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At the end of my missions trip to Manila last summer, I wrote down one of my prayers and stuck it in my Bible.  Here’s a piece of it.

My God, I confess that I turn a blind eye when I buy clothes or food, not thinking about the wages of the people making the clothes in sweatshops.  Give me discernment to know where to shop and where to buy things to better support them rather than supporting companies which [do the opposite]…help me to steward my money wisely, give generously, and use it to the support the poor in their situation.

One of the verses that really stuck out to me was James 5:4 – “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.  The cries of the harvesters have reached the Lord Almighty”.  There were a lot of things that God taught me that summer, but one thing that I really took home was how to better steward my money to further God’s kingdom.

So, how does this have anything to do with being a Steazer? And what is a Steazer anyway?

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I am leaving tomorrow to return to the States.  So, I figured I’d make a list of the top 10 things I’ll miss about Taiwan.

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Welcome to English Village—the pride of Yilan County.  Every Tuesday, six of us gather in the morning to give some fifth grade students of Yilan County an unforgettable English experience.  The entire building is designed to be a simulated English environment, complete with an airplane donated by EVA Air, a fake dance studio, bank, restaurant, etc.

After a group introduction, the students, in groups, run through the stations to practice interacting with us, saying things like “I want to exchange $200 NT dollars to US dollars” at the bank or “Do your eyes hurt?” at the health center.  We also play fun games with them to get them to practice using English more.  At the end of their crazy adventure, they write postcards in English.

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Every May, elementary schools from across Yilan County gather to compete in various English activities.  Every school that has a Fulbright ETA placed there is required to participate in at least two of the activities.  These range from Vocabulary King to Reader’s Theatre (reading/acting in English) to Sing/Dance to Improv.  Our school decided to participate in Vocabulary King and Sing/Dance…since my secondary job title is Dance Choreographer at my school.

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I remember my first introduction to bubble tea was when I visited my brother for the first time in Houston.  I was amazed at the list of different fruity flavors I could choose to mix with black or green tea and large black chewy tapioca balls (called boba or bubbles).  When I returned to Maryland and Nashville where the bubble tea scene is severely lacking, I was disappointed in the lack of selection and the outrageous prices.

Little did I know that there is so much beyond even the best bubble tea shop in Houston.  Oh, so much more.  Here in Taiwan, you almost literally can’t go an entire street block without walking past a tea shop.  In more crowded areas, usually even more than just one tea shop.

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