A Nice Break

We are off to a town Northeast of Taipei called Jilong (Keelung) to visit a "floating bookstore" called the Doulos. It travels around the world selling books but also bringing the message of Christ to the places that it travels. It will be in Jilong for about a month so we figured we'd go check it out.

We'll be back on Thursday night and then on Friday morning we are going with the Chen's to Sun Moon Lake in the middle of Taiwan. They have a house there that we are all going to stay in. It will be a good time for me to practice my language since two of the three people coming speak marginally good English and one speaks one word of English, "hello". So it'll be good practice for me and as Jessie said, "a nice time of reflection" for her! Should be fun!

We'll post some pictures when we get back.

More Info

Some bits of information that are helping us get to a conclusion (but we're not there yet):

-I was accepted to Peking University

-The job Jess applied for in Beijing will not pay enough to support both of us

We still have not heard back from Montgomery County in regards to Jessie's application. Jess plans to call them on Monday to pursue it further. Those are the only developments thus far.

Still Waiting, but a Little Update

I've sent some emails out to different advisors to see whether or not it is actually possible to finish all that is required in two semesters. No word yet.

Jess had a phone interview with a school in Beijing and it seems as though she could have a job if she wanted it.

No word from Montgomery County yet about a teaching position there.

No word from Peking University on whether I was accepted or not.

Keep praying!

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave....

We came with a plan....and it changed.....and changed......and changed. 

So I didn't receive the scholarship that I wanted but we decided to go to Beijing anyway. And then at breakfast the other day Jess and I were talking...and it all changed again!

We have always operated under the premise that if we were in the States I would work full-time and go to school part-time meaning I would graduate in the Spring of 2011. We wanted to go to Beijing because I would be able to graduate in the Winter of 2010, much better.

However, while we talking we thought, "what if you went to school full-time?" This got us thinking about how many credit hours I have left to graduate. We did some 'figurin' and discovered that if we came back to the States in August and I went to school full-time I could graduate in May 2010.

Whoa. (insert Keanu Reeves)

That throws the whole equation out of whack, so now we don't know what to do. A couple that we have become friends with made a very wise reference to Alice in Wonderland (so many jokes so little time!) but he said that Alice comes to a fork in the road and doesn't know which way to go. There is a cat in the tree and the cat asks her what's wrong. She responds that she doesn't know which way to go. The cat asks, "where are you going?" And Alice replies that she doesn't really know. "Well then it doesn't really matter which way you go", replied the cat.

I know it sounds cheesy but I though it was pretty profound that I don't know where we are going! So that's been what we're praying about, where are we going? Not geographically but in the end what will be the purpose of my degree and will going to Beijing really affect it in a significant way.

So now we're trying to weigh which is better: to graduate quickly or to have the experience. We've tried to cover both ends if need be by Jessie applying to both a county school in Maryland and several schools in Beijing.

We'll keep you updated on the process. I'm waiting to hear back from Peking Univ in regards to my acceptance and Jessie is waiting to hear back from the schools she's applied to. I suppose all those factors together will help us make a better decision.

Getaway! (Not you)

Jess and I recently took a trip to the most famous hotel in Taipei, the "Grand Hotel". Not too inventive with the name but a nice place none the less. Plus they had hot water in the shower the whole time! I believe  Shakespeare said it best when he said, "sweet." 

A look back towards the city from our balcony

A look down to the entry gate at night (if you hadn't noticed)

A front/side view