The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Well...it's all over. The 2 weeks I waited for for 6 months are over. :( I had a truly wonderful vacation though. It went by too fast, but it was all that I hoped it would be and more. It was great to have my parents here and to show them around Taipei. We never got lost and everything went semi-smoothly! And they really seemed to like Taipei a lot. We had a lot of fun touring around. Then Japan! What a pleasant surprise Okinawa turned out to be! I really liked it there a lot. It reminded me of what I've seen on tv and movies of Guam or Hawaii. It was sooo wonderful to reunite with Michael after exactly a year apart! It was so great to see his world there and to just enjoy hanging out and relaxing at his wonderful apartment. I really enjoyed seeing Okinawa and also REALLY enjoyed the American goodies we got to enjoy because Michael's military. I went crazy in the military exchange and the commissary. It was just like America! It was also great and a little weird to just see so many Americans again on the bases and around town. We were able to keep up some family traditions and enjoy doing new things. It was definitely the most wonderful time of the year and a very special vacation with loved ones.

Day 1- tour around Nankan, lunch at Friday's, 2-28 Peace Park, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, sharing at Biblestudy, Shi Da night market for local cuisine, then church
Day 2- tour of Morrison, lunch at Chili's, Taipei 101, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial, tour of my school, Pizza Hut and Mos Burger potato wedges for dinner
Day 3- Go to Okinawa, see Michael's apartment, Burger King lunch on Kadena Air Force Base, then the BX military exchange store and commissary, then the Monkey Man store, American Village shopping area, and Taco Bell for dinner!
Day 4- went to Ocean Expo Park, saw 1/2 of Okinawa on the way, lunch at A&W's, fun in the rain, dinner at a Hawaiian restaurant
Day 5- toured Michael's hospital, ate lunch in the 'galley', then went to Shurijo Castle for the afternoon, ate dinner at a Japanese curry place
Day 6- Michael was supposed to work, so we just chilled at his house, but he got sent home early, so that was nice. We made Christmas cookies later and had homemade dinner of chili and baked potatoes
Day 7- Michael worked all day, so we relaxed at home, then had another yummy homemade dinner and watched Elf.
Day 8- went to Michael's church, afternoon at home, then a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner with his friends, then to the Southeast Botanical Gardens for their holiday light show
Day 9- Christmas eve/day- opened our presents, did errands, had a huge Christmas dinner with turkey and all the fixin's then later went to a Christmas eve candlelight service
Day 10- we flew back to Taipei (Christmas day)
Day 11- lunch at The Diner (american restaurant), then to the Taipei zoo, then the Maokong Gondolas and a coffee shop for dinner
Day 12- lunch at Modern Toilet theme restaurant, then Danshui for the afternoon- Fisherman's Wharf and Fort San Domingo, then to Xinbeitou for the public hotsprings, then McDonald's for dinner
Day 13-my birthday lunch at Friday's again, then to Ximenting for a few hours and home again for leftover pizza and games (like nearly every night :)) then Skyping with Kevin and Kraig
Day 14- chilled at home, more skyping with the boys, tacos for lunch and then to the airport for dinner at Burger King before saying our goodbyes! :(

It was wonderful...(sigh)...now back to work...for a month and then it's Chinese New Year break!

Christmas

"What will you do on merry Christmas day?" "Wow, a merry Christmas tree" "Are you going to the merry Christmas party?"

I've noticed that many Taiwanese do not really understand that "merry" and "Christmas" can be separated! It makes me laugh. But, while it's funny that they don't understand this, it is sad that they don't understand the meaning of Christmas. It's just a commercialized holiday here with no meaning, just fun. Pray that this holiday season, many would find out the meaning of Christmas and hear about Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:10-11
But the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior- yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

1 Peter 3:18a
Christ died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring us safely home to God.

I wrote these verses (NLT version) on my Christmas cards this year because they really stood out to me this year. Together they really show why we celebrate Christmas and why the angels proclaimed Jesus' birth as "good news!" It is good news indeed that God sent a Savior to bring us to Him and take the punishment we deserve. Because of this we can have a relationship with our Creator! What awesome news! Through this we can know the what true peace, joy, and hope is. That's what Christmas is all about. As the well-known carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" proclaims, "God and sinners reconciled!" I just noticed that line this year. That sums up the whole reason we can celebrate this great holiday!

My parents are landing in a couple of hours! I'm so excited, I'm going to burst! I'll be pretty occupied with them, so I'll take a merry Christmas break from blogging for a couple of weeks!

Have a wonderful, meaningful, and merry Christmas!

Interview

I had my interview with Morrison Academy today. Unfortunately, today was also the day my alarm clock's batteries ran out. So, I overslept by an hour! But, I was planning to get to Taipei 30 minutes early anyway to just relax before it. Well, so I ran like the wind and got there only 10 minutes late...there went my hopes of appearing professional! Anyway, this interview was more of a personality/heart/social skills type interview. The next one will be a more academic one. So, there were some really tough questions, but not that many related to actual teaching. I had prepared all my answers to questions like "what are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "what didn't you like about teaching English?", but instead she asked some situational questions to "test" my worldview. "What would you do if a student...?" or "How would you integrate your faith into the subject of ecosystems?" So, those were a challenge, but I think I answered ok. Most of the time she was telling me just about Morrison and especially about the Kaohsiung campus because the Taipei campus only has one opening and my chances are slim. The Kaohsiung campus has 2 and my chances are better there. So, I have to decide now if I'd be willing to go there, since I originally told them I was only interested in Taipei. I am supposed to tell them by Christmas. The worst part of the interview was at the end- I was asking some questions about ESL and the curriculum and she told me that all that information was on the website if I just look around more carefully. So, I felt really dumb and it looked like I hadn't researched very well...oh well. Hopefully, overall I did ok. I'm not really sure. Then, I met up with a friend for lunch and some scootering around the area doing some errands, so that was fun.

Now, only a Christmas party at work stands in the way between me and my Christmas vacation!!!! :) My parents arrive tomorrow night! I've busy all week, cleaning up and stuff. I'm so excited!!! Less than 20 hours now! :)

You know you've been living alone too long when...

Haahahaha, tonight I found my self singing along to the intro music of Globe Trekkers, my favorite travel show. When I suddenly realized I was singing along to the cheesy synthesizer music, I started cracking up at myself. Like rolling on the floor laughing so hard at my own silliness. Also in part because I do this a lot- without even realizing it, I'll be singing along to commercials, doing drum beats on my legs, or dancing to inaudible music. Hahahahhahaa. I even talk to myself sometimes now. Mostly when something is so outrageously funny or stupid or weird. I'll say outloud, "that's so dumb." Then I'll start cracking up that I actually audibly said it because I never used to be like this. I've always had someone to talk to nearly constantly or at least whenever I wanted to. I've discovered this year, that I really need that. I find myself saying the randomest things to my co-workers or telling them such dumb stuff just cuz I'm so desperate to talk, I guess, which is weird since my job is talking! But that's a different kind of talking. I guess that's also why I Skype with my parents for 4 hours a week! I need someone to just hear all my random stories. I appreciate their patience and willingness to hear them! :) It's not that I'm lonely at all, I guess I just like to talk more than I ever knew I did. If there's no one to talk to, I'll just talk to myself! :) Just one of the many things I've learned about myself this year!

Here we come a caroling...

Tonight after small group we went to dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant called Sababa. It was sooo yummy. So full of flavor and rich. I think it was my first time to really have that kind of cuisine. I'll definitely be back there. Then after church some of us went caroling and that was so fun! We got such funny looks, laughter, and a lot of smiles. It was great. A lot of people seemed really happy to hear us and one foreign woman was interested in our church, so that was great! It was fun to spread the holiday cheer, even if they couldn't understand the message of the songs because of the language barrier.

Our Sunday sermon series this month is the advent- so focusing on love, peace, joy, and hope. Tonight was about peace. Our speaker really shed a new light on the passage of Jesus being presented in the temple and how Simeon and Anna were ecstatic that this was their Savior! The Messiah had come! It's so easy to forget what Christmas is all about...it's God reaching down, taking the initiative, offering a free and incredible gift to us. It's through this that we can have peace and a relationship with God almighty, our creator! It's so powerful, yet so easy to take for granted. I think every year, as I get older and old Christmas traditions get lost because of location and logistics...I realize more and more that while Christmas is a great time to think about family, that's not what it's all about, really. It's a celebration that God sent a Savior to bring us to Him!

Oh, and great news! I have an interview with Morrison on Friday! I've been so out of the education circle now for a year, I'm afraid I'm going to forget all the key teacher lingo and stuff and sound really pathetic! Pray for me! This is very exciting, but very scary too!

oh yeah

And an internet-repair man came this morning at the crack of dawn and fiddled around with some cords and my internet magically started being normal again! But, he wouldn't leave and I was super confused (he didn't speak a word of English). Then he left and came back and kept calling people on his phone and looking at all my outlets. Finally, after 45 min. he got an English speaker on the phone and she explained that the problem is in my wall! Something is blocking the cords inside the wall (like pinching the cord, I guess?), so she said that even though my internet is fixed for now, this will just happen again. So, I should tell me landlady. Grr. I have visions of them knocking out my walls and doing major repairs....so, I'm hoping the internet just works for 4 more months until I move out!

It's been a crazy week because on top of having basically no internet, I also had no water for 12 hours on two different days, and since I have to plan every single lesson I'm going to miss while I'm on vacation, I've been cranking out lessons like a machine all week in preparation for my absence. So, I guess it was a good week to not have internet since I had to stay so late at school every night planning anyway. Whew, I feel exhausted and just so ready for this vacation!! One week!!!!!

Prophesy Night

Last night was a very strange night. We had a special event at our church again. This time we had some people from Open Heart Ministries come to share with us and prophesy for us! Yes, prophesy! It was quite a new experience. First, a man gave a short sermon about how important and Biblical prophesy is. Then three members of this group prophesied about each and every person in the room...over 20 people. It was very long. My prophesy happened to be first. The woman told me that she saw that my spiritual gift is wisdom and that even though I am introverted and young, people much older than me will look to me for wisdom. She also saw me with a future in business, especially administration and management, which she said are my gifts. She said in meetings, I will be sitting with other leaders older than me, but they will look to me for wisdom. She also "saw" that I have been abused by a brother when I was younger and once I give this up to God, I will experience great joy. Hmmmm, I have to admit I was pretty disappointed at this prophesy because it was just completely opposite of who I am and what happened. I wasn't abused by a brother and business?? even the wisdom part is a little far fetched. Then as they gave the other people's prophesies, some were kind of spot on-- like saying someone was filled with compassion (and we all know this person to be like that) or saying someone's ministry and gift is music and worship (and they are our worship leader). So, that was kinda interesting. A lot of people were crying because what the prophesy was just hit so close to home or was really encouraging. It was kinda weird for me that they were just able to go around to each person and see some sort of prophesy on the spot. It looked like fortune-telling. I also just felt disappointed that mine wasn't really encouraging at all. Anyway, then later we all stood and they came around to each of us and prayed over us in a pretty charismatic way. The rest of the evening wasn't as charismatic as I expected. But this part was. They kept laughing and saying, "the joy of the Lord be upon you" or "fire, fire! Fill them with fire, Lord!" They came to me and held me and swayed me back and forth and held my head like I had a fever or something. This part felt really weird.

So, the whole thing was just really, really different...which I knew it would be, but wanted to give it a chance and see what it was like. It was interesting, but also kinda felt weird. I'm still undecided about the issue of prophesy, I guess. I've always been taught that the gift of prophesy was for New Testament times, but has ceased now as with tongues. But, I don't know. There's a lot of Scripture support for prophesy and just a little about it ceasing. The man said tonight that of the 90 conversion stories in the Bible, nearly all included some sort of supernatural gift such as healing, signs, or wonders.

I am finding this year that I am really held down by some of the theology and traditions that I've grown up with or have come to somehow accept and have a hard time breaking free from them to really accept and practice what I truly believe. Some of these things are sooo deeply ingrained, that it's hard to change and not just fall back into what has been comfortable for so many years. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for my Christian upbringing, but it also makes it easy to just follow something because it's what I've heard for so long, rather than seeking God, finding out for myself, and living it out.

So happy and so angry

I had the most fabulous weekend only to be followed by an incredibly frustrating week.
Last Saturday was my church's (The Pearl) 3rd anniversary party. We rented the third floor of a Starbucks and had our party there. We each got a Starbucks drink, sandwich, and dessert. It was all really yummy. There was a short program including Biblestudy small group Family Feud, the Holli Jolli Christmas talk show, funny videos, a slideshow, worship time, and a short speech by each of our pastors. It was all really nice, funny, and sentimental. It was a really joyful and close celebration that filled me with warm fuzzies! :) The theme of the party was The Pearl: Season 3 as a spin-off from popular tv shows we all watch like The Office and such. So, the videos were also spin-offs of The Office and on the tables there were paper film strips and markers where we could draw a picture of our favorite episode of The Pearl. It was all really well planned and just a good time. It made me appreciate even more this church and made me so glad to be a part of it. After the party, I stayed overnight in Taipei with a friend. Before we went back to her house we went with some others to another friend's house to watch tv shows together. It was fun. When I woke up the next morning, it seriously felt like I was in Baguio, Philippines, which was weird. Then, small group was great because my co-leader, Alan surprised me with a pumpkin pie! I had told him how much I missed it this year during Thanksgiving, so he went and found one for me! It was so sweet of him and I really appreciated it. I shared it with the whole small group, but I still had 4 pieces to take home. That first bite was too incredible to even put into words. Mmmmm. Then some friends went to Costco and I was finally able to put an order in- and so I got 2 bags of Tostitos! And we sang a Christmas carol in the service too! It was a great weekend. :)




Then this week has been utterly frustrating because on Monday evening, I discovered that my internet has decided to go back 10 years to the days of of dial-up! My internet still works, but is incredibly slow and often "times out" before a page opens. I have to refresh several times until something opens. It's so aggravating because I used to have really high speed internet- I could open a dozen windows, be downloading, Skyping, and chatting all at the same time with no problem. Now, it takes 10 minutes just to open my email and forget looking at pictures online or watching online streaming and obviously downloading is out. Internet is vital to my survival It's what I do in my spare time. Without it, I just feel lost. And I actually had some really important stuff to do this week online like send my application to Morrison! Glad I got all my online Christmas gifts already...I had a Chinese speaker call my internet company today, but they couldn't help me. Arghhh. I don't know what else to do. I'm going to go crazy if it doesn't go back to normal and I'm really worried it's a problem with my computer, which is definitely not good.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Christmas season is in full swing in my mind and it's not even quite December yet! This is only the second year I've started listening to Christmas music before Dec. 1st and the first time I've decorated before Dec.! And, what's more, I even have all my Christmas presents purchased and Christmas cards too! I haven't written the cards yet, but I have them. Slowly, I am seeing evidences of Christmas popping up on advertisements and stores here. That makes me super excited. I love everything about Christmas. I had a whirlwind day on Tuesday trying to go Christmas shopping all over Taipei in 3 hours. It was craziness. But I got everything I needed and was excited to find cheap lights and greenery to put on my banister. And I made a wreath too! Decorating is so fun! It has suddenly turned really cold here too just in time for the holidays. I was actually shivering outside the other day in a fleece and today at work, I couldn't seem to get warm in 2 layers of long sleeves (until I started teaching... then I got warmed up really quick). I've already had hot chocolate twice! For the past 7 months, I have changed into shorts and a tank top when I get home from work, now I put on warm socks and a sweatshirt! This will be a weird Christmas, being here for most of December, then being in Japan, and then flying on Christmas day....but I am just incredibly thankful that I will be with my parents and Michael for the holidays.


My homemade wreath! I'm quite proud of it :) And my nativity scene from China...and extra beads I had


My living room all decorated and my 16 inch Christmas tree! It's so cute!

Thanksgiving

Even though I had to work, my Thanksgiving was made a little sweeter by getting to sleep in later and not having to deal with my private lesson student who canceled our lesson, which was very nice! And I made my adult class share what they were thankful for which was really foreign to them and they were visibly weirded out, but I didn't care! :) I also got to enjoy my long-awaited stuffing and mashed potatoes!! Both were very, very delightful! My best import buys yet! I updated my long "What I'm thankful for" list from last year and a few things have changed or are not relevant and I also added a few things. The list is quite long, so I won't post everything here. Here are the top 5 new things I'm especially thankful to God for this year:

1. for providing good friends here. I'm not sure how I would've made it to Nov. without them!
2. for bringing me to the Pearl (my church) and the opportunities I've had for ministry through it and the encouragement it has been to me.
   
3. for what I've learned this year about myself, God, missions, and ministry.
   
4. the entire past year and it's challenges because it has done a lot for me spiritually and emotionally in that I've realized some of my gifts and passions and has helped me grow up.
5. technology, especially Skype and Facebook because they have helped me keep up with my family and friends who have been such an encouragement to me!

I know it looks silly to those in the US, but this is actually a pretty exciting sight!

Catch Phrases

One day as I was just sitting around, I thought about all the different fad catch phrases and popular slang phrases that have come and gone in my lifetime. I came up with quite a list.

1. I know you are, but what am I? (as an insult after an insult or for comedic effect)
   
2. What a burn!/Burn on you. (when you have triumphed over someone)
   
3. _____ rules!/____ rocks! (when something is cool. As in "Girls rule!")
   
4. Not! (used after nearly everything. As in, "I want those shoes. Not!")
5. overuse of you know? (as in, "I was just sitting in class one day, you know? And then..."
   
6. My bad. (after a mistake)
7. extreme overuse of like (as in, "That song is like so catchy and like everyone is like singing it these days")
8. That's tight/that's hot. (= that's cool)
   
9. Your mom __________. (as an insult or just to be funny. As in "You're eating pizza again?" "Your mom eats pizza.")
10. dude (used before and after just about anything. As in, "Dude, give me my book bag")
11. verbalization of "/" as slash in place of the word "and" (as in, "I'm so tired slash hungry right now."
    
12. overuse of so (as in, "I so just beat you in that game" or "I so need to eat lunch")
13. No way!/Shut up! (= I don't believe it)
    
14. overuse and strange use of I'm not gonna lie. (as in, "I'm not gonna lie, I hate that movie."
15. Sketchy/Shady (= something isn't quite right or is not cool as in "that pop quiz was so shady")
16. overuse of pretty much ______ . (as in "He is pretty much awesome.")
17. Loves it/Do you love it? (as in "Look at my new bag, do you love it?" or "History class today- oh my. Loves it!"
    
18. overuse and bizarre usage of definitely (as in "I definitely just ate 3 slices of pizza.")
19. rock my face off! (= very cool. As in "Soccer rocks my face off!")
20. overuse of seriously (as in "You seriously need to stop calling me")
21. ______ times! (as in "Summer '06- oh man, good times!" or "Did you hear about Tim and Jenny- sad times")
22. overuse and incorrect use of random (as in "That guy is so random." "Work was so random today."
23. it's not even funny (as in "I have so much money, it's not even funny." or "My cat is so cute, it's not even funny."
    
24. cutting various adjectives in half (as in "This pie is delish." or "That movie was hilar.")
25. bizarre use of way to add emphasis (as in, "that dog is way ugly." or "That movie was way funnier than the book."
26. props (= "brownie points" as in "Props to you for telling the truth."
27. mad skills (= very adept as in "Look at my mad basketball skills." or "I've got mad skills in photography")
    

It was quite fun to think of these and reminisce about different points in my life when I have heard or used them. What silliness fads are! Feel free to comment and add any others I have forgotten.

Pray with Me?

The time has come to apply to Morrison Academy here for next year. I am feeling really torn about whether to go back to the US as planned and teach there or pursue returning here and working at Morrison. I really miss the US and want to go back, yet at the same time, I already have friends here and a church that I am really involved in. I'd hate to leave these things behind and start all over somewhere new in the US. And I've wanted to work at Morrison for a long time. But, I also really want to get some experience in the US and live there for a bit. I am just really torn and don't really sense God's leading either way. I guess my plan now, is just to apply to Morrison and the schools I want in the US and see what happens. If God opens the door here as well as in the US...well, I cross that bridge when I get there. I'd appreciate your prayers about what to do. I feel like I'm in the exact same position as last year- trying to figure out what to do and where to go. I have longer to decide this year, but at this point I am still really torn about what to do.

Weeeeekend

I had quite the weekend, well more interesting than normal. On Saturday night a bunch of girls from church got together to have a surprise sleepover for our friend Joyce to make up for not having a bridal party for her last summer. Most people were gone during the summer when she got married, so she didn't get a church family bridal party. She was very surprised. It was so much fun. There were about 13 girls and we had a lot of fun just talking, playing Dutch Blitz, eating junk food, making 'smores, and watching chick flicks. The funnest part was teaching the Taiwanese girls how to play Dutch Blitz. It was hilarious. It was a fun sleepover and a good chance to get to know some of the girls better and get caught up with others. It reminded me of the many sleepovers I went to in high school and middle school. I didn't get much sleep on Friday night and then didn't sleep well on Saturday night either, so I was exhausted on Sunday. Since, the sleepover ended before noon on Sunday and I had Bible study at 3, I just stayed in Taipei and used that time to go shopping! I went to find a small Christmas tree and decorations at a certain store, then went to the import grocery store to pick up some stuffing mix to enjoy on Thanksgiving. It was kind of ambitious to try to do all this in 3 hours, so it wasn't as fun as I was hoping as I was rushing around so much. But, I did find the cutest, tiniest Charlie Brown-eque Christmas tree and a few decorations. I also found decent Christmas cards too. I can't wait until Saturday when I'm going to decorate and start playing Christmas music. :) Thanksgiving will be kinda a bummer this year as I have to work of course, but I will enjoy my instant mashed potatoes and stuffing mix by myself. It's ok cuz I know I will be with family for Christmas and that is more important to me.

Surprise!

Yesterday I got a huge, beautiful, and very fragrant surprise at work! A lovely delivery of flowers from a really sweet old family and church friend. This dear man sends me a bouquet of flowers wherever I roam- several at CU and one in China last year. The vase and bouquet is huge and smells sooo nice because it has lilies and roses. Everyone made a big deal about it at work, which was a little embarrassing. But I feel so appreciated and love seeing and smelling fresh flowers. Here it is.

The second picture is just to show how large it is compared to a jar of PB!

Salary + Benefits

Since I complain about my job a lot, I decided to post one positive thing (there are several) I just remembered about my job. This month I got US$72 just because in 2 of my classes, 100% of the students returned for the next 3-month session of class. That's 28 students all together that decided to remain. Depending on how many students return after each session/level, I get compensated accordingly! It's quite a nice extra reward for keeping students, which I've come to realize is my job description. Keep students= Keep parents = our school makes money= my bosses are happy with me.

Monday

Yesterday I was at school for a record 11 & 1/2 hours! This was because we had 3 hours of training. The training started off with this statement: "Today's training is about what the parents are looking for from Shane schools." Translation: "we're going to show you how to make the parents happy so that we don't lose their business." My other two foreign co-workers and I were rolling our eyes. The entire training was about the parents and what they want. No mention of results or quality or helping the students. (Sigh) 4-5 more months...
Anyway, my hours and schedule have changed a lot since I first posted my schedule. So, here's an update (it's been this schedule since August)

Mon- total hours at school: 8 total hours teaching: 6
Tues- DAY OFF!
Wed- total hours at school: 7.5 total hours teaching: 6
Thur- total hours at school: 9 total hours teaching: 6.5
Fri- total hours at school: 6 total hours teaching: 4
Sat- total hours at school: 7 total hours teaching: 5
Sun- DAY OFF!

total hours at school: 39.5 total teaching hours: 27.5

Tidbits

• I wore a jacket to work today for the first time since....February? or maybe early March? It was sad. But I am enjoying the cool, natural breeze in my apartment instead having to use my air-con.
• 50 days until Christmas!!
  
• Today for lunch I ate at the famous Japanese burger fastfood called MOS Burger. I don't eat there very often, but I looove their potato wedges, so I went for some today and noticed something new and peculiar on the menu. So, I ordered this "Caesar Nan." It is a piece of nan then some lettuce and tomatoes, topped with a hotdog, then covered in caesar-esque dressing. Delicious, right? It was. Very messy to eat, but yummy nonetheless. It's looks hilarious though. Here it is:

Stern

I got in trouble at work tonight for being too nice and friendly. My boss told me I need to be more "angry" as he put it. I know he means stern though. hahaha. He said I need to yell at the students more and not look so friendly.

I know discipline is not my strong area, but I just have such a hard time being "angry." I try, but I just can't pull off the yelling teacher thing. It's just not me. I just can't do it. Maybe my methods aren't as effective- my negative and positive reinforcement, but I just can't change who I am. I don't yell and get irrate. I can't scare children into submission by volume and angry looks. I'm serious and stern enough in my opinion, but I guess they want me to be scarier and more threatening. I can't do it. Another reason I can't wait to get back to the US and be a regular teacher where I'm not required to yell at the students and be "angry."

Skin Color

The topic of inter-racial dating and marriage has come up a lot this week. It's been interesting. I also just watched a movie on the topic too. It first started when some ABC (American Born Chinese) friends were talking about how their parents would freak out if they brought home a white girl. They said some of their friends even got disowned by their parents for marrying caucasians. It's shocking to me that even Christian parents would hold this view- that their children must marry a Taiwanese or Chinese man or woman or at least an Asian. I can understand concerns about cultural differences and such, but this view is based on skin color because when I asked what their parents would do if they brought an African American girl home, they said they would be disowned for sure. So, dating blacks is even worse than dating whites, apparently. I've noticed a lot of racism here towards blacks, in general. I asked one of my adult students about this topic, and he felt quite differently. He said he'd be happy if his daughter married a white man. He admitted that white is the top of the scale, then Asian, then black. He explained it as if marrying white was the best option- the best you could do. But he said the more traditional Chinese view is that you must marry within your people/color/race/culture group. He said that many parents want their children to marry foreigners to get a green card, but he said they must be white foreigners, not black. He also said it's desirable because mixed white and Asian = cute children...? I guess it just depends on the parents though because my ABC co-worker said his parents wouldn't object to a white girl, but his grandparents would have a problem with it.

So, I don't really have a conclusion, but it's just been interesting and enlightening talking about this with various people. I guess Hispanics and Native Americans, darker Asians, and all other "color" groups fit in the debate somewhere, but it's kinda a gray area, apparently with Taiwanese/Chinese. I can't imagine refusing a future son or daughter-in-law because of their skin color. I can't imagine my parents doing that either. I mean, personally, if I were to marry an Asian, he would have to be pretty Americanized for us to really connect and thoroughly understand each other because of cultural differences, but I can't imagine just automatically writing him off because his skin isn't the same as mine.

Yippeeee

I reconfirmed with my boss today and I do indeed have the vacation time I asked for off!! Yay, it's for sure- Dec. 17th to the 31st! I'm so excited! 2 whole weeks! I can't remember if I've mentioned it on here before, but the plan is for my parents to come here for a few days, then we'll go together to Okinawa to spend Christmas with Michael. In 60 days! I'm so excited. I love Christmas + I love vacations + I love traveling to new places + I love my family = one very excited Katie! :)

Tuesday

On Tuesday, since it was a beautiful day, I decided spontaneously to go to Danshui, a town about 30 minutes outside of Taipei, but still accessible on the MRT (subway). It's at the edge of Taiwan where the river which runs through Taipei empties into the sea. It's a really touristy, historical, and ocean-themed little town. I wanted to check it out since it might be a place to take my parents when they visit and I don't know how many warm days are left this year! Plus, I just have been wanting to go there for a while. I really enjoyed walking along the riverside, walking down "Old Street" (made of bricks), and seeing the sun set over the river.

Then I went back into Taipei to meet up with some friends from church to celebrate one of the girl's 30th birthday at a really trendy pizza place. It was a good time and the pizza was perhaps the best I've ever had. It was nice for us to be there for this friend as she was having a hard time facing 30!

Eating habits

I have the strangest/most unhealthy eating habits here...mostly because of my work schedule and the amount of effort it takes to eat healthy. For example, here's what I ate yesterday:

• woke up at 12:00 noon.
• 12:35- ate a small bowl of granola and 1 kiwi
  
• 4:35- ate half of a peanut butter sandwich after teaching 2 classes, then taught 2 more after the sandwich
  
• 8:35- ate about a cup of grapes while Skyping :)
• 11:00- ate several Ritz crackers with cheese in the middle
• 11:30- ate about 1/3 of a cup of peanut butter plain (I'm kinda addicted to PB)
• went to bed at 3:15am.
  

See, very bizarre and unhealthy...I didn't even eat one single vegetable yesterday! Then some days if I make a salad, tacos, or stir-fry, I eat a whole bunch of veggies at once. But veggies just don't seem to last long, so it seems like I have to constantly be going shopping. And sometimes, they come in an unreasonable quantity for one person, so some of them go bad before I can consume them all. It's quite the dilemma. I guess stir-fry and tacos are the most healthy meals I make, but also the most expensive. I usually only cook on Saturdays or Tuesdays when I have the time. So, anyway, I'm going to keep a food log for a week or so to see my eating patterns.
Cooking for one is so difficult...

This week in a nutshell

It's been a weird week. The sudden weather change has been part of that. I'm suddenly a little chilly wearing short sleeves and flip-flops now! And, I'm plenty cool in my apartment with the windows open. In fact, last night I tried, for the first time since June, to sleep without my air-conditioner. And, I didn't wake up sweating! So, maybe it's finally time to retire the A/C. Yay for a lower electricity bill! I'm holding out as long as I can, but pretty soon I'll have to dig out the sweaters and jackets and put away my dearly loved flip-flops.

This week has also been weird and annoying because they are tearing up/fixing/I don't know what they are doing to the road outside my apartment. This doesn't inconvenience me in travel, but the noise is a HUGE inconvenience. They only drill/dig at night from about 10pm-3am! It's quite loud. Fortunately for me, I am not sleeping at this time. :) But then yesterday on my one school day where I can really sleep in, my upstairs neighbors were remodeling or something and banging around and hammering the floor all morning! Ahhhh, it drove me crazy. So, it's been a loud week. I wish I'd had my camera with me, but one night, next to the traffic blockades on the road and the flashing lights warning of a construction site- they had a mannequin man dressed as a road worker with a hard hat set up with his arm pointing toward the detour and a flasher tied to his hand! hahahaha. It was the funniest thing to walk past this mannequin in the middle of the road!

On Sunday, only one girl showed up to small group which was disappointing. But she had a LOT of questions so we mostly talked through those. She not only interacts with JW's, but some charismatics and other denominations, so she has a lot of questions about a lot of things. Her questions were really difficult and it's a real challenge to me to know what I believe and be able to show her where in Scripture I base those beliefs on. It's definitely keeping me on my toes, having her in my small group. It's really good for me and hope we are able to help and encourage her as well.

On Tuesday, I went to the furthest part of Taipei from my town to observe another Shane teacher. I'd mentioned to my manager on my 6-month evaluation form that I'd benefit from observing other teachers to get ideas and see if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. So, I observed a teacher who has actually been here less time than I have, oddly enough. I got a few ideas from him, but the biggest benefit was just the verification that apparently, I'm doing what I should be since his class was much like mine are. It was also good to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with behavior management. While I was annoyed that it took an hour and a half to get to this particular branch, I did get to see a part of the city that I've never seen before and it was really beautiful.

After the observation, I rushed back to the church area of town t0 join my women's small group for our last get-together since we are disbanding (long story). We got together with the men's small group again and had a pot-luck and game night at the new church office. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Here's all who showed up...not many of the girls came, obviously.

I'm a Lostie

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I have become a "Lostie" which is someone who is obsessed with the TV show, LOST...kinda like a "trekkie" which are Star Trek fanatics. It's weird and funny how I came to be like this. My sad story into this state of pathetic-ness goes like this: Sometime during 2004-2005, my roommate told me about this new show her dad was really into- LOST. So, when I went home with her in May, we watched one episode. It was really weird, but strangely fascinating. Then, that summer, ABC was showing reruns of the whole season and I watched nearly all the episodes. Then when the next season started in the fall, I watched the first 4 episodes, but had to stop because there just wasn't time to watch TV at CU and things started getting too sci-fi and weird on the show.

So, anyway, fast forward to about a month or so ago. I was eating dinner with some people after church and we were talking about American TV shows we were really into like The Office, Survivor, etc. One guy mentioned LOST and I said, "Oh, I stopped watching that 2 years ago and I've heard it's just gotten weirder and weirder." To which he responded, "Oh no, it's SO good." Anyway, then strangely, I kept catching pieces of LOST episodes on TV here. At first, I just changed the channel, but one time I watched the rest of the episode and was so interested all of a sudden cuz I knew who half the characters were and knew all the info from the first season and wondered what has happened in the past 2 years and the episode was absolutely gripping! So, I went online to see what season and episode I had just watched! It turns out I had just watched the most recent one they've shown so far! And the new season doesn't start until Feb.! So, I was left hanging and unable to find out the conclusion! Anyway, then I got really interested and started looking online for episodes and found a site where you can watch nearly all the episodes of all 3 seasons for free since they are streamed online. What a goldmine! So, I decided to pick up where I'd left off exactly 2 years ago! So for 2 or 3 weeks, I obsessively watched season 2 and 3. It was so addicting. I even chose old LOST episodes over new episodes of The Office! Shocking! :) I became totally enthralled in the whole LOST world. It's the weirdest thing how a show can draw you in that quickly and make you so obsessed that you just have to know what happens next. It's actually kind of scary. The show is so complex, I even checked online recaps after each episode to make sure I caught everything. There are so many websites devoted to explaining the mysteries and mythology in LOST. It's crazy. When I finished the last episode (again) which made more sense this time. I then went back and re-watched season 1, which was actually really interesting because now I picked up on all the foreshadowing and different clues. I just finished season 1 last night.

And now, I have to wait until Feb. to find out the rest of the story! I can't even explain how intriguing and addicting this show is once you start it. And it's so involved and complex too- on a purely conceptual and literary (the script) level it's a masterpiece. The way they weave everything together and all the mystery and mythology. The writers are masterminds. Anyway, so all of a sudden and quite unplanned and unfortunately (because I have to wait until Feb. and this show is going to continue for several years) I have become a Lostie...a sad, website visiting, finding out everything LOST, addicted fanatic who agrees, "it's sooo good" :)

Miscellaneous

-Last Wednesday was a rather unexciting holiday lacking the fanfare of America's birthday celebrations. Oh well. I went to Taipei to the church work day. We painted 4 rooms of our church's new office space.

-last weekend I finally successfully rented 2 good movies. It took 7 attempts to finally score some winners. Every other rental has been extremely disappointing. But Blood Diamond and Freedom Writers were actually worth the money.

-When I went to bed last Monday night it was still summer. When I woke up on Tuesday it had turned to fall overnight! It's now a little chilly out, especially at night. The days are really comfortable. I may be able to stop using my air-conditioner soon! Yay!...but wait, I don't like cold weather...but I'm ready for my electricity bill to be cut in half!

-Last week in my adult class we talked about slogans and so they had to come up with slogans for already existing companies and then also make up their own company and slogan. It was quite humorous. Here are their ideas (no editing, obviously):

1. Honda- "Let your family can go out together"
2. Puma- "It feels like wearing no shoes when have it on"
3. Levi's- "Put on particularity"
4. Teco Air-conditioners- "Your best friend and it let you be cool in summer"
5. Dropool cellphones- "The best choice"
6. Alex Scooters- "To save money and moving quickly"

-Tonight the workbook mentioned Jell-O which they had never heard of, so I enlightened them about the delectable goodness that is Jell-O. I wish I'd anticipated that they wouldn't know what it is and I could've have brought in some since I actually have some already made at home!

-On Friday I met with my manager to discuss my contract for next year since that's the protocol after 9 months. I told her that I will not work past March 31st. New teachers from the head office arrive in February though, so instead of risking having to work into April, I told her if the new teacher arrives on time, I'd be willing to leave earlier...but not later. So, I may be headed back to the US earlier than I thought!

-70 days 'til Christmas!

-I hate that I'm not seeing this. :(

Giddy

I was so giddy when I got home from work today; it was weird. Why was I so giddy? Because I have the next 2 days off! Wednesday is a national holiday because it's Taiwan's 97th birthday! It goes by the name of Double Ten, not independence day or national birthday, though. Anyway, this makes me really happy because I abhor Weds. at work, so this is fantastic! Plus, today I got my sponsorship package from Compassion International about the girl I've decided to sponsor! It is so exciting and a dream come true! I've wanted to support a child for years, but have never been financially stable enough until now. I'm really excited about it. I picked a 5 year old girl named Joy from the Philippines, of course! :)

I was also giddy because then I went to Blockbuster and rented a couple of movies for the next two days, then went to the supermarket for some stuff and decided to get some refried beans because I acquired some imported Tostitos after our leaders retreat. Yes, I can buy refried beans and salsa at my grocery store, but no chips or taco shells. Then, in my last class we were talking about brands and we mentioned Coco-Cola and it made me so thirsty for a Coke, so I got one of those and then I enjoyed my Tostitos, refried beans and Coke while watching my downloaded tv shows from the US. It was so lovely! Especially knowing I have 2 days off! All these days off are not good, financially....but money has never been much of a motivator for me anyway. Tomorrow I'm just going to hang out at home then on Wednesday, my church is having a work day to paint our new office space, so I'm looking forward to that! Should be fun.

Typhoon Krosa

Saturday was a really, really interesting day. We had another typhoon day, so I didn't have to work. Instead I spend a very bizarre and scary day at home watching the terrible typhoon Krosa batter us! This was the worst typhoon I've ever experienced including all those years of typhoons in Manila. It started kicking up Friday night with swirling winds and rain. But then I was woken up early on Sat. morning by the wind! I've never heard wind be soooo loud. It wasn't so much howling per se, just whooshing around making things shake and rattle (including my building)! So, I pulled up my blinds to watch the craziness and tried to go back to sleep. A little while later I awoke to hear a weird sound at my window and turned to see a red and blue tarp sign plastered against my window and then it flew off! It was so scary! So, since sleeping was not an option because of the loud winds and rain. I got up only to discover that the internet and cable was out. So, I had a whole day to do....what?! I've never realized before how much I depend on the internet. Like I don't even know what to do with myself when it's out. I even felt sort of unsafe and felt uncomfortable that I had no contact or any source of news since the tv was also out. How did I live before internet?! :) I spent most of the day looking out the window and trying to capture the action on video, which never worked that great. Then I exercised, studied Chinese for almost 2 hours (which I never would have done if I'd had internet and tv), and read and watched dvd's, all the while waiting for the cable and internet to come back on (it eventually did at 2am!). While I was worried about my air-conditioner unit falling off the side of the building or my windows breaking, the only damage for me was just a little bit of water leaking in through the windows. Sadly, many others experienced a lot worse. Many people had no power, were injured, had damage done to their houses or cars and 5 people were killed. It was a serious typhoon. Since I went to Taipei on Sunday for small group and church, I got to see some of the damage--mostly battered trees and plants, some scrawny trees blown over, signs bent or fallen over and lots of debris just on the streets and sidewalks. I wanted to take pictures, but I was in a rush today. This is all I have to show...and it doesn't even capture at all the severity of the storm or how crazy it actually was and sounded.


Watch the water in the bucket. By the end of the afternoon, there were no leaves left on my plant. Oh, and that's my A/C unit that was shaking and rattling all day.




Notice the swirling winds...almost 100mph.

BBQ

I forgot to mention the BBQ I went to last Tuesday for Moon Festival. It was a lot fun, mostly prepping for it. We BBQ-ed skewers of beef, peppers, mushrooms, and onions on the roof of someone's apartment buildin. It was yummy, but a slow process. It was fun to just be at a party and get to hang out with friends for a longer time than just after church or at small group. It felt fun to be doing the traditional Taiwanese thing of having a BBQ under the moon too! On the way home, I saw some local families squatting, doing their BBQ on the sidewalk in front of their house or store. It was funny. I also saw a kid with a pomelo rind on his head which is also a funny Moon Festival tradition. It's for good luck, I think.

Some pictures

Church Leaders Retreat

On Friday night after work, I left for The Pearl (my church) leaders retreat in nearby Green Bay- north of Taipei. It was weird to be included in this retreat as a leader since I still feel relatively new at the church, but since I am a small group leader, I was invited to go. And I am so glad I was. It was the most fun I've had in a really long time. We stayed at a Christian camp with a nice view of the ocean, though it was a little too far to walk to, so I never went in it. It was soooo nice to get out of the city for a couple of days and be in the midst of nature again! There were 12 of us and we had some sessions mixed with some fun times and getting to know each other. It was really interesting discussing the vision, mission, and strategy for the church. I've never been apart of such a young church and been involved in this way. It was really exciting! We stayed until Sunday afternoon. I just had so much fun getting to know the others better and just hanging out and sharing our hearts and our vision for the church. I kinda didn't want to come back...though I barely got any sleep there since we slept on the hard floor and had itty bitty pillows and I shared a room with a 1o mo. old and 3 others. There were 3 young married couples and that was also interesting...just comparing and sort of analyzing their marriages. haha. We also had fabulous food and it was all Western all weekend! The highlight was the nachos.

Then tonight at church the leaders were asked to share a little something, which was really scary getting up in front of the church. I shared about how I'd started coming to the church for mostly social reasons, but that I was challenged to get involved and invest and serve and so that's why I decided to co-lead a small group and just challenged the congregation to not worry about only being at the church a short time- but to just step up and get involved. We decided on a mission statement this weekend which states that "we are a community of disciples of Jesus that exists to provide a place to be restored, encouraged, equipped, and sent out, believing that we are all called to be workers for the harvest." We also discussed the vision for the church and used the analogy of an aircraft carrier. The Pearl is made up of many foreigners and locals and is a very transient body. So, the church is a place were people "dock" for a short time to "refuel," "get repaired," "get upgraded/trained" and then "take off" again back to our home countries or to other places. So we are constantly having people come and go and we want them to go having been restored, encouraged, and equipped so that they can be a light at their next destination. I am so excited to be apart of this...kinda happened suddenly, but I'm pumped about it. It's got me confused again though about my future... thinking that maybe I should stay here afterall? I want to really invest my time in this church and I'm having second thoughts about leaving in April. I don't know though....maybe it's just this weekend. I've had this thought before, but it has faded...so, we'll see. maybe God is trying to tell me something? I feel really confused. Then again I'm also really exhausted from the weekend and not thinking too clearly and am dreading work tomorrow. Yet, I also feel pumped and refreshed from the weekend too! It was good times.

Moon Festival

Happy Moon Festival! It's also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is basically a harvest festival and has many traditions and legends surrounding it. Some of my adult students tried to explain some but they all disagreed on the details and the story made no sense. Something to do with a queen, the moon, and a rabbit who makes medicine and cake? Something like that. This explains, somewhat the rabbit in 7-Eleven...sorta. :) Anyway, the biggest thing is to give moon cakes to people, so at school we collected quite a few. It's also tradition to eat pomelos and to have a BBQ under the moon. So, I've eaten the mooncakes, eaten the pomelo, and then tonight I am going to join some friends from church for the BBQ under the moon- on someone's roof. We had 2 days off for this holiday, but I always have Tuesdays off anyway. But it was so nice yesterday to sleep for 11 hours and then just totally relax the rest of the day!

clockwise from top: a Taiwan pomelo, my moon festival treats, a packaged green tea moon cake, what it looks like cut open...it didn't taste too good. Most of them don't. They are the kind of thing you eat only when you are really, really starving. :)

Simple Joys

Sometimes the simplest things can make one so happy. Today it was:

• finding red grapes at the supermarket and enjoying each bite of the delicious sweetness I haven't tasted in over a year!
  
• trying a Taiwanese specialty called luo wai? I think. You take a plastic basket and go to a buffet line and put whatever you want (veggies, tofu, meats, bamboo, pig ear, seafood) in your basket, then take it to another area and they fry it up for you with special sauces and noodles. Kind of a cross between Mongolian BBQ and hot pot, I guess, but it's all out on the street. I've wanted to try it for awhile, but wasn't sure how to do it. It's semi-tasty.
  
• having a wonderful Sunday with a great Biblestudy time, worship service, and fun times with friends after church. There's a girl in our Biblestudy who is a new believer and has so many questions and has been misled by JW's, so is a little confused. It was a great joy to help her through some questions and issues and show her clear answers in God's Word.
• this also made my day: a super jumbo giant sphere mango! Yes, that potato is normal size.

• rolling on the floor laughing which I haven't done since Christmas with my hilarious family. The cause of this uncontrollable laughter was a little website called I Can Has Cheezburger? So great.
• finally winning/finishing? solitaire on my iPod! I've been trying for months and can never win and tonight I did! hahahaha. Made my day!
• tomorrow is a holiday and though I kinda wanted to do something with friends, I also wanted a day to just totally relax and rest and since our plans fell through I can do just that. I'm so excited to sleep as late as I want to!
• and last thing- a live rabbit in 7-Eleven!! I'll explain it in my next post...about Moon Festival. Can you believe it? A rabbit just sitting on the checkout counter in a convenience store!? It's not a customer's pet- it's 7-Eleven's! So funny!
  

sorry the video is so shaky, I was trying to zoom out to show the store, but it wasn't working out.

HUGE answer to prayer!

Thank you all for your prayers about this license thing! God has answered them already! I got an email from Cedarville saying the problem is basically solved! The chairman of the Education Dept. gave special permission to have the time extended on my license application, so that I can turn it in in April when I get back to the US and get the fingerprinting and background check done. This is very unusual, so I am so thankful for this exception to the normal protocol. It saves me a lot of trouble and money! I am so relieved and just so thankful to not have to worry about this anymore or at least until April.

Thank you again for your prayers! :)

A Little Theory

I've developed this little theory about teaching English in a "cram school" such as the one I work at. As mentioned before, I am getting weary of this job and miss regular teaching sooo very much. This theory is related to why I believe I miss regular teaching so much and why I often struggle with work. I've talked to numerous other English teachers, both those certified as teachers and those who have some random college degree and are teaching English for whatever reason. So, I've done a little informal research for this theory. :)

Katie's Unofficial Theory: Teaching English at a Cram School is a Potentially Frustrating Career Move for Qualified and Certified Teachers*

• Learning English at a cram school is largely based on rote memorization and drilling which is not what regular teachers are used to or necessarily comfortable with and are taught not to do. Because of the memorization aspect, the students often cannot apply what they learn to another context or apply previous knowledge. It's so frustrating. If you change the memorized question or answer a tiny bit, they get completely thrown off and cannot answer you. Also, because of the memorization aspect, they often don't really learn the material or the language points. So, a few months later, they've already forgotten what they "knew" a few months earlier because they didn't really learn it. They just memorized it for the duration of the class (3 months) and enough to pass the exam. I get extremely excited when a student actually does apply something to another context or remembers something from before! It's so rare; it's exciting!
  
• Teaching English is incredibly formulaic. We are required to follow the same lesson format every single lesson and cannot get off schedule from the curriculum guide. We cannot slow down if the student need it or spend more time on a certain area. We simply have to keep going. There are strict guidelines to follow and very, very little freedom to do anything creative or different. It's the same thing every single day, basically, even though the words are different.
  
• Cram schools are primarily businesses, not schools. Therefore, the focus is on making money not on the education of the students. Due to this, many things are done to make sure the parents are happy, so that the school doesn't lose their business. Some of these "things" are very fishy, involve bad teaching practice, and some are downright unfair. Nearly all decisions made are about money and that's what the purpose of the school ultimately is. A business venture for the owners. This is drastically different from regular teaching where the focus is entirely on education and meeting the students' needs (ok, well there may be some regular schools that have lost this focus or are focused on test results alone.) But this is how we are trained to focus during college...on meeting the students needs...there's no talk of money!
  
• Cram schools are rather unprofessional in many ways. As just noted, the focus is not on the students, but on money. Additionally, many of the materials used are locally made by the actual school and therefore are quite low quality. Some of them are simply bizarre, disorganized, confusing, and the tests are often unfair. It's quite frustrating.
  
• Teaching second language learners itself is quite frustrating. It's very difficult to develop relationships with students because they understand so little and are often so shy to speak to the teacher casually or outside of class. I real miss that about regular teaching a lot. There is also a high turn-over rate of students, so that also makes getting to know them quite difficult. Teaching in a second language also means that discipline is incredibly difficult. They don't understand directions and if they are naughty, it's hard to explain to them why what they are doing is wrong or how they can change or why I took the action I did in helping them change their behavior. It's totally lost on them. I end up managing behavior in ways I was taught not to in college and doing things I don't want to do simply because there's no way around it when they can't understand you.
  
• It's incredibly difficult to give students the individual attention and help they need. There is simply not enough time. I only have an hour and a half with each class and then I have another class that starts right after, usually, so I have to leave. We can't go later. We have to end on time or the parents will complain. I also simply have too many students and classes to help individual students. Everything is always so rushed. It stresses me out. I feel so bad and frustrated that I cannot help the students individually and give them the help and attention they need.
  
• Many things I see and have to do or endure are simply bad teaching practice and go against what I've been taught. Students are promoted to higher levels of English when then haven't even mastered the lower level, students are in classes way beyond their ability level, discipline problems and special needs are simply ignored or tolerated and un-dealt with. Cheating is not a serious offense and students are often fed the answers. The standards are wishy-washy and students are constantly slipping through the cracks.
  

Now, I know that these criticisms of "cram schools" are not really legitimate educational concerns because afterall, they are not regular schools and don't claim to be. So, I am not complaining about my school, but rather giving reasons why it is hard to be in this kind of setting when you ARE a trained teacher who is used to much different standards and a different system and focus. In talking to other English teachers, I have found that those most satisfied with teaching at a "cram school" are those who are not actual certified teachers. Those who are teachers are the ones most bothered by these things because obviously, we've been trained otherwise and have a much different perspective on teaching. I have just had to accept that this is completely different and try as hard as I possibly can not to do too many things that go against what I've learned all the while trying not to get in trouble with my bosses either. I just hope I don't forget how to be a good regular teacher!

So, that's the end of my theory...I hope it doesn't sound too negative or too much like I'm complaining. I mean, I am thankful for my job and what I've learned and I knew somewhat what I was getting into when I signed the contract. I've delayed posting this because of 3 reasons. I feel like much of my blog is negative and didn't want another negative post. The other 2 reasons are 2 people: one of my best friends from college who is also a certified teacher and is planning on coming here to teach English next year (I didn't want to scare her off, but she asked me to post this!) and the other person is a co-worker who reads this (but, we're friends and I trust her). I know God led me here and even to this job and particular school, so I am thankful for his leading and his peace despite work frustrations.

*I do have my diploma, ACSI certificate, and application for my Ohio certification...but just not the actual certification itself, so, I am certified, but only partially, I guess. (see previous posts)

Links

• Big news in Taiwan today! Too bad I missed it because I had to work. But as hoped, "we" made international news! I just saw it mentioned on CNN for all of 5 seconds!
  
• I finally found my town on a map! (then I customized it for your convenience).
• My tiny "hometown" of Muncie, IN made the Odd News on Yahoo! I'm so proud.
  

Frustrated beyond belief

So, I was having a wonderful week...but it has slowly deteriorated into complete frustration. I am having a HUGE problem with getting my Ohio teaching license. It's quite a long story, but basically, when I left for China last Sept., I wasn't aware that I was supposed to complete an application for my license and get a criminal background check and fingerprinting done. So, in June when I still hadn't received my license (I didn't press it before that because of I assumed there may have been a mix up with my actual graduating date- Dec. vs. the expected May) and my friends who graduated in May had theirs....I knew there was a problem. So, I emailed Cedarville and found out that the problem was that I hadn't even applied for one (which I didn't know I was supposed to have done last Sept.). So, then I sent an application for CU to send to the Ohio Dept. of Education. Well, weeks went by and I didn't hear from CU despite my emails inquiring if they'd even received my application. Finally, last week I emailed one of my professors to help me figure out what was going on. Well, the person who handles this sort of stuff left the department in July, so somehow my application got "lost in the shuffle." Argh. So, then I thought I was all set until I was told that CU can't send Ohio my application because I haven't had a criminal check and fingerprinting done in 3 years. But the catch is that this can only be done in OH! And what's worse is that there is a time restriction. I have to have this done by Dec. 6th as that is when I officially graduated from CU a year ago! So, somehow I've got to get this done by then or I can't get my Ohio license and have to apply to another state sometime or I have to go back to CU and do some extra course work and re-graduate!

So, basically, I have 3 options which are all a little unclear at this point.

1. Fly back to the US just to have this criminal check and fingerprinting done.
2. Let the time lapse on applying for an Ohio license and then next year try to apply to another state, which may mean doing some other required tests or classes. :(
   
3. Let the time lapse and then next year return to CU and complete any course work that is required to met the current graduating standards and then receive my license when I complete whatever needs to be done.
   

I was hoping to teach in Ohio next year...and taking more classes or tests seems almost worse right now than shelling out $1000+ and taking up the vacation days I'm saving for Christmas to fly back to the US!
So, needless to say, I am really frustrated and discouraged. I don't know what to do. I feel really frustrated with CU as well that they let me just "slip through the cracks" and now I'm stuck in this position. I was given the OK to leave for China and even asked then and in Dec. on the phone with CU whether there was anything else I needed to do....somehow it got overlooked that I hadn't done these important steps and no one caught it until June and then ignored my emails in August and forgot about me again until I emailed again last week. I am also just really regretting graduating early and doing student teaching overseas which is what threw everything off. It has caused more problems....arghh.... And I was having such a good week too....

I'd appreciate your prayers.

Milestones

As of today, I have been overseas for one whole year (except for those 6 days in December in PA). I can't believe it's been a full year. Sometimes that seems so long; other times it seems like it's gone by so fast. It's been quite the roller coaster of a year that's for sure.

Last week my parents celebrated 30 years of being overseas as missionaries! Considering just what I've learned recently about missions from working at ABWE last summer, seeing how a missionary community works in China, and being here as sorta a single missionary in a sense... I have a new and deeper admiration for my parents and their dedication to missions and the people of South East Asia. My 1 year of experiences, challenges, lessons, and blessings...versus their 30 years of experiences, challenges, lessons, and many blessings given to them and the huge blessing that they have been to countless others. I am so proud of them! :)

Answer to prayer!

I had a wonderful day at work today which was so weird because I had a super lousy week last week packed full of frustration and bad moods. I was really praying for a more positive week and a better attitude. And I had a great weekend and then a great start to the week! Thank God for his grace!

Update

The earthquake I felt two days ago was a 6.5!

I finally tried a local Mexican restaurant here in NanKan last night. I've been meaning to try it for months and finally got around to it! It was the most bizarre, but delightful experience. I went into this hole in the wall restaurant which was packed with junk, but no other customers! I ordered an enchilada and it was served to me complete with a garnish and everything within 10 minutes. It was really, really delicious too! I asked the only employee-the owner and cook how she learned to make Mexican food and she told me that 15 years ago she lived in Texas and worked at Chi-Chi's! hahahahaha. The restaurant had some Mexican decor, but also had a lot of random stuff like clothes, bags, and knick-knacks that I wasn't sure if they were for sale or what? I kinda felt like I was in this lady's house! So, it was all very weird...but yummy food! I'll definitely be back. I asked her if she had a lot of customers and she said she did, so maybe next time I won't be the only one.

Since my attempts to find a group class to learn Chinese failed because of my unusual schedule, I bought a book with a CD to learn myself! Lol. This will be interesting for sure! I've already done one hour so far- numbers and tones! We'll see how disciplined I can be with this...

Earthquake!

Oh my! We just had an earthquake! It was so scary, I'm still shaking and I feel like I might throw up. I didn't think earthquakes scared me, but being alone and on the 13th floor of a really high apartment building makes it a little scary. I felt like I was watching a movie seeing everything swinging like that, especially my glass lighting fixture, which I was afraid was going to come crashing down any second. It was really scary. I was just heading to my closet to take cover when it stopped. It was probably only a minute long, but it was a scary minute!

I don't remember my last earthquake too well...the last one must have been in 1990 in Manila and it lead to me being saved! I just remember being in a swimming pool with my family and being tipped and spilled out with the water! And then running out into the nearby yard. I don't really remember if I was that scared. But the next day or whenever, my brother was reading the death toll in the newspaper and told me very matter-of-fact that if I had died in the earthquake, I wouldn't have gone to heaven because I wasn't a Christian. At 5 years old, I was petrified and asked my mom how I could go to heaven.

Ok, I think I've calmed down now...whew!

Yay, it's September

Well, not much new going on here...but thought I should update anyway since it's been awhile.
The new Biblestudy that I mentioned I was asked to co-lead for new believers is now going to happen! We're starting in 2 weeks. We are going to go through the book, The Fight by John White. It's supposed to be really good for new believers. I am very excited and nervous about this new opportunity to get involved and to minister to others.

This month on the Chinese calendar is "Ghost Month." I've had a couple of my adult students try to explain it to me. It's very interesting, yet really sad. Basically, the gates of hell are opened up for a month and ghosts are allowed to come up to earth and do as they wish. So, because of all the ghosts supposedly around, people take extra caution during this month and don't take risks like getting married or buying a new house. Also, to ward off the ghosts' mischief, they have to offer them food and drinks and incense on the first, middle, and last days of the month. People are always making offerings and burning "ghost money" on the first and middle of the month, but during this month it is even more important and they do more. It's very sad.

Well, sorry, I guess that's really all to report...hahaha. I'll try to think of something more exciting next time.

Catching Up!

Oh dear! It's been over a week! I was trying not to let that happen. Oh well.

Recent happenings...
-School was canceled last Saturday much to my dismay, yet also delight. I wanted the sleep and day off, but then again this month's paycheck will be significantly lower than usual.

-As for Typhoon Sepat...what a non-event! It didn't even rain on Saturday and while the wind was really intense, it didn't really feel like a typhoon to me. I guess I was expecting something more dramatic. Since we weren't supposed to go outside, I just spent the whole day inside wasting my day away in bed, in front of the tv, and computer. Well, I did do some cleaning too, so the day wasn't a total waste. :) It was nice to relax though. I was just disappointed by the typhoon. Some areas in Taiwan were hit quite hard and had power outages, flooding, and landslides. But everything was fine and dandy in my area- just windy. It seems like this past summer has brought extreme weather everywhere and now the midwest is getting hit with storms and floods!

-I was asked to lead my small group this Tuesday night, so I am excited about that opportunity. I was also asked to consider co-leading a small group for new believers. It's still just in the works, but I am also excited about this opportunity for further ministry and involvement in my church.

-We have a new teacher arriving next week as the teacher who arrived way back in March has left. I met the new teacher today and he is very nice. He's my age and also from the midwest. He's an ABC (American Born Chinese). Even though I struggled initially with the teacher who just left, we actually eventually became good friends and I was a little sad to see him go. He toned down his language for me, stopped complaining so much, and didn't laugh in my face when I invited him to church once! Now, I am struggling with the new teacher who came in July...but maybe things will get better with him too. He's mid-thirties, negative, and quite unfriendly. We'll see...

-I awoke last Monday morning to very disturbing news on CNN- a China Airlines plane had exploded a few hours earlier on the tarmac in Okinawa, Japan. While any airplane disaster is disconcerting, this is especially disturbing for my family because this flight is the EXACT flight we were planning to take to Japan at Christmastime to spend the holidays with Michael! Same airline, same route, same time, probably same flight number too- very, very scary. Of all airlines and all airports...it would be our next choice of air travel! :/ Unfortunately, this airline is the only one that flies between Taipei and Okinawa and because of that, they probably won't lower their ticket prices as I had thought they might after this kind of bad publicity. So, we're stuck with them or taking a very long and inconvenient ferry ride. But, I'm thinking- what are the chances of there being another plane disaster with the same airline on the same route?...right?

-Many of my friends from CU are starting their first week of teaching this week and it has brought mixed emotions for me as I am so anxious to have my own classroom and start my first school year as an elementary teacher- but in God's timing, I will. Lord willing, a year from now. Other friends are starting their second week back at college and part of me longs to be there too...but wait! I already graduated from college, yet I still miss those good times, great memories, and the excitement of starting another school year full of opportunities and learning! :) I'm trying not to be envious of them and be satisfied with where I am. The grass is always greener on the other side...