Sunday October 14, 2012
HALLELUIAH! Halleluiah for it is Sunday! Time to go to my
current favorite area in Taipei. Gongguan MRT station!
Just like the Sunday two weeks ago, the first stop was to
“Mr. Brown Coffee.” It was a difficult choice, but I settled on getting the
same sandwich. Come on, just look at it! Packed with veggies, some meat and some
kind of wheat bread instead of just white. Throw in real orange juice rather
than sugar water and Andrea is sold! Its yumminess is so great that by just
looking at the picture, I can taste it in my mouth! That’s a powerful
impression!
Shortly after, a trip to “Is Coffee” was in order for better
Wi-Fi connection. And just like two weeks ago, I bought a muffin and iced
coffee. Mmm, so good! But still I need to try the gelato there! Though gelato
doesn’t seem too good to have in the wee hours of the morning. XD
Of course since it’s Sunday without any Rotary events,
CHURCH TIME! :D Here’s the outside of the church I’ve gone to twice before
today. Not too big, they have the service upstairs and sociable coffee time on
the first floor. I was very surprised today because I found three other
exchange students in my district at the church! A week ago I recommended the
church to a girl from the Netherlands but apparently the word spread! How cool
is that?!
But yes, service was wonderful as always and I tried a new
experience of what is called ‘Beta Groups.’ It’s when you get in a small group
with people your age and talk about the service, your thoughts and answer
questions the church provides for guidance. The Beta Group was excellent and I
really enjoyed getting involved more in this church. After our discussion we
went to grab lunch at a small, local restaurant. Below is the Beta Group I was in
today! Say hi to the lovely people! :D Note the two on the left. Meet Kelly and
Leo! The chica is from Houston, Texas! Holla! She married dear Taiwanese Leo.
Remember them because they’ll turn up again in this Taffy. ;)
Not knowing what food was offered, Kelly ordered for me. I
was graced with something I hadn’t tried before. Twas Chinese sausage. Made
from the meat of pig, this dish was suuuuuuuuper yummy but apparently is
suuuuuuuuper unhealthy. XD It didn’t matter at all because I was thrilled to
try a new food and was so delicious!
Did I bid my new friends goodbye afterwards? Some, yes,
because they had to leave. But I was invited to join a student welcome party at
the pastor’s house later in the day. It was impractical to go back to Yongan
Market (where I live) only to stay there for a short bit and have to go back to
Gongguan again. I’d rather save the time and money on the MTR fee. So I stayed
with the very friendly couple of Kelly and Leo that planned on going to the
same party.
Quickly grabbing dessert at a close German bakery, we went
to get coffee. Where did we go? I’ll give you a hint. I went there earlier this
morning and its name is two words length. Yep! It was indeed “Is Coffee!” Not
only did the couple and I go, but we also met up with some of their family. It
was a time for pleasant chat and merriment.
See that green bag in front of me? That was the dictionary I
bought this morning in attempt to find a non Mainland Chinese book. I’ve had
several problems with learning Mainland Chinese instead of Taiwan Chinese as
well as simplified characters rather than traditional. So I found a dictionary
that specifically mentioned having Taiwanese pronunciation and including any
variations in Taiwan. Sounding like what I needed, I bought it.
Here’s the thing. Many books and magazines in Taiwan are wrapped
in plastic at the bookstore. So it makes it impossible to look at the contents
or structure of the book. Now it doesn’t apply to every book but the majority
of them are wrapped. The dictionary I bought is a prime example of being
enveloped in plastic. For a while, I simply stared at the book’s description
just debating if this would be the correct one to buy since I didn’t know if I
could return it. No, you can’t rip off the plastic at the store before
purchase…even though I really wanted to. But the book’s description had
everything I was looking for so I ended up buying it.
What do I find after I unwrapped it? It was only a Pinyin
Chinese to English dictionary, not an English to Chinese book. Ouch. That’s a
problem. I really didn’t want to have just spent $500NT on a book I can’t
really use. That’s when Kelly and Leo helped me return it by teaching me how to
ask the clerk what I wanted to do as well as physically being right by me in
case I needed more assistance. Meaning it was so sweet of them!
At first it seemed like a huge problem for me to return the
book unwrapped as the clerk’s face went white. I had to say why I wanted to
return it and nearly had to fill paperwork out! What?! But apparently since I
bought the book the same day the paperwork wasn’t required. The idea of
paperwork period makes returning books really intimidating! I’m used to
hassle-free, no questions asked return services in America. Taiwan has
definitely shown me something different! What matters is that I got my money
back and didn’t have to watch a book collect dust on my desk. XD
Next was a time for a secret to be revealed! Don’t worry, it
wasn’t anything dire or traumatizing! Actually it was quite lovely! Kelly and
Leo took me to their ‘secret garden’ located on the University campus nearby.
The garden ended up being on the roof of a building that overlooked Taipei
city. A little bit of foggy weather made it difficult to clearly see the
mountains hugging Taipei but the view was amazing regardless. Not only the view
but the air and open space showed me why it was the couple’s ‘secret garden.’
Oh! I love this view! The entire lower half of the picture
is all of the University’s campus. This is a really, really nice campus being
full of green plants and attractive buildings. The farmland in the lower right
corner is included as it is part of the agricultural part of the school. Now I
spy one of the tallest buildings in the world! Taipei 101 is indeed in this
shot, standing proudly upright.
Kelly and I! The fact that she and Leo showed me their
‘secret garden’ was just so benevolent of them! A person they’ve only known for
a short time, they already shared such a special spot with. I was so honored!
After getting our fill of a calming getaway, we headed off
to the student welcoming party. With roughly eighteen attendees, it was such an
enjoyable time from Domino’s pizza and fruit to watching some “Best of Mr.
Bean.” Everyone in the room was asked to tell a bit about himself or herself.
First, their name. Second, what they liked to do as a child. An optional third
thing was a ‘Mr. Bean Moment.’ This meant something embarrassing that happened
to you. Good laughs were exchanged as we all got to know each other better.
You might have noticed but I’m being very brief in content
today. Why? Because it mainly was all involving Christ. As an exchange student,
I must be careful of not offending anyone with talking too deep about my faith.
But I think you can get the general idea of what happened. So this brings me to
my decision to make ‘Friendship Presbyterian Church’ my home church in Taiwan.
All the people in my church family are extremely friendly and welcoming. Being
able to wonderfully spend the whole day with some members and to even go to the
pastor’s house for a party was a clear signal that this is the kind of
tight-knit church family I want to be a part of.
That was my day in a nutshell! Now please allow me to share
some special things to me from today. ^_^
From the extremely limited selection of Chinese songs I know
(less than ten), I FINALLY heard my current favorite playing while walking down
the street! This is insane because I usually hear Korean, Japanese or English
music playing and not Chinese. But not only did I hear a Chinese song, but my
favorite one! WHOO HOO! FYI, it’s “Wild Cursive” by Hangeng. ;P
Time to spaz…CELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! IT’S AMAZING WHAT HAPPENED
TODAY! Somehow, some mysterious magical way the conversation with Leo went to
telling him I played cello for eight years and Taiwan was my first year not
being able to play since I didn’t have one here. What do I find out? Leo has a
cello. Why don’t I seem excited about him having a cello? It’s because that’s
not all. He has a second one. Wait for it…..AND A THIRD ONE! HE HAS THREE
CELLOS! OH MY GOODNESS!
Now you might be asking why I’m elated for three cellos and
not just one? It’s because Leo wanted to learn how to play the beautiful
instrument and bought three for different locations (his house, his parents,
etc.). He openly extended the invitation for me to come by and play one for
pleasure. Since this was such a generous offer, I wanted to do something in
return. Now we shall take the time to remember I was a part of T.F.M.E. (Texas
Future Music Educators). Do you see where this is going? I proposed that in
exchange for being able to play one of his cellos, I would teach him a bit of
how to play. The desire to learn the cello didn’t just exist in Leo, but also
in Kelly! Soooooo three people total. Three cellos… DO YOU NOT SEE THIS PERFECT
AMAINGNESS???!!! Not only can I try and prevent losing my skill level in
performance but I can give back to such kind people in a way that really
interests me. In the past, I seriously considered becoming a music teacher. The
dream sort of died from several concerns however that was without actually
trying teaching. What an opportunity this will be! Who knows, maybe I’ll be
guided down the path of becoming a music teacher again. After all, on Thursday
I did get the musician fortune at the pastry museum. ;)
Next incredible thing! Leo and Kelly don’t just want to have
cello lessons. They want to take me places in Taiwan and show me around. One
particular activity we are surely going to have to do is something the couple
quite loves. Hiking in the mountains! OH MY GOSH! Can you say, ‘LOVE’?! In that
one outdoor activity, I get a healthy dose of exercise, medicine of being in
the mountains, exploring Taiwan, time with fantastic people AND learn some Chinese!
There is really no way to make a trip that any sweeter! It’s everything an
exchange student needs and more! I indeed hope our schedules can work out and
allow us to do such things fairly often. And this is when my hands itch for a
convectional oven to bake sweet treats for big-hearted people such as Kelly and
Leo.
In conclusion, this day couldn’t have been more delightful.
I anxiously look forward to next Sunday to see my church family and of course,
attend church service. I just find it a blessing and not a coincidence that I
found Friendship Presbyterian Church. Remember how Akiko and I were originally
looking for a bilingual service church but couldn’t find it so we attended
F.P.C.? I feel that I was meant to get lost and find F.P.C. for a reason. I
can’t even think of going anywhere else. F.P.C. is my spiritual home. Forgive
me if I’m getting too deep in faith. I just wanted to confess my feelings. ^_^
No comments:
Post a Comment