As I blogged previously, the May retreat was the first time I chatted to Joelle. I knew her by sight, and that she was involved in the church's children's ministry on Sundays, taught kindergarten, and helped with the Powerpoint presentations during our Sunday evening meetings. Following on from the retreat, we had various other opportunities to chat, and also began to talk on MSN Messenger from time to time. I had also provisionally agreed to be a foreign teacher at her kindergarten a few days a week.
By the time July came along, I was starting to really like her. Nothing much happened, though - I was terrified of saying anything at that point. I did, however, treat her to a meal on 25th July, her birthday. At the time, I thought I was being subtle; seen from her eyes, it probably looked like a pretty serious statement... She was real fun to be with - bright, optimistic, liked to laugh... and I really enjoyed her company. It was obvious how much she enjoyed working with children, although I wasn't sizing her up as a potential Mum that soon!
In August, she went out of Taipei on a short-term mission trip, which seemed like torture to me. I think she was gone for a week, after which she went home to Pingtung in the south. Once in Pingtung, we chatted again on MSN: THAT was even worse! I wanted to tell her how I felt, but held back, saying that we shouldn't chat again until she returned to Taipei. As it turned out, we didn't last that long... On one day, there was an almost constant stream of text messages going back and forth. Thank God for Joelle's patience; she was waiting for me to 'own up' and was just about ready to give up hope!
Yangmingshan Trip: A Date With the Snakes...
Our first date, although I'm not sure either of us was expecting it to be that, was a trip to Yangmingshan just outside Taipei. I say 'not sure' because I was being typically British (i.e. vague) about my feelings and expecting Joelle to get the message by telepathy... Fortunately, God pulled some strings for me!
Although the world contains some oddballs who love snakes, even keep them as pets, I tend to side with those who think they've been bad news since Eden. As Joelle and I hiked up Yangmingshan we saw two or three of the creatures, one of which didn't seem to be in a hurry to move off the track. I 'encouraged' it away with a stick, and it was either a) too docile or b) not bothered enough to protest. Since this trip, Joelle has been convinced that all mountains and hills have snakes somewhere or another.
By the time July came along, I was starting to really like her. Nothing much happened, though - I was terrified of saying anything at that point. I did, however, treat her to a meal on 25th July, her birthday. At the time, I thought I was being subtle; seen from her eyes, it probably looked like a pretty serious statement... She was real fun to be with - bright, optimistic, liked to laugh... and I really enjoyed her company. It was obvious how much she enjoyed working with children, although I wasn't sizing her up as a potential Mum that soon!
In August, she went out of Taipei on a short-term mission trip, which seemed like torture to me. I think she was gone for a week, after which she went home to Pingtung in the south. Once in Pingtung, we chatted again on MSN: THAT was even worse! I wanted to tell her how I felt, but held back, saying that we shouldn't chat again until she returned to Taipei. As it turned out, we didn't last that long... On one day, there was an almost constant stream of text messages going back and forth. Thank God for Joelle's patience; she was waiting for me to 'own up' and was just about ready to give up hope!
Yangmingshan Trip: A Date With the Snakes...
Although the world contains some oddballs who love snakes, even keep them as pets, I tend to side with those who think they've been bad news since Eden. As Joelle and I hiked up Yangmingshan we saw two or three of the creatures, one of which didn't seem to be in a hurry to move off the track. I 'encouraged' it away with a stick, and it was either a) too docile or b) not bothered enough to protest. Since this trip, Joelle has been convinced that all mountains and hills have snakes somewhere or another.
Comments
One thought did occur to me: what are you going to call this blog when you are back in the UK?
Brit Taiwan Brit, Taiwan Brit back in Brit, Taiwan Brit Brit? Hope you come up with a good name Matthew, and also hope you carry on writing. The stories are funny.