In the last two months, we've...

...relocated internationally

...visited friends and family in five different states

...settled into a new apartment and town

...applied for, aquired, and begun new jobs

...started our studies at seminary

...among other things. So you understand how the blog fell off the face of our earth for a little while, right? We hope so.

It was amazing to see so many of you and catch up in real life! We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend this summer with family and friends before beginning this new season.

The Lord has provided so well for us. By way of a brief update, we have moved in to an apartment in Highwood, IL, about five miles from TEDS. Ben started working right away for an older couple in a neighboring town, putting his cleaning and housework training to good use two days a week. He also works one night a week on campus at the athletic center. I was hired at our local Starbucks, only a mile from our apartment-perfect so that I can bike to work. We have both started classes at TEDS and are finally feeling a sense of routine settling in... thank goodness. We are excited to be here, and overwhelmed by the Lord's provision yet again. We are thankful.

We are also thankful for your prayers for us in this time of transition, and, er, minor life changes. Thanks for your love and support...

Ben & Beth

why I will mss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.

2.

Happy Birthday Ashton!

almost...there...

complete happiness.

Bawoons!






Mowing the lawn.

So good to see them...

Waiting

We've done quite a bit of waiting lately...and when better to mentally sort through all of life's adventures than during long layovers?

Yesterday, we said goodbye to Taiwan and everything dear...and hello to the States. It's very surreal to be back. Thank you for your continued prayers for us. We are so excited to see many of you soon.

Love,
Ben & Beth

why I will miss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter.

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.

On the Way Home

On the way here, we skipped a day. On a way home, we endure a 39 hour Friday. Talk about a "long" day.

Interesting Tidbits

Thought I'd jot a quick note about some interesting happenings in class lately. Last week, I got the chance to introduce smores to my young kindergarteners. I'm pretty sure none of them have ever tasted this good ol' American treat. Not having a campfire on hand, we used big number birthday candles to roast them. It did the trick and I think the kids even enjoyed them.

Last week I got to teach the kids about the circus. I've included a picture below. If you look closely, at the top I drew a smashingly, good tiger.

Flynn: "Why there is sharp things on his head?"
Me: "Flynn, those are teeth."
Flynn: "No! On top?"
Me: "Those are ears."
Flynn: "There only one."

What can I say...I'm not an artist.

Man vs. Food: Huaxi St.

Are you smarter than a 1st grader?

I'm not necessarily proud of this. Let me just start by saying that we've worked very hard this year on spelling... well, because some of my kids' spelling is a bit atrocious. All this aside, I get quite the kick out of interpreting their attempts to spell.

So, I thought to test our readers to see if they have the necessary interpretation skills for teaching English in Taiwan. I have it in mind to give a Taiwanese reward for the person who gets the most correct, so pass the word!

Are you ready? Set? Go!

1. It want eat sonfin.

2. He net to go to moetn.

3. The villagers go lar. And lar dendn't a wolf.

4. He was tdiling the T.V.

5. She has bolu shirk.

6. The papple were sxard.

7. A rabet jumped in wedo.

8. He shos derte.

9. Bot third pig don't da. So wolf von a wa.

Leave your guesses as a comment, and I will post the answers in a few days.

Have fun!

Man vs. Food: Time for Dessert

A few weeks ago, your beloved host got to sample another local Taiwanese delicasy. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to spell it, but my best shot would be, "Do won." This is a soup-like dessert that is relished by the locals. Our friends assured us that this was the good stuff as a granny-looking lady was the one to make it. I guess in Taiwan they have the same perspective we do....if an old grandmotherly woman has made it then it's got to be good. After all, she's had a lot of time to practice.

This dessert consisted of brown sugar, a form of tofu, green beans (not the vegetable), and ice. Yum?

I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't rank up there with Mom's No Bake Cookies, but it wasn't bad. Beth and I were sharing one... let me just say that I had to eat just about the whole thing.