Crazy week!

Last week was a crazy week for us. I guess it will always be a little crazy when you are trying to adjust to a new culture. Here are some highlights:

On Tuesday (17th), Meili started Chinese school. And, yes, it is all in Chinese! Here is a cute picture of her in her school uniform and her sister who wishes she could go, too. That was really hard for me to send her because I knew it would be really difficult for her. But we know that it will be best in the long run. The girls will enjoy it here so much more if they can get to know the language and culture. Her progress last week was exponential. We were amazed at how fast she was getting things, though we know how fast kids can learn another language because we have both been English immersion teachers. Today, though, Meili started crying pretty hard and I felt so bad. I know it is so difficult to be patient during this time when we don't understand a lot. She fell asleep yesterday during her church primary class for children because she was so board. Poor girl! But here is a cute picture with her Chinese school teacher (Xiao Min Laoshi).

I had a moment yesterday of frustration as well. I was asked (called) to teach the church sunbeam (3-4 year-old) class and I was really overwhelmed my first day because I don't understand the poor kids who are trying to talk to me. Plus next Sunday I have to do it all alone! Wow! I don't think I've ever had to exercise so much faith in a church calling before! Who knew that being called to a sunbeam teacher would be perhaps my most difficult calling! Though it will help me learn my Chinese and be motivated to study even more!

On Saturday we went to a church activity where they built traditional clay oven things out of their dirt/clay (look in the background of the above picture) and we were so excited because we had done this last time we were here with a family of one of the kids we taught and we loved it and the food it produced. It was fun to hang out with our ward and get to know them better.

Here's a great picture of the girls after a fun day of digging in the dirt
Oh, and for those who saw my videos I posted on facebook about driving a scooter in Taiwan and my serious phobia I have of doing it, I will have you know I drove one to church with Meili and Scott drove Euan and Sophie. It only took us 45 minutes! Luckily I felt more comfortable with the chaos and it only took us 35 minutes on the way home.

Here is something that is a good ending to this posting, FOOD! When we lived in Taiwan last time, I fell in love with the food and learned how to cook a lot of it in the states (thanks to friends, Chinese teachers, neighbors, and our local Chinese store, Chao's!). So this time I am pretty set and so far my family is well-fed. Our kids are eating more here than in the U.S., and Scott of course loves the food, but has actually lost about 15 pounds (that would be the absence of dairy, margarine, mayonnaise, soda, etc.). I'm not quite so lucky, but thanks to the track that is across the street and the yoga class I just signed up for, I hope to copy his results!

Pay it forward! (With an international twist)

THE RULES:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me. (it will be a surprise but I promise to make it something fun)
2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it. If you are not one of the Top Three Commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Start your own Pay It Forward chain and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Ok, here is my twist. It may not be a handmade item, but I will try to make it something cool that you can only get in Taiwan!

Jinbu hen man (Making slow progress)

Our internet is pretty fast, but I guess that our uploading is hen man (very slow). But I will try and get some good pics up here of our trip and our activities during our first week in Taiwan.
We went on Tuesday night into Kaohsiung city and saw a Buddhist temple and a night market with a co-worker of Scott's who is also my Chinese tutor. This is an especially cool temple, but really these temples are EVERYWHERE in Taiwan. You almost can't travel more than 5-10 minutes and not pass one. Pretty cool.

On Wednesday we went to Kenting beach down on the southern tip of the island (about 1 1/2 hours away). It is our favorite beach in Taiwan (though truth be told we haven't really gone to others). Scott's mom especially liked some cliffs that we took them to.


On Thursday we hopped a train for Taidong where we picked up a van from a member there who lent it to us. Then we drove up the mountainous east coast to Hualien and stayed the night there. Then the next day we drove into Taroko Gorge (Tailuga). Too bad it was raining (even though it's the dry season), but it was still amazingly beautiful! This is a suspension bridge that crosses the gorge. There are lots of them throughout. And, yes, we have gone packing before and one of our trails took us over 4-5 suspension bridges. Not for those with vertigo!

That night we drove back to Taidong, dropped off the car, and hopped a train back to Daliao (our hometown).
One thing that sticks out to me about the trip is that the Taiwanese love our kids! I think that I finally have some sympathy for Brangelina. I know why they take private transportation; it takes forever to go anywhere or do anything when there are so many people who want to talk to you and take pictures with your kids. It's actually been ok,though; I mean I was prepared for it and I know that the Taiwanese are just being super nice. It actually helps our Chinese for so many people to want to talk to us.

First Week in Taiwan

I was so excited to see Scott through the customs gate when we arrived! I DO NOT like to be away from my husband for so long! He was kind of far away (through all of the security, baggage claim, and customs) and so I couldn't tell if it was him or not. But I figured it had to be him since he was the only white person I could see, even if he looked like he had lost about 10 pounds!
He brought us all back to the apartment and I love it! It is surrounded by his school campus, so he is so close when he goes to work. And it is light and airy, on the 8th floor, with all tile floors (standard in Taiwan), 4 bedrooms and even a master bath! Scott's mom and grandma helped me the next couple of days to set up house and then we were off to show them a little taste of Taiwan. Here are some pics (that I am having SUCH a hard time downloading into facebook...):
I guess it is my computer that is having a hard time...I'll try posting tomorrow...

First Installment of the big catch-up

On February 5th, around 12 am MST, Scott was first offered a job in Kaohsiung, Taiwan teaching English at a High School. At around 2 am, we accepted the job and that began the craziest month of our lives. They needed him to start on Tuesday, February 10th, (the beginning of their winter semester) which meant that he needed to board a plane on Saturday, February 7th. Less than 72 hours after receiving his job, Scott was safely on the plane and I was near tears driving home from the airport with three little kids, wondering how in the world I would be able to pack up our necessities, sell or otherwise dispose of all the rest of our things, and move across the world by myself. Lucky for me that I have the most amazing mother-in-law who agreed to brave the journey with me on the plane and who had also convinced her mother to make her first journey to Asia with us, too! The date was set and I had less than 3 weeks to accomplish all that needed done. At times it looked bleak, but because I have amazing friends and family who supplied me with one of the most wonderful miracles I have witnessed, I found myself on a plane with my three little ones and Scott's mom and grandma on our goal date.

Here is the "you owe me big time Scott" picture". This is all that's left of our belongings minus what we took to Taiwan, Scott's quilt chest that he made, and about a Suburban full of books and some kitchen appliances. Not bad for the short time we had.
I would give more details of the three weeks, but honestly they are a blur to even me. All I can say is that Craiglist is an inspired website, the best way to lose 8 pounds in only a few weeks is to be stressed and busy beyond all reason, Skype is also an inspired modern blessing, visas are the biggest hassle in the world, and that I owe my neighbors Nate and Amy big time (hopefully all the free stuff they inherited eases the pain) as well as Ann and her family, Scott's parents, and Bruce & Trina and their family. I am SO grateful for the gospel and prayer and for so many people who listened to the spirit and lent me a helping hand.

Here are the girls on their first overseas flight. We flew around 10 pm from SLC to San Francisco, and they were so excited and there was a lot of room to spread out so that flight went OK. Then it was about 1 or 2 am Utah time when we left San Francisco and so they slept a good part of the 13 hours and played ok the rest of the time. Then we had a quick flight from Taipei to Kaohsiung which went by quickly, too. We didn't have much time in our layovers either, so other than lugging around a lot of stuff we brought in order to keep the kids happy, and the long hike to the International wing of the San Fran airport, the traveling process went pretty smoothly. Oh, I guess except for Euan, who really didn't like the overseas flight and cried a lot of the time.
I will be adding more later...