Speaking of Community: Weeks 2 & 3 of Teaching, Week 5

The last few weeks have sprinted away from me!
I'm still getting into the rhythm of grading, planning, and balancing my days; however, the panic has ebbed away in the face of routine, classroom management, and good ol' fashioned prayer. My students understand and encourage me daily!

 Speaking of things that happen daily, it still blows my mind how easy and cost-efficient it is to eat out. I can get a meal for as little as USD 2.80! 
We see funny English translations everywhere! 

Taylor Swift's new song "Look What You Made Me Do" generated lots of conversations last week. Before class one day, few of my students asked me for my thoughts on the artist's new image, and we ended up talking about JB, Chance the Rapper, and Kanye West. They called it "Music Theology with Ms. Brown." 

Speaking of theology, the high school students and I (along with the other chaperones) went to Taijung for the Catalyst conference, a yearly youth weekend that usually incorporates guest speakers (this year was the Axis team), worship bands from each campus, and small groups. Every student went to Friday, and 1/3 stayed behind for the Saturday sessions. I couldn't write down notes fast enough! Axis (axis.org) had an amazing blend of pop culture with solid theology and a Biblical worldview lens. Here are some lines from the weekend:
  • The degree to which you experience relationship is the degree to which you experience life.
  • "Sin is primarily idolatry."- Tim Keller
  • "Movies are the highest popular art of our time, and that art changes lives."- Stephen King
  • "If there's not action being taken, our faith lacks deeper meaning."- Francis Chan
  • Liars make bad martyrs.
  • "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do as I say?"- Luke 6:46
  • "The shame is not that people have doubts, but (that) they are ashamed of them."- O.S. Guinness
  • "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him, we cry, 'Abba, father.'"-Romans 8:15
  • "... I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!"- Mark 9:24b
  • "Skepticism is a resting place for human reason, where it can reflect upon its dogmatic wanderings, but it is no dwelling place for permanent settlement."-Immanuel Kant.

6 of these students are mine in one class or another! This is the worship team from our campus to the Catalyst Conference last weekend.
A giant Buddha on the side of the interstate on the way to Taijung.

Taijung in the early morning.

After the conference finished, I watched the Morrison Taijung high school boys soccer game with Linda and a van full of students in the after thought of a typhoon. Needless, to say I was thankful for an umbrella!

My funny moment of the week came when I tried straightening my hair again (I haven't done anything with my hair since I moved here), and it felt like the Taiwanese humidity was a bit more forgiving. However, my thoughts were dashed to pieces after I saw a few of my Advanced Writing students looking at me and whispering. "What is it, ladies?" I asked.
"Ms. Brown, you know that professor in Harry Potter that teaches div-divi-"
"Divination?"
"That one!"
"What about her?"
"..."
"You think I look like Professor Trelawney?! She's crazy!"
"Not normally! Just today."
Needless to say, it'll be natural hair from here on out! 

Last week, I had morning recess duty with the elementary students; I have to thank Camp War Eagle again because I used something known as the "good morning" cheer each morning in order to send the kids to class! Now, the youngest kids call me Ms. Morning rather than Ms. Brown. 

Speaking of Brown, it's official: my dad's got his ticket to come visit in October! I'm so excited to show him around my life here. I'll get to introduce him to the community that has welcomed me! 

Speaking of community, I've been blessed to eat out and explore with Bill and Kathleen, Connie, JoJo, Caitlyn, James, Kathy, David, Julie, Judson, Debbie, Ben, Kelly, McKenzie, James, Tammy, Steve, Emma, Sam, Lucy, and many more! 
Caitlyn, Jojo, and Connie!

Milk shop boba tea!

Monday night Ladies Bible Study is such an awesome community! Dala, Tammy, Martha, Linda, Danielle, Kim, and Debbie.

Bill and Kathleen, two amazingly helpful and compassionate people! Bill is our facilities manager and Kathleen teaches ESL. 
Julie came to visit! She brought her husband! He is real!
This is a meal from a popular Taiwanese chain restaurant (I can't spell the title)- beef noodle soup with a chicken thigh!

Soup dumplings are incredible! This was the meal the Wyss family bought for me!
Things I learned in the last two weeks:
  • It's surreal listening to Razorback Football pregame radio while driving by Buddhist tombstones and temples.
  • I have to be prepared at least 15 minutes before class to be truly prepared logistically.
  • I can experiment with spices while cooking!
  • Instead of measuring land in acres, Taiwan measures land in ping, a measurement that is equal to the size of a Japanese bamboo mat.
  • No one fits into a box. Everyone has stories.
Aaaaaaaand more pictures!
Judson, Debbie, and I explored a temple market in 神農里, the nearby neighborhood.

"I have no idea what these characters say."

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.-2 Corinthians 4:18


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Things I Learned from Year 6 (and some Summer Memories!)

Image
     I'm a little late in reflecting on my 6th school year. I normally write this reflection in the airport somewhere along the way, but here I am, 3 days from flying back to Taiwan to start my 7th year of teaching. Better late than never, I think! Here's what I learned this year: 1. Take the dare.  A few of my yearbook students in the 2021-2022 school year dared me to do something different in the talent show this year (my usual gig is balancing things on my chin). I taught myself to play guitar (with the help of Clay, an old friend who plays beautifully) and sang at the talent show this year. If there's a challenge that I need time to undertake but could feasibly manage, I should do it, even if it scares me.  2. History is now.  I now have one year of US History behind me, and it was a blast to learn and teach! Studying an event and seeing a photo of an artifact from that time or some evidence that real people really did the real thing we're studying seems somewhat st
Read more

50 Things from Year 5

Image
I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for the last leg of my journey back to Arkansas, jetlagged and still processing that the school year is over. Now that YEAR FIVE is in the books, it's time for my annual recap! Since it's year 5, here are 50 things I remember looking back on this year: 1. It was my second year with Yearbook! Even though I love all my students, Yearbook has become my favorite class to teach. Our theme this year was "Cute & Paste." 2. The theme included a new twist: we added a sticker sheet in the back of every yearbook! They were a hit.  3. I taught English 2 for the last time (at least for a while). It was time for me to make a change so that the class could have some life breathed back into it. Odysseus, Oliver Twist, Nancy (best character in OT hands down), Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain, and other beloved characters from English 2 will get a new teacher to tell their story next year!  4. I taught English 4 (British Literature) for the first
Read more

From my last day in Quarantine: A Reflection on Year 4 and a Vision for Year 5

Image
The rain has slowed down for the first time in a few days. In less than a few hours, I'll leave my hotel home for the last two weeks, go home to my apartment and pets, and kick off getting ready for YEAR 5 of teaching! *gulp*  Reflection: Quarantine For the last two weeks, I've spent time reflecting on the last year and soaking in this relaxation time as long as I can. I've thought about year 4 of teaching, reading ( Breath , Interior Chinatown , He Saw That It Was Good,   Flash Boys , and  The Midnight Library;  unfinished:  Jesus and John Wayne, IQ ), watching Netflix ( Car Masters: Rust to Riches & Cobra Kai ), working on teacher homework, scrolling through *way too much* Instagram, improving my Adobe and ProCreate skills, Facetiming friends and family, and doing daily yoga with other quarantiners via Google Meet. Considering how crazy the rest of the world was in 2020-2021, Taiwan requiring quarantine doesn't seem like too steep of a price to pay for relative
Read more