Hola from CELA

This week, the camp went to Mexico! It was a unique experience teaching about a culture that is so close to my own regionally, yet is so different culturally. I suppose the same assumptions that my colleagues made that I would be very knowledgeable about Mexico because of its close proximity to my own country is the same belief that I held a few years ago in regards to countries in East Asia.

Mikey made our lesson plans this week and boy were they detailed! He had so many resources for our class and wrote a great curriculum for the week. I was very happy to have a lot of information to begin with and the flexibility to adjust it for my class. Some of our lessons included traditional Mexican food with a segment on cooking nachos, Pinatas and the creation/destruction of a class pinata, Mexican music and dance, and a lesson in Spanish (which was quite interesting since I know about as much Spanish as the average American).

I had class B this week for classes. It was an adjustment yet again to see the dynamics of this class: the kids who can speak English well, the kids who can't speak at all, and of course the kids who just want nothing more than to enjoy their summer free of classes.

One of my favorite classes was cooking the nachos. Most of the kids had never heard of Mexican food and certainly never tried it. It was fun for me to introduce one of my favorite styles of food to the kids in a way that they could experience it. Each child had the instructions for making the nachos, so together as a group they worked together to assemble their pan of nachos. I was happy to see that all the kids loved the nachos, with several of them being salsa monsters! One boy insisted that salsa tasted incredible just on its own, but the rest of them enjoyed dipping their chips in the spicy Mexican sauce.

For the Bible School portion of the week, we taught the story of Jesus healing Jairus' daughter and the woman. The teachers first told the story in a skit, and later we had the kids act it out. We had a pretty good group of actors I must say! The Bible verse portion went well, we played Sparkle once again so it was a familiar game for the kids which I think helped them learn it better.

The ladies at CELA have been so welcoming and hospitable to me and Cana. Every night this week we spent time with a different teacher from the department, eating dinner and visiting an area of Chiayi. It has been great to form a close bond to each of these teachers and learn more about their lives in this part of the world.

On Friday was our field trip. This week we went to an amusement park that has models of famous buildings from around the world. The English name for the park went something like "Tiny World." Each teacher had a group of about six to spend time in the park. My group was determined to ride all the thrilling rides in the park which included a raft ride, rollercoaster, and their favorite the tidal wave raft ride. We rode this tidal wave four times, kids screaming and squealing with delight each time. The kids were insistent on wearing rain ponchos while riding this water monster. I was the lone wolf in riding it without gear, I wanted to get wet, it was really hot outside. It was so great to see the kids laughing in surprise as I walked off the ride soaking wet. I really enjoyed this opportunity to be an ride buddy for the kids and spend time with them in a more informal setting. I learned more about them in this one day than in three weeks of teaching. Fun times with the kids!

Old and New Friends

Today, I woke up to the sound of a suitemate! After settling in last night to a very quiet C602 (Yes, this semester I am on the top floor, lovely views, killer stairs) dorm, I began my day meeting Pachia. She is from California and is of Hmong descent. She is very sweet and excited to finally be in Korea, the land of her pop idols!

I also met Xee, Pachia's friend from school who lives in the suite across from us. They arrived in the dark last night, so they were eager to see the campus, find an ATM, and have some Korean food in Korea. I took them to the international ATM off campus, followed by a lovely lunch at a Korean restaurant. They both love Korean food and were ecstatic about lunch. I think it was a good first meal in Korea for them! We also got to visit the school store and tour the school a bit before orientation tomorrow. It is very hot and humid here in Korea, so we were drenched in sweat when we finally made it back up the hill to our dorm.

This afternoon, I met about eight of the other new international girls here at school. In total there are about fifty new internationals along with about ten returnees. I took this group of girls first to the Onyang street market on a hunt for shorts for Melanie, who thought that it would be cool in Korea this time of year, thus packed only long pants. We then went to the renowned Emart, which is the Korean Walmart. Everyone was able to get anything they needed to make their dorm home.

I have decided that I will not eat out for every meal this semester, but try my best to have a bit of normalcy by cooking a few meals a week. It will save me a bit of money and I really miss the chance to make my own food. Of course, when I say cook my food it means microwavable rice mixed with tuna and seaweed. Oh well, it will suffice for the time. I bought a bunch of food at Emart and now have a shelf in my dorm designated as my "pantry." It's nice with each passing semester, my room feels more homey and comfortable.

Anyway, so after our Emart mission, we took a taxi back to school. One of the new students, Kayla, speaks really good Korean. She has studied for two years and is a TESOL major with a focus on Korea. She took one taxi group back to school while I took the other half.

When we got back, there was a huge group of people outside the dorm meeting and chatting. Among the people in this group were several of the returnee students. It was a great reunion filled with hugs and laughter as we spent time catching up and talking about our summer breaks. I think this is one of the most beautiful things about this place: Being a community of internationals living in the middle of Korea, we tend to treat one another as family. We look out for each other because we are all learning and adjusting to this new culture. Even though we may drive each other crazy at times, we still take care of each other. I wish that this feeling of community could be transferred to every college campus, hopefully it can be one of the things I can share with my home university that will make a difference.

Tomorrow is the first day of orientation. It will mostly be new students filling out paperwork while us returnees help make the process as quick and painless as possible. It will be nice to meet everyone together since I have only had the chance to meet about half the new students.

The Encore Semester

I'm back at SCH preparing for my third and final semester in Korea. Moving in yesterday was very smooth. It is nice to return to a familiar place, my home for the next four months. Sometimes I feel like such a gypsy: having to pick and move every few months out of dorms, up to Seoul, and back again. It is weird to think that I have been enrolled at SCH longer than at my home university SEMO, returning back to the States will be more of a transition to a "foreign" school than moving in here at SCH for a third semester.

Returning to a familiar place, sometimes I feel like I have never left and remain the same as the last time I was here, but at the same time, I am not the same as when I finished last semester in June. I have worked in a Korean company for a few weeks, I lived with a new Korean family, I taught in Taiwan, and I visited Hong Kong. These experiences have changed me from who I was a few months ago to this point.

One of the most important lessons I have learned while here in Asia, far from home, is that everything at home will not remain the same as I left it. It is one of the weird aspects of being gone for so long, knowing that everything at home has changed as much as I have in this past year.

Coming back to school a little early have given me the opportunity to look back to where I was six months and a year ago in this same situation. In a way I feel like I haven't changed too much, but I suppose it's all about perspective. The things I have learned about the world has molded me into a person with a new perception of the beauty of this place we call earth. Korea has taught me the meaning of unconditional love in the way that I have been welcomed so warmly to their country and also the way in which they continue to support their northern neighbor despite the hate that is given in return. I have also learned to view every culture with a critical mind. Sure Korea is a wonderful culture, but it has flaws just like the USA. While Korea is loving towards the North, it still displays the anger towards the Japanese that was prevalent after the occupation. Distinguishing the two with an open mind has been one of the greatest lessons for me in Korea.

I hope this coming semester is filled with more "Aha" moments as I learn and grow...

One Year in Asia

Ok, I really need to keep up with this blogging stuff, especially when I have a lot to say about the past few weeks. I will get these posts up as soon as possible about Taiwan.

I realized today that it was a year ago that I boarded a plane for South Korea to begin this adventure. A year ago, I wouldn't have considered that the adventure would continue to see this day. But life has a tendency to move in directions not initially anticipated. I am so glad that this adventure of learning and traveling has been extended. In a year, I have lived in Korea, I have visited Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, North Korea (for all of ten minutes but I'll still put it on the list), and now currently Hong Kong.

I arrived safely in Hong Kong this morning. Last night was filled with goodbyes from everyone in Taiwan (more in a future post about Taiwan). Me and Cana left by bus to Taipei (Chiayi is in the southern part of Taiwan while Taipei is on the northern tip) at 2am to get to the airport before our flights. I flew out of Taiwan in the early morning and arrived around 9am. Landing in Hong Kong was one of the most interesting experiences I have had on a plane. I couldn't see the land until we were almost to the ground (the airport is on an island outside the city). After a very long customs line and exchanging some money, I took the airport train to downtown. Once downtown, I took a taxi to the Hong Kong International School, where Mike Kersten teaches. I will be couch surfing at his apartment while touring the city and visiting a friend from school.

Amazing how far you can come in a year!

Weekend in Chiayi and Tainan

After the week of teaching Scotland, I had a nice weekend spending more time with my co-teachers at CELA touring the area. The ladies at CELA love spending time with me and Cana, so we spent the weekend visiting Chiayi and Tainan with them.

On Saturday, we went hiking with Callie and her two kids Meredith and Jeremiah. Meredith attends the camp and loves attention while Jeremiah is too old for the camp and likes to discuss different subjects from school to the best superhero.

We went hiking near Chiayi park, which is about twenty minutes from school. We did a shorter hike, but the humidity made it feel quite substantial. The scenery was gorgeous: banana trees, the view of the city (not too hazy), the variety of flowers...I could go on. It was nice to spend time with Callie outside of work and enjoy the afternoon with her kids.

Later that afternoon I went with some of the missionaries and friends from church to see Harry Potter at the Chiayi theater. It was nice to spend more time with both the teachers as well as the Taiwanese Christians.

Sunday morning we left early to tour Tainan with Callie and her two kids Jeremiah and Meredith along with Christy, a friend from church. Tainan is about an hour from Chiayi on the East China Sea. We first went to the Tainan Salt Festival close to the beach. Tainan is famous for its sea salt, so we were able to see the yearly festival as well as climb a hill of salt.

We then went to the city to see a treehouse built amongst the trees that grew over a Japanese official building from the early 20th century. It was quite a unique place considering the history and present use of the area. The trees were massive, they were there before the Japanese, but the trees overtook the building after they were abandoned.

As we came back from the treehouse, we stumbled across a huge temple preparing for the upcoming Ghost Month, which begins in mid August and ends in September. There were crowds of people buying and burning ghost money, which they believe will be sent to the world of the dead to their family members. The smell of both the ghost money and incense sticks was quite overwhelming, with the humidity and heat it made it quite difficult to see or breathe. There were also a lot of stands selling food and other amulets.

We then went to the beach to put our feet in the East China Sea and watch the sun prepare to set. It was so beautiful to see the distant rocks in the sea and to play with Jeremiah and Meredith. We built a doomed sandcastle, which is a sandcastle built too close to the waves, but the challenge is to see how long it will survive. We built two defensive walls, but in the end we had to leave. It was nice to spend more time with Callie's family and with Christy, with all the hustle and bustle of the week, it was refreshing to slow down and enjoy time with them.

CELA Travels to Scotland

Week 2 of CELA Summer English Camp took the students to the rolling hills of Scotland. After we landed our plane, we learned about history, famous places, music, dance, and culture of Scotland. The teachers rotated classes, so I had a new group of about 20 students. It was an adjustment to learn the dynamics of the class and find the best ways to teach them. This class was much more engaged and eager than the class I taught last week, but this eagerness can turn into a lot of energy expressed in misbehavior. Overall, they were a great class and very sweet kids.

Bible School went fairly well. For the Bible verse challenge, we played musical chairs with words from the verse attached to the chairs. When the music stopped the students had to say their word. They really enjoyed this method of learning the verse while playing a game. It was very cute to see the students so eager to say their word, waiting excitedly for their turn.

During our morning activities, we played Scottish Highland games. It was so neat to see a culture so far from here come to life as the kids played tug of war and various weight throw games. They loved playing the games, especially when me and Cana challenged the winning tug of war team to go against the two of us. We were able to move the mob of seven kids about three inches before they completely dominated the two of us, pulling us well past the winning mark. It became the topic of the day "Teacher Rebecca, you need to become strong like us so you can beat us in tug of war"

My class like I said was very thoughtful and hungry to learn. They would ask me complex questions about Scotland like "Teacher, why did Queen Mary's cousin Elizabeth kill her?" "Teacher, why is Scotland part of England now?" I have been shocked at some of the kids English. For the most part, I can speak at a normal pace and dictate words to students without writing them on the board and they will understand and answer my questions. At first, I spoke at a teaching English as a second language pace, but I soon realized that most of the kids can understand when I'm speaking with the other teachers. I've decided to challenge them until it seems to be too overwhelming for them, then I will slow back down. So far, they have exceeded my expectations and I will continue to teach at an accelerated rate.

This week, we said goodbye to Ben and Amy, two of the missionaries here in Taiwan that have served two years. They are moving to St Louis so that Ben can begin Seminary. They were the missionaries here at the Practice Hotel that helped us get settled in and acquainted with Chiayi, so it was sad to see them leave, but I suppose that is the nature of life in this place, people come and go but there mark remains. Ben and Amy's mark is quite significant as they helped paint and rearrange the Practice Hotel, transforming the space in a year from a warehouse like space to a welcoming home like atmosphere. What is an even more significant mark is the legacy they will leave through their friends. Watching them say goodbye to their fellow missionaries and Taiwanese friends showed me how one person can make a huge difference in the life of those around them.

A few of the returning missionaries arrived around this time as well, once again the coming and going of people in this place is quite unique. Some of the returning teachers included Rachel a middle school teacher here at CELA, Mark the newly appointed Taiwan go to person since the Wasmunds left last year, Graham a missionary I met in Korea when he came to visit the Wasmunds, and Petrea a CELA teacher that will teach at the camp next week.

In addition to the returnees, we had a group of guys from Minnesota come to play music for students at the school: Daddy Doug, Papa Doug, and Jacob Daddy Doug's son. They have been staying in the Practice hotel and have added a new dynamic to the place. They are always singing, laughing, or arguing politics with the few poor missionaries that are liberals. It's all in good fun though, and really keeps things interesting. They have been coming to the school for several years, so they are regulars this time of year.

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to join the students on a swimming excursion to the local pool in the afternoon. I have been wanting the opportunity to spend time with the kids outside of being Teacher Rebecca, so it was nice to be a pupil at their swim lesson and a waterslide buddy after lessons. They were absolutely adorable in their lesson, repeating stretches counting in Mandarin (the only part I could repeat with them), and doing all sorts of swim drills in the pool with their very intense swim teacher. After the lesson, we went outside to the waterslide area, which included a small wide slide and "the big slide." Luckily, one of the eight year olds from my class, who is quite a trouble maker yet at the same time, one of the smartest in my class, Bobo, took me by the hand when I told him the big slide looked scary, reassuring me "don't worry teacher Rebecca, it's not scary, it's fun I will go with you." He continued to tell me "Don't look down" as we climbed the stairs, and showed me the right way to sit while going down the slide. He is such a sweetheart even though he can be quite crazy when trying to get attention from the other students. After Bobo helped down the slide, several other students wanted to help me down the big slide. It was neat to see them take a caring and responsible role.

Friday was the Dougs' and Jacob's concert in downtown Chiayi. We went to support them and the church as they reached out to the community in this concert. The music was in English, but they had a translator and some of the lyrics were printed in Chinese on the screen. It was nice to see the community of believers in Chiayi come together in this concert and minister to the people who came.

Taipei in a Day

This weekend, Ryan left for Nebraska to begin teaching again at his school. I joined him and Cana to tour Taipei all day Saturday before his flight on Sunday.

We left Chiayi on Friday afternoon on the high speed rail. Chiayi is located in the southern portion of the island, while Taipei is in the north. We were able to make the trip in under an hour, where a bus ride would take over three. We were zooming across the country just as the sun was setting, which made the trip beautiful. I have been surprised by how much Taiwan is like Korea. Apart from the tropical plants, Taiwan has a similar set of infrastructure and transportation. I suppose it has to do with the fact that they are both smaller countries with incredibly large economies in respect to their size.

We arrived in Taipei Friday night and walked around one of the night markets close to our hostel. The area we were staying was a popular area for young people, so there were a lot of college students and foreigners mingling about.

We were determined to see as much of Taipei as humanly possible on Saturday, so we woke up bright and early. We first took the subway to Taipei 101. Taipei 101 is the second tallest building currently in the world. I find both its height and design breathtaking. It is designed to appear like a bamboo stalk with some traditional architecture references. It is beautiful to see the old (bamboo, pagoda design) meet the new (a tower dominating the city skyline). We viewed the city from the top of the 101, which was quite a decent view even with the haze looming over the nearby mountains.

After visiting the 101, we went to the National Palace Museum. This museum holds the largest collection of Chinese history and art in the world. It was built after the ROC government fled to Taiwan, taking with them the majority of China's greatest historical artifacts. When Mao took power and established the DPRK, he wanted to eliminate any indication of the past, which included these artifacts. The ROC took them to Taiwan to preserve this aspect of China's history. Today, Taiwan and China are in an interesting situation. China would like to have these pieces back. However, it was the government that exists today in China technically speaking that desired to destroy them. At the same time, these pieces are not significant in Taiwan's history, but the history of China, a country that they proudly state that they are independent from. In the meantime, this museum provides the greatest window into China outside of China itself. I especially enjoyed the ancient calligraphy and artwork portion of this massive museum.

After the museum, we went to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Park. This park located downtown is home to the performance hall of Taipei as well as a mausoleum honoring the late president. Chiang Kai Shek is quite an interesting figure in history. He succeeded Sun Yat-sen as president of the ROC. Under his presidency, he witnessed his nation torn in a civil war and he led the exiled ROC to Taiwan. From what I have seen in a week of visiting Taiwan, he both revered and criticized for his actions. I hope in the next few weeks I will be able to learn more about him from the Taiwanese people and see from them who Chiang Kai Shek really was as a president.

We finished our day taking a gondola ride through the nearby mountains to view the city at night. We rode the gondola just as the sun was setting and arrived at the viewing area as the lights in the city were coming on. We ate some dinner while listening to the bustle of the city. It was bittersweet after a week of working together to wish Ryan off to home in the States. It was nice to reminisce about the week together before sending him on his way and preparing for the week ahead.

Sunday morning before returning to Chiayi, Cana and I attended Taipei International Christian Church for Sunday service. This church is located right downtown Taipei and represents a variety of denominations. I think one of the most beautiful things in the world is a group of Christians that vary in culture and denominations coming together to worship. The church was about half Taiwanese and half foreigner. The service included traditional as well as contemporary aspects to the service. I though it was a great mesh of both old and new, it really displayed the heritage and the different ways we can praise our God. I think the Christian Church spends way too much time and energy arguing about our differences instead of focusing on the one aspect of our faith that is the defining piece: Faith in Jesus Christ. Attending an international church like the one in Taipei displays for me that Christians may have their differences, but we can come together and unite in our love for our Savior. I pray that the Holy Spirit will unite the Christian church as one body.