Two Typhoons and a Holiday

You've probably heard of the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby.

And if you live in Ohio, you might have heard of the moving company Two Guys and a Truck.

But, here in Taiwan, the best way to sum up this week would be Two Typhoons and a Holiday.

Yep, that's right. Not just one typhoon, but two.

One was a category 5 and the eye just went south of the island. The second was smaller, a category 4, and its eye went just north of northern tip.

And, sandwiched between the two, was our fair city of Taichung. For both typhoons, our county was under the typhoon warning. But the warning was for naught. We had relatively little rain, and even less wind.

So much for the greatly needed and desired typhoon day; it was not to be!

Thursday morning chapel!

We love chapel!

I mean, we ALL love chapel!

Our campus down south was in an area which received a lot of wind and rain. Government officials closed down the city the day the typhoon approached their coast, so all schools were closed. Due to all the impassable roads afterwards, everything was still closed the following day,.

The second typhoon affected our campus to the north, but it hit on Saturday, so schools were already closed. Unfortunately, their volleyball and soccer teams were unable to partake in the sporting events scheduled at our campus.

Sandwiched between the two typhoons was a favorite holiday, not only in Taiwan, but China also- Moon Festival, also referred to as Mid-Autumn Festival.

As you can imagine, the moon plays a big part. A pastry called Moon Cakes are eaten, as well as pomelo, a fruit somewhat like, but not totally like grapefruit. Its bigger and green.

In Taiwan, thanks to a barbecue commercial years ago, barbecuing with your family has become a favorite Moon Festival activity. Families sit around little hibachis grilling meat, tofu, sausages, fish balls, clams, timbula (fish paste patties), and assorted vegetables. All the while, gazing at and admiring the moon. 

For some reason, which is unknown to me, Morrison did not work this little holiday into the schedule. They have in the past, but not this year. So Thursday, instead of grilling with my little family, we had chicken tortilla soup. Yes, I know its still hot in Taiwan. And yes, its really not soup weather yet. But, with all the rainy weather, it just somehow seemed appropriate (and yummy, I might add).

Friday night, however, I was able to participate in a Moon Festival barbecue. 

One of Carl's many part-time jobs this year is dorm assistant. Every Wednesday from 3pm to 11pm, he fills in for one dorm's parents, so they can have a well deserved night off.   

For their meal Friday night, the three dorms decided to barbecue on the roof.  The three dorm assistants and their families were invited. Yay!

The best thing, besides the food and fellowship, was not the moon, but the sun. It was just beginning its final descent as we made our way to the roof of our faculty building. Its brilliance was almost blinding.

While I have been to our side of the roof, I had never ventured to the other side. The views were excitingly different.

I know its just the parking lot, but I have always loved the palm trees and flags adorning the entrance of our school. My view from the roof just solidified my appreciation for those who designed and engineered it.

As I admired the view, the dorm students and staff prepared our grills, stools, and food!

As the sun slid away, the feast began!

From the other side of the roof, the moon decided to join us. The final treat of the evening came when Carl set up his telescope and offered a closer view of the glowing orb.

All in all, it was the perfect "meat " inside our typhoon sandwich!

Uncle

Have you ever played that game where you try to bend back someone's wrist, while they are trying to do the same to you? Basically, you are trying to get them to give up and cry "uncle",  before you yourself reach the end of your pain tolerance.

Well, today I shouted "uncle".

No. No one had hold of my hand.

It all started last week with a tickle in the throat, which soon emerged as a sore throat.

Evidently,  I've been exposed to too many germs lately. So I added a vitamin C tablet to my daily routine. But, I pushed on.

Through meetings.

And reading tests.

And teaching.

And lesson planning.

And soccer games.

But, enough is enough.

Today, I declared myself officially sick and turned the day of rest into a day of rest. And a day of rest it has been.

This blog will be short.

This blog will not be intellectually stimulating.

This blog will not be spiritually up lifting. 

For this, I apologize.

I will, however share pictures from Jacob's soccer game yesterday. It was hot and steamy. The entire game was under thick, heavy, dark clouds that produced continuos rumbles, but thankfully, no rain. By the end of the eighty minute game, a slight breeze brought cooling relief to both the players and the spectators.

I would like to say Jacob's team was victorious, but they were not. That's okay, because every failure should be an opportunity to learn and get better. 

And maybe, some day, I will understand the game of soccer. 

Preparing for the game

Love the sky!

In goes Jacob!

Jacob in action!

Always thankful for a short delay in play!

Game etiquette- thanking your opponents, their coaches, and the referees.

I will leave you with this final picture. A glimpse into a strange world where I am too tall to fit through a door....

A little humor goes a long way!

Have a great week and remember- Jesus loves you!

Back In the Saddle

Scooter, that is.

There she sat for the months of June, July August, patiently waiting for her owner to return.

Meanwhile, my city-meter was slowly rising. When the indicator approaches the red zone, a country experience is necessary in which to avoid massive concrete, city noise meltdown. Vegetation, open roads, mountains- all these help lower the indicator into a safer, more livable zone.

That's why, even though the weather predicted rain, we decided to be optimistic and head for the mountains.

As you can see, I wasn't the only happy camper!

After a brief stop for lunch, Carl aimed the scooter inland, and away, we went.

Out of the city and up curvy roads.

All was fine, until it started to rain. Not just rain, but raining cats and dogs. And those puppies can hurt when riding on a scooter. The higher up we went, the worse it got. So, turning around, we headed for lower ground and hopefully, less rain.

The adventure wasn't a total bust. Here are some of the sights I captured, mostly from the back of the scooter.

No matter how far out we wander, there always seems to be a temple just around the corner.

But, just around the next corner, was this large church.

And then, the next corner was an even bigger temple!

Most of the time, we don't have a destination in mind. We just go, choosing different curvy windy  roads, some going up the mountain, some going down. We never know where we might end up. The above pagoda is one, we believe, we could see from our first apartment four years ago. 

After a few turns here and there, we wandered back into the Taichung city limits.

Past city parks,

and green rice fields.

Taiwan's off the ground freeway system will never cease to amaze me.

Our final stop was at a fruit market. Dragon Eye's are obviously in season!

While not exactly what I had envisioned, the experience was just enough to lower my city overload indicator back into a safer level.

Guess I am good for another month!