Winter Holiday 2009

Finally! I got more than a day or two off work! My school has a limited number of holidays, so we get 3 weeks off for Chinese New Year. By the time Jan 21st rolled around, I was ready to leave life behind and head off to Indonesia for a much deserved holiday.

Obviously, visiting with friends was the most important part of my holiday. Hanging with the Comries, visiting students and teachers at SPH, and spending time with Caroline and her children made it feel like I was back home.

There's Ella and Ezra...we were hanging out in their room, reading books, painting (which got quite messy for Ezra), and just having a good time. Ella calls me "Auntie" now without being prompted! Ezra didn't say much besides "no" but then again, he's still just a little guy.

Catching up with Siusan and her family was great as well. (Remember the family who visited me in the hospital last year when I had knee surgery?) We had dinner at an American style buffet in a mall in Jakarta after church one night.

I was also lucky enough to be able to be at SPH when the 6th graders (my students from last year) were having their annual grade level swimming competition. These are some of the Bromo boys waiting for the girls to finish their heats so they could have a turn.

Of course, if you spend the money to travel to Indonesia, you have to visit Bali!

These photos were taken just before sunset as I sat at a restaurant called SeaSide, just off the beach. As you can see it wasn't the sunniest of days, but I managed to get a bit of a sunburn while vacationing in Bali during the rainy season.

I sat at SeaSide until well after the sun had set. One of my favorite time's of day is that moment when the sun is just about to slip below the horizon. Unfortunately, there were clouds in the way, but this shot was taken only a few minutes before that magical moment...

Overall, my holiday was much like that sunset...beautiful! I didn't do anything terribly exciting, but I thoroughly enjoyed just being.

There was one thing though...I set up camp at the Comrie's house so I was able to spend quite a few evenings with them. The weekend before I took off for Bali, Bruce & Judy bought their kids a Wii. Ben was all about the Wii! Though I had watched people play before, I had never participated. It was fun to spend time with Sophie and Ben as we learned how to use those crazy controllers for the different games. I must have been doing something right though because I set a new world record for the javelin throw! Haha! I do have to say though that I fully expect that Sophie and/or Ben won't take long beating any records I set! Back in Taiwan now, I miss those times spent with the kids "Wii-ing"...

As with all holidays, time was too short. Before I knew it the time had come to head back to Taiwan. I wasn't ready to go back to work, but I had a heart full of new memories and I felt fully relaxed and refreshed.

So just like the sunset that slipped beneath the horizon (you can see it reflected here on the shoreline because a cloud was covering the real thing), I slipped off to the airport and returned to life in Kaohsiung. Now, as my friend Suz said in her first e-mail after a recent week off work, I find myself thinking, "When is the next holiday?"....

Christmas 2008 - Taiwan Style

I wasn't very excited about staying in Taiwan for Christmas, but I really didn't have a choice since the Taiwanese people really don't celebrate it. I took the day off of work, and spent it getting a really amazing 40 minute hair wash/scalp massage followed by a late lunch with some friends. We had a great time. The real celebration didn't happen until the Saturday after Christmas when a bunch of friends got together at Denise's house.

That's Denise and I as we toast the holiday. She is originally from Scotland but has done a lot of traveling. She's married to a Taiwanese man named James and they have a beautiful little girl named Tiana. Christmas dinner is something Denise loves to host. Every year she orders 3 turkeys, 3 hams and all the fixings...including dessert!

Our day was rather typical in terms of Christmas. Good friends, good laughs, Christmas music, and tons of food. Even though most of the people in attendance were from work, there was no shop talk. In fact, we didn't act like teachers at all!

That's Mark, carving up the turkey. The good ol' Texas boy was right at home with a knife in hand!

And that's Reid, enjoying his share of one of the turkeys. As is the norm, everyone had their favorite part of the bird that they wanted.

After dinner, we all sat around outside and watched Tiana open her Christmas presents. Each was her favorite, at least for a moment. One of those gifts was a badminton set. We didn't set up the net, but we sure had fun with the birdies!

Christina was the first to give herself a 'birdie-nose' but many others quickly joined in as soon as they could get their hands on a birdie. Jeff and Craig were real hams about it!

They weren't the only boys who were having a ton of fun that day though! Jayden, who doesn't work with us, loves to juggle. His specialty seems to be torches on chains. He decided to 'warm up' after dinner with tennis balls, and he was very serious about what he was doing!

Of course, the real entertainment didn't start until we all decided to head to the park. Trying to play frisbee in an alley that is about 12 feet wide is not fun! We basically took over the soccerfield across the street and threw the frisbee around until dark. That's when Jayden and Lisa pulled out the torches and really got going! Using the night function on my camera, I was able to get some pretty cool shots.

I love the way it looks like continuous loops of flames! Jayden and Lisa are both very good at this particular style of juggling. Personally, I'll stick to small objects that can be tossed one by one!

It was a great day, but the week had been an exhausting one and I called it a day at around 9:30pm. Sure, it wasn't what I've grown to consider a traditional Christmas celebration, but it was far more fun than I expected! Besides, living overseas means you get to see how other people around the world do things. Since Taiwan doesn't do Christmas, we expatriates have created our own Christmas...Taiwan style!

This is Sonia, in character, in the haunted house. When my camera wasn't flashing in her face, she actually scared quite a few people! She's much scarier in the dark! Compared to her usual bubbly self, this is quite odd. Our drama teacher says she is a very good addition to the program.

Before and after shots of Philip...he's in my homeroom. A bit of a joker but not very good at coming up with a costume!

Even the school photographer's camera got into the act during the sleepover! He would walk up to people, say "boo!" and point and click!

Two of my 7th grade Math students...Joy and Sally. They are part of my favorite class right now. At first they were quiet like everyone else, but they have slowly come out of their shellls. The entire class really.

A couple of the eleventh grade students carried around this shrine to Yao Ming...Chinese basketball players are not necessarily popular with Taiwanese!

Two of the girls from my homeroom ... Jasmine and Elaine dressed up as Aces. They helped escort younger students through the haunted house at school during the sleepover festivities.

Surprise visit to Indo

This is why I miss Indonesia ... coaching ... friends ... just enjoying being around the people I came to care about during the five years I lived there.

SPH CUP 2nd PLACE TEAM...SPH EAGLES!

After coaching the high school team for four years, we've finally placed in our own tournament! The girls were split into two teams in the tournament, so some of them didn't even play in the championship game; but as you can see, they were all very proud of their accomplishments as a team. We focused all season on being one team, relying on each other's strengths to cover our weaknesses, and becoming better by working hard. I am so proud of all of these girls!

Making PB & J Sandwiches

We're working on procedural writing in English this unit, so we started by seeing what the students could do. One student did an amazing job. His first instruction was "YOU CAN NOT USE YOUR HANDS!" Imagine his surprise when I used my mouth to follow his next instruction, "PICK UP THE BREAD!" I eventually used my hands to make him a snack, but oh we had fun going through instructions that were less than adequate!

BIG BLESSINGS IN THE HOSPITAL

Some students from SPH came (along with parents) to visit me while I was in the hospital recently having ACL reconstruction done on my right knee. When you're alone in the hospital, the bright faces of children go a long way to making the day better. Audrey, Nadia, Andari (sisters) and Kevin stopped by to bring me non-hospital food, smiles, and 2 hours of fun conversation to break up the monotony of a 2-week hospital stay.

Big Sister

Ella didn't know what to make of "the new baby" at first, but she has quickly become the BIG SISTER. Isn't this just adorable? There are a lot of pictures of Ella kissing her little brother. That's good because, being just 18 months old, there could be a lot of reasons for Ella to be not so loveable. But she always does the loveable thing! hahahaha

Ella's little brother

This is Ella's little brother....EZRA! He's about 6 weeks old now, but here he was just a day or two home from the hospital. Isn't he cute? I haven't been able to spend much time with him as of yet, but that'll happen soon!

The Sun Sets...

I love this picture! I took it just before we got the boat out of the water at the lake...isn't it awesome!

But this picture is more than just a reminder of a great sunset. It's a reminder to me that even though the trip home was a bit too short, the end of one thing is always the beginning of something else.

And there's always another holiday to be had!

A Long Day at The Lake

After a Sunday morning at church, Bethany's family, some friends and I went to the lake to go tubing. So much fun! As you can tell from AJ's face though, we were all a bit tired when the time came to pull up to the boat dock and head for home.

A relaxing day at the lake was just what the doctor had ordered. I think we all enjoyed resting in the sun (or shade), going for a quick walk, bbq hot dogs, and just hanging out with friends.

Best Friend...In Boston That Is!

Kendra and I always manage to fit in a weekend visit when I go home for the summer. This was taken at the end of our visit, just as we were packing things in the car to head to the airport. Visits with Kendra always feel much too short and go by much too quickly.

We had a great time catching up on life, shopping...lots of shopping, showing off photos from the last couple of years, and just basically enjoying good times with a good friend.

It's funny how the friends we made in college seem to stick with us for a lifetime. And even though since college either Kendra or I have been half a world apart, it's never diminished our friendship at all...

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Jen & her little girl Kearsten...had hoped to see them while I was in the Bay Area, but no...they moved to Southern California. And they lived less than half a mile from my sister!

Anyway, notice the family resemblance? Kearsten is the cutest little girl with a great smile! It was fun to watch her run around just enjoying the freedom of movement.

It was great to see Jen also, to catch up a bit, and just enjoy time with someone I hadn't seen in a long time. I hope we can find time to get together again the next time I'm home.

STOP...IT'S HAMMER TIME!

I really love spending time with my nieces and nephews. None of my nephews were in this shot, but then again, they weren't invited! I was staying with my sister Orlene in Orange, CA and we took 4 of our nieces for a week.

Obviously, we spent time doing a little woodwork. Their Uncle Jeff bought them each their own set of tools and helped them build birdhouses and pencil boxes with secret locks! Then their cousin Dustin got them picture frames to decorate.

On top of that, we also spent time at Disneyland, read books, played games...Twister was a favorite...and just enjoyed hanging out. What a fun way to spend a week!

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge

Okay, so it's not the best photo ever taken of the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, you can just barely make the top of it out over the trees in the background! But come on, gimme a break! Have you ever tried to take a shot of something you're seeing while in a moving car? I had it especially difficult...my friend Suz, who was driving the car, was in a hurry so we weren't exactly going slow! Haha...

I'd put a picture of Suz on here, but the only one I have was taken at the end of a long day, and we both agree it's a terrible photo! But at least it's a memory of a fun day with a great friend!

San Francisco was just a minor stop during my trip home this past summer, but it was a part of one of my favorite days of the 5 week trip.

1 Year Old, Already?

It's sometimes hard to believe this little sweetie is already a year old. Little Ella has grown so much! Here she is, getting ready for a snack. Auntie Tewy had to pull out the camera...with a twist! Ella could see herself in the view screen while I took the shot. I think she was trying to figure out how she was able to see herself! Anyway, it's just a fun memory.

The Aftergame Show

This is really what that lunchtime game was all about. Students and teachers coming together...for more than just lessons in the classroom. We ended with prayer and a good ol' "EAGLES!" cheer because we're really all on the same team. It's amazing how differently the students look at their teachers after we take the time to just goof off.

Not just a coach

Sometimes, the coach must play! This was taken during a lunch time game between a team of six 5th graders, and 3 teachers (Mr. Jason - guys b-ball coach, Ms. Melissa -5th grade teacher, and myself). It was all in good fun. The student team had won a tournament involving 8 teams of 5th graders. Final score...28-16. We had a lot of fun, but...oh my!...were the teachers hot and tired when it was over!

3rd place Team

This is about half of the team that won 3rd place in the SMP Girls' Basketball SPH Cup 2007. They weren't as excited about 3rd place as I would have liked them to be, but as I said, 3rd place is better than no place. They learned a valuable lesson though...success only comes with hard work. So, next year they're out for 1st place!

Too Cute!

One of my favorite spots at Bethany's house...a chair you can sleep in! But in this photo, Bethany's two eldest children (Madison & A.J.) wanted to look at photos of my family. I didn't know this photo was being taken, but I like it! I call it "Too Cute!" because of A.J. gorgeous grin!

College friends...

They say the best friends in life are found during college. This is one of the best friends I found...Bethany. Her home and family are regular stops for me during holidays. This photo was taken over Christmas. I'm sure we were either headed out to shop or had just come home from shopping...that's always on our agenda!

Long time best friend

That's Patti & I...we've been best friends for years now. Through thick and thin, we still enjoy the moments we get together. When this photo was taken, we hadn't seen each other in nearly two years...so it was off to have pizza and beer, an old favorite from the years of softball.

Christmas with Orlene

There's nothing like spending the holidays with my big sister Orlene and her family. Here they are...Jeff, Orlene, Dustin & Jenelle. Christmas morning is always full of laughter, smiles, good food, and great fun.

Dinner at The Eastern

Ahh...dinner at The Eastern...our usual choices...Sweet & Sour Chicken, Mayonnaise Prawns, Broccoli & Mushrooms, Lemon Chicken, and Beef slices. We're creatures of habit when it comes to ordering dinner at this particular restaurant, but it's always good. And if you finish a dish, they'll refill it...for free...as long as you eat it all!