Happy Halloween!

One down, one to go. I just survived my 4th Halloween in Taiwan. My school had it's party this evening and I have one more party to assist at tomorrow night and then the hubbub will be over for another year. This holiday has been evolving in Taiwan over the past few years, and sadly, I think it's reached the point where it's a much bigger deal than Christmas at a lot of schools. The selection and availability of Halloween paraphernalia seems to increase steadily from year to year, though I was still only able to find one store carrying pumpkins. Above is my creation, carved with a very basic design because it was part of a story illustration for this evening's party.

Halloween parties have come to be expected at English schools, and for the past 2 years, we've aimed to approach the event as a ministry opportunity. Last year we did it with Veggie Tales and the theme: Where's God When I'm Scared? This year's theme was: The Good Farmer. Last week we had a staff meeting that went something like this:

Boss: As you know, next week's Halloween and we'll be having a party. For the main feature, Kara will be telling a story about a pumpkin that presents the Gospel in a very clear manner. Why don't you tell us a bit about it now?

Me: Umm, do I know this Kara? I mean, okay, well . . .

You see, I mentioned in passing that I was going to do a pumpkin story for this week's Bible class, which would be tomorrow night, but that was somehow interpreted as me volunteering to do it for the entire school tonight. I didn't mind though, it was a great opportunity, it's just that it's always bit awkward being informed that you're going to be doing something the same time everyone else finds out.

So yes, the evening started with me relating a story about carving a pumpkin to God and mankind: God helps us grow, God chooses us, God can change us within, from the inward change comes an outward one, and the light placed within us. It ended with teaching This Little Light of Mine, a song most of my Bible class students already know. It might sound cheesy, but a room of 80+ kids singing it was pretty cool. Afterwards, it was onto an evening of games, activities, and of course, candy.

Be still my heart

It's a Friday night. Another week of work is complete and I'm ready to unwind, only I can't. My heart is still racing from my mass consumption of caffiene today. Ugh.

I enjoy both coffee and tea, but for the most part, avoid them. I get hooked on caffiene way too easy and I hate the side effects. For whatever reason, I've felt drained this week and needed a boost to get me through the day, so I had a small pot of coffee with lunch. Mistake. By my afternoon classes, I was shaking and for the rest of the day, I've felt my heart racing. Great.

Tonight with my dinner, I decided to order an Ovaltine. Again, mistake. Somewhere along the line, there was confusion and instead, I recieved a giant cup of coffee! When it arrived, I happened to be in class, parched, while my water bottle was in another room, so what did I do - I drank some of the coffee. Not all, probably not even half, but any amount was more than what I needed. There came a point where I felt as though I was going to cause my own death if I consumed anymore. I can see it now - joe delivered the final blow. Here's to hoping rest comes despite my mistakes.

On a side note - the coffee I brewed this afternoon was fantastic! A friend bought it at a night market over a year ago, gave it to me when she moved, and it's been in my freezer ever since. Though she assured me it was good, I was skeptical - perhaps one of the reasons it's been in my freezer so long. However, it's quite delish. Night market coffee - who knew!

Best left unsaid

Being that I speak very little Mandarin and read even less, I really do appreciate restaurants that use photos on their menus, or better yet, incorporate English. However, there are the occasional translations that should be forgone. Case in point, driving past an area restaurant this week, a friend and I were amused to discover a new banner stating "Mandarin Duck Chaffing Dish."

Children can also have an interesting way with words. Tonight a young student shared that his uncle died this week. The uncle had jumped from his (the uncle's) 9th floor balcony, to which a classmate quickly added, "and now he's in hell." Woah! I think I'm the only one who understood what the classmate said and was slightly amused/intrigued that he was so quick-witted in his sarcasm and frankly, bold enough to make such a remark, much less know how to say it in English. However, in retrospect, I'm a bit shocked. In this predominately Buddhist country, that's not a typical comment an adult, much less a child, would say, whether in English or Chinese. I was beginning to think that maybe I've just not heard it here because people express it in Chinese, but I asked around and even the Taiwanese people I checked with were surprised. Hmm.

Strike a Pose

Sarah strikes a pose, originally uploaded by redjett.

After a whirlwind 9 days of traveling Taiwan and visiting with a dear friend, routine took over today. Things got started Friday (10/6) in Taipei where we spent a few days sight seeing, visiting with my Taiwanese big sis, sampling local cuisine (mmm, fresh squid and octopus), and relaxing at the hotel catching up on movies and learning to immitate the Taiwanese commercials (la,la,la so happy!). I somehow acquired a reputation as one who eats beside a trash can, but it was sheer coincidence or necessity. Come on, would you really want to walk through crowds at a night market while trying to de-gut your squid? I also had to break into some good old fashioned jumping on the bed while at the hotel - ahh, nice beds and high ceilings. Hanging out with a friend from my youth must bring out the kid in me.

On Monday (10/9), it was an island hop for a day and a night to take in a bit of snorkeling, beachcombing, and exploring tide pools by day and chilling seaside under the stars by night - refreshing breezes and lightening bugs - sweet!

From there it was a scooter trip on Tuesday to Meinong, a.k.a. Taiwan's handpainted umbrella capital. There was even time for a tea break to make some famous Meingong tea. We had the shop to ourselves and the servers brought out special costumes and props for an outright photo shoot of the foreigners dressed in Hakka garb. Finally, back home to Kaohsiung to recoup - 7 hours on a scooter in one day is more than enough for me.

Beyond Tuesday I was back to work but the week still held more treats and adventures for my guest. We met up with Becky for most of the remaining activities including Meinong, mtv, hiking on monkey mountain (I opted out of that adventure), the toilet restaurant, tepanyaki, Lotus Lake, and a hair wash.

We departed Kaohsiung Saturday afternoon for the trip to the airport. Sarah flew out late in the evening and 25 hours later, I found myself back at home. I stopped over at a friend's for the night on my trip back for a good night's rest and an overdue visit. It was funny to think that Sarah got home before I did, but sometimes the journey takes precedent over the destination. I spent the rest of Sunday catching up on, umm, sleep, and today, back to work. Sadly the visit came and went in a flash, however, it was nice to once again share my home and life in Taiwan with someone I'm close to. Thanks for coming Grasshopper!

Broken things

a colorful beach
Originally uploaded by redjett.

I'm sure shores were not intended to be this colorful. In fact, the enriched display is the result of litter, yet, on a beach of broken, bleached coral, I've come to fancy the colorful contrast of broken things. I even like to collect a few pieces each visit for some yet unknown future project.
I love how the shards of broken glass become smoothed over by the tide, rough edges polished. While the broken pieces won't become part of the whole again, they can be changed into something new. Though caught up for a time in the turbulence of the sea, beaten by the waves, many pieces still come to bank on the shore. While still susceptible to being swallowed up once more by the sea, there is also the potential for getting pushed farther and farther ashore, away from the temultuous sands and nearer to the weathered rocks.
I love the bits that are "fresh," still wet from the tide and glistening. They're most beautiful when reflecting the sun.

Sometimes I am a broken thing. Much like the glass without eyes, I fail to see the broken things around me. I'm still catching my breath and taking in the warmth of the Son, hoping that despite being tossed and tumbled, a piece of me can still reflect Light.
Like glass, I'm sometimes left feeling transparent, exposed, and vulnerable, at least for a time.
Sometimes the brokenness results in refinement. Other times, some rough edges remain, still waiting to be smoothed out. Even so, each time, the result is change. It's impossible to escape unchanged.

No Soup for You!

While my health wasn't completely restored overnight, I did awake feeling tremendously better this morning. I had just spent the past 2 days with a fever which hung around 102 degrees while I spent 10 hours at work yesterday. I did manage to slip out briefly in the evening for a quick run to the dr and the medicine she prescribed started to help soon after taking it last night.

While I was still presented with a very sore throat and almost no voice today, my energy level was high, just in time to finish cleaning up the place for my friend's rapidly approaching visit. I even felt well enough to make myself some homemade chicken noodle soup since it became apparent that my mom was not coming to make it for me. Thanks mom. Sure, I still had the aforementioned ramen, but mysterious seafood flavored soup just doesn't hold the same appeal as chicken noodle comfort food. But alas, it was not meant to be. There would be no soup for me. While I thought I had everything on hand for my culinary concoction, I was dismayed to discover the chicken had gone bad. By that point, the heart had gone out of the endeavor and I had no desire to go to the store for more meat. However, I think tomorrow I shall delve into a new realm and attempt some lemongrass and clam soup. It can also be quite satisfying when sick.

Ramen to the Rescue

Here's a story from a few weeks back that I've been meaning to share.

It was once again that time of the month - time to pay the rent. The landlady would be arriving shortly for her monthly collection so I made my way to the corner 7-Eleven to use the ATM. After withdrawing the necessary funds, I came to the sober realization that I had an equivalent of $1 US in the bank until my next pay day, still at least 2 weeks away. Wow. Though I had just had my best summer since being in Taiwan, it was probably my worst summer financially. The cutback in hours for the summer schedule in July and August were catching up with me now in early September. Basically, for the next few weeks, I was broke. There was not even money to spare for those little luxuries in life known as food and water (yep, gotta buy drinking water). Now it's true, my cupboards are full of food, but most things require an ingredient I don't have in order to make them.

As I got back to my apartment, I was thinking some more about what it meant to not even have money to spare on food for the next few weeks when the doorbell rang, or chirped, as the case may be. It was the landlady, no surprise. As I handed over the envelope of money, she handed be a paper bag from the grocery store. Inside where two big packs containing 10 regular sized packs of Ramen noodle soup. She found this particular kind to be good and thought I might enjoy it, though no, she's not in the habit of bringing me things. As we said good-bye and I closed the door, I couldn't help but chuckle at the though of how only minutes earlier I was wondering how I was going to afford food and here it was, free food being delivered to my door. Oh, the irony. It reminded me so much of friends' stories about praying for something and God answering their prayer but in a way very different from what they had in mind.

Oh snap! At the same time, what a slap. I hadn't even gone to God about the situation. I was still mulling over it in my own mind. I appreciated the reminder that God cares for us and about us even when we think things too insignificant to bring before Him. What a great reminder of His provision as well as a reminder of the insignificance of things of this world and how often I spend too much time toiling over things I shouldn't. For the second time that evening, I felt stunned.

The following morning, a group of people were at my house for house church. A Taiwanese friend I hadn't seen in a while happened to come and brought a large jug of tea for me. She claimed her father sent it to thank me for a time that I treated her to lunch. It was a thank you for looking out for her. Oh, the object lessons seemed to be coming in abundance that weekend. I was reminded of how God can not only meet our needs but exceed our expectations. It's cool too how God can bless us through those who are Christians, and through those who aren't, like my landlady.