Michael

Ernie Said It Well

Michael's Posts, Our Friends Orphanage, Our Taipei Life 2 Responses »

Jan 122012

“It was a long time since I had written to the States and I knew I should write but I had let it go so long that it was almost impossible to write now. There was nothing to write about.”

As Emily and I read in A Farewell To Arms this evening we came across the line above and I knew I should get on here and write something…even though it seems there is nothing to write…even though I know that isn’t true.

It’s been just shy of two months since my last post. Since then Emily has been tutoring and teaching up a storm all over Taipei. She’s constantly going to this person’s house and that coffee shop to meet up with kids, adults, everyone, to give them a first rate hour of English instruction, and then on to the next place. I’ve been teaching as well. I’m working at two different cram schools now. It was three nights a week, but I just picked up some more hours so it will be every night of the week, which is good!!! I was also taking Chinese classes at the MLC, or Mandarin Language Center. I had a great teacher and a class with only six other students with three hours of instruction, five days a week, plus homework. I was learning a lot and moving fast. Unfortunately, I stopped going to try and find a morning teaching job and then when I didn’t find a morning teaching job I was too far behind to go back….oh, the regrets we rack up in this life….oh, well….I can console myself with the fact that I am still looking for a morning job….moving on.

The MLC was great and I thoroughly recommend it. It is cheaper than the other popular place to learn Chinese, NTNU’s MTC. Plus, I had heard ho hum stories about how at the MTC sometimes the teachers care and teach well and sometimes they aren’t so good. My short stint at the MLC now makes me an expert and I steer everyone that way!!! So remember don’t go to the MTC, go to the MLC.

I also finished another video since my last post. This one was for Our Friends Orphanage (OFO) in Takeo, Cambodia as a way to show the world what they are doing with their free after-school English classes. You can see it here: http://youtu.be/dM4NTCUX49A

A couple of months ago I posted an email from Samnang about all the flooding there in Cambodia. The water has receded now, thankfully, and lots of the farmers are scrambling to replant and get everything back to normal. I’ve also been contacting Samnang recently regarding concerns raised by Jen, another OFO volunteer who commented on one of my other posts. It is difficult sometimes to know how to communicate clearly with Samnang…and people from very different backgrounds from myself in general. We have such differing ideas about so much and that doesn’t even include the whole language difficulty. It makes me realize just how much simpler it is to communicate countryman to countryman.

Okay so I’ll make the last bit quick. Emily’s mother’s visit has inspired others and we are excited to hear that Emily’s brother is planning on coming for a few weeks in March! We are hoping for another great time with family! We also recently got to visit with our old friend Jonathan Williams and his beautiful fiance Katia Chen who were in town on a tour of Asia. Great times!

Lastly, if you know us on facebook you already know this part: After lots of thought and prayer, Emily and I have come to the conclusion that it is time to move back to the USA for a while. We’re going to miss all our friends here in Taiwan, but following Jesus is always the best. We haven’t bought tickets yet, but most likely it will be around the end of March when our lease is up. We’re still getting used to the idea, even though it has been a while in the making. Oi vei…sweet and sour my thoughts they wander.

Chock Full o’Links

Christianity, Michael's Posts, Our Taipei Life, Taiwan, Travel & Exploring 1 Response »

Nov 122011

My buddy, Daniel, recently showed me this graphic from the Economist that compares US states and countries that are similar in terms of gross domestic product. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the two places I consider to be my homes are pretty much the same…well at least in terms of GDP. Taiwan and Michigan are definitely both industrious places. Michigan equals cars, Taiwan equals semiconductors; Michigan equals seed corn, Taiwan equals rice; Michigan equals Great Lakes, Taiwan equals Taroko Gorge and Taipei 101. I highly recommend both of them!

Speaking of Michigan and Taiwan, over the past week and a half Emily and I had been hosting one of the world’s most beautiful and kind women. Margot, mother to Emily, flew all the way over from Michigan to see our lives and spend time with us. We were so happy to have her here! During her visit we were able to show her our church, Fulong, Jiufen, Muzha tea houses, the National Palace Museum, Chiank Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, the Shilin Night Market, the 2/28 Peace Park, several of Emily’s tutoring sessions, Wulai Hot Springs, Taipei 101, why traveling around Taiwan by scooter is so rad, and a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting. This past Thursday we delivered her to the airport and said goodbye. We miss her already. I’m putting the screws to Emily to get pictures up, but I need help from all of you so please let her know you want to see them and read her words about Margot’s visit!

Some friends of ours from church recently started a youth group here in Taipei called Uturn that meets once a month over in the Nangang area, on the east side, of Taipei. They asked me to speak at the October meeting and I was very honored to accept. I was a bit nervous preparing after realizing that this is my 10th year out of high school (I graduated in 2002). It has been a while since I have hung out with that age group very much. Trying to get into that mindset was something I really wanted to do as part of my preparation though. After all my nervousness was over and I actually got up and spoke I really enjoyed talking with them and sharing my love for Jesus and His Love for me. I videotaped my talk and as wildly amazing as this sounds I have already posted it on YouTube so feel free to check it out here: http://youtu.be/–lETwFtNXg

Speaking at Uturn reminded me how much I like presenting. It also challenged me personally to realize again how awesomely big God is, and yet He still wants intimate relationships with us. Thanks again for the invite Chris and Julia!

Everyone Loves Immigration Agencies

Michael's Posts, Our Taipei Life 7 Responses »

Oct 192011

Recently I’ve been working on figuring out my visa situation here in Taiwan. In past years I never really had issues as I was a student with a scholarship from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and as such enjoyed the privileges of a resident visa. However, I graduated back in June and all that has changed.

During the summer while we were back in Michigan, Emily and I sent our US marriage certificate off to TECO Chicago (the name that Taiwan calls their Embassy in Chicago because they aren’t allowed to call it an Embassy) to have them authenticate it. We also secured a 60 day visitor visa from them for me. Since we arrived back in Taiwan on September 10th, I am currently about three weeks away from that 60 day mark where I have to exit Taiwan to avoid over-staying my visa. The plan, though, is to use my status as Emily’s husband (She is still technically an NTNU student and therefore has residency) to get my 60 day visitor visa extended for another 60 days and buy enough time for me to find a cram schoool job that can sponsor me for my own resident visa. Sound complicated? Sorry, I’m trying to explain it the best I can, but it is government weirdness.

Anyways, I went down to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) today and expected to be able to show them my authenticated marriage certificate and for them to pound a few stamps on some papers and smile and tell me I was all good to go for another 60 days. While the lady was extremely nice that is not what happened. Basically, I got to NIA, grabbed a number, filled out the application form, and read in Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink while I waited for my number to be called. Then the lady who was lucky enough to call my number scanned my documents and explained that in order to extend my visitor visa for another 60 days, using my marriage certificate to Emily, I would need to get said marriage certificate translated into Mandarin Chinese and have it signed by a notary public. Oi vei. The nice lady also informed me that I can’t extend it until two weeks prior to the end of the 60 day period so I was a week too soon in visiting her.

So, after receiving instructions from NIA on where I can go to find quick and easy translation and notary services (for you other foreigners living in Taiwan: apparently a good place is in the upper floors of the building next to the Cosmos Hotel near the Taipei Main Station). I took off for work with no visa extension. I love bureaucracy, don’t you? To be fair, the nice lady at NIA also informed me that I can get a visa extension by producing a bank statement that verifies I have in my possession, somewhere in the world, at least $100,000 NT dollars. Isn’t it nice of them to provide us poor foreigners with these options?

Anyways, in a few short weeks I hope to have glowing reports about how this all worked out and that I learned so much from the whole the thing. Oh, and it also reminds me how lucky I am having to deal with Taiwan’s immigration agency as opposed to what the USA makes foreigners put up with…ugh…the stories I’ve heard, but thankfully never had to go through myself.

In other news, I was able to get more video editing done. This time I worked with footage from me and Emily’s Winter of 2010 scooter trip around Taiwan. Hope you like it: http://youtu.be/o6qZ1vvGVuw