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
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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