Chickens

Why are there people outside my classroom windows chasing chickens?

Yes, you read that correctly.

Just another normal Sunday afternoon here at Morrison Academy.

Well, to be honest, chasing chickens is NOT a normal Sunday afternoon occurrence,

But, with three dorms filled with sixteen teenagers  each, you never quite know what might happen.

This excitement was just part of one dorm's version of the Amazing Race. Carl helped with one event that took place on the roof of the staff building Another task utilized the school's water tower. At another venue, the participants had to bowl until one of their team members achieved a strike. 

Each dorm student's partner was a blind date set up by the dorm parents. The parents arrange for a friend of the student to join in the fun. No one knows who their partner will be until they show up at the dorm. 

Jacob was called upon to be a blind date. 

Can't wait to hear about it when he gets home this evening.

Meanwhile, it's back to work for this teacher. Just four more weeks until the door closes on the 2016 - 2017 school year!

Temples and Turtles

There's a lot more to see and do than just sit on a beach when visiting Little Okinawa!

We took chairs, beach towels, and novels planning to park ourselves in sand and relax.

But, that never happened. 

Armed with a scooter and a map, we decided to do a little exploring before settling down into relax mode.

We found this century old banyan tree.

Obviously when someone built the nearby structure, they didn't account for growth!

Nearby was a small lighthouse used to help guide ships through the Taiwan Strait.

We had multiple opportunities to hike among the island fauna.

As well as climb into, under, and through many coral caves.

Between the climbing, walking, and gazing our eyes also feasted on the architectural beauty of the plethora of temples.

 As you can tell some were big, some were small. Some were in back alleys, while others stood overlooking the ocean. Some were located in highly trafficked areas, while others were tucked away far from peering eyes. Some were plain, while others were beyond ornate. I lost count of how many temples are on the island, but for only being only 9 kilometers around, there's a lot!

But, among all the main roads, side roads, and back alleys we traveled, Carl and I never saw evidence of a church. Or at least a church building. There well may be an active, established body of believers or there could not.

While having temples, Xiaoliuchiu is also well known for its sea turtles.

Since we had decided to explore instead of snorkeling, I didn't think we would get to see any.

But, I was wrong.

After climbing to the top floor of this pavilion, we were able to see some onf the coral surrounding the island.

From all the way up there, we were able to see several huge sea turtles swimming among the coral.

If I could see him from that far away, he must have been huge!

And as all adventures must come to an end, so did this one. But, we left in awe of God's beauty and humans' ability to communicate even without the same language!

While we enjoyed being just the two of us, we can't wait to bring the kids to do some above water and under water exploring!

Just the Two of Us

Our anniversary is right around the corner.

April 23 to be exact.

Twenty-three years ago, there were only 2 members of the Carl Dingus family. It didn't take  long to start adding to that number. And we didn't stop till six years and four kids later.

For our first anniversary, Carl and I left two month old Nick with my mom and dad, and went to Niagara Falls for a couple days. Just the two of us.

Since then, every vacation we've had has been either with the kids, or in a group of other couples. Until this week. We went on a mini-vacation: just the two of us.

This was also our the time in five years of living in Taiwan, that we vacationed without the accompaniment of a Chinese speaker. That may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but when you know so little, its hard to do some of the simplest tasks.

This adventure started outside the ferry terminal. "Look for the ladies wearing the pink hats," we were told. "They will help you park your car."

Except when we got there, there were no ladies wearing pink hats. There were no ladies at all. I tried asking for help, but no one understood English. So I called a friend fluent in Chinese and had her ask for help, but twice the individuals only spoke Taiwanese!

Finally, a nice Chinese speaking lady approached our van. Using my friend as a translator, we made the necessary parking arrangements.

Next came the buying of the ferry tickets. Fortunately for us, the ticket agent spoke English. Tickets bought, we waited for the next ferry to load. 

Soon we were on our way to Xiaoliuchiu, a coral island about 15km off the coast of southern Taiwan.  About 13,000 residents live on the 2.6  square mile island.  

The main road that circles the island is only 9 km long!

After our arrival, we waited for the B and B owner to find us. It wasn't that difficult. Using our mutual friend once again as our long distance interpreter, we rented a scooter and checked into our room.

Mosaic scene over the fish pond at the B and B. 

Our Bed and Breakfast. The red scooter was our rental.

Then, it was time to start exploring!

Flower Vase Rock

Two sources of income- snorkeling tours and fish farms!

This is the end of the road, for now! 

Coming soon... temples and turtles!