Week Five, and still Alive!

Good evening blog followers.

I am very happy to report that I have survived 5 weeks of teaching without running myself in front of a bus, car, or scooter. Though you may sense the sarcasm/jest in my tone, I am actually quite grateful for having made it thus far without more serious repercussions. It has not been an easy 5 weeks, but the blessings that I have received have far outweighed the stress that I seem to constantly be under.

First year teaching is HARD! I sometimes wonder what in the world I was thinking packing up and leaving my home country, family, friends and culture and jumping all the way around the world into the abyss. Okay, not really the "abyss," but it's a close enough analogy, seeing as I had a very limited idea of what I was getting myself into.

Does this sound like I'm whining my heart out? It's really not meant to. Let's redirect.

The past 5 weeks have been pretty great. I've gotten to know my students so much better and they really are a wonderful group. I am blessed to teach 17 eager minds that are actually excited about coming to school. Each day brings its own challenges, and of course there are ample opportunities for me to laugh at myself for silly mistakes I may have overlooked and are out there for the kids to see. We laugh together, and it's a good lesson for them to see that teachers as well as all human beings make mistakes, and that's fine, mistakes are made to learn from.

My greatest joy so far has been watching them come in every morning. They just bust through the door and are so excited to be here. Teaching Bible is incredible too. We've been praying for loose teeth a lot. Runny noses, coughs, an uncle's foot. Those are some cute ones, but we also pray for family that is far away, and family that is ill. They are a sensitive bunch and it's been humbling to hear them pray. I actually had one student come up to me a few weeks ago and ask me if I would pray with her. Another child in the class was bugging her a lot and she was concerned that she wouldn't be able to control herself, that she would lash out. So we prayed about it together. Things like that make me so incredibly thankful that I work here.

We had our staff retreat today, so yesterday was my first half day experience, and it was good. Then this morning we drove up to Si Tou Forest (Bamboo Forest) and had a great time. It was a short retreat. Perhaps the best part was going up into the forest and getting to see some more of what I am realizing is a gorgeous country. I confess that it made me feel more relaxed and reassured that God has a handle on all of this, and I do need to do my best, but I also need to learn to sit back and watch Him glorify Himself through each and every one of my struggles, as well as achievements. I can't spend the rest of my time here worrying and stressing over every detail. I can plan, and I must, but I musn't dwell.

Homesickness has been an issue lately. Especially since this was the week of 18. It was hard to be away from home, but listening to Cueca's a lot helped. I do often think about how excited I am to go home for Christmas, and then I have to remind myself that though it is good to look forward to things, I need to live in the NOW. As the wise (and favorite author) Elisabeth Elliot states in her book "Let Me Be a Woman" The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived--not always looked forward to as though the "real" living were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow.

With tomorrow in mind, I am excited to say that I'll be spending this weekend in Taipei with Natalie! We're going to do "touristy" stuff with friends that work at the Bethany (Taipei) campus. Once that has happened I will have more to report.

I have included some pictures of the staff retreat. Hope you enjoy!

Alive after three weeks, Heck yeah!

Dear blog followers,

Wow, when I think about the past month or so that I've been in Taiwan, "intense" comes to mind. To be perfectly honest, though, that doesn't even cover it! I have been incredibly blessed in my time here and am certain that I'm where I'm supposed to be. That doesn't take away from the challenges, culture stress and homesickness though!

The first week of school was pretty good. I have 17 kids in my classroom. Three of them are staff kids, 4 are ELL (English Language Learners). They are an incredible bunch! In these three weeks I have fallen in love with them like I never thought I would and am excited to get to hang out with them (and teach them something, of course).

Because of the responsibilities of teaching I have to confess that I haven't done a whole lot more than be in my classroom and work on lesson plans. I'm learning Morrison's curriculum and trying to wrap my head around the way that things are done here. I try not to compare things to Nido too much, but have found that a lot of my difficulties have stemmed from wanting to do things the way Becca and I did before and finding that it won't work that way here! So I'm finally getting to the point where I can see a clear routine map itself out, but it has taken time!

This week we're starting up our Survival Chinese lessons again, and hopefully I will learn some new vocabulary. I am now a master at ordering the tea I want at the teashops in the village, and can recognize a few words when others are talking, but I'm still very dependant on locals to help me order food. After the Survival Chinese lessons are over I fully intend to take private lessons so that I can become a little more independent. Finding some people to practice with will be key as well.

As for travelling, I've only been out of Taichung once, and it was a visit to Taipei to shop at Ikea. It was almost unsuccessful, because my credit card was rejected after shopping for 7 hours, but they held our stuff and when I came back the following day everything was fine. So the good news is my room is pretty setup and almost ready to go!!! Just need to get a rug and maybe a small couch and I'm set. Yay!

I do have plans for "getting out of here!" for our break in October. Nothing concrete yet, but I'm looking into hanging out at the beach in Kenting for a couple of days, putting my feet up, getting a tan, relaxing and not thinking too much about work. Hopefully that will work out!!!

When I have more to report I will, for now it's pretty much work work work, so here are a few pictures to enjoy!!!

Super excited to go on my first scooter ride with Natalie to get some food. And...we got McDonalds!!! Super Chinese, eh?

My new crib, nightstands and bookcase...I love sleeping in my gorgeous new bed!!! Thank you Ikea!

I can put stuff together too. See???

Natalie and I waiting for the cab on our way to Taipei

The Sparrows! An awesome family that lives here. Matt (Dad), Missy (Mom), Andrea and Ethan, who call me "Peggy Bird" because one of the first nights I hung out with them I chased them making a chicken sound. Matt said I was the Bird Monster, and then Andrea called me Peggy Bird...and well, it stuck!

Coming up from under water

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, for those of you who only get news from me through my blog. School started about 2 weeks ago and life has been stressful!

Balancing adjusting to a new culture with teaching for the first time, missing family and friends, missing home has proved to be quite the challenge which often has me feeling like I'm trying to breathe underwater. Some gills would be nice, eh? Pray God would give me gills!!! :)

Hopefully this weekend will be a good time to write some more stories about things that have happened. There's been so much going on! So yes, I'm still alive, I'm still well.

Here's a photo of something I wish I could do more often!!!

More news as soon as possible!

Nerves, Fun, all in One

Wow, what a week it has been so far. Where to begin? Monday was the first day of work for all staff. It involved meeting together in the common basement area, we had worship time and then devotional with our campus principal. The rest of the day consisted of classroom setup. Honestly, it was pretty overwhelming! My classroom is quite large and very VERY well stocked with pretty much anything and everything I need. If there is one thing that Morrison has a lot of (and there are many things that it has in abundance) it is resources! They have a workroom full of supplies that are for the teachers to take and use as they need it. Tons of bulletin board borders, stickers, whiteboard pens, laminating machine, you name it and it’s probably there! Everyone has been very helpful, especially Elaine and Lynne, the first grade teacher and former second grade teacher who is now the curriculum director for elementary and high school.

Even though things have gone smoothly, I am quite stressed out about next week, and the whole year really. There’s a lot to be done, a lot to think about, read about and plan for. My classroom is pretty close to being ready for Monday, but there are worries, which unfortunately have been keeping me up at night. I had a dream on Monday night that all of the posters kept falling while I was trying to teach, and that the kids just weren’t listening, and the parents were upset. Well, chaos, basically. Though I’m sure I know someone who knows all about those posters falling down (yes Becca, you!).

Then last night I went to bed at a quarter to 12 and was awake by 12:30 nervous and imagining the worst-case scenarios for today, which was a System Professional Development day. All staff from Kaohsiung and Taipei came and I met the other second grade teachers. The day turned out to be pretty good, albeit my exhaustion and fears which were pretty accurate. I was lost all day! Thankfully my colleagues are incredible and supportive and I look forward to working with them as a team as much as possible!

After PD day, Lynne took Natalie and I to pick up my painting that my amazing Dad painted for me before I left. The frame is spectacular! Then we went to B&Q which would be the Taiwanese equivalent to Easy or Homecenter. I bought some plants for the classroom and one for my room here at the apt. I also bought a new shower curtain, and these cool little plastic things to organize my “intimates” seeing as my closet has a lot of storage space, but no drawers.

Upon arriving back to the apartment, I made myself some dinner and headed back to the classroom to drop off the plants and do a little work. Ellen came and helped and then also helped me leave at 7:35.

We wanted to do something “relaxing” so she took me to the night market down the street where we walked around and I was able to get a whiff of stinky tofu for the very first time. Man! That stuff really is stinky! We walked around a bit and then went to Crazy Sue’s (a tea shop in the Village) where I ordered Lemon Green Tea, half sugar in Chinese with no help and the lady actually understood exactly what I said. It was pretty exciting. It was a great day!

Needless to stay, the nerves brought by stress about teaching are still pretty strong, so please help me by praying for strength, for peace and for God to give me the ability to prioritize what needs to get done NOW, and what can wait. The stress and fear of what to come have helped remind me that He brought me here and will sustain me. I need not fear, I need not be anxious. This is easier said than done, and the flesh is weak. So any prayers are appreciated!

Enjoy the pictures!!! There are lots this time!

The door to my classroom from the inside.

The desks before I moved them all around and put them into groups.

Classroom jobs! Look familiar to anyone?

Ellen holding one of my new plants in front of my bulletin boards!

Happy that my bulleting boards are up, as well as the fruits of the Spirit posters!

So excited to go to the night market!!!!

Quite the Taiwanese snapshot at the night market. This was right before I got a whiff of the stinky tofu.

Chicken claws. Yes...that's food!

Cockroach poison. I love that there's a whole stand dedicated to these!

And last but not least, 柠檬绿茶半糖, Lemon Green Tea Half Sugar!!!

Paint paint PAINT!

As you may have heard in the news, Typhoon Morakot is one of the biggest storms to hit this part of the world in the last century (says BBC). So naturally this put a damper in our plans to go to Taipei. It's unfortunate, because one of the things we were going to do was go to Ikea and buy furniture, my bed, nightstand, bookcase and rocking chair (yep, I want a rocking chair).

It's never a good idea to be too unhappy about any current situation. When life gives you lemons, make pisco sour, right? Hee hee!

In any case, I decided to make the best of the situation and get some paint for my walls! I knew I wanted to go with light blue because it was pretty perfect for the color scheme that I picked out. I had heard that the wall here were hard to paint and had considered hiring someone to paint my walls. However, if I already moved all the way to Taiwan, which is a completely challenging experience in it of itself, I may as well try more new things! So I went off to B&Q yesterday and got some "California Sky" paint.

I started with the large back wall first, taped it all up and started brushing. Within three hours I was done! I decided to hold off on the other wall I was thinking of doing until this morning just in case I decided not to paint it. When I found out that church was cancelled and there was really no way we would be getting to Taipei, I decided to go for it, and am VERY happy with the results. Here are some pictures of my painting adventure!

This next week should be a little more busy and will help get my mind into "back to school" mode. We have professional development and classroom setup all week, as well as all campuses (Taipei, Kaohsiung and Tiachung) teachers coming on Wednesday for professional development and planning time! It should be a great week!

Over and out ;)

Typhoon Morakot

Typhoon Morakot rears its ugly head at MCA!

This will just be a short blog entry to inform you that I’m experiencing my first typhoon! All orientation activities were cancelled today, as the Taiwanese government has declared a “typhoon day.”

The winds were so strong that they tore down this flagpole at the school's entrance. Bent the metal right down to the ground!

I’ve never experienced a tropical storm before, so it is pretty exciting. Staying inside proves to be rather dull, so we went out to the movies and saw Public Enemy with Johnny Depp. Really not my kind of movie at all. I was also so tired from not being able to sleep the night before, that I slept for the first 20 minutes of the movie and therefore was a little confused with the plot.

Anyway, back to the typhoon:

You can read the CNN news report on Typhoon Morakot here if you're interested!

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/weather/08/06/typhoon.morakot.taiwan/index.html

I’ve also attached a video for your enjoyment. I took this as I was waiting for a cab with Natalie to go to the movies. Let me just add that the shaking of the camera was due to the wind being pretty strong and moving my hands around. Doesn't take too much because I'm not that strong, but still. Pretty nutty stuff!!! Enjoy!

More of Taiwan!

It’s been hard to keep track of how long I’ve been in Taichung now. It feels like at least a week, but then I do the math and I’ve only been here 5 full days.

The past few days have also consisted of shopping for furniture, paint, kitchenware, pretty much anything involved. It’s been somewhat stressful considering that I’m very picky about what I like and don’t, and would rather have furniture that I like, than shop quickly to get what I think I need and then end up hating it. I will probably go to Taipei this weekend and go to IKEA, which should simplify my life a little (I hope). I also met someone today who loves interior designing. Couldn’t have met her at a more perfect time, considering that I have NO clue how to setup or decorate an apartment. She gave me her number and I’m going to have her come in and tell me what she thinks I should do. Yay! Good step in the right direction!

Trying to recap everything that has happened in detail is next to impossible (because I don’t really remember), so I’ll give you the highlights of some of the things that I’ve learned in the short time I’ve been here.

First of all, Chinese is way harder than I ever imagined. Granted, my time has been short, but I find that I’m having difficulty retaining anything. Take today for example: after Orientation for New Teachers (which started today) we were taken to the village. The Village is the surrounding area of the Morrison campus that consists of a lot of little tea shops, breakfast shops, hair salons, auto repair shops…you name it, the Village has it. Anyway, we went to get some tea. I asked a new colleague who speaks Chinese if she would teach me how to order my drink. I wanted a lemon green tea, half sugar. She taught me, I repeated it over and over. I told the server what I wanted and she said “ah ha!” and made it perfectly! I was very excited. Now…ask me to repeat what I said, and there’s just no way! I don’t remember!

Making the effort to speak Chinese goes a long way with the locals, so I am trying. I just have trouble remember what it was I said. Hopefully that will get better. They may laugh, but at least I tried!

The other good thing to know is that here in Taiwan pedestrians mean nothing. I know they didn’t really mean much in Chile either, but I could at least pretend to be cocky and cross, and cars would stop. If you do that here, you are road kill. Cars are not the only “predators” out there. There are scooters everywhere here, and they will flatten you if necessary!

As you may remember from my last post the Taiwanese can be pretty blunt. However, this depends. If they are trying to save face, or save you face they will sugarcoat the truth. Smart!

White here is associated with death, as black is associated with evil. So white flowers are common at a funeral, but should probably not be taken to someone's house as a gift!

That's about all I remember off the top of my head. Still haven't gotten a whiff of stiky tofu. When that happens, I'll be sure to report.

What else…I got a campus tour today, and as soon as my classroom is set up and gorgeous I will put up pictures. It’s a really great campus and the facilities are really well thought out to give the students the best education possible. Not only that, but there’s a swimming pool AND a weight room. Now I really have no excuse not to work out. Oh well!

For those of you whose emails I haven’t responded to yet, please don’t be offended and don’t take it personally. I am busier than I ever imagined I’d be, and don’t have Internet setup in my apartment yet. As I write this, I am sitting on my balcony in the hot humidity, being eaten alive by mosquitoes (I can feel them biting), mooching of the campus Wi-Fi…which sometimes works, and sometimes does not.. I will respond as soon as I can.

I miss Chile (understatement of the year). Having said that I'm certain that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. There's a lot of peace in that which comes only from a loving God that knows exactly in store for the years to come. I have to remind myself of often that "The only safe place to be is in the center of God's will." I know that's where I am and find comfort in that.

Here are some more pictures!

My first rice box!

Terry showing off his "not very PC" old school toothpaste.

Josh and Torianna...The sweetest baby ever

This looks like a Karoake Television center (those are really popular here)...it says it is one...but it's a brothel. There seem to be a few of those around.

Bonnie and I sweep up some glass in the hallway outside my apartment. It shattered my first night here. Nope, wasn't me!

Ellen works in the System Office and has been a crucial part of my transition to Taiwan. She graduated from Morrison and has just moved here from Seattle!

More updates to come! Keep reading :)

First day in Taiwan

In order to properly allow you to understand even a fragment of what this experience has been like so far, I think it’s necessary to start with the day before I arrived in Taiwan.

I woke up at 7 in the morning after having gone to bed at 3 with a tight sensation in my chest and “what in the world was I thinking!” thoughts in my head. It was a difficult day. I spent most of it with my mother affirming the amazing relationship we’ve had ever since I was a little girl. We went to the dentist, then bought cupcakes and went up to a hill to pray together, enjoy our food and read Psalm 121.

The rest of the day was a combination of tearful phone calls and packing last minute articles. My best friend Maureen came over to say goodbye, and then it was time to go to the airport.

I was exhausted! Which didn’t do a whole lot for my nerves. They were shot! So after paying for 3 overweight bags and hugging Mom and Dad, I went through immigration and embarked on this incredible journey.

First stop, Auckland, New Zealand. We arrived at 4 in the morning of the 30th (which means I quite literally skipped a day). Due to emotional exhaustion I was able to sleep through most of the flight and arrived at the airport feeling slightly rested. Bought some internet time, and managed to get the credit card blocked for making “suspicious purchases overseas.” Whoops!

Next stop, Brisbane. By this time, I have to confess I was ready to throw the whole trip in the trash. I didn’t want to get on another plane, eat any more airplane food (not that I had eaten much) or watch any more in-flight movies.

Finally, Taiwan. I got off the plane and was greeted by a corridor that seemed to never end. Most likely it was excellent for my circulation, but after traveling for 30 hours, you really don’t feel like walking anymore, do you? Finally I made it to immigration and stood in line for a while. When I met the immigration officer I was initiated into the bluntness of the Taiwanese. He looked at my passport, looked at me and said “this you?” to which I replied “yes,” and then he scrunched his nose and said “much prettier in the picture!” Well thanks. Not as pretty in the picture and all, they still let me into the country ;).

I was helped with my bags. I think everyone who saw me was surprised that a 5”2 little woman had so much luggage. The man that ended up helping me take them out of the baggage claim area looked at me after we had stacked all of the luggage and said “All bags, one man?!”....yep. All for me!

As I walked out of the bagagge claim area I was greeted by Julie Heisman, the high school counselor. I was so happy to finally be in the company of a fellow worker who understood what I was going through. We drove for two hours and finally reached the city of Taichung.

After a phone call to my mom to let her know I had arrived safely, I spent some time with Lynne, the former second grade teacher and her family. It helped me deal with the sadness of leaving home as we engaged in conversation and I kind of forgot that I was in a completely foreign country.

Took some melatonin at 12:00 but was only able to sleep for 5 hours. It’s now 4:10 in the afternoon on Friday and I think I’m doing pretty well. I got to see my new classroom this morning, as well as go to Carrefour with Kari today. We picked up some apartment basics (electric toothbrush, toilet paper, paper towel, trash can, etc.) and then went to her house so that I could use the internet. Following that we went for lunch at what looked like a hole in the wall, but turned out to be a delicious food station. I had fried noodle soup. Yum! Walked around some, and finally bought some fresh flowers for the family that is feeding me dinner tonight.

My arrival has felt long yet good. I am surrounded by people who truly care about my well being and are making sure I am well taken care of. When we are faithful to God’s calling, He is faithful to provide all that we need. He has shown me so much mercy in this new journey.

The following are some photos of my new amazing apartment! I will soon post pictures of today´s adventures as well ;)

Our amazing kitchen and dining room space

The master bedroom that I have temporarily claimed until Natalie arrives and we decide who gets what room.

The study/guest bedroom

Study/guest room and below: other bedroom

Chickens at the market...just waiting to be killed :(

Jack fruit

Star Fruit

Huge avocado

Eating Tang Mian with chopsticks!

In Houghton for TCK - PFO training

PFO alumni 2009...in all of our glory :)

Two weeks ago I spent a "fort night" in the quaint town of Houghton NY.  The purpose of my visit was ASCI's (Association of Christian Schools International) Third Culture Kid Pre-Field Orientation (TCK - PFO).  My expectations were practically nonexistant.  I was busy finishing up school at Nido, making sure that all loose ends were tied and the necessary goodbyes were said.  Every time someone asked what I was going to be doing in Houghton, I'd respond with a generic "I don't know." Which was about as honest as I could get.  I really had NO idea.  I knew I'd meet my new roomate Natalie, and the rest of the new staff going to Morrison.  TCK-PFO is a program that Morrison requires all new staff to attend.  So I figured it'd be good!

I'm glad that I didn't have too many expectations.  That allowed me to be blown out of the water by the two weeks that I spent at PFO.  Granted, Houghton is an itty bitty "nothing to do here" town.  The main attraction (shopping-wise) was a CITGO gas station, which closed shortly after we arrived because of inability to sustain itself as a business.  The upside to this was that you didn't have much of a choice but to fully concentrate on the seminars that occurred daily.  Seminars on transition, on Third Culture Kids, who they are, and how to better teach them.  

A TCK is defined the following way:

“A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture.  The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background

It was really cool to learn about TCK's, because even though I already knew that I was one, I didn't know as much about myself and my upbringing as I was taught at PFO.  It was pretty fantastic!

However, there were two things that absolutely MADE my time at PFO.  The first and by all means the most important, was discovering that God called me to Taiwan as a Missionary.  Not just a teacher, though that is my title, but a servant of His Gospel asked to bring good news to children, students and adults.  It was an exciting realization.  Not only that He called me to this mission, but that He called me, someone who is a TCK and grew up in the same environment that they are growing in and who has been through some of the challenges and knows the benefits of being a TCK.  God brought me up under extremely priviledged circumstances.  I look forward to offering my life to Him in order to bring new people to Christ.  

The second awesome aspect of TCK PFO were the incredible people I met.  My roomate Natalie is phenomenal, as are all of the people I got to know! So here are some pictures.  

Natalie and I on her birthday!

All the single ladies on their way to Morrison! Christel, Natalie, Fei-Ting, Me, Diana, Peggy (yup, another Peggy, not me) and Ellen.

Some of the ladies with my new and awesome boss with his wife.  From right to left, Tim, Bonnie, Natalie, Ellen, Peggy, and I.

The oh-so-incredibly-fabulous LANA!!! She lives in Malaysia!

The entire Morrison "Brand Spankin New" staff!

Gettin ready to go!

With a few months to go, I've jumped the gun and decided to get started on this blog.

A few months? To what?!

For those of you who are not in the know, I took a job in Taiwan and will be moving there at the end of July. Not just any job. It's the perfect, hand picked by God, job of GLORY. I will be teaching 2nd grade at Morrison Christian Academy in Taichung. Morrison is a school originally created for children of missionaries, that also takes international children from all over and provides excellent education with a Biblical focus. Check it out for yourself! (www.mca.org.tw)

There are many many MANY things that have me pumped to get on that plane and head over to Taiwan right now (exciting experiences, new people, amazing new city, a God led mission opportunity, the chance to teach my own class, Ahhh!!!). There are also a few things that have me hiding under the covers (leaving home, family and friends, new language, new culture, new ALPHABET!)

I've titled my blog Gutsy Lady, and it may sound presumptuous. Let me explain. It is completely by God´s grace and power that I have the guts move this far away from home and leave everything I've ever known. In this grace and power alone I am able to boast that it is His strength and not mine. In His strength, I've got guts. Gutsy Lady.

More soon :)