These swallows are everywhere. It's considered good luck to have a nest of swallows outside your home or workplace, so whenever they choose to build a nest the people who own the building let them be, and sometimes give them food. They eat mosquitoes anyway, so whether or not they're good luck, they're nice to have around!
Okay, so: test news! I took the TOCFL test last Friday. It was a little anticlimactic, honestly- I had been preparing for this test for like two months at least, and the test only took two hours! It was held inside the National Taiwan Normal University's language center at 9am, and it was
really hard. Much harder than the practice tests! Near the end, I was starting to run out of time, too, so the last four or five questions were just random guesses- at least I had a 25% chance of being right! My final score is: Level 4/5 Speaking and Listening, Level 3/5 Reading and Writing. Level 3 is the minimum needed to open all doors here in Taiwan as far as scholarships and jobs go, although more is better obviously- so I passed! Yes! Some of the other foreigners in the room invited me out for drinks after, but not only are they worldly, it was like 11am... so I passed.
The days after the test have been quite different than the last month or so, and yet with the same theme. I still study Chinese, although not as much; I still tutor English, although now I have two more students and am actively searching for more; and I still go out in service, although my schedule is looser so I can go on more calls. I think a lot of the difference I feel has to do with not being in the scholarship program anymore. For six months, all I had to do is study and I was set, unless I really went crazy spending money. But now that's not true; I've gotta figure out some way to actually earn a living. A real living this time, not just earning some gas money while my parents support me. Although there's a bit of pressure, I have plenty of time, so I'm not too worried. The atmosphere has definitely changed, though.
Speaking of looser schedules, it's nice to be a bit more free in my availability. For example, I got a text on Saturday afternoon asking if I wanted to go to the beach Monday. So I did!
It turns out there was a large group of people all going to a beach called Fulong 福隆, along the east coast of Taiwan, Sunday night. They planned to camp out overnight, then hang out all Monday and be back by the evening. I don't have a tent or anything that would really let me camp, and I didn't have the money to rent a cabin for the night, so I just rode the early train on Monday to hang out with everyone.
 |
| I wasn't alone, either; our party consisted of me, Tomomi, Sanmu, Joel and Joseph! |
The train was packed. There weren't any seats available when we got on, so we all just stood in the part of the train linking two cars together. The worst part was the lack of A/C there!
However, our English friends were more observant than the rest of us, and their eagle eyes spotted two open seats about halfway through.
 |
| Two open, apparently really comfortable seats. |
The ride only took like an hour though, so we didn't have long to envy them.
Soon, we arrived! Fulong is a little tiny town that reminds me a little of Wulai- touristy, but only locally knows, so not huge. Obviously they're very different from each other in fact- Fulong is on the coast for one thing, and besides, it's an actual Chinese town, not an Aboriginal settlement. But take a look at the view:
 |
| Reminds me of a saying: 各有各的美. Every place has its own beauty. |
Not only was the weather perfect, it turns out that they were actually having a sand art contest the day we arrived!
To the right of the beach, there was an area set aside for the Zodiac to be represented in sand:
 |
| Every animal with its symbol. |
And to the left, various other sculptures, including a space shuttle, ancient scrolls with embossed writing, and a temple that looked like Angkor Wat in Cambodia!
 |
| I would have gone in to get better pictures, but I was afraid of losing my group in the crowds. |
In a way, it was unfortunate that we picked that day to come. The sand sculptures meant there were a ton of people who came to look at them, so the beach was very crowded. Tomomi seemed to know where she was going, though, so we all followed her as she blazed a way through the thickets of people to our group.
And sure enough, before long we found them chilling under some tents!
 |
| Hey guys! |
They had only just gotten to the beach themselves, so we had good timing! Unfortunately, although everyone who came with us on the train had brought swimming clothes, none of us had actually worn them on the train- we were planning on changing when we got to the beach. And there was absolutely no place to change- not even a bathroom stall. So we did the thing where you wrap yourself in a towel and awkwardly change pants with one hand while you cover yourself with the other- both effective and hilarious to watch!
The water was warm and the waves were large. There were buoys set up about fifty feet offshore that you weren't supposed to go past- normally people can ignore things like that (although at their own peril obviously), but Taiwan' east coast is... interesting. The continental shelf drops off incredibly suddenly very close to the shore- probably not fifty feet offshore, but in some places less than half a mile away. That means that the undertow can suddenly, dramatically make itself known, and unless you're an awesome swimmer it's best to stay close to shore. (Incidentally, that same shelf dropping off so suddenly protects Taiwan from most tsunamis coming its way.)
 |
| I took this picture at great peril to my camera- appreciate it! |
We played games and generally goofed off in the water for a couple hours, then went back onto the beach for lunch.
 |
| Lunch makes Boyi really, really happy. |
 |
| Closer shot of the opposite shore, the buoy, and a temple |
I also caught Joel and Ginger... toe wrestling?
 |
| They swear it's not what it looks like. Riiiight... |
Unfortunately, not only did I have to arrive late to the party, I had to leave early too. I had agreed to teach two more kids English, and that Monday was our first class. If it was any other class I may have gotten away with rescheduling or just cancelling, but not the first time... so I regretfully took off early and headed back into Taipei.
 |
| Gratuitous selfie! I should have that hairstyle more often... |
I mentioned earlier that I was able to go out in service more often since being out of school. Our congregation has formal service plans Monday night, Weds morning and night, Thurs morning and night, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday afternoon. When I was in school, I usually joined up Weds and Thurs mornings, all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon. If my homework wasn't killer I could join on Weds and Thurs night as well, but I often had to skip those so I could get my work done.
It's like a whole world has opened up. Not only do I not have to skip the evenings anymore, but I have almost every afternoon free, which is when people go on all their return visits and studies. I can also join the occasional group for cart witnessing!
 |
| Cart witnessing with Joel, and I suddenly saw a great potential picture. |
One day, I was by Br. Yang Chuming to go on some of his calls. I had time, so I agreed. I really shouldn't be surprised by this- I've certainly been living in Taiwan long enough to know how popular they are- and yet, I was mildly surprised when he showed up on his scooter and threw me a helmet! He was a good driver, and unlike Tan jiemei he's around the same height as me, so there was no threat of him making turns that would take my knees off (they'd take his off too!). So we both survived!
 |
| Only slightly freaked out! |
Last week, all of us involved in the bookroom did an inventory of all our foreign language stuff, and found a lot of really random stuff. Like, forty Require brochures in Thai random. But it was worth it, because I have this picture of Nikolai:
 |
| He looks like he's in a staring contest. |
What if we make cardboard cutouts and just post them around Taipei... the response would be huge! (It might be negative, but huge nonetheless!)
One more thing: My original Chinese teacher from America happened to be in Taipei this week. She's originally Taiwanese herself, from the south of the island. She's been visiting family for a few weeks and is already back in the States, but the night before she flew out of Taoyuan airport she decided to stay in Taipei, which let us have dinner together!
 |
| Suzie Toy everyone! |
We used to have an hour-long lesson on Skype once a week. She makes her own material, and she considers teaching Chinese part of her ministry- she only teaches Witnesses who seem like they'll progress quickly, and she does it for free, with one exception: she has to be invited to your first Chinese public talk. (She totally is, by the way. December 6th if you're wondering. :-) ) We ate delicious Japanese-style ramen- not the kind you microwave, the good handmade kind- and caught up on things. She tested me and found my Chinese to be pretty good, and she corrected some mistakes in my #3 talk I gave last week. Really, it was really nice hanging out with Suzie!
So I don't know what's going to happen next week. I'm looking for more work- I only have three students right now, which isn't pulling in enough money for me to live. Happily, I had some money saved up. I'm also almost done with my degree, so I'm focusing more on writing my thesis. Hopefully I'll get it knocked out in the next couple weeks and get it behind me! I was also notified this week that I'll be attending Pioneer School for the second time in August here in Taipei- in Chinese! So I have that to look forward to. Whatever happens, I'll let you know...
No comments:
Post a Comment