thai place for dinner and ordered it with no cabbage in it!!! It was awesome being able to communicate-although it did take some effort. Thursday we went to this great place called Howdy’s. It’s this burger joint that had huge burgers, fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and shakes. So great and their menu was hysterical. I’ll post pictures to prove it.