TheVicarageQuest

I have been absent from this world for a while. I am preparing to leave Missouri and head to Illinois for a year on a vicarage assignment. I am hoping through the nest year I will be more faithful in corresponding what is transpiring in Staunton through this medium.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

A day in Dou-nan

Woke up this morning to the sound of a guy yakking all over the street between our building and another. Is there any other way that anyone would rather wake up? We are in our new apartment and this was the second day that we have been in there sleeping.
The first night was ruff like most places that are new you have to get used to them, and that means on again-off again sleep and a weary day. Today I rose to the greatness of the Chinese New Year and the affects it has on the people of Taiwan. All night drinking, Mahjong playing and firecracker lighting takes its toll on people.
After getting up I hung out and did some random tasks and email writing. The best suprise that has come along with the apartment is the wireless internet signal. I am pretty sure that it is creeping over from the building across from us, it is nice. After all of that I made my way to Dou-nan to hang out for the day with one of my students and some of the other teachers from Concordia.
It was really nice to get out of the city and still be in the same countryside, to see a little more of country that I am living in. I spent the day eating, talking and playing hoops with my student and her family and some of the other residents of Dou-nan. The meal was fantastic and the conversation was even better. My students name is Sara, and her father works for the National Taiwan radio company. They make radio towers all over the nation. He will soon be traveling to a Western Africa, to a country I cannot pronounce or even remember now, to help this nation build some radio towers. Pretty cool to hear about Africa from someone going there for non mission oriented purposes.
Basketball was a great experience, being able to play with Sara, and see some of the other youth in the area and interact with them. Playing a very long game of basketball with them was just the right thing to do. Other than that, it was a trainride home and a hot shower.

Just going

The first day

Since I am now in a new apartment, and am trying to start a few activities that I once did then dropped because it was so easy to do other things instead; I will be posting at least more regularly.
For now I will just tell you that the last few days have been busy, working to get into a new apartment, getting back from Macau and getting ready to leave to go to Thailand (Oh yeah really busy Sam let me tell you!) and getting all of my semester plans in order before going to Thailand, it has been pretty wearing.
Soon and very soon I am going to write about my day today, my trip and other stuff that has been going on to try and give you the day to day feel I once promised with this thing. I know it will take a little while to get you guys back reading but so-help-me it is going to get done.

Still going.