For those of you who didn't know, I arrived home Saturday at 3:00 pm! The flight was LONG (another 20 hours) but it actually went much smoother than the flight over there. The only slight delay was in Detroit where it was snowing and they had to keep de-icing the plane. When I arrived in Indy Mom, Dad, and the girls were waiting for me. We went home and the house was EXTREMELY clean so I knew something was up. We went to church and ALL of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were there from Cincinnati. We came home after church and Mom cooked chilli, and garlic bread, and brownies, and cupcakes, and homemade fudge. AMAZING!
It's wonderful to be home again and to be surrounded by all the people that I love and that I missed so much while I was gone. Taiwan was an amazing experience and I'm really happy that I decided to go. I formed some great friendships and learned a lot about the people and the culture there. Now I'm back home enjoying (and being grateful) for all of the little things we have here such as fluffy beds, Western toilets, Mountain Dew, and water we can brush our teeth with! God Bless America :-)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Press Conference
Just finished our press conference! We met with the mayor and the principal and some other important directors. There were tons of cameras flashing and video cameras filming us. We wrote calligraphy for the mayor and exchanged gifts. We're kind of a big deal here! Look for us in the news tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
English Camp
Things are really going well with English camp. Cheerleading is a hit! It's awesome that I can share one of my passions with the children here and it can help them practice English at the same time! We even have a group of boys enrolled in the class. They weren't very happy about it at first, but after the first day they were cheering along and some of them were the first in line today for tumbling! Art class is going very smoothly. We were able to use some of the art projects we learned this semester in Art Class at the college to use with our students. Also, I was blessed with the highest level English speakers to work with on the play I am directing. While I AM extremely busy, I could not ask for things to be going better.
This week I've really gotten to know the kids a lot better. Now that there are only 90 kids (instead of the 2000) I'm recognizing faces and learning names. Kids are giving me hugs and drawing me pictures. Instead of just "teacher" I am Teacher Nicole now. This is the type of bond that really makes teaching worthwhile for me. I love knowing I can be a postive role model in a child's life. I like knowing I am helping these children WANT to speak English because they WANT to communicate with me so badly. It's almost a shame we have to leave so quickly after getting to know the kids.
Our time here is winding down though. Friday we have a half day and then we leave on the 4 hour bus ride back to Taipei. Saturday morning we have to be at the airport at 6:30 in the morning. Before we know it I'll be an American again!!!
This week I've really gotten to know the kids a lot better. Now that there are only 90 kids (instead of the 2000) I'm recognizing faces and learning names. Kids are giving me hugs and drawing me pictures. Instead of just "teacher" I am Teacher Nicole now. This is the type of bond that really makes teaching worthwhile for me. I love knowing I can be a postive role model in a child's life. I like knowing I am helping these children WANT to speak English because they WANT to communicate with me so badly. It's almost a shame we have to leave so quickly after getting to know the kids.
Our time here is winding down though. Friday we have a half day and then we leave on the 4 hour bus ride back to Taipei. Saturday morning we have to be at the airport at 6:30 in the morning. Before we know it I'll be an American again!!!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Crazy Week!
Sunday we went to Kenting w/ Dr. Tien and two of his daughters, Esther and Deborah. We had a blast! It was 95 degrees and BEAUTIFUL at the beach. We were able to lay out and play in the Pacific Ocean. It was nice to have a day where we could just lay around and take a deep breath. I definitely was not jealous of my friends and family back home in the subarctic temperatures! I was too busy enjoying the Hawaii of Taiwan!
This week is CRAZY! It's our last week here. The kids are done w/ regular classes for the semester but we are putting on an English Camp for 90 kids. I am in charge of cheerleading, art, and I'm directing a play. I'm honestly busy nearly the whole 8 hours I'm here! It's a little disorganized and the Chinese student teachers who are helping us are stressing us out a little because they don't completely understand the things we're doing, but we're going to get through it. I might not have much time to blog this week since everything is so hectic. I leave for home in 4 days! I know it will go quickly!
This week is CRAZY! It's our last week here. The kids are done w/ regular classes for the semester but we are putting on an English Camp for 90 kids. I am in charge of cheerleading, art, and I'm directing a play. I'm honestly busy nearly the whole 8 hours I'm here! It's a little disorganized and the Chinese student teachers who are helping us are stressing us out a little because they don't completely understand the things we're doing, but we're going to get through it. I might not have much time to blog this week since everything is so hectic. I leave for home in 4 days! I know it will go quickly!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Trips with Dr. Tien
We got to skip school again on Friday! I'm loving these 3 day weekends :-) Dr. Tien picked us up in his 11 passenger van from the clinic. His youngest daughter Ester came with us (she's 11 and one of my 6th graders) and brought her friend Sarah who is 8. They both have amazing English. We all piled in and headed to Nantou, in the mountains. The 2 kids and I sat in the very back and played games and talked. I finally found someone on my level! I was getting tired of being around people my own age and older all the time! Being with Sarah and Ester reminded me of being with some of my little cousins. I helped take care of them throughout the trip and Ester told me I was a good babysitter! I learned a lot of things about kids here. Apparently High School Musical and the Disney Channel are international crazes!
Anyway......What I thought was going to be a 2 1/2 hr drive turned into 4 hours. When we finally arrived, it was beautiful. We were greeted by the pastor of a church there and that's where we stayed. They had rooms set up for us because part of the church had once been a small hotel to help raise extra money. We went to the hot springs. I could really get used to these hot springs around here! These were fresh water hot springs, but they were so relaxing.
We went back to the church and had a praise service. It was at a Christian church but it was all in Chinese. It was a little overwhelming, but at the same time it was nice for me to be able to sit in a pew with a cross infront of me and pray for a while. Later that night some of the aboriginal women performed native dances for us and taught us some. We even got to try on their native clothes. I must admit, when I heard we were going to an aboriginal village I was expecting a fire with people dancing around it. Much like the Native American reservations we visited out west, I was a little disappointed. These aboriginal women were just normal Asians who were Christians but just knew the native dances. Their ancestors were "true aboriginals" but just like actual Native Americans they live a modern life.
We had tea and then went to bed (which is a habit I could probably get used to). Us 5 college girls with our 2 little friends in one room. We had to be at breakfast at 7 in the morning, so needless to say we didn't get tons of sleep at our slumber party. After breakfast we went hiking for a while. The water was very low and peaceful looking but there were rocks all over the place. This is the dry season, during the rainy season the water runs wild. The Pacific Ocean is also on the other side of the mountains so when typhoons come these people get all the rain. We walked by houses that had the whole bottom floors filled with rocks. The rocks come down from the mountains and are washed into houses by the water. In addition to the water and rock damange, earthquakes are common in these areas. The church has been damaged several times and many of the homes in the area have been destroyed. Taiwan (much like Hawaii) sits on the Ring of Fire. There are volcanoes, earthquakes, and hot springs because of it.
We just visited Dr. Tien's new orphanage he is building. It should be done in a few weeks. It's really big. We are now sitting in his new clinic using the computers. When he used the term "clinic" this is not what I had imagined I would find. It's a 6 floor hospital with 3 doctors who work here, 50 nurses, and 2 floors of patients who live here permanently. This is not just a small clinic. Dr. Tien owns it all. Here in Taiwan you pay 40% of your income in taxes. He pays 6 million NT in taxes, so he makes over 12 million NT (at least 4 million American dollars) a YEAR! It's so nice to see someone with that much money doing such great things with it. This new orphanage he is building from the ground up. He's also starting a cram school for kids who can not afford it. A cram school is extra preparation for college. The whole family really is so nice! We are waiting here at the clinic until 7 tonight. He is taking us to a violin concert.
In the morning he is picking us up and taking us to Kenting. It's a beautiful beach on the southern tip of Taiwan. It is at the same latitude as Hawaii and is known as the Hawaii of Taiwan. Needless to say I'm really looking forward to it......I hear it is freezing cold back home. Getting off the airplane next week will be quite a shock to my system!
Anyway......What I thought was going to be a 2 1/2 hr drive turned into 4 hours. When we finally arrived, it was beautiful. We were greeted by the pastor of a church there and that's where we stayed. They had rooms set up for us because part of the church had once been a small hotel to help raise extra money. We went to the hot springs. I could really get used to these hot springs around here! These were fresh water hot springs, but they were so relaxing.
We went back to the church and had a praise service. It was at a Christian church but it was all in Chinese. It was a little overwhelming, but at the same time it was nice for me to be able to sit in a pew with a cross infront of me and pray for a while. Later that night some of the aboriginal women performed native dances for us and taught us some. We even got to try on their native clothes. I must admit, when I heard we were going to an aboriginal village I was expecting a fire with people dancing around it. Much like the Native American reservations we visited out west, I was a little disappointed. These aboriginal women were just normal Asians who were Christians but just knew the native dances. Their ancestors were "true aboriginals" but just like actual Native Americans they live a modern life.
We had tea and then went to bed (which is a habit I could probably get used to). Us 5 college girls with our 2 little friends in one room. We had to be at breakfast at 7 in the morning, so needless to say we didn't get tons of sleep at our slumber party. After breakfast we went hiking for a while. The water was very low and peaceful looking but there were rocks all over the place. This is the dry season, during the rainy season the water runs wild. The Pacific Ocean is also on the other side of the mountains so when typhoons come these people get all the rain. We walked by houses that had the whole bottom floors filled with rocks. The rocks come down from the mountains and are washed into houses by the water. In addition to the water and rock damange, earthquakes are common in these areas. The church has been damaged several times and many of the homes in the area have been destroyed. Taiwan (much like Hawaii) sits on the Ring of Fire. There are volcanoes, earthquakes, and hot springs because of it.
We just visited Dr. Tien's new orphanage he is building. It should be done in a few weeks. It's really big. We are now sitting in his new clinic using the computers. When he used the term "clinic" this is not what I had imagined I would find. It's a 6 floor hospital with 3 doctors who work here, 50 nurses, and 2 floors of patients who live here permanently. This is not just a small clinic. Dr. Tien owns it all. Here in Taiwan you pay 40% of your income in taxes. He pays 6 million NT in taxes, so he makes over 12 million NT (at least 4 million American dollars) a YEAR! It's so nice to see someone with that much money doing such great things with it. This new orphanage he is building from the ground up. He's also starting a cram school for kids who can not afford it. A cram school is extra preparation for college. The whole family really is so nice! We are waiting here at the clinic until 7 tonight. He is taking us to a violin concert.
In the morning he is picking us up and taking us to Kenting. It's a beautiful beach on the southern tip of Taiwan. It is at the same latitude as Hawaii and is known as the Hawaii of Taiwan. Needless to say I'm really looking forward to it......I hear it is freezing cold back home. Getting off the airplane next week will be quite a shock to my system!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Teachers or Students? BOTH!
Yesterday they arranged more classes for us to learn more about Chinese/Taiwanese culture. For 3 hrs Monday afternoon we worked on Chinese knots. It was kind of neat, we got to make these little firecracker-looking things out of string and tied them all together to make a neat souvenior for the Chinese New Year. I will admit I got a little frustrated at times over this 3 hour feat, but after a little help from my friends it all worked out.
Later that night we came back for a 2 hour Chinese calligraphy class. I had learned basic calligraphy in middle school, but it's not quite the same here. You use brushes and inkwells and instead of letters from the alphabet we wrote Chinese characters. I felt a little better about myself when one of the teachers said I was a natural. I may not be the best at knot tying, but I can write gosh darn it! We have to practice our calligraphy more this week because next week during our press conference the newspapers want to take pictures of us writing (in Chinese characters) We love Tainan, Shengli Elementary School, and International Travel. We'll see how that goes!
Speaking of the press, I was interviewed again yesterday, only not for a newspaper. A college student came up and asked if she could ask me some questions. She is an English major and her assignment was to interview a foreigner and record the conversation. As she asked me the questions she was just shaking. She told me she was so nervous. It was very humbling to me that someone would be SO nervous about interviewing little old ME! She told me I had a beautiful smile. At the end of the interview she bought me some type of tea drink. They're so nice here and it's amazing how we're treated like we're so famous.
Well, I'm off to class!
Later that night we came back for a 2 hour Chinese calligraphy class. I had learned basic calligraphy in middle school, but it's not quite the same here. You use brushes and inkwells and instead of letters from the alphabet we wrote Chinese characters. I felt a little better about myself when one of the teachers said I was a natural. I may not be the best at knot tying, but I can write gosh darn it! We have to practice our calligraphy more this week because next week during our press conference the newspapers want to take pictures of us writing (in Chinese characters) We love Tainan, Shengli Elementary School, and International Travel. We'll see how that goes!
Speaking of the press, I was interviewed again yesterday, only not for a newspaper. A college student came up and asked if she could ask me some questions. She is an English major and her assignment was to interview a foreigner and record the conversation. As she asked me the questions she was just shaking. She told me she was so nervous. It was very humbling to me that someone would be SO nervous about interviewing little old ME! She told me I had a beautiful smile. At the end of the interview she bought me some type of tea drink. They're so nice here and it's amazing how we're treated like we're so famous.
Well, I'm off to class!
Green Island
This past weekend we left our professors behind and just us kids ventured out on an adventure to Green Island. Overall, the trip was amazing! We didn't go to our elementary school on Friday so that we could get early train tickets. After 4 hrs on the train, we took taxis to our hotel in Tai-tung and chowed down on some McDonalds. The next morning we woke up (had McDonalds for breakfast of course) and taxi drivers came to pick us up to take us to the Ferry.
The ferry ride over to the island was almost an hour long. I saw dolphins out in the ocean, it was very beautiful. I was fine until the last 20 minutes or so. One of the girls in our group began throwing up and for some reason when I see/hear/smell someone else getting sick my body tells me I should do it too. I was able to hold in there for the last 20 minutes of the boat trip, but I felt terrible.
When we got to the island, it was all worth it. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The island was formed by volcanos so there are tall mountains & black beaches. The contrast of the tall, tropical mountains and the crashing Pacific Ocean was breath-taking. This was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life, and I've seen a lot of wonderful places. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Kyle had a moped he drove around and us girls had a golf-cart to tour the island. On Saturday we went to the hot springs. It is one of only three natural hot salt water springs in the world. It was wonderful!!! It is the "off-season" on the island (since it is there winter) and nearly everyone had left to go to the mainland to vote in elections, so we had the whole place practically to ourselves. Kyle and Sam went snorkeling, they said all the beautiful fishes were amazing. It's crazy to think there is so much going on out there in the ocean that we can't even see. We had tickets to a restaurant on the island called....(you guessed it) "Fisherman" I was really proud of us. We began to order. We ordered 4 things of fried rice, 2 things of fried noodles, 3 orders of kung pas chicken, and 2 orders of boiled shrimp. We did NOT realize that one order of something is the equivalent of 3 helpings. Needless to say we had WAY too much food, but we did a good job eating most of it. The Chinese people at the next table were staring at us when we first got our food, but we impressed them with our chopsticking eating skills.
We were the only ones staying in our hotel. It was actually called a Boutique....which I'm guessing is like a little Inn. The owner, Jack, was there and we "partied" with him Saturday night since there wasn't much else to do on the island. It was kind of weird how there were no other people staying there. All the other rooms were empty, yet 6 of us were in one little room with 3 double beds. Later that night Kyle took me on a moped ride around the whole island (it only took about 40 minutes to get all the way around on the moped).
When we woke up Sunday morning the wind was outrageous. We could hear it howling loudly from outside our window. When we went outside it nearly blew us over. We decided we wanted to take a tour all the way around the island in our golf cart before our ferry left at 2:30. The 5 of us girls climbed into the golf cart, we made it all the way around to a big hill which we had to go up. We began to go up the hill and then we heard a loud pop. The next thing we knew the golf cart was smoking and we couldn't go anymore. We began to push it up the hill. Then we had to turn it around and go back down the hill, because it was obvious we weren't going to make it. We pushed it to the bottom of the hill and then began to walk home. We had to walk for almost an hour. We didn't tell Jack that it "broke" because of the hill....we just said it broke down at the bottom of the hill. We didn't want to get in trouble for trying to take it up the hill!
The wind continued the whole morning and then a TERRIBLE rainstorm began. I honestly thought the ferry would not run, based on the MAMMOTH waves. When I asked Jack he said the ferry always runs unless there is a typhoon. I'm not exactly sure what the EXACT definition of a typhoon is, but I'm pretty sure we were experiencing one. A van came to take us to the ferry, when we went to get on the line was huge. We had to stand in a TERRIBLE downpour for at least 15 minutes. I can honestly say I don't think I've EVER been that wet in my life. The ferry was packed with people heading back to mainland Taiwan. I would say probably around 80 or 90 people. The waves were huge and I was really thinking I would never make it home alive. The waves would take the boat up so high and then it would come crashing down. The water would completely come up and cover the boat. I was more scared about us sinking than anything. Of course with outrageous waves like this people began to get sick. Out of the 80 or so passengers I would say at least 50 people were throwing up. I'm not talking quietly vomiting, like screaming in pain. It was so disgusting. The woman behind me was the worst and I could smell it. The real kicker was when I looked over and the man right next to me was throwing up in his bag. I know this might be a little graphic, but imagine how terrible this was! It was so hard for me not to get sick on that boat ride. It was honestly one of the longest 55 minutes in my life. I turned up my music so loud. Erin was covering her ears and humming. Tierney was saying the "Our Father" over and over. BUT, I was very proud of us 6, we were in the very small minority of people who did NOT throw up. As we went to exit the boat nearly everyone was carrying a little clear bag of vomit, like a souvenior.
We made it back to Tainan. I never thought I would be so excited to see my rock hard mattress and our little church. Sunday was quite an adventure, but overall the trip was amazing. This weekend trip definitely made the overall Taiwan trip much better!
The ferry ride over to the island was almost an hour long. I saw dolphins out in the ocean, it was very beautiful. I was fine until the last 20 minutes or so. One of the girls in our group began throwing up and for some reason when I see/hear/smell someone else getting sick my body tells me I should do it too. I was able to hold in there for the last 20 minutes of the boat trip, but I felt terrible.
When we got to the island, it was all worth it. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The island was formed by volcanos so there are tall mountains & black beaches. The contrast of the tall, tropical mountains and the crashing Pacific Ocean was breath-taking. This was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life, and I've seen a lot of wonderful places. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Kyle had a moped he drove around and us girls had a golf-cart to tour the island. On Saturday we went to the hot springs. It is one of only three natural hot salt water springs in the world. It was wonderful!!! It is the "off-season" on the island (since it is there winter) and nearly everyone had left to go to the mainland to vote in elections, so we had the whole place practically to ourselves. Kyle and Sam went snorkeling, they said all the beautiful fishes were amazing. It's crazy to think there is so much going on out there in the ocean that we can't even see. We had tickets to a restaurant on the island called....(you guessed it) "Fisherman" I was really proud of us. We began to order. We ordered 4 things of fried rice, 2 things of fried noodles, 3 orders of kung pas chicken, and 2 orders of boiled shrimp. We did NOT realize that one order of something is the equivalent of 3 helpings. Needless to say we had WAY too much food, but we did a good job eating most of it. The Chinese people at the next table were staring at us when we first got our food, but we impressed them with our chopsticking eating skills.
We were the only ones staying in our hotel. It was actually called a Boutique....which I'm guessing is like a little Inn. The owner, Jack, was there and we "partied" with him Saturday night since there wasn't much else to do on the island. It was kind of weird how there were no other people staying there. All the other rooms were empty, yet 6 of us were in one little room with 3 double beds. Later that night Kyle took me on a moped ride around the whole island (it only took about 40 minutes to get all the way around on the moped).
When we woke up Sunday morning the wind was outrageous. We could hear it howling loudly from outside our window. When we went outside it nearly blew us over. We decided we wanted to take a tour all the way around the island in our golf cart before our ferry left at 2:30. The 5 of us girls climbed into the golf cart, we made it all the way around to a big hill which we had to go up. We began to go up the hill and then we heard a loud pop. The next thing we knew the golf cart was smoking and we couldn't go anymore. We began to push it up the hill. Then we had to turn it around and go back down the hill, because it was obvious we weren't going to make it. We pushed it to the bottom of the hill and then began to walk home. We had to walk for almost an hour. We didn't tell Jack that it "broke" because of the hill....we just said it broke down at the bottom of the hill. We didn't want to get in trouble for trying to take it up the hill!
The wind continued the whole morning and then a TERRIBLE rainstorm began. I honestly thought the ferry would not run, based on the MAMMOTH waves. When I asked Jack he said the ferry always runs unless there is a typhoon. I'm not exactly sure what the EXACT definition of a typhoon is, but I'm pretty sure we were experiencing one. A van came to take us to the ferry, when we went to get on the line was huge. We had to stand in a TERRIBLE downpour for at least 15 minutes. I can honestly say I don't think I've EVER been that wet in my life. The ferry was packed with people heading back to mainland Taiwan. I would say probably around 80 or 90 people. The waves were huge and I was really thinking I would never make it home alive. The waves would take the boat up so high and then it would come crashing down. The water would completely come up and cover the boat. I was more scared about us sinking than anything. Of course with outrageous waves like this people began to get sick. Out of the 80 or so passengers I would say at least 50 people were throwing up. I'm not talking quietly vomiting, like screaming in pain. It was so disgusting. The woman behind me was the worst and I could smell it. The real kicker was when I looked over and the man right next to me was throwing up in his bag. I know this might be a little graphic, but imagine how terrible this was! It was so hard for me not to get sick on that boat ride. It was honestly one of the longest 55 minutes in my life. I turned up my music so loud. Erin was covering her ears and humming. Tierney was saying the "Our Father" over and over. BUT, I was very proud of us 6, we were in the very small minority of people who did NOT throw up. As we went to exit the boat nearly everyone was carrying a little clear bag of vomit, like a souvenior.
We made it back to Tainan. I never thought I would be so excited to see my rock hard mattress and our little church. Sunday was quite an adventure, but overall the trip was amazing. This weekend trip definitely made the overall Taiwan trip much better!
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