I've been sad to hear about the bitter coldness back in the Midwest...and even out East. So, I almost feel a little guilty in sharing with you about life this past week!

But, oh well, it's been a while...and I'm finally taking time to blog!! HOORAY!

SO a little background....I am on my Chinese New Year break!! After returning from two quick trips to Indonesia, and then Macau, I'm back in Chiayi to hang out for 2 weeks ~ of no schedule!! Simply Amazing. A break!! I was beginning to think there was no such thing as break here in Taiwan ;)

Annd it began with Valentines Day ~ I spent a super fun-filled day with my partner in crime, Anna! We're the Kindergarten Phonics Teacher Duo, so we relate well, as you can imagine!

Here we were, on a sunny Valentine's day afternoon, picnicing out hearts out! It was wonderful to hang out on whatever time we felt like making ~ to think about all of our loved ones, and the ONE who loves us the most.

And now on to the rest of our break, until school resumes again on February 26th. A great time to process, relax, and enjoy the many things we love and have been given here in Taiwan ~ and all over the world!!

(This week highlights: Picnicing, Starubucks, Shopping, Bowling, and SUNSHINE! )

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

And what a Halloween it was here at CELA. Ohh boy! 4 Halloween parties later....I can now say - bring on Thanksgiving! and Christmas!

So the Holiday Madness begins!! ~ and I find it funny that here in Taiwan, these American holiday celebrations are quite the productions! Well, I guess I can say - we really do give the American/ English atmosphere at this school.

I had a great time guiding (well - more like rushing) the kids through 15 minute stations of hoola-hoop relays and pumpkin mask making crafts...haha! I tell ya - fast pace is the only way these people work in this place! :) CrAziNesS!!! But, I can also say - I love it. Maybe its becasue I'm crazy - but these last few hectic days of Halloween games, relays, crafts, and costumes have been quite a hoot. I can't help but share some of the pictures! The costumes are great - even though here, all of the costume preparation is strictly for school (since they don't celebrate with trick-or-treating as we do in America).

So the Elementary party Kicked off in Luther Hall - with a lovely pumpkin song led by ANNA MEYER!!! (p.s. - she was me - a Cougar softball player - for Halloween...turned to the good side away from her alma mater - Concordia, Seward!!)

And so we hurried off around campus - for candy!

My classroom's station was making paper mache pumpkins out of balloons and tissue paper! A fun mess indeed ~ : )

And thus was the end of party day #1 - now- to give the Kindergarteners an experience as well!! Oh how cute these guys are....

Opening Song on the playground before the madness disperses!!!!

ANNNND - here's a close up of these kindergarteners and their costumes ~ SUPERHEROES!! a.k.a. spiderman....batman...and...5 yr old with a toy gun bigger than his body. hahaha - only in Taiwan...

Seriously, check this baby out -

And here is little "shrimp" boy, thats right, he dressed up as a shrimp. They love seafood on the island here - so much as to even dress up as one? If only I could have gotten a shot of his tail...

Who's to say the teachers can't have fun in the office?? Oh - not us.

JUDY, the Samurai, attacking biker Elden. HA. Did I mention I love Judy and her crazy ways??

And, of course, the lovely Me(i)(y)er duo wannabe softball champs - As I mentioned earlier...I got her to trade over from the Bulldogs to the Cougars!! - GO CURF!)

SO thats it! I've officially made it through the first big holiday ordeal in the teaching world. And what an ordeal it was: 3 consecutive dress up days and activity days....all in order to include all 480 students we love!

And oh the smiles I love so much - that completely erase all of the hectic feelings of planning and preparing - and remind me why I'm here. : )

AND so - on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

BIKE TRIP! - TAIWANESE STYLE!

On this lovely mini-vacation...(a 5 day weekend!)...we've all definitely kept busy!! Here are the highlights from yesterday's bike trip! We headed north an hour or so - near Taichung - to a place for renting bikes and riding on paths!!

Our van driver - JUDY!!! Gotta lover her - always spunky and sharing a laugh! She's admitted herself - she's CRAZY!

It was a beautiful day out - perfect for biking...

However, there may have been a few rocky points - biking a few hundred feet to find a tunnel that was blocked of, so - we walked in....and took a picture!



On to continue biking to another bridge that was closed due to its "being slanted,"

biking to another bridge that was apparently - not even there (though I never actually made it to that point because my flat tire kept me back on the path, only to be re-greeted by those who actually found the missing bridge), and then continuing on by going off-roading through the city to find this Hakka Museum...which we found was closed once we finally made it there! HAHA!

So - we headed back - and took a pit stop at a Goat farm (RANDOM!) and fed some goats....haha! Who are we?

Overall - a GREAT time! The series of unfortunate events added a funny/ light hearted laughing point to the whole trip : ) You never know what to expect when going on day trips in Taiwan - and ya gotta love it! As they say in Taiwan: hao shao! - "good laugh"

Best of all, it was a chance to be in fellowship with some of the Taiwanese and American teachers from Concordia! Unending blessings ; )

Memory - Gotta have it!!!

I've learned its a good thing to be able to commit things to memory - to hear something and remember it. When in a foreign land, there are many many new things to store up in your brain...but alas, somehow the essentials remain there! An example....

Last night Emilie and I decided to be adventurous and get some dinner in the city....by ourselves. You see, we are the new people here - we depend on the others who have experience in say - ordering food, speaking Chinese! So, we were going to figure it out. As we hopped on her scooter, we first tried stopping at some supposed "Thai" place. Well, we decided that there was nothing we really recognized on the menu except somethings that had rice in them. We then have a craving for Guotie (They're like pan fried stick dumpling things - SO good). Well, Emilie has made her way around the city quite a bit, and knew of a place on some road. Jungshan Road is what we decided we needed to find. But, we had no idea where it was. Here is where a handy memory comes in! As we stopped at a stoplight, I turned to the Taiwanese man on the schooter next to me. "Dui boo chi, Jongshan zi nale?" - Translation: Excuse me, where is Jongshan Rd?

The man replied with pointing us in the correct way, and to that I thanked him. (xie xie ne)

So we found the road! and the Guotie!! Random tidbits of information and random language phrases stored in the back of your mind can be of great help! When ya hear something - take it in for all its worth. It may come in handy!

Back to school it is!!! And I'm not gonna lie - blogging hasn't been my main priority, haha. Thus a few moments of "bloggercising" (thank you Anna) this Saturday afternoon are well over due.

First week of classes = GREAT! My students are a ton of fun! I am amazed at my third graders' abilities to communicate in English - really not much different from the US classroom! I have been enjoying getting to know their personalities - as I am able to see them every day for two periods! We are our own little community in our own classroom...


And the Kindergarteners - adorable! I have three separate bunches of Kindergarteners who I see two to three times a week. I am also amazed at their English abilities! Prayers of mine have definately been answered in being to communicate despite the language barrier. They are excellent with repeating, motioning, etc! How awesome it is to see they are really "getting" it. They are like vacuum cleaners with taking in the English language. I love it! So great when the children realize they are spelling their own English name (with or without my guidance) - or are able to identify "Big S" and "Little s." Highlights also include the children roaring in unison, "It is Good!!!!" as I shared each day of creation with them. Wow! I pray that their little hearts grow in faith!

I hope the year continues to bring such joy and excitement! And I have no doubt that the Lord has planned otherwise!

So, in conclusion, I must let you all know that school is great!! : )

LOVE!

Sounds like the perfect theme for the last couple of days. An adventure it was, heading out to the northern part of the Island to visit the capital city - Taipei. 250-ish Taiwanese people of the Concordia Middle School staff and 15 foreigners - joined in love! Building love with one another, and needing love - to be patient and understanding! I'll tell ya, it takes a lot of patience in trying to understand a travel itinerary spelled out in Chinese characters! I can pretty much say, I never knew what was happening next, or what to expect....but to just take it all in stride with an open heart of love! And that, we did - and had a blast...

You might say, we'd been engulfed in Taiwanamania!

But, did this ever lead to a greater love for Taipei, and the new parts of the country!! You name it, we saw it, and fell in love with it - from the most obvious, to the most random:

Taipei 101, the world's tallest building

A small mountain village (sounds like: Jeo Fahn) filled with food, clothes, random items!

The ocean side view from our hotel and mountainous land were great, a true reminder of our Creator's greatness!

Everyday is a continual reminder of the many blessings I've been given, and what a blessing it is to share God's Love throughout all the experiences I have here in Taiwan - in travel, or in teaching!

My first Sunday here in Taiwan, my first Taiwanese worship experience.

I go to a church called Salvation Lutheran, located in downtown Chiayi. So, a Chinese worship service. Confusing? In a way - but It was so amazing to worship with the Taiwanese people. What an experience to partake in - people of different languages, cultures - joining together to thank and praise the Creator of us all! We (the foreign teachers) spoke English while the others spoke Chinese, we sang the hymns in English, while the others sang Chinese, we heard the message in English (through a translator), while the other in Chinese...yet all was said, sung, and heard in one faith. Now, give me some time, and I hope to join in the Chinese speaking, singing, and listening - but hey, baby steps here! ; )

This brings me to my next thought on our worship today. We read in the Bible, and Pastor Leo mentioned today, "Do not worry about tommorow..." I began to think about this statement and how it is so greatly applicable to my life, to my work here. A perfect message to be had in this new worship experience. The ministry to be done here in Taiwan is in the hands of the Lord, and I am excited to be able to have the trust that He will lead me through all of the many encounters, in both teaching and in sharing His love, that I may have!