The skies have opened up and deluged their contents upon Taiwan.
Fortunately, I now have in my possession a raincoat, so I can ride my bike without too much misery. The sun peeked out for a little while today, like a long lost friend. The floodwaters on our balcony have begun receeding, though who knows what tomorrow will hold...
Now that you are all rolling your eyes at my penchant for the dramatic, let me fill you in on my not-so-exciting week...
Only 4 classes this week, it was a pretty easy time. The first and last day of a class are sometimes the best ones though...
Anyways, this week I gained a new appreciation for my students, and the fact that even the smallest love, kindness, or attention I can show them can be huge in their lives.
In my Tuesday night class after I said goodbye and dismissed the students, one girl (about 10 or 11) came and hugged me and began to sob. I just hugged her and let her cry into my shoulder for a long time, wishing to show her that she was important to me. After we left the class Lucia (my coteacher) told me that she doesn't live with her parents (this is quite common due to divorce, alcoholism, and poverty among Taiwan's aboriginals).
Today I had my last class at Yon Feng, which was a lot of fun! The kids there are just SO adorable... about 10 of the girls decided that I should adopt them as daughters lol. At the end of it all, I have a huge pile of cards from my students there and a couple of really cute gifts, including a stuffed animal from a little boy, and some little homemade crafts. Two of the cards I got were just amazing, I'll take pictures of them, they are so artistic, as good as any scrapbook page I've made!
In the meantime, here are a couple picture of my students taken awhile ago, to tide you over while I wait to get pictures from the camera I've borrowed.