Taken in Dajia City, Taiwan, July 23, 2009.

The kids this week are young—3rd to 6th graders officially, but some are younger. Even at this age, the kids show the cultural kindness of this island. When playing competitive games they have fun and make sure everyone has a turn. We are certainly going to miss the kids and the staff. We have all lost weight because we are not eating rich foods. Even the desserts and snacks are not real sweet. We introduced s’mores—maybe a bad idea.

Photos:

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100490

There is just too much to say about Taipei. So . . . just have a look at the photos.

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100463

Like the people of Taiwan, scooter are practical. Their small wheels start rolling easily. Where we are has no potholes to plunge you to injury or death by trapping the wheels. Passengers can sit behind or—illegal, but regularly practiced—can stand on the platform between the driver and the controls. Darrell Bock snapped this picture in Taipei, near the 101 tower.

There is very little open space in the lowland—think coastal—areas of Taiwan. We said goodbye to the campers today and headed north to Taipei for an extended weekend. The campers departed as they came—minivan and buss. We departed by the local train. After breakfast the campers and staff gathered in the chapel. We sang, watched English skits, passed out Texas bandanas, took photos and saw them off. The camp staff lives what they say they believe. They really like the campers and it shows. Debriefing lasted several hours, as did the ride to Taipei. It is good to see the Franklins.

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100455.

If you hate spiders, you’ll love this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KGX8PrBhyc

Camp lasts from Monday through Thursday. The campers become comfortable with you on the second day. By noon on the fourth day, Thursday, they are headed home. Wednesday, today, is fun. It’s a free time day. Other than English class and cabin time, the campers are free to select from a lot of activities. They seek us out to do things together. Cool! It is also the day when you help the most with their language skills. Because you are doing things the campers enjoy, they really work to communicate. They are not embarrassed to try as they were on Monday. It is also a day they watch us to see if the hope we claim to have is real. Everyone wants hope. You want them to know Hope. The hotdog roast is most excellent. Wednesday is fun.

See the photos.

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100440.

From a physics point of view, if you pass warm wet air through colder wet air the moisture condenses. In this case the moisture condensed about an inch deep every 15 minutes. The cloud-to-earth sprinkler system worked effectively. The downpour fell during the station games so nearly everyone was already wet. As with most war, the Great Water War started as a simple version of Duck, Duck, Goose—played with water balloons.

WARNING: This could dampen your keyboard.

Photos:

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100404

Ever try to pick up marbles with chopsticks? Eating with chopsticks is fun enough, although you can catch on quite quickly if you are hungry. Picking up marbles is really good practice if you want to master the art of the chopstick. This is just one of the games the campers played on rainy Tuesday.

Photos:

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100417

“Would you please do pushups with me?” What better way to get acquainted than together do situps or pushups or skip while singing? One-on-one, find someone older—is that possible?—younger, with more siblings or less. Better yet, link arms and high-kick, or spin around. It’s a fun, quick and effective way to meet.

To view the photos, go here:

http://gallery.me.com/bkerstetter/100432.