Chinese New Year Fun

One of the perks of teaching in an Asian country is the abundance of holidays.

Morrison is an American school, but the majority of the students are of Asian descent. The result? Time off for the major American holidays AND time off for the major Taiwanese holidays. Before you get too envious, we start school in early August to make up for all the breaks. But once we get those first few weeks under our belt, the rewards are fabulous.

This past week was Chinese New Year. 

We spent part of our break in Kenting with our OMS family. We are so blessed to have these families and individuals in our lives. Time together worshiping, learning, sightseeing, and playing games was just the right recipe for relaxing.

 Even the lighthouse, at the most southern point of the island has the traditional Chinese couplets around its door. During Chinese New Year, most homes have a blessing framing their door. 

Temples are everywhere, even within the grounds of the lighthouse.

After leaving the lighthouse we drove around the tip to the pristine views of the west coast. We were just there recently during Christmas, but it was so windy, it was hard to enjoy the views.  

Missionary friends Don and Marla, along with part of the Senner family. Mark is Abbi's AP Statistics teacher, as well as Jake's geometry teacher.  

Last time we were here, we saw water buffalo feasting. This time it was goats munching away.

The next day was a little bit warmer so a group of us stormed the beach! Only the brave and insanely crazy actually got in the water.

 Our last day found us hiking out to a scenic cliff area. But, we weren't alone. For many Taiwanese, Chinese New Year is the only holiday they have. After their family obligations, they take advantage of the beauty their country offers.

The walk out was over a mile. so many tourists opted for the optional bus ride. A constant flow of busses, returned the masses to their vehicles.

I got a lot of use out of my camera's zoom lens. 

I just can't seem to get enough of the Pacific Ocean and the east coastline.

After the retreat, we traveled over the mountain to the east coast. Before leaving Taiwan, Abbi wanted one mare chance to enjoy the beach in Taitung. The trip which should have only been a couple hours long stretched twice as long as everybody else also wanted to enjoy the scenic drive.

While the water was warmer than that in Kenting, the weather was more cloudy and rainy. Nevertheless, both Jacob and Abbi enjoyed the waves.

Leaving Jacob to return later on the train, the rest of us headed back to Taichung. Hoping to avoid all the traffic, we left at 9pm.  We still experienced bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic, even at 1am.

While I had a great time, I think next year \ I'll enjoy the holiday at home!