EARTHQUAKE!

We are ok. 

It wasn't a massive earthquake, but bigger than the normal. It was a 6.1 but the epicenter was relatively close, so it felt big.

My students had just returned from recess and were waiting to start a lesson. At first it was just a slight rumbling, but soon escalated into much more. As my room is on the ground floor, I actually felt the floor below me buckle and roll. 

Our first earthquake drill is scheduled for the week after spring break so I wasn't quite sure what protocol was so I decided that an outside reading of Ramona the Pest was in order. My class was amazingly calm and quiet!

I was just so glad I wasn't home on the seventh floor. I'm sure the building was swaying a lot. Carl was in a parking garage at Costco.  The kids, of course, were here at school with me.

I don't expect any major damage. A picture of Carl and I fell off the ledge above my desk. The lamp on my desk fell over. Carl said things were knocked off the shelves at Costco. We have heard that the city will be shutting off all water for 24 hours starting this afternoon. I assume its to check water lines and/or fix any damage.So we will be without water for a short time. 

Pray we don't get too stinky!

:::

Central Weather Bureau

:::

How Much?

Yesterday, Carl and I spent $98 for two Oreo McFlurries!

AND

It was 27 degrees, but yet both Carl and I were wearing shorts!

Pause...let those two statements sink in........

Ok, you got me...98NT  (New Taiwan) and 27 degrees Celsius!
So the McFlurries were about $3.30 and the temperature was a very comfortable  80 degrees Fahrenheit.

So 100NT is about $3.33! 

Tomorrow will be sunny and about 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Yesterday, I once again found myself in the big city of Taipei. This was my seventh time in just a span of eight months. Each time I go, I am so grateful that God put us in Taichung! Not that Taipei is a bad place. It's just too much city for this country girl.

The one nice thing about Taipei is the availability of American food. For lunch, Carl and I dined on subs from Subway and devoured Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas for supper. And, of course McDonald McFlurries as a snack. (Hey, it was eighty degrees!)

 And it got hot standing out watching the Morrison track team compete. So we felt the wisest thing to do was to find a way to bring our temperatures down. Good thing for us that there's a McDonalds so close to the Taipei American School. 

Nick threw Shot Put and Javelin

Abbi ran 100 meter Hurdles and 4 x 100 Relay

Overall, not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

How Can That Be?

Early last week I opened an email addressed to the parents of seniors. Yep, I should have known better. Sometimes its better to hide from reality than let it smack you hard in the face.

 I've only had 18 years to know and prepare, but somehow just having the knowledge didn't quite prepare me. 

Nick is graduating in May!

 How, or better yet, when did that happen? 

That email  reduced me to tears. That email  rocked my world. That email  left me shaking and quivering. What kind of email can do that to a rational adult? It listed all the dates concerning my graduating senior. It wasn't meant to create such emotion,  but it did. I wonder if it made all the other mothers emotional, or was it just me?

The first date to be noted was this past Friday at 3pm where the senior class would "chalk" their names onto the plaza and then toast (sparkling apple juice) the last 2,013 hours of school till graduation! 

Can you find Nick's name?

Oops! I cut off the N.

What a cool tradition! And a great way to kick off the beginning of the end. Although, Nick just joined this class for their senior year, I realized many of these seniors have been in the same class since the early primary years- possibly Kindergarten. I think of my second graders. For the majority, they have been together already for three years. What will they be like in ten years?

I know that moving to Taiwan for his senior year had to be difficult. I know many people thought we were cruel and inhuman to subject our son to  such a move. Some things just don't make sense to us humans.  But God knew exactly what Nick needed.  

I am very proud of Nick. He put aside his expectations and allowed God to put His plan into action. For his senior spotlight in the yearbook, Nick has included Jeremiah 29:11. Wish I had rested on that verse when I was graduating!

I Was Wrong

I didn't know these existed until today. I was not at the city meet when Ben and Abbi competed but someone with a camera was in attendance. 

A Couple of Firsts

New experiences... yep, been there, done that.

 A lot, lately.

Here is a couple of new things to add to my list.....

Last week was the city wide track meet. Three years ago Taichung City swallowed all of Taichung  County, so when I say city,  I am talking about a huge chunk of area. About thirty-five schools participated and it lasted over a  four day span. Four members of the Dingi clan were involved- Nick, Ben, Abbi, and Carl.

Carl, along with Morrison's athletic director, shuttled track members back and forth during the meet. Nick and Ben threw in several events- shot-put, javelin, and hammer. Abbi ran 100 meter hurdles. Since these were held during school hours, I missed Ben in his first ever track meet and Abbi take fourth place against a talented field.

Fortunately for me, the hammer throw was scheduled for Saturday morning, a bright sunny day! I rode along to watch Nick in a event that typically, at least in Ohio, isn't done at high school track and field meets.  And in case you don't know, neither did I, the hammer throw really isn't a hammer- it's a heavy ball on the end of a chain! 

Please ignore the date/time stamp- it's obviously wrong!

Nick preparing to throw.

Nick was in fifth place after the preliminary round. In the finals, he finished in 7th place!

Now, while I admit this was a first for me, its not the first I was referring to at the beginning of this blog. 

I have been to many stadiums in my life. My dad took me to watch the Cleveland Indians. I marched at a Cincinnati Bengal's football game. I cheered through four years of OSU football. Carl and I took the kids to see the Columbus Clippers. And in all these incidences I have never been the only female Caucasian in attendance.

Abbi had the same experience several days before. She, however, was on display for all to see. She felt "obvious" as she prepared for her qualifying heat. Carl noticed several hurdlers looking in Abbi's direction, obviously discussing their untypical looking opponent. Ben, too, shared a similar feeling as he prepared to throw the javelin. Definitely a new strange feeling.

 While I missed Ben's and Abbi's events last week, I did catch them pole vaulting during an inter squad meet Thursday afternoon. Who would have ever guessed that little old me could have brought two pole vaulters into this world? 

 Abbi started pole vaulting last year during eighth grade. Ben decided just this year to give it a try. He spent many hours learning and practicing during our recent Chinese New Year break. I look forward to watching these two, as well as Nick during the next couple months of track season.

Today was Jacob's soccer tournament, which meant back to Taipei for me. Again. With only living in Taiwan eight months, I think six trips to Taipei is a little excessive. So far I have made this trip via  bus, high speed rail, and van. One bus was public, one was private. I had hoped to travel with the team on the team bus but I signed up too late. So that left the next logical choice.... public bus.

So.... we planned on riding our scooter to the bus station, and a bus to the main station in Taipei. From there we would take the MRT (subway), and finally a taxi. We planned that, but it didn't happen exact;ly like we thought.

Now at this point, you are probably expecting an amusing story of taking the wrong bus, ending up in Kenting (the southern tip of Taiwan), or another lesson learning mishap. But just so you don't worry before I get to the point......

We did arrive safely...... 

and 

in 

style!







Instead of doing it like we planned, another parent offered us a ride. This is where my "first" comes into play. While I have ridden in vans many times before, I have never ridden in a van where there was a hired driver. This parent's employer hires a driver for him. Wow! I didn't know that happened, well besides tv sitcoms and the such.

In any case, I am so thankful. He saved us money and time.

As for the soccer game... it was cold and rainy. Jacob's team won their first two games, tied the third, and lost the fourth. They played several great games but seemed to lose steam as the day proceeded.

Tomorrow is a brand new day.

Will it be like every other Sunday, or will I have another first?

Only time will tell!