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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!!!!

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.

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. :)
 

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.

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. :)

class reunion

This past Saturday, about 20 students (out of a class of a little over 40) that graduated in 2005 got back together for dinner. It was the first time since graduation three years ago that I'd seen most of them!

When I came up the stairs and saw them sitting there, I was kinda taken aback.  In some ways they'd changed so much and in others not at all.  For the most part I think they have transformed into adults--from boys and girls to men and women.  That's neat to see happen.

They were my first class to teach in Taiwan and I taught them all for a full two years.  They are more than my students.  They became my friends and companions . . . some of them I know will be life long friends.  These students have blessed my life in many, many ways.  I will never have this kind of relationship with another class of students again, of this I am sure.  I am SO thankful for them.  Praise God for his blessings!

A solemn reality that reunions like this remind me of is that being a great English teacher has no eternal value.  Many of them haven't used English much in the past three years and don't feel confident conversing with me in English anymore.  That's ok because we can use Chinese, but my point is all my work and effort in English language education doesn't matter.  It counts for nothing in the end.  The only thing that matters is sharing the Gospel of Christ.  It is the only thing I can share with them that will be of eternal value. 

www.flickr.com

at the strawberry patch

Yesterday, I joined a few of my students for a fun little adventure.  We rode out to a strawberry patch in Tainan county and picked strawberries. 

I'd never done this before, and it was kinda fun picking and choosing the reddest berries I could find. 

And they are so delicious!!  Wish yall could come stop by for some strawberry shortcake tonight!

meeting judy!!

I recently saw Judy for the first time since the accident last summer. 

In some ways, she is still the bubbly, fun-filled girl she has always been, but in other ways fear grips her.

Please join me in praying for Judy.  How I long to see her rescued not just for a longer life on earth but for all of eternity.  How I long to see her set free from the fears that bind her.

winter camp is OVER!!

For the past 11 days, I've been teaching a winter English camp for my college.  It was exhausting!!  For an introvert, being around 150 students for 6 hours a day for 11 days kinda wears you down FAST.  I would be very content to just be a hermit for the next 11 days to recuperate. :)

But, since Chinese New Year is coming, that is impossible! :)

But, since Chinese New is coming, I do have the next two weeks OFF!!  Yay!!!  So, I will be spending the days with friends, so that is nice.

For winter camp, I do a lot of games like pictionary, charades, 20 questions, taboo, and more.  I also use songs in many, many ways with lots of different kinds of activities.   So, even though I am exhausted, I did get to have fun, and, hopefully, the students did too.

 

at 7-11

In Taiwan there is literally a 7-11 on every corner, sometimes even TWO at one intersection.  When you have something like 22 million people squeezed into something the size of 1/15 of Texas, it makes sense.

So, today when I was playing 20 questions with my students, I thought it quite clever when nearly every group included the question "can you buy it at 7-11?" in their process to figure out what the item to be guessed was. 

I've never heard that question asked when playing in America . . . . just one more fun little part of life here.

tonight!!!

Last year, I discovered one of my students had been singing on TV.  But, because I didn't have cable, I only watched a few of the videos of her on YouTube.  I told her I had seen her singing and was impressed.  It was then that I found that what I had watched was small potatoes . . . . and that she had sung at other times on other shows too--as recently as just that past weekend.  But, she didn't tell me exactly what or brag or go into details. 

So, fast forward to this summer when I moved to Tainan and a typhoon blew through at the same time.  As I sat in my friend's apartment locked safely inside and utterly exhausted, I flipped through the channels . . . and I SAW HER ON TV!!!  I was shocked.  I mentioned it to my friend and found out that my student entered a "Taiwanese Idol" show on a major TV network. 

There are currently three different "Taiwanese idol" shows on prime time right now here in Taiwan.  My student is on the one called 星光大道 in Chinese.  They call it "Million Star" in English but a better translation of the show's name would be "Path to Stardom" or "Avenue of the Stars." 

So, ever since August of last year, I've faithfully watched this "Taiwanese Idol" show on TV each weekend.  It starts on Fridays at 9:30 and lasts till midnight.  Good thing for me they replay the last two weeks of shows back-to-back again on Saturday and Sunday.  So, in total I have four extra chances to see each show in case I miss the Friday night one or if I fall asleep on the couch before Rachel, my former student sings (she graduated last year).  (By the way, if you remember Judy from this summer, Rachel and Judy are best friends.)

Well, they have it down to the top five and tonight the show is live as they determine the ranking of the top five and declare a winner.  Rachel has consistently received high scores throughout the show.  And currently is in first place from the last 3 weeks of "top 6" competitions when they started adding the scores together for the top 6 and not just kicking off the low achievers! 

So, no doubt that tonight I will be watching this show and cheering on my former student!!! 

Here she is in a couple of her most recent performances on the show (the first one she is in a duet with one of the judges in a fun song called "it doesn't matter"):

graduation project update

They did it!!  They finished their graduation project and successfully defended it this past Tuesday.

This was a huge accomplishment!

These are the girls--Kara, Josephine, and Juliet--you helped by completing their online survey back in April.  They are grateful for your help.  Those of you requested a copy of their project will be receiving it after they make the suggested corrections by their oral defense committee. 

Even though I changed schools, I continued to be their project adviser.  They would take the train up to Tainan on the weekends in order to work on their project with me. 

To me, one of the best parts of being a teacher is watching my students shine.  And, this Tuesday, shine they did!!

a cold joke

In Chinese the idiomatic expression "cold joke" refers to a cheesy or lame joke.

Monday one of my students was on his toes when he made a cold joke in the middle of class.

We were discussing onomatopoeia  for animal sounds.  You did know that dogs go "woof, woof" in English but "wang, wang" in Chinese, right?  Onomatopoeia is not only a fun word to say, but it is also a very fun thing to discuss with people from other cultures/languages.

Anyway, they were shouting out names of animals, and I was giving them their English sounds.  One of them asked for "deer."

And just like I said for rabbit and mouse, I replied "deer don't make sounds."  And another student said, "Yes the do.  They say 'honey.'"

Ha. Ha. 

But, actually for an EFL student to make a play on the words "deer" and "dear" right there in class is pretty impressive.

senior class pictures

While some things at my new school are different than at my previous school, some things remain the same.  Taking senior portraits in late November and December is one of those things. :)

I teach this "class" for two "courses."  I have the back two rows for writing and the front two rows for public speaking.  They are a fun class--both halves.  In fact, I've seen them improve so much in the past 10 weeks, it makes my heart happy.  I love it when I actually can see the students learning.

In Taiwan, the white collars on the graduation gowns means they are getting a four year bachelor's degree.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or 中秋節 in Chinese, is the second largest holiday in Taiwan.  It is a harvest celebration and occurs when the moon is her biggest.  So, this year that is today, September 25th.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a national holiday in Taiwan.  So, that is why we had the four-day weekend.  However, Monday's work and classes will have to be made up this Saturday since Monday was not a national holiday.

To celebrate the Moon Festival, people share and eat mooncakes, BBQ with friends and family, and eat pomelos. 

Mooncakes are traditionally round Chinese pastries about the size of a biscuit.  (But, they taste nothing like a biscuit!) The outside is either flaky or soft, and then the middle is filled with  . . .well, a filling.  Fillings can range from a salted egg yoke to red bean to taro to green tea. 

Here are some of the mooncakes I was given last year:

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And there here are some other pics of typical mooncakes by flickrites who've given permission to use their photos:

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Another relatively new part of the Moon Festival celebration is to BBQ with friends and family.  BBQ here is quite different than in the States.  Namely--it is done on a much smaller grill and everyone is involved the whole time.  Another major difference would be the food items on the grill. :) (Can you tell what's on the foil in the first pic below?) 

Here are some photos from 2004's Mid-Autumn Festival BBQs with students.

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Pomelos--a grapefruit-like fruit--are also part of Mid-Autumn Festival.  Of course, you eat them, but you can also wear them on your head like a hat!

Happy Moon Festival!!

Photo Credits: 1. Pandan Mooncake, 2. Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake, 3. Snow skin red bean mooncake, 4. 中秋月餅 山水楼 小淵沢, 5. Mooncakes = Yum!, 6. 基隆詠盛餅店蛋黃酥 Yolk Moon Cake1. POMELO FRUIT, 2. Pomelo

seafood pizza

Did you know that there are actually multiple kinds of "seafood pizza"?

Yes, yes, that's right . . . you can choose between:

1. Surf and Turf,
2. Shrimp Delight,
3. (Just Plain) Seafood,
4. Seafood Jungle,
5. Lobster Abalone Cheesy Lava 3, or
6. French Style Seafood.

When some of my students came to my house for an end of the year/graduation party, they ordered pizza.  They had three different kinds of the above seafood pizzas and Black Pepper Beef pizza (the above picture).

And, once, I ordered a Shrimp Delight for my own dinning pleasure.  It was so momentous an occasion--that I choose to order a seafood pizza by myself--that I deemed the occasion picture-worthy (see below). :)

Don't knock till you try it!!

So, exactly how many kinds of seafood pizza have YOU tried lately?

Tiffany and Becka's adventures--day 7

Day 7 didn't quite go as planned.  It was supposed to be a total "play in water" day with lots of swimming in beautiful clear waters and playing on white sand beaches.

We started the morning by going to a great snorkeling place.  We rented snorkeling masks and some flippers.  Tied Gilby up to a coral reef thingee and got wet.

Tiffany and Rebecca took off to go snorkeling, while I gave my students quick lessons on spitting into the mask  to clean it and on breathing through your mouth while floating in the water.  They tried for awhile, and I went to check on Tiff and Becka.

The water was mostly shallow, but there was this 3-4 meter space that was a little deep--maybe 10 or 12 feet deep, and then it got shallow again.  My students got to that part and tried to decide how to best cross.  They had told me they were all swimmers but didn't feel confident in their swimming ability--most pools in Taiwan are no more than 4 feet deep, so "swimmers" can stand up at anytime. 

I helped one across with her holding onto my ankle, and thought the others were going to go rent some life jackets.  I hadn't seen Tiff and Becka in awhile--coral reef rocks blocked my view.  So, I went to go check on them while my students went to go get life jackets. 

Tiffany and Becka were fine and having fun, so I headed back to where my students would be.  I heard one of them scream my name, so I started to swim a little faster.  As I rounded the coral rock that blocked my view of where they were, I saw one of my students floating bottom up in the water far away from the other girls. 

All I saw where Judy's pink shorts bobbing in the water--an image I will never, ever forget. 

Panic flooded my heart.  Adrenaline flooded my bloodstream.  And, I swam as quickly as I could to get to her.

After I got to her, I pulled her back across the gap until I could stand, flipped her over, and started breathing into her mouth.  As I started to breathe for her, I realized all color had left her face except for her purple lips and that her eyes had rolled into the back of her head.

At this point, I thought she was gone, and the first thing I thought was "she is not a Believer yet.  Don't let her die!"  Then, I screamed "NO!" from the depth of my gut as I silently started to pray, pinched her nose and started to breathe into her again. 

All kinds of images and thoughts flooded my head in rapid succession, but I continued to breathe for her as we slowly dragged her up until the water was much more shallow, and we could lay her on the ground.  The other students had yelled for help and a nearby snorkeling guide came over to give us instructions.  At about the same time, Judy started breathing for herself!  Praise the Lord!!

Within about 10 min she threw up, and I felt much more relived.  We finally got her sitting up, but her eyes kept rolling back into her head.  Every time this happened, my heart fluttered and I told her "Don't go to sleep, Judy.  Come back to me.  Stay awake."  Her eyes would come back, and she would stare at me. 

Eventually, we got her to an ambulance and off to the hospital.  Two of the other girls went with her.  This left me, Tiffany, Rebecca, and two of my students--I pulled us into a circle and started to pray aloud for Judy.  For about ten minutes I was shaky and could do nothing--the adrenaline rush was over.

Judy made it.  She is alive.  God saved her.  It was a miracle.  She knows it.  Her friends know it.

Later that day, when I had taken Tiffany and Becka to go eat lunch, I called to check on Judy.  She answered the phone with "thank you for praying for me"--not "thank you for saving me."  I smiled.  I loved that she knew it was the power of prayer that had saved her. I loved that her friends had told her that I was praying and had missionary friends praying for her too.

After she had been released from the little town hospital, we were all sitting around waiting for the taxi-van back to Kaohsiung.  We sat and talked about God's love, God's grace, God's power--His miracle saving power.  One of the girls said, "I didn't think I would ever see you again.  It really is a miracle that you are sitting here with us this afternoon."  Judy, an idol worshiper, told us it was the Christian God who saved her because she had a Christian friend who told her a long time ago that she was praying for her each day.

When we got back to Kaohsiung, I convinced Judy to go to a better hospital to be checked again.  She was admitted for two nights to watch for signs of fever and other complications from "near-drowning."  However, she was fine.  Again, praise the Lord!!

When I think back on that day, I can't but be amazed about how great God is.  The timing was perfect.  Had I been there earlier when she was fighting to survive--I might not been able to save her.  Had I been there any later--she might not have made it.   The fact that I had my wits about me and peace in the midst of it all is miraculous.  The fact that CPR in the water worked is miraculous.  The fact that I could even remember how to do CPR after learning how ten years ago is miraculous. 

Yes, day 7 was nothing short of a miracle.  Please pray for Judy and her friends.  I can just envision this being something that God will use to draw many, many to Himself.  And, I can't wait to see how!!

Tiffany and Becka's adventures--day 6 (part 2)

After several outdoor stops and riding around on mopeds in the HOT sun, we needed to cool off.  So, what better way than to enjoy some fruit and ice?  Me and my students introduced Tiffany and Rebecca to what would be their first of many "chaw bing" delights. :)

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After an early evening swim, we celebrated two birthdays on the beach--Afra's and Anna's.  It was my first time to ever have cake on the beach!! :)

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Then we had dinner off the street--Kenting Street turns into a night market at night with lots of souvenir shopping and great foods to try.  The girls were able to have some of their faves--Taiwanese fried chicken and freshly squeezed-to-order fruit drinks.  I, on the other hand, got to enjoy squid and try duck's tongue for the first time (let's just say it is harder to chew than pig's ears).

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Before Tiffany, Becka, and I crashed and fell asleep (while the others went back out to the night market street till 3 in the morning) . . . we went back to the beach to play with sparklers.  Fun!!

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Finally, one of the cool things is that all along Kenting Street, right behind all the street vendors and above all the souvenir shops are small "hotels."  And, the fun thing about these hotels is that they have rooms with beds for EIGHT people!  That's right--eight girls, one room.  Fun, right? :)

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And, that's it for day 6.  Once again, if you want to you can look at all the day 6 pictures on flickr (there are over 200 from that day alone).

Tiffany and Becca's adventures--day 6 (part 1)

On Day 6 we went to Kenting.  Kenting is on the southern tip of Taiwan and a vacation spot for many.   The three of us (and Gilby too) joined five of my students who had just graduated for a few days of summer fun.

We rented mopeds and then took off. . . . Rebecca was our "on moped photographer."

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Our first two stops were the South and East Gates and city wall in HengChuan.

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There was a row of yellow lantana and black butterflies everywhere. It was so pretty.

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After that we stopped to see the famous "out of earth fire."  Natural gases escape from the ground and can be lit.  Kind of neat to see, but hard to photograph and REALLY hot!!

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We then went to the east coast side of the southern tip--jia-le-sway.  We were here to cool off just a bit and to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean.  But, in reality, Tiffany and Becka got a taste for the Taiwanese people's love of photo-taking. :)

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We made two more quick scenic stops before rounding the most southern tip of the island and heading back to our hotel completing our circle around the bottom of the island.

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Day 6 was a long day . . . so, I'll talk about the rest of the day later.  Of course, you can look at all the day 6 pictures on flickr (there are over 200 from that day alone).

Tiffany and Becca's adventures--day 4

Day 4 with Tiffany included a trip back across the island.  But, first we took a few pictures at the hotel.  Taiwan's aboriginal people live on the east coast.  We were staying in the PaiWan Tribe area.  There are 12 different aboriginal tribes in Taiwan in addition to the Taiwanese (Hokkien) people, Hakka people, and Mainlanders. 

We took the afternoon "off" and rested a bit.  Then for dinner, we had DimSum with Larina and her parents in downtown Kaohsiung. 

Of course we rode our mopeds there.  Although their backsides ached a little from the trip, they truly enjoyed the experience and the night scenes here.

Then, the best part of the day happened!!  We went to a Taiwanese night market!!  If you have not been to a night market while in Taiwan, you haven't really been to Taiwan. ;)

We were kinda full when we got there, but still we tried some new things . . . like "tea in a bag" and a chocolate covered frozen banana.

And, we played some "night market games" too!

And, did some shopping and lots of just looking at new stuff.

But, perhaps their favorite part of the whole night was "fishing" for turtles with tissue paper hoops.  The paper gets wet and breaks so it is not an easy feat at all.  But, Tiffany got four and Rebecca got two.  I was impressed!!  So, now there are turtles living in my home too.

More Day 4 pictures are on my Flickr.

Our night market trip was thanks to Andy, who was our awesome tour guide! 

Graduation Taiwanese Style

Saturday night, I went to the graduation ceremony at my school. This was not a new experience for me, but because two bloggers recently commented about the whole Taiwanese graduation experience on their blogs, I paid more attention to the culture differences myself.

Charlotte did a great job describing exactly what a typical high school graduation is like here in Taiwan.  There are a few differences between high school and college graduations, but on the whole they are quite similar.

Taiwanese graduations tend to be quite informal, and there is no focus on the individual achievement of the students.  Ours even included a rock concert at the end (although about 75% of the graduates had left by that point).  At least at our school (but it seems like at others too) students take pictures the entire ceremony (such as the one above) and wander around at will.  No other teachers were present except the "mentor teachers" (or class adviser).  (I showed up because the students had asked me to--not because I was required to be there.)

At one point, after some dancing and bar tending on stage, the top student of each department was called on stage to receive in honor of all students in their department a diploma.  All the graduates stood and were pronounced graduated.  The dean of each department then went through the crowds and moved the graduates tassels from the left to the right.  This however was the first time I had seen this happen.  Then some awards were given to top students in each class.

Diplomas will be passed out to those who can receive them later--ie have actually passed all their classes and only took senior courses this semester.  If they have to attend summer school (or even one more year) or are are still taking a junior class (which isn't completed until the first week of July) they can attend the graduation ceremony but will not get their diploma.  The receiving of your diploma is a very informal thing done with no pomp and circumstance at all. (One or my former students told me that at his current school, they actually "graduated" before taking finals.)

Char makes two points I whole-heartedly agree with, first, she points out that unlike our western focus on the individual, here in Taiwan the "students were graduating as a class, as a grade, as a school."

It is another example of the "Big Me" (society) vs. the "Little Me" (the individual).  In Taiwanese culture the Big Me always outshines the Little Me.  In some ways I like that they were together as a class--that they were able to graduate with friends.  I remember in high school, college, and grad school graduating next to perfect strangers since my friends were not next to me alphabetically.

Char also points out that by only allowing the top students to be recognized on stage, "it doesn't do a lot to encourage the majority of the average or even mediocre students. They should be given the chance to feel proud of their achievement, even if they weren't number one in their class."  I agree. 

I would add to this that the focus is not at all what any of these students have done.  When I told my students "congratulations" in English or Chinese they were kinda dumbfound and would tell me "congratulations to YOU."  The short speeches made during the ceremony mostly wish the students good health in the future--one VP even reminded the students to exercise so they could live longer.  Nothing is said about "you worked so hard and we are proud of you."

Instead it is more like a goodbye or going away party.  The ceremony starts off by talking about what a sad day it is and how hard it is to leave and say goodbye to friends.  It ends with groups of students hugging and crying tears that can't be stopped--and this in a culture where displays of affection and emotion are very rare.  It is further not about their accomplishments because some of them won't even be graduating for another month, summer, or even school year.

Some other things of difference to note:

• "The graduation song" in Taiwan is actually the one we sing on New Year's, "Auld Lang Syne."  And it is played at the end, as in "And now we will play our graduation song."
• The red roses and ribbons they are wearing say "graduating student."  They all wear these--just like at weddings here the father of the bride wears one that says "father of the bride."
• Something Sandy has pointed out is the lack of family and friends who attend graduation ceremonies in Taiwan.  She is right, and this just goes to further support the idea that this is not about celebrating a great achievement, but is rather a goodbye party for the graduates.
• There are no graduation invitations to send or mail out.
• There are no individual graduation parties or dinners--it is all about the class and classmates and saying goodbye.
• Graduates are given flowers.  That might be the only sign of individual "congrats" given.  I don't really think they are given any other kind of graduation gift from family or friends. 
• This year, the entire time of diploma and award giving music--which sounded like it was from a movie soundtrack--played, which created an air of anticipation and suspense.  Later songs about "new worlds" and "good friends" from Disney movies were played, which helped encourage the emotional break-down.
• This year they students didn't march in or out.  Many left after they "stood to graduate" and their cap's tassel was moved over.
• Since we were outside this year and it was at night, we also had fireworks to go off near the end.
• There is only one graduation ceremony a year even for college students.  Graduating students finish the spring semester an entire month early.  And then graduate 2 or 3 weeks before the school holds finals for all the other students.