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Marilyn’s Time in Taiwan

 

Chosen – they picked me

The wait had seemed unending

And yet the year has passed so quickly 

Time has come to go back home

  

Opportunities to see, to do, to be 

In a place on the other side of the world

Leaving my friends and family behind

And in the process, gaining new friends

 

                       

 

Able to see incredible displays of a creative designer

Ocean splendor,

Waves pushed by an incredible force,

Beaches full of treasures 

    

Beauty in the wings

Of a seemingly unending variety of butterflies

Flowers in the wild that reminded me

Of special gifts at home – Easter Lilies, poinsettias

      

Students who told me they were learning English

Because they weren’t afraid to try any more

Students who had no desire to speak a different language

Sleeping through most of my classes

   

Chinese classes that were such a challenge

Wanting to quit at times when I felt so overwhelmed

Learning how my students may feel when I am speaking

Using words that make no sense at all to them 

我可以講漢語的一點

 

English class for adults wanting to improve their skills

Using the Bible for the textbook – reading, listening, speaking

Learning so much about life and about who God is

All the while becoming close like a family 

    

Father Beauregard, a 94-year-old Jesuit priest from Canada

Spent one year imprisoned on mainland China

Now busy ministering to the ‘old folks’ in the rest home

Getting around on his new scooter

 

Precious babies were gently held

Waiting for new parents to welcome them home

All the while I was learning many life lessons

From their sweet caretaker

    

A man who came almost every day to help the cafeteria crew

Unable to speak, able only to do menial tasks

Reminded me that life is precious in God’s eyes

No matter what we see on the exterior of the person

  

Coming to the end of any school year can be difficult

This one even more so

Students whose lives will continue without me now

Co-workers who will continue with their daily assignments

           

Did I make any difference?

Are the students better because I was here?

I only know that I am different

Taiwan has changed me 

 

             June 2008

             Marilyn Hodgin

             English teacher at Nanao Jr/Sr High School

             Yilan County, Taiwan

 

Yes, you surely may! 

What a month it has been – for the world.  Earthquakes, storms in Myanmar, and the middle states in the USA.  Just a note about all of that – my pastor was reading from Matthew 24, and it says not to be afraid, because those are signs that Jesus is planning on coming back soon.  I hope you are ready when He comes! 

What a month it has been for me – family visiting from Costa Rica and Seattle.  My brother who is a missionary in Costa Rica came, as did my daughter and her boyfriend from Seattle.  I just about wore them out, but we sure got a lot packed into the short time they were here!  My students were so enamored with all of them – to be able to see foreigners here at school was so amazing for them. 

I put Rachel and Matt to work, in fact I saved the M&M Math lesson for when they were here so I could have extra hands for that day.  The rest of the classes all wanted to get pictures with them.  It wasn’t all smiles, though!  They did get to have some time to play basketball with the students. 

                   

At the bed and breakfast where they stayed while in Nanao, they had to remember to take off their shoes before entering the rooms, too!  We went to the beach one morning.  After enjoying the sand and waves, they walked out along the protective barrier – where they had a beautiful view of the ocean.             

We had dinner Friday night with some friends, then went to their home for tea.  Saturday, we went to the Home of God’s Love – and David was quick to pick up a baby and even fed some of them.          

We were able to do some sightseeing in Taipei, too. We visited the zoo – even though it was quite rainy!   We also took a ride on the MaoKong Gondola.  We stopped for a bite to eat before heading back, then for a sampling of tea.  By the time we finished, the sky and cleared, and we headed to Taipei 101.  We got to see it, inside and out.  We went to the observation floor – the elevator took 39 seconds to get to the top – and it didn’t even feel like we were moving!  We got there in time to see the city in the day, and then to see it at night with it all lit up.  The observation deck on the 91st floor was open, too, so we were able to go out there. 

         

  

David left early on Monday, so Rachel, Matt, and I visited Pinglin, a city well-known for its tea production.  We ate at a restaurant where everything is cooked in tea.  Quite interesting!  Then, that evening, I headed back to Nanao, and Rachel and Matt headed back to Seattle.  What an enjoyable visit! 

And also – my birthday is in May.  Some of my students surprised me with a cake and some special cards. Here is one of them – a hand-made likeness of me! 

 

 I visited The Home of God’s Love orphanage on the weekend of my birthday.  Many times a bakery in town will bring breads and baked goods that were not sold that day and donate them to the orphanage, which they did that night.  One of the items was a birthday cake – I guess God sent me that one! 

On Friday, May 23, we had a meeting with the MOE, the contact teachers from each school, and the foreign teachers here this year.  The meeting was to see what could be done to make this adventure better for the next group that will be here.  It was so good to see all the teachers again, and to see some of the new friends we had made in the MOE (Ministry of Education). 

Some of us stayed over so we could have a little vacation.  Betty (my friend who went to the Philippines with  me) and Rose stayed in the same hotel, so we went sightseeing together, along with some Taiwanese friends that Betty knew in Taipei.  We had breakfast at New York Bagels – I had real bacon!  That was something I really miss.  By the way, while I was there, my doctor from the clinic here in Nanao walked by.  We were both surprised!! 

 

We went to New York New York, which is a shopping area, with several movie theatres all together.  We saw that Lady Liberty really does get around – she’s been shopping there, too, right in the shadow of Taipei 101! 

    

We went walking around with some of Betty’s friends, and saw some very beautiful scenic spots in the area where we were staying.  We also got to see the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace.  All the traffic was stopped, until the ceremony was finished.  The soldiers were still marching off, but traffic was back to usual within seconds! 

  

     

At night, we went to Shilin Night Market – there were people everywhere.  I don’t remember seeing that many people before!  I also noticed a parking lot – but it was mostly all motorcycles!! 

   

So, this month has been busy – to say the least!  The ninth grade students had their BC (Basic Cometency) Test last weekend.  It covered all subject areas, including English.  The grade they earn will determine which school they can attend for high school.  Graduation will be June 13 for the ninth graders and twelfth graders.  They are so ready to be done with school! 

My plan is to head back to the States on July 15, with a visit in Seattle for a couple days, and then arriving in Arkansas on July 17.  I have to be back at my school in Rogers on August 11, so I will have enough time to at least get over jet lag!  And see some friends too! 

Tuesday as I was heading to the train station to travel to Luodong for the English Bible Study, I was delighted to see a rainbow!  I had to go back and get my camera so I could take a picture of it.  I don’t know if you remember when the first rainbow was or not, but it was after Noah came out of the ark.  God made a promise that He would never flood the earth again.  When I see a rainbow, it reminds me that God keeps His promises – all of them.  Look real carefully and you can see the rainbow!

Until next time . . .

May isn’t here yet, but the showers have brought some beautiful flowers this month!  May is also bringing more things for me as well, so I decided to sit down and put my thoughts here before I ran out of time.  I have family that will be visiting the first week in May, so plans are being made ready for their arrival.   

       

 

On one of my many walks around town, I saw some beautiful colors of spring flowers.  It was interesting to see where they were growing – the first picture is up close, and the second one shows the setting around the flowers.  We can learn a lesson from flowers – beauty shows up in some of the most unique places! 

 

I was invited to take a trip to visit Turtle Island on April 15 along with nine students from Nanao and a fellow teacher, Mr. Wei.  I didn’t even think of a special deadline in America while I was sailing over the ocean!  Turtle Island is an island made from a volcano.  There are several hot springs along the coastline coming up from the deeps somewhere.  The color of the water has a marked difference where the hot springs are, and there is the telltale sign of the smell of sulphur.  

  

 The purpose of the trip was for a special rite-of-passage for the eighteen year old students in Yilan County.  The students go to the top of the island (1,700 steps to the top) where a special ceremony is conducted by the chief administrator of Yilan County.  I am sorry to say, I only made it to about 425 steps, then came back down with some girls who did not fare so well on the boat ride over.  My concern anyways was the trip down – that is harder on my legs than going up!  But I got an award anyways saying that I had reached my goal of adulthood — in case any of you were wondering when I would ever get there!! 

There were special fun events planned for the students – hula hoop relays, hat relays.  We walked around a small inland lake before we had lunch which provided some very beautiful sites to see.  We were also able to go down into some military tunnels used for protection of the island during previous war times.    The warning sign at the entrance warned of several things – including poisonous snakes.  I’m happy to say we did not encounter any!   

  

Earlier this month, the villages of Nanao held some competitions – mostly sports activities with elementary and secondary students competing against each village.  There are seven small villages that make up Nanao.  It was interesting to me that some of the students were there competing in the events, while the rest were still in school.  On the weekend, however, there were more events, and some students were assigned to help explain to me what was going on.  Three young men were right beside me through several events, to make sure I wasn’t by myself.  I always enjoy seeing community gatherings – from babies to grandparents, all enjoying those events. 

    

 

On April 25, our school had a special celebration.  I think it was an anniversary of the school, but I am not sure which one.  The day’s events began with a tug of war competition between classes.  Later, some dignitaries from the different villages were there to watch some of the special events.  The school’s native aboriginal dance team sang a special song.  It was beautiful.  An awards ceremony followed for special jobs some of the students had.  There were several different competitions - some of the homeroom classes had dance competitions against each other.  Some of the outfits were very creative!  One class switched gender roles, and there were some very interesting ‘girls’ – for sure!!   In the afternoon, there were some athletic competitions between the different classes, and awards given out for the top contenders.  One of the students got too excited, nervous, or hot, and fainted, so the ambulance had to come get her.  Notice the number to call on the window.  Other than that, it was a really great day – with good weather, and lots of good fun.   And the mountains, as always, provided such a pretty backdrop for the day.

    

    

    

   

  

In one of our English Club classes this month, we worked on asking and giving directions.  We had a worksheet that we went through together, but I wanted to make it more practical for them.  So, I  wrote some directions for the students to follow to go on an adventure to find a treasure!  Each student had a slip of paper with instructions for each step.  They had to read the words, and then follow the directions.  We actually ended up back where we started, but it was sure fun to see them reading, and figuring out what some of those words meant.  The ‘treasure’ was a bag of cute little Chinese snacks wrapped in paper that made them look like little people. 

    

 

In my special classes I have been teaching this semester, we have been doing some interesting things – at least they seem to be mostly interested!  We just finished up Humpty Dumpty – with extension activities using shapes, colors, and patterns.  We used tangrams one week, and made some different shapes with them.  The students had a task one of the days to draw a shape out of a bag, and they needed to identify the shape and the color.  I have a set of magnets that are different fruits – so as I was creating a pattern, we would say the names of the fruits.  It was a great way to repeat the fruits and have a purpose in doing it that was useful!   

   

 

As the school year is winding down to an end, the students are showing some progress in the English acquisition over the year.  In several classes, the teacher will let the kids listen to what I say as I explain something further, and have them try to translate into words they understand.  I am amazed at some of the students who are really picking up words and concepts from the lessons!  The students are doing better reading, and some of them are even asking me questions showing some depth of understanding of the language.  It sure does this teacher’s heart good to see that!  (Is that correct English??) 

     

 

This past weekend has been a busy one – with invitations to special events.  There was a family get together to celebrate a grandfather’s 80th birthday.  One of the grandsons and his new wife were on their honeymoon here from America – to celebrate with the grandfather.  The extended family gathered at the house, sang songs, read the twenty-third Psalm, and shared some thoughts together.  I had been asked to share a little in English for the new couple.  Then the family adjourned to a local restaurant where we had dinner – food, food, and more food!  Delightful evening. 

Sunday morning was filled with firewords going off for some reason – which I found out later to be in celebration of a god’s birthday this weekend.  There were fruits and flowers set up in front of many homes and businesses, with incense burning alongside them.  The temple was full of people, gods, music, and flags. 

         

   

After our church was finished, the pastor and family were going to an engagement party which started at the home of the bride’s family.  They sang songs and read scripture there, too – this time the love chapter, I Corinthians 13.  Then, the family adjourned to a restaurant downtown for dinner.  Again, food, food, and more food!  I was very honored to be able to be a part of all of that. 

    

   

It seems that at the end of every school year, the question comes to mind about my effectiveness – did I do a good job this year, did my students learn enough, did I make a difference?  I have found that the most difficult part of teaching English is an accurate assessment.  Many of the students are still in the pre-production stage where they are just hearing the words but not able to produce them.  Then, there are students who are ready to try saying anything because they are so hungry to learn more words, and the rest of the students are somewhere in between. 

I have decided that for the rest of the school year, I want to teach a motto to my students that challenges each of us to keep striving to be better – to do our very best.  I hope they can all say this at the end of the year – “Good, Better, Best!  Never let it rest!  Until your Good is Better, And your Better is the Best!”  I challenge you to keep striving, too! 

Springtime - a celebration of new life!

Beauty – flowers beginning to bloom

     

 These were taken in Taitung on Saturday, April 5 – the air smelled sweet from all the flowers.

Here is a picture taken of a palm tree – while I was on a hike in Jiaosi.

 I have enjoyed working with my new classes this semester.  Because I am coming up with my own curriculum, it requires more preparation, but that is fine.   We started out with “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”, and a review of the alphabet.  I have an alphabet chart with pictures, so I am teaching the vocabulary for the pictures, too.  I also made up Alphabet Books for each of them using the picture for each letter, and making sentences using the most frequently used words from the Dolch list. 

    

Our next thing was to work with colors, so I used Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  I introduced the colors and the color words, as well as the names of the animals in the book.  I made up a book for each student so they could read along with me.  This last week, we were reviewing the colors, words, as well some of the vocabulary in the book.  If the students could find the answer correctly (even with help), they got some bear snacks!  That worked well in getting even the reluctant students to speak up and participate. 

   

Early in the month, the school had a vocal music competition for the students.  Many of these students have incredible voices.  They enjoy singing and dancing so much.  It was very enjoyable to watch the students get up in front of the student body and sing – some got too nervous, but others really surprised me at their ability.  As the judges were tallying up the scores, they needed some fill – so the principal asked if I would sing.  One of my co-teachers and I got up and sang Beautiful Sunday.  We had sung that with the students before, so they sang along with us! 

    

Many of the students in the school here are aboriginal.  Some of the students were in a dance competition, dressed in their traditional dress.  Here is a picture of some of the girls.

This semester I have seen the students reading more – and it seems as though they understand!!  This last week, one student translated back into Chinese the reading selection I had read to the class.  These students have been amazing me even more! 

 

Some of the foreign teachers here in Taiwan took a trip together to visit an island that is part of Taiwan, but is very close to mainland China.  We were never able to see the mainland because it was too foggy.  Two teachers on Kinmen, for their second year, were our tour guides.  It was so good to see everyone again, and such a special visit.   We were able to see a beach that is still off limits because there are still some land mines buried there.  As you will notice, it was a very windy day (that picture was taken by Edi Campbell, one of the teachers on the trip).  We also went into a tunnel that had been used by the military there.  That island is still used for military training – we saw many soldiers there on our visit. 

       

We visited the workshop of a man who makes knives from old bullet casings.  He did a demonstration for us – the knife he is holding is what he was working on in the first picture. 

    

We strolled through a small village built like a Chinese village.  The houses were simple, with subtle differences, such as the type of roof design.  Certain designs denoted social status in the community.  Even through there was not much grass, they still had many flowers around the village, including some bonsai plants. 

         

One of the special things we saw was a memorial to the first United States military person killed in action ono Kinmen.  He was from Michigan, which is where I grew up, so that made it very special to me.   

Here in Taiwan, there is a national holiday called Tomb Sweeping Day.  The families go to the cemetery and clean them up, and place flowers on the grave. The picture is of a Catholic cemetery with families together at the grave sites.   One of my co-workers told me that some people actually go to worship their ancestors on that day, and they leave some food on the graves for them.  My hope is that someday more of these people will come to see and understand why Jesus came – to give life, a life of meaning and purpose here, and an assurance that we can have life forever with Him in heaven. 

Just one more picture of flowers, and I’ll be done for this time.  This was taken early in the month, before there were many blossoms on the trees.  This is one of the early cherry blossoms.  This island still has a lot of Japanese influence here.  As your springtime comes, I sure hope you take time to enjoy the changes this season brings.  Remember, springtime is a celebration of new life!

  

I’ve been thinking about blogging – so many words, and who will be reading them?  I have had difficulty writing this blog because of that.  So far, I have renamed this post, and deleted paragraphs because they were unnecessary.  If I’m not careful, I might end up with a blank page!! 

So what have I been doing?  This month has brought a lot of introspection – looking at where I am in the year, what I have done with the students up to this point, areas where improvement could be made, desires and goals for my students – just to name a few.   As I look ahead at this last semester, I want to become more challenging with the students to take what we worked on the first semester, and begin to use it more.  I have seen that with some of the students, and it has been delightful to see them progress.  Here are a few pictures of some seventh grade students working hard on a quiz over vocabulary words.  I was pleasantly surprised! 

 

Sonia, one of my co-teachers, has been using some hands on activities for the students to be involved in the lessons.  After introducing vocabulary for a new lesson, two students at a time were called to the board to see who could correctly identify the word that she called out.  It got pretty exciting, as some students were working harder to keep their opponent from touching the word than trying to touch it themselves.   

 

The twelfth grade class was working on identifying places of interest around the world.  Because Sonia had visited Niagara Falls, she had some souvenirs from her ride under the falls.  A young man who actually has already done some professional modeling volunteered to model the raincoat and the sandals for the class. 

 I have not been able to visit The Home of God’s Love as much as I would have liked this month.  I was able to visit one weekend, and take some quilts my sister had made for them.  She used some fabric that belonged to our mom, who has been gone now for almost twenty years.  To me, that gift was just an extension of what our mom started years ago.  She would have a box under her bed into which she would put towels, quilts, crocheted items, and anything else she thought missionaries would like.  When we had missionaries visiting our home, the box was pulled out, and they could choose anything they wanted from the box.  What a sweet blessing for those babies, and for Beverly as I shared about the fabric my sister, Esther, had used. 

  

On February 28, which is a holiday in Taiwan, some fellow-teachers invited me to go with them to Hualien.  One of them was able to drive for us, and after quite a curvy drive, we arrived at Taroko Gorge, and did some sightseeing.  What an incredible view it was – mountains that were steep, with valleys running between them, with special places to stop to enjoy the view.  There was a hedge of blooming azaleas, and some of the cherry trees had blossoms on them.  After our time there, we visited a beach in Hualien – with water that was so beautiful.  The camera couldn’t do it justice.  We hunted for rocks on the beach.  One of the girls found a marble stone in the shape of Taiwan.   After our visit there, we went into town to enjoy a snack and drink at a beautiful little coffee shop. 

         

Second semester has brought English Club back – with some of the former club members, and a few new ones.  The first assignment was to interview a partner, and then introduce them to the other club members.  They were given a list of questions to ask, and a place for them to write their answers.  They were able to practice with each other, and then they had to go in front of the group to complete the task.  Some of the students were so nervous, but I was so proud of them.  Here are the members of the club introducing each other. 

        

Every job has some very special things that we get to do, and some unique aspects.  It seems like with teachers, a common gift is food.  One of the teachers in my office was given a very special treat.  I think I will just stick with an apple!! 

So, until next time . . .