Brainwashing, Water fun, and Typhoons

Hello y'all!

So I have been successfully brainwashing my students!  

 Go Frogs!!

They pick up on English so fast!!  Today I started teaching Ian (the one in the picture with me) to say "you're welcome" after someone says "thank you" and by the end of the day, he and two others picked up on it!  It's incredible!  I am also starting to pick up on more Chinese also.  For instance, I now know that anytime one of them says bù (sounds like boo), they are saying do not (want, know, like, etc.) so I just say yes, then they say no and I turn to my Chinese teacher for help, because arguing with a 4 year old in a different language just isn't very productive or professional (or fun).  I can also order tea in Chinese, to a very limited extent.  And I love you is (phonetically) is woah eye knee.  :]

We learned about body parts this week and Erin had them make their own bodies and they turned out super cute, and only a little creepy.*

(*some of them were not too happy by the end of the day)

Penny 

Mia

Doris

Levi

Felix

Joshua

Ian

They also have water play every Thursday and they had so much fun and were extremely cute! 

If you have not heard, we are expecting a typhoon, Soulik to be precise.  We were all hoping that we would get a Typhoon Day (similar to our Snow Days in Texas), but he decided to wait until the weekend to start making his way here.  He still hasn't hit yet, and isn't expected to hit us (in Taichung) to bad. It should be fun!

Sometimes I forget that I am in Taiwan and not just away at school again. It's weird, but I feel surprisingly comfortable and at home here.  It's going to be weird leaving here in 2 weeks for China, but I am excited (and I'll admit, nervous) to start that adventure.  I'm also ready to put up pictures and hang up my flags and begin making my room actually feel like MY ROOM.  

Erin and I don't have our Visas for China yet though, so at some point next week, we get to go the HONG KONG for 2 (maybe 4) days, so that will be a lot of fun.

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading about my adventures and daily life (and for any and all typos and grammatical errors that you may find)!

-Jodi

Pictures from Sun Moon Lake

View from the dock

Approching the ropeway

Let's go fishing!

 





Rode in these to get to the amusement park



Beautiful view of the lake from the car





The stairs to get to the amusement park...no thank you!





The amusement park

There are clowns in Taiwan...and they like bubbles!



These are just some of the pictures that I took, but there were plenty more that the Taiwanese people took.  We were like celebreties!  Some people would try to be sly about it, but others didn't care if we saw them.

First Day of School

Hey y'all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been pretty busy and I just haven't gotten around to it.  

I've noticed a few things in the past few days. 

1. I don't enjoy this time difference. It stinks when I'm up and want to share something funny or frustrating or completely insignificant with someone back in the States and I can't (really just a lack of immediacy in the response... I know...rough life!)

2. None of my run trackers (yes, none because I do have more than one) work over here.  Apparently the GPS on those apps wasn't set for Taiwan. 

3. Wardrobe wise, I love it here! I could wear a tshirt to school everyday if I felt so inclined and you CAN'T wear shoes inside (unless you buy shoes specifically to keep inside). Best Life Ever!

4. Everyone is so nice! I smile at people and they always smile back.  I say "ni hoa" and they always say it back. Then they normally try to talk to me in Chinese and that's where the conversation stops. 

5. I won't want to use cars when I come back home. We go everyone on foot, on bikes, or on scooters and it's wonderful. Scooters are so much fun and even though I won't be here much longer, I'm probably going to get lessons from one of the teachers here soon. That should be a fun story!
6. The play American music all the time! 

The last two days were prep days and were good, but I'm subbing this month for one of the teachers who went back home so it was all pretty planned out. This led to a very bored me. When the school year is starting and you only have 8 (yes, only 8. How great is that!!) kids, there isn't much to do.  And I don't function well on nit enough to do as most of you know. It's ok though, I survived!

Today was the first day of school and it was great! I am teaching New Chung Ban (4-5 year olds) and  my kids are adorable. Some of them speak a little English but others don't know any. They did all pick up on the high five today though! Success! One of them even decided to take it a step further and use her head.  It was great!

Overall, I love it here. I'm surrounded by great people (foreign and local) and I love experiencing all the new things(especially the food).  I won't forgot about home though and fully intend to wear my red, white, and blue tie dye shirt tomorrow!

That's all for now!
Love, Jodi

Day 1

Good evening(unless your in the States, then good morning)!

Today was a pretty eventful! We saw pig hooves and hearts in a market close to the hotel, met the other teachers and walked around the city, rode around on the back of scooters, and heard and NSync song at dinner! Who would have guessed! 

Tomorrow we will move out of the hotel and into the apartment where we will be staying for the month, which will be nice so we can actually unpack.  

Weather wise, I feel like I'm still in Texas.  It's kind of hot, but pretty humid, so I feel at home. 

It has been kind of weird not always being able to understand people, but everyone has been so great and nice! I feel like being here a month is the perfect way to get ready for China.  Plus I get to experience two cultures instead of just one!! 

Oh!! There is another Horned Frog here!!! What a small world!! 

That's all for now! It's been a long day (it's only 8:30 pm...I'm a grandma) so I'm going to bed! 

Love y'all,
Jodi

Goodbyes are hard

Hello from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX! 

I can't believe that I'm sitting in California, waiting to board a plane to Taiwan!!  It feels like it was just yesterday that Alex and I were making the 14 hour trek to Iowa to interview and now I'm about to get on a plane for 14 hours! It's crazy! And no, I haven't seen any famous people mom!

People always say that it's much harder to be the one that stays behind than it is to be the one that leaves and I've always agreed with that until now. I've had to say "see you later" (not goodbye) to a lot of really amazing people who mean the world to me and guess what?!? It was hard! 

That was my mindset arriving at the airport this morning (didn't help that my mom started crying right before she left). I was sad about the people I am leaving behind, sad about the moments I'm gonna miss out out, etc. 

So I told myself that I was allowed to be sad/upset/whatever until I landed in LA and then I was done focusing on it. I didn't sign up for this because of all of the things I would miss out on, but because of all of the things that I would be gaining. Also, the continuous support and encouragement from everyone shows me even more that this is right and right where He wants me, that I need to stop doubting and enjoy this. 

So in 30 minutes, I'll board the plane, head to Taiwan, and I can't be more excited(with exception to the 14 hours...sitting still...on a plane). 

Love you all and I can't wait to share my experiences and everything He's doing with y'all'!! 

Talk to you in Taiwan!! 

Jodi 

6 Days!!

Hello all (or should I say Howdy y'all!)!

I've been meaning to start this for a while now, but I guess better late than never! I was planning on just using Facebook to update y'all on my adventures, but it's blocked over there.  Another big obstacle was coming up with a title, and for those of you who know me well know that I'm NOT witty, so a huge thank you goes out to the creative team, Jordan Matthews! 

All of that to say, I will be posting pictures and updating everyone on my adventures. My hope is post a few times a week, but who knows how that will go. 

6 days. In 6 days, I will have my bags all packed and be ready to go.  In 6 days, I will be taking off on this amazing, once in a lifetime adventure, following the plan He set before me.  Until then though, I will continue to make my rounds of goodbyes, cross things off my to-do list, and be called "box lady" by my mom.  

Here are the logistics of my trip. 
On June 27, at 7:15am, my flight leaves DFW and 25 hours later I will land in Taiwan (there is an 8 hour layover in LA). I will be in Taiwan for orientation and training until July 27th and then I will go over to Fuzhou, in the Fujian Province of China where I will be teaching 3 year olds through total immersion.  Again, there s no Facebook, so I'll be updating you on my life, so please don't forget to update me on yours! :] My email is Jodi.prachyl@gmail.com and I also plan to use an app called viber that let's you text and call others with the app for FREE! So get that too! Also, I've got Skype and google chat...hint hint. :]


I have been so incredibly blessed and even overwhelmed over the past few months by all of the support and love that everyone around me has been pouring out. I have always known that I am surrounded by amazing family and friends, but now everyone else knows it too! He has placed each and every person in my life for a reason and I can't help but feel a little guilty, because I got the best of the best! It is because of those people that I can go.  It is because of their love and support that I feel safe taking on this adventure. It is because of the reassurances and promises of prayers that I am able to have this experience.  

So thank you! You are making this possible.  You are as much a part of this trip as I am! For that, I am beyond grateful! You're the best!! :]

Jodi

Oh, also, if anyone is itching to run a 1/2 marathon and wants to go some place cool to do it, come run the Great Wall Run with me in May!!