Real Taiwanese Experience

Well I guess I'm really seeing and living the Taiwan Life now. I'm staying with Vision's (one of the camp councilors) family in the town of Keelong for the weekend.
Example #1 of how Taiwan life is different, instead of petting a dog, I got to pet a puffer fish(video of this to come soon). It was like playing with a balloon that is breathing in your hands. We also had a "snack" at 11:30 at night which was essentially a full meal.
Vision's family runs an orphanage just down the street from their house, and we are planning on going to play with the kids tomorrow We might also make a trip to the coast since it is so close, or go to the lake and go swimming. This will definitely be an interesting cultural experience over the course of a weekend.
Oh yeah, this week was another great week at camp. Instead of being a foreigner helping the team at camp, it really feels like I'm just a part of the team here now, and it's really a blast. Like I mentioned before I even got speaking parts in the play that goes on over the course of the week. I think I did fairly well, and I know the councilors have a fun time teasing the way I say things, but it's all fun and entertaining. Besides teaching and running sports like I have all along, I also spent a large chunk of time filming the other activities that were going on. The camp pretty much films everything that goes on and takes tons of pictures for a camp video and promotional videos later, so this week I helped with the documentation. They also like to have a video ready for the kids to take home with them at the end of camp if possible. Well this week there wasn't anyone set for making the video so I took on that task as well and had the pleasure of sifting through about 75 gigabytes of video for a 5 minute video. So lets just say the video got done, but I grabbed a total of 30 minutes of sleep that I grabbed while the computer was processing some video. Sleep is calling me so I'll try and get some pictures and/or video up whenever I get a chance.

Another Camp Gone By

So I had every intention of trying to post more during this camp, but as seems to be the case, it just flew by in a blink. It was a great week, and the kids were even better than the last. It seems like every new group comes in more and more ready to talk and have fun.
This weekend I'm heading home with one of the councilors that lives in the far north of island. It should be a lot of fun. I'm being pushed out the door now, so I'll make sure to come back and fill in the week and weekend plans, and maybe try and get up some more pictures or video. I will say this, there has been major talks of expanding my role in the skits next week after my stellar performance this week!

Another Camp

Back at camp again!!
This week we have new group since ours left. They are from Alabama and are just a bit younger. By a bit I mean I was the youngest of our group, I would be the oldest of theirs. They seem like they are excited and ready to have fun with all the kids.
I think I've been here long enough that the camp people think I'm actually Chinese. They gave me two speaking parts in the 4 part skit that they run every week, and yes the whole thing is in Chinese. I think they just get a kick out of most of my lines, I just hope the kids have any idea what I'm saying. I'm also now leading some of the Chinese music, so this week is the same kind of camp, but it's going to be a whole new experience for me.

The Mountains and a Waterpark

Since the rest of the team left on Friday, we've had a break from camp for the weekend. So Friday, Elizabeth(the other American staying till the last camp) and I got to tag along with a highschool/college group from the church of several of the camp workers to a waterpark! It was definitely a lot of fun, even being the only two foreigners in the entire place. We did go a lot higher and faster than anyone else on most of the rides, so being bigger than anyone else there sometimes has it's advantages. After the waterpark, a group of the kids took us to a night market and tried to get us to try all kinds of local street food, and it was all good. Elizabeth really enjoyed the baked potato with bacon and cheese.
Saturday, Ron(the camp director) took us with his family up into the mountains. It was a lot of driving to and from, but definitely worth it. The ride up consisted of a lot of fog, and the ride down was almost all rain, but at the top we got enough clear to see some really nice views and enjoy the mountains.
Today after church, we head back to camp, and get to meet the next team that is coming to takeover after our team's leaving. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm really glad I've gotten plenty of rest this weekend so I can make it two more weeks.
I've started a flickr account so I can post more pictures if you care to take a look.

My current Flickr Pictures

Oh and as I sat here typing this I experienced my first earthquake. Apparently there were 15 while the team was here, but I never felt one and no one pointed any out. This one was a 5.4.

Going Home

Sorry about the big break in posts, but it seems like camp has just been non-stop. This second camp was elementary age kids, and they were ready to play and didn't show up shy at all. These kids would talk to you for minutes at a time without stopping or pausing to think we didn't speak chinese. Even after telling them, most kids would just ramble on and on, and it was very fun to see kids so happy to just be at camp and having fun. As soon as I can get them off my camera, I should have some more pictures up.
Every one had another great week even though most everyone is tired and ready for the trip home. I think I've even heard some first meal home planning and constant a/c hope.
This really has been a good group for this trip and we showed up with a lot of stuff prepared and not much of a clue what we'd do or how we'd be used, but it worked out very well. Everyone laughed so much sit-ups wouldn't even be a better work out. So now the group splits up and people are heading in a couple different directions. Mom(Beverly), Lee, and Sheri will be heading home today. Sally is already in Australia. Bob and Nancy are headed to Japan for a week. And I'm staying here for 2 more weeks. The camp needs some labor help and runs for two more weeks so I've volunteered to help and am now here till August 5. So please keep checking back for more hopefully regular updates and pictures.
Please keep everyone in your prayers as the majority of the team travels today and me as I work two more weeks of camp.
Thank you.

The National Concert Hall

Taiwan 101