How To Express...

If you have been having doubts concerning your ability to communicate with others, my advice is that you travel to a foreign country, where they not only don't understand what you are trying to say, but they don't understand what you are saying to begin with.

This past Tuesday, one of my co-teachers and I were driven to an elementary school where we were going to be teaching for the afternoon.  Our driver came into the school to pick us up, and ironically, on the day that our teaching aid was not going with us, the driver did not speak English.  We remembered how to ask "What is your name?", but that was about it, and after about fifteen minutes of driving silently through the country, "Where are we going?!" was a question we wished we knew how to ask - normally, our schools are less than five minutes away.  Finally we arrived, and taught three classes each of our youngest grades yet.  Usually we teach the fifth and sixth graders, but this time, it was 1-3 graders...they were so adorable!  When it was time to go home, we told the driver that we needed to go back to our train station...however, 'train' was the only part of what we said that he understood.  We found ourselves in the little town's own train station, and it was up to the two of our combined three months worth of Chinese abilities to get home.  We looked at each other and grinned - if anything, this would definitely be an adventure.  We remembered how to buy the tickets, but we really needed to figure out when our train actually left.  Between the station master and the reader board, we finally understood that our train left in about forty minutes, so we set out to explore the town.  We decided that snacks were a positive thing and both of us picked up smoothies (ordering in Chinese) and had a conversation with one of the locals, who spoke quite a bit of English.  Many conversations here involve piecing together of Chinese and English (which is the next common language after Chinese).  It makes for quite interesting and animated discussions at times.

I think that every day here, I learn a little bit more of how little sometimes you really need language to communicate (at least - in the most minor of dramatic circumstances), whether it's by me trying to say something, or someone else trying to speak to me....my little students demonstrated this to me in class one day when I couldn't understand one of their questions.  It was a matter of quite urgent importance, and as they watched me shake my head with the blank look that creeps onto my face much too often here, they realized that if the matter was to be resolved, they had to make me understand - and fast... one little kid kept blurting out the one word in English that they knew - "WC! WC!"  Of course, between all the chaos, I was not focused enough to get it - until one of the students finally stood up and 'mimed' to me the dilemma.  For those of you who know what 'WC' means, I think you will appreciate the humour of the particular dilemma that I found myself in...

Every time I speak in Chinese here, I always hold my breath until I see them nod and exclaim... then procure the item I requested.  It's definitely fun to be able to speak another language, but as someone told me, 'I'm not just learning the language, but I'm learning how to learn another language..."  I know that God brought me here for a reason, and I'm pretty sure that the things I learn here are going to be a part of His future plans for me...even though I don't know what exactly that is yet.  

Choujhou Elementary

I looked down at my hands - gritty from all the chalk - and back up at my little students. I wrinkled my nose as I tried to brush my hands off. "Teacher, this way!" they exclaimed, and pulled me down the hallway to the outdoor sinks. They watch me wash my hands, and whisper among themselves about me. I turn around and they all point at my eyes "Teacher! Blue!" I point at their eyes and say "Students! Brown! Brown! Brown!" When I show them pictures of my family, they all gasp at how many brothers I have... "Five brothers!" they repeat again and again... "WOW!!!!!" they say when they finally understand what I just said.

My tiny fourth graders all ran up to me during the break today, and each was carrying the sheet that their teacher had them prepare with questions (in English) to ask 'the foreign teacher'. We all start laughing as I try to think of the foods that I like that I can also say in Chinese. The question list is forgotten as the whole classroom latches onto me and tears down the three flights of stairs into the courtyard to the play structure. They make sure that I cross the rickety bridge and go down the slide with them before we have to run back in when the bell rings. Two of my little girls hold my hands as we all rush back to our classroom. When I finally have to leave, everyone crowds in for a picture and we put up our 'happy fingers'.

Here we are!...

To: USA From: Me

Dear America, I know that these past couple of weeks have probably been pretty intense as the elections came to an end. I can't imagine what it was like on Tuesday night as you found out who your next president was. I would love to tell you how amazing it is to be over here in Taiwan and unaffected thus far by any American political tensions or poor leadership decisions that are just around the corner (maybe January 20th), but I would hate to begin a mass exodus from the U.S. to other countries. It was my first time voting in a presidential election and (bummer) the guy that I voted for lost. Oh well, there's always next time...unless of course the rapture comes (and that might have just become more of a possibility)...

On a more serious note, I have been praying for my home country especially over the past few days. My thoughts have been with my church family, and I pray that you will be continually encouraged and constantly reminded that our faith is in God, and not in a man - even a president. I am assured that God has power even over men that are not seeking Him, and the Lord is watching over His people.

In Hosea 13:11, God is lamenting for His people. I wonder if He feels the same about America right now... "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." Hosea 14:1-"O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." God promises in 14:4-"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him." God is jealous over His children, and no matter how many times we fall, His mercy is turned toward us.

Joel 2:21, 25-27- "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. (25) And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

God is going to do amazing things through the results of this election. He tells us not to be afraid about anything. When He comes, He will restore everything that was ever done wrong...

Joel 3:16- "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

Because You Never Know Who You Might Meet...

I once read a quote somewhere along the lines of 'you should never go out of the house without make-up on because you never know who you might meet'. Well...I met Superman the other day. He was pretty much everything I had ever imagined Superman would be like...cool, suave, and very 'cute'. The only thing was...he was a little bit shorter than I was expecting...and much younger. As my fifth grade class introduced themselves to me at the beginning of the morning, I was slightly taken aback as one of the tiny boys pulled out his muscles and whispered his name dramatically - "Supermaaaann." The class all cracked up at my reaction as I laughed and then raised my eyebrows a little. I went over to look at his name tag, and sure enough, his name really was 'Superman'. Over here, English names are given and taken by necessity without really a second thought, and you can also change your name as many times as you want. On the whiteboard in our office we teachers have a list of the more unique names of the children that come through the EV. Among them are 'Watt', 'Rock', 'Jizzle', 'Skill', and 'Tank'. They sound like nick-names from an eighties war movie! The whole English vocabulary is pretty much up for grabs when it comes to what you want 'the foreigners' to call you. If you could pick out any name for yourself in the English language, what would you choose?

I got back on Sunday from a trip to Nantou, located in central Taiwan where we have another team of teachers working. We went to an American church in Tai-chung, and it was the first time that I have been around that many 'foreigners' since I have been here. It was rather a strange feeling as I looked around during the service to see so many people like...well...me! You could definitely sense an 'American feel'. I felt a little bit out of place, and wondered if that's just part of being away from home for so long. It also occurred to me that by the time I get home it will be a new thing for people I talk with on an everyday basis in the store or at the train station to be talking to me and me actually understanding them... and then realizing that "Oh yes, I can say something back..."

God has shown me more and more while I have been here how important kids really are to me... and how if I was doing anything else right now, I would be crazy. I hate to say this, but I don't think that I ever fully realized the value in a tiny little kid. I have learned to appreciate so much about them, mostly their innocence, and openness... I know that may sound cliche, but it is striking me for the first time. They reach out to learn so willingly and with so much excitement that it makes me want to be able to teach them better. I thank God so much for this chance to be here even though I know that there are others much more qualified than I am.

We taught our largest school ever last week... there were almost 120 students. All of us teachers play the clapping game with them for the introduction, and when we say goodbye, many times the students will stand and as a group give us a thank you cheer in Chinese. When we are sent out into schools in the city, after each class period, my kids will bow and say thank you in English to me before they run up and confiscate my flashcards to quiz me the vocabulary words in Chinese that I just taught them in English. God has used each child I meet here to show me how precious it is to work with them and help them learn for the tiny bit of time that I am with them.

All Sorts of Things...

We got back late Sunday night from a visit to our co-teachers in the cities Hualien and Yuli which are on the other side of the island. We had the chance to walk through the campus of the Hualien school, and it was a blessing to see everything the Lord has been doing there...the program at the school there is really unique and it made a big impression on me that I should look harder for small ways to reach out to the students I teach, even though after that day I won't ever see them again.

Thursday night, we were running errands after school, and we ran into one of our Junior High students. We talked to her for about twenty minutes, and found out that she lives right above our drink stand down the street. When we asked her to come over on Saturday to play frisbee...she mentioned that she did school all day Saturday... the kids here work so hard...a lot of times school is a six days for them it sounds like - especially for the students getting ready to graduate junior high - and then 'cram school' on top of that. So much importance is placed on education here and what grades you get can make or break your future.

We got to see the lighter side of a lot of our Nan Jung students when we played volleyball with them for P.E. class. For over two hours we played out with the students in the sticky heat. Watching them play together, I could see that even with all the importance on education, importance is also put on as working as a true team, even if it means laughing as a team at mistakes.

Military Time

Chaojhou Train Station
October 9, 2008
8:27 P.M.

"Sooo, where's our train?" Joanna asked, as we stood staring at the station readerboard...
"Ummm..." Austin fumbled with our tickets for a minute and then sheepishly looked up... "I think..." he showed us our tickets and pointed at the scheduled departure time - there it was... 19:33 ... "I think our train left an hour ago..." his voice trailed off as we all stared down the tracks...as if we could somehow back the train up by our wistful looks...so yes, instead of leaving at 9:33, our train had left at 7:33...
Seeing as there was going to be some rearranging of plans...Joanna and I promptly left our luggage in the corner and started a video documentary of the dilemma...including Austin standing in line for refunds and new tickets... Joanna and I were pretty impressed with the situation and fired off quick texts to the girls back home...
It was finally decided that we would take the next train - that doesn't leave until tomorrow morning...which gives us the chance to recuperate at home from teaching in Liouciou, the small island we have been on for the past two days...
The second school we taught at was on a cliff, and I was teaching on the third floor of the school. As I walked into my first classroom, the salty breeze from the wall of open windows swept by me, and I looked outside to see the ocean crashing on the rocks below. I had never in my life imagined myself teaching English, and never in my life had I even thought about Taiwan, I had no idea what it would be like to stand in front of a class full of kids that couldn't even speak my language...and if I couldn't imagine that...I certainly never dreamed of being a teacher in a 'castle on the sea'. Going back to the hotel that night, I thought about what an unspeakable gift it was to have been in that classroom - with the kids staring back at me with wide eyes and big smiles. Sometimes (and I know this is sooo cliche) I still cannot believe that I am here...God knew the perfect plan for me this year, and His timing for me to come here was also perfect. He has taught me so much in just the short time that I have been here...mostly of how much I still need to learn. A good friend told me that sometimes, when you go out to teach, you end up being taught the most...
Out of the hundreds of students we have taught already, I have not heard one child mention anything of Jesus...I was reading in Third John today, and verse 4 says "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." After being followed around by little students all morning...I know that nothing could make me happier to know that they are smiling not because they got to meet an American teacher, but because they know Jesus, and how much he loves them. I am so challenged by this verse to remember every day that I came here to show God's love. I came expecting it to be easier than it is to share about Jesus, but because of the language barriers, sometimes just being able to find out a child's name is an accomplishment.
"Teacher...I like banana!", "Teacher...I like apple!" Lunchtime with the students yesterday made me realize that much of our communication depends on the way that we act, and teach, and play with these kids who are so tiny and precious... God really used these past two days to show me how every day - no matter how routine - is a chance to show them how much they are really loved.

Illegal Immigration 101

One: Overstay your original visa and pretend like nothing happened...(maybe, take a sightseeing tour, or go and get your hair done...)

Okay...we didn't actually overstay our visas...but we came pretty close. Jo and Kara and I have all been together in Taiwan for two months...we didn't realize until yesterday - when we were looking at tickets to Singapore - that we had actually been here for almost 60 days. We let our supervisor know and thought little else about it after that, thinking that everything was taken care of...until the next afternoon. We were out searching for the perfect pet fishes, when the cell phone rang... they needed me back at the apartment - pronto - to go downtown with Jo and Kara to get pictures taken (before the photo-shop closed) for the new visas. After picking out Gunnar (the blue fish), Gezee (the one with the speckled tail) and Puck (a cupid sort of fish) we booked it back home so I could fill out paperwork for the new visa. While we waited in the shop, we took turns aggravating their pet bird and watching him try to snap our fingers off. The next day, thinking everything was taking care of, we headed out of town to Kenting - a beach town and also where they are opening a second English Village in December. I should probably mention that Kenting is almost two hours south of where we live...and we were only about fifteen minutes away when Wes came to the back of the bus, and told the three of us that someone from our school was coming to pick us up because something had gone wrong with the applications and they needed us back at the school as soon as possible to sign more papers. We had about an hour before our driver would reach Kenting, so we all headed for the beach so the three of us could jump in the ocean before having to go home. Drenched to our satisfaction, we separated from the rest of the group for the long drive back... three hours later, our papers signed, and back at our apartment...I kick back, my mind at peace knowing that I am - still - a legal resident of Taiwan.