not sure how much the flooding in the philippines is in the news back home, so i thought i'd put it up here for you to be aware. we are definitely focusing on it a lot in prayers and support daily at the seminary. i checked the local paper and some international ones too, this article seemed the best. already it's interesting what news and areas i am focused on now, after only living here a month...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/asia/30phils.html?ref=world
30 September 2009
28 September 2009
a conglomeration of thoughts
Teacher's day was a success! The weather was beautiful-- it was cool and the rain stayed away for the most part. Students, staff, and families (probably around 100 people) gathered for worship, fun, and food. We definitely were all laughing through the relay games on the beach. As a part time lecturer, I received a towel as a gift (which happened to be a much needed gift!).
This weekend is the Chinese Mooncake festival, so on Friday I'm helping my church host a Lantern Carnival for the neighborhood. I'm in charge of the handpainting booth, so hopefully my artistic abilities will meet their expectations. Saturday we are going over to Doria's (one of the volunteer's placement coordinators) to celebrate with her family. Mooncakes are VERY sweet, I'm not sure if the consistency is really comparable to anything in the States. I'm excited to see the lantern festivities with the children.
In other news, there is only five more weeks of the semester! By the time I have a routine, it will be vacation. Graduation is November 7th at the seminary. November and December will hold a variety of things for me-- teaching small group English at the seminary as well as study sessions (most students will head home over this break), teaching English workshops for local elementary teachers and their children, Malay and Chinese classes, a trip to Brunei for visa purposes, and a mission trip to the interior of Sabah for Christmas. Oh, and not to mention the volunteers' "Thanksgiving festival" (I'm sure this will be an entry in itself)!
Yesterday at my church I was able to attend the youth group for the first time. I am happy to report that I have a new, fun game to play-- malaysian chicken! It's similar to whoosh if you're up on your camp games. :) I am excited for the opportunity to spend more time with these young adults-- they are insightful, knowledgeable, fun, deep, and eager to learn. I have no doubt that my own beliefs and thoughts will be challenged weekly by this group. I feel as though I will learn more from them than they will from me...
It's getting close to rainy season, and the local fruits are booming. I don't think Erika and I will ever be short of vitamans, because we eat grapefruit 24/7. The grapefruits here are delicious, and probably about the size of my head. You can easily pull them apart, no need for a grapefruit spoon. We've also received a lot of rambutan, a fruit that doesn't seem edible from the looks of it. But once you get over the spikey shell, there is a delicious inside just waiting to be eaten.
As I was walking back from work today, a old familiar song popped into my head (a varsity women's favorite!). I thought I'd leave you with these lyrics today to meditate on. Much love!
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
This weekend is the Chinese Mooncake festival, so on Friday I'm helping my church host a Lantern Carnival for the neighborhood. I'm in charge of the handpainting booth, so hopefully my artistic abilities will meet their expectations. Saturday we are going over to Doria's (one of the volunteer's placement coordinators) to celebrate with her family. Mooncakes are VERY sweet, I'm not sure if the consistency is really comparable to anything in the States. I'm excited to see the lantern festivities with the children.
In other news, there is only five more weeks of the semester! By the time I have a routine, it will be vacation. Graduation is November 7th at the seminary. November and December will hold a variety of things for me-- teaching small group English at the seminary as well as study sessions (most students will head home over this break), teaching English workshops for local elementary teachers and their children, Malay and Chinese classes, a trip to Brunei for visa purposes, and a mission trip to the interior of Sabah for Christmas. Oh, and not to mention the volunteers' "Thanksgiving festival" (I'm sure this will be an entry in itself)!
Yesterday at my church I was able to attend the youth group for the first time. I am happy to report that I have a new, fun game to play-- malaysian chicken! It's similar to whoosh if you're up on your camp games. :) I am excited for the opportunity to spend more time with these young adults-- they are insightful, knowledgeable, fun, deep, and eager to learn. I have no doubt that my own beliefs and thoughts will be challenged weekly by this group. I feel as though I will learn more from them than they will from me...
It's getting close to rainy season, and the local fruits are booming. I don't think Erika and I will ever be short of vitamans, because we eat grapefruit 24/7. The grapefruits here are delicious, and probably about the size of my head. You can easily pull them apart, no need for a grapefruit spoon. We've also received a lot of rambutan, a fruit that doesn't seem edible from the looks of it. But once you get over the spikey shell, there is a delicious inside just waiting to be eaten.
As I was walking back from work today, a old familiar song popped into my head (a varsity women's favorite!). I thought I'd leave you with these lyrics today to meditate on. Much love!
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
22 September 2009
celebrate good times
I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts lately, but to be honest, blog posts seem like quite a daunting task. How do I pick one or two things to share about, or tell you everything I'm up to? As a result, I have avoided my blog for some time. Here's attempt one at playing catch up. :)
One thing I have learned about Malaysia is that they love their public holidays. Since I've been here, we're already enjoying our third public holiday. And, if you were wondering, public holidays = a day off of work. Earlier in the month we celebrated Malaysia's Independence day, last week was Malaysia Day celebrating Sabah's independence from Britian, and these past two days have been Hari Raya, marking the end of Ramadan.
Each of these holidays have varied in celebration styles. For Malaysia's Independence day, we gathered with the STS students to attend the city's celebration. Unfortunately, our hike down into town was in vain, as the city's celebration was moved to a smaller scale and location for H1N1 precautions. We were not ready to give up though, and stayed awake until midnight to watch the fireworks from the roof. Yet again, our plan failed, as we could not see the fireworks from our perch. All in all, though, it was a fun evening and a great way to begin meeting some of the students.
Malaysia Day was last Wednesday. I attended a celebration with Thomas, a seminarian whose practical is at the same church I am assigned to work at on Sundays. The youth of the church gathered with many other BCCM youth to put on this celebration. They had prepared different acts, reminiscent of an Olympic opening ceremony-- a flag processional, tambourine dances, flag twirling, and the like. The BCCM church here is very reform and charismatic, similar to a Pentecostal church in the US. Overall, it was a very new experience for me. The government is promoting a program called 1Malaysia to promote unity between the peoples and races in Malaysia, and this celebration prayed a lot for this unity.
And now onto today, Hari Raya, marking the end of Ramadan for Muslims. For our holiday, the volunteers attended a church retreat at the base of Mount Kinabalu (the highest mountain in SE Asia). I have to admit, I'm not sure I've ever stayed at such a beautiful place before. The retreat center was perched high on a peak of a mountain, and mountains were as far as the eye could see. We attended the retreat with a church called Canaanland, also apart of the BCCM. Today a few of the volunteers and I went to a church member's neighbor's Hari Raya celebration. It is very common for people and government leaders to have open houses as celebration-- the hosts' outfits, as well as the food spread, were extravagent. It reminded me of a formal graduation party, and afterward, I definitely felt I had eaten my fill in sweets.
I have to say the dynamic between peoples in Malaysia is quite interesting. For example, we are celebrating an Islamic holiday, but with primarily Chinese Christians. Sabah, the state I am in, is much more lucid than say, West Malaysia, in terms of peoples and differences meshing, but many things are still very separate.
This Saturday we have a STS Teacher's day at the local beach. I'm hoping it will be a good opportunity to mingle and meet some more of the staff and students (I have to say this is a slow process, I wish I was better at remembering names!). We've visited this beach before, and I'm looking forward to the traditional Malay satay beef kabobs. Hopefully soon I'll take the time and upload some photos. :)
Till next time-
One thing I have learned about Malaysia is that they love their public holidays. Since I've been here, we're already enjoying our third public holiday. And, if you were wondering, public holidays = a day off of work. Earlier in the month we celebrated Malaysia's Independence day, last week was Malaysia Day celebrating Sabah's independence from Britian, and these past two days have been Hari Raya, marking the end of Ramadan.
Each of these holidays have varied in celebration styles. For Malaysia's Independence day, we gathered with the STS students to attend the city's celebration. Unfortunately, our hike down into town was in vain, as the city's celebration was moved to a smaller scale and location for H1N1 precautions. We were not ready to give up though, and stayed awake until midnight to watch the fireworks from the roof. Yet again, our plan failed, as we could not see the fireworks from our perch. All in all, though, it was a fun evening and a great way to begin meeting some of the students.
Malaysia Day was last Wednesday. I attended a celebration with Thomas, a seminarian whose practical is at the same church I am assigned to work at on Sundays. The youth of the church gathered with many other BCCM youth to put on this celebration. They had prepared different acts, reminiscent of an Olympic opening ceremony-- a flag processional, tambourine dances, flag twirling, and the like. The BCCM church here is very reform and charismatic, similar to a Pentecostal church in the US. Overall, it was a very new experience for me. The government is promoting a program called 1Malaysia to promote unity between the peoples and races in Malaysia, and this celebration prayed a lot for this unity.
And now onto today, Hari Raya, marking the end of Ramadan for Muslims. For our holiday, the volunteers attended a church retreat at the base of Mount Kinabalu (the highest mountain in SE Asia). I have to admit, I'm not sure I've ever stayed at such a beautiful place before. The retreat center was perched high on a peak of a mountain, and mountains were as far as the eye could see. We attended the retreat with a church called Canaanland, also apart of the BCCM. Today a few of the volunteers and I went to a church member's neighbor's Hari Raya celebration. It is very common for people and government leaders to have open houses as celebration-- the hosts' outfits, as well as the food spread, were extravagent. It reminded me of a formal graduation party, and afterward, I definitely felt I had eaten my fill in sweets.
I have to say the dynamic between peoples in Malaysia is quite interesting. For example, we are celebrating an Islamic holiday, but with primarily Chinese Christians. Sabah, the state I am in, is much more lucid than say, West Malaysia, in terms of peoples and differences meshing, but many things are still very separate.
This Saturday we have a STS Teacher's day at the local beach. I'm hoping it will be a good opportunity to mingle and meet some more of the staff and students (I have to say this is a slow process, I wish I was better at remembering names!). We've visited this beach before, and I'm looking forward to the traditional Malay satay beef kabobs. Hopefully soon I'll take the time and upload some photos. :)
Till next time-
09 September 2009
my first "supper"
As I have spent the morning checking emails and such, I thought I might as well finish it off with an entry.
Things are busy! I have started teaching this week, and I think I am in for a fun, challenging, planning-filled year.
I teach three classes-- a one-on-one tutorial with two women who speak only Chinese, an English One class, and an English Two class. The English Two class is quite advanced, many of my students hope to preach in English. In between those classes (roughly 14 hours a week), I am also correcting grammar in thesis papers for students, and planning a study session for an English test that is required for the masters program here. In addition, I will be busy on Sundays as I start working with a youth program at a local English speaking church. It is easy to say that I have my work cut out for me!
Onto the story of this post...
Last night I had my first real supper! Here in Malaysia, in a typical traditional day, it would be common to eat five meals. So, as we are sitting at dinner, Thomas (one of the students here) asked if we were having supper tonight.
Well, of course, aren't we eating it now? (especially for you Iowans, haha)
After a good while of confusion, Erika (my roommate) and I came to the conclusion that we were not, in fact, eating supper, but eating dinner. So we prepared our stomachs for another filling meal at 10:00pm. We went with Catherine and Thomas to a nearby restaurant to meet some other STS students and had noodles with beef and pork-- our first official supper. Catherine asked if we wanted to document this momentous event. So, here it is.
The moral of the story-- if you are hungry at 10:30 at night and are unsure what to do, the answer is easy- just go out for supper!
Hope all is well,
Ellen
Things are busy! I have started teaching this week, and I think I am in for a fun, challenging, planning-filled year.
I teach three classes-- a one-on-one tutorial with two women who speak only Chinese, an English One class, and an English Two class. The English Two class is quite advanced, many of my students hope to preach in English. In between those classes (roughly 14 hours a week), I am also correcting grammar in thesis papers for students, and planning a study session for an English test that is required for the masters program here. In addition, I will be busy on Sundays as I start working with a youth program at a local English speaking church. It is easy to say that I have my work cut out for me!
Onto the story of this post...
Last night I had my first real supper! Here in Malaysia, in a typical traditional day, it would be common to eat five meals. So, as we are sitting at dinner, Thomas (one of the students here) asked if we were having supper tonight.
Well, of course, aren't we eating it now? (especially for you Iowans, haha)
After a good while of confusion, Erika (my roommate) and I came to the conclusion that we were not, in fact, eating supper, but eating dinner. So we prepared our stomachs for another filling meal at 10:00pm. We went with Catherine and Thomas to a nearby restaurant to meet some other STS students and had noodles with beef and pork-- our first official supper. Catherine asked if we wanted to document this momentous event. So, here it is.
The moral of the story-- if you are hungry at 10:30 at night and are unsure what to do, the answer is easy- just go out for supper!
Hope all is well,
Ellen
05 September 2009
hello dear readers! selamat pagi! after a total of 41 hours travel time, i am finally in Malaysia!
We have been in Kota Kinabalu for a week now, finishing up our orientation yesterday. I’m not sure how to even begin to summarize what we have been up to, or what we have learned so far, but it has been a busy past few days as we are learning the city, the language, and the ways.
Laura, our country coordinator (she is the wife of the bishop of the BCCM- Basel Christian Church of Malaysia, and the dean of students at the seminary), greeted us with open arms at the airport. She has been very busy preparing everything for us—she hasn’t missed a beat on things we may need. Out of our volunteers, three girls will live at an apartment nearby, and Jacob will move to a nearby town. My roommate and I share a spacious apartment on the fifth floor within the seminary student housing. We have a living/dining room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and laundry patio, as well as a great view of the mountains! The student housing is maybe a five minute walk from the seminary, and on the first floor there is a cafeteria of sorts where we eat.
The seminary has a main building with classrooms, offices, and a library, as well as a chapel, and teacher housing. Every blank space in the city is filled with thick, tropical vegetation. It is humid, and rains often. We have to close our windows every time we leave the apartment, just in case!
We have definitely already met so many people; everyone is eager for us to be here. Some have been praying for years that we would come. This is the first year of the program in Malaysia, so everything is new. They love to invite us to events and share with us the best local tea, fruit, markets…. and so on.
A few observations about KK so far…
- The food! We eat often and in large amounts. Meals are usually rice or noodles with either beef or fish balls/patties (though fish is preferred by the locals). And yes, this is even for breakfast. My roommate summed this up best by saying “I’ve eaten a million things in the past two days that I never thought I would eat!” Also, we have lots of different kinds of tea. My favorite already is called the tarik- it reminds me of Tanzanian chai.
- The language! Everyone can speak everything! Laura would like for me to learn both Malay and Mandarin, though I’m not sure how far I’ll get without any formal instruction. We are slowly working on our Malay, but it is difficult. The locals use many languages interchangeably. Right now I’m just trying to differentiate when someone is speaking Chinese or Malay, haha.
- The diversity! There are so many languages, cultures, and peoples here. Though it is not a melting pot, like the US. Each culture keeps to itself.
I’d better be somewhat brief, so I’ll save all the little details for another time. I'm off to begin preparing for my class, since I start teaching Monday! Prayers for that are definitely welcome :)
More to come, Ellen
We have been in Kota Kinabalu for a week now, finishing up our orientation yesterday. I’m not sure how to even begin to summarize what we have been up to, or what we have learned so far, but it has been a busy past few days as we are learning the city, the language, and the ways.
Laura, our country coordinator (she is the wife of the bishop of the BCCM- Basel Christian Church of Malaysia, and the dean of students at the seminary), greeted us with open arms at the airport. She has been very busy preparing everything for us—she hasn’t missed a beat on things we may need. Out of our volunteers, three girls will live at an apartment nearby, and Jacob will move to a nearby town. My roommate and I share a spacious apartment on the fifth floor within the seminary student housing. We have a living/dining room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and laundry patio, as well as a great view of the mountains! The student housing is maybe a five minute walk from the seminary, and on the first floor there is a cafeteria of sorts where we eat.
The seminary has a main building with classrooms, offices, and a library, as well as a chapel, and teacher housing. Every blank space in the city is filled with thick, tropical vegetation. It is humid, and rains often. We have to close our windows every time we leave the apartment, just in case!
We have definitely already met so many people; everyone is eager for us to be here. Some have been praying for years that we would come. This is the first year of the program in Malaysia, so everything is new. They love to invite us to events and share with us the best local tea, fruit, markets…. and so on.
A few observations about KK so far…
- The food! We eat often and in large amounts. Meals are usually rice or noodles with either beef or fish balls/patties (though fish is preferred by the locals). And yes, this is even for breakfast. My roommate summed this up best by saying “I’ve eaten a million things in the past two days that I never thought I would eat!” Also, we have lots of different kinds of tea. My favorite already is called the tarik- it reminds me of Tanzanian chai.
- The language! Everyone can speak everything! Laura would like for me to learn both Malay and Mandarin, though I’m not sure how far I’ll get without any formal instruction. We are slowly working on our Malay, but it is difficult. The locals use many languages interchangeably. Right now I’m just trying to differentiate when someone is speaking Chinese or Malay, haha.
- The diversity! There are so many languages, cultures, and peoples here. Though it is not a melting pot, like the US. Each culture keeps to itself.
I’d better be somewhat brief, so I’ll save all the little details for another time. I'm off to begin preparing for my class, since I start teaching Monday! Prayers for that are definitely welcome :)
More to come, Ellen
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