Monday, May 23, 2011
Got my flight itinerary about two hours ago. I am leaving the States on June 27 on a red-eye flight and have a relatively brief lay-over in LAX before continuing my 14+ hour journey into Taipei.
Um.
So my preparations between now and then include:
- Getting more passport photos taken
- Applying for my Visa
- Getting stabbed elebenty times with needles at the Health Center on Thursday
- Applying for an International Drivers Permit
- Training
- Trying not to freak out too much
Labels: Taiwan
Monday, May 16, 2011
Remember how it's only been six weeks since my last trip to California/Disneyland? And how this past trip marks my third time going this year? For The Cousin, it was his first time. However, because I have been So. Many. Times. Now, I didn't take many pictures.
I honestly can't tell you how long it has been since I last rode the teacups, but I don't intend on riding them again anytime soon, if ever.
I'm a real toy!
A mirror Dad found in one of the shops on Paradise Pier
Labels: Disney, Family, travel
My last final (which, if you haven't heard already, I got 100% on- no lies!) was on May 4th. Because I don't love my school, I decided to skip out on walking at the ceremony, and Dad, The Cousin, and I drove up to Provo instead (Mom flew up and met us later in the day) on the 6th. After dropping The Cousin off with The Sister, Dad and I proceeded to drive to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. This Tulip Festival had two things that the last Tulip Festival I went to didn't have: more flowers and more people.
Labels: Photography, travel
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Hey, guys! Good news! Guess who finally heard back about Taiwan?!
Alright, a little back-tracking first.
So, you may have noticed that I have been hanging out at my old elementary school lately (where I learned about what cud actually is from a second-grader). This has been awesome, and I have been glad to do it, but I probably never would have even
thought about volunteering at an elementary school if it hadn't have been for the fact that I was asked to do so for 10-15 hours before the school in Taiwan would really consider hiring me. So I did that last week, wrote up an essay on my experience at the school, and submitted a new teaching video. That made for a busy week as I had to do it all by Thursday so that I could hand everything in while I was up in Utah County on Friday (btw, that Carl Bloch exhibit at the MOA? Ah-mazing. I loved it. I wanted every single painting in there, but settled for the
Pool of Betheseda. Still need a frame for it...). I am probably going to keep volunteering at the school this week, foot allowing.
This past Tuesday I was watching a movie at a friend's house when I got a phone call from ILP, so I excused myself and darted out the door to answer it. The school was apparently impressed with my new submissions and just wanted to clarify a few things before they made any final decisions.
Then yesterday afternoon happened. As Mom, Sister, and I were in the store right outside the Grizzly River Rapids Ride in DCA (Disney California Adventure for all you that are not in the know of the Disney acronyms), I got another phone call from ILP. The school decided to accept me! I have just finished reading over the handbook and the contract; I expect to send the contract back up to ILP on Monday. Assuming everything continues to work out, I will be teaching at the Berhan Language Institute in Feng Yuan, Taichung.
This new step in my life means many thing, but the most pertinent to the is blog is that I will be purchasing more storage space for my account so that I may continue to upload pictures. Hooray!
Oh, yeah. Also, I am officially graduated with my AA (I pass all of my classes with A's this semester, even, and 100% on at least one of my finals). Finally. After approximately six years of continued education. Go me!
Meanwhile, I cannot even tell you how many blogs I have read now about other ex-pats in Taiwan. I am so excited to go!
Labels: School, Taiwan
Thursday, May 05, 2011
(40) Alma 5:14 "Have ye received his image in your countenances?" Did you know that "countenance" can also be defined as "support," not only the definition that we traditionally associate with this scripture? I like the effect that has on this verse, too. Have you received his image in your support? Do you do those things which allow the Lord to support you?
(41) Alma 7:23 "always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."I noticed that this doesn't say to only give thanks for the things that we received that we wanted/asked for. Sometimes we "receive" or are given things and opportunities that we didn't really want, yet we should still be thankful and express our gratitude for these things, too.
(42) Alma 7:27 "And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever." If we have faith and do good works, we will be blessed with peace.
(43) Alma 9:11 "Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe." This is one of those verses that I feel is important to relate to us as individuals and make more personal. When we do so, we are reminded of God's matchless love for us (individually) and how merciful He is.
(44) Alma 9:17 "And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name." I think this is a beautiful thing to remember that God is merciful to those who turn to him and rely on him.
(45) Alma 9:29 "Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people." This actually reminded me of the talk that Elder Holland gave this past General Conference when he said,
My brethren and sisters among the general officers of the Church will be uneasy with [this] description, but that is how I seem them- mortal messengers with angelic messages...Now, these mortal angels who come to this pulpit have, each in his or her own way, sounded “the trump of God.” Every sermon given is always, by definition, both a testimony of love and a warning, even as nature herself will testify with love and a warning in the last days.
(46) Alma 10:6 "Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear." This caused me to wonder how many times each of us (me, specifically) have been called yet refused to hear or to listen to the council of the Lord.
(47) Alma 10:11 "For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake." When we listen to the prophet of God and take his words into our very homes and implement those words, we are blessed, and our families are blessed with us.
(48) Alma 10:23 "But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand, but in his fierce anger he will come out against you." We often only think about this in context of a population (like Sodom and Gamora), however, if we as individuals were to "cast out" our own righteousness, if we were to cease to do good or to keep the commandments, then we individually would be ripe for destruction. Just because you may be surrounded by other people that are good, that doesn't mean that you are safe from the judgement of God. I think an entire population could be righteous but for one person, and that one person could and probably would experience the fierce anger of the Lord if they refused to repent.
(49) Alma 12:13 "Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word..." Do you remember how Jesus is the Word? If we read this verse with that in mind, then it takes on a deeper meaning. "If we have hardened our hearts against Jesus Christ, insomuch that he has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned." See also verse 11, because I think this is also applicable to that verse. (Verse 11 says, "And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries..."
Labels: Book of Mormon, Religion, Svithe
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Today I learned about cud while having a second grader read a book to me about cows. I always knew that cows chewed cud, but what I didn't know (and maybe this is just me being naive or clueless or a little of both) is that cud is basically vomit that cows keep eating.
That's disgusting. Why is beef my favorite meat?
On that note, a bus-load of seven- and eight-year olds is probably the loudest experience I have ever had in my life, followed closely by 150 (ish, I'm totally guessing) seven- and eight-year olds at an indoor pool. I consider it a miracle that I have any sense of hearing left!
Also, I take my last final tomorrow. Have I studied for it much? Nope, not at all. Will I at some point tonight? Well, hopefully. But probably not until after NCIS. Got to keep my priorities straight here.
Labels: animals, children, School
