following an unknown path

photo scavenger hunt: money

I once again saw Mountain Musings' Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt and finally decided to join her and others in the fun. Today's theme was "money." 

For Christmas 2003, my sister, Sarah, came to see me in Taiwan.  In the photo above, she displays several 1000 New Taiwan Dollar bills.  Each 1000 NT dollar bill is worth about 30 something US dollars.

My brother shows me his wallet which is full of 100 New Taiwan Dollar Bills.  Each 100 NT bill is worth around 3 US dollars.

But the sad thing about money in Taiwan is "spirit money".  Taiwanese people burn spirit money (also called "ghost money" or "paper money").  They burn it believing that it is going to their ancestors who can then use the money to buy things in the spirit world.  Twice a month, I can see people in my neighborhood burning money to the spirits. 

Photos from above mosiac can be found full size on the following pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

 

Right now, it is the middle of Ghost Month, so there is even more burning of paper money than normal.  Ghost Month is a month where the Taiwanese (and others in Asia) beleive that the gates of Hades are opened and the spirits allowed to roam free on earth.  While the ghosts roam the land of the living, the living must appease them by offering them food, gifts, and money.  Morever the living are scared and try to take precautions against avoiding evil--they will not move to new houses, will not marry, will not make any major purchases, and will not go swimming or take part in other "dangerous sports."

Please pray for the Taiwanese.  Oh how they need to be set free from the lies and the fear that binds them!

I forgot to say thanks

Back in the middle of July when I was in travelling, Sallie announced the Blogs of Beauty Awards. 

I was actually a finalist in the "Best Encourager for Singles" category, but the award went to, as it rightly deserved to, Carolyn at Solo Feminity.  Most of my posts on singleness of late were all quoting her blog or her book!  And, like I have said before if you are a single female, go now and find a copy of Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? and start reading!  You'll be very glad you did!

Also, I was nominated for "Best Encourager in General." And that award went to another blogging missionary living in overseas: a very joyful Joy from Joy in the Journey.

I've been meaning to post on this and say two things.  First of all, thank you to whoever nominated for me for these awards.  It is great to know that people are actually reading my words and as a result are being encouraged.  All honor and glory goes to the Father!  Second of all, if you haven't checked out the nominees, finalists, and winners, you should!  You will find your list of "must-read blogs" growing by leaps and bounds!!  Thanks to Sallie for undertaking such a huge task that blessed so many women in so many ways!!

explore the world's population

Did you know that over 1/2 of the world’s population is in Asia!?!  Over HALF!

Did you know that 12 of the 15 largest cities in the world are in Asia!?! (The other 3 are LA, NY, and Mexico City.)

Amazing!

I discovered online a nifty interative world population "map."  I suggest you play with the sliders on the right of the "map" to see the stats in different ways.   It's really fun and informative too.

While playing with this unique tool, I was reminded that most of the unreached people groups on earth appear to be the most densely populated.

In fact, The 10/40 window, the area of the world that extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees north of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China, contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world.   

And, do you know what?  Two-thirds of the world's population live in this window!!  Two-thirds!!!  That is about 3.2 BILLION people!

That is an overwhelming number!  I wonder just how many of those 3.2 billion  people have never even heard the name of Jesus, much less the Gospel.

This number seems so overwhelming and daunting to me.  That is why I love Revelation 7:9 so much.  It promises individuals from all tribes, peoples, and langauges will one day worship the King of Kings: "I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb."  Amen!

So, what can we do?  We can pray.  We can adopt a people group (more info here).  We can give.  We can go.

Because we know that "this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations" (Matthew 24:14).

cool stuff that is coming up

This week's Carnival of Beauty is hosted by Ellen, and the topic is "The Beauty of the Psalms."  There is still time to submit your post if you wanna participate this week.  If you haven't participated before, please make sure you check out the guidelines over at Sallie's blog.

_______

The Christian Women Online ladies have started a new meme that looks like fun.  They will give a quote on Fridays which is to inspire blog posts by Christian women around the world.  On Tuesdays, you can visit CWO to find a list of links to the blogs that participated.  Sounds like fun . . . I will try it out after my vacation is over! 

But if you wanna go for it--this week the deadline is quickly approaching--so get inspired QUICK!! :)

___________

After talking about the value of reading for a week, the girl talk ladies are starting a girl talk book club.  The first book is one I just bought, Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur. 

Here is how they say the club will work:

* We’ll pick a book and post it on our sidebar.
* Each week, we will read one chapter and we hope you’ll read with us.
* Along with the chapter assignment, we’ll ask a question, and invite you to submit your answer.
* Among the answers, we will choose one to post.
* That person will receive an author-signed copy of the Girltalk Book Club selection.
* We will also comment on the chapters as we go along.

They are giving everyone a week to buy the book and then will started.  If it sounds like something that suits you, go check it out!

taiwan tour

Sam and I are leaving for our Tour of Taiwan today. :)

I am so excited!! 

School is now over.  Grades are turned in.  We've had our final departmental meeting.  Our Summer English Camp is even over too!  My office at school is all packed and in boxes.  It is time to party and to explore, to go and to see!!

We are going to Meinong this weekend (where I lived for a year).   Then we will go all the way north to my friend's home.  From there, we will travel up to see things in Tapei (like the world's tallest building and art that is thousands of years old).  Then on our way back down south, we will visit a friend in Taichung and then spend a day in Tainan. 

Have I mentioned that I am excited?  I might even be more excited than Sam!  (Although, he begs to differ.)

_________

***Updated***

There is only one damper to all this excitement that we have to battle. :(  A typhoon is coming!!  Just now, as I was typing, it started to rain.  So I popped over to the weather site for Taiwan and found this:

You see all those little rain clouds right?  One for every single day of our trip!!!  :(  This little chart and the rain outside my window made me go from this:

To this:

But . . . I guess we will just have to try and have fun in the rain because we are going to go on our Taiwan Tour no matter what!!  But, we will make safe choices, Mom and NeeNee--I promise.

And, regardless of the weather, we will take lots of pictures to share with you when we come back around the 18th.  So, see you again then!

Which Asian Country to Visit?

You Should Travel to India

You're a passionate, gusty traveler - and India's gritty urban centers won't scare you away. Maybe you'll take in the Taj Mahal, eat the best curry of your life, or attend a huge street festival.

What Asian Country Should You Visit?

You Should Travel to China

China can satisfy your craving for many travel opportunities in one trip. You can hang out in modern Shanghai, walk along the great wall, or visit sacred mountains.

What Asian Country Should You Visit?

For SO MANY of the questions I wanted to choose 2, 3, or 4 answers!!  I know it is just a silly blogthing, so I did it more than once just to see what other choice the author of the quiz was offering.  :)

I really would like to visit South Korea and Thailand--really, really want to.  I've been to China, Hong Kong, and Japan.  I wouldn't mind going back to a different part of China or Japan for that matter, and would love to explore Hong Kong with my best friend (have only been for mission trips or mission training before).  Cambodia, Vietnam, the Phillipines, Indonesia, and Singapore are places I could see myself visiting.  As is India.  But I don't see myself living in those Counties--unless God does some major reconstruction on my heart again. :)

fives

I don't often do meme's but I saw this on a few blogs recently and thought I would give it a whirl.

5 Things in my Refrigerator

1. taco seasoning
2. kool-aid packages (its so humid here I store them in the fridge)
3. my treasured supply of Obrit Bubblemint gum from the States (ditto the humid thing)
4. a bottle of soy sauce
5. my almost empty Mrs. Butterworth's Lite that I brought from America since syrup is SO expensive here

5 Things in my Closet:

1. all of my clothes (I have no dresser)
2. my new pink weekend travel bag
3. plane tickets back to the States
4. mine and Sam's passports
5. three dirty clothes hampers (one for lights, one for darks, and one for demin)

5 Things in my Purse:

1. my fave pink pen (uni jetstream)
2. my pink sunglasses
3. my camera
4. my other fave pen (Pentel Rolly C4)
5. a pack of Black Black

5 Things in my Car:
(I don't have a car, so here are 5 things in/on my moped)

1. my raincoat
2. my helmet
3. Sam's helmet
4. probably a reciept or two
5. my tire lock

5 People to Tag:
(I am stealing from Deb here)

You! In my comments section or on your blog (trackback to let me know so I can go read)!

nifty

Owlhaven recently had a fun post trying to find out the ABC's of her readers' whereabouts.  And she bestowed upon me her Very Interesting Person Award for my comment on her post. 

I don't have many mommy blogs in my bloglines, but I have been keeping an eye on the Owlhaven blog ever since I read about her garden--that's when I found out she had a large family.  I also really liked her stars, but once I saw her family picture and read a little more about her family, I was hooked. 

I was hooked because she is living the life I dreamed about as a teenager--oh except that I had dreamed of 12 kids, not just 8. ;)  However, maybe her family's not complete yet I don't know.  You wanna know a little secret?  I even had lists of possible names for all 12 children.  Sometimes they were named in alphbetical order (yes, I had a male and female choice for each letter), sometimes they were all Biblical. 

Anyway, since I am busy with grading finals and sick with a terrible cold, why don't you pop over and say hi.  You can check out her lastest garage sale finds.

my new banner

Becky (aka Joyful Mother) helped me create my new blog banner.  She has a graphics website where she offers banners and other graphics as purchase wear.  Go check her out!

home sweet home

You know the feeling.  I know you do. 

You go away on a trip out of town.  You stay in a hotel room or in someone's guest room.  It's nice at first--a fancy recliner to sit in, new things on the walls to look at and enjoy, different trees lining the roads, a new set of stores to explore.  But, then . . . after awhile, you long for the familar again. 

There is a kind of relaxing that your body does as you turn back into your old neighborhood.  You open the front door to your own home and the scent of home washes over you.  It feels so good to sit on your old couch, to sleep in your own bed.  Ahh, home, sweet, home.

The first time this happened to me in Taiwan, it shocked me.  I left my apartment for a few days out of town.  When I walked into a home that looked like nothing I would or even could have in the States, I felt at home.  That is because it was my home.  It was a wonderful feeling.  I remember making a mental note of that moment.  It happened three years ago.  I've never questioned it since.

But, I digress. 

I have missed blogging.  My mom asked me the other day "are you really that busy?"  In some ways yes and in some ways no.  I know that in life there is not really such thing as "no time for . . . "  We choose to spend our time the way we spend it.  If I don't have time for blogging, it is because I am choosing to spend time on something else. 

Since my sister's wedding--which was over a month ago--I have only posted 9 times.  A little break was nice, but I miss taking the time to read other's blogs and blog myself.  But, like I said, I have choosen to spend my time in other ways--namely with my kid brother. 

So, what does this have to do with home sweet home, you ask?  Well, opening up the website of my blogging service is like opening the front door and breathing in the scent of home.  Sending words deep into the blogosphere is like sitting on my own worn couch. 

I regret that my little break from blogging conincided with the same time I was to be  blogging weekly with a Beth Moore Bible Study Group.  The study we were doing, Living Beyond Yourself, is/was incredible--life changing really.  After looking at who is the Holy Spirit, she took us through the fruit (yes, singular) of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I apologize to the group for not upholding my commitment to the weekly posting.  Perhaps this summer I can do a series on the fruit of the Spirit.  I am a sinner saved by grace.

I can't promise daily posts just yet, but I do know that I am going to begin posting more regularly again because well . . . it is like coming home.

fours

My sister emailed me her answers to this meme, and I told her I would reply online.

Four jobs I have had:

1. Foreign Language Instructor
2. Peer Writing Consultant
3. Telephone Recruiter for DBU Admissions
4. Employee at Bill Miller BBQ

Four movies I could watch over and over

1. A Walk to Remember
2. Ever After
3. First Knight
4. Save the Last Dance

Four places I have lived:

1. Hazen, Arkansas, USA (population: around 1,500)
2. Cedar Creek, Texas, USA (pop in 1990: 145; current pop: around 9,000--that is a lot of growing in 16 years!)
3. Dallas, Texas, USA (pop: about 1,200,000)
4. Kaohsiung, Taiwan (pop: about 1,500,000; with over 9,700 per sq. km. can you say crowded?) [actually, though, I live in Kaohsiung County--in DaLiao Township-- and have no idea how to find population info for that. :)]

Four TV show I like watching:

1. Gilmore Girls
2. I Love Lucy
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. Numbers

Four places I've been during vacation:

1. Japan (various cities)
2. All over Taiwan
3. Hong Kong
4. Beijing, China

Four websites I visit daily:

1. my personalized google.com
2. gmail.com
3. bloglines.com
4. flickr.com

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Cheese
2. Chocolate
3. Fruit
4. and anything TexMexy or TexItaliany :)

Four places I'd rather be right now:

1. with my sister helping her get ready for her wedding
2. with my grandmother, just sitting and talking
3. with my mom, dad, and brother, laughing our heads off
4. on a swing feeling the air blow against my face

the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth

Hmmm . . . no one guessed the right answer to this post.  Like Bethany, I included truth in most of them, but changed just a little to make them fiction.  It's kinda funny the three almost trues were all guessed, but the total truth one and the total lie one both were not. :)

1. I have been to Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, and Thailand, but never Mexico.  And, I claim both Taiwan and Texas as "home."
This one is almost all true except that I have never been to Thailand.  Thailand and Korea are both on my "would love to visit list."  This one was sneaky of me--sorry. :)

2. My sister and I knew my mom was going to have a son before she did--we were 13 and 15 years old when he was born.
Again, almost true.  My brother was born when I was 15 and Sarah was 13.  I had started to pray for a brother long before my mom was pregnant; Sarah joined me.  When I decided to tell my mom about our prayers, she got quite upset at me and said very sternly, "never pray things for others without asking them first!!"  I still remember exactly what we were doing at that moment--peeling potatoes together in the kitchen.  When I told her, she thought she was going through early menopause but actually she was pregnant with Sam! 

The two sonograms done both indicated Sam was a girl.  Sarah insisted that he was a boy because we had prayed for a brother.  Mom picked out a girl's name "Victoria Paige" (meaning: one who announces victory) and bought lots of pink things.  When the baby entered the world, the doctor announced he was a boy--mom actually told the doctor, "no he is not.  I am having a girl!"  Anywho, after talking about names Samuel Joe Austin was decided on.  We had been referring to the baby all along as Baby Sammy.  Later Dad looked up the meaning of Samuel.  It means "God hears."  Perfect!   

3. Right after I got my driver's license, I drove through our family's garage door--leaving a large gaping hole.
This really did happen.  It just happened before I got my license.  I was 15, my mom was 8 months pregnant, and Dad was out of state on his annual fly-fishing trip.  I freaked out as I sat there with the car's hood still 1/2 in the garage with the door staring right at me.  Mom just said, "stop being so emotional.  put it in reverse and get out of the car. you have to tell your dad."  To this day, I do not know how she remained so calm.  We called Dad,  mom talked first.  When I got on the phone he said, "So, I hear you put a new window in the garage door, what happened?"  I then gave further details.  I don't remember his exact words, but they were calming and comforting and ended with something like "don't worry its ok; I will take care of it when I get home."  And he did.  I don't remember it being talked about again, except to tease me later.

4. Just for fun, I was a competitive barrel racer when I was in college--competing mostly at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo in the Dallas Area.
This one?  Total lie.  Well, when I was in kindergarten I did compete in a barrel race but that was on a stick horse for my class rodeo.  I even had cute red cowgirl boots and a brown cowgirl hat. 

5. I once fought with my sister (when we were tweens) so loud that the neighbors actually called the police who came to our house to see if we were being abused.
So, through the process of elimination this one must be it, right?  It is.  This one is all truth!  Sarah and I had had a bad week or two--fighting all the time.  For some reason, mom and dad both needed to be gone on a Saturday.  So, we were home alone.  Mother had warned us that if we didn't get along while she was gone we would never see light of day again.  So, what did we do?  We fought tooth and nail and as soon as she was gone.  Sarah admits to starting it--she pulled the computer chair out from underneath me when I went to sit down, and from there we fought screaming and yelling, pushing and slapping around the entire house for about 30 min to an hour even maybe.  Of course it ended in tears, forgiveness and "I'm so sorry; you really are my best friend." 

Then BAM!  BAM!  BAM!  "POLICE!  OPEN UP!!"  They asked us lots of questions asking if we were ok, yelled into the house "anyone home?" and told us that our neighbors had called concerned for us and that if we needed help they could help us.  We were so scared mom was going to find out that we pledged never to tell ANYONE.  Well, we lasted a long time--we didn't tell anyone for at least 10-15 years about our "little secret" (and we told mom for the first in the presence of all her sisters).  We had to wait at least until we were old enough to not be grounded.  You see, Sarah and I kinda like the light of day. :)

which of these is not like the other?

Bethany tagged me for this meme (my first actually).

Here are the directions: Write five things about yourself with only ONE of them being true. The other four are fiction, and everyone else gets to guess which one is not fiction.  And, like Bethany, I ban "real life people who know me" from guessing.

1. I have been to Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, and Thailand, but never Mexico.  And, I claim both Taiwan and Texas as "home."

2. My sister and I knew my mom was going to have a son before she did--we were 13 and 15 years old when he was born.

3. Right after I got my driver's licence, I drove through our family's garage door--leaving a large gaping hole.

4. Just for fun, I was a competitve barrel racer when I was in college--competing mostly at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo in the Dallas Area.

5. I once fought with my sister (when we were tweens) so loud that the neighbors actually called the police who came to our house to see if we were being abused.

So . . .can you tell which of these is true?

And, if you wanna play along, consider yourself tagged!  Just let me know so I can go vote. :)

american english

I saw this over at Heather's place.  I took an entire class on "American English" in grad school.  Based on the questions this quiz asked, I turned out really "general" . . . but according to the prof of my class there is no such "general English" in existance. 

Anyway, I wonder two things:

1. Has the fact that I teach non-native speakers of English and that I have studied linguistics changed the way I use "naturally" use English?
2. How much of my English changes depending on the speaker I am conversing with? Sometimes I can "feel" the Texan slipping back into my accent when I land on the runway in Austin.

Amanda's Linguistic Profile:

80% General American English

20% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

new word

I came across a new word today: vlog.  A vlog is a blog where main content is video.

When I googled vlog, it came back with over 2 million pages!  How far behind the times am I?

When I looked on wikipedia, it says another word commonly used for vlog is vodcasting.  But, vodcast only returned a little over 1/2 a million pages on google.

Has anyone else heard of vlogging?  Anyone a vlogger?  Anyone have a vlog they frequent?  Any opinions on the future of vlogging?

the blessings of using a timer

Heather from Mom 2 Mom Connection wrote for the Carnival of Beauty this week about seeing "the boundaries of time as a blessing in order to keep [her] balanced."

I too have learned to love a timer recently.  I use them both at home and at school. 

My students got used to me using them in the classroom, but they think it is funny that I also use them at home.  I have three in my house--one on my fridge, one by my computer, and one in a central location in my home--and thanks to flylady.net they are all set to 15 minutes.

But, using a timer has been such a blessing for me.  Here is why:

--a timer lets me feel successful.  It tells me "yea! you did it! you can stop now."  otherwise, as a perfectionist, I can't stop till it is perfect.

--it lets me focus completely on my task.  I don't have to keep looking at the clock to see how much time has passed. (In class this means, I can say 20 min to finish this and then spend all my energy helping students without worrying about really using 30 or 40 min on the task--allowing me to follow my lesson plans for successfully.)

--it lets me do things I never would do otherwise.  I often think things take longer than they really do.  But doing it for 15 min is do-able--I am always surprised just how much really can be done in 15 min.

--helps me manage my day.  There are times--like today--when I have "15 min days."  I have a list of things that need to be done and take 15 min to spend on each task; after 15 min, I switch and do something else. 

When I first found flylady, I ignored her advice about a timer.  Now, I wish I had not--it is the best thing I have  found for manging my time and being productive.  Like Heather, my timer and setting time boundaries have truly been a blessing. 

The one I use at school is really cool--it is like a stoplight (the pic for this blog).  It lets us visually see how much more time we have left.  I got it from a company called Learning Resources.

a misspelled word

so you found a misspelled word.  i did too.  but you knew what i meant anyway, right?

i am a terrible speller to begin with and then add to that my typos and well . . . you have a few (probably several) spelling mistakes on this blog.

but that is ok, i am not going to stress about them.  so you shouldn't either.  i probably know about the mistake(s) you found--i see them as soon as i reread a blog entry.  but fixing them is time consuming, i just don't wanna worry with correcting every spelling boo-boo.

and, yes, i am an english teacher.  and, no, i don't count off for spelling errors! :) 

even more about amanda

I live in KaoHsiung County in southern Taiwan. This is my fifth year to live in Taiwan, and I enjoy Taiwan very much. I live in Taiwan because God brought me here to show the Taiwanese people His Love for them.

I am in Taiwan as a tentmaker--I support my missionary work by teaching college courses. I teach public speaking, biz English conversation, and English composition (the essay) regularly.  I have also taught Songs for EFL Teaching, Movie English, Internet English, listening, and pronunciation.

I graduated with my master's degree in Foreign Language Education (2003) from the University of Texas at Austin. I received my bachelor's in communication theory from Dallas Baptist University (2000).

My mom, dad, and kid brother, Sam, live near Austin, Texas.  Both my parents are teachers, and my dad is also a bi-vocational pastor.  My sister, Sarah, and my brother-in-law, Chad, both work for the Arlington Police department.  Everyone in my family enjoys laughing--and laughing loud--something I didn't realize on my own (an "outsider" pointed it out to me).

I am single, which is something I would love to be changed. :) 

And, last but definitely not least, I am a daughter of the King. I am saved by grace--something I of course do not deserve!  I desire for all that I am and all that I do to bring glory to God.  I desire to know him and make him known--this desire is the foundation of all that I am.

Thanks for stopping by following an unknown path!  I hope you find something that "tickles your fancy!"

Blogging Chicks Blogroll

         

(Please also note that I do not necessarily agree with everything or approve of all content on the sites below. In other words, as always, click with caution! :))

         
Click here to join                    

   

photo scavanger hunt blogroll

hosted by TNChick.com.

My Previous Hunts:

Money
Blue
On the Road
Food
Looking Up
Comfy
Sleeping
Dreaming
Windows
Plush
Light
Red
New
Salty
Architecture
Drink
Empty
Steps
Shiny

Come Join Us!  or View the Theme List (then come join us)!! :)

Or, view any of the participants below:
(Please also note that I do not necessarily agree with everything or approve of all content on the sites below. In other words, as always, click with caution! :))