The season here has certainly been different that in America. The sounds and sights are definitely different. Here in NanAo High School, this is the time for basketball playoffs with teams from each grade level. So, many of the sounds have been coming from the gym – cheers, whistles, buzzers going off.

  Our principal ready to start         Boys’ team ready to play

I have also been hearing some students sing some Christmas carols and some songs in English they are learning for the year-end celebration here at school.As always, I hear the sounds of the trash truck as it makes its rounds to the accompaniment of Fur Elise. If you want your garbage picked up, you have to hand it to the person walking behind the truck, so the music is to notify you of their arrival.

As far as Christmas decoration, a few stores have some lights. Our school has some lights put up for Christmas. There are decorated trees in many places around the school campus.  Some of the decorations they leave up all year long. Many of the churches around have a few lights up.  I do miss the lights and decorations that we have in the States. I enjoy so much just looking at all the lights in the stores and the malls and in the different neighborhoods. I have downloaded some pictures of lights from the Fayetteville square, and pictures from previous Christmases at my house. That has helped a little bit.

  My door – I do have snow!      Our tree, right next to tropical plants          Church in Wutai         Christmas colors in NanAo

The curriculum for one of the grades has a unit on the different holidays here in Taiwan and in America. We started out the month with vocabulary pertaining to the different special days in both countries, which included names of the months and ordinal numbers. It seems as though several of the dialogues in the lessons in each grade for this month are more usable to the students, so it has been more profitable to them, resulting in better participation. One of the English teachers used Charlotte’s Web to go along with the unit of study. Because there are not farms in Taiwan like we have in America, the vocabulary from a farm setting provided many opportunities to introduce new concepts and have some fun with some animal idioms.

  Students reading – can you read what is on the board?

One afternoon this month, the entire student body went out into the villages and did some community service – with rakes, brooms, dust pans, and tongs.  What fun that was – even though it was very hot!  Here are some pictures of some of the clean-up crews.  Before, during, and after.

   

  

       

     

The language barrier has continued to be a challenge.  I would like to be able to just sit down with some of the students and have a talk with them – to hold them to a higher standard than they are holding for themselves. For others, I would like to encourage them to keep trying because anything worth having is worth working for. Many of them have so much potential that they are not using. However, when I think of students back in the States with whom I could speak the same language, many times being able to talk with them was not effective. Because I don’t know these students’ backgrounds, their abilities in the classroom, and even what they are saying some times, I have come to realize that at times that has been an asset. I don’t know what they can do or can’t do, so I just expect them to try right along with everyone else.

Less than a week until Christmas.  I have been using a Christmas unit provided for us when we were in Sansia to use for the different holidays throughout the year.  There are vocabulary cards with pictures on one side and the word in English on the other.  The unit talks about the first Christmas when Baby Jesus was born, as well as Santa and his helpers.  Because my students enjoy music so much, I also taught them the choruses of Jingle Bells, Go Tell It On the Mountain, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  All of those songs provided opportunities for more vocabulary, too.  For extra practice, I copied pictures of the vocabulary words, and created a word search with more words pertaining to Christmas.  If the students got all the words, they got a sticker with English words on it.  I must say, stickers just might be worth their weight in gold!!  (Have you taught that idiom yet?)

 This will be my first Christmas away from my family.  My youngest daughter said she hoped I would be with people who treated me like family.  The people here in NanAo have accepted me with open arms and hearts.  They are making me feel so very welcome here.  I have had gifts from my coworkers, cards from my students, and even words of encouragement on this Christmas season.  A sweet message from my student Chinese ‘teacher’ said she would ‘accompany’ me so I wouldn’t feel lonely. 

My student Chinese ‘teacher’

 With as many students as we have, I somehow came down with a very sore throat.  My co-worker, Felice, took me to the clinic today right after rest time (we had to sit quietly because the doctor was still resting).  The young doctor checked me, and wrote up some prescriptions for me – my throat was infected.  As we sat there, the two workers and the doctor turned to look at me.  Felice had told them my age, and they couldn’t believe it.  They thought I was their age!  I have no idea what their age was, but it was definitely younger than mine!  Sure did my heart good!!  My visit was soon over, we were leaving with my prescription – all the medicine I needed to take in individual dosage packets to be administered per the instructions. 

I will be going to Taipei this weekend to celebrate Christmas with the foreign teachers who were all in Sansia in September.  Hopefully I will be able to include some pictures in my next post.  On Christmas day, I will be teaching classes as usual, then going out for dinner in LuoDong with my English Bible study group.  They really do treat me like family!

 So, Merry Christmas to all of you!  Enjoy your holiday.  Do something for someone without letting them know it was you.  Be sure to tell someone you love them – especially someone you haven’t told for a long time.  They would be happy to hear that – it might just be the best gift they get. 

When I was teaching kindergarten at Immanuel Christian Academy, a poem I taught my students was “What Can I Give Him?”  It goes like this

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.

If I were a wise man, I would do my part.   

Yet what can I give Him?  Give my heart.  - Christina Rosetti

We give because Jesus gave first – He gave us His life, became one of us, because He loves us.  Amazing!   We also give like the wise men who gave precious gifts.   I hope one of your gifts this year this Christmas is to give Him your heart.

Merry Christmas from an Yingwen Laoshi in Taiwan!