Someone Might Like This...

So, when I was in Taiwan before there were some things I got used to, but now I see them and although it doesn't bother me, it is still crazy! I went to a market today with Sister Qiu and found a cute dress for my sister, and then I saw all of this! I have more pictures of the food, but let's be honest most of you don't want to see them.

While in America I forgot how many things they have here. This is just one example of shoes, they have it for everything. Sometimes they are cheap sometimes they are not. If there is anything you might be wanting from Taiwan, let me know and I will see what I can do!

Until next time, Tessa

I should get an award!

Day 3 in Taiwan and I am blogging again. It is so strange to have the time and a computer to use for blogging. As the title says, I should get an award...Jenny you should be proud! So, the sickness has gone away (it must have been a 24 hour thing), but my stomach is still a little queazy... I can't really eat all that much...I don't think that's a big deal though.

Anyway, today I went running at 5:30 in the morning and I seriously thought I was going to melt. I have never sweat that much in my life...I did get some good pictures though! I would like to delete the last one, but I am too lazy to figure out how.

I have arrived!

So, I was sitting on the plane thinking, what if my bus doesn't pick me up...what will I do? I got totally anxious, but let me tell you that everything worked out great! I got picked up from the airport, drove only an hour to Miao Li (where I will be staying for the most part), and arrived at my friends house. I have to say that the Qiu Family are some of the greatest people I know! With all my anxiety about being in Taiwan again, they made me right at home.

I got into Miao Li around 7:30 and then went with Sister Qiu to a Melaluaca introductory meeting (all day). Random right, but they had some pretty cool products...I used there shampoo last night and my hair is super soft...I think it's a keeper. We returned around 8:00PM and I had dinner, showered and went over to the church to see two of my greatest friends...Jia Pei and Xiao Yen! I was super tired, so I didn't stay long, but we planned to see each other today!

Everything was going so well until I woke up at 12:00AM and started puking and having the runs. Definitely not my favorite....it lasted until 6:30 (and I think it only stopped because I finally told the Qiu family and they gave me some medicine. I have slept most of the day today with out a problem. I can't believe I got sick, but hopefully today will be the last of it and I can start working on my Chinese tomorrow. We'll see! I'll write again soon. Love you all. Tessa

The Airport

I am truly off to Taiwan. Sitting in the Salt Lake Airport waiting for my flight. It is Sunday at 6:50 PM and I won't arrive in Taiwan until Tuesday at 6:00AM. I don't know how I will be able to sit for that many hours in a row. I might die!

Beginning of the Summer

My SUMMER began with an incredible trip to Lake Powell with my family! (ALL 19 of us!). It was wonderful. To have a family that gets along so well that we can hang out on a houseboat for 5 days (without any escapes) and still not want to go home. I feel totally blessed! During this trip we enjoyed tubing, wake boarding, skiing, hiking, pirate treasure hunts, wake skating, hiking and much more. It was an adventure!

When we got back from Powell, I packed up and began moving. To my much disappointment I had to move to my brothers house until I get back from Taiwan and then I get to move it all over again to my new house where I will be living with Carlye (my sister) and Michelle. Lucky me!

The following Monday I began my Dual Immersion conferences. They lasted for almost two weeks. That is a lot of Chinese all at once! It was very overwhelming and frustrating and an acknowledgement of the amount of work this next year will require. I should have been practicing my Chinese for the last 5 years, but lets be honest...I'm LAZY! Now I get to pay for it. YAY!

I have to say that through these conferences I have met some great people, felt inspired and learned a lot. I am excited for this coming school year! I get to leave for Taiwan tomorrow for three weeks and I am really hoping that it will help my Chinese improve to a level I find acceptable. So, I will write soon, but it will be coming from Taiwan!

New Adventures

I have a goal...to blog! Not just every 6 months, but a whole lot more. I am not prepared to give a number of times a week or month, but it will be more than every 6 months. I have made this executive decision because I feel as though I am starting on a new adventure.

Things that are new...
1. I quit my job teaching kindergarten.
2. I got a new job teaching 1st grade in Mandarin Chinese!
3. I am moving to Salt Lake.

Although I will miss my students from my previous school, I am so excited to embark on this adventure and I want to share it with every one! I realize that with this job I have made my life a whole lot more challenging than I can even imagine right now, but I think it will be worth it. I love Chinese...the language, the people, the culture. I feel at home when Chinese is a part of my life! I also realize I have a lot of work to do. To start with I have conferences to attend in June, a trip to Taiwan for the month of July (hopefully to make my mandarin incredible!) and summer school to teach when I return! This is going to be a busy and challenging summer and I am ready to go.

Very quickly I want to share how all these changes came about...

For the last 2 years I have been trying to figure out what to do with my life. I would try my hand at many different interests, but nothing felt just right. Around January of this year I decided that I didn't care if things didn't feel perfect, I needed a change and I was going to make it happen. I applied for a bunch of different jobs and looked into going back to school getting a variety of degrees. To name a few, I took the LSAT, I looked into culinary arts school, I talked to professors about a two different PhD's I could start. I applied for jobs in Hong Kong, with the government, with Teach for America, and so on. I was on the hunt and I knew I could make it happen. I canceled my score for the LSAT because I missed numbered a whole sections and didn't realize it until I was done...LAME. Culinary Arts school was too expensive for a hobby. I couldn't decide on which PhD program I wanted to apply for. I got the job in Hong Kong, I got the job with Teach For America, my boss didn't complete the references thing for the job with the government, so I didn't finish that application, and then one day I got an email. This email asked me if I was interested in teaching a dual immersion Chinese class in the Granite School District in Salt Lake. To be honest I wasn't very interested. Then a few days later I got a phone call, a lady asked me if I would be interested in the job. I said my Chinese is not good enough. She asked me to come in and talk with her....I did. She asked me to see the classroom...I did. She asked me to apply for the job...I did. She asked me to come for an interview...I did. She asked to come observe my teaching...she did. She asked me to have an interview in Chinese...I had two. She told me I would find out the next day if I got the job...it took 3. I got the job!

This job was placed in my lap without any work done on my part. It was given to me and I didn't want it at first. Then in the middle of this whole process I realized I did want it and waiting those 3 days was torture. I know God had a hand in this. I know this is the job I need right now. I know this job is going to challenge me every single day. I also know that this job is worth it and there is NOT a better job for me any where in the world.

So there you have it in my longest blog ever...the start to my new adventure and how it all began! Hopefully later this week I can tell you about my trip to Powell...you won't want to miss it!

The Ending to Another Summer

I decided that after a year of silence I can write again.

I can't believe that another summer is just about finished. I feel like it just began, but I got an email from my school secretary yesterday and apparently I need to be back in less than two weeks. It seems so unfair. But at the same time, I'm ready to play with kids all day again. I had some of my old students and their parents come and visit me this week and that did help to get me excited!

This summer hasbeen some what eventful. I finished a Masters of Education, moved to Bear Lake, ran my businesses, trained for a marathon, played on the boat, Alli (my younger sister) got married, my brother Matt and his family moved to Utah, and a trip to California which I am taking this week. It has been fun, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it all to be over. I feel like I haven't played quite enough!