An Island Called Formosa ...

Where did the 7 go???????

2011-02-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

My friend Brittany just went back to Taiwan after coming home for break during Chinese New Year. Much to her dismay, she relayed to me that our favorite 7-11 had been wiped out in her absence! Greatly disappointing indeed! That was our place to go for late-night runs to get Häagen-Dazs, phone cards, HSR tickets, pre-packaged sliced guava, pringles and Brittany's daily fix of coca cola!!! How tragic! Well, thankfully, since we are talking about Taiwan here, there is another 7-11 that is only about a 10 minute walk away from the dorm, right by the main gate. Still, it's much more inconvenient!!! lol

The excitement at our home never stops! My dad seriously broke his foot yesterday, thus postponing his surgery, which was scheduled for this coming Monday, another 4-6 weeks. He and my brother were trying to unload a piano by themselves from a truck and it went awry. My brother got pinned by the falling piano and couldn't get his hand loose. The piano was going to crush my brother so my dad wedged his foot somehow so the piano wouldn't further injure my brother and so that he could dislodge his hand. In doing so, his foot got broken.

In positive news, my parents are shifting things around and changing out some old things in our living room and dining room. It looks great and gives the rooms a fresh feel.

I feel like my life is a bit crazy right now. Last week I was out of town everyday. This week has been pretty busy so far, too, with all the adjustments and accidents. I need to finish up a nomination letter for one of my Davis professors who is a finalist for the Distinguished Teaching Award for 2010-2011. I'm "meeting" up with a friend of mine online tonight to help him proof a paper. I still need to take those books back to the library. And yes, my suitcases are still waiting for me. Ah, the juggling act we call life. On top of that, I'm in the "rethinking" process as far as where life is taking me in the next year or so. Hmmm a lot of prayer is required. My goal for now is just to stay at peace knowing that God loves me and is in control.

Sunday night, Bro. Scott asked me to share a testimony during service. I wanted to say something positive but I was feeling rather consumed just thinking about what is going on in my life and our family life, as well as thoughts of the future. No wonder the Bible admonishes us to think on things that are lovely and of good report. ;) Thinking about life can feel heavy at times. But anyways, I thought I would say something about love since I had just done the Sunday School lesson that morning about love and since Valentines Day was the next day. So I began about how the love of God keeps me. If it weren't for His love, I wouldn't understand how to make use of the joy and peace that I can find in Him. I feel like I am in a blender. God puts me and other life "ingredients" into the blender and then turns it on. All of the sudden the blender stops ... and the spinning slows down. And then more ingredients are added and the blender is turned back on, sometimes at a seemingly higher speed.

The comfort comes in knowing that God is the one in control of the blender. He is the Master Craftsman and knows exactly what recipe to use for my life. While I may not see what he's making now, the Bible promises that He who has begun a good work in me will complete it till the day of Jesus Christ. Just hang in there and enjoy the way the colors swirl as you're whirlin' by. :)

Home, home on the range ~

2011-02-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings!! I'm not sure if anyone still checks this blog as I have greatly neglected it since arriving home.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Year of the Rabbit! Annnd almost Happy Valentine's Day!! <3

Contrary to what you may think, I did not, in fact, fall off the face of the earth. :D I've just not been disciplined enough to sit down and update. But here I go ~

Upon arriving home, Christmas was in the air and assisted, along with my friend Mr. Jet Lag, in keeping me distracted from the transition from Taiwan to California. I had a wonderful Christmas and was so blessed to be home in time for the holidays.

Next came New Years, which arrived with little fanfare. Although I have to admit that I'm still not accustomed to hearing and writing 2011 as our current year! January brought some birthdays with it, my mom and Tiffany. I hope you both have a blessed year. :) My dad was scheduled for surgery on the last day of January but it was postponed because of a recent respiratory infection.

So, that brings us to February! Which we have just barely started but are already about half-way through ... unbelievable! Presently, I'm sitting in the living room with my family around me, ease-dropping on an hilarious conversation my dad is having on speaker phone. I have library books in my room that are now overdue by about three days. And speaking of my room, it is calling my name because believe it or not, I have not completed unpacking my things yet. ^_^ haha ... ummm no further comment.

With February this year also came New Years for those who celebrate the lunar calendar. :) (In my dictionary, this translates as all my Asian friends and me ^_^) I was feeling in the mully-grubs about Chinese New Year because this is the first year since I've been "in" Chinese culture that I haven't been able to do something to celebrate. Little did I know, my mom was planning for us to go out to Chinese food as a family. :) It was so sweet and the food was great! During dinner, my dad used chopsticks for probably the first time in his life. It was pretty adorable. He was really doing his best and I appreciated his efforts more than I could explain. :)

There are two more points that I must share for your reading pleasure. Number one: This one is sort of a longer story but bear with me. Several weeks ago, my mom and I were going to grab some Chinese food for the first time since I've been home. Mom picked up the phone to call the restaurant that we usually order from to find out what time they closed. When she dialed I reached for the phone and told her I would try asking in Chinese and see what would happen. When the lady picked up the phone I said in Mandarin, "Hi, what time do you close tonight?" She replied in English, (with a Chinese accent, mind you), "Hello?" To which I repeated my above inquiry. Upon which she HUNG UP THE PHONE!! lol I was half amused by the situation and half insulted that she wouldn't engage me in my desperate quest to practice! As it turns out, she definitely speaks Cantonese, but I'm not sure about Mandarin. Anyhow, that is the back-up story to tell you what happened on Chinese New Year. So, my whole family thought this little escapade was quite hilarious and upon choosing the restaurant we would visit that night, my dad thought up a little "game". I had to call a place and ask them in Chinese what time they closed. If they hung up, there were immediately off of our possible list. If they answered me back in Mandarin, then we would put them on the "consider" list. :) We ended up only calling two places, both of which answered me in Chinese. We went downtown to a place we had never been but it was so good! I think it's the best Chinese food I've found in town!

Second story: My lovely sisters were in Starbucks a while back and saw a CD for sale that was a compilation in celebration of Chinese New Years. Hence, the assumption was that the music was either in the Chinese style and/or songs sung in Chinese. When they gave it to me, I was so surprised and quite pleased that they had "planned ahead" for Chinese New Year!! When I popped the CD into to stereo and began to listen, I was in for quite a surprise!! The first words I heard were English!! lol But the best part of the entire CD is track number 3. The song is completely in English and sung by someone with a possible Australian accent. The lyrics consist of, and I kid you not,(Verse 1)"Would you like to watch me dance? Would you like to watch me dance? I don't mind if all you want is just to watch me dance!" (Verse 2)"Would you like to watch me move? Would you like to watch me move? I don't mind if all you want is just to watch me move!"

My mom, brother and I were all in the room listening at the same time. We were dying!!! Mom and I were on the couch and laughing so hard that we were crying! It was so unexpected and completely random! I'm talking CREEPER SONG of the century!!! I'm determined to make the sound file into a ringtone and secretly set it as my mom's ringtone. Then all I have to do is lie in wait for the first phone call ... hahaha.

Another development in my life: overseeing the education of my brother. With my dad waiting for surgery and my mom working full-time, it leaves a gap at home that seems to be "kate-sized" at the moment. :) Its another example to me of how life and premeditated expectations can change. Flexibility is definitely a characteristic that I'm learning to incorporate in my life. My brother is a wonderful, smart and talented kid. But, as with any new experience in life, it has a learning curve and requires patience and humility on my part.

I just enjoyed a visit from one of my professors from Taiwan, Dominique. She came to give two guest lectures in a Chinese drama class at Davis so I went up to spend time with her. Dominique is so vivacious and thoroughly interesting. What a great few days hanging out with her.

In other exciting news, my older sister just passed her state boards and became a registered nurse! We are so proud of her! She is still in a nursing program for the B.S.N. and will complete that program this coming December, Lord willing.

Please keep my grandmother in your prayers as she is battling with cancer again, this time in her lungs. She is almost at the end of her first set of 13-day radiation treatments. As you can imagine, radiation would make anyone tired, especially a lady who is turning 90 years old next week. :)

Tomorrow, my JAM team is up for teaching the munchkins in Sunday School. The lesson that was prepared in the curriculum set wasn't doctrinally sound so I'm switching it up and doing a lesson about the thing that preoccupies so many minds on February 14th - love. I'm planning to take the angle that Jesus is the best Valentine we could ever have. He gave His all for us to show just how much He loves us. No one on this earth could ever surpass that perfect love. Afterwards, I'm sure there will be much merriment as we usually have amazing snack and fun stuff to do, especially on Valentine's Day Sunday. Last year we had a pizza party ... I'm not sure that we will fill them full of pizza this year, but I'm sure we will enjoy ourselves just as much.

I have decided to overcome the disappointment of not having a Valentine to call my own. Why not treat V-day as we did back in Elementary school? Valentine's Day was something we shared with all our friends to tell them that we appreciated their being apart of our little worlds. This year, don't allow Valentine's Day to be only for those in committed relationships. Remember that Valentine's Day is a celebration of love: God's ultimate love and sacrifice, our Christian love that is shared with the world and the love we share with our family and friends. <3

I'm singin': "H. K. I. A. ... it's fun to be in the H. K. I. A."

2010-12-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, that was really lame ... but what's to be expected? lol. I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my connecting flight, which is in just a couple hours. I'm on the ground, currently, with my stuff next to me, eating a pastry from my favorite bakery on the street next to my "old" dormitory. My face is looking pretty red at this point or I might post a pic from my webcam. I think I'll wait till I get home to post any pics that I've taken from the last few days because the internet is a little slow and I don't feel like going through the editing process.

My flight from Taiwan to here went pretty well. It's a short flight so I don't mind it. The one coming up is going to be longer and more tiring.

I had a great day today! We had a time of prayer in the morning after we got ready, had breakfast together downstairs, ran some errands and went to the National Palace Museum. We looked around at some of the exhibits there and then went to see a Chinese Opera that was performed by students from a university. We all agreed that it was quite an experience, for sure. Anna and I came out talking like them ... it was pretty funny. She's quite good at it! ^_^

So, the walk from my arriving gate to my departing gate was quite a walk but I'm glad I'm here really early so I won't have to walk it rushed and worry about time. There are so many WHITE PEOPLE HERE!!!! ... weird.

I haven't shed any tears so far on this journey back to my home in the US. While I love Taiwan and feel comfortable there, I wasn't as sad this time saying goodbye. I think it's because 1) I've gone through this process last year 2) I feel strongly that I will be back in Taiwan, I just don't know when for sure. It feels pretty surreal actually to be going home. I almost have no feeling about this whole thing ...

... except I am pretty jazzed about Christmas!! However, it doesn't feel like it should be Christmas time yet ...

So, I have a lot of luggage. And when I say a lot, I really, really mean it!!! I checked FOUR pieces of luggage and have my backpack and a small duffel with me in the cabin. Anna and Alisha made no bones about laughing when we walked up to the counter for me to check my baggage and the lady asked how many were flying today ...
of course, I do deserve the teasing and it was, after-all, a funny sight ~~~ three girls to take care of the luggage of only one of them. It looked like we ALL could have been going on a trip. Anyhow, my only prayer is that me and my luggage get home safely and at the same time.

After I checked my bags and changed in most of my NT for greenbacks, the four of us got something to drink and played a few rounds of Phase 10. It was great fun. I finally confessed to Sis. Bracken that I had been calling her, "Bracken Sandwich" in Chinese on accident. She laughed and laughed! "三明治師母" has a nice ring to it, I think. haha

Anyhow, I could continue writing nonsense, but I think that would be a bad idea because it's only getting later and I'm only getting loopier sooooo I bid you all adieu and thank you for reading. I'll update more FROM HOME!

And we're off!!!!

2010-12-21T02:15:00.000-08:00

Today, I left Taizhong but I took so many memories with me. These last couple of days I've been saying goodbyes to friends and classmates, taking pictures, going together to eat and just hanging out. These are moments that I wouldn't trade. What a blessing to encounter so many new friends.

We're in Taipei now! Getting ready to head out for some dinner and then hoping to catch the biggest night market in the city.

Pics tonight, if I don't fall asleep first! haha ;)

~k

He's never too far ... from wherever you are

2010-12-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

I don't know who will read this blog post or what situations you find yourself in at the moment. But one thing I do know is this, my God will never leave me nor forsake me. This promise is not only mine, but also the promise He makes to all of His children.

Right before I left California in the end of August, I prayed several times asking God to meet me in Taiwan when I arrived. The Sunday morning service before I left, Bro. Brown called me to the front so they could pray for me. I found myself crying out to God from my own anticipation of loneliness and insecurities: God, please be in Taiwan when I get there. Meet me at the airport. Be at my school ... etc" As I was praying these words, Bro. Brown began to pray about the exact thing saying something similar to, "God, I know you are already there in Taiwan, that you're going ahead of Katie and are going to meet her there when she arrives." I wept uncontrollably as I felt that God was using Bro. Brown's prayer to confirm Himself to me.

For this whole trip, I've felt that God's promise to me was to be at each situation that I face before I get there and allow me to lean on Him for strength. While I've been here, there have been a lot of things that I've needed to lean on Jesus for and I'm glad and so blessed that He is patient with me as I learn to trust Him.

Now that I'm preparing to go home, I know that there will be many adjustments. I'm used to being a family of one most of the time here. On the weekends, I have family and friends, but it's completely different than fitting into a certain order/rank in a family unit. Don't get me wrong - I love my family. I'm excited to see them and to spend the holidays at home. However, it's still an adjustment to go from my life here to my life in Cali. The adjustment period last year took me about three months before I felt like I started fitting in in the US again. The time is coming soon when I'll need to go through that adjustment period again. Because I've experienced this sort of thing last year, I feel more mentally prepared for what to expect during the next couple months. However, I realize no matter how much I can predict what will happen, things are easier said that done.

Yesterday, while I was taking an incredibly long shower, words from an old song that I haven't thought of in a blue moon ran through my head. It was a song by the Martins. Today, I looked up the song on youtube. The words seem to speak to me and my hesitations. For me, it's a confirmation of God's promise - He is already there. No matter where I am, He's ahead of me, waiting patiently. I can trust Him and cast all my care on Him for He cares for me.

Here is a link to the song. I hope it is a blessing to you today, no matter where you are on the path of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hriwNT1I-TI&feature=related

While listening to the above song, I saw this song, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pms8l_6LW8k&feature=related

Be blessed today and be confident that He is the God that sees you.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

2010-12-11T06:39:00.001-08:00

Found this and had to get a picture with it. It talks and sings in English and is rather creepy-ish. ^_^

Well, I am having a jolly time doing Christmas shopping for my familia. :) I'm almost finished! Brittany and I went out to YiZhongJie today and had fun looking around. I bought a really cute knit hat today and made Brittany try it on for me since my hair was up at the time. I told her that being a hat model was her calling in life. lol She didn't seem quite as amused by the whole prospect as I did ... haha. But she was a great sport.

This is what the street looked like today around 4:00pm at 一中街:

Taiwan is getting colder!! I know, that's unbelievable to those of you who have never been here and only heard the stories about the dramatic heat and humidity in the summer. I didn't believe Taiwan could be cold, myself ... which is why I arrived here jacket-less. Bad move on my part. ^_^ I have learned my lesson for next time.

I finished up my Christmas letter today and am going to work on the mailing this Monday ... we'll see how it goes.

Silver Bells. That song always makes me think of my Grandma Nita. It was her favorite Christmas song. I think I remember her most around the holidays. I wish that she were still around to teach me new crochet stitches and bake zucchini bread!! So yummy ... Because my memories of her are from my early childhood, I'm sure they are slightly warped but there are things that I still specifically associate with Grandma. I can still smell the cough drops she was always sucking on. I can see her Birkenstock sandals. I wonder what life would be like if she were still around ...

So I took this picture yesterday in our dorm bathroom. My question: how many tubes of toothpaste do three (3!!!)girls need? Apparently, the answer is 5 large tubes and 1 small one. Second question: How many toothbrushes do we need? According to the evidence, approximately 5. :) Don't ask me why ... cuz I have no idea where there is so much tooth paste and so many brushes in our shower. I can only account for one of the brushes and two of the tubes. One is almost completely empty and so I put a new one in.

My lunch today:

The place were I bought the yummy dumplings:

Their menu:

I found the saying on the tissue cover amusing and I told Brittany to make a "soft" face and pose with it ... this is the result lol:

P.S. The cover says, "Soft feeling for you." We tried to figure out what that would be in more correct English but couldn't really come up with a definite answer.

Well, my dear reader, I hope you have found this post amusing, because I have enjoyed sharing it with you. :)

Long time no post

2010-12-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
How's it going? Sorry I couldn't watch the Candlelight Service today but I heard it was good. :) I've started looking at pics that have already been put up on facebook. They make me smile. Can't wait to see my Sunday School kiddos! I was planning to send them a video greeting while I was gone but you know how time goes ... anyways, they are little rays of sunshine in my life.

Today, I will be very transparent with you ... I am homesick. Last night, I wasn't homesick. Actually, it was the opposite. I had such a fantastic weekend in KH with Tiffany and seeing everyone from the church there. The services yesterday were amazing. The moving of the Lord was powerful and I soaked it up. I really felt that they were "gaining strength" services for me. There is a lot going on here and a lot going on that I will be going home to. Between everything, I am ... well there aren't really words for it. In the worship in the morning and evening I just felt the presence of the Lord in a mighty way. In the morning, it was a more of requesting prayer as I desperately need God to hold my hand and guide me through this game of life. More than ever, I'm realizing my need for Him to be in control and be my ultimate source of strength. In the evening, the praise and worship that was going up from the congregation was not only contagious but so vibrant. As I began to get caught up in the worship, it was if I could feel the glory of the Lord around me. It was awesome. There is no way to describe it adequately unless you know what it's like to be in the presence of the Almighty. Holy! Holy! Holy!

With the fantastic services and the wonderful company of my Taiwanese family, I was not homesick. In fact, I felt like I belonged there. I love the people and enjoy spending time with them when I can get up to KH or we have a big meeting. Waking up tired this morning and back in Taichung, I think it was the combination of just having left a "family environment", being here by myself and the holidays that put me in a homesick tailspin. But, this is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it. :) The sky is blue, the sun in shinning, I have my health and Jesus is on the throne. What more could I ask for?

These last couple days, I've had rare and wonderful time with Tiffany. I enjoy being with her so much. We had fun and made memories, even with our very busy weekend. I have pictures and stories from this weekend that I will share when I have more time and am on my own computer. I'm in the bookstore again, using their demo macs ... sa-weeeeet. ;) lol

I'm going back to my cup of tea now and going to make photocopies for my English class tonight. We're going to be reading, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. It's one of my favorite stories with a Christmas theme because of the deep ties it has with my family and our holiday traditions. I will certainly relish reading it with my class.

Sending love to you all and praying for hope to be extended to those in need, during this holiday season.

Tall-ingly and white-ingly yours,
Kate

Media Break

2010-12-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is a lovely way to say that I've been "away" from my computer the last 48-ish hours. However, the reason isn't quite so lovely. On Monday night, I went to bed with a bit of an unsettled stomach and chalked it up to the slushy I had eaten. Well, the next morning I woke up much earlier than usual with what I'm pretty certain was a nasty case of food poisoning. Yesterday, my Tuesday, I spent most of my time in bed or in the bathroom - not fun. Today, I a bit better, but was still exhausted. Just walking down the street made me feel like I had been walking for miles. But I had to go to class this afternoon because the teacher had prepared the term paper topic for me early, because of my departure schedule. Also, I canceled English class last night and didn't feel I could do that for a second day in a row. So, I had class from 3-5 and then taught from 7-9. Loooooong day, even though that day was relatively very short.

I'm gaining my strength back little by little so I think tomorrow I'll be better than today. I'm not eating a ton, but I'm trying to at least stay hydrated. I don't know about you, but I don't like feeling so weak or having to rely on other people! There are hidden lessons in this whole thing, I'm sure. ;)

Meanwhile, I'm super frustrated at facebook for making me change my name!! I don't put my last name on there for privacy reasons, but instead list my Chinese name in the slot for my last name. Both of those names are legitimate and make it easy for my English and Chinese speaking friends to find me. However, now facebook only allows you to list your name under ONE language. So annoying! I mean, really! What about the people who have Spanish last names and English first names? Will the system not catch it because it's all in Romanized characters? Huh! I think my tiredness is just compounding my overall frustration ... better get off this topic.

According to my planner and the notes all over my desk, these next few days are going to be busy ones and so I will probably not have much time to be on the computer.

When I think about the time I have left in Taiwan, it seems impossible that it adds up to less than a month ... I have only a mere three weeks left before I'm State-bound. My life in the States is quite different from my life here in Taiwan. As always, it gives me mixed emotions making the transition.

However, I am much looking forward to Christmas and being with my family. Tonight, as I walked home from English class, I heard a band playing a Christmas medley. I stopped, sat down and listened to them play. It was wonderful. Music has such an amazing quality. Even though it was a small thing, I felt like it was a little encouragement from God. He knew what a rough couple of days I've had and that I needed a little cheering up at that moment. :)

Well, it's time for this girl to scoot off to bed ~~

night,
k

p.s. I taught the class how to use the phrase, "what's up" tonight. It was great fun. Jay asked me, quite seriously, "What if you say, "What's up" to someone and they say "what's up" back? They haven't answered your question!" haha I told him that there are two ways you can use "what's up." The first way is just as a casual greeting from one friend/acquaintance to another. It's a way of acknowledging that person; saying "hi" and it really doesn't require anything after that. When both parties have said, "What's up" to each other, the conversation sometimes ends right there. The other way of using it is as a response when someone has just expressed something to you like, "I'm so frustrated today" or "I'm so excited about tomorrow!" At that point, they should offer an explanation following your, "what's up." I think he got it after that but it was so cute how earnestly he asked the question.

One of their homework assignments for next week is to use that phrase with at least two of their friends who speak at least a little English and then report to the class how their friends responded. The results should prove to be entertaining ^_^

More experiences in Taiwan

2010-11-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

Every Taiwanese person has probably experienced riding on a crowded train during weekends. Me, being the half-Taiwanese that I am, ride the train usually twice a week and both of those are generally weekend trains. Buuuut, this weekend, I had a new experience - using a squat toilet on a moving train. lol :) I felt super Taiwanese.

I also attended my first funeral in Taiwan. Bro. Chen from the Kaohsiung church passed away and his service was this Saturday. We were given little ribbon crosses to put on when we arrived and those who brought the blue envelops with money were given towels to symbolize something with which to dry your tears. Sis. B gave me her towel as a souvenir. haha I never knew you could get souvenirs at a funeral. But it's a cute little pink towel and the price tag that was left on read about 190NT ... which is close to a six dollar face towel.

Anyways, there was a beautiful spirit of worship and peace in the chapel. Several songs were sung and lead by different church groups. I sang with the Tainan group and we did a medley of "Let there be glory and honor to Jesus" with "Because he lives." It was fun to learn to sing them in Chinese and an honor to be apart of the celebration of Bro. Chen's life. Among many things, he was a Bible School teacher for the original Bible School graduating class in Kaohsiung. Although I never met him, I appreciate the time that he gave to the Lord and the impact that his life has and will continue to have upon those who knew and loved him.

After the service, we took a bus (and some people drove in their own cars) to the burial sight that was about 40 minutes away in the mountains. Me, Alisha and Joyce sat in the back of the bus and had a grand time. Joyce did some napping and Alisha and I played with my electronic dictionary. First, it was a game of tic-tac-toe. Then it was a guessing game for Alisha as I practiced some Chinese writing and had her guess what it said. It was pretty hard to write as the bus was traversing some less-than-smooth places in the road and it basically had no shocks. ^_^ That definitely made the "game" more challenging, and therefore, more interesting ... or frustrating. lol But we had fun anyhow. Then, we were trying to assign Chinese names to my family. We did keep ourselves quite amused. On another note about names, I have the hardest time remembering Sis. Bracken's Chinese first name. Probably because I don't use it or hear it used by others. We just call her 師母(shi mu). If I'm correct, her name is 桑珍 (sang zhen) but I always want to say it, 三明治(san ming zhi) which is the word for sandwich. lol I have yet to tell Sis. B about this little mix-up. haha Annnnd then one for Bro. B came to me ... his first name is 瑞克(rui ke) which can sound similar in one's head to 肉桂粉（rou gui fen) which is the word for cinnamon. I haven't decided when I'll share these little "revelations" with the Brackens ... I've been saying Sis. B's name wrong since last summer ...

Church was great this morning! Worship was powerful and the preaching was awesome. Bro. Bracken preached from the verse in Psalm 8:4 where the Word says, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" He talked about how each of us find fault with ourselves, but God finds us precious. He loves us more than we could imagine. And, as Christians, we need to learn to love people. The best gift we could give to our circles of acquaintances is an introduction to the ultimate and perfect love of Jesus Christ, which lead Him to give up His life and die for us. At the end of the service, he asked who would make a promise to talk to at least one person this week who we've never witnessed to before and tell them about the love of God/give our testimony. I think every person there raised their hand. Now, may God give us grace to be His ambassadors.

Well, the night-time creeper that I am ... it's quite late and I need to hit the pillow. My list of things to do this week is growing at a seemingly excellerated pace. Thankfully, there is a light at the end of this week's tunnel ... I'm looking forward to spending some time with Tiffany. :)

And tomorrow I have another butterfly note to open ... only three left. Yes, indeed, dear readers. My time in Taiwan this trip is quickly coming to a close ... I feel like I must have been living these last three months with my eyes closed. How they have flown.

Affectionately,
me

For Jane ♥

2010-11-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from my Thanksgiving. :)

My plate (working from the top and going clockwise):
Taiwan-style bread with fruit in it
Garlic, mashed red potatoes
Turkey (oh so yummy! It had rosemary all over it!)
Cranberry sauce
Green bean casserole
Dressing that had bacon in it :)
Salad with cucumber and tomato

The coveted last bite of green bean casserole ... it happens every time

Homemade pumpkin and pecan pies with Land O Lakes whipped cream on top and a delicious cup of coffee to accompany them.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

The act of giving thanks is a blessing. This year I am thankful for so many things. It's hard to know where to begin since I seem to be surrounded by blessings that I cannot contain. I'll start by saying how amazed I am at the love and mercy of our Savior. There is nothing we can ever do to earn His love, but He is forever Faithful. What a Mighty God I serve!

I'm thankful that I have a wonderful family waiting at home for me. :) I can't wait to see you and wrap my arms around each one of you. Thank you for sending me packages, emails, texts, pictures, e-cards, calling me and just finding ways to show that you love me. I love you so much.

To my dear friends reading my blog, thanks for keeping up with my crazy adventures. :) Hope you enjoy the stories and pictures of my life in Taiwan.

To each and every one, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and appreciation for the small things in life.

I'm thankful for each night I can see the moon and stars.

I'm thankful for tea. :)

I'm thankful for music. (Especially the Christmas music I'm listening to now.)

I'm thankful for the protection of the Lord that goes with me wherever I go.

I'm thankful for memories of childhood that I can smile at and be proud to share.

I'm thankful for text messages that I can send back home through my email.

I'm thankful for all the conveniences in Taiwan (like 7, food stalls and tea shops)

I'm thankful for teaching English because it gives me needed experience and money. haha Annnnd I really love doing it.

I'm thankful for this opportunity to be in Taiwan.

I'm thankful for the new experiences and stretching that has come along with them.

I'm thankful for all the new friends I'm making and for the old friends who stay my friend even after they get to know me. ;)

I'm thankful for "The Christmas Waltz" by the Carpenters that's playing at this moment. It's so fanciful and lovely to listen to.

I'm thankful for the lessons that come from every-day life. Today, I was working on a crocheting project and trying to make a pretty border. I've been working on it, tried several things and nothing seemed to give me the look I was going for. Then today, I did one row of a scallop-like edge and then went back over it with a loopy chain pattern. Finally, I started to see something I liked and had been trying to create. It turns out that it just took more than one row. When you don't get the results you're looking for the first time around, trying building upon the foundation you already have instead of ripping it out and starting over. You may find that the pattern you're looking for just needs a few more layers.

I'm just thankful for life. The ups. The downs. The good news. The bad news. If we couldn't experience the negative feelings in life, we wouldn't appreciate the beautiful moments.

Stop to smell to roses this holiday season. Take time to tell people you love them. Interrupt your schedule to make someone feel special. Stop to take pictures along the way. One day, you'll be glad you did.

With much love~
Kate

Joy to the World!!! He rules the world with Truth and Grace!

Here are some pictures from the past few days or so. I've been so busy with taking classes, preparing lessons and teaching English, plus daily routines, that I haven't had time to be on the computer long enough to blog. Sorry for my neglect. :) I know that this will be worth it one day when I'm old and I can't remember any of the details of this trip on my own. :)
Outside of one of the buildings in which I attend class. "Remain soft-spoken and forgiving, even when reason is on your side." Definitely a quote to live by ~

The man who helped me with my visa extension

Me and Brittany waiting to get my passport back. They were actually very quick! I was shocked!

A cartoon that I couldn't resist taking a picture of during this festive time:

This is a sign for "My Country Talk." It's a series of events that's put on by the Office of International Affairs at the university. It invites students from different countries who are currently studying at NCHU to come and share some of the culture of your country with other students and faculty. I presented last week for the US and talked about Christmas, the reasons behind it, some of our traditions and then taught them "The 12 Days of Christmas." It was great fun.

Me and my roommates having a crocheting/knitting "party" in our room ... we were actually up pretty late that night. ^-^

I've resorted to "mixing my drinks" haha ... There is a 7 sooo close to our dorm so Brittany and I often walk there at night when the other shops are closed to get something to quench our thirst. This particular night, I wanted to try something new so I bought sprite and grapefruit tea and mixed them. It was pretty yummy ~
Leaves that I keep in my room *heart* I'm doing my part to enjoy fall. Thanks Mom for sending me some leaves. :) The real leaf in the picture was one I picked up walking about campus. It fell off of a magnolia tree, I think. There are a lot of those here.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with some friends and we had a great time.

Thanks to Andreas' long arms, we got all four of us in the picture without asking for someone to help us take it.

P.S. A note on Taiwanese shopping culture at 大賣家：Someone needs to tell the people who make the tags for the items here that "F" meaning "Free" is not a size ... I'm pretty sure they mean, "One size fits most." To add to the confusion, some of the items tagged "F" aren't even the same size. haha Thankfully, the items I purchased last night happened to fit. :)

sigh

2010-11-19T13:08:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm tall. Yes, I'm white. Yes, I can also see you staring at me!!!!
There are some days that it doesn't bother me ... and then there are the days when it feels really annoying that I can't blend in!! In the States, especially where I grew up, there is a fairly diverse population. However, here it is very obvious that I am a foreigner. I can't say that I blame them for noticing. I've noticed myself that it's easy to spot other foreigners. And I've caught myself looking at other "white" people wondering where they are from. When you're the observer, you feel invisible almost. Still, when you're the subject of the observation, it seems more annoying.

Wow, the Trans Siberian Orchestra version of Christmas Eve Sarajevo is intense! I'm presently listening to KOIT live-stream Christmas music station. I so enjoy having Christmas music at my finger tips, even though I'm not in the States. It's a blessing and like having a piece of home. :)

Well, there is much I could say ... but ... I'm supposed to be A) Sleeping, B) If not sleeping, finishing the drink menu that is due tomorrow. Soooo, I will be going but try to catch up with you, soon. :)

Kate

Recently, in the life of Kate

2010-11-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

So my dashboard tells me that this is the 100th post on this blog ...

Today was a pretty good day. I didn't fall asleep in class!! Although
I did come home and take at least a three hour nap afterward. :)
Also, I practiced calligraphy and drank a lot of water.

We have a calligraphy test this Thursday and we have to write our names
nicely at the end of the saying we write. Last week, the teacher wrote
down our names for us so we could have a nice sample to refer to while
practicing. I'm working on it but have a ways to go, still, before it will
look like the teacher's sample. :) After some writing practice tonight, while I was cleaning my calligraphy brush,I broke it accidentally. Oops. At least it is not expensive to replace ~~
In both of these pictures, you can see the small strip on the left, which is the teacher's writing sample.

This is my Chinese last name. It has nothing to do with my English name, for those of you who are wondering. lol It just so happens that the teacher of my calligraphy class has the same last name ... so I always feel pressure about writing my name correctly ...

For just regular practice and in-class learning, we usually use paper with boxes to help us keep the characters in proportion. But for the test, we have to use blank paper! And, we have to fold it a certain way. Here is the graph showing how to fold:

Tomorrow is going to be a highly-productive day ~ I just know it. I have a bunch of errands to run and things to check off my always-growing list of things to do.

Oh oh!! I bought Christmas cards today!!! The bookstore had a surprisingly wonderful selection of cards from 7/11 themed, Chinese-y cards and traditional American style cards. Most of them were reasonably priced, too! There were even some religious cards. I was in the bookstore quite some time looking through all of them. They were playing lovely classical music that made me feel like I wanted to do one of those group dances from the Pride and Prejudice era... you know the ones where they clap, spin in circles, walk up and down the floor and then repeat several times? But not only do I not know how to do any of those dances, but if I did, I would have looked ridiculous doing one in the store.

AH!!! A mosquito just buzzed in my ear! I DESPISE those creatures!! Vehemently!! This is a warning to all the mosquitoes reading my blog: I will take strong measures to make sure your life doesn't interfere with the well-being of my appendages.
Thanks to the recommendation of a friend in the States, I went looking for some tiger balm. That stuff is great for helping with the itching that comes from all the bites. This is a mosquito that I trapped inside an empty cup last night and the tiger balm that helps relieve the damage done by the little boogers:

Alright, well in order to have a productive day, I really need to hit the sack.

Hope you have a fantastic week!!

Kate

P.S. These are random pictures from the last few days ... enjoy.

The shelves at the bookstore that have Chinese learning materials. I like this aisle. :)

A delicious banana muffin that I was quite surprised and pleased to find at my favorite little bakery near the university.

The sunset from last Wednesday

These are the notes that I open each Monday. So far, I think I've opened 6 ...

My lunch from yesterday on my way back to school on the train. Yum~

I'd like to point out that the mango drink in the picture is from my favorite place to order them near my old school in Tainan. :) That was my first one from 哈果汁 since I've been back this fall. I ordered half sugar so it wasn't as sweet as usual, but there is still something about their flavor that I just love. The ones in Taizhong don't quite taste the same to me.

P.P.S. I did another Sudoku today :) I think this makes number 6 ...

Life ... uʍop-ǝpısdn

2010-11-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was working on a puzzle at the dining table. It's a gorgeous picture of a Thomas Kinkade painting. I had managed to put four pieces together in a row and I had two more pieces that I had connected to each other. But I couldn't get them to fit with the other four, even though they looked to be about the right color. As I was fiddling with the pieces, I turned a segment upside-down and it magically slipped into place.

Life seems to be this way. The pieces look like they should be fitting together, but no matter how you try to force them, it doesn't work. Then, something gets turned upside-down in your life and suddenly, situations begin to make sense.

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

When I was in 7th grade, I remember watching a science video that was talking about the marvellous gift we have called eyesight. They spoke to us about an experiment they did, giving the participants special glasses that made everything they saw appear upside-down. After a few days, the eyes readjusted and things appeared as they did before they put on the glasses. Following the conclusion of the study and the removal of the glasses, the participants eyes had to readjust again, as everything now seemed upside down to them again.

My point is that a situation that totally disrupts your life isn't necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it is an opportunity to expand your viewpoint or for things once in disaray in your life to begin coming together. Allow yourself - your life and everything in it - to be re-evaluated and changed by the all-knowing and all-powerful Savior, Jesus Christ. The adjustment period may take time but it will be worth every second when you look at the puzzle of life from heaven's point of view and see the beautiful picture that was created, because you were willing to be turned upside-down.

♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
Put your life into the Master's hand
Put your life into His Master Plan
For He has a work for you
That nobody else can do
Oh oh put your life into the Master's hand
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

Sudoku

2010-11-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is me and all my stuff, just before heading out the door for the weekend. I had my small suitcase, my backpack, my purse and Alisha's late birthday present. The suitcase was primarily filled with laundry that needed to be washed. ^-^

Speaking of which, I just heard to washing machine beep, signaling its completion of my third load of laundry tonight/this morning. Right now it's 2:30am Taiwan time ... and yes, I am going to bed very soon ~~~ and I can rest knowing that all my laundry is done done done! Now I just have to wait for it all to dry so I can pack it back into my suitcase.

Yesterday, I did my first Sudoku puzzle! Fascinating! I've never really wanted to try them before. I ripped it out of yesterday's paper and took it back to my room to conquer. It was an easy-level puzzle, but that was fine for it being my first real attempt. Because yesterday's puzzle time was so successful, today I tried it again. The sudoku in today's paper was a medium level and it went okay. Then, I went through the old papers I have in my room and collected three more puzzles. ^-^ I did a "gold-level" puzzle and was able to finish that one, too! I was so thrilled with myself. lol I did one more on my trek from Taichung to Tainan ... so for those of you who are counting, that's three sudoku today. haha ...

Another exciting thing happened in my life yesterday - I started learning Zhuyin 注音. This is another system of phonetics for Chinese that is used in Taiwan for typing and texting, et cetera. In the US, usually they teach students Pinyin, which is what I learned. Pinyin is a system that is used in Mainland for typing and texting. Pinyin uses romanized letters, the same ones used in our English alphabet, for spelling out sounds. Zhuyin uses symbols, rather than letters, and is supposed to help the speaker develop more correct pronunciation than with using pinyin. We shall see ...

Please pray for the floor director in my dorm, who is also my "next-door neighbor" and a denominational Christian. She came to my room today feeling bummed and wanting to talk. I did my best to encourage her and then we prayed together. Ask that God will draw this young lady into the fullness of His truth. She is a sweetheart and has a lot on her plate right now.

Okay, well it's not getting any earlier and I can't think of anything amazing to say ... Actually, yes I can. Tonight, for the first time since my mom sent it to me, I was able to sit down and starting working on the sheet music to one of my favorite songs. :) Happy moments, indeed. <3

Back in the saddle again ...

2010-11-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

Ah Mr. Feeling of Shoulder to the Grindstone, how I have missed thee!! :) Today, I turned in my second paper of this week. In a weird and occasionally stressful way, it was kinda nice to write papers again. I guess once a student, always a student. :)

So now, I have calligraphy class tomorrow morning and then I need to watch a documentary in preparation for class on Monday and then I'm free for the weekend. :) Some sleeping and cooking is in order!!!!! And I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation.

Meanwhile, the butterfly notecards on my board are multiplying ... I think I'm halfway through them now. What a surreal feeling. I can't believe how incredibly fast time, and this fall, have flown. (For those of you who do not understand the notecard reference, I shall offer an explanation: My family sent me a package in which were a collection of notecards written by different family members. I get to choose one, in no particular order, to open on each Monday.)

I am excited about Thanksgiving! And Christmas! And yes, it's only just the beginning of November. But I look forward to the time of giving thanks and being with the ones you love and the ones who love you, in return. Sis. Bracken and I were talking about Christmas music and have decided that we shall begin playing it around the house as soon as they return. Have I mentioned I love Christmas music?? ~~

I called my Grandma for the third time since I've been in Taiwan, I think. As she is my only living grandparent by blood, I feel a certain feeling of responsiblility to keep in touch with her on a semi-freequent basis. Besides, when I'm at home, I usually call her several times a week, so only talking to her once or twice a month doesn't feel very frequent. All families have problems ... but I still love my grandma. That's what a family is ... its a group of people who are tied together with love through the thick and the thin, through the good and the bad, through the crying and through the laughing.

Anyways, it was a joy to call her and hear her whistling as she picked up the phone. :) She was whistling was, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow" ...

The first shall be last ...

2010-11-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

... literally :) Yesterday, I was very blessed to get a seat on the train! My ticket said, Car 1, Seat 32, but when the train arrived, it was pulling in the opposite direction so Car 1 was last. I was so relieved that there were still seats on the train!! Otherwise, I might have been standing for the long ride back to school. God is good! :)

This week is midterm week for me. Last night was a sleepless night as I finished up my paper that was due today. We'll see how it goes ... I have another paper due this Wednesday and then a calligraphy test next week. I drank so much tea today in class to try and keep myself awake ... but to no avail! My eyelids kept dropping on me involuntarily. One minute I was looking at the teacher, and the next second, I was prying my eyes open trying to figure out what was being discussed at the moment. You know you're tired when you can fall asleep standing up or while you're sitting up trying to actively participate in a lecture. Someday, I will be able to tell these stories to my kids when they complain to me about being tired ... "You haven't been tired until you've _______" (Fill in the blank)

Anyhow, other than that, I'm doing well. It has been awesome to have the Bracken's back in Taiwan. I have certainly missed them!! The four of us had a great time this weekend, despite the busyness that surrounded each moment. They are a wealth of cultural and Chinese language information. Even though I've lived with Chinese before and have close friends who come from a Taiwanese/Chinese background, there are still days that I am baffled or equally frustrated with cultural nuances. Its another part of the growing and learning process ... it continues for a lifetime. ^_^

I'm getting ready to buy a few books in Chinese ... I need to start doing some light, casual reading to improve my ability to understand Chinese literature. It's one thing to be able to recognize and read a character, and it's another to be able to understand the meaning. As they say in my native language, "慢慢來." "Slow slow come," in direct translation, but the meaning is that things take time. Sis. Bracken reminded me of a great Chinese idiom the other night, "不怕慢，只怕站." "Don't be afraid of going slow, be afraid of stopping."

Such a poignant phrase for life at this moment. Language, patience, knowledge, character development ... all these things come slowly, but the important thing is that you don't give up! Lately, I feel like the Lord has been reminding me that He can only really be strong when I am weak. Back to the story of Gideon that was so fitting at the beginning of this journey, the Lord had to weed out his army down to a number low enough so that God could get the glory for their victory against the host of Midian. There are things I feel I'm not ready for ... but it doesn't matter how I feel. What matters is that I follow God's leading. His strength is made perfect through my weakness. There is such a strength that comes just from communicating that to Him in prayer. It's a relief to know that Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me! And that's enough ... 祂的恩典够我用.

hey hey hey hakka

2010-11-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

After two and a half years of Chinese study and my second trip to Taiwan, I have finally purchased an electronic dictionary. :) I'm playing with it presently (well, in between blogging ^-^) and I gotta say, I like it. :) I just figured out that I can learn conversational phrases from other Chinese dialects like Hakka, Taiwanese and the Sichuan dialect. Pretty neat! However, it is slightly challenging to hear the correct pronunciation from an automated system ... ^-^ But it's awesome! I can hand-write characters on the screen and it will give me English and Chinese dictionary results for that word. There are also other language dictionaries on it. It's amazing! It can even type in Thai!! Super news since I have two Thai roommates~~

Tonight was my last English class with this group of students, as far as I know. It's kinda sad to stop after we were all just getting used to each other. Buuut, when one door closes, another opens. Tonight, I made an agreement with a tea shop here to translate their menu for them. They asked me last week or the week before but I hadn't had a chance to get back and talk with them yet. So tonight I stopped by to see if they were still wanting me to help them out. The boss said yes and we exchanged contact information so he could send me a Chinese version of the menu in a document form so I can add in the English underneath. This is going to be a great experience! And I get paid for it! :) Thank you, Jesus!

Okay, well I should hit the sack, even though my new toy and this computer are seemingly demanding my attention.

Good night world~
k

A wonderful weekend ...

2010-11-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? After my last blog, things started to get less groggy. At least I haven't forgotten if it was am or pm in the last 48 hours. :)

So yes, the university's anniversary/birthday was this past weekend so they had a celebration and the international students were required to participate. It was great to see people, some of them in traditional garb, holding their countries' flag. Here are a few pictures from the day.

A bunch of us together, with the two, main ladies who keep us all organized and informed.

Me, Brittany and one of her roommates, Nan

Brittany, me, Lin and Alice. These two ladies work tirelessly in the International Office to make sure things go well for the students studying abroad.

My roomies!!!!!! Very sweet girls from Thailand~

A bunch of us from Poo-shuan ~~ just within a few doors of each other.

Leaving the field after our walk past the main platform.

Me and Brittany, marching with all the other international students, to the admin building to take a group photo.

Fa wearing my sunglasses because they matched her Thai costume. ^-^

Me and Sid, a young lady from the Philippines. We met in the airport on our first day in Taiwan.

Are you proud to be an American?

Coming in Saturday night I met Sis. B's mother for the first time. She is a sweetheart. :)

Sunday, yesterday, was a busy day!! We had church in the morning in Tainan. Bro. Bracken preached about knowing Jesus: "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?/ Whom do ye say I am?" After service, we all stuck around for a potluck and celebration of three birthdays: Bro. Bracken, Alisha and Jerry. Then, a group of us drove up to Ligang for a special gathering.

I have to tell a funny story ... On the way to Ligang yesterday afternoon, Sis. Bracken had a map because they had not been to the church's new location yet. Well something came up about the name for a map in Chinese, which is, "地圖[di4-tu2](which sounds like, "Dee two." So, Bro. Bracken, being the King of Puns that he is, turned to his faithful navigator and said, "Honey, this is 'Our-two 地圖'." [Get it?? ... R2D2??] ... :D

We had a tremendous time together in Ligang. It was wonderful to be back with everyone in the same place. After a great time of singing and encouragement from the three pastors present, we ate some delicious food and visited with each other.

Today, we had a really lovely breakfast. Homemade biscuits and gravy, an omelet with cheese and other goodness inside, fried potatoes, smoked salmon and tea.

We went to the dream mall to meet up with some more Brackens today. :) Fun times around a Starbucks table. (I had a mocha frappuccino)The English on stuff here is killing me! Today, Tiffany and I were walking around a 39NT store and saw some English that was just hilarious ~~ I have provided some pictures below for your viewing pleasure. I think they require no further explanation for there really is none to be giving. ^-^

I should have taken some pictures of the mall. It's beautiful and quite large. Before we left the mall, we went up on the roof-top and rode the Ferris-wheel around. It was awesome to be able to see the city from so high up. The harbor is huge! Bro. Bracken said it used to be the third largest in the world, if I remember correctly.

No matter how hard you try, you will never, ever, ever escape Hello Kitty in this country ... ever.

Our dinner tonight was wonderful! We went to Tasty, which was a first for me. Sooo yummy! We were so full coming out of there!! We took our time eating, chatting, laughing and enjoying each others' company. I don't have any pictures of us, but I did take pictures of the food. :)

Shrimp and asparagus

Mmmmmm not sure what to call this ... but it was delicious.

Cesar Salad

Pumpkin soup

For cleansing the palate ...

The main attraction

Delicious dessert

My tea ~ 玫瑰森林

They also gave us a sparkling juice in celebration of the two birthdays, but I don't have a picture of that.

I can't help but wonder if the person who came up with the Chinese name for this establishment 1) was a speaker of English 2) was pleased with the meat they were served here.

I got a goodbye-kiss tonight from my boyfriend ... Ethan Bracken. :) Relax, relax ... it was only on the cheek ... and it was from a five-year-old. haha He is a cutie pie! Ethan and Abbey are amazingly cute kids and fun to be around. Abbey asked me on Sunday how old I was and she remembered tonight. At the table today, she asked me how college was and then told me to start speaking to her in Chinese. So we held a mini-dialogue in which I asked her why she wanted me to speak to her in Chinese. It was really cute.

Many, "Happy Birthday" wishes are extended to Alisha and Bro. Bracken on their birthday, today and to Miss Abbey, whose birthday is coming up this week.

P.S. Fact: Between the writing and the uploading of pictures, this blogging session has taken me about two hours ...

o-O ... soooo out of it

2010-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be my last day of volunteer work at the museum ... but I didn't end up going. I had every intention to go ... but this afternoon I felt terrible. I took a short nap and was going to get up and go, but I just had no energy. I sat down for a minute, which turned into hours that I slept hunched over my desk.

My roommates came home and I laid down on my bed ... when I woke up, my watch read 7:00 so I figured it was time to get up and get ready because I had to catch the train at 8:06. So I got up, quickly changed into my church clothes, grabbed my things, and headed out the door ...

When I got outside, it seemed odd to me that the sun hadn't really come up yet because it was usually up at that time. And that's when I decided to check my cell phone and discovered that it was 7:30 PM!!! Not AM!! :) What a goof-ball!!

I went back upstairs laughing at myself for being so ridiculous ... my roommates got quite a kick out of it, too. :) Long story short, I ended up coming to Tainan tonight anyways.

Well that's all that I have to say other than it's good to have the Brackens back in Taiwan. :)

Goodnight~

Looking through my window ...

2010-10-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

If you could peek through my webcam, this is what you would have seen tonight:

Lately, there has been a lot of introspection going on at this end of the computer ... which has brought a lot to the surface. Sometimes, I have to face it. Sometimes, I bury it for the moment. Either way, dealing with yourself and your interactions with others is a delicate issue. It means taking responsibility for your actions, even when it would be easier not to do so. But, it also means learning boundaries and then practicing a balanced and healthy lifestyle, based on those boundary lines.

I think that is the hardest part ... when to make space, and when to draw near.

So for now, I remain thoughtfully yours~
Kate

星期四早上六點以前去睡覺。。開什麽玩笑。。我討厭書法。。

2010-10-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah ... going to bed early the night/morning before calligraphy class is impossible ... I sat at my desk tonight asking myself, "Why am I torturing myself with this class? I am going to learn a lesson from all of this? One day, will I encounter a situation and be like, 'Wow, I'm certainly glad I know calligraphy.' ..." I'm having a hard time imagining that unless I marry into a hard-cord Chinese family in which, at least my spouse's parents studied it ... rawr ... for now, let's just say it's character building ...

It's freeeeeeezing right now!!! The wind has been blowing something crazy, which only makes it feel colder! When Brittany and I got out of class today, we went home to put on MORE clothes before we went to buy food because we were soo miserable. I put on long leggings, my floor-length jean skirt, a sweatshirt and a scarf. ^-^ I felt better~

I drank an impressively large amount of coke tonight ... quite possibly the most coke I've ever had in such a relatively small amount of time ... please see picture below for reference of bottle size ^-^ haha

Yes ... I did indeed drink this entire bottle by myself ... tonight.

My students were absolutely adorable with their presentations in class last night! As I sat there watching them, one by one, I thought, "I should make them do this every week, simply for my own enjoyment!" lol Each one of them had to "sell" an item of their choosing to the rest of the class.

Grace advertised for paper tape that's manufactured in Japan. She showed us all about the different colors and patterns, told us there was a discount if we bought wholesale and gave us "contact information". She was also the only student who did a power point and gave us a hand out.
Zachary told us about his new, magic brand of chocolate called, "Ch-ch-ch-chocolate"(which was actually cadbury). If you feel sad, you just eat a piece and you feel better automatically! :) Then he gave us all samples. :) That's a great selling point, in my books! haha

Eason told us about his man-shaped bendable magnet gadget that is very useful for holding things. He brought headphones, a cell phone and rubber bands to show us just how many uses there are for it. :) It was so cute~~
Danika did her presentation on the fly because she wasn't able to be with us last week when we talked about the presentation. She used her coffee as her item and did a great job. I would have totally purchased her coffee! :)

Vivian talked about her cell phone. It's modern, has a large touch-screen and the plan it comes with is very cheap in comparison to other data phone plans in Taiwan.
And last but certainly not least on the scale of entertaining was Gregory. He did a demonstration of how to eat a onigiri/飯糰 and spoke to us on the great convenience of them, for one with such a busy schedule. XD

The above pictures of them are not them giving their presentations ... after they did their presentations, I had them get in pairs and practice making "business calls" selling the item they had just marketed to us. ^-^

My view of the museum from where I sat at the help desk ...

What I stare at ... because there weren't many people there at night ... and because when there are people, they mostly don't talk to me ... they talk to the Taiwanese person sitting next to me ... On Friday and Sunday, I just looked over the handbook ... a lot ... but Tuesday, I couldn't really bare to look at it for fun ... I only looked at it to mark the films with English in them for my students ...

And this is me, of course, on Friday night ... my first day volunteering

The museum at night ...

An amazing meal I had at a cafe near the museum ... the cafe has both an English and Chinese name ... the Chinese name is 尼克咖啡 ... but the English name is The Naked Cafe ... they do NOT mean the same thing ... the Chinese sounds like the translation from English to Chinese of the name, "Nick" ... anyhow, I found out that there are three Naked Cafes in Taizhong ... I do recommend their food. ^-^ I've eaten there twice now.

This ... this is an amazing cookie that was sent to me, among many others, from my sister and mom :) Thanks you two!! <3

Alright ... well I think that's all for now ... I've kinda "caught you up" on what's going on at present ...

As Tigger says, "TTFN - Ta ta for now!"

~k~

獻上感恩的心。。。

2010-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

我今晚去美術館看一部紀錄片叫，“唱歌吧！”。那部是關於台灣一種的原住民，Bunan Tribe的小朋友的合唱團。讓我非常非常的感動。我對他們很有同情的。。最後，他們唱的一首歌是，“獻上感恩”。。一聽他們唱，眼睛開始濕濕得。。很輕的哭。。這樣的感覺，真的很難解釋。。。所以呢，我試試看用英文寫一下。。

The class I'm taking on Mondays is about documentary film in Taiwan, how it began, how it is used and what influence it is having. This year is the 7th Annual, Biennial Taiwan Documentary Film Festival. My teacher originally designed an independent study program through the department for her students to take for credit in which we would become volunteers at the museum during the festival to learn more about this genre and enhance our class time. However, not enough students signed up for the class so we can't get credit for participating, but the professor still wants us to take part in this rare opportunity. Because I speak English and a bit of Chinese and because they have many foreigners who have come in for this event, I have been volunteering at a help desk over the weekend. At the end of this week, I will be caring for a director from Russia during his time at the museum. Most of the foreigners who come in cannot speak any Chinese so they need people who can go between and help them to be in the right place at the right time. After the showing of their film, often the directors will participate in a Q&A session with the audience.

Long story short, that's what I've been up to ... annnnd, aside from any volunteer work, our professor wants us to view several films and write about them so we can discuss them later in class and so that it might help us writing our midterm and final papers.

Last night I saw my first film at the festival. The English name is, "Which Way Home" and the Chinese name is, "下一站，美國." The Chinese literally means, "Next stop, America." This film is about the illegal immigration of Mexican minors into the US. Being a native of California, this issue is of special interest to me. The film was heart-breaking, actually. There were 9, 12, 16, etc year old children attempting to make a very difficult journey by train into the States. Their motives for such attempt were: 1) to make money to send to their struggling families 2) to find parents who had left for the States for that same reason, but had never come back, or 3) both. My heart broke as I listened to one of the 16/17-year old boys talking. It went something like this: "I'm hoping that when I get to America, I can find a family who will adopt me. Maybe I can finally experience the love of parents that I've never had." This particular young man had been on the streets for a majority of his life and had addition problems. He recognized the problem, had stopped and was trying to get away from his depressing life by chasing his version of the American Dream ... he was not the only child interviewed that was hoping to find love at his destination.

Then tonight, the film I saw was about the Bunan Aboriginal children in a particular school in Taiwan. Their principal uses music to help give the children confidence in their ethnic heritage, as well as in their own human dignity. One of the elementary school boys read an essay he had written in which he described his desires: Too see his parents get back together, to have their love, and to be able to continue singing often.

All I can say is that my heart completely broke ... I can't imagine such a life. For so much of my life, I have taken for granted that I grew up in a home full of love. I never wanted for the love of a parent. Love was a central part of my foundation. the love of my family, who taught me about the Love of God, and the love of dear friends. To see children and hear stories about their lives and their simple desire to just be loved ... it moves me to tears. There is an ache knowing that the stories I've heard are few and the conditions surrounding them have been mild. There are millions of children all over the world who suffer similar and worse fates. My God, what can we do to help these poor, lost souls? How can we show them the Perfect Love of a Savior Who gave His Life for them? There are so many ...

For most of that documentary, the children sang songs in their heritage tongue, but the last song they sang was in Mandarin: "獻上感恩“ or "Give thanks with a grateful heart." My eyes filled with tears as I sang along with them from where I sat on the grass ... These children were being taught to be thankful, despite the situations they faced every day. One girl of 11 years had to be the primary care giver for her two younger siblings. Her father worked elsewhere and her mother had a drinking problem that kept her out and about. This girl had also suffered a horrible accident and her right arm was badly scarred. At the end of the film, you find out that her mother had recently died due to her substance abuse. Yet, through all of this, the girl had the fortitude to sing ... with a grateful heart.

Thought-provoking and convicting ... my heart is really too moved to be able to express myself any further ... I have no words left ...

Here is a version of that song in Mandarin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zRS-E1KlGY&feature=related

我沒有辦法把我現在的感情寫下來。。

2010-10-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

高興。難過。興奮。想家。感恩。很累。平安。寂寞。渴望。著急。錯著。不耐心。有同情心的。。。。。結果，我應該早一點睡覺，多一點睡。哈哈。

I've been so tired lately, I don't know how to think or feel. I have gotten into terrible habits of staying up late ... to do homework ... to chat ... to see my family ... to goof around on facebook ... to blog ... to prepare lessons ... Long story short, it's just something I need to get control over.

Other than that, life has been okay here. God is good! He is answering my unspoken prayers and inspiring my mind as I read His Word. This includes some illumination in areas that I need work in or preparation for issues that will present themselves in the near future. It is starting to make more sense now why so many preachers say, "And this applies to me, as much as to you," or "And I'm speaking to myself when I say this." When reading lately, all the verses that I need in my personal walk are the ones that stick out to me the most.

Blow-dryer: I bought a travel-sized blow-dryer a couple weeks ago ... it's so cute and pink and it was cheap ... so I bought it. Today, I used it for the first time. The poor thing was starting to get over-heated before my hair was even half-way dry. lol ... *sigh* I should have bought a normal-sized one.

Wet feet: yesterday, Brittany and I were on our way to Taiwanese Modern Theatre History class and took the short-cut through the huge grass area in front of our building ... a short-cut, might I add, that I've taken several times before ... however, this time, we stepped right into a soaked area. I felt like I was in a rice field. lol I was wearing flip-flops, so it wasn't too bad, but Brittany was wearing socks and shoes so her feet were soaked through the entire class. :/

Calligraphy ... I stayed up all night yesterday to do my calligraphy homework. 26 practice sheets and 5 homework sheets later, I went to bed. Annd, I would like to add that I began my homework at a reasonable time ... 7:30pm. lol But even with my desire to do a good job and all the time I spent working on perfecting the writing of the characters we had to write, I still only got a 78 on the assignment!!!

I welcome anyone who thinks they have arrived in life to try calligraphy and then tell me how you feel!! haha ... it's a great humbling tool.

Well, I've managed to stay up insanely late, again. And I need to be a productive human being tomorrow.

Oh!! My volunteer work is beginning tomorrow night ... exciting and scary! :)

More later~
k

Let the work begin!

Chinese looks better written in M&M's ^-^

Full of ink~

Calvin Klein underwear and other unmentionables

2010-10-19T08:50:00.001-07:00

You are probably thinking, "WHAT in the world!!!???" haha ... please allow me to explain ...

Today, I met with three Taiwanese students who are planning to travel to Davis next month for a conference. They were full of questions about travel, etc. Then I started asking them about things they might want to buy while they're here ... and that's when it got funny: luggage, clothes, etc .. the stuff you would expect .. but these people are also very aware of name-brands. The guy who is going on the trip popped out with "Ralph Lauren, Polo, Levi's, Rimowa, H & M, Top Shop, Bottega Veneta" ... annnnnnnd "CK underwear." lol ... when I figured out what he was asking, I was like, "Well, I don't buy Calvin Klein men's underwear so I have no idea about that one." I heard one of the girls say to him in Chinese, "She is blushing." haha ...

And then I was shocked again when that same girl started asking about where she could buy American feminine products ... not exactly what I imagined they would want to find in the States ... lol. Annd, I don't really know the names for the items she was looking for so we had to use description and an electronic dictionary ... and that guy was sitting there watching us intently the whole time. At one point I asked him, "Aren't you embarrassed?" ... but he didn't seem embarrassed at all ... I think I was probably the only one. ^-^

Anyhow, I taught English class again tonight! :) It went pretty well, I think. Tonight, we talked about the, "th" sound, idioms regarding time, "both ... and ...", "either ... or ...", "neither ... nor ...", and making business calls. This time, I sat at the desk level with the other students to try and make them feel more comfortable ... I want to encourage them to talk more, not make them feel intimidated. I gave English names to two of the students at the beginning of class and so we were getting used to that tonight, too. I had a lot of stuff to go through so we kind of ran out of time, but I am much happier to have too much planned than not enough.

I think I'm going through a stage of learning, "thick-skinedness" ... I'm being asked about underwear and other "stuff", having to explain things like, unique vs. eunuch, version vs. virgin, slut vs. slot, and learning things like the word for upper-class prostitutes from the front page of the newspaper. All in all, hopefully my face will get used to this and stop exhibiting "pinkness" soon enough. ^-^

The sunset was riveting tonight. Yes, I know that it's probably because of pollution that the colors are so amazing, but still ... it's beautiful to look at. I really love the sky at night, too! Lately, I have been able to see a couple stars and it always makes my night. :)

This is my headband that I got from the night market last night! I wore it today to my meeting with Wenna and to my English class. I am getting braver about my bartering skills! I almost always ask for a lower price than listed/given now. haha And it usually works. :D

I took out my garbage tonight! Woot! I love being garbage-less. There was something else I was going to blog about ... but I can't remember ... I suppose that's enough for now.

~k.

Monday

2010-10-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

So, today is Monday ... or was Monday rather since it is technically "Tuesday" now for me. It was a good day, over all.

Tonight I had a new Chinese experience = translating for my friend to get her hair done. She wanted to get a wash and slightly new style and couldn't go by herself. So she asked me to go with her to help talk with the people at the beauty salon. It was definitely an adventure. Thankfully, she didn't want anything too complicated done with her hair. :)

The two of us took a bus to the Yi Zhong area, where we found the salon she was looking for. After the hair appointment, we putted around the night market for a while. We saw a humongous cockroach tonight!!! Oh my goodness!!! It was definitely an older one ... wow! Yuck to infinity~~ But we did have some fun, too.

This shirt absolutely cracked me up!

If you can't read it, the shirt says, "Leave me alone. I am not a lonely guy." haha

We walked into an Adidas shop tonight and I had to take a picture of this shirt :) So very Taiwanese ... everything and more goes on a scooter :)

張老師，me, 張爸爸

Me and 林老師

I laughed when I saw what these are called ... boring pie

An awesome diagram of Taiwanese modern history that my classmate drew for me :)

Cece and an awesome weekend

2010-10-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Cece Winans' music has been such a tremendous blessing to me, lately. Her music touches on so many levels: worship, praise, pain, healing, burdens and visions/dreams ... the songs just seem to hit home to me in ways I cannot describe. Riding home on the train tonight, I felt very thankful for the way the Lord has used her career to encourage His people.

I had an amazing weekend ... but I'm going to be a good girl and go to bed now, so I'll have to tell you all about it and post pictures later. :)

For now,
Kate

PACKAGE!!!

2010-10-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

I got a package from home today! :) I was sooo happy to see it! :)
Thank you Mom for all the amazing things inside! Annnd, thank you to anyone who contributed to the things that were very carefully packed inside. <3

There were cookies in there!!! So delicious! :)

I had calligraphy class this morning, language exchange with a couple classmates over lunch, a meeting with my professor in the afternoon, and then I went home to take my stuff out of the box. :)

After thoroughly exploring the contents and grabbing some food, I then spent some time reorganizing my shelf-space above my desk ...

All in all, it was a pretty great day :)

Good evening, class!

2010-10-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty good day, praise God! :)

I had class this morning (which I almost kept falling asleep in), and then went by the bookstore. There, I found the Chinese text book I was looking for and some awesome English teaching tools. Then, I came home, did some Bible studying, picked up some things around my room, and called YiRan to see if she had eaten lunch already. As it turns out, she hadn't, so we went down the street to get something together. After buying some kind of Taizhong specialty spicy noodle dish and some tea, we headed back to the dorm.

We chatted and ate and chatted some more ... YiRan has been a blessing to me during my short time here. She has helped me to meet some students on campus and she has connected me to two job opportunities for foreign students. She is also my floor manager and a relatively newer Christian (probably a couple years).

Soooo after lunch, I started looking through my newly purchased items from the bookstore. I went through most of the first chapter of my new Chinese book and then started going through my English class materials. Some of the students are interested in learning about traveling and how to conduct regular conversations in English ... so we're going to talk about purchasing tickets for museums, taking tours, buying audio guides, calling 411 to get the museum's number, etc.

I've created a class plan, a questionnaire so I can get to know the students better, photocopied related pages from my English teaching magazine and typed up two dialogues to go along with the topics. To introduce myself, the class guidelines, and to help with some of the material, I've started a power point. It's mostly done, but needs some touching up.

Anyways ... That's really all that's exciting with me ...

Food for Thought

2010-10-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

“Assumptions are the termites of relationships.” ~Henry Winkler

"Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.
There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to
be forward, backwards, or sideways." ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody
helped you.” Althea Gibson

Another week has gone byyy-hiyeee ....

2010-10-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend! Getting ready for the up-coming internship, going back and forth to Tainan, going to eat with friends and trying to get homework done and as much sleep as possible in between. :)

Yesterday, I was in a taxi and engaging in the usual chit-chat that accompanies normal taxi rides ... and then came the question/statement: "所以，你的爸爸是美國人，你的媽媽是台灣人。/So your Dad is American and your Mom is Taiwanese?" haha That's the first time I've ever been mistaken as part-asain anything! lol I was quite amused! :) I told him, no that my family is reeeally American and that the most ethnicity I have in me is German. He was like, "Really ... but your eyes ..." haha I have nothing further to say about this. lol ^-^

Anyways, here are a few pictures from my evening ~ enjoy!

This is a horrible picture but it's the only one I have of the group tonight, so I'm posting it anyways ... There were two Americans, two Thai girls and four Korean students.

I had AMERICAN icecream!!! It was AMAZING! DELICIOUS! FABULOUSLY AWESOME! (and full of calories ^-^) But it was worth it!!! lol Love Potion 31 on the top and strawberry cheesecake on the bottom, in a WAFFLE cone no less. <3

I stood in awe when I saw the huge sign for B&R from across the street ... I didn't take a picture of the outside, but this is what the inside sign looked like ...

~~ Calligraphy ~~

2010-10-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when life is too serious and calligraphy homework is toooooo difficult!!!!! The pen starts going crazy and ink ends up all over your face!!!! This was the best impression of a Chinese scholar that I could do with the facial hair stuff ... and that's my, "Game On," face btw. hahahahahahaha

Days are turning into weeks ...

2010-10-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

... weeks are passing quickly. I've been in Taiwan for between 5-6 weeks now. I can't believe it!

Today, I started a language exchange with one of my fellow student from my Monday class. This weekend, I have training for the volunteer program that is linked between my class and the Fine Arts Museum. Next week, I start teaching a conversational English class to a small group of university students. So, things are still moving along ...

My family has just mailed a package to me and I can't wait for it to get here! It should be here in about 7-8 days I think ... so with weekends included, it will be about a week and a half.

While I am currently making no attempt to catch up on all previous days' pictures, I will share the photos from today. ^-^ Enjoy!

Paveena and Brittany messing around before class started:

The right section of the classroom huddled around the teacher to watch him do examples of our classwork for the day:

My first-ever try at calligraphy ... its much harder than it looks :)

This student shared the desk with me and was my "go-to" person for the many questions that I had during class:

My second page of calligraphy and trying out some different strokes ...

My teacher correcting the homework assignments from last week:

Dad, this picture is for you! Yes, they DO have a place where you can get criss-cut fries. :)

I present to all you foreigners, dun dun dun daaaaa, "Dragon Fruit, of the white variety." lol This is an amazing fruit! So far, I've eaten it in two colors but the one my roommates so sweetly shared with me tonight was white:

Ever the romantic ... ♥♥♥

Coldstone!!! Amazing! All inside of a 7/11 ... what a beautiful thing <3

Here's your sign

2010-10-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

So, did someone forget to tell me that I have a sign on my forehead that reads, "Please tell me what to do ... No, really ... it's my favorite thing EVER ... especially when it's not your place and there is no need!!!" ... ha .. okay, so I'm ranting and over-reactionary ... It's a cultural difference thing ~~ I'm not sure how long it will take to get used to. ^-^ I'm so stubborn naturally that I've never really liked being told what to do ... I'm continually learning to accept it from those in authority. But I can't stand it when people give their opinion of your actions so liberally when it's 1) not a decision of right/wrong 2) I have not asked for their opinion nor discussed the matter with them 3) the matter pertains to them in no way, shape or form 4) it's a issue that I should be able to decide on myself because I'm an adult 5) did I mention that these people are not what I consider to be an authority over me in the situations they are "presiding over"??? ... What's worse is when you politely decline their input but they continue to force their personal view on you ... I don't like being bullied at all, and especially not in a passive-aggressive style ... lol

Whew ... okay, I think I got that out of my system ... I had a fairly productive day today, although there are still many things written on my planner on today's date that have not been completed. However, the most important things were accomplished today - like doing all my laundry!!!!! :)

Now, it's time for me to hit the sac ... It's fast approaching 12:00 and this girl is going to turn into a pumpkin ;)

...........多的是，你不知道的事

2010-10-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

FOOOOOOOOD. I can't describe to you how much I am longing for the following things:
1. a kitchen
2. a grocery store closer to me
3. a deli sandwich
4. SALAD!!!!
5. NON-GREASY FOOD!

I love Taiwan :) and I love some of the food they have here ... but I'm not a huge fan of "lu wei" especially since, even they keep the food in separate containers, they usually put all the containers in the same water to cook it and there is all kinds of gross things in there including forbidden shellfish items and blood cake ... ah ...
I never realized how good we had it at NCKU last year! :)

This morning, I gave my very first presentation in Chinese ... lol But for some reason, a lot of English ended up creeping into the presentation. ;) I'm glad that my professor speaks English fluently and is an authority on the subject ... she was able to explain things better to the students when my language skills failed me. Also, my classmate, Edward, was a big help when I got stuck, giving me the right words. haha

There was only one (1) time during the whole time (over 30 minutes) that I laughed or even smiled ... and that was because I said the wrong word!!!! Ahh! I was supposed to say, "blah blah blah information," but said instead, "blah blah blah beverage." ^-^ I don't think everyone, or even the teacher, heard me, but Edward did and we both started laughing .. I had to stifle it and move on with as much composure as possible. I think God knew that if I didn't laugh about something, I would get so frustrated and just shut down.

So, a lot has happened in the relatively short span of time since my last blog but it's too much to remember and write down. :) I'm not even sure what to include. I think the food is on my mind the most because it's such a part of my daily life and I feel pretty unhealthy right now ...

I'm learning new things and embarking on new journeys and adventures that I didn't exactly foresee before I left home. It's growth, which is good ... and stepping out of my comfort zone, which is also good, but requires some courage and leaning on God for strength.

On a positive note, there was a mosquito on the wall just a few minutes ago ... I took off my flipflop and smashed it quite successfully against the wall!! :) One point!

Tomorrow I need to do laundry! :)

Here are just a few pictures from last weekend ~~ I'll try to get more general photos up soon ~~

Taken from my window ... the beautiful, morning sunlight over the mountains in Taipei

Yang Mu signing autographs after the conference:

The 101 :)

It looks full, right??

Wrong!!!! ... NOW, it's full :)

This was just after I got back to my dorm from Taipei last weekend:

Traveling Abroad Lesson #78

2010-09-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

NEVER sit in the front of a taxi ... especially if you are female. :)

Today was a very interesting day ... where to begin?

Maybe with where I am presently: sitting in a hotel room in Taipei.
Reason: I'm meeting up with one of my professors from Davis in the morning.
She is here for a conference and invited me to join her.
What I'm doing, besides blogging: snacking on raisin bread, against my better judgment and the taxi driver's careful instructions ^-^ however, it is quite yummy.

So this morning, I got up and started rearranging my suitcases in order to organize everything a little better and to make packing easier. Then I ran to the bookstore to write a couple emails, after which I went to the Language Center to take a Chinese placement exam. Next stop was the Taiwanese Literature office to pick up my course registration sheet and take it to the administration building.

I grabbed a bit of lunch and then went back to my room to pack. After packing and an adventure online with google maps, I walked out of the bookstore with the name of the university I needed arrive at in the morning, the name of the train station I needed to get off at and hotel reservations. Thanks, Mom, for the helpful websites and phone calls. :)

After going back to my room to pick up my suitcase, I bravely went to the street to hail a taxi. I've done this before at least twice, so I didn't think it would be a big deal ... well I thought wrong. Long story short, it took me over 15 minutes to find one and in order to do so, I ended up walking (and running part of the time) down quite a ways, lugging my suitcase behind me.

Finally, after all that time and after becoming hot and sweaty, I got the attention of a driver who pulled over and let me in. But only my suitcase went in the back seat because his little, six-year-old boy was also in the back seat. lol The driver was nice but he kept asking me questions. And of course, taxi drivers don't speak English so I have to sink or swim in river rapids of Chinese. :) He asked me the normal questions like, "How long have you been in Taiwan?" "Are you studying in Taiwan?" "What are you studying?" "How long will you be here?" But then he asked how old I was and if I was married ...

We got to the station just after my train had left ... so I paid the driver and made my way into the station, which was positively buzzing with people since it was Friday and so many people want to get home from work and go places for the weekend. The line to speak to a real person was super long and I was worried about not getting a seat so that took priority over whether or not I got my ticket refunded.

I stood in line at the automatic ticket machines for some time until I was able to buy another ticket. Thank God that I got one! It was a non-restricted ticket meaning that I could sit in any seat from car 10-12 and any train that was leaving today with the destination of Banciao.

I found a seat on the train and ate my croissant sandwich that I had bought while I was waiting in the station. It was really goooood! :)

When the train came to a stop at Banciao station, I stepped into a place that gave a new definition to what I had known as a, "train station." This one was huge! It wasn't just for the high-speed rail, but for other forms of trains as well, including the MRT. I had to ask for help to know how to get out of there! :) I'm sure there are much larger stations in other places, but this was the biggest one I had been in and it was more like an airport to me than a train station. There was a considerable amount of American shops inside: Cold Stone, North Face, American Tourister, McDonalds, 7/11, and more.

Once outside, I got into a taxi. I had put my luggage in the back and sat in the front, as the driver had opened the front door from his seat behind the wheel. Once inside, I regretted my decision. The driver was a talker ... with a very heavy Taiwanese accent, making it incredibly difficult for me to understand him ... and I felt like he kept picking up on me!! Ah!! It was probably the most awkward taxi ride I'd has so far. He, also, asked my age, how long I had been in Taiwan, how long I was going to stay, etc. But what made this guy different is that he gave me a sticker card with his name and number on it. And what's more, when he was talking to me and didn't think I was listening, he kept nudging me with his elbow! I can't tell you how many times he did that! I tried moving my arm out of the way, but to no avail. These are also paraphrased versions of things he said to me:
*"When you're in poor spirits, call me and I'll take you around. I won't do anything bad."
*"Don't eat before you go to bed or else you'll get fat."
*"Before you go back to America, you can come up to Taipei for a couple days. I can take you to see the ocean and eat seafood."

Keep in mind that this is just a sampling of the slightly alarming things that I was subjected to on my THIRTY MINUTE taxi ride to my hotel. I was never so glad to get out of a taxi! The 555th person to comment on this blog post will be the lucky recipient of the second card/sticker that he gave me. :D

Well, I think that's about all I have the energy to write at this point. I really need to hit the sac. Hope you all have a great Friday! :)

~K.

P.S. I've been trying to post pictures with this blog entry but the internet is really slow right now and won't let me. I'll update it with pictures when I have a better connection. :)

Google

2010-09-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

I just googled my name ... and found a ton of entries that had nothing whatsoever to do with this Katelyn at all. lol "Follow Katelyn M. on Twitter!" "Katelyn M. is on facebook and myspace!" "Fire, water vanilla and Katelyn M."(in reference to a school rodeo lol) ... at the bottom I actually found something that pertained to the actual Katelyn M. of this blog. haha Oh well ... at least none of them have the same Chinese name as me. :)

Tonight, I reached into my nail bag and pulled out a nail file that I've had for probably several years but haven't ever really used because of my former biting problem. I smiled when I realized it was covered in butterflies ... ^-^

Glory to God we have survived a pretty strong typhoon! Typhoon Fanapi has finally left the island of Taiwan and is now storming on the mainland of China. We did not personally suffer any losses, but several people I know have. Froggy, Evita and Hanyen all had flooding in their homes and have had to get rid of many things that were ruined by the flood waters. Please keep these young ladies in your prayers as the throwing away, cleaning up and re-buying process continues.

Last night just after 11:00pm I think, people came around and told us we needed to evacuate the cars or there was a possibility that the flooding would prevent us from leaving safely. Alisha and I grabbed some belongings, Lexus and turned out the lights. We drove to the front gate but couldn't get out so we turned around and headed out the back. Once out of the complex, we still weren't out of the clear as the gate opens up to back roads that were also filling up as the rain was coming down like crazy and the winds were strong. There was a place that we could turn left, right or go straight and neither of us knew which way to go. At one point, a gentleman running back and forth between vehicles talking to people told us that he was going to turn left and we could follow him ... it turns out that that road was also blocked.. so the only option out was to turn around. Because the van is rather good-sized, we couldn't just "turn around." We had two choices: 1. Wait for all the cars ahead of us to turn around and make their way back, opening an area for us to turn out in, 2. Back out the whole way down a fairly good stretch of road. We chose option number 2. Alisha started backing the car and then I got nervous because it was really dark and she couldn't see the direction she was backing ... so we opened the side door of the van and I stood up, holding onto to inside and leaning out of the car so I could be her "eyes" in the back. lol That was when the real adventure started. :)

After successfully backing down that road and turning around, we now had the option to turn right or go straight. After just having the experience of backing up, I thought it prudent to check first on foot, rather than go blindly. With my top half already kinda wet, I climbed out of the car and traipsed off toward the tunnel to the right. There was a car coming from that direction. Due to the circumstances, I was feeling brave enough to use my Chinese to ask if we could go out that way. He told me that it was also flooded ... so back to the car I went and told Alisha we had to try going straight because that was now our only option.

When we had first arrived at that crossroads, we thought the straight road was also blocked because we could see cars with their brake lights all on. As we found out once we started down the road, it was because of debris. Because of the high winds, many branches had fallen across the road, keeping us from being able to drive through.

Through this situation there was a driving force: there was no going back. I have to admit, I was slightly terrified. Basically, the only other typhoon experience I have was during Morakot, which was very severe. Knowing the damage that was done and the immense flooding that took place in this area last year, there was an unexplainable amount of urgency in me.

Lexus was in the car with us and quite uneasy himself. He seemed to sense the state we were in and was anxious. In between jumping in and out of the car, I was trying to calm him down and make him lay down, but to no avail. He didn't calm down for the entire night basically, but that's another story.

So, Alisha and I were now headed forward and we encountered the first bit of foliage on the road. There was really no other option, so I jumped out of the car, told Alisha to keep the door open and began clearing the way. At first, it was pretty awesome. I felt like I had just stepped into an adventure story .. There I was, getting soaked by pelting rains, moving branches off the road, jumping into a waiting vehicle; repeat. ^-^ But in all seriousness, I was fully aware of the danger that could befall us if we didn't get out of there. There was so much adrenaline pumping through my body ...

While I was out there pulling branches into ditches on the side of the road and on the side of the river, I thought about the missionaries in Africa and what they do to get back and forth in jungle areas ...

There were more and more branches to move as we went along and they got bigger, too. Some of them were actually small trees with several large, leaf-laden branches that fell altogether because of the shallow root system, I'm guessing. Anyways, a man on a scooter was also making his exit that way and came to help me. By this time I was getting a little tired from the crazy rush of energy that the adrenaline had provided me and from all the activity in the in climate weather. Thank God that I was wearing a jersy skirt and top so they were light weight and easy to maneuver in!

I remember standing on the left side of the road, needing to move a very large chunk of tree to the right side over by the river, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. Samson came to my mind and I prayed for supernatural strength at that moment to get me through .. in Jesus' name I began moving that branch across and began to speak in tongues. As that man and I finished clearing that patch of the road, I continued praying aloud, drawing strength from God and praising Him for His goodness. That is a moment, an experience, that I will never forget. 因為神與我同在，什麽都不會怕。

We finally got through the road and decided that we would go to Alisha's old apartment because that way we would have to check into a hotel in our state :) and it was better that way because we had Lexus and couldn't take him inside a hotel.

We stopped at the church to pick up a towel and some water and then stopped at a 7 to pick up something to snack on. I bought some of the same candy that the Bracken's and I had with us last year when we were stranded at the gas station. It seemed fitting at that moment and brought a smile to my face, despite the circumstances. I'm sure I was quite a sight in that 7! Hard to miss a tall, white girl who was soaking wet! haha I kept wondering the whole time how much my clothes were sticking to me and tried to keep pulling at them to avoid walking around wearing a second layer of skin. ;)

After Alisha and I were back at her old apartment, I looked at her and said, "I'm so stupid!" I realized that the whole time we were trying to get to higher ground, there was a rain jacket rolled up in my backpack ... lol ... oh well ... maybe the rain jacket would only have inhibited my progress.

After showering off and laying down, I still couldn't close my eyes. There was so much going on in my head and around me. The scenario from that night kept playing over in my head. I kept thinking of all the things I had wanted to do before we left, just in case. I thought of the things that would need to be done, should there be severe flooding. I prayed that the flood wouldn't go into the house. I could hear the storm outside and it would randomly rattle the window. Lexus was making noise.

Even after Alisha and I headed to bed, poor Lexus was so wound up that he wouldn't sleep! No matter what, he would not lay down or be quiet! He had been to the bathroom and we had given him some water, but nothing seemed to help. I went in there to see if he would lay down and then rest but he still seemed to have some secret source of energy! I thought he would be tired ... but nope. He had the energizer bunny inside!

I made another phone call to my mom to check on the status of the storm, since we didn't have internet connection. Nothing had really changed weather wise but 3 people were considered missing/dead and over 70 had been injured due to the storm.

That was quite an apt reminder that no matter how tired I was, I was blessed beyond measure!

I tried going to bed again and listening to some calming music on my ipod ... finally I started to drift off a little bit ... and then Lexus barked! That time, Alisha and I just turned the lights on a sat up with him for a bit. I decided that if anything else were to happen and we had to leave Tainan immediately, I wanted to be ready. So, I changed my clothes, tightly braided my hair and made sure all my stuff was ready to grab and go. Alisha was already sleeping before I got my stuff together. I don't know how she could sleep with all the sounds but she did! haha

Finally, probably around 4:30ish, I went to bed again. This time, I was able to get a few hours rest. We then got up, took Lexus to the dog hospital to watch him for the time being, picked up Joyce, and drove back to the house to check on the damage. Thankfully, the front gate and the side had flooded, but the inside and the homes had not been reached at all! Praise God! That was such a relief! Once inside, we checked for electricity and water, which were both still on! :) Between the three of us, we made the necessary phone calls and then got online to check/send emails.

Then, I took a nap and woke up around 5:30. I had checked the computer, had some salad and read the old new papers while I waited for Alisha to get home from tutoring. She brought some fried rice back, checked her computer, showered and went straight to bed.

And now, I must do the same for I am still quite wiped out ... while the storm is over, there are many people for whom the effects are far from over. Please remember to uplift them in prayer!!

If all goes well tomorrow, we are going to meet up for a bbq in honor of Moon Festival! :)

Until then,
K

Night market!!

2010-09-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight I finally got to go to a night market. haha :) I haven't been to one since I've been here this time. After prayer meeting and deciding that it's too dangerous to have service tomorrow due to the typhoon, the six of us went to the night market.

I ate some things that are like small potstickers and some more tian-bu-la! :) I love that stuff way too much! It is not really healthy for you in any way that I can think of. Anyways, long story short - I bought a watch! :) It's simple and cute-ish, so I'm happy. I'll post pics later.

I've been hoping to post more detailed and have pictures to show but that hasn't happened the last few days. Tomorrow!!! :)

Anyhow, it's 2am here and I need to get some shut eye. Don't forget to pray for Taiwan, especially the mountain areas! They seem to encounter the worse difficulties during typhoons.

OH! One more thing ... I was on the phone with Hanyen tonight because she called Alisha while Alisha was driving .. so naturally I answered ... anyways, she told me that they are blaming the typhoon on me!! haha Because last year when I was here, we had that huge Typhoon Morakot, and now, here I am again and we're expecting another huge storm. Those girls are too funny!

Okay, goodnight to all. :)

Word of the day: procrastination

2010-09-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

I have managed to get up, shower, get dressed, make a decent lunch, clean up a doggy potty mess, and look for electronic dictionaries online(which turns out to be a more complicated decision that I expected.)

My school work is sitting in front on me ... but then again, so is some coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup ... choices choices ...

Where is the remote????

2010-09-15T02:03:00.000-07:00

Cuz I'm looking for life's, "Pause" and "Rewind" buttons!!

I'm presently sitting in the library after a failed attempt to check out material for one of my classes. :( Rawr ...

I've done some more Chinese speaking today ... lol Great surprise, right? Some helping myself and some of it helping others. It feels great when the words come out right. I'm finding that it seems easier to help others with their language than it does to help myself. When I know I need to go ask a question or something, my mouth feels dry and cottony ... words get stuck and just plain forgotten. However, when someone else is needing assistence, there is less pressure and the language feels easier.

I went to lunch with a huge group today but didn't stay to eat my lunch. I had a class at 1 so I had to take mine to-go. Even though I had to leave early, I'm glad I went. I'm enjoying spending time with the people here and getting more familiar with my fellow exchange students and the regular students here at Zhong Xing.

All of the classmates I'm meeting are so welcoming. Many of them are asking for my contact info and some have already found me on different social networks. Some people who aren't even in my classes are talking to me! haha Last night I was on the first floor of my dorm and a girl who seems a little shy just turned around and started asking me questions. We went back and forth between English and Chinese, but I try to mostly use Chinese. While sitting on the train on my way back to Taizhong on Sunday afternoon, I met four university girls. Two of them are English majors, one is a public relations major and I don't remember Lucy's. Lucy and I talked for almost an hour - just chit-chat, but then she connected with me online, too. Her family is from Taizhong so she will be here fairly often. She mentioned that we should go around the city sometime.

There seems to be an openness in their manner towards me, which is great. I'm exstatic and overwhelmed at the thought of reaching all these people with the gospel. Please pray for boldness, wisdom and tact as I make new friends.

Well, I need to get going ... I might up-date one more time today, after dinner. :)

Until then~
k

Trying new things and making new friends

2010-09-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

So today I went to the post office to check on paying a bill and sending a bunch of stuff, then to a tea shop, and to get lunch - all by myself. While it may sound really lonely, it's actually an improvement for me. lol I'm usually too cautious to go and do those things on my own. I've gone to the post office before, but the things I did were more simple. This time I had to try and communicate more, which was a struggle. Especially when the man helping me kept using English. :)

Theeeeen, I'm used to getting tea and other drinks on my own. That's easy! But when it comes to eating, I tend to grab food and return to my "hole" to eat. However, today I braved the storm and sat in the little shop to eat. I was able to ease drop a little and just unwind ... get comfortable in such settings. And the best part about it was that I found a place with pretty good fried rice really close!!! :)

I've tried a new tea that I like quite a lot! It's called, "文山清茶." I'm not sure what the English equivalent is ... sorry. :)

Last night, I went out to eat with the only other girl from the States and the Philippine girl that I met in the airport on my first day here. The girl from the States, B., can speak some Chinese, but this is her first time in Taiwan and she's not very used to ordering food and drink yet. The other girl, S., can't really speak Chinese at all so she depends on English menus or friends when it comes to meal time. Soo, long story short, I ending up helping both of them order drinks and food last night. :) It was really weird to be on the other end of the helping; being the help-er instead of the help-ee. I'm starting to get a little more comfortable in my "Chinese" skin when it comes to things of that nature. I even asked for a discount in a little stationary store! And got it! haha

On my way home, I broke down and stopped by 7. ^-^ Annnnd I bought an ice cream bar.

Last night made me put things in perspective in light of last year - things are so different now. I've changed. I've grown. I've gained a confidence I didn't believe was there. Praise God! I still have a very long way to go with my Chinese levels and with my confidence, but as the Chinese say, "慢慢來."

I had a horrid dream last night that my passport, my identification, my money and some other things were stolen. With my passport gone, I had no way to return home. I was picked up by some agency and accused of trying to illegally enter the US. As I continue to travel around, please continue to pray for my safety. I don't put much weight in dreams at all, but that dream was just real enough for me to ask for your continual prayer support!

Tonight, I met up with my student volunteer, some other Taiwanese students and two German students for dinner. We went to a little place that serves a Taiwan version of Italian food. I was pretty sure I ordered spaghetti with beef, but it tasted like pork. Also, they put corn in their sauce, which isn't marinara. I'm not sure what kind of sauce it was. It wasn't too bad though.

As you might have noticed, the plate has French on it ... not typically a good sign at an Italian restaurant. ;)

I already have meal plans for tomorrow as I'm going to meet up with a bunch of them again tomorrow for lunch. And then, I'm going to grab dinner with a couple of Korean girls from my floor. We'll probably have other people join our party. The more, the merrier! :)

Okay, well I should be studying, which means reading lots and lots of Chinese!!! Ahh!! And I also need to experience taking out the trash, which turns out to be a pretty complicated process here that includes a great amount of sorting. lol

Until later~
k

My first day of school ...

2010-09-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

... and all I wanted to do was sleep! lol But despite that fact, it actually went pretty well. :) Thank God! My professor, as I have mentioned previously, is a wonderful lady and very compassionate. The students received me well, too. I exchanged emails and numbers with a few of them so I feel like I have a life-line now if I need help. :)

There were, naturally, language issues but I didn't cry or run out so we're doing good! :D We'll see how I feel next week after all the reading. ;)AHH!! I feel headaches coming on at the mere thought of it. But onward I march!

Btw, I'm multitasking ... using skype, yahoo messenger and blogging.

This was most definitely my lunch today. It's from a place called, "Mos Burger" which is supposed to be American food. Well, it kind of is in the sense that they are more expensive and that they sell salads and french fries! Actually, I was shocked to see that it looks like they also have criss-cross fries. So, I ordered beef and lettuce that came on, what I didn't know when I order it, rice patties! :) They were good but American places certainly don't offer rice "buns." lol

I picked up my student card today so I'm official aaaaand I can get into the library with ease.

I bought new headphones today!! I love the way they fit and I have no complaints about the sound quality. They are baby pink :)

On a super-possitive note, the internet down on the first floor is really fast which = easy adding of pictures to said blog.

After class, lunch and picking up my student card, I took a few pictures of the surroundings on my way home.

These are some rather large geese that I steered clear of:

Alright well that's about all I have to say at present. I'm going to take my tired self to get dinner and then I think it's going to be an early night. ^-^

Applesauce, school and mosquitos

2010-09-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

... these are the things on my mind. Did I mention that I also don't have secure access to internet in my room??? Ahh!! I'm going crazy! lol Okay, well maybe not crazy, but I just might if this keeps up the whole time I'm here.

Anyhow, my culinary adventures continue! I was on the phone with my mom on my Saturday night which was her Saturday morning. I was telling her that I'm thinking about making pork chops next week. Then she said that I could make applesauce really easily myself if I couldn't find it here. At that moment, next week and pork chops would just have to wait because the thought of warm, homemade applesauce was far more important!

So this morning I got up early, peeled those five apples I listed in my blog about shopping, de-cored them, sliced them and put them on the stove to cook. I could see myself as the little girl watching my mom make applesauce with all of the childish impatience I could muster. Those apples couldn't cook fast enough! When it was finally finished and mom would hand me a bowl of fabulously smelling applesauce, I again had to wait for the bowl and it's contents to cool. The anticipation only heightened my delight when I could, at last, partake of the deliciousness that had been tempting my nose that whole time.

Back to my adventures today, when the apples were soft enough, I mashed them and then added the cinnamon and sugar. With great anticipation, I scooped up a serving, grabbed a spoon and skillfully guided the spoon to my mouth. Delight! Pure delight with a side of homesickness. Childhood memories, the joy of fall time and a mother's love all inside a spoonful of applesauce. There is really no way to explain that to someone. How do you explain feeling full and empty, giddy and homesick, like laughing and like crying, all at the same time? You simply can't.

So, school ... I start tomorrow! :) I actually need to go to bed because it's 12 midnight here and I need to have a good sleep before class. I want to be alert in my 9:00am class! ha! But yes I am excited! Nervous about a new teacher, new students and new challenges that are going to be coming my way in a class taught in Chinese. But! I am confident of this one thing - God is my helper!!

As for the mosquitoes, they are biting me! Well, at least they did a couple days ago and I still have the itchy bumps from the bites! Last year, I don't really remember getting bit ... last year I was still a guest ... this year, they don't care. ;) lol

Awesome things are happening in Taiwan and in the services and in my life! Praise God! Hope everyone "State-side" has a wonderful service this Sunday! :)

Love to all~
k

Breakfast for Dinner

2010-09-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is what I am eating at the present moment: French toast made by Joyce. And may I say, it is quite delicious! I told Alisha I was going to eat her toast and mine! :)

Cleanliness is next to ... safety

2010-09-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

I forgot to relay a detail about the HSR station that I happen to find quite amusing! After you purchase a ticket, you can go through the gate area 14 minutes before your train's departure time. Once through the gate, there are bathrooms, elevators and escalators and that's pretty much it. The elevators are for the elderly, disabled, pregnant or those will large luggage. So naturally I take the escalators. It's not uncommon for the escalators to talk to you so I'm used to that, such as in the airport. Usually it just says something like, "Please hold the rail," or "Watch your step." However, this one added a little something to the message and went something like this, "The handrail is occasionally disinfected. Please hold onto the rail for your security." :D

Kiss the Cook

2010-09-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

So I tried my hand at food preparation again today and I think I actually did better than yesterday. :)

I had chicken and wanted it to actually taste good! So, I cut up two small breast pieces and made a marinade for it. :) Thank God for the idea! I used Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, green Tabasco sauce, cilantro(a considerable amount as you can see ^-^) and a small clove of garlic crushed and chopped finely. I put the chicken in it and let it set for a couple hours in the fridge. When I took it out, I poured it all in the pan and let it cook. Muah! It was sooo good! It kind of tasted like Lime-fiesta chicken. Aannnnd it smelled delicious!

I put together a yummy salad!: Lettuce, green onion, celery, two different kinds of sprouts, and green bell pepper. Then, I sliced tomato and boiled eggs for on top. Ground pepper to top it off and then ranch dressing! MMmmmm ... I love salad. And a plus about it, you can't really mess it up! :-)
I drank iced tea, again ... it's kind of a habit. We drink a lot of it around here! Pretty much every day, or maybe twice a day, we make a new pitcher of it.

Afterward, I had some ice cream! I tried both flavors and definitely prefer the coffee to the strawberry.

All in all, dinner was amazing!! :) I felt pretty content with the outcome of this experiment in the kitchen. Wish I could hand samples of the chicken to you guys through the screen ... :D

Well that's all for now~
k.

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes

2010-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm convinced of this fact! Reason: I've stopped biting my nails entirely! Those of you who know me, you know how much of a miracle this is!! I've tried many different ways to break the habit but all to no avail. Then one day, about a week before I left, I just stopped biting ... Thank God! I'm finally not embarrassed by my hands anymore. lol

God is so good! I can feel Him in every step of this trip and am so happy to be in His will.

I'm saddened by the fact that Pandora doesn't work overseas!!! Ahhh!! 怎么辦！？That's one of my favorite ways to play music ... for now, itunes will have to suffice.

So I was looking through my camera and there is a considerable amount of pictures that I have not posted for your looking pleasure. It is my most sincere intention to rectify that this very night. ^-^ I'm not sure if they can all be in order, but I'm going to try to keep it that way. This involves uploading them backwards! 辛苦我了！哈哈。

From Thursday, September 2, 2010:
On my first official day in Taizhong, I woke up sometime around 5 am and couldn't sleep so I got up and took some pictures as the sun was coming up over the city.

I love the view of the mountains in this shot:
This was taken inside the administration building during registration:
From Friday, September 3, 2010:
On Friday, we had orientation. The night before, my roommates asked me to go with them to get some breakfast, so I did. I still ended up buying food at 7 though. Notice the wording on the bread? :D The clear bottle is obviously water and the green bottle is aloe drink. Then there is the raisin bread, along with a tuna fan tuan! ^-^
This is the lunch box that the school very kindly provided for us after a morning of orientation sessions (I didn't eat very much of it):

This is my building!

That night, I took the HSR to Tainan. I was anxious to get "home" and rest. My dinner consisted of Japanese style fried rice and my favorite mango drink!
From Saturday, September 4, 2010:
♪ ♫"-scusa me, but-a you see, back in old Napoli that amore!" ♪ ♫ Everybody now, "Wheeeeeeeeeen the moooooon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore ... " This sign is on the front of Carrefour. This picture is dedicated to my brother: David, this picture is for you :) I miss listening to music and goofing around with you while doing dishes. lol
I saw this t-shirt on an aisle display and made the girls model! It look several attempts at a photo to get one with them both looking at me and not laughing hysterically:
Tea from Alisha's favorite tea shop! The name in English of the shop is, "Magic Hand Tea":
My steady standby - Black tea:
Our dinner: You probably can't tell what this is, so I'll tell you. In the bowl is danbing and luobogao!! Sooo good! And the other thing is some sort of fried flat bread with sesame seeds on top.

I already filled you in on what happened on Sunday ~~ Monday I slept alot! :)

On Tuesday, I went back to Taizhong to meet with my professor. In the morning, Alisha took me to the train station near my old school in Tainan. It takes about two hours by normal train to arrive in Taizhong. This sign reads, "The next stop's station: Taizhong."
After meeting with my professor, I felt so much better. All day Sunday I felt like God was trying to tell me not to worry, that He had it all under control ... but I wanted to say, "God, how can everything be fine? I'm stepping into a situation that I don't think I'm prepared for!!" When I met with her, she kept assuring me that I had no reason to be nervous. She said that when she began studying for her masters in the States, she cried and cried because of the language barrier, as well as educational and cultural differences. While I was listening to her, I took a deep breath and let it all the way out. The situation she described was exactly how I pictured my first day at Zhongxing. But even if it did go that way, now I had confidence because 1) God is with me, 2) I wouldn't be the first one to experience it, 3) it would get better. If my professor can face graduate school under such circumstances, I could certainly face one class under the same pressure. Now, I understand a little better why Jesus was trying to assure me on Sunday. Why is it that concepts are so hard to pound into my stubborn head?? The pressure doesn't feel as great as it did, although the pressure to perform so as to save face for my Davis instructor is still there. ^-^

But, on another note about that Tuesday, I wore new shoes to meet with my new professor ... not such a good idea. lol The shoes were appropriate for the occasion and I like their style, but they made blisters! I wore them for about five hours that day. Nearing the end of the fifth hour, I was walking with my toes curled as to try and avoid further aggravation to the skin of my toes! I took pictures of my blisters so I could show them off, but after second thought and a second look at the pictures, I decided it was too unseemly to post. ;)

One very important feature of my dorm room is the ability to look my belongings. :) If makes me feel better about taking off for the weekend. Now, all the locks I have are TSA approved ... so if someone from the airport wanted to raid my closet for some girly clothes or cleaning supplies, they totally could. For my sake, let's hope that doesn't happen. lol
Public transportation in Taiwan is beginning to scare me less and less as I gain experience using it. The transportation systems here are good and can take you up and down the east coast, especially, with ease. (if you know how to use the system, that is) There is also a deal of English in the stations and in the trains themselves which really help at times. In the high speed rail station, there are announcements made in Mandarin, Taiwanese/Min dialect and English. The electronic signs also switch back and forth from Chinese to English.
So on Tuesday, I got to the HSR station too early to go in the gate right away. With time on my hands and a hungry stomach, I wanted to grab something to eat. The closest thing to me in the station was a McDonalds. haha You laugh ... but you try carrying all my junk about the station and tell me how far you want to walk to get something to eat! lol I did feel funny, though, walking in. And for good reason ... An American walking into a relatively small McDonald's at which people have nothing better to do than people watch is not the best idea ever. :D haha I tried talking to the girl at the counter and ordering my food in Chinese but she responded to me in English. Since she obviously wanted to practice and I was tired, I figured that I would just make it easier on both of us and speak English. That wasn't the funniest part to me, though. After I had ordered my chicken sandwich and had already begun eating, I looked around to see if there was any ketchup or ranch available that I could grab. Well, the two girls working at the counter saw me looking around. The next thing I knew, one of them was walking up to me and handed me a few napkins. lol That was the first time I've ever been served something at a McDonald's.

One thing that the McDonald's here has that I'm not sure if the American ones have is the nutrition(or should I say, non-nutrition) facts on the packaging. This was for my chicken sandwich:

The ride from Taizhong to Tainan by HSR is about 45 minutes. The train is kept clean and is pretty comfortable to commute on. This picture was taken by me, evidently, of my window. I like how you can see the inside of the train and the outside city lights. This was taken when we were already moving:
This is me after a very long day beginning in Tainan and ending in Tainan, with a trip to Taizhong in the middle. Can you see the bags under my eyes? :)

This is my breakfast from yesterday(Wed, Sept 8): it may look like a hamburger, but it most certainly isn't. It's CHICKEN, egg and lettuce on a bun. lol Quite yummy!

Last night on the way home from Bible study, we stopped to get a bite to eat. 甜不辣！The literal translation is, "Sweet but not spicy," however it is usually always some degree of spicy. But oh is it ever tasty! This picture is some tien-bu-la tofu and yam on my little skewer stick:

And this is one of my favorite things to drink, Passion Fruit Tea! However, this cup of tea was especially sweet to the point of making me feel a little sick. Even so, it was pretty tasty:

Since the last few days, I've started tinkering with the piano, much to my amusement. It made me wish I had paid a little better attention in my music classes and my piano lessons. But, despite the tinge of regret, I'm really enjoying playing around. My sister said she would scan in some of my favorite sheet music and email it to me so I can print it out. I'm pretty jazzed about that. Thank God for the conveniences of modern technology!

Today we went grocery shopping at Ai-mart!! This is us checking out and the cashier checking on the price for the bag of yellow onions:

And this is what you can buy there for approximately $35 US:
*Two bags
*Two cleaning cloths
*20 eggs
*Two small cartons of icecream (one is coffee/carmel and the other strawberry)
*5 apples
*7 bananas
*Celery
*7 chicken breasts
*2 bunches of green onions
*1 large head of cabbage
*2 small heads of lettuce
*5 yellow onions
*11-12 small-medium sized potatoes
*5-6 medium sized, green bell peppers
*3 heads of broccoli
*1 small bag of string beans (think that's what we call them)
*1 container of cilantro
*1 container of bean sprouts
*2 containers of another kind of sprouts :) lol
*1 small bag of thin, little, white mushrooms
*3 medium sized tomatoes

Now that I don't bite my nails, I need another miracle in my life ... learning to cook! I tried to cook tonight and I didn't ruin the food, but I definitely need to work on this skill. Looking on the bright side, at least the girls and I didn't die from anything we ate tonight! :-)
In the cup: iced tea
In the bowl: umm like a soup lol ... potato, cabbage, celery, yellow onion, cilantro, those little white mushrooms, bean sprouts, salt, pepper and some other flavoring that Alisha put in ^-^
On the plate: kind of like fried rice, but not haha ... chicken, egg, rice, green onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder
***(As a side note, there is no problem with my ice tea making skills. If I ever offer you a cup of tea that I have had anything to do with, don't be afraid! Chances are, you will not only survive to tell the story, but also enjoy it. lol )***
Joyce's teacher gave her some fruit today and she brought it to share after dinner. The picture below is a fruit that smells like lemon, but it actually not bitter like lemon. I'm not sure what it's called. It has a green exterior, is pear-shaped and this one has a really thick rind. Joyce also shared a fabulous peach! It was amazing!!

We bought Lexus a new toy, too! It's a small tire that's supposed to be indestructible and make his breath smell better. It does feel pretty sturdy, but I don't have my hopes up about that last one. ;-) He seems to like it and its easy to play tug-a-war with so it's a win-win situation!

Speaking of playing, the last two nights, the three of us chicas have played Phase 10! 好玩哦！We've had a lot of fun. Joyce and I won both nights, with Alisha lagging behind only one phase. Alisha was talking about it afterward and she couldn't figure out why it happened that way both times. I told her that was because almost every time she had a skip card, she used it on me so it was justice!!

Okay, well I think you're all caught up now and I'm exhausted! :) I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek into my life the last few days.

~k

P.S. A major shout-out to Jane and Missy for fixing the missions board in my absence! :) It looks great!

Chinlish - Englese - Confusion - Take your pick

2010-09-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Our brains are funny things indeed. While I do notice a possitve difference in my Chinese now versus last summer, there are still moments when my language gets totally mixed up and my brain doesn't quite shift gears all the way. For example, these are things that have either come out of my mouth or have crossed my mind:

*"What do you want to 吃?" (eat)

*"God, 帶嶺 them to the place you want them to be." (guide)

*"我愛你, too." (I love you)

*"Jesus, I pray for Joyce's 同學." (classmate)

Sometimes I get stuck on a word and it takes a minute to jog my brain. Anyhow, hope you have enjoyed these little bloopers. If any more crop up, I'll try to write them down and share them. We'll call them, "Chinglish of the Day." :-)

P.S. Here's a picture I found that I found you all might enjoy! Please take note of the little green and red signs near the bottom of the picture. :)

Whew!

2010-09-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, a lot can happen in a matter of days, or hours for that matter.

Today, I started out in Tainan, then to Ligang, to Kaohsiung and finally back to Tainan. David, Joanna and their two adorable little girls came to Tainan this morning because David preached for us. After lunch, the Zhang family graciously agreed to take me with them to Ligang and Kaohsiung so I could see everyone. All three services were amazing! In each one, it seemed like there was a part that was speaking directly to me and the situations I'm facing. I love how God can speak through the preaching, no matter what the language may be - He knows the need. It's so humbling to realize that God takes time to reassure me again and again of His many promises. I felt so refreshed in my spirit after today's three services, although I was growing a little weary in body.

After church in Kaohsiung, David and Joanna took me to the train station. Joanna came inside and helped with the ticket and finding the platform so I wouldn't get lost and have to sleep in a train station all night long. lol :) If you're reading this, Joanna and David, thank you so much.

Their two girls are so sweet and smart. The littlest one, endearingly called, "Mei-mei," said the following to me today in the car, "我坐，爸爸坐，媽媽坐，姐姐也應該坐！”/"I'm sitting, Dad's sitting, Mom's sitting, Big sister needs to sit, too!" I couldn't believe what I had just heard coming out of her mouth! She is hilarious! She is definitely not one to sit idly by while others get away with things they ought not. While the driver and any front-seat passengers must wear a seat belt, back-seat passengers in Taiwan are not required to wear a seat belt. However, because Mei-mei is only two, she still has to be fastened into a car seat - hence her strong feelings about the fact that her sister should sit down, too.

Sooo, exciting news!! Well, for me it is anyways. :) On Friday, I finished orientation and meeting people from my department so I got to go "home" to Tainan. Since most of my time last summer was spent there, there is a sort of home-i-ness about it. I left the dorm with my backpack, a purse and a small suitcase that I was pulling behind me. On the sidewalk, I was able to attract the attention of a taxi driver (Go figure ... a tall, white girl walking down the sidewalk with luggage wouldn't attract any attention at all ... no way.). Thank God I was able to communicate with him that I needed to be taken to the HSR station. Upon finding out that I can speak some Chinese, the questions began to pour in. We chatted for about the first 10 minutes of the drive. Finally at the airport, the meter read, "235NT," but he only charged me, "220." Then he pointed out which way I should go into the station. I'm glad he was kind.

So, there I went, bravely into an HSR station for the second time in my life and the first time by my self. But Jesus was with me. 因為神與我同在，不要怕！I started to use an automated machine to purchase my ticket but I don't think it had an English translation so I decided not to mess with it and just go to the counter. I waited in line for a while and then, the moment came: I had to walk up to another person I didn't know and ask them for some service in Chinese ... ah! And of course, in situations like that, getting tongue tied isn't exactly uncommon. But, Hallelujah, I got the right ticket and was off to find the platform. When Sis. B and I took the HSR from Taipei to Tainan, we were blessed to get a train that was leaving soon, but we almost missed it because it was set for a speedy departure. With that in mind, I was a little paranoid about getting to the platform right away as I didn't want to loose my money and miss the train.

Then I had to ask yet another person which direction to go in order to find Platform 1. I got there in plenty of time before the train came! :) Thank God! When I need to speak to people in Chinese but feel shy or awkward, I often take comfort in the fact that I will probably never see that person again! lol Perhaps the best way to practice is to be forced. Traveling alone forced me to take care of doing all the talking myself and to do it all in Chinese. Alisha was waiting for me at the HSR station and took me home, right after we picked up some to-go food and drink. At the end of the evening, I felt quite accomplished at having completed my first "solo mission." :D

Today was an awesome day all around. It was so good to see friends from last year! I miss you all when I'm in my Cali home! It was also great to be with another "leg" of the Bracken family tonight. I sat with Tiffany and the kiddos during service and got to do some chatting afterward. :) I needed that.

I have been too busy to put pictures up and haven't really wanted to sit down and make myself go through the ones I've taken ... but there is no foreseeable reason why I can't put a few up tomorrow. Hope I can ~

Until then,
kate

Settling In

2010-09-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody,

So I'm still settling in to the climat, my dorm, new roommates and sleep schedule. I was up a craaaazy long time from my travels! I was up at 9:00ish am Cali time on Monday, August 30. We went to the airport that night and my flight left about 1:40 am. I didn't sleep barely at all on the plane because 1) A plane is not the most comfortable place 2) There was a baby crying/screaming almost the entire 13 blessed hours of our flight to HK. I did patch-work sleeping which probably lent me three or so hours of sleep if all of my cap naps were added up.

After arriving in HK, I had a three hour lay-over and talked with my family on the computer. The flight from HK to Taiwan was only about 1hr 20 min so that's awesome compared to the first one!! :)
I got through immigration, laggage claim and customs swiftly and my student volunteer was waiting for me right outside the gate. I was so thankful to lay down the responsibility of having to know where I was and where I was going. From that moment, I could relax a little. Once there, I met another school volunteer and an international student from the Phillipines. The four of us had to wait for about three more hours at the airport for two more students to arrive. After picking up the other two students and meeting a third student volunteer, we finally got on the bus and started the two hour drive to Taizhong. I talked with my family from the bus and it was midnight or so on Tuesday. I had almost been up for two days straight and was beginning to feel it.

That afternoon, I got into my room, got my door pass for the downstairs and my combination for the room. After that, I went out to tea with my student volunteer, some other Zhong Xing students and a few exchange students like myself. We stayed at the tea place long enough that they started getting hungry so we went to grab a bit to eat. I was a total zombie by the time the dumplings/potstickers I ordered arrived at the table. :)

After food, I needed to buy some bedding and cleaning things so we walked a ways to a store. I just happed to have the exact amount of NT in my possesion that my things rang up to. Thank God! I was so tired I wasn't adding up costs as I went through the store adding things to my cart and a feeling of slight panic came over me when I got in line and realized I didn't know how much this was all going to come to. But thankfully, I got out without embarrassasment and without having to remove anything from my cart.

We walked back to my building with all of my newly acquired things and I made my way upstairs, trying out my new door pass. I got in without a hitch. My two roommates had come in while I had been away. My roommates are two sweet girls from Thailand. The only problem is that neither of them speak very much English or Chinese so I'm reduced to one-word sentences, hand gestures and a dictionary. :) But dispite our language barrier, they are doing their best to include me. One of the girls asked me last night if I would like to join them in grabbing some breakfast this morning and going to orientation together.

So, back to my schedule story ... after arriving in my room, I started un-packing the stuff I bought and started cleaning. Long story short, after a lot of cleaning and a much-wanted shower, I finally went to bed sometime about 12:30am, which was 9:30am home time, for a grand total of 48.5 hours since beginning my Monday at home! Needless to say, I was beyond tired. However, I was awake at 5 am and didn't go back to sleep.

I went on a little adventure to find some breakfast and ended up at a 7. :) Can't beat a tuna fan-tuan and some milk tea. lol At 10:00am I met up with a student who helped a large group of us find the administration building so we could register. I finished with registration and walked out around 12:00 noon but it felt like 4 or 5 pm because I had been up since 5.

I was supposed to go pick up a mattress at 4:50 so I set an alarm to remind me to go pick it up. Meanwhile I messed with my computer and a cable, trying to connect to the internet, but to no avail. I decided I needed a nap since my eyes were heavy. I was just going to lay down for a few minutes because it was about 4:25pm ... I woke up to my mother's phone call at 11:00 something pm. I guess I was more tired than I thought!

After I had a very groggy conversation with my mama, I went back to sleep and slept until about 3:00am. I made myself not get up yet, but instead grabbed my ipod. I turned on the book of Judges and was awake for at least the first several chapters. :) lol I floated in an out of sleep after that, but was pretty much awake for good at 5 and was out of the shower and dressed by 6:30am ...

Today, I went with my roommates and a friend of theirs to get breakfast. I went to 7/11 again and bought tuna fan-tuan and an aloe drink. I love those things! However, I'm yearning for a mango slushie!!! I can't wait to find a place that sells them here. I'm sure they do but I need to do some more exploring.

Meanwhile, since I have most of my official documentation and such completed, I'm hoping to go back to Tainan and get some rest. It will be so good to see familiar faces and be in familiar places. I'm hoping to re-claim a slightly more normal sleep schedule.

Sorry there are no pictures on this blog ... Since I'm using a computer in the display section of the university bookstore, I can't really do that right now. haha But I am trying to take pictures along the way. And Nani, yes there are lots of food pictures! I think I've probably taken pictures of everything I've eaten or drank here so far.

Well, I need to run. I am supposed to go meet my advisor and see around my department this afternoon. Thanks for all your love, prayers and support!

~k

More from HK

2010-08-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

So I made it through check in and security very quickly, praise God! :)

The fog/smog is pretty thick this morning but I can see the outline of the beautiful mountains that surround the airport now that the sun is up.

Did I mention that there is a pretty good amount of white people here? haha It's kinda weird ...
I was able to get one of the white people to pose for a picture for my blog. Here it is:

Here is the plane I'm boarding in just a few minutes ....

Well, I have one more short flight and then its on to TAIWAN! :)

See ya on the other side!

P.S. I failed to mention that when we stepped off the plane in HK this morning around 5:30, it was already approximately 86 degrees Fahrenheit. :)

HKIA!!

2010-08-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

I love airports in the middle of the night and in the early morning! :) I'm presently sitting in HKIA and watching it fill up, much to my dismay.

We flew in and I was the first one from econ off the plane! :) Woot woot! From there, I followed the signs to the appropriate places for transfers which took me to a tram. As soon as I got into the right place, I found a bathroom! I wanted to brush my teeth and put in eye drops!! I walked out feeling, and looking, more human. So, I'm skyping my family at present but I'm needing to take off and get in the security line which is SUPER long! Sooooo, more when I get to my final destination!

Thanks for all your love, prayers and support! :)

My Dinner and the aftermath! lol Nani, I hope you appreciate these food pics! :D

Be afraid!! Be very afraid!!

My Breakfast:

The cutest little bathroom for mommys:

Me, transforming myself back into a human!

P.S. Dear Miss Ella and Co., your cookies kept me going through the really long flight!!! :)
P.P.S. My dear family, thank you for all accompanying me to the airport! I love you so much!

Luggage Straps!

2010-08-24T00:22:00.001-07:00

I bought luggage straps today that look just like the one in the above picture. (Two of them to be precise.) That was one more thing off of my list! Also, went to CVS and picked up a few more items that I was able to check off my list.

This afternoon was quite lovely as I went back to my former community college and visited with professors I dearly miss. They are so special to me! Being back on campus feels home-like, even with the new construction. I think I could traverse it blindfolded!

As a side note, I think I've eaten more white rice in the last two weeks than I have in my entire lifetime! That is not a bad thing, just a random fact because I was thinking about dinner. Since I'm on a side-note kick, have I mentioned that I love asparagus!?!?

So tonight when I got home, I was delighted to find that the skirts I ordered online had arrived! Cute cute cute! After all the excitement, I went to my room to start sorting my toiletries. Progress was made, but the project wasn't completed. I'll work on it more tomorrow. Today, I also started setting aside clothing that I am sure I want to take with me. That way, things will be easier for me when I begin packing it in like puzzle pieces!

Well, I need to hit the sac ... the next two days are going to be fairly busy. I'm hoping to have most, if not all, of my packing done my Wednesday night.

Until later ~ k

Miracles!

2010-08-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

So I still haven't cleaned my backpack or ordered luggage straps or ordered a new battery ... BUT, I have even better news about this past weekend! We had a wonderful time at our anniversary services! It has been fantastic to see Bro. Price around these parts again! He has been sorely missed!

Saturday afternoon, we gathered and had a presentation about the history of our church. It was neat to see all the places that they used to be before God blessed us with the building we are in now. Then we enjoyed a great dinner and laughed listening to old stories. I gotta tell you, church stories are the best! Anything can happen there, and I do mean anything!! There were a few "cherries on top" of the evening and one of them was most definitely chatting with my favorite white-asians, the Brackens. :)

Today, or technically yesterday, was an action-packed day of celebration for the goodness of God to us and our church family. Each service we honored those who have sacrificed so that people such as myself could grow up in this church with the Truth.

Our worship service tonight was so powerful! I was awestruck as I watched Bro. Price take two laps around the pews without his cane and without his walker! Woohoo!! You talk about exciting! You should have been there! After that, his voice sounded stronger than it has since his stroke. I was just amazed at what God can do through our praise and faith.

Well this week holds many loose ends that are patiently waiting for me to tie them up ... and I need some sleep in order to do so.

In faith believing ~ Kate

One more thing ...

2010-08-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

My passport arrived today with my new visa!! It came a little early so I was pleasantly surprised. (Btw, I did not take the above picture. Many thanks to google.com/images.)

One more thing gets checked from my list, yet my list seems to keep growing in spite of my attempts to be productive. :)

Today I need to go to the store, deeeeeeeeep clean and sanitize my backpack and begin organizing my packing. Also, need to rush order a new battery for my computer.

God is so good! Yesterday, I was again reminded that we are commanded to, "Fear not." When we were talking with Bro. Price, he had a few scriptures he wanted to share and this was one of them:

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me him prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 2 Timothy 1:6-9

I just realized something as I was typing this out! I've often quoted the part regarding fear in this manner, "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear," but that's not what the Word says. It says God hath not given us THE spirit of fear. Then I got curious about the original meanings of the word, "fear" used in scripture so I went to e-Sword. It turns out that the word used in 2 Timothy 1:7 is δειλία (deilia [di-lee'-ah]) From G1169; timidity: - fear. God has not given us a spirit of timidity! Now verses about boldness and about being either hot or cold take on further meaning in light of that verse.

But then I started thinking about all the verses that talk about the fear of the Lord ... so I went back to e-Sword. :) This is what I found:

Psa 36:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

פּחד (pachad [pakh'-ad]) From H6342; a (sudden) alarm (properly the object feared, by implication the feeling): - dread (-ful), fear, (thing) great [fear, -ly feared], terror.

Psa 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

חיל , חוּל (chûl chîyl [khool, kheel]) A primitive root; properly to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), that is, (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear; figuratively to wait, to pervert: - bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve, dance, drive away, fall grievously (with pain), fear, form, great, grieve, (be) grievous, hope, look, make, be in pain, be much (sore) pained, rest, shake, shapen, (be) sorrow (-ful), stay, tarry, travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently), be wounded.

Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

ירא (yârê' [yaw-ray']) From H3372; fearing; morally reverent: - afraid, fear (-ful).

Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

יראה (yir'âh [yir-aw']) Feminine of H3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally reverence: - X dreadful, X exceedingly, fear (-fulness).

This is by no means a conclusive study as there very well may be other definitions to fear that I didn't find yet, but it's just what I found from quickly looking at commonly used verses dealing with fear. I was blown away by the different meanings that came behind the same English word! The most terrifying definition given from these verses came from Psalm 36:1 when speaking about wickedness. It uses words like, "alarm," and "dread." Psalm 96:9's fear was amazing! Twist and whirl! But in that same definition is also, "bear or bring forth." A lot can come from our worship and our fear of the Almighty God.

The fear of the Lord can also be defined as a moral reverence of God. This connects with not having any other gods before Him and with abstaining from profane language or using the name of Jesus in vain. We must remind ourselves that God is omnipotent and omnicious. His ways are above our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts.

Such a simple thing, but so exciting discovering more about God's Word. I'm sure I've heard many messages about the fear of God and about not fearing, but there is something about digging it out for yourself that makes it more personal than preaching. It's like God turns the black light on in my brain and now I can see what was always there, but not visible without Him having revealed it.

Well, my backpack and my errands are still waiting for me so I must bid you adieu ...

The Next Step to My Journey

2010-08-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've used this blog to post - almost a year actually. So much has happened between my trip to Taiwan last year and where I am at this moment in time. It took me about three months to feel like I fit back into my surroundings again. I was uncomfortable in my own skin and not sure how to jump back into the flow of life here. But, with the help of God and my wonderful family and friends, I did find my niche again and have been floating along since then.

This year, I've done a lot of growing, thinking and dealing with myself. While it has not been a cake walk, it's been a productive year in which I've learned a lot about myself and about trusting God through my inadequacies and insecurities.

In the early spring of this year, I was speaking with my instructor of Chinese Poetry at Davis and she asked if I had any interest in returning to Taiwan. Of course, I said yes. :) It just so happens that she knew of a program that was looking for international students. (what a coincidence ... NOT!) Anyhow, a few conversations and emails later, my professor passed along information to me and put me in touch with the ladies at the university. Filling out applications ensued.

When I first learned about this opportunity, I was walking on clouds. I couldn't contain my excitement at the thought of going back and the fabulous accommodations the university was willing to offer me. It took quite a while to hear back from the university about their decision. Meanwhile, I had the privilege of welcoming Alisha to the US for the first time. She came to visit me and we had a great time together. While she was here, I graduated from Davis, which was a surreal experience. My time there flew incredibly fast.

Finally I heard back from the university that I was accepted and would receive notification and important information in the mail shortly. I was pretty happy about that and anxious for the packet to arrive. And then reality sunk in, followed rather closely by fear. The university was in a totally different city that was many miles away from those I loved and the places in Taiwan that had grown to feel like home. I felt my stomach in my throat at the thought it.

For most of my summer off, I've been agonizing about this decision - to go or not to go. People would ask me what my plans were and upon learning of this new opportunity, would ask what I had decided. Friends kept asking me if I had finally made up my mind. I hated those questions. I understand it was because they care about my whereabouts and my future, but I didn't really want to think about it nor be asked about it when I felt so confused.

This last month I have been searching my heart and asking God to assure me one way or the other. I have been praying about this all along but didn't really feel good about either choice - going and potentially feeling isolated or staying home and having no plan whatsoever. Then one morning, I realized that a great deal of the emotions I was feeling stemmed from fear. I had thought my feelings of hesitation had been because going was the wrong choice for me. But then God reminded me that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. From that moment on, my thinking on the matter changed completely. Also, I was reminded of the story of Gideon. Like Gideon, God had prepared a plan and a path for me, yet I kept asking for confirmation and peace because I was allowing my own fear and insecurities to cloud my perception and judgment.

This past Saturday morning, I officially announced to my family at the breakfast table that I had decided to return to Taiwan. I don't my announcement took any of them by surprise. ^-^ I felt pretty good about my decision, but I hadn't yet purchased a ticket.

Then last night, we had an awesome service! During prayer meeting before service, I began to thank God that He is my peace speaker and something broke in my spirit. Sometimes, I try to act tough and handle my feelings, so as to avoid transparency and vulnerability which can lead to hurt down the road. But during that prayer, I was reminded that Jesus will never embarrass me, never turn on me and He always understands me, even when I don't have the words to express myself. I am completely safe in His presence. I felt myself yielding and His strength being made perfect through my weakness. Bro. Brown's message was about being overshadowed by God and it seemed to fit my situation in an incredible way. He talked about how God may call you to a situation that you don't feel ready for, but He wants you to trust Him and be willing to place yourself into His plan. Alter service was the cherry on top, if you will. The peace that God began to give me before service was multiplied exponentially last night.

Which brings me to this present moment. This trip back to Taiwan has been personal for me as I've been discovering new things about myself that can sometimes hinder what God has in-store. It's been emotional for me as most of the time, growth means some pain and tears. Some things haven't changed. I'm still preparing to go to a city to which I have never been with people I have never met. But God hasn't changed either. He will be with me through each step of this journey and is already in Taiwan, waiting for me when I touch down in that airport.

I bought my ticket last night, (technically this morning ^-^) and am going to take care of my visa tomorrow (which is technically today ^-^) after we take Miss Froggy to the airport. Now I just need to start packing ...

P.S. Much heart-felt gratitude to each of you who have been uplifting me in prayer ~ It means more than anything.

Home Sweet Home

2009-09-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello My Dear Readers,

I apologize for leaving you hanging for such a long time!

I am pleased to report that Jesus kept me safe on my long
trip back to the States. :)

When I first got home, I was so exhausted! I didn't realize how
wiped out I would be after the travel back home. The travel to
Taiwan was actually not bad at all. I felt like the adjustment
went really well. Coming home was a horse of a different color
for sure! I was out for a few days! lol My family was very patient
with me as I did my "catching-up."

So now I must settle down into my life here again ... school is going
to begin next week and thus the hamster wheel of life is off and
spinning with more force than ever.

I really appreciate the opportunity that I had to go to Taiwan this
past summer. It was a blessing to me in ways that I cannot
express in words. God is so good and knows just what I need!

I made some incredible friends and together, we made unforgettable
memories! To all my friends and family in Taiwan, I miss you all
and can't wait until Jesus opens another door for us to get together
again.

To my friends and family in America, thank you so much for your
love and helping me to make some readjustments.

I couldn't have asked for more wonderful people in my life!
The love and support that I have been recipient of in both my
home country and the country of my heart has been overwhelming.
I am continually grateful!

Hopefully, I will get some more pictures up ... but I have no idea when. :)

Until then ....

Hugs from Kate

^o^ why hello there ^o^

2009-08-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

It has been FOREVER! since my last blog ... I'm sorry about that ... I have been busy with many things and have been too antsy to sit down and write.

Things are getting back to normal here, after the typhoon. The loss on this island has been absolutely incredible. So many have lost family members, homes, cars, pets and many other possessions. I am thankful to God that I was only affected mildly by this fierce storm, but my heart still breaks for the people of Taiwan. Please continue to pray for them! There is still a lot to clean up. I heard that there were several hundred bridges that were washed away by the flooding, not to mention an entire town in the mountains. While the lives of many city dwellers have gone back to normal, the people who live in the country and mountain areas are still suffering quite a lot.

School ended for me yesterday. Yeah! It was a very busy two months!! Friday afternoon, we had a farewell lunch with most of the teachers, office staff and foreign language students. It was a lot of fun! We went to a hot pot place that is like a buffet. Each person has their own pot built down into the table and you choose your own soup. Then you take your plate and go get whatever you want to put into your pot. It's lots of fun. They have a ton of other things you can eat and drink. We took a lot of pictures, as that was the last time many of us will see each other, at least for a while.

Last night, I was asleep by around 10:30pm ... and I didn't get up until 10:00 am ... ^-^ I needed the sleep so badly!! :) It felt more than wonderful to sleep early and not wake up until I was good and ready. lol

I'm doing laundry and finishing up my packing so that I will not be rushed during my last few days here. Most of my things are already packed but there are still a few things that need to be placed into my "puzzle" of belongings. :)

Tomorrow should be a great day!! :) In the morning, one of my classmates is going to come to service! I'm really excited! We are also supposed to have quite a few other visitors! Pray for our service!! :) We will be singing a special song, in English and in Chinese. We also sang this song last weekend at Camp Meeting. After church, we are having a pot luck! I made my favorite salad for them to try! (I also made this salad on Wednesday night for our English class BBQ. It was a big hit! ^o^)

Well, it's getting late here and I still need to pick up some things around my room before I hit the sack. Hope you are all doing well!! :) God bless!

嚇死我了！

2009-08-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

Scare me to death!!!! Last night, August 16, 2009, I went with Tiffany, her roommate Cindy and her friend Nick to the night market. We had fun, once we got there ... the getting there was a little terrifying! And I'll tell you why ... I was at a stop sign and two dogs started approaching me ... there are lots of dogs in Taiwan that have lost their owners so I'm used to seeing it ... however, I'm not used to being close to them while walking or riding my bike. I usually see them from inside the car or from the back of a scooter. So, I had seen that they were up a little ways ahead of me on the sidewalk and I didn't want them to chase a fast object, so I didn't get on my bike, but rather walked it slowly over there. The dogs had just been barking at someone and I didn't want to rile them up again. As I came closer to them, they turned and noticed me. I was a little uncomfortable but I kept going. Then one was behind me and one to my side ... I felt my back go numb ... I was scared to death ... my heart was racing and I was focusing really hard to keep myself from screaming, running or both!

Neither of them barked at me ... they just peacefully followed me and wagged their tails ... I would have liked to stop and give them some attention, but I am too afraid to when it comes to dogs that have been roaming free.

Once I had gotten to the place to meet Tiffany, I parked my bike and went inside a 7 because it was cool. Browsing in 7, my heart was still pounding ...

Thank God that they did not harm me! They are probably just lonely, hungry and in need of some love.

Anyhow, I thought I would share my terrifying experience with you ... :)

Bye for now,
Kate