Wendell Barnes in Taiwan --Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I'm certainly not the most proficient blogger ever, since I wrote one this morning but then it did not post. I had written about our experiences in Taipei doing service and seeing the sights. Mark and Kevin and their families have truly pulled out all of the stops in planning our trip and especially showing off their home town. I told Mark and Kevin how true it is that we don't always visit the sites in our own home towns until someone comes to visit and you take them around, and they agreed. Today I had probably the most unique and memorable birthday of my life! We began the day at the National Palace Museum visiting all of the art antiquities there, including a large piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a bok choy cabbage and part of the Ching Dynasty collection. A restful morning in the beautiful modern museum housed in a gorgeous antique building. Then we went to Wang Steak for lunch and had a gourmet meal in a very nice modern downtown restaurant--all black glass and outstanding service and food. Following that we returned to the shopping mall near our hotel, shopped a bit and then 12 of the 14 of us went to see the latest Harry Potter that just came out today. After 25 minutes of Chinese commercials in which we tried to figure out what they were selling, the film finally started, and it was in English and captioned in Chinese. I noticed that the 99% Chinese audience could read the captions faster than they could be spoken in English, so sometimes the audience's laughter drowned out the punch line of what we were listening to! But it was still a cool experience. Then we took cabs to Mark's family's restaurant, where we had another of our endless course meals in a private dining room, followed by a delicious fancy strawberries in jello topped cake with so many sparkling candles on top that they caught on fire ( but no damage to the cake!), and poppers for everone that filled the air with tiny paper hearts, and a traditional Chinese cake in the shape of a giant peach, that when slit open, produced a large number of smaller peaches with a red bean sweet filling in them. The Huangs also gave me a beautiful titanium braclet for a birthday present and even paid for all of our cab rides back to the hotel. The hospitality here has been overwhelming and we are so grateful for all of our Taiwanese friends here.
The post I somehow deleted this morning also included the fact that several of the Taiwanese Dar students have been coming from nearby towns and neighborhoods to join us for some of our activities in Taipei. So far we have seen Jason Lui, Min Jin Liu, Erin Wu, Wesley Kuo, Ariel Tang, and incoming freshman Tim Huang, Mark's brother. Some of these have come and joined our group more than once, and they, Mark and Kevin have been so invaluable in translating for us when needed. However, it is very interesting to see how many Taiwanese people can get by with English--certainly a lot better than our Chinese! Taiwan has a national promotional motto "Touch Your Heart." It has and it will be difficult to leave all of the wonderful friends we have made on Friday. But because the country has touched our heart, we will take part of Taiwan and its people home with us.
WB

So Far...

So far Taiwan has been awesome! The night markets we have gone to have been great and the hospitality here is exceptional. Also there are really good deals on a lot of things all around Taipei. Teaching the kids was a great experience and I had a lot of fun. The places around Hualien, like Taroko National Park, were awesome and I really enjyed them. Today we visited a Buddhist school and also a geological park. The school was located on Dharma Drum Mountain which is beautiful. The geological park was very interesting in the fact that a rock there was shaped like a queen's head. There were many high cliffs that had extravagant views from the top. Although the weather was very humid and hot, it did not take away from the magnificent view.


Alex Pickle

Photo Update

These are pictures of Taroko National Park. The mountains and rivers flowing through the park were quite spectacular. The park is home to several aboriginal tribes as well as the largest marble gorge on Earth.

These images depict a large Daoist temple. These temples are all around Taiwan, and they are much more ornate than the Buddhist ones.

Fish eyes are the best food ever! Chicken butt is a close second, but it is not as salty. Ho shi wa ni Mrs. Pan! :)))

So far, Taiwan has been amazing. The food is especially scrumptious. Annelise and I have really been enjoying trying all the exotic foods. I have been picking up all kinds of cool souveniers at the night market. It has been a great experience so far, and I am not looking forward to the plane ride home.

I find the culture interesting. It is so different from ours.

-Lucas, Annelise, and Scott

Post from Mark after the first week

"http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=donna4488&book=13" this is where our Tour guide in Hualien, Donna, posts some of the pictures she has taken.

It has been 10 days since the beginging of the trip. I can say that this trip is definitely one of the very best things in my life. If has been the best memory of the whole summer vacation. When I see everyone's smile or amazement when people see something, I know that all the preparations and waitings before the trip are all worthy.

The weather of Taiwan has not been very cooperative, hot and humid. I have not sweat so much ever since I graduated from middle school. But all the services and the visiting have been fantastic. I feel like we are having some future kindergarten teachers after our last teaching section last Friday.

I have been expecting the trip to take place since the trip has been confirmed. I myself has learned a lot about Taiwan from the trip too. Beyond that, I got some friends from the host families, and I get to be even better friends with people on the trip. There are a lot of events in this trip to be described, but all I can say is that every single moment in the trip, no matter happy, exciting, tiring, or stressing out, has been fabulous.

The trip is not yet finished, and more surprises are to come.

Monday of Week 2

Today we visited the President's Hall. It was a very cool building with lots of history of Taiwan, the past presidents of Taiwan, the architecture of the building, and many other cool things about the government of Taiwan. It was interesting to see how the Taiwanese people view the world through their history and how they view the American government. We then went to lunch at this cool dumpling place which most of us would agree with me in saying that they love dumplings. After lunch, we drove to a pottery place where we got to use a potter's wheel and make our own creation. We also got to paint mugs as well. After looking around the shops around the pottery place, we drove to a night market. The night market was certainly an experience. I have never seen so many people cramped into one place trying to buy or barter decently priced items. There was so much stuff to look at it was almost overwhelming. It was a great experience though to see what types of items people go crazy over and which ones people will try to talk to price down for. After a long day, we are finally back in the hotel. Tomorrow is suppose to be even busier!

I'll write again soon!
-Abby Vincent

Hello from across the world! - Reba Barnes

It is Sunday and we have just returned from a morning of service at the Recycling Center. Mr. Kinney you would have loved being with us. We separated paper, separated plastic bottles, crushed them and disassembled VHS tapes. The Tzu-Chi Foundation manages this facility and it is totally staffed by volunteers that help to make the Taipei area a cleaner place. They recycle everything. We had a vegetarian lunch today and it was great. We are now back at the hotel for a little rest before we head to Taipei 101 one of the tallest buildings in the world that we can see from some of hotel rooms.
The Huang and Shen families have been so gracious and we look forward to the next few days and know that they will continue to be as incredible as our trip has been so far. Thanks parents for sharing these incredible young people with us. Everywhere we go the Taiwanese people are overwheled by their servant hearts.

Thomas Moore--Saturday Night

You had some experiences? I asked you a question; you there, reading these words with your eyes, feeling a slight flush because you know I am talking about you. So, you had some experiences?

Perhaps you have driven along a coast at sunset and saw the sun light the ocean on fire as it made it's days journey around the world. Cool. I bet that was beautiful or whatever. Maybe you have paraglided off a mountain top in Tibet with the Dali Lama. Transcendental, right? At least you got that going for you. Heck, there is a chance that you rock climbed down the freakin Grand Canyon and then hiked back up the very same way. I bet that was hard or something.

Well, good for you and your experiences. But I got one that will blow all those out of the water. So, sorry in advance.

Today, Wale and I cleaned eight toilets, two floors and three mops in a Taiwanese bakery's bathrooms.

OMGz

That.
Just.
Happened.

Mind, we weren't the only folks working today by any means. We had folks that were mixing cookie dough with corn flakes. Peeps that were plopping said cereal covered dough balls on baking sheets. And at least 12 hands putting cookies in packages, sealing them, stacking them ready for shipping.

All this was going on at the Children Are Us bakery here in Taipei, a foundation set up to help adults in the community that suffer from Down's Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other mental illnesses (this taken from the information that we were given at the bakery).

And so we arrived, suited up in aprons, hairnets and masks and got to work in our respective positions. Wale and I started by cleaning baking sheets and big plastic tubs. We were among 10 or so of the workers who were equally suited out as us. Now, earlier I was thinking over what I was going to write about my day and I thought about how I could really only see the eyes of those around me as their mouths and noses were covered, and I was thinking about how even though I only had those two little portions of their faces to see, I could instantly tell when they were smiling. I thought of something like this; a true smile is the heart on fire, lighting up the eyes. Then I realized that would make a great Hallmark Card and that put me off a bit to be honest.

But the point is that I speak, as of now, four or five phrases in Chinese and the workers spoke around the same number in English. But we got the work done through short conversations (mostly just, "Yes!" or "very good!") and through high fives. And we got the work done through our smiles, through the fact that I would finish cleaning a pan, high five the person beside me and watch their eyes smile at me, hear their muffled laughter through their masks, catch a glimpse of Wale having a similar conversation with another worker. We didn't need a common language or a common culture or life experience. All we needed was a warm-water-soaked rag, some greasy pans and two eyes showing the smile that was tucked away behind our masks.

Final Day in Hualien City

I cannot even fathom how much of an impact our little group of 14 has made on the lives of the children and adults we have met in our stay in Hualien. Today was our final day in Hualien and we used our time well. We went to a daycare center where we taught 70 five and six years old kids English. It was quite a challenge, but we all agreed that today was one of the best days that we have taught English because the kids were so enthusiastic. I really got a lot out of the 45 minutes we were with them and I wish we had spent more time with them. We received more gifts from the Mayor today- a framed copy of a picture of ourselves with the mayor and a marble stone with our names and Chinese words of wisdom engraved on it. It didn't really hit me today how special our presence has been in Hualien until Mrs. Barnes leaned over to me and said "Can you believe this?". This trip has been a dream come true and I can't believe we are about to embark on our second week here. After lunch with our host families and the Mayor and his wife, we got on a train to bring us to Taipei. Tomorrow, we begin our service at Children Are Us, a bakery in Taipei that employs special-needs adults. I can't wait to get our hands dirty tomorrow!

I'll write again soon!
-Abby Vincent

Thursday

Marble looked so beautiful up close. Today, we ventured out from the cabin area of the National Park and admired the scenery and beauty of the Taroko Gorge that held marble, rocks, and water. Apparently, the water level of the river lowered and eroded many layers of rock. This process helped create this wonder of rock. It is hard to explain how spectacular a scene like that is, until you can see it for yourself. We hiked several trails, took many pictures, braced ourselves with helmet protection, and walked around in the cool, flowing river water. I was speechless when I saw it, and to this second, these are the only comments I can use to try and describe it.

We left the park, and went to a couple places to eat. Today, I ate many things ranging from Golden-sun fish to Cow stomachs. Disgusting as it sounds, it held a sense of content in my stomach as I was being filled up.

At the end of the day, we arrived to the Hotel in Hualian City where we would be staying for the night before we return to Taipei. The days of Hualian City were closing, and we had to say good bye to our tour guide, and dear close friend, Donna. She always would have a special place in our hearts and minds, for her nice words and exhilarating phone ring tone that has become our favorite sing-a-long. We took pictures, gave hugs, and said good bye. She left, but before she vanished, we made sure we told her to stay in touch by creating a facebook. We will not see her tomorrow, but I am sure we will hear from her again.

-Wale Desalu

Wendell Barnes in Taiwan --Thursday, 7/9/09

I have been blessed to be a part of this trip with eleven of the most amazing and mature kids I have ever known. English teacher Thomas Moore ('99) has been an invaluable member of the team and it is so nice to have his perspective and talents as well. Parents, I thank you for raising such wonderful and brilliant children and for making it possible for all of us to make this trip. This is my first visit to Taiwan, although I have visited Japan for three weeks in 1993, and much of the hospitality I found there has been repeated here. Mark Huang and recent graduate Kevin Shen, who I am proud to say are Summerbell boys, have shown maturity and poise beyond their ages and I am constantly astounded every day at their attention to detail and caring for all members of the trip. Like my trip to Japan, each day in Taiwan has been full of delightful surprises at each turn--many unexpected--but our Servant Leaders have adjusted and gone with the flow at each turn. Some things scheduled have been changed at the last minute but our kids jumped in anyway and did a great job with each event. I have also been impressed with their willingness to adjust to so many unusual foods, bathrooms, lack of air conditioning, and so many other things without a complaint and with smiles on their faces, savoring every moment. Each day has been exhausting physically and mentally--much worse for senior citizens!--and I don't think any of us expected to sweat so much! But as we fall into bed each night, in a different location most nights after lugging our bags around and working all day and eating strange meals with many things we don't recognize, before we go to sleep we complete our journals. I am sure that collectively we have taken over 4000 or more pictures, and we hope to get all of these together in a book later. We have been in the newspaper at least four times here in Hualien (pronounced Wah-lee-un), alledgely on television, and the mayor and/or his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Thai, and other city officials have been present with us at most events. Mrs. Pan, our hostess for this leg of the trip, has gone out of her way to make arrangments for everything and even has fed us tremendous feasts two nights at her home! She is a ball of fire and a lot of fun. One of the things we have learned is that we don't have to share a common language to share a common love for our fellow man. We have been in Hualien since July 5, and have toured the sites of the city and spent today in the magnificent Taroko National Park, seeing sights so astounding that it was difficult to keep our mouths closed! But by far the most meaningful times we have spent in this city are the opportunities for service and the hospitality of the people--and we thought we Southerners had a lock on that! Being able to meet many of the descendents of the original aboriginal tribes of Taiwan has been so wonderful, and being able to serve the Amis tribe by cleaning up and landscaping their tribal assembly grounds and teaching many of their children English has been such a blessing to us. The people here are beautiful and have gone out of their way to welcome us. Tomorrow we return to Taipei for the rest of our trip, including some servant leadership in that major city, and we are looking forward to those new experiences. And a special shout out to my wife, Reba Barnes, who started the Servant Leadership program at Darlington three years ago which has led to taking community service international into Taiwan thanks to Mark and Kevin. The implications of this trip will affect all of us, and I am sure the people of Taiwan, for a long time to come. Now if we could just remember what time it is in Georgia before we try to call home!!!!!

Thomas Moore--Thur Night

Thomas--Begin.

Today has been a busy day. Gone are the days of yore where we all relaxed under the calming Taiwanese sun all morning, drinking cool plum juice and munching on fresh pineapple and cherries. No sir or ma'am. Today was busy.

I kid, of course. All of our days have been jam-packed with activities and each minute brings something new and exciting.

Today we toured the Taroko National Park. We walked along the side of an amazing gorge; the top towering above us, trees and bushes clinging desperately to the sides, all ending in the cool and clear water flowing along the bottom. In the space between swam swallows, freed in flight from their nesting sites in the naturally formed caves that pocked the mountain side here and there.

Then we moved to the Awesome Part of the day. We touched the water. Not only did we touch it, but we flung our shoes and socks off and waded over rocks small and large to our hearts' content. We posed for an album or magazine cover, we (tried to) skip rocks, we (and I mean me here) sometimes slipped and got our shorts wet. The water was cool, the rocks were hot and our laughter and calls echoed off the gorge walls that stood tall on either side of us.

Finally, we drove to the Pacific Ocean where, against our betters, we again shed our clothing from the ankle down and did some wading. We found, however, that an ocean moves in a lot different ways than a slow and calming river. So, we enjoyed the water, the waves, the skipping stones and the cool breeze brought from the endless horizon. Then we squished and squashed our way back to the bus and made our way to dinner.

There we ate some beef cooked right there on our table, had some rice and seaweed, plenty of orange and guava juice, and, for some of us, various portions of a a cow that generally don't find their way to our plates.

Now, we are here at our hotel, enjoying the company of one another, saying goodbye to new friends and relaxing before another big day tomorrow. --KMR

Thomas--End.

Thomas Moore--Thur Morning

Woke up this morning around 6am in Taroko National Park and sat outside. There the quiet is never full, a silence that is never silent; the constant drone of bugs blending in to the background, birds talking amongst themselves, a breeze playing lightly with the full and green leaves. And slowly the cabin doors begin opening, people emerge. A mother walks around holding her still sleeping child. An older woman stretches in the shade of three trees. A father and son return from bug catching, bamboo handled nets in hand, bug box slung over the boys shoulder. It is empty, but he chatters to his father with an enthusiasm that can only be from a child.

Today we will tour the park and see some amazing sights. But, this morning, in the quiet and silence that was never complete, as the sun peaked its way over the surrounding mountains, I saw a simple beauty that will always remain ineffable.

Wednesday highlights

Honestly, new things do amaze me. I have never been so amazed in one day. We taught English lessons at two schools. Each school at different levels, but there was always those kids that stood out and made our job less hectic. Rita, Chas-e (as he called himself), and Kevin got so into the lesson. They shouted, got into character when asked, and put smiles on all our faces. These three kids, even though it was difficult for them to speak English took the classroom to a whole new level. I will never forget the funny questions they asked me, the way they pronounced my name (WAL-EEEE!!!), and the endless moments we laughed in that classroom. We had fun. They had fun, while they were learning some English vocab and playing games. One mission completed, with a twist of laughs.

We went out to dinner with the wife of the Mayor of Hualien City today, and honestly I have never been stuffed so much in my life. Mr. Barnes said he lost count after 12 dishes. It felt like there was always 5 more dishes coming. The hospitality and comfort that we have been given in Taiwan has made it feel like a home away from home.

Tonight, we are staying in a Lodge in a National park in Taiwan. It is apparently has the largest marble valley in the world. That was not the highlight of the night though. Before we went to our rooms to sleep, we watched a Tribal Dance ceremony. Kids and adults were in it, and different dances were performed and instruments played. The show was entertaining. They did not speak English to the crowd, so we felt kind of clueless of what was going on. At the end of the ceremony, they had a dance in which they brought in people from the audience. A Taiwanese young boy and girl picked Annelise (it was her birthday today also) and me to go dance. Awkward enough, we walked into the line and embarrassed ourselves in front of a whole crowd. As bad as it seemed, it was exhilarating and fun. They taught us the dance, and we mixed in perfectly. It felt like the language barrier was no more a problem, and that we were enjoying ourselves. We took pictures with the dancers, and I will never forget how they gave us comfort in the midst of being different.

Wale.

Host Family - Sean Healy

After staying in Hualien for several days we got to stay at a hosts family's house, which was a great experience. The family that I stayed with did not speak a lot of English, so it was sort of difficult to communicate with them. I didn't see the father that much, the mother was a realtor in Hualien. They had two children one boy and one girl, Pang and Nikki, respectfully. After I had gotten there we decide to go to the pool. The pool was located at the same hotel that I had eaten dinner that night, 30 minutes beforehand. We met up with one of Pang's friends, Tony, at the pool. Both Tony and his sister spoke very good English, along with their father, who was an F-16 fighter pilot. I tied in a swim race with Pang, but I was probably going to lose in ping pong, because Tony's sister is the best person in Hualien. Then we went to the night market where we shot off fireworks and played with the bb guns. I got ten in a row so I won two prizes. All of the Tawainese people were looking at me because they thought it was funny to see me hit that many because I was the best person there. The night market was the funnest time that I ever had. Thankfully, in the next morning, so the host family took me to an American restaraunt, where I proceeded to have banana pancakes with bacon. It was such a relief to actually have American food. I learned many things about the host family and the daily life of the Tawainese people, but at the same time was filled with questions about the daily life in America. This had to be the best experience ever.

Thomas (Mr. Moore for those of you that I demand that level of respect from) here.

Having a great time thus far! The experiences we are having far exceed anything that I could have imagined before we left. It is truly a trip of a life time.

This morning we went to a local village where our students taught English to some younger school children. Our group did an amazing job with teaching and everyone was very involved with the kids. I especially liked Abby's basketball hoop, Lucas and Will's wrestling and Annelise explaining the joys of a fine fish eye.

This afternoon we are off to another school for a chance for our group to show off their unique English Teaching Skillz (the youths are still spelling things with z's, right? Or should I say youthz?). KMR.

More later!

Thomas Moore

Serving Hualien City

Today was an extra-special day in Hualien City. We started with pulling weeds and sweeping the streets in one of the Tribes here. We also pet some cute puppies that happened to cross our way during our breaks from the hot sun. For lunch, we ate at this restaurant where we cooked our own food in a dish with a hot plate in front of us. It was one of the best meals we've had there (in my opinion)! Afterward, we drove to the Tzu Chi Foundation which was so beautiful and quite amazing. They have chapters of their foundation in over 200 countries (and 2 chapters in Georgia)! One of their sayings was "teach the poor to be rich". It was very cool and their Buddhist Temple inside was breath-taking. We then went to a school where little children were there for us to read to them. The Mayor of Hualien City was there as well! The kids were so cute and very very smart. Some were read to in Spanish and English! We then went to dinner with the Mayor at the Parkview Hotel which was beautiful (it had a golf course, too). After dinner, we were brought to a government building where we all split up to be with host families. I am by myself with this very nice host family. I now know what it feels like to those international students that come to Darlington for the first time- lonely. I can't imagine being in a place like this being the only one who spoke my original language for a whole school year! I have to hand it to those who come overseas for school- they have lots of courage.

Well I'm going to head to bed because I am awfully tired!
-Abby Vincent

An amazing day in Hualien!

It has been an amazing journey today. We started our morning @ 8:00am with our tour guide, translator and great bus driver here to pick us up. I am sitting here in the living room of our hotel watching these amazing young men play a popular game in Taiwan "Majung". Kevin and Mark are enjoying so much sharing their culture and world with their Darlington family. We look forward to our service day tomorrow. Hugs to all our families and keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue this incredible experience.

Reba Barnes

Taiwan-Courtney Statham

So far I'm amazed by everything I see! This is perhaps the most beautiful place that I have ever been to. I think I like Hualien better than Taipei because it's a more relaxed place. Everyone is so nice here and I just feel right at home. My favorite thing so far has to be the train ride! The scenery was gorgeous and I was just amazed at what I saw. I can't wait to see more of this beatiful island!

Rome News-Tribune previews Taiwan trip

Students preparing for culture shift in Taiwan
Written by by Kaitlin Beard, Rome News-Tribune staff writer, 7/1/09

Nine Darlington students are packing their bags in preparation for a two-week servant leadership trip to Taiwan that will begin Friday.

The trip will take students to Hualien City and Taipei to do various service projects such as environmental cleanup, working at a bakery with disabled people and teaching English. Students will also be able to enjoy the cities they will visit with a bike trip around the area, visiting national parks and touring a pottery factory, night markets and museums.

The trip has been organized by two Taiwanese students and their families in Taiwan. “We had two students who, for the last two years, have been really interested in taking Darlington to Taiwan to experience service,” said Reba Barnes, director of servant leadership at Darlington. She will be going with the students. “They said, ‘Why can’t we go to my home and do service?’ It was totally student led from beginning to end.”

Organizers and students hope that the trip will give them an insight into another culture. “I think it’s going to be a good experience to learn about the culture of some of the students I go to school with,” said rising junior Lucas Jennings. “I’m interested in helping others on a larger stage.”

“I want to learn to be patient with those that have a different language,” said 2009 graduate Abby Vincent.

Students will be keeping journals of their activities, and the group hopes to maintain a blog so that friends and family can follow their adventures. To be considered for the trip, students had to fill out an application and complete an essay. They are paying their own way, and the host families in Taiwan will be helping with expenses.

Barnes hopes the trip will encourage students to maintain a life of service. “You can serve people around the world,” said Barnes. “You can use your hands and feet — you don’t need your voice.”

“I’m hoping to come away with ideas of how to improve the community of Rome,” said Jennings. “And I think trying some of the Taiwanese food will be fun.”