Candace in Taiwan!

Two of my amazing coworkers (my mentor, Kate, on the left and Jenny on the right) and I on our first day!   I just finished my first week of teaching! Victory! Picture me slumping back into the couch and kicking off my shoes. Now, picture me sitting up in a panic as I realize I've assigned homework that students do not have the access to complete and attempt to put out the ensuing fire. This week was all about a hundred things at once: making a good first impression, learning about my students, getting used to the schedule, being prepared for class every period of every single day, figuring out the copy machine, learning my students' names, setting up classroom parameters, holding it all together, getting enough sleep, not working at home if I could help it, still asking questions, still trying to learn new things each day, trying desperately to learn my students' names, not getting homesick, breathing, praying, reminding myself that teaching is a learni...

What a whirlwind! I now realize what people mean when they sigh and say "First-year teachers... good luck." The road in the picture above works to show how this week went. Plenty of immensely important things grappled for my attention-like scooters whizzing by and car horns blaring-in my planning and preparation time this week. However, amidst the important details, I was calmed down by and blessed with the other new-hires' testimonies each morning after worship time. My principal played the guitar! Teachers had tambourines! I work here ! Here's the crazy part: everyone  is willing to answer every question I throw their way. The hierarchy o the school extends from Christlike servanthood rather than arrogance. My mentor teacher, Kate, has been immensely helpful. After we got back from our Professional Learning day at the Taichung campus, I was feeling under qualified and intimidated by the many amazing teachers at the other campuses; she encouraged me, ga...

This was on my apartment door when I arrived! Artwork by the West family children Wow.  I've been here for 8 days now, and let me tell you one thing that I know for certain: Taiwanese tea is AWESOME. The Da She (Dashe) District! We come here to get tea or go to markets! My first Taiwanese tea: Grapefruit Green Tea! I mean, sure, I've learned about and experienced a myriad of things since I got here, but hey, one revelation at a time! The tea here is unfathomably delicious and comes in at least 300 varieties amongst the tea shops I've seen so far. Did you know that Taiwan invented Boba tea? Boba is actually the phonetic respelling from the English pronunciation "bubble". I ordered my first tea all by myself today and got to ask for  bōbà  (1st tone, 4th tone), also known as  zhēnzhū in Mandarin. Why am I on this tea trip? Great question, reader. I'm talking about tea because tea is something I thought I knew pretty well. I...