We have been in Taiwan for a little over 3 weeks now.
There was much preparation the first 2 weeks…planning lessons and buying props to set up the class rooms. Not all of the teachers were here yet, some teaching at camps the others still in the US.
There was much preparation the first 2 weeks…planning lessons and buying props to set up the class rooms. Not all of the teachers were here yet, some teaching at camps the others still in the US.
Shong and I at the Press Conf in Taipei.
Shong was a big help to us as we prepared and worked out some of the initial “bugs”, she is a girl that you can count on to get things done. Wes kept us all in the know, as much as possible, and gave tips on teaching, and explaining the “guidelines” for our team. My Dad “preached” the first Sunday we were here. He has brought good counsel for us and for Wes as the leader. Mr. Sun, the president of the King Kar company that is sponsoring us with the government, has been so kind to us, even thanking God for us and our hard work. He is quite the visionary, and it is a blessing to try and help carry out the vision that he has for the Happy English Village.
All teachers are here and accounted for now. It was especially nice to have us all together when the Media day came. It was crazy with all the media running and stepping all over themselves just to get a good shot or to be the first to a class room. We learned a new meaning of being flexible, as TV reporters would come in and ask that we re-do some of our lesson over and over again so that they could get a good camera angle on it. The children loved it! They were so excited to think that they would be on TV, or in the newspaper. Even the Mayor stopped by some of our classrooms, and at that time the teaching with the children was stopped completely as we stepped aside and all attention was on him, giving him the respect he deserves. He encouraged the children of Taiwan to take the opportunity of coming to this Happy English Village in Taoyuan.
We have about 120 students come in on Monday through Tuesday and another 120 on Thursday-Friday. So far we teach 5 classes a day, for 40 min each. So at the end of the two day English Village immersion, the kids have visited 10 classes. We have… the Library, Bank, Store, Hotel, Clinic, Drama, Science, Cooking, Dance, and Airport. We will be adding other classes later.I have been almost exclusively teaching in the Bank. And so it is my “baby” at the moment. We have a very real looking bank room. Teller windows, computers at the desks, money counter, a customer number machine (as the kids wait in line we call their customer number), a big flat screened TV with the Exchange rates updated in real life time, and to top it all off, we have a real ATM machine! Though, we only withdraw EV (English Village) dollars with it, not real money. Each child experiences the bank in a vary real way. They take a number, deposit money at the teller window, and withdraw money from the ATM.
I have already been able to share about why I am here with my family. I hope as we serve the Taiwanese people by teaching English to the children, that the love of Jesus will show forth from our lives, and that we can tell them that Jesus loves them, and that Jesus wants to know them! Please pray that we will continue to have the energy and the joy of Christ evident in us as we teach the same lessons to probably every 5th grader in Taiwan this year. :-)
