Well, Taiwan. It's been a Year!

It's officially been a over a year since we moved to Taichung, Taiwan. There are so many things that we have seen, done, and experienced! Some of them have been amazing--like having a baby--and others have been depressing--like having a horrible boss, but they have all been a part of our ramblings.

In the last year we have...

Had a baby.

Noelle is the most amazing addition to our lives! We tried and tried to get pregnant in the USA and our first week in Taiwan, we unknowingly made a baby. Go figure!

Moved to a new country.

Ok so this one was obvious. We moved to Taiwan. Rented a new to us apartment in a new neighborhood. We were surrounded by strange and unfamiliar people and culture. We had to learn a new money system and had no clue what people were saying to us.

Started new jobs.

When we first came to Taiwan, we didn't have jobs. It was highly recommended to us that we would find the best jobs for us by looking for them once we had arrived and were settled. For me, this was true. I worked at an awesome school with good management and super co-workers! For Jimmy, he had a really bad experience at the first bushiban where he worked and ended up changing jobs at semester. His second job was better but still not great.

Made new friends.

We have met so many amazing people in the last year that I can't even list them all! Taiwan is full of people from all over the world and we now have the most diverse group of friends we could ever imagine! We love them all and we look forward to meeting many more people in the next year.

Re-learned how to drive.

Yes, it's been over a year since either of us has driven a car! Our main modes of transport here are the buses, taxis, or our scooters.We were totally intimidated by the traffic at first, and there are times (like when it's rainy) that driving can still be really, really stressful. Overall we enjoy it and their actually is a flow to all this madness--even if it can be a little like playing Frogger!

So what's next for year two...

Starting Chinese lessons.

Although we have learned some "survival" Chinese in our day to day lives and work, we haven't actually had any Chinese lessons yet. That's all changed now. On Sunday, we officially started studying Mandarin with our Chinese tutor. We are looking forward to learning more words and phrases soon!

Working at new schools.

As I said, I loved my school but I was offered a really sweet new contract with a new school. After some prayer and discussion, Jimmy and I decided that I should make a switch. Jimmy has also been offered a contract with a new school which we believe will be even better than the last school so we have both started new jobs.

Traveling to new places.

Now that Noelle is here and we are more financially stable, we are looking forward to a little travelling. I was able to go on some adventures while my parents were here visiting us but now we are planning some family outings too!

Making new friends.

We hope to continue to make new friends and meet lots more interesting people. We have already started down that road with all our new co-workers!

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Year two in Taiwan has gotten off to a great start and we hope to share lots more joy with you!

Until next time,
Jimmy, Christiana, and Noelle out!

First Week of School

Hello! The first week of teaching has command gone and things continue to progress here in Taiwan. Today I have some pictures for you and a little update about each of our schools.

Jimmy's School

Jimmy is teaching at a buxiban (after school program) in a suburb of Taichung called Fungyuen (which we lovingly refer to as Funyun). He has several different age groups over the span of his classes and so far he especially enjoys his second grade class. Jimmy is working on getting to know all his students and his co-teachers, Sugar and Albee. He is doing very well at the school but it can be overwhelming at times. Pray for Jimmy that he will continue to build relationships, have safe travels everyday, and have fun teaching English at his school.

Christiana's School

This was also my first week of teaching. I am working for a well established, private school brand. I am enjoying my young learners but I sometimes feel out of my depth because of their limited English and high energy. At first I was intimidated because the school oversold my teaching experience to the students' parents to compensate for the teacher they had to fire after only one month (long story), but now I feel like I am starting to settle in. Pray for me that I will have patience and lots of love for my students and that I will continue to improve in my classroom management techniques. I am very thankful for my co-teacher, Connie, who is a certified Taiwanese teacher. I hope to learn a lot from here and to build a strong bond with her. She is very sweet.