I'm still around.
I came on here to do a little layout update and noticed it's been since October since I updated. In fact, I had a draft going on for my three month mark that I never finished. Oops...well, guess who made it to their six month mark? This gaaaallllllllll
I am trying to think of the reasons why I haven't updated this in ages. I believe it comes from a place of fear, anxiety, and a sense of failure. This is the first time I have been on my own- truly on my own. My job isn't what I was expecting, nor my apartment and living in a country where I do not know the language. I was beating myself up about every decision I was making, whether it be necessities I was buying to where I was living. I couldn't bring myself to write a post about my life and not be honest. And I wasn't about to bring all my short comings into the light. So, therefor, here we are.
BUT enough about that! Let's move on to a little update for reals. I have been going to a church called Lifehouse International Church for the most part. I did step away for a couple of weeks to check out another church called The Hope. Although The Hope has great production value and good messages, they don't come anywhere close to Lifehouse's hospitality and community. I'm starting on my second round of community groups, which is helpful in making friends for sure and staying plugged in.
Work is work. I teach 10 classes at the moment, which is close to 23 teaching hours. I have students anywhere between 3-15 years old, and one adult. The work is relatively easy, but challenging. I face a lot of different challenges doing this kind of work. I have my mornings off, save for Saturday, and each day I am off at a different time. I've gotten use to it and really enjoy staying up date, sleeping in, and taking my time in the morning. It will be much different once I am back in the States and have to change all that.
If we were awake and up we were moving and seeing everything we could see. Our first day together we took a tour of northeastern Taiwan to the coast where we saw the Yehliu Geopark. It was really beautiful but really misty and windy! These are times I wish I had lasik. After that we went to small but famous old towns- Jiufen (where the photo was taken), and Shifen. The best part for me was Shifen where we got to write all over these huge lanterns, then light them and let them loose into the sky. After that day I showed them around Taipei. We went to the Beitou hot springs, Tamsui, Ximending, and four different night markets. There was more, but no time for that! It was a really good visit and it filled my bucket as my cousin would say.
The next to visit was my uncle Randy. I was so honored that he would come to visit me! I have not had the pleasure of having one on one time with him for such a long duration. We focused on just hanging out. No matter where we went we took our time. The time went by so quickly. It was as if he came and went in a snap. He came during Chinese New Year so everywhere we went it was pretty packed. But it was a great time nonetheless.
There's your update! I'll try to be better about posting.
