Well, I’ve been teaching school for two months now. In a lot of ways that’s really hard to believe. I can be fairly certain of my daily routine. I’ve been able to work through most of the communication problems between me and my teachers. I’m gradually learning to know my 300+ students and they’re learning what to expect from me and what I expect from them. Of course there are always the days when I arrive and only half the sixth grade class is there because of a basketball tournament or I only have four kids in the fifth grade class because the rest went to Taipei for a two day adventure, or something came up and instead of teaching what I planned on teaching I need to teach something else. I always tell myself, “This is a great time to learn flexibility!”
Weekends tend to be a little more unpredictable though. We’ve had some interesting adventures. From spending three days hiking in Taroko National Park, to going to a big family BBQ of one of our dorm mates, to spending a day touring various aboriginal sites here in Hualien (we ate jumping shrimp that day). Even something as simple as shopping can turn into a big adventure if you’re trying to buy something that isn’t so common.
This weekend we packed a picnic lunch and went to Taroko for the day. We hiked along one of the rivers and enjoyed spending time seeing God’s creation. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe that I’m actually seeing some of these sights with my own eyes and that they’re not just pictures from a book or a postcard received from a friend. The beauty of the mountains can be breathtaking!
Saturday morning found us back in Taroko but for a different reason. They were holding the annual marathon as well as a mini marathon and a five km race. Several teachers from Josh and Ben’s schools signed up for the five km race and they decided to as well. Gracia and Christina both had students who were performing in their traditional dress and dances. So it was a good morning spent with some of our teachers and students. The afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing for this next week of teaching. In the evening we went to the big family BBQ of our dorm mate. They served us some really good food. In fact one of the uncles who did most of the cooking owns a restaurant in Taipei and said he’d give us a 20% discount if we ever came. We might have to take him up on his offer some time!
Today we had our own team church time and then went to the English Bible Class that we teach every Sunday afternoon. We reviewed the past six lessons and had a Jeopardy style game for them to play. We all had a lot of fun with that. We then went to Hualien and had dinner as well as picking up some food for our breakfast tomorrow. So the weekend was good and I think that after a good nights rest I’ll be ready for another week of teaching.
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Katrina Nisly
Singchen, Hualien County
