Always an Adventure...

One of these days I'll get around to taking some pics of this church, but until then, here are two pictures of this week's bulletin. The front has a picture of the church and the inside is advertising my class (apparently!) Speaking of which, my classes in the church this week started of really well! Both had a lot of new students, who hopefully will stick around for the semester. The pastor had an idea which was proposed to my students before I was told about it, but fortunately it's a good idea - to have dinner together before class on wed and fri downstairs in the coffee shop type place that the church runs. So we'll see how that goes next week and if anyone shows up early! Oh yeah, and I have a funny language story, though I don't know if it's appropriate for this blog, so if you wanna hear it, ask me about kleenex!

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new.However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like.You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation.You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

I started watching season 1 of Lost. It's pretty good, though not as riveting as 24, it's still a nice diversion I made french onion soup yesterday, particularly nice with the swiss cheese I bought in Carrefour on the weekend and am trying to use before it goes moldy on me I've had two further days of confirmation regarding the principle observed in schools and other public institutions across Taiwan: a. One must acquire every variety of the latest technology for one's school/library/office/church and should display it somewhere within said institution, even better if it's all in one room b. One must not actually teach anyone within the premises how to use previously mentioned technology (it would be breaking a sacred code I suppose) Technology woes aside, I've had a pretty good week so far. I've enjoyed showing some pictures of my time in Canada to my classes, and, after 6 classes only, can predict with accuracy when students will gasp, break into chatter,

I'm back in Yilan again after a few days in Yuli. It was so great to see all my friends there as always. Sometimes I'm amazed that certain people still remember me, like store owners - even of places I didn't go THAT often. I guess a year is kind of a long time, and when there aren't that many places to shop, you tend to go to the same places frequently. I saw the teachers from some of the schools we taught at last year, and it made me want to visit them all again! Maybe next time I'll try to borrow a vehicle and go for a few quick visits. Also, I got to have dinner at my old house with my old landlords, Jeff and Sherly, who are expecting twins!! Jeff is a really cute father-to-be, right now he's doing all the cooking and cleaning, and was talking about how they're only buying organic foods now to be healthy for their babies. They're so excited! They've been married 7 years if I remember correctly, and have been wanting children for a long time. I a

On Sunday evening, I was lucky enough to attend Yilan's Lantern Festival celebrations. Sunday was the final day of Chinese New Year, which lasts 12 days I believe. Last year I saw some lanterns in Yuli, but it was nothing compared to what Yilan had. Though I've heard the most elaborate celebrations are in Tainan. We had to drive about 10-15 minutes to get to the park where the festival was being held. Parking was a nightmare, but we finally found a spot and waded through the crowds at a makeshift nightmarket (arguably larger than Yilan's nightmarket). All the while I could hear and see fireworks going off somewhere ahead. When we got to the park, I was stunned by the decorations, I found it to be quite amazing! There were walkways through what seemed like a tunnel of lights, lanterns in the small pond, bands, light shows, and best of all, tons of little displays or scenes made up of different sizes of lanterns, shaped like everything imaginable. I really enjoyed attending,

Dogs featured big in this year's decorations.  

The park was decorated with a number of different scenes made up of small lanterns, orante and subtly lit.  

Under the sea 

Fruit 

Friends and families write their wishes or blessings on the huge paper lantern. After lighting it, they hold it to the ground until the lantern fills with hot air.  

up up and away

Happy Valentine's Day! Sadly I am not doing much today, but thanks to Jo, I have something to post: Four jobs you've had in your life: 1) Residence Coordinator 2) English teacher 3) Tim Horton's cashier/baker 4) Library front desk Four movies you could watch over and over again: 1) Memento 2) Lord of the Rings (um, all of them) 3) Finding Nemo 4) Gattaca Four TV shows you love(d) to watch 1) 24 2) The Simpsons 3) The Amazing Race 4) Corner Gas Four places you've lived: 1) Castlegar, BC 2) Caronport, SK 3) Camrose, AB 4) Yuli, Taiwan Four places you've been on vacation to: (Canada! LOL) 1) Quebec City 2) Sao Luis, Brazil (well it wasn't really a vacation, but it was a cool trip) 3) Hong Kong 4) Green Island Four places you would rather be (or where you'll like to visit?): 1) The Great Wall of China 2) Thailand 3) South Korea 4) Singapore (all places I hope to visit while I live in Asia) Four of your favourite foods: 1) Pad Thai from the Thai place in Yuli 2)

Am I homeless or multi-homed? I don't think that's actually a word, maybe I should coin it? Homed to perfection? Anyways, if this entry doesn't make sense I'll blame it on jet lag ;) Here I am, back in Yilan, and unfortunately didn't blog much about my trip while I was there, but I did get some pics up . Overall it was a great (albeit expensive) time. From Caronport I spent some time in Regina with Kaia and Vanessa, also seeing Krista and some family. We went mini-golfing, which I don't think has come to Taiwan yet. At least I've never seen a mini-golf course here. If anyone knows of one, please enlighten me! I also watched a number of movies including Memoirs of a Geisha (excellent, hope the film doesn't catch fire when you go see it), Syriana (not bad, but really heavy - make sure you're in the right mental space if you decide to go see it), and Pride and Prejudice (sigh...timeless). I saw a ton of people and had some great visits, though most were

Coming soon to the Food Network...

 

 

Finished Product 

 

 

Yes, Canadians really do eat ice cream in the winter. mmmmmm 

Outside my aunt's farm.

Well I'm back from my trip to Alberta and Saskatchewan, I can't believe I've only got 3 days left!! Time has really flown by. I've got tons of pictures to post, as you may expect. I'll start with these:

Adam and Erin's daughter Mattea in (one of) the chinese shoes I gave her 

My cousin Noah in his Chinese shirt (from Hong Kong too) 

My cousin Mallory in her chinese coat 

My cousin Marshall in his Hong Kong t-shirt 

From Hope's blog: If YOU have a blog and a few seconds on your hands, do a google search for your first name plus the word "needs," then put the first ten results on your own blog (or in my comments!) Sooo funny! 1.Charlotte needs to look beyond banks 2. Charlotte needs an airport that is focused on its hub but also on those travelers. 3. Charlotte Needs to Encourage a More Meaningful Dialogue. 4. Charlotte needs to control fans 5. Features: Charlotte needs your help! 6. Charlotte Needs You 7. Charlotte needs more breath taking, and more often. 8. Charlotte needs Get Fuzzy. 9. CHARLOTTE NEEDS YOUR VOTE! 10. I think Charlotte needs another low/middle-end grocery store. My favorites have got to be 4 and 7.... I'll work on getting my fans under control.... they go a little crazy sometimes. ;)

I've been spending the last few days in the great place I went to school, Briercrest . After only 3 semesters away, a lot has changed. Not many familiar faces, though I've been pleasantly suprised at some of the people I've run into. Of course I'm staying with my old rommate (or, as she would put it, my roommate forever) Johanna who has been one of the people I have best kept in touch with while in Taiwan. I've also been able to reconnect with a number of old friends and Brazil teammates. It's been a huge blessing to be here, to participate in English worship services, and to be at school without worrying about getting tomorrow's reading done or finishing up that paper... instead I've been drinking tea, listening to Jack Johnson , baking, shopping, watching Corner Gas and going for coffee. Here's an excerpt from the conversation I've had a number of times with slight variations: Person making small-talk: So where are you from? Me: B.C. original