Apple Pie and Other Fall Fun

Last week, the Wizards (my class) learned about Fall. Most of them had no clue what Fall was/is or even what a season is so I thought I needed to break them in right ;)

September 22nd was the first official day of Fall. We briefly talked about the four seasons and the holidays celebrated during fall. We talked about harvesting crops including pumpkins and apples. We also watched videos of the leaves changing in North America (I haven't seen as much color variety here).

But what could say "Fall" better than APPLE PIE! So I decided that as a class, we should make our very own apple pies.

One of my co-teachers helped me film a video of making the pie filling. This video served the triple purpose of being educational, saving time, and allowing my students to have something to occupy them while I cleaned the classroom and the pies baked. If your interested in watching the video, you can do so below. Otherwise just skip right along to the pictures!



So I made the pie crust and the pie filling at home, but my students really did assemble the hand pies by themselves (ok they had some minor help but mostly by themselves). Then we baked the pies right in the classroom! I hope you enjoy all of our pictures.

The other teachers kept saying how good the classroom and hallway smelled while we were baking :)

This is the pie I made earlier in the day so they could see what a full size apple pie looks like.

I made paper with circles printed on them and covered them with plastic wrap so the students could use them as a guide for shaping their pie crust.

Demonstrating how much filling to put into the pie and how to fold it over.

I helped the students seal the pies--mostly because I didn't have enough forks at home for everyone to use one.

This is the finished pie. My kids love taking their treats home and sharing with their families.

Here are the recipes for the pie crust and pie filling if you are interested in trying them:

• Pie Filling - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-pie-filling/detail.aspx
• Pie Crust - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ruths-grandmas-pie-crust/detail.aspx
• Pie Assembly* - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-hand-pies/detail.aspx

*I only used this recipe for temperature and time information.

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!

Paid (by the hour) in full!

I have a new perspective on work life. Where to start? Last week I had a bad Sinus infection. One of those knock you down fever, sinuses, cough, sore throat, tired, achy basically everything from the Nyquil commercial. But unlike any previous time in the past 15 yrs I didn't have the option of a "sick day" Having a job that pays hourly is a new thing to me. Therefore I have such a new found respect for the hourly worker. It hit me on Wednesday: We are having a baby, we have to pay for visa papers, if I don't work I don't get paid.

So i get up. Fever is 101. Ok, Ok! I get it. Don't go to a school with a bunch of little children when you have a fever. But that is not very Taiwanese of me now is it? Besides those little carrier monkeys are the reason for the sickness anyway! So like I said, 101 fever. I walk to the bus in a daze. I ride the bus in a daze. I ride the train in a daze. I teach my classes (Wednesday of all days is my longest and hardest days), I go home in a daze. Go to sleep. It was not exactly fun.

So I learned this. Man, how I have taken my nice little salary jobs for granted. I haven't had an hourly wage job since Johnston's Paint Store in Boonville, MO the summer of '94. Always had the luxury off sick days, vacation days, etc. If anyone who is reading this knows me very well they will know how much of a baby I am when I am sick. I did enjoy it. But it granted me a new respect and perspective on the working life of many people. I also realize now why so many Taiwanese people fall asleep on public transportation. If I was so afraid of missing my stop I would have joined them in dreamland on the way there and home.