In just a few short hours Valerie and I will board a bus to take us the 2 hours to the airport. It doesn't seem real that this trip is over. Yet I sit here with much gratitude in my heart for all the experiences I've had and the people I've spent time with.
These last few days with Elsa in Taichung have been a real joy! She took us on a tour of some rural villages as well as Sun Moon Lake. Today we visited one of the residential Deal schools here in Taiwan. The children were delightful and the staff were incredibly hospitable!
I need to go and pack. Look for one more post from me and Valerie as well.
-Jen
P.S. Here are pictures from Taichung: http://s792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/jen-val-taiwan/Taichung/
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Taroko Gorge
This week Valerie and I got to spend Tuesday through Thursday in Taroko Gorge. Julia Delaney came with us to translate for us as we traveled. And we enjoyed her company! The gorge is an amazingly gorgeous piece of God's creation. We spent hours and hours hiking the trails and climbing mountains. It was exhausting but so worth it! Here are a few pictures: http://s792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/jen-val-taiwan/Taroko%20Gorge/
-Jen
-Jen
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Kaohsiung pictures
Here are a few pictures from Kaohsiung: http://s792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/jen-val-taiwan/Kaohsiung/
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Deaf in Kaohsiung
Do you remember Miriam and Aaron? They are two Deaf volunteers from Oregon who I met at the beginning of Deaflympics. Well they are traveling around Taiwan now and needed a place to stay in Kaohsiung. So they asked me if my friends, the Delaney family (where I'm staying for the next 10 days) would put them up for a night. The Delaneys were very welcoming and agreed.
So yesterday, shortly after I arrived we picked up Miriam and Aaron from the airport. And from then on I got to interpret the many interactions between them and the Delaney family. It was great fun! The Delaneys have not had much contact with Deaf people and had many questions.
Remember my train ride with Chiang? Well I found out that he attends a Deaf church here in Kaohsiung. The Deaf pastor lives in Taipei and holds services here every other week. It just happened that there was a Bible study last night! So Aaron, Miriam, several of the Delaneys and I went. It was all in Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL) so Chiang interpreted for us into ASL. Then I interpreted for the Delaneys into English. We had a wonderful time! This coming Sunday Chiang's church will not have a service so he is going to visit the Delaney's church and I will interpret for him.
This morning Mary Delaney took Aaron, Miriam and I to visit Lotus Pond, a famous sight in Kaohsiung. We climbed a pagoda, visited a temple, and walked through the little shops around the edge of the lake. Mary explained the Taiwanese beliefs and the reasons behind some of the things we saw. It was really interesting.
Then we had the grand adventure of trying to get Miriam and Aaron off to the bus station. First we didn't even know if the buses were running because of all the damage from the typhoons. But they were. We got them there, got their bus tickets, and found out the bus was leaving early. In just five minutes, in fact!
Tomorrow I'm going to visit the Deaf school where Chiang teaches. I'm really looking forward to that!
-Jen
So yesterday, shortly after I arrived we picked up Miriam and Aaron from the airport. And from then on I got to interpret the many interactions between them and the Delaney family. It was great fun! The Delaneys have not had much contact with Deaf people and had many questions.
Remember my train ride with Chiang? Well I found out that he attends a Deaf church here in Kaohsiung. The Deaf pastor lives in Taipei and holds services here every other week. It just happened that there was a Bible study last night! So Aaron, Miriam, several of the Delaneys and I went. It was all in Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL) so Chiang interpreted for us into ASL. Then I interpreted for the Delaneys into English. We had a wonderful time! This coming Sunday Chiang's church will not have a service so he is going to visit the Delaney's church and I will interpret for him.
This morning Mary Delaney took Aaron, Miriam and I to visit Lotus Pond, a famous sight in Kaohsiung. We climbed a pagoda, visited a temple, and walked through the little shops around the edge of the lake. Mary explained the Taiwanese beliefs and the reasons behind some of the things we saw. It was really interesting.
Then we had the grand adventure of trying to get Miriam and Aaron off to the bus station. First we didn't even know if the buses were running because of all the damage from the typhoons. But they were. We got them there, got their bus tickets, and found out the bus was leaving early. In just five minutes, in fact!
Tomorrow I'm going to visit the Deaf school where Chiang teaches. I'm really looking forward to that!
-Jen
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
More Pictures
Here is the link to our latest pictures: http://s792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/jen-val-taiwan/Olympics%20Begin/ They include Valerie's visit with Iris, Volunteering, Taiwanese cuisine, Valerie teaching an English class, and our trip to the ocean!
Volunteering at Deaflympics
I've been so busy putting in full days volunteering that I have neglected the blog! So here I am again. Today is my last day in Taipei and I am sad to be leaving the people I've met, the friends I've made, and especially Valerie.
I really enjoyed working as a volunteer. It was very satisfying to be able to help people. Deaf from all over the world would come to our table and I would interpret their requests and find answers for them. Many times I understood what they were asking even though they used a different Sign Language. But I must admit there were times of failure. One man from Turkey went away unhelped because I couldn't understand him. However, a few days later several men from Turkey came to our table and I understood them and got them what they needed! I was so thrilled!
The last day I worked we had some of the strangest requests. We were officiallly only the info center for Table Tennis, but... There was the spectator from Israel who came complaining that he was being followed by police officers 24 hours a day, and could he speak to the organizing commitee and find out why? Since he wasn't a part of the Deaflympics we told him he needed to go to the police station. Would I come and interpret for him? I told him I was working and sent him on his way. Then there was the Indian man from California. Did we have empty cardboard boxes he could have to ship his things back to the States? A Deaf reporter from the States wanted us to set up an interview for him with one of the gold medalists. A group from Pakistan wanted to know how to get their free backpacks and jackets. And so it went on and on.
During the lulls I enjoyed spending time with Stephanie. We had great conversations about meaningful topics that really challenged me. I will miss her too.
Tomorrow begins the next stage of my adventures. I will be visiting the Delaney family in the southern city of Kaohsiung. While I was volunteering I met a Deaf lady, Anne, from the Philippines. When she heard I was going to Kaohsiung she said she had to introduce me to a friend of hers from there. Chiang is a Deaf man who was working here at Deaflympics as an International Sign interpreter. He knows Taiwanese Sign Language, ASL, and International Sign. He is also a teacher at a Deaf school in Kaohsiung. So we met! He asked me if I'd gotten a train ticket yet. I said no. He said all the better! If we travel together we can get a discount! So tomorrow I get to spend the morning on the High Speed Rail with Chiang. I hope to learn a lot from him. He also said that I can visit his school while I'm in Kaohsiung!
-Jen
I really enjoyed working as a volunteer. It was very satisfying to be able to help people. Deaf from all over the world would come to our table and I would interpret their requests and find answers for them. Many times I understood what they were asking even though they used a different Sign Language. But I must admit there were times of failure. One man from Turkey went away unhelped because I couldn't understand him. However, a few days later several men from Turkey came to our table and I understood them and got them what they needed! I was so thrilled!
The last day I worked we had some of the strangest requests. We were officiallly only the info center for Table Tennis, but... There was the spectator from Israel who came complaining that he was being followed by police officers 24 hours a day, and could he speak to the organizing commitee and find out why? Since he wasn't a part of the Deaflympics we told him he needed to go to the police station. Would I come and interpret for him? I told him I was working and sent him on his way. Then there was the Indian man from California. Did we have empty cardboard boxes he could have to ship his things back to the States? A Deaf reporter from the States wanted us to set up an interview for him with one of the gold medalists. A group from Pakistan wanted to know how to get their free backpacks and jackets. And so it went on and on.
During the lulls I enjoyed spending time with Stephanie. We had great conversations about meaningful topics that really challenged me. I will miss her too.
Tomorrow begins the next stage of my adventures. I will be visiting the Delaney family in the southern city of Kaohsiung. While I was volunteering I met a Deaf lady, Anne, from the Philippines. When she heard I was going to Kaohsiung she said she had to introduce me to a friend of hers from there. Chiang is a Deaf man who was working here at Deaflympics as an International Sign interpreter. He knows Taiwanese Sign Language, ASL, and International Sign. He is also a teacher at a Deaf school in Kaohsiung. So we met! He asked me if I'd gotten a train ticket yet. I said no. He said all the better! If we travel together we can get a discount! So tomorrow I get to spend the morning on the High Speed Rail with Chiang. I hope to learn a lot from him. He also said that I can visit his school while I'm in Kaohsiung!
-Jen
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Deaflympics Coming to a Close!
by Val
Well, the 2009 Deaflympics is coming to a close very soon. Jennifer is completing her last day of volunteering today, and I am here at the arena with her to watch some events and meet whoever happens to cross my path. I think Jennifer said she'd met and talked with Deaf people from 22 or so different countries. I'm sure she's adding to that list right now!
This week, I was able to watch swimming, orienteering (at a national park in the mountains--so beautiful!), basketball (Greece beat Chinese Taipei by 50 points), athletics, and tons of people. Most of the time, I feel intimidated to start a conversation with anyone because I'm afraid I won't be able to communicate with them. However, yesterday, I spent the whole morning with a Deaf man from Boston who was also a school teacher and a former world skiier. He's here just to watch the games and invite people to Las Vegas in July 2010 for Miss Deaf International, of which he is the co-founder. We used a LOT of paper to communicate as we simultaneously watched the athletic events, and he taught me several signs as he can speak somewhat and I could read his lips and repeat what he said using sign language. We even ate lunch together at McDonald's, but after that, I think he was pretty exhausted from having to communicate so slowly with me, so we said goodbye! Maybe Jennifer will be able to go to Vegas next summer to help with Miss Deaf International! That's an idea!
Other than that, it's been so much fun to spend time with my friend Rebecca and get to know her life that I've only ever read about in e-mails! Last night, we walked her dogs by the river and looked up at the stars shining over Taipei, and talked and talked. A memory to last forever! Thanks, Rebecca!
Well, the 2009 Deaflympics is coming to a close very soon. Jennifer is completing her last day of volunteering today, and I am here at the arena with her to watch some events and meet whoever happens to cross my path. I think Jennifer said she'd met and talked with Deaf people from 22 or so different countries. I'm sure she's adding to that list right now!
This week, I was able to watch swimming, orienteering (at a national park in the mountains--so beautiful!), basketball (Greece beat Chinese Taipei by 50 points), athletics, and tons of people. Most of the time, I feel intimidated to start a conversation with anyone because I'm afraid I won't be able to communicate with them. However, yesterday, I spent the whole morning with a Deaf man from Boston who was also a school teacher and a former world skiier. He's here just to watch the games and invite people to Las Vegas in July 2010 for Miss Deaf International, of which he is the co-founder. We used a LOT of paper to communicate as we simultaneously watched the athletic events, and he taught me several signs as he can speak somewhat and I could read his lips and repeat what he said using sign language. We even ate lunch together at McDonald's, but after that, I think he was pretty exhausted from having to communicate so slowly with me, so we said goodbye! Maybe Jennifer will be able to go to Vegas next summer to help with Miss Deaf International! That's an idea!
Other than that, it's been so much fun to spend time with my friend Rebecca and get to know her life that I've only ever read about in e-mails! Last night, we walked her dogs by the river and looked up at the stars shining over Taipei, and talked and talked. A memory to last forever! Thanks, Rebecca!
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