As I began my first day of work at the orphanage, I quickly began to realize that, unlike the orphanage I visited in Africa, Kids International was extremely well run. They had a huge inflow of volunteers and most of them are staying on a long term basis, ranging from a team that is here for 6 weeks to a few people who will be here for a year…it makes my one week seem pretty pathetic! They were well organized and had a the funds to do some pretty amazing things (see my previous blog post). My work was to be whatever I wanted to make of it and so I began.
On my first day, I went to the school and helped out with the kindergarten class. I did have some experience with this as I most of my classes in Taiwan were kids of this age. The major difference was that most of these kids spoke remarkable English and this time I was the co-teacher helping out the real teacher who was Pilipino. In the evening I went with a bunch of people to Faith Academy, an international school where many missionary’s children go, and watched a basketball game. Friday is the night off for most volunteers, lucky me, on my first day of work, I got some time off!
Saturday was exciting for me. An 18 year old girl had decided to have her birthday party with the kids at the children’s home rather than a typical 18th birthday. She brought food, cake, games and presents for all the kids. I got to partake and had tons of fun! The evening was full of more children’s time, including devotions with the kids and helping them get ready for bed.
The first two days were awesome, I don’t think I did a lot to help but I was able to develop a relationship with the kids nonetheless and I guess that’s never bad!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Arriving in Manila
I left my life in Taiwan and headed strait for Manila in the Philippines. From Kaohsiung, I took a bus to Taipei, then a taxi to the airport, then an airplane to Manila. Once in Manila, I realized that I forgot to write down the address I was to give the taxi to meet Jeff Long, the man who runs the orphanage called Kids International that I am working at. I also forgot to write down his cell phone number. So I had to go to the nearest place I could to access internet, which I was told was the Mall of Asia. I took a taxi there, found a Starbucks with internet access. (Side note: there are more Starbucks in Asia then almost anywhere in the world, and I think I would have been dead in the water without them and their wireless internet throughout this entire trip!) From there I called Jeff, got the address and, incidentally, headed to another Starbucks to meet two Americans who are full timers at the orphanage.
Once, I walked into the Starbucks I saw two American ladies, Kim and Daisy. Kim is the school master and Daisy is a volunteer that helps with the babies, she is planning on being for a full year. With Kim and Daisy where 5 month old, twin boys named Danny and Jacob. Their mother did not want them, she attempted to abort them a few times by poisoning herself, but was unable to. Then, Kids International came along and offered to take them. They were born premature but are healthy now and very cute.
As I sat in Starbucks with Kim, Daisy, Danny and Jacob – I was able to learn much about the orphanage that I was about to go and work at as we had to wait for another girl who arrived thru the domestic airport. I discovered that Kids International has two orphanages, one in the south and one here in Manila. The orphanage in Manila has 29 kids. 24 are school aged and there are 5 babies. The 24 school aged children go to the school that Kids International runs. In the school, along with the 24 kids from the home, they also provide free schooling to about 50 community kids. They chose the kids in the community who don’t have dads. In exchange, the single mothers come in about once every two weeks and make lunch for the kids and clean the school up.
The school was built last year and also serves as a community church on Sunday and a community center on most evenings. The top floor is one large open aired gym with basketball courts.
I am sure as I continue my work here I will find out more interesting things, and one thing is for sure, I will be keeping you posted!
Once, I walked into the Starbucks I saw two American ladies, Kim and Daisy. Kim is the school master and Daisy is a volunteer that helps with the babies, she is planning on being for a full year. With Kim and Daisy where 5 month old, twin boys named Danny and Jacob. Their mother did not want them, she attempted to abort them a few times by poisoning herself, but was unable to. Then, Kids International came along and offered to take them. They were born premature but are healthy now and very cute.
As I sat in Starbucks with Kim, Daisy, Danny and Jacob – I was able to learn much about the orphanage that I was about to go and work at as we had to wait for another girl who arrived thru the domestic airport. I discovered that Kids International has two orphanages, one in the south and one here in Manila. The orphanage in Manila has 29 kids. 24 are school aged and there are 5 babies. The 24 school aged children go to the school that Kids International runs. In the school, along with the 24 kids from the home, they also provide free schooling to about 50 community kids. They chose the kids in the community who don’t have dads. In exchange, the single mothers come in about once every two weeks and make lunch for the kids and clean the school up.
The school was built last year and also serves as a community church on Sunday and a community center on most evenings. The top floor is one large open aired gym with basketball courts.
I am sure as I continue my work here I will find out more interesting things, and one thing is for sure, I will be keeping you posted!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A Recap On My Taiwanese Adventure
Well, it is official; the little life I built for myself in Taiwan is over! I left on the luxury bus yesterday night and headed out to Taipei, once again. Only this time I left after having quit my job, leaving my apartment and saying good bye to the friends I had made in Kaohsiung. Not only was I leaving the city, I was leaving my new life. I headed to Taipei and hopped on a plane to the Philippines.
Perhaps this would be as good of a time as any to debrief my experiences in Taiwan. You have heard many of my adventures in previous posts but lets talk about the overall experience. I know, once I return I am going to get the age old vague questions – “how was Taiwan?” I will respond with an equally vague response – it was interesting!
There were many aspects of the experience that were disappointing, or rather, not what I expected. Teaching the children was a task that proved difficult. This had nothing to do with the children, but it was how I was expected to interact with them that proved problematic. I was to be stern, strict and regimented when all I wanted to do was hug them and have tons of fun! Also, the food was not so great. It appears that the Chinese people eat all the parts of the animals that the rest of the world simply does not want. Perhaps there was really good food there, but due to the language barrier I certainly could not find it!!
The one thing that I found wonderful about Taiwan was the people. They were incredibly friendly and, for the most part, always willing to help you out, even if they had a hard time due to the language barrier. The children were particularly cute. There was one little girl who totally stole my heart and I miss her a little. Her name is Kitty and she is 5 years old and the tiniest thing you have ever seen. Having 20 kids run up to you when you leave saying “good bye teacher Jordan,” “see you tomorrow,” “teacher Jordan good” or “teacher Jordan look” as they point to whatever random thing they think is interesting at the time (often a sock or their shirt!). There were the odd times where they would try their very best to hit you where it hurts because, apparently, a large white guy in excruciating pain is hilarious!! Despite these minor flaws, I will miss the little children very much.
I was able to see an island, experience a culture, and, most importantly, undergo some good old fashioned personal development in what I am going to describe as a great adventure. Though not everything went perfectly, it turned out for the best.
I missed Joelle a lot and it was very hard to be apart. However, we were able to get to know each other on an entirely new level and I would not trade our time apart for anything. It is going to make being together all the better when I get home.
I missed my family very much as well as the many comforts of home. But, being away from them makes me appreciate many of the things we take for granted everyday.
It was personally very hard at times, however, I am a stronger person for my experience. I learned a lot about myself and have much more confidence in my ability to cope with many things.
There were ups and downs, but it is through the fusion of these that I was able to have my true adventure. It was great and I am so glad I went on the trip. I am also going to be very glad to be home!
As I sit here in Manila, I am awaiting my brand new adventure to begin tomorrow in the Philippines. Stay tuned for more on that…
Perhaps this would be as good of a time as any to debrief my experiences in Taiwan. You have heard many of my adventures in previous posts but lets talk about the overall experience. I know, once I return I am going to get the age old vague questions – “how was Taiwan?” I will respond with an equally vague response – it was interesting!
There were many aspects of the experience that were disappointing, or rather, not what I expected. Teaching the children was a task that proved difficult. This had nothing to do with the children, but it was how I was expected to interact with them that proved problematic. I was to be stern, strict and regimented when all I wanted to do was hug them and have tons of fun! Also, the food was not so great. It appears that the Chinese people eat all the parts of the animals that the rest of the world simply does not want. Perhaps there was really good food there, but due to the language barrier I certainly could not find it!!
The one thing that I found wonderful about Taiwan was the people. They were incredibly friendly and, for the most part, always willing to help you out, even if they had a hard time due to the language barrier. The children were particularly cute. There was one little girl who totally stole my heart and I miss her a little. Her name is Kitty and she is 5 years old and the tiniest thing you have ever seen. Having 20 kids run up to you when you leave saying “good bye teacher Jordan,” “see you tomorrow,” “teacher Jordan good” or “teacher Jordan look” as they point to whatever random thing they think is interesting at the time (often a sock or their shirt!). There were the odd times where they would try their very best to hit you where it hurts because, apparently, a large white guy in excruciating pain is hilarious!! Despite these minor flaws, I will miss the little children very much.
I was able to see an island, experience a culture, and, most importantly, undergo some good old fashioned personal development in what I am going to describe as a great adventure. Though not everything went perfectly, it turned out for the best.
I missed Joelle a lot and it was very hard to be apart. However, we were able to get to know each other on an entirely new level and I would not trade our time apart for anything. It is going to make being together all the better when I get home.
I missed my family very much as well as the many comforts of home. But, being away from them makes me appreciate many of the things we take for granted everyday.
It was personally very hard at times, however, I am a stronger person for my experience. I learned a lot about myself and have much more confidence in my ability to cope with many things.
There were ups and downs, but it is through the fusion of these that I was able to have my true adventure. It was great and I am so glad I went on the trip. I am also going to be very glad to be home!
As I sit here in Manila, I am awaiting my brand new adventure to begin tomorrow in the Philippines. Stay tuned for more on that…
Walking The Streets of Taipei
Last weekend I headed up to Taipei. Most people in Taiwan think thedistance to Taipei is insurmountable, especially on a weekend trip. Idid, however, overcome the obstacle of distance and make it there viathe overnight bus. The trip itself is about 500 kilometres or less andtook no more than five hours with the bus stopping about six times topick-up/drop-off passengers along the way. The bus can only bedescribed as luxurious. For about $20, you received a lazy-boy likeseat that seemed to recline endlessly and would massage you at will.You had your own personal TV complete with the ability to play videogames plus a bus attendant with a call button who would bring you acookie or tea at any time. I would say this bus ride was the bestbargain I have found in Taiwan to date.
Feeling a little homesick, I opted out of the traditional hostel routeand decided to splurge on my last trip on the island and get a nicehotel room. I found a five-star hotel with a sweet last-minute deal.It was heaven. I arrived and was greeted with warm, friendly,English-speaking individuals!! This was probably the single mostexciting part of being there – locals who spoke perfect English. I wasable to ask them how to get around, what the good places to see wereand even where to get good food. The other very exciting part of thishotel was the shower head was actually above my head. In my apartmentand at every other hostel I have stayed at since I began my trip toAsia, the shower heads have come no higher than my shoulders. This mayseem like a small thing, but given the amount of time I have spentducking in the showers of Asia, it was heaven. I stayed in the hotelfor one night and I had four showers. Perhaps that will give you anindication of how exciting it was for me!!
Moving beyond my hotel room, I did actually go out and see the city ofTaipei. I decided to travel the city the good old fashioned way – onfoot! In some cases, I did hop on the MRT (their subway system) to getto the places that were really far away. My immediate impressions ofTaipei were that the city itself was very similar to Kaohsiung, thecity where I have been living. They are both big cities with lots ofscooters and lots of people. Taipei does, of course, have some verycool attractions that Kaohsiung does not – foremost among them: Taipei101.
Taipei 101 is modeled after a bamboo tree and stands, yes, 101 storiestall. It is new, modern and currently the tallest building in theworld. The bottom six levels comprise a modern, high-end mall that mybrother Jason would love! The upper floors are office buildings withthe 89th floor reserved for tourists to see. I was a tourist, so Iwent up the fastest elevator on earth to the 89th floor. It was prettycool!
After that I walked to the world trade center and around the downtowncore for a while. The department stores were flush with Christmasdecorations in an attempt to boost December sales in a culture that,for the most part, does not celebrate Christmas.
After much walking, I became fatigued and was just ready to relax. Istumbled upon a Starbucks, sat down and read my book for about 45minutes. Feeling refreshed, I made my way over to the biggest nightmarket in Taiwan.
I took the MRT and once I got off, my personal space was immediatelyinvaded. The night market was about six blocks long and four blockswide. The entire expanse of the night market was littered with people.It took me an hour and a half to walk down one street and up the other– a total of 12 blocks. There were more people packed into this onenight market than I have ever seen in my life. Couple this with theweird smells and I was fully ready to go by the time I had walked my12 blocks.
I then made the journey home, stopped at Pizza Hut to get some pizzaand headed back to my hotel room. I had another shower and went tobed. I slept in, had another shower, ate my complimentary breakfastand walked around a little more. Shortly after my walk, I took anotherone of those fantastic buses back to my home in Kaohsiung. All inall, it was a very fun trip – perhaps the most fun was the bus ride and the hotel room!!!
Feeling a little homesick, I opted out of the traditional hostel routeand decided to splurge on my last trip on the island and get a nicehotel room. I found a five-star hotel with a sweet last-minute deal.It was heaven. I arrived and was greeted with warm, friendly,English-speaking individuals!! This was probably the single mostexciting part of being there – locals who spoke perfect English. I wasable to ask them how to get around, what the good places to see wereand even where to get good food. The other very exciting part of thishotel was the shower head was actually above my head. In my apartmentand at every other hostel I have stayed at since I began my trip toAsia, the shower heads have come no higher than my shoulders. This mayseem like a small thing, but given the amount of time I have spentducking in the showers of Asia, it was heaven. I stayed in the hotelfor one night and I had four showers. Perhaps that will give you anindication of how exciting it was for me!!
Moving beyond my hotel room, I did actually go out and see the city ofTaipei. I decided to travel the city the good old fashioned way – onfoot! In some cases, I did hop on the MRT (their subway system) to getto the places that were really far away. My immediate impressions ofTaipei were that the city itself was very similar to Kaohsiung, thecity where I have been living. They are both big cities with lots ofscooters and lots of people. Taipei does, of course, have some verycool attractions that Kaohsiung does not – foremost among them: Taipei101.
Taipei 101 is modeled after a bamboo tree and stands, yes, 101 storiestall. It is new, modern and currently the tallest building in theworld. The bottom six levels comprise a modern, high-end mall that mybrother Jason would love! The upper floors are office buildings withthe 89th floor reserved for tourists to see. I was a tourist, so Iwent up the fastest elevator on earth to the 89th floor. It was prettycool!
After that I walked to the world trade center and around the downtowncore for a while. The department stores were flush with Christmasdecorations in an attempt to boost December sales in a culture that,for the most part, does not celebrate Christmas.
After much walking, I became fatigued and was just ready to relax. Istumbled upon a Starbucks, sat down and read my book for about 45minutes. Feeling refreshed, I made my way over to the biggest nightmarket in Taiwan.
I took the MRT and once I got off, my personal space was immediatelyinvaded. The night market was about six blocks long and four blockswide. The entire expanse of the night market was littered with people.It took me an hour and a half to walk down one street and up the other– a total of 12 blocks. There were more people packed into this onenight market than I have ever seen in my life. Couple this with theweird smells and I was fully ready to go by the time I had walked my12 blocks.
I then made the journey home, stopped at Pizza Hut to get some pizzaand headed back to my hotel room. I had another shower and went tobed. I slept in, had another shower, ate my complimentary breakfastand walked around a little more. Shortly after my walk, I took anotherone of those fantastic buses back to my home in Kaohsiung. All inall, it was a very fun trip – perhaps the most fun was the bus ride and the hotel room!!!
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