Always an Adventure...

I have to add this quote before I forget it... On Thursday night we were talking with our good friend Jack (whose family I spent Chinese New Year with), and Hope asked him if he likes his job (he's one of the many psychiatrists we know), to which he replied, "Sure, I get paid to talk all day!" Come to think of it.... so do we!

Our wonderful kids in English Club! Last class # 2! 

Sorry for my lack of posting, it has just been so busy this week! Our Thursday night class went soooo well, you can read about it here. Today we are finishing two more classes and then catching a train to Taitung (Taidong) where we will stay with Faith. Tomorrow morning at about 7:30 we will take a boat to Green Island and spend two days, one night there! It promises to be a really great trip! And to top it all off, it's Hope's birthday on Monday!! Sorry for my brevity, but many pictures to come! Here's one to tide you over ;)

Our "Graduation" picture!  

This week three of our classes will come to an end, so sad! Our three "clubs," two for adults and one for children, have run their courses, and have been among our funnest classes to teach... Anyways we'll be finishing with some exciting stuff, including a review game show. I made a batch of cookie dough and put it in the freezer (a trick I learned from someone in college, or rather their grandma), so hopefully I'll have time on Thursday to bake all my cookies and bring them to class! Summer camp is starting to come together, though it's a little stressful at the moment. I'm feeling better about it now though. We had three meetings last week, two with the music team (teaching them the songs we've chosen and practicing them) who we will be joining in the mornings, and one with the leaders/organizational committee. It is a 5 day camp for Jr. High students that is being partly sponsored by the government. As for our part, we get two hours a morning to teach...

Help - By Shel Silverstein I walked through a wildwood, and what did I see But a unicorn with his horn stuck in a tree, Cryin', "Someone please help me before it's too late." I hollered, " I'll free you." He hollered back, "Wait- How much will it hurt? How long will it take? Are you sure that my horn will not scratch, bend or break? How hard will you pull? How much must I pay? Must you do it right now or is Wednesday okay? Have you done this before? Do you have the right tools? Have you graduated from horn-savin' school? Will I owe you a favor? And what will it be? Do you promise that you will not damage the tree? Should I close my eyes? Should I sit down or stand? Do you have insurance? Have you washed your hands? And after you free me - tell me what then? Can you guarantee I won't get stuck again? Tell me when . Tell me how . Tell me why . Tell me where ..." I guess that he's still sittin' there. I think this is exactly ho...

sorry to say, I'm feeling kind of cranky this day. I stubbed my toe. It bled. Of course the day wasn't all bad, I had a reasonably fun Chinese class where we learned that when they really want to express the completeness of an action they continue to add the particle "le" which means you get such interesting phrases as kanle shule, chile fanle, shuole huole, and a variety of other phrases which sound most amusing when said in quick succession. I had my Yuli Elementary class today, they are so adorable! It was really hot today, and during both of my classes it felt like my face and neck were covered in sweat! ICK. I later discovered that that classroom at least, has air conditioning. We played a lot of games in my class today since I was getting bored of teaching the same way every day (and if I'm bored, my students surely must be!), I actually divided them into four teams and did a series of competitions to illustrate the verbs I was teaching (swimming, jumping e...

Your #1 Match: INFJ The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. Your #2 Match: INFP The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. Your #3 Match: ENFJ The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connection...

I believe I got these pics from the offical movie website.  

i'm sorry i haven't updated this week! it hasn't been incredibly exciting, a lot of rain... though I did manage a long bike ride one afternoon (about 35-40 minutes each way) two of our Jr. Highs and one of our Elementarys had midterms this week, so it was less busy than usual, which allowed me to devote time to my recent obsession: The Phantom of the Opera, so here, I shall regale to you my history with Phantom... I am currently listening to the music, which I bought in Taipei over Chinese New Year.. so good! I have a better version at home on cassette tape which won't see the light of day for awhile... but I think I listened to it when I was packing up at the end of my college year last year. I read an abridged version of the story when I was young, and of course loved it. I really got into it though, in 2000, when I went to see it performed live in Spokane, Washington. It was amazing, one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! I was amazed at the chandelier, a c...

Almost two weeks into Brazilian culture. There are things I love and things I hate. I hate the heat, bugs and cold water showers. But I love the people, the beauty of this place, the ocean. I love how everyone is so affectionate here, but I hate how EVERYONE stares at us. I hate the phones but love the ice cream. My first week of teaching finished. Can I really be a teacher full time? These kids are so excited and thankful to be able to learn English. What will be the difference in a country like Korea where they are forced to learn English by their parents and don't have good attitudes? Can I go somewhere like that without knowing the language and without a team? I have seen so many interesting things - traffic jams, beautiful people and children, despair, hopelessness covered up with bright colors. A world burned and blackened with age yet full of life and vigor. These are a people holding onto whatever they can. Yet is our way of life better?

taught some English spoke some Chinese drank some coffee spilt some coffee on someone's computer ate some noodles watched some Phantom of the Opera

I saw THE most amazing sunset I have seen here yet. It was so incredible that I actually climbed up to the roof of my house to take pictures (there are stairs, but it is only the second time I've gone up there)

Missing Saskatchewan..... I got to see these so much more frequently there.

Someday I want to live near the water, facing west, where I will experience sunsets as often as I can...  

Today when I was on my way to class at Yuli Elementary school, this little girl stopped me. I wasn't sure why she stopped me , since it was "after school" and there were a number of parents and children coming and going from the scene, as well as a couple of school guards at the gate controlling traffic and such. Anyways, she stopped me, and said something in Chinese that I didn't totally understand, but I got enough to know it was something about her mother, then she started crying! She was probably about seven years old. So I asked her what her mother's name was (not sure as to the usefulness of that question) and where she was. She said her mom was at home and wasn't coming to pick her up. I wasn't sure if she should just wait or what, but I offered to let her use my cellphone to call her mom. She said her mom was on the way and that she's be ok waiting, and so I went to class, thankful that I'd had my cellphone, and that I could understand/spea...

Hope, Ariel, Richard (Ariel's boyfriend) 

Hope and I on Sunday 

Our beautiful friend Ariel 

The view at Hualian's Dong-Hua University 

Liz and Jessie 

The skit 

Our hotel room 

In the hotel 

 

 

View from the bed and breakfast 

Pacific Ocean 

wow, we spent a disproportionate amount of time in Hualian last week! It was rather fun though. On Monday we took the train there and met Lisa, who is an English teacher and a friend of our wonderful Amy Jieh. She took us past Hualian ocean park (a huge amusement park) out to a bed and breakfast that her friend owns right on the Pacific ocean and we had coffee. It was so beautiful out there! We then went back to do a little shopping (bought a bunt (cake) pan, caramel sauce, some parmesan cheese, and my new birthday skirt!) . We were checked into the Marshal hotel, which is a really nice hotel! We paid about $100 (total) for our shared room, which we got a 40% discount on since it was the middle of the week. The cost was NT$2800 instead of like NT$5600! It was a really nice room! We went for dinner at a very exciting find: an Indian and Pakistani restaurant! The owner is from Pakistan and speaks English quite well. It was really good food, and a nice break from the usual. In the evening...