What Am I Up To?
Dumb as usual
On the first day of November, I fell off my bike. I still can’t believe I didn’t see the big tree lying down after the typhoon and ride straight onto it. And I got my bike fixed right after. I genuinely felt grateful for the on-campus bicycle repair service from Monday to Thursday, since I am a bike killer. They are my super heros!
Friends' Birthday!
November 4th was two of my close friends’ birthdays. I celebrated with one of them—my roommate. During the first week of November, I was basically busy studying. One night while studying, I got distracted by my roommate watching the election pull and kept murmuring (that was really funny). And on 11/6, Trump won. That weekend, I went back to Kaohsiung, celebrated another friend’s birthday. She’s a tennis player and currently on team Taipei. She is the top-ranked player in her age group in Taiwan and I’m so proud of her. We haven’t seen each other for so long, it’s always good to see old friends.
A fun and busy day
I went to the Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Park for a one-day field trip. I don’t why, but I’ve loved Aboriginal people since I was little. I love their culture, customs, and ways of living. Maybe because I used to imagine living on a desert island like a caveman or something. After returning to school, I drove to Dong Shi for a two-day (originally planned as three) VGM coworker training. VGM (Village Gospel Mission) is an organization spreading the gospel and starting churches in rural areas across Taiwan. This summer was my first time participating in their bilingual camp in Guo Gou, and I decided to join the big family. As a new member and the youngest among all the coworkers, they were so caring and kind to me. It was really good to spend time and get to know them better.
VGM coworkers
Speech contest
Next week is another busy one preparing for my final round speech contest. The process was tough and tiring (I could write a whole journal about it), but thank God we made it! When I first arrived at the contest I didn’t know it was so formal, everyone except me was wearing a suit or a dress. I felt uncomfortable and awkward for a moment. But the result was good—I won first place! All glory to God! Afterward, some professors asked me to share my experience and tips for this. While preparing, I have to say it was a miracle to have done it and even won an award because I had a lot going on and to be honest I wasn't very well prepared. I had a prompt to share the prize money and not keep any for myself. So I shared half with my mentors, Tim and Wayne, who I’m super grateful for. I also treated my family and friends to meals, and the rest to the missionaries, fellowship, and church.
My old friend and a confession...
Another exciting thing that day was meeting my elementary school friend! We also haven’t met for a long time. She’s now studying in Yunlin, and we thought it was a great chance to catch up. It was a solid 10/10 for our reunion! A really funny moment was when I confessed and said sorry to her for lying to her that I had super power when we were little. I remember I used to believe I could train myself to read minds and to float in the air after watching some movies. And told my friends I could do those things (but obviously couldn’t). One time I accidently guessed her thoughts correctly, and she was completely convinced throughout the years (Ahhhh I feel guilty but it was really funny)! We talked so much about the old memories and our lives now and had a wonderful day together. Though I don’t, old friends for sure have some kind of magical power!
Wayne & Tim
My college life
Here are some major parts of my college life. First is my fellowship. I’m in the light and salt club, which is a Christian fellowship. My friend and I lead the fellowship every Tuesday, and we also have a large fellowship on Thursdays. Friday bible study group is another home of mine, where I can share my life and worries. Second is my Church, I’m in the English congregation and the pianist in the worship team. I also joined the Choir in the Chinese congregation this semester, it’s been so much fun and I found true joy in singing the hymns. Third is VGM, which I mentioned earlier. I'm in the lesson plan group, and we have online meetings every Monday. We also have online devotions once a week, where we share bible verses and our prayer requests. Fourth is my exercise and cooking. I usually jog, play badminton, or swim. And I love culinary. The minor activities include tutoring, going back home, and counseling with my mentors. Oh of course, I have my study and duties going on, hang out with friends and eat good food (yeaaa!), and have personal devotion time every day.
Tuesday little lamb fellowship
My lovely church
Choir
A highlight of this month was a new fellowship I joined. My friend invited me to his fellowship at a pastor‘s (also a professor in law department) house. The worship song was “Because He lives” and I was so touched. The sharing by the pastor's wife hit me so much, I realized I need to make wise choices during my youth. A choice I made was to delete my instagram because I know it distracts me from my responsibilities. I promised myself to not download it back till the end of the semester, which is around Christmas.
Tutoring kids grows my EQ😂
Taiwan Number One!
A national good news in November, I believe everyone knows. We are champions!!! Sorry, I love Japan so much, but not when we’re your competitors. We were going crazy! We also cheered for the USA! Heeeeehaw!
My new hobby
Reading is a new hobby that I developed lately. Growing up, I seldom read non textbooks because I didn’t enjoy reading long texts. The only genre I liked was children's picture books. But recently, I started to read books about self-growth, children education,
and abortion (which is the research I’m working on now). I found reading quite relaxing and interesting. Maybe I’ll write some reflections on these books too.
My appetite is bigger than a horse's
As a foodie, recently, we found a new-opened brunch across campus called 早叁, and it became me and Nina’s favorite place after composition class. One day, after brunch, we went for gelato! That was one of the happiest moments! Food dates with Nina are my motivation and energy for the afternoon classes.
Books currently reading
Brunch date with Nina
A good restaurant in Chiayi City
called 海鷗廚房
Cafe date with Hana and 小胡
"Dorm" cooking
Saying Goodbye
At the end of the month, I spent time with my Indian friends from church celebrating Diwali, Indian New Year. They are leaving Taiwan very soon, and I will definitely miss them. I guess saying goodbye has always been one of the hardest life lessons for me. I can never forget the sadness of the last day at VGM camp, or last year's study tour at the airport in Japan.
2024 Dawali with Shelpa, Nihdi, and Minnu
Reflection
I feel like November has been a really busy and exciting month, with Thanksgiving and the Christmas season coming up. The weather is getting cold and comfortable, and I absolutely love it! Here, I want to thank all the people that God has put in my life. And I thank my shepherd for always pulling his rebellious little sheep back in the fence. However, sometimes I got too swamped that I didn't get enough sleep. I couldn’t believe there was a day that I had to take a nap to recharge, and it was such a deep nap that I completely missed my alarm.😣
Anyway, I hope December will be well-managed and full of happiness!🎄