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.
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