following an unknown path

pompoms and favor bags

Mom and I spent some time this week working on wedding stuff.

First, we started making things to hang at the wedding.

We will be hanging these tissue paper pompoms both in the tree and in the reception hall.  Have I mentioned we are having an outdoor wedding and are getting married under this great big, 200 year old tree:

I've always dreamed of an outdoor wedding.  As a side note, I always told my family that I'd get married barefoot in someone's backyard--it almost happened till mom found the inn.  And, well, I'm going to wear sandals because Lawrance thinks it's safer.

Back to the pompoms.  Mine will be orange, teal, pink, and yellow.  We also have some pomanders made out of several different colors of gerberas to hang from the tree.  Mom made those.

We also bagged candy that Lawrance and I picked out in Taiwan.  Traditionally in Taiwan, a bride and groom will stand at "the exit door" to thank all the guests for coming to their wedding.  This also ensures that everyone at the wedding has one more chance to congratulate the new couple. 

They stand at the door with their parents and pass out candy and cigarettes.  I'm not sure what the cigarettes symbolize; however, I do know about the candy.  :)  The giving of candy at the wedding symbolizes the guests sharing in the sweetness of the new marriage.  Or that the guests wish a sweet life on the new couple. 

Lawrance also told me that in Taiwanese the word for "candy" sounds like "di di" which means "little brother."  So, by taking the candy the guests are also wishing the couple has a son very soon.

One aspect of the candy is that I've been told to take the candy in even multiples.  In other words, never take just one piece.  Taking two pieces is important because you want the two of them to stay married forever. 

So, . . . Lawrance and I got some of the traditional wedding candy and also some other fun Taiwanese candy we thought Americans would like.  We aren't going to stand at the exit door at our American wedding, but we will give out the candy in little bags with an explanation of its cultural significance as our American wedding favors.  The little bags look so cute and make me very happy.

2 more weeks!!

In two weeks I will be ecstatic with anticipation!!  In two weeks I will be beside myself with joy. 

Because . . . . in two weeks, this guy:

is coming to Texas!!

I can't believe we've already been apart for 25 days.  The time has actually gone by quite fast, but it is getting harder and harder to be apart.  But, I am oh so very thankful for unlimited international calling for only 4 USD a month with skype--can't beat that.

I don't know how military wives do it.  I'm not even his wife yet, and it hurts to be apart.  And, we only have to be apart for 39 days, but still it's not easy.  So, how they do it . . . I have no clue and much more respect.

our invitations

(Now, I am "live blogging"--as opposed to reposting past posts--the wedding.)

Yesterday I sent out our invitations to the American wedding.  Yipee!!

In planning our whole wedding . . . we don't necessarily want to "buck tradition," but we don't want to be bound by it or to it either.  We are seeking to do things in a simple way that doesn't cause lots of stress and that also honors our Father. 

Ever since I saw my parent's wedding invitation when I was a child--which included an engagement photo of them on the invitation--I've also wanted a photo on my own wedding invitation.  And since everyone we invite to the American wedding hasn't seen me in two years and won't meet Lawrance till August, we thought having photos on our wedding invite would help "introduce us."

Originally I was going to just make my own photo-based wedding invitations, but we decided that paying someone to design them for us might cost a little more but would be less stress.  So that is the route we took. 

We are both very pleased with the results!!

In addition to going non-traditional with the layout/design/paper of our wedding invite we also changed the words of the invite to be uniquely ours but still seem formal/traditional.

Here is the text of the invite (minus all the specific details):

With joyful hearts
Rev. & Mrs. Kenneth Parmley
invite you to join them in celebrating
the union of their daughter 

Amanda Nicole
to
Lawrance Aaron 
son of Mr. & Mrs. Sen-Song Wu
as they glorify God
for what He is graciously joining together.

On the return address label we used a "double happiness" seal/stamp.  This double happiness character is used at Taiwanese weddings and is hung on doors and walls of a new couple's room or home.  It is called "double happiness" because it is the word "joy" twice.  Kinda like "joy joy"--meaning that when two are joined together there is double the joy.

nate nate

I've been able to hold and give sugars to my nephew twice now.  Both times were wonderful!!!

He is such a cutie and such a good baby!  What a blessing!!!

Below are some of the photos I took of Nate with his Uncle Sam (my brother, who strongly dislikes being called Uncle Sam), Nonny (his grandmother, my mom), Great Grandma (Nate is my grandma Smith's eleventh great grandchild!!), and Mommy (my sister) too. :)

engagement photos

Thursday, Abu, a friend of ours, helped us take some engagement photos so we could make a photo-based wedding invitation.  We had SO MUCH FUN!!!  We kept laughing and laughing . . . so all the smiles you see . . . totally real. :) 

Abu took over 400 photos  . . . quickly picking out MY favorites leaves us with over 80 to choose from--that doesn't even include Lawrance's faves which might be different than mine (he let me download to my computer first, so he's only seen my faves so far).  We only need four for the invites--it's going to be really hard to choose.

(Random FYI: The church that is in the back of some of the photos is most likely where we will have the Taiwanese wedding.)

I leave tomorrow . . . . oh it's going to be hard to say goodbye to this guy who delights my heart so.  So . . . I'm leaving the computer now so I can finish grading, packing, and cleaning, so that I can spend the rest of my time with "my guy."  Thanks so much for all the wonderfully kind words and congratulations!!  Yall are so sweet!

Here are some of our "outtakes."  They aren't the most attractive photos . . . BUT . . .I love the way they show how much we enjoy each other!!! :)

sung chiang battle array (simply taiwan 8)

I don't have much knowledge of the Sung Chiang battle array (a form of martial performing arts) beyond what I observed the day I took these photos.  I took these photos not long after I moved to Taiwan and lived in Meinong in Kaohsiung County.  Two of my students invited me to a "fair" which turned out to be in reality a temple activity.  They had taken me to the annual Goddess GuanYing Festival at the Neimen Zihjhu Temple in Neimen, a city north of our school.

Neimen has reportedly around forty or fifty different battle array "troupes."  Several different troupes performed one right after another.  Each troupe had weapons and preformed to beating drums and gongs.  Some troupes had young and old alike all performing; some didn't include children.  Nearly all the performers were male.

Here are some of the facts about Sung Chiang battle array that I learned by reading this article online:

"Unlike many other traditional Taiwanese folk arts, the Sung Chiang battle array has never been recorded as existing in mainland China; it is purely Taiwanese."

"Many of the weapons used in the Sung Chiang battle array are actually farm tools--rakes, sickles, hooks, umbrellas--used by the early peasantry."

"The performances declined during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945) and today they are seen only during festivals, especially the birthday celebrations for Matsu (Goddess of the Sea), Emperor Paosheng (God of Medicine), and Cheng Huang (City God)."

"A full-size Sung Chiang team has 108 members; smaller ones have 72 or, at a minimum, 36."

"The performances vary but all include the same tactics, which add up to a total of 108."

"All team members must pray to Sung Chiang before a performance starts; and, at both the beginning and end of a performance, the performers gather at the temple gate (most often, performances take place in temple courtyards), raise their weapons high, and shout 'Ho! Ho! Ho!'"

Here are some of the videos I took of one of the troupes we watched:

The video below is of the troupe worshiping after performing. They start by worshiping the idol in the center, then move to the right and then to the left to worship the idols to the right and left of the center god.

Like I said yesterday, sometimes at temple performances there is a crowd watching and sometimes not. At this particular event, the crowd was huge! Here is only part of it:

drama performance for a god (simply taiwan 7)

Many Taiwanese worship a variety of Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deities. One of the ways Taiwanese people use to celebrate a god's birthday is a presentation of some sort to entertain the idols.  I've seen people showing god's live "opera like" drama performances, demonstrations of "the art of war," movies shown on screens stretched between poles, women scantly clad singing and dancing, and puppet shows. 

Recently, I also saw a mechanical version of what is shown in the very short video below.  Actually, there were five different mechanical stages set up around a traffic circle.

Sometimes there is a human audience watching as well and sometimes not.
 

men at work (simply taiwan 6)

No time to comment tonight, so I will simply give you a photo of one of my all time favorite signs in Taiwan!!  I love that the construction worker is wearing a pointy hat! :)

And, these guys below who are cleaning the street . . . I just love that their pointy hats are covered in bight-can't-be-missed reflective material!    Classic!

 

men and shopping (simply taiwan 5)

Some things--like men waiting at a shopping mall or women giving "the look"--seem to be universal and transcend culture.

I saw this scene when I was riding an escalator at Dream Mall in Kaohsiung City.  I thought it was so funny because these guys were doing the exact same thing their counterparts around the world do at malls--wait on their women. :)


Dream Mall (夢時代) is one of the largest malls in Asia--and opened about a year ago.  It is HUGE!!  And, there is even a Hello Kitty ferris wheel on top of the mall.  Including the "roof" (where the ferris wheel is) and the two basement levels, this mall has 12 floors in all!

Malls--as we know them in America--are not common here in Taiwan.  Instead there are "department stores."  So, Dream Mall is actually very special.

taking out the trash (simply taiwan 4)

There are very few things I don't like about Taiwan.  But, I seriously hate tossing the trash in Taiwan (and I consider hate a very strong word, so I'm not using it lightly here).

At different times though out the day a trash truck will drive through every neighborhood.  Each trash truck announces their presence by playing an electronic version of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise," which to the unknowing American sounds like an ice cream truck.

Each neighborhood/city is a little different, but each has their own trash truck traditions. 

At my old house, people from two apartment complexes all gathered along the alley in front of the buildings, the trash truck stopped and literally about 100 people tossed trash into the back in about 5-10 minutes each night.  We all knew that the truck would arrive at about 7:30, so at about 7:20ish people started heading downstairs and gathering out front to wait.  I, however, lived on the 2nd floor near the front entrance, so I would wait till I heard the tinny melody to grab my trash and head out the door. 

The nice thing about that neighborhood was that about 30 minutes later another truck drove down a side street, so if I missed the 7:30 trash truck, I could meet the 8:00 trash truck. Now, the 8:00 trash truck didn't stand still.  People would stand outside their "townhouse-like" homes with their trash, and as the truck slowly drove by they would toss in their trash.

This phenomenon is something that can't be captured by words and photos alone, a video is necessary to help you experience this.  So, without further adieu, here is a trash truck I got stuck behind while on my moped one night.

I always wondered what in the world I would do if I always worked nights and could never be home to take out the trash between 7:30 and 8:00.  In some neighborhoods, the trash truck comes during the day . . . and I do wonder what people who don't work from home do about their garbage.  Hmmm . . .

Ok, now let me just take a second to further justify my hatred for tossing trash.  It is not just that I have to be responsible for taking out my trash and tossing it myself.  That's ok.  But is the fear that I've done something wrong and will have to dig in the trash to undo my mistake.  You see, they have strict mandatory recycling polices here.  And, if you throw out something that should be recycled, the garbage guys (aka trash nazis) will tear open your bag, and make you take care of it the right way. 

Once, right after my neighborhood started to recycle food scraps, I included egg shells in my food waste pile.  I thought egg shells were supposed to be good for compost piles.  Except, I later learned food scraps collected on the back of the trash trucks in blue barrels are not for composting but for feeding pigs.  So, when the trash nazi saw my egg shells in the blue barrel, he made me dig through the pile of food scraps to remove them.  All the while, people were tossing their garbage bags over my shoulder as I diligently stuck my hand into that disgusting mess of pig slop and dug out all the egg shells big enough to see with a naked eye.  YUCK!

Recycling trucks tag along behind trash trucks on certain days of the week--playing a different song (yes, at the same time).  But, that's a story for another day.

For now, here are four more Taiwanese trash truck videos I found online.  Enjoy!!!

Here is a link to a one minute video that is pretty good but can't be embedded.

frozen delights (simply taiwan 3)

There were many times I told my cousins "you've not really been to Taiwan if you haven't ________."  And, one of those "fill in the blanks" was "eaten cuo-bing" (剉冰, shaved ice).

Cuo-bing is a wonderful Taiwanese delight!!  Cuo-bing is shaved ice topped with yummy stuff.  I like it topped with either fruit or an assortment of chewy things.  And, traditionally it is topped with things like peanuts, beans, sweet potatoes, or taro pieces.  In addition to these yummy things, a sweet syrup water is poured onto the ice and sometimes sweet condensed milk is also added.

The above photo was taken at a self-serve cuo-bing shop at a night market.  You fill up the bowl, they weigh it, and then top it with ice and the brown sugar water.

Here are some fruit topped bings I've enjoyed:



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Here are some of my students enjoying a great big bowl of fruit bing:



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This one is a more traditional bing one of my friends enjoyed--it is topped with green beans, herbal jelly, and peanuts:



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These girls are enjoying ice covered with green beans.  Yeah, I prefer mango too. ;)



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There are many kinds and types of cuo-bing. And . . . they are so YUMMY!!!!

shopping carts (simply taiwan 2)

In order to keep carts on supermarket grounds, they are chained together.  

To use one, you need to insert a 10NT coin (a coin about the size of a quarter worth about 33 US cents) into the gray device and then the red part of the chain unlocks and lets you pull the cart away.

When you are done using the shopping cart, you can return it to any location that has another "red handle device."  Once you plug the red thing back into the gray thing, your money is returned to you. 

I suppose this also helps to discourage shopping carts from being left abandoned throughout the parking lot.

public toliets (simply taiwan 1)

This is the nicest "squatty potty" I've ever seen.  It has a fish tank at eye level once you are squatting!  Yes, there were live fish swimming around inside!!

Some homes have squatty potties, but mostly homes are equipped with western style toilets.  However, when out in public you are most likely to encounter squatty potties--like the ones below.   The one from the left is from McDonald's and the one of the right is most likely from a train station.

To flush a squatty potty you will either step on something--like the photo above and the photo below to the right.  Or, there is something to pull that will be hanging from the tank somewhere on the wall above the squatty potty.

Oh, yeah, and most places would prefer you put your toilet paper in the trash can rather than flush it.  And, just in case you are wondering, there is a front and a back--the "hooded" part is the front.

Now, you might be able to find a western style toilet out in public . . . but, beware, people will stand to squat on these too.  So, just be careful before you choose to sit.



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Thanks for the input/comment on the last post . . . it is quite helpful.  And, I still welcome more suggestions, questions, or ideas. :)

the secret of heart-peace in the time of distress

If this world were governed by chance—no amount either of philosophy or of common sense could keep us from worrying; but we know that our Father is taking care of us! No little child in the best and most caring home, was ever carried so carefully or so safely in the love and thought and care of earthly parents—as is the least of God's little ones in the heavenly Father's heart! "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them!" Matthew 6:31-32. The things we cannot help or change are in His hand, and belong to the "all things" which, we are assured, "work together for good, to those who love God."

In the midst of all the great rush of events and circumstances, in which we can see no order and no design—we well know that each believer in Christ, is as safe as any little child in the arms of the most loving mother!

Amid all life's trials and disappointments—our faith rests upon the character and the infinite goodness of God! We should have the faith of a little child—in a Father whose name is "Love" and whose power extends to every part of His universe! Here we find solid rock upon which to stand, and good reason for our lesson that we should never worry.

Our Father is taking care of us!

In a world like ours, there are many things which incline us to worry. There are disappointments which leave the hands empty after days and years of hope and toil. There are resistless thwartings of fondly cherished plans and purposes. There  are bereavements which seem to sweep away every earthly joy. There are perplexities through which no human wisdom can lead the feet. There are experiences in every life—whose natural effect is to disquiet the spirit and produce deep and painful anxiety.

If we are never to worry, what are we to do with these things which naturally tend to cause us worry? The answer is easy—we are to put all these disturbing and distracting things—into the hands of our Father!

"Cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7. God is taking care of you—not overlooking the smallest thing, and you have but to cast all your cares and anxiety upon Him—and then be at peace. It is trying to carry our own cares, which produces worry! Our duty is to cast them all upon Christ! This is the secret of heart-peace in the time of distress, from whatever cause.

(By J. R. Miller, "Don't Worry!" 1912. Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

paper umbrellas

The city I first lived in when I moved to Taiwan is famous for its handmade paper umbrellas.  Above is a picture of some of my students being silly with one of the paper umbrellas I have in my home. I love the expressions on their faces!! :)

Five years ago, when I was living in Meinong, one of the ladies at the souvenir store near my home showed us (I was with one of our short term teams) how they made paper umberllas.  So, below is a slide show of the pictures I took of her demo.  You can also see all the photos with descriptions of what she is doing on the flickr set page.

the sweet note

I mentioned awhile back my birthday ended on a sweet note.  Well . . . here is the sweet note:


I was given birthday flowers. Aren't they beautiful!?!?!

The rose buds kept opening up all week long.  It was so neat.  And, those little "firecracker flowers" (as Ashley called them) were so fun.  I'd never seen anything like them.  Anyone know what they really are called in English?

birthday cakes galore!

One of the benefits of having 8 hours of class on my birthday is that over 140 people sang happy birthday to me!

And . . . three of my classes surprised me with cakes!!

The first class actually used another student from another class to tell me they were in an assembly in another building, and our class would be canceled and I was free to go home.  I walked by their classroom before my class and it really was empty (little did I know they were hidding in the stairwell).  I debated for a moment whether to trust them or not.  I decided they were trustworthy.

I sent a text to one of the students and told her what I expected them to have completed by our next class.  But, about 5 min into class time the three guys in the class came into my office and told me the assembly was over and they were ready for class.  So, we all went back to the classroom.  I was thinking about how amazing these kids were since they were willing to have class even though they actually had a free pass for the final hour of the day. 

When we walked into the classroom, there was a party going on. :)  (Can you see the numbers on the cake?  That's right . . . 18!!!)



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They had transformed the chalkboard into a giant birthday card.



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Another class came back from the break during the second hour of class with a cake . . . and so we had a party too! :)



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Even though my last class wasn't over till 9:00 and I didn't get home till after 9:30, some special friends were waiting for at my neighbor's home with pizza and cake to celebrate with me.  I don't have picture of that cake, but here I am with my neighbor and her daughters. (I don't know if you can tell, but to me, I look SO TIRED.)



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Then the following day, 15 minutes into class, some of the "absent students" came in carrying a cake and singing "Happy Birthday!"  First thing one of them told me after singing was "you can't count me tardy" (apparently, I'm known for being strict about that.)



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Then later during the week of my birthday, a dear friend, Anna, stopped by with a beautiful little cake to help me celebrate my birthday.  She had seen my blog on Monday and thought I needed some cheering up--isn't that so sweet!!



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So, if I had to be in school all day on my birthday, it was nice being surprised so many times! :)  And, I also appreciate the others who through out the week made me feel special too. :)
 

at the GuGong

I got to go back to the GuGong (aka National Palace Museum) this past week!  It was maybe my 14th or 15th time to visit this great art museum.  :)

Taiwan's GuGong is one of the top five museums in the world.  I love going there.  Each time I go I get to see something new.

This time I got to go with a friend who loves looking at art as much as I do . . . maybe even more!  It was wonderful to take a full day just to enjoy beautiful things together. :)

fun with my camera on a stick

I've been using the xshot (a telescoping camera extension thingee) all of you helped me to win quite a bit recently.  I keep it and my camera always in my purse. 

Whenever I get it out to use, my friends are amazed and very intrigued.  It makes picture taking fun.  It has also attracted quite a few funny looks from passersby.

I use it in two basic ways.  One, we either are just totally random, set the timer, push the shutter button, extend the camera and wait.  Or in the other way, I will use it more like a tripod--let my friend hold it while I set the timer and make sure everyone is inside, then press the shutter button and run to get inside the photo too.

The only complaint I have with my xshot is that sometimes the telescoping parts get stuck inside the other telescoping parts.  Maybe I should try some WD-40 on it. 

Anyway, just thought I'd say thank you once again to all of you who helped me to win this really cool gadget.  I enjoy being able to use it. :)

Below are a few of the photos I've taken using my nifty little xshot.

Easter eggs and birthday brownies

Last Saturday, Karen and Christine, my little neighbor friends, came over to dye Easter eggs with me!  It was their first time to do so (that they can remember). 

Julie, a young lady I meet with for worship (photo on left), also joined us for egg dying creativity.

My friends are SO creative.  Just look as some of the fun eggs they made!!

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That same day also happened to be Christine's 11th birthday!!  So, I made her some birthday brownies and used some of the candles I'd brought from America.  (Here birthday cakes only have candles with numbers.)

I've known Christine since she was only two years old.  It's been fun to watch her grow and change . . . she is so full of life and energy.  I love being around her!!

Yay!!  Happy Birthday, Christine!!

an afternoon out and about

This Sunday, some of my former students from my former school came to Tainan for a "graduation trip."  They invited me to join them on their adventures around town.  Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and is full of historic sites. If I have to live in the city, I'm glad it is a city with history. :)

Whenever I see people drinking out of bags, it always amazes me.  Some of my students bought yellow colored sodas in bottles.  The store owner poured their drinks into baggies for them, added staws and tied them off.

Here is a pic of the whole group that came up from Kaohsiung for the day, plus their teacher Kady (my good friend and fellow Tainan-person) and me.

And, one of the highlights of the afternoon . . . . holding a baby!!!  Rio's daugheters came with her on the outing, the oldest one (who is now two) has to be distracted in order to let me hold her or interact with her, but the younger one reached out for me as soon as I joined the group.  Sigh . . . how sweet.  Even though I've not blogged about them in a long time . . . yes, the mommy longings are still strong. :)