Happy Chinese New Year!

Marshall,
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. Last year was the year of the pig, and this year is the year of the rat. I haven't seen any rats, though, so that's good.
Sorry it has been so long since I've written. I miss you VERY MUCH, but am really glad I had the chance to be with you at Christmas. That was fun.
I just visited some friends in the southern part of Taiwan. Here is a picture of me with Missy and her kids Ethan & Andrea. You can see a giant tiger and a giant dragon in the background.
Love you!
M

Silly King

Marshall,
This afternoon, I got to dress up like a silly king and climb up onto a roof. It was kind of scary because it was so high. But it was fun. Some of my students from last year are doing a project and I'm one of their "actors". I have to dress up in crazy clothes and wear a strange crown.
Anyway, here's a picture of a Silly King on a roof.
I love you very much!
And miss you,
Uncle Mut

Christmas is coming!

Marshall,
The other night, I was able to hang out at one of the dorms where some of my students live. The dorm-parents were going out, and so they needed someone to be in charge in case there were problems. It's kind of like when I take care of you and Stewart if your Mom and Dad can't be around.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and they had a Christmas tree up. Do you have your Christmas tree up yet? I think Pa Tom and Nana Jan put a Christmas tree up recently.
So here is a picture of my friend Semantha and a cool Christmas tree.
I love you VERY MUCH! And miss you.
Uncle Mut

Turkey Day

Marshall,
I didn't take this picture; I found it on the internet. But it's cool anyway, isn't it? Turkeys are funny looking. The good news is that they taste really scrumptous, especially with mashed potatoes. Do you think turkeys are friends with potatoes? Maybe that's why they taste so good together.
Parsnips are the enemies of turkeys and potatoes, I think. Pa Tom told me that you guys were talking about parsnips. Pa Tom doesn't like Parsnips AT ALL!
Happy Thanksgiving to you! I will call you later.
Uncle Mut

Learning to Save Lives

Marshall,
I learned something really cool yesterday! I went to a class called "CPR/First Aid" where I learned different things to do when someone is not breathing. So if anything bad happens, I'll know more and have a better chance of helping. It was interesting.
This picture is of the "dummy" that I had to practice my techniques on. I would press on its chest 30 times, and then breathe two "rescue breaths" into its mouth. It was hard work, actually.
Hey, can you do me a BIG favor? Can you give Stewart a big hug and tell him it is from Uncle Mut? Thanks. Then give Nigel a small gentle hug, too, OK? Thanks.
I miss you guys.
Love,
Uncle Mut

3 New Friends

Marshall,
I went to something called "Junior Carnival" the other night. The 11th graders make a festival of games for little kids, and there are lots of fun games. I was in the "Sponge Throw Booth", where people could throw sponges at my face. It was fun!
This is a picture of three of my new friends. There's Victor, and Vicky, and Claire. Actually, Vicky isn't in this picture, but the girl in the middle didn't tell me her name. She was shy. And Vicky was off playing a game somewhere when I took this picture.
You would have liked them!
You can also see my other friend Walter behind them. I taught Walter last year. He's a really good basketball player!
Guess what? That's right!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!! You're so good at guessing that!
Love you,
Uncle Mut

10 to 7

Marshall,
I went to a baseball game the other night! The United States of America was playing against Taiwan, and it was a really close game. It was 1-1, then it was 3-3, then it was 6-6, then it was 10-6, and finally it was 10-7. The United States won, but it was really close. Taiwan (they call their team "Chinese Taipei") almost came back to tie it at the end.
Do you remember the baseball game we went to this summer with Kaori and Uncle Dave and Amy? Well, this game was much more exciting and it was very loud. The people were VERY proud of their team. There were a few of us who were Americans, and we were proud of our team, too.
Love you!
Uncle Mut

Funny Girls

Marshall,
Sorry it has taken me a while to write a blog entry!
Here's a good picture of two of last year's students. They kidnapped my camera and took this picture. They seems pretty silly to me...what do you think?
Guess what? I've been really busy because basketball season has started. We decided on who will play on the Varsity, JV, and JV-B teams, and now we're practicing for our first games.
Are you having fun with Lauren and Chloe? Tell them I say hello!
Love you!
Uncle Mut

Treat for Marshall!

Marshall,
If I was there in Indiana, I would make you some cookies like these and give you some.
What are you going to dress up as? Are you going to be a spider? A wolf? A window-washer? A cowboy? An airplane? A zebra? A celebrity? A video game player? Maybe a soccer ball? Hmmmm, what are you going to be?
And what is Stewart going to be? A rattlesnake? A telescope? A camera? The color green?
And what about Nigel? Will he be a crying baby? A rock star? A rock? A star?
Hmmmm. I don't know what I'll be, but hopefully I'll get some cookies.
These cookies weren't mine, actually. Somebody else took this picture.
Love you TONS,
Uncle Mut

Music From Unlikely Areas

Marshall,
Hi! So today I was in my classroom and I was giving my students a test over a book. The book is called "The Scarlet Letter". Anyway, I suddenly heard beautiful music coming into the room, but from the back of the room, where my desk is. I looked out the window and some students were playing music with violins and other cool instruments. There weren't any pianos, but it was a very beautiful sound. You would have liked it.
I think music should be played inside, outside, beside you, beside me, and EVERYWHERE. I love music. Do you love music?
Love, Uncle Mut

Golf

Marshall,
Do you remember how I liked to watch golf at your house sometimes last summer? I especially liked watching Tiger Woods because he's the best golfer. Have you ever played miniature golf? Maybe we can play when I visit next summer.
Well, this is a picture of where I took my P.E. students to practice their golf swings. It's called a "driving range", but it's not like driving a car. In golf, they call hitting the ball the first time "DRIVING" the ball. The students had fun, I think...they're already MUCH better than I am.
Do you see all those little white spots? Those are all golf balls! There was a HUGE net in the distance keeping the balls from going too far.
Guess what? THAT'S RIGHT! Good guess!!!! I LOVE YOU, MARSHALL! Please tell Stewart and Nigel that I love them, too.
Uncle Mut

Dora Exploring Taiwan

Marshall,
One of my students was carrying Dora around on his bag. Because I knew about Dora (thanks to my nephews!), I asked him about it. He said he didn't know anything about it...it was just a bag his Mom gave him. So I had to tell him all about Dora and her friends and how she speaks Spanish words. Then I took Dora's picture so that you can see she is in Taiwan. Cool, eh?
Love you!
Uncle Mut

Tree Trouble

Marshall,
Check out this tree! I don't know what happened to it, but it looks like maybe it was hit by lightning. Maybe even a couple of times! There were some squirrels playing on this tree, so now I know that squirrels live in Taiwan, too. I hadn't seen any here before.
How was your soccer game? What position do you play? Do you ever get to shoot at the goal? Next time you play, imagine me cheering you on BIG TIME! "Go Marshall! Yeah!!! Way to go!" And I might say "Jia yo!" which means literally "Add gas!" in Chinese. But it's really an encouragement!
Love you tons!
Uncle Mut

Giant Goat (or Super Sheep)

Marshall,
When I went to the park this afternoon, I saw a huge statue of a goat. It wasn't a real goat, of course, but it was probably at least 60 feet tall. I've never seen such a huge goat or sheep before. Have you?
Right next to this statue there was also a sign that had 3 pictures on it. The first symbol was for "No"; the second symbol was a hand dropping food pieces; the third symbol was a bird. I guess the park doesn't want the people to feed the birds. That seems pretty mean to me, but maybe they have a good reason.
There was also a sign next to a small pond. It had 3 symbols as well. The first symbol was for "No"; the second was a hook; the third was a fish. This one made sense to me...they don't want the people killing the fish.
Doesn't it seem weird that they want to help the fish but they don't want to help the birds? Maybe you can explain it to me if you figure it out.
Anyway, here is a picture of the goat.
Love you!
It was SO GREAT to hear your voice yesterday!
Uncle Mut

Finally!

Marshall,
I'm sorry that I haven't put any blog entries up recently. I've been having difficulty finding pictures you'd like...it's been very dreary and gray here recently. Hopefully, the weather will clear up and I can send you some good shots.
This picture is one I forgot to send you. At my school, we had Spirit Week; this is a picture of some students trying to drink a whole 2 liter of Coke as fast as possible. The winner got points for their class. Of course, it was kind of gross because a few of them threw up after they drank so much so fast. It was yucky, but they had fun competing.
I love you!
Thanks again for the "Happy Birthday" wishes!
Uncle Mut

Statue of the Thinker

Marshall,
I visited a school in Taipei yesterday. The volleyball and soccer teams went up there for some competition with Taipei American School, our "rival". The volleyball team won a VERY close match!
Well, I took this picture of a cool statue they had there. The girl is one of my students...her name is Jareena and she is very funny. When I put Far Side comics up (ask Paw Tom about those!), she makes funny comments. Anyway, this statue is good to have in a school because school makes you THINK. Are you learning neat stuff with your classes?
One time your Mom gave me a gift that was like this statue, but it was much smaller. I used to keep it on my school desk. Sadly, one of my students accidentally knocked it off and broke it. Oops!
I hope you're having a great Sunday!
Love you!
Uncle Mut

Frisbee

Marshall,
I've enjoyed imagining you playing soccer with your team. It sounds like fun!
In my P.E. class, we're playing a game that's like soccer in a way. It's called "Ultimate Frisbee" and it's a lot of fun, too. You throw the frisbee to your teammate, and if they catch it, you run down the field so they can throw it to you. You can't run with the frisbee...you have to throw it.
The only bad thing is that it is SUPER SUPER SUPER hot these days, so it's hard work. : )
I can teach you how to play sometime.
Miss you!
Love,
Uncle Mut

Fireworks in September

Marshall,
Hi again! I wanted to send you this picture I took from the roof of my apartment building tonight. Do you remember the fireworks we saw this summer? That was on the fourth of July. But here in Taiwan, fireworks are common at all different times of the year. Anytime there is going to be a "moon festival", people all over the city will light fireworks through the night. It can get pretty loud sometimes. You would like to see them and hear them, I'm sure.
I love you and miss you!
I hope your soccer game went well!
Uncle Mut

Spider

Marshall,
Can you see the spider? Look carefully.
Do you know how spiders make their webs? Now that you're in school, you should ask one of your teachers that. Ask your Mom, or ask Nana Jan in Spanish, or ask your Dad, or ask Paw Tom. Paw Tom would LOVE to explain it, I'm sure.
I think spiders are pretty neat.
Love you!
Uncle Mut

Davey Jones the Gecko!

Marshall,
Unlike that last picture of a dinosaur, this picture is of a REAL reptile! This is Davey Jones, the gecko that lives in my classroom. He usually says "Good Morning" to me during 3rd period of the day...he makes this sound that's very loud and like a deep song. He's very shy to be around people, though, so it's difficult to get a picture of him.
Can you see him here? He was running away from the camera and hiding under the doorway, but I took his picture anyway.
His name is Davey Jones because my students voted and gave him that name last year.
You would like him!
Love you,
Uncle Mut