Christmas Trees

Well the Christmas celebrations have come and gone. The season is always filled with anticipation, build-up, and much joy. As I write this, I am currently on a four day break for New Year's. It is a much needed time of rest and relaxation, as I set to finish out the final three weeks of the semester. Over the next couple of blog entries I would like to reflect a little on the Christmas season and share a couple of experiences that stand out in my mind.

Each year the students of Concordia Middle School have a Christmas Song Competition and Christmas Tree Decorating Contest. For the tree decorating contest, each class is given a tree in the main courtyard of campus. They must decorate the tree to show a story from the Bible. The classes are given suggestions, but they can choose any story they would like.


The trees by the courtyard.

To decorate the trees the students must use recyclable products. Many students uses boxes, newspapers, and bottles to create elaborate decorations for the tree. In the 2 weeks prior to Christmas you can see homerooms filled with partially created decorations, and the students are allowed to use class time to create decorations. I allow each class to have one class period before Christmas that they can use to prepare for the activities.


Senior 2 (11th Grade) Class A: Moses and the Red Sea.



Senior 2 (11th Grade) Class F: Simon Peter, a fisher of men.



On Christmas Eve, the school holds the song competition in the morning and the afternoon. When they are not singing, students are outside decorating the trees. Then in the evening the kids are allowed to stay on campus until 8:30. They light the Christmas trees and can walk around and look at the other class' finished products.


Christmas Trees at night. Picture from my first year in Taiwan.


I think this is the most beautiful time of the year. I treasure the chance to walk around and look at the trees when they are lit up. The school leaves the trees up for a couple of days and each night lights them for people to enjoy.

This year on Christmas Day I went out and enjoyed a quiet evening, walking around and looking at the tress. I love the look of the lights glowing in the dark. I love seeing the different recreations of famous Bible Studies. I love seeing all of the hard work that my students put into making their trees.

I took time to stop at each tree created by my students and former students. I carefully looked at in and thought of the kids in those classes. I took a little time to pray for the kids in the classes. It was a quite, peaceful, heartwarming way to spend part of my Christmas Day.

Christmas Decorations

A couple of weeks ago, Kevin, Michelle, Michael, and I took a Saturday evening to decorate the Hanson Manor. Christmas decorations are a little hard to come by here in Taiwan, but we did our best to make the house look festive. We hung lights on the inside and outside of the house, and put up two small Christmas trees. I would like to post a couple of pictures, showing the two Christmas trees and some of the decorations. Enjoy!



The view leading into the kitchen.


One Christmas Tree


Our Second Christma Tree

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

That's right boy and girls we are getting close to the big day. The celebration of the birth of the Savior, who has changed our lives, and given us life, hope, peace, and joy. I would like to use this entry to reflect a little as I prepare for Christmas.

Christmas is such a wonderful time. I remember my first year here in Taiwan. I was not sure if I should stay for a second year. I was still debating if God was calling me to serve overseas in a ESL setting, or to return to the States to teach, allowing me to interact with students in my native language and to be closer to family and friends. I remember fearing being away on the holidays would be difficult and possibly push me back home.

The first year Christmas proved to be the opposite. It was a time where I was sure that this is where God wanted me. All of the Bible Studies, skits, Christmas caroling and other activities really encouraged me. Christmas was busy, but exciting. It was full of joy, but not secular or focused on getting and receiving gifts. The focus was the joy that Jesus brings us, and sharing that with others.

Last year provided the same environment, and now I am in the midst of preparation for this Christmas. One thing that fills December is skit practice. Each year the school asks the 8 American teachers at the high school to perform a skit for the entire school (over 2000 students). We take time to meet, plan, and then usually have 3 or 4 practices to polish things. This year our skit for school is based on the cheesy Disney movie "High School Musical". The kids out here love the film and we have adapted songs and the message to point to Jesus and following him.

The second skit I will be in this year will be for our Friday Night Bible Study and Salvation Lutheran Church. All 13 Americans will be involved in this skit and it is based on the parable of the tenants. The master is gone and sends servants to check up on the vineyard. The tenants beat up the servants, and then the master finally sends his son...who the tenants kill. Of course we tie this in to Christmas and how we remember Jesus coming as a baby, who ultimately came to take our punishment for sin. We had our first practice for this skit tonight and will have 2 more before we perform it.

Other highlights of the Christmas season include Christmas caroling and Christmas parites. I will have the opportunity to go Christmas caroling 2 times this year. Once on Friday December 21st, in the city, and the second on December 24th here near the school.

There are several other Christmas parties or activities that I will have as well, including get togethers with friends, and leading the Sunday School students in Christmas songs.

This coming Saturday will be the annual Christmas potluck. Many teachers and friends from school will get together to eat and watch a Christmas movie. I will be making my famous chili, known out here as "Smoked Chili", but that's a story for another entry.

Ahhhhh Christmas...the intensity...the joy...the fun...God is with us.

The Worst Nightmare...

That's right everyone, this week I experienced everyone's worst nightmare...going to the dentist. Let me preface this by saying it has been a long time since I have been to the dentist, and this trip came after much discussion, anticipation, and dread. This entry is a novel...so brace yourselves and enjoy the ride.

To begin, the last time I had been to the dentist was when I got my wisdom teeth pulled...I am not exactly sure when that was. It was either my sophomore or junior year of college. Which would have been 4 or 5 years ago. I was out like a light the whole time, so I don't know if he actually cleaned my teeth or just pulled my wisdom teeth. Prior to that experience it would have probably been the summer before when I had last been to the dentist for a cleaning and examination. So it had to have been at least 5 years since I had been to the dentist.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this is not good for my oral hygene. However, since moving to Taiwan I had been in a little bit of a dilema. Upon my arrival to Taiwan in 2005, I was not worrying about making an appointment to get my teeth checked. Rather, I was more worried about survival in this new environment. Towards the end of my first year however, I began to realize that I probably should head to the dentist at some point. I heard horror stories of other missionaries returning from Taiwan with 3 and 4 cavities in their mouths (much of this can be due to the high consumption of green tea, which usually is sold with a lot of sugar in it).

After hearing this, and reflecting on my personal absence from the dentist office, I decided I should start to think about getting my teeth checked. Here was my dilema. I inquired some of the other missionaries about the dentist in Taiwan, and did not get an overwhelming vote of confidence. In fact some that I asked had instead gone to the dentist in the U.S. when home for summer break. So I thought about this, but then realized that I do not have dental insurance. And if there is one thing that is definitely true it is that health and dental care in America is outrageous without insurance. Some missionaries have spent well over $100 to get a check-up while home in the States. I soon realized that I did not have that kind of money, and decided that I would not worry about it that summer and would instead try to get an appointment while in Taiwan. Even if it is not as good as America, a check-up can still tell me if I have cavities and some cleaning is better than no cleaning.

Well my second year came and went and I never seemed to make time to go to the dentist. At this point it became a little psychological, as I really did not have a desire to hear how dirty my teeth were, or how many cavities I had. I did however decide that if I was not going to the dentist I should start to take better care of my teeth. I began flossing somewhat regularily and started using Listerine in addition to brushing. I also started buying green tea with half sugar instead of full sugar. When my parents came to visit in January, the dentist saga was brought up at some point, and when my mom realized how long it had been since I had gone, she too started actively encouraging me to go get a check-up and cleaning.

Like I said the second year came and went, and I was not about to spend an arm and a leg for dental care in America. However this past summer, the topic did come up again and I was strongly encouraged to see a dentist in Taiwan.

As I returned for this my third year, I was determined that I would see the dentist at some point this year. Fearing that if I did not do it sooner, it might not happen, I resolved that it would get done before the middle of October. Well that date came and went, but soon realized I needed to act fast. So after some rescheduling of appointments, I finally got in this past Monday.

Now about dental care in Taiwan. For one, it is cheaper because Taiwan has national health care. Thus everything is cheaper here. In terms of how each office operates I do not know how they work as a whole, but can share my specific experience. The dentist I went to is the father a worker at CELA (the English cram school that some missionaries work at here in Min Hsiung). His office is open in the evenings from 7:30-9:30. I found this strange. My appointment was for 7:30 and I went about 15 minutes before, as I thought this was proper protical for a dentist appointment. When I got there all of the lights were off and no one was in the building. So I drove around for about 15 minutes then came back.

By the time I got back, a little girl had already come and he began to examine her. This is pretty typically of health care in Taiwan, as it is more like waiting at the driver's liscense than making an appointment. I have been to the doctor before and you literally get a number and take a seat.

Well after waitng for another 10 minutes in nervous anticipation, trying not to think of all of the cavities he would find, I finally was escorted to the dreaded chair. When I sat down I found the dentist to be quite pleasant and he spoke English well. He had studied in Canada for a little bit and has a daughter that lives in Alabama.

He examined my teeth right away and then turned me over to his assistant. She did not speak any English, but before he left he informed me that they would clean some stains (no doubt originating from my large consumption of tea), give a general cleaning and give me some flouride.

As his assistant worked in my mouth, it was not terribly uncomfortable. She did do a little bit of scraping, which is never pleasant, but overall I held up pretty well. One big difference from my experience in America was with the light. In the States, my dentist's have always moved the light out of my eyes, but it still shined on my general face. At my appointment on Monday, the light was move out of the way for a little bit, but then a towel was wrapped around my face. It covered my eyes and only my mouth would have been visible from the towel.

After the cleaning she gave me the flouride. It was pink jelly substance that she applied using a wire with a swabb-like device on it. She put it around my mouth and told me she'd be back in one minute. After a minute she returned and gave me paper cup with water, for me to rinse with.

She had done this previously after the cleaning and then told me to swish it in my mouth and spit it out. She said all of this in Chinese and I did not fully understand what she meant, but after some gesturing and clarification I eventually figured out what I was to do with the water and where I was to put the excess.

After rinsing my mouth, she removed the towels and cleaned up the area a little bit. Then she looked at me with a huge smile on her face and told me something, which I did not understand. I asked her to repeat it a couple of times, but I still did not know the meaning. Eventually she told me that "my teeth were good" and that they "had no holes". Starting to understand, I asked a couple of clarifitory questions. I asked if my teeth were "not good" then would I have to come back and have more work. At this point I made the drilling sound. She nodded her head energetically and we both realized we understood each other. She was telling me I had no cavities. YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!

After five years, my teeth were ok. I went to the counter to pay my bill. It ended up costig $100 NT, which in the United States is $3.20. I knew it would be cheap, but this was even better than I thought. After I came home, I thought I might have to go back in the spring for another check. In the meantime I will continue to brush, floss, and rinse.

Cold Spell

Just a quick update on the weather. Many times people ask me if it gets cold in Taiwan. I always reply that cold is relative to a location, these last couple of days have provided a perfect example.

The temperatures the last 3 days have been in the upper 60's with lows in the upper 50's. Now some of you sitting in Iowa or Minnesota might not think this seems very cold. However, here in Taiwan we do not have heated buildings. You can buy a little space heater for your room, but the house is never fully warm when you enter it. So it is more of perpetual state of coolness, and yes, you can add more layers, however once become cold it is hard to ever fully warm up.

Transportation can add to this, as I usually ride a bike or scooter to get from place to place. I recently have been reflecting that I prefer to ride a bike in the cooler weather. First, a scooter can get quite cold when the temperature is lower and the wind is rushing against you. Second, on a bike my body is working, and this keeps my lower body much warmer than on a scooter. So while you are outside longer on a bike, you stay overall warmer. Plus when I arrive at my destiniation there is no heat to warm me up. Thus I have decided for the time being I prefer to ride my bike.

One more thought on the weather. The other thing that made the last days worse was the rain. I have found there is nothing worse than a cold rain. I think we will get some warmer weather in the coming days, but before long it will stay cooler for the winter season.

Colder weather is not all bad though. This morning I woke up and Kevin had made some hot green tea. So I enjoyed a couple mugs of that before heading into the office. I must say I have grown to enjoy tea a lot more since coming to Taiwan, and cooler weather makes the hot stuff even better.

Ok, enough talk about the weather.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! This past week I had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving a couple of times. In addition to a phone conversation with my parents, I had many different activities here in Taiwan to remember how God has crowned the year with abundance.

On Saturday evening we had a huge Thanksgiving dinner. Matt and Dee Dee, hosted the dinner, and over 85 people attended. I enjoyed turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, bread, and peacan pie. It was a wonderful time to give thanks for the many blessings (especially food and friends) that God has given me.

Thanksgiving was also celebrated in my 10th grade (Senior 1) classes this week. In all 6 classes we did an activity to help the students remember things they are thankful for. First each student wrote down five things they were thankful for, and then they had to go around the room and ask all of their classmates to share one thing each person was thankful for. After getting an answer from each classmate, the students then had to ask 5 people to explain why he or she was thankful for the thing they shared.

To end the activity each student wrote 4-5 sentences explaining why he or she was thankful for one of the items on his or her list. The students really enjoyed the activity because they could walk around and interact with their classmates. I thought it was great because the students could reflect on the many blessings they have in life, and they could also practice speaking in English.


Finally Friday Night was a time to watch a little football, as some of the other missionaries and me all sat down to watch an online archived showing of the Packers-Lions Thanksgiving day game. All in all it was marvelous week of remember all that God has provided.

Now to get ready for the intensity that is preparation for Christmas...

Bike Trip

I just returned today from a bike trip to another city. Earlier this semester, I had gone on a trip with 3 friends to TaiChong, a city 80 km north of Min Hsiung. This weekend 7 of us traveled down to Tainan, which is a city 70 km to the south. We set off Saturday at 11:15 and finally arrived at our hotel at 6:00 pm. We had several water breaks along the way, and got lost in Tainan for about 2 hours, but God kept us safe and we eventually reached our destination.

After bathing and changing (because I was REALLY gross), we all went to eat at a wonderful German restaurant in Tainan. I enjoyed some cheddar stuffed German sausages, with deliciously fresh bread. Then in the evening we just crashed and went to bed by 10:00. After a day of biking, it is amazing how well one sleeps at night.

This morning we went to a Lutheran church, that I had been to before as part of traveling song and skit group. After church we set out to bike back to Min Hsiung. In the course of biking, we eventually split into 2 groups. I was traveling with Matthew and Michelle. About 30 minutes into the way home Matt's leg was bothering him, so we decided it would be best to take the train the rest of the way.

The three of us went to the nearest train station, only to find out that that train station would not let us take bikes on the train. A nice man who spoke English well helped us to ask if there was anything we could do. The person at the ticket counter informed us that the Tainan train station would allow us to bring bikes and store them on the train. So we rode back to Tainan, and caught a train to Chia Yi. We then had the 3o minute ride from the train station to Concordia, and our trip as complete.

In total riding time was close to 7 hours. We rode over 120 kilometers, averaged 17.3 kilometers per hour of riding, and burned almost 1600 calories from biking. What a great chance to get away and put in some heavy excerising.

Pictures from Halloween

Kevin as a hippie



Michael as Dumbledore



Me as Severus Snape



Going Trick or Treating

October Recap

Already November…wow!! Well October came and went, at it was filled with a lot of wonderful activities. During the month, I took a bike trip to another city, participated in the school’s track and field day, and hosted a Halloween party.

The bike trip was on a school vacation day. Me, Kevin, Michelle, and Michael took a bike trip to Tai Johng, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from our school. It ended up being quite a journey. We set out at 8 am, and ended up at our destination, a Chilli’s restaurant, at about 2:30. We stopped several times along the way to rest and re-hydrate, but we also got lost a couple of times and had a exhausting journey through the hills. In the end we were beat, and decided to take the train back instead of attempting to bike back.

Every year, the school hosts a track field day. During this day students compete as classes in various individual and relay races, and also events like the high jump, tire roll, and three legged race. It is always great to be able to see my students outside of the classroom and especially when I have the chance to cheer them as they compete.

During field day, the teacher’s also have the chance to compete. This year I ran in the 4X100 meter relay, representing the English office. I also ran in the 1500 meter race, tire roll, and the large group teacher’s relay. My team got 3rd in the 4X100, 3rd in the tire race, and I got second in the 1500. My favorite races were the tire roll and the large group teacher relay. For the large group relay, we had 30 teachers, and each one ran 100 meters. We competed against some of the Junior 2 (8th grade) classes, and ended up winning the race. It was really enjoyable to be able to be on the large group team and cheer on many of my fellow co-workers.

Finally, the end of October brought Halloween and the Hanson Manor Halloween Party. Kevin, Michael, and I all live in the Hanson Manor and we hosted an evening of events for Halloween. We had two parties for the night. The first one was a kids party, which lasted from 6:30-8:30 pm. We invited families from school and church, and had activities such as “pin the nose on the Jack-O-Lantern”, decorating Halloween cookies, and went trick-or-treating. I think the kids enjoyed trick-or-treating the most, as they went to the houses of teachers who live at school, and filled up their bags with candy. To end the evening we watched “The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”, which is a classic show for Halloween.

Check out the following link to pictures from the children’s party:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mattwasmund/HansonHalloween

Beginning at 9:00 we hosted a party for adults. We invited friends from school, church, and Friday Night Bible Study. There were a ton of snacks and drinks, and most people wore costumes. We gave away 2 prizes for best costumes, one to an American and one to a Taiwanese. After a summer of Harry Potter reading, I decided to dress as a character from the book: the highly controversial Severus Snape. All in all it was a great night of fun.

Junior 1 Chapel

Just wanted to share a quick highlight from the day. 2 or 3 times a semester the foreign teachers are asked to assist with a chapel service either for the Junior 1 (7th grade) students, or Junior 2-Senior 3 (8-12th grade) students. Well today was our first chapel service for the year. We lead it for the 7th graders, all of whom are required to attend. When the foreign teachers lead chapel we typically perform a skit or two, sing 7 or 8 songs, pray and read a couple of Bible passages.

Normally 7th grade chapels, are a little more difficult because their English is not quite as good, and many are there even though they may not want to be. I usually enjoy the Senior High Chapel more. Today however, the kids were absolutely wonderful. Our first song was "This is the Day" and we sing it in 2 groups, and when your group sings you are supposed to stand. Normally the kids fumble through the song and kind of stand when they are supposed to. Today, I could hear the kids singing loudly and they were full of energy. It seemed to spread through all of the other songs and skits as well. I thought Junior 1 Chapel was great today! Praise God for the chance to share the message of Christ with these students, and their willingness to be engaged in the chapel service.

Small Group

As stated in an earlier entry, I have started a small group with some of my students from last year. We get together once a week to discuss a novel we have been reading outside of class. As many as 15 have shown up, and this last week I still had 9, with a handful who came to apologize that they would be unable to make, but assured me they would still come in the future.

We have been reading Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt, outside of small group. Each day when we get together we discuss what happened in the previous week's reading and do some sort of activity. 2 weeks ago they wrote a little about what would be the perfect age at which one could live forever. We then shared these ideas, with answers ranging from 5 years old to 35 years old, but most were smack in the middle of 20's (I said 24, so I guess I have passed my prime, ha!).

This week we acted out vocabulary words. I gave the students 10 vocab words for the novel. They worked in pairs and had to find a way to act out the word for the rest of the class. The class then had to guess what their vocab word was. Our words included elated, melancholy, searing, perilous, gallows, oppressive, and others. The kids loved it, and were laughing and having a good time as they watched each other.

I have really loved this group, and know that God is blessing it and the relationships that are being built with the students. I am so thankful to be able to spend time with some of these kids again this year.

New Link

I just wanted to let you all know about an exciting new link that has been added to my blog. Under links you will see one titled "Friday Night Bible Study". This will take you to the brand new Friday Night Bible Study Blog. This will be updated weekly (unlike my blog, ha!) and provide pictures and information about Friday Night Bible Study here in Chia Yi, Taiwan. Feel free to check it out.

First Week of School

Well...one week down. The first week can be a little long, going over the rules multiple times, establishing routines, and just getting used to the full work day again. So I was definitely ready for the weekend.

At the same time I am was so excited to have the chance to meet my new students and get to see some of my old ones around school. A couple of things that I am especially excited about this year are my Junior 1 Conversation Class, my literature small group and the American football club.

The Junior One (7th grade) Conversation class is new at Concordia this year. For this class, we take one class of 50 and divide it into 4 small groups. This groups of 10-12 students then practice conversation and vocabulary from their English book. It is nice to have such a small group of students and to get to know them.

The literature small group is a group of 17 students who meet with me on Tuesdays during the nap time. These are Senior 2 (11th grade) students who I had in my Advanced English Class last year. We are going to read books outside of class and then discuss and do activities during the nap time. I am really excited that 17 students are willing to do this extra work, outside of class and that I will still be able teach and learn with my former students.

Finally the football club is something Kevin and I are going to do during Saturday morning clubs at Concordia. Students come to school every other Saturday and have 1 hour and a half of club time and then 1 hour and a half of meeting time or study time. We have 18 kids who have signed up for it. We plan on teaching and discussing rules and basics about football, watching some games, and playing games. Of course it will not be tackle, but rather 2 hand touch or flag football.

Tomorrow starts week 2 of school, and the pray is that God will keep the energy and pasison going throughout the semester, as I serve Him here in Taiwan.

Back in Taiwan

Hey everybody. I just wanted to write and let you all know that I did make it back safely and have been spending the last 2 weeks getting ready for the new semester. I have already helped with 2 Bible studies, both of which were well attended. Friday Night Bible Study will start up next Friday, and the On-Campus Fellowship group will be starting in 2 weeks.

On top of the Bible Studies and Fellowships, there is of course school. There's nothing like buzz surrounding a new school year. I am absolutely pumped up for the chance to meet my new students and continue building relationships with my old students and teachers. Today I just returned from the annual faculty trip. The past 2 years the school faculty has taken a 3 day trip to another part of the island. Last year we went to Taipei. This year we went to Shin-Joo. It is always nice to travel and see new things on the island, but for me the highlight of these trips is the chance to converse and meet more of my Taiwanese co-workers. It is easy to get caught up in my office and not meet that many teachers outside of the English department, or have the opportunity to chat. Each year, I feel like I get to know more and more teachers, and I definitely felt like that on this year's trip. There were many more teachers I felt comfortable chatting with on the trip, and I feel my Chinese improving to where I can have short convesations with those that cannot speak English very well.

I am thankful that Lord has provided such an excellent faculty to work with and that I can continue to build relationships with the teachers that I work with . I pray that God will bless those relationships and give me the strength and words to witness Christ to those who do not yet know believe in Him.

The Departure

Well, I write this the evening before I head back to Taiwan. That's right boys and girls, at 6 AM I will begin the long voyage home. Home...almost strange to write, but it definitely feels right. Soon I will get back to friends, co-workers, and of course my students. I pray that God will grant me a safe journey and the strength, wisdom, and passion to serve Him in Taiwan this year. I'll write you again from the flip side!

Return of the Blogger?

Well...kind of. Let me be real here! I have no dillusions of grandeur that I will start providing a detailed account of events in my life on a weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly basis. I have learned that's not going to happen.

What I would like to do with this blog is provide short comments, feelings, reflections, or stories from Taiwan. I don't know how exactly it will turn out, but I do want to start up blogging again in some form. I antiicapte entries to be rather short and maybe a quick relfection or a verse or idea that sticks out in my head, but hopefully they will be appearing on a somewhat regular basis (ie. weekly or bi-weekly).

So with out further delay, my thought for today. I miss Taiwan. I love teaching and I miss my kids, the people, and the work that is going on there. A couple of friends are already back teaching the summer portion of classes, and my brain is dancing as I think of what I want to do in the classroom this coming year. I head back August 15th, so it is not that far away, but I have started to become mentally ready for a return.

Prior to my return, I do have 2 weddings to go to. One of which is my sister, Janelle's. It's going to rock being out in Wyoming and celebrating with a whole bunch of my family. Prayers for God to bless the day and the travel as everyone heads out there.

Later!