Category Archive

OK, are you writing resolutions?  What are some of yours?  I haven’t written any new ones – I am still working on the ‘101 things I want to do before I die’ list that I made last year.  Some of them I have accomplished in the last year, with many still left. 

But, the most important one was ‘to teach overseas for a year’ – and that is what I am doing!  This time in Taiwan has been such a great learning adventure. 

Looking back over December – the month went quickly.  The teachers from NanAo went on a field trip early in the month.  We had a tour bus, equipped with a tv/dvd/karaoke.  So, we sang for a lot of the trip.  My goodness, some of the teachers really have incredible voices.  We visited an old village with some very scenic spots.  The other teacher is Sonia, one of the English teachers. 

      

Then, we visited a commercial nursery – full of beautiful fields of flowers.  Wei Fu Chan is standing in a field of flowers – the math teacher who happens to be very good with his English. 

    

 I had a very different, but a very delightful Christmas.   I taught a unit on Christmas.  Here are some students reading in English.

   

On Christmas Day, we had school.  Christmas is not a national holiday here in Taiwan.  Here are some pictures of our rally on Christmas morning.  Please note the different attire – the Administrator had a winter coat on, the students were wearing only shirts. 

  

 The weekend before Christmas, the foreign teachers had a Christmas weekend together.  We visited the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101.  (If you would like to see the New Year’s fireworks display from Taipei 101, visit http://3c.msn.com.tw/soapbox101.asp.)  We also had a special Christmas dinner celebration at a restaurant that had some very nice jazz music – full of Christmas songs.  Here are some of the pictures of us together for that weekend. 

   

One of the things I really missed from back home was all the decorations, and the lights.  So, here are some things I did get to see.  My desk, bamboo trees at school, Christmas display at Taipei 101, a huge tree at the Taipei Main Station, the tree at the church in NanAo, and the tree at The Home of God’s Love orphanage in LuoDong.  There were a lot more decorations than I thought there would be. 

             

I even got to see Santa at Taipei 101.  He must have lost weight from running up and down so many chimneys!! 

 

Now, here we are at the beginning of a New Year.  Today I visited the first beach I saw when I came to NanAo – watched the waves crashing on the shore, listening to the sounds of the water.  The power behind those waves continue to astound me. 

  

I was doing a study for the English class I teach on Tuesday nights.  The character we are studying is Elisha, a friend and successor to Elijah.  I came across something that Chuck Swindoll had written about this man, and I want to end with this thought. 

“Shortly before his death, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Youth and Age in which he reflected over his past and the strength of his earlier years.

To me, the most moving line in this quaint work is the statement: “Friendship is a sheltering tree. . . .” ”

I, too, have come to realize what a wealth I have in friends.  So, this year, I want to encourage you to be a sheltering tree to a friend who needs you.  Also, make sure that you have friends you can go to when you need a place of shelter. 

As the New Year begins, make this year count.  I have challenged my students to find an area in their life where they want to be better.  I challenge you as well.  Make a difference in someone’s life this year, and start with your own.

 Happy New Year from Taiwan

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!