Reflections on 2017

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, y'all. It's that festive and crazy time of year when we are tempted to get caught up in busy holiday stress, and yet big spiritual shifts of renewal are happening all around us. We recently experienced the winter solstice...the shortest day of the year and the longest night...a gift of darkness that preceded the coming of the light. This magic has not been lost on civilizations for thousands of years, and it is not lost on me either. As I sit and reflect on 2017, I am in awe of its peaks and valleys, and I celebrate and grieve the highs and lows we experienced...that we all experienced.

We started 2017 on an airplane en route from San Francisco to Taipei. We essentially lost the first day of the year, as we traveled to the other side of the world to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. As many of you know, I received a Fulbright to teach Adventure Therapy in the Department of Civic Education and Leadership at National Taiwan Normal University. Professionally, being a Fulbright Senior Scholar was a huge accomplishment, but the real accomplishment was traveling and living abroad as a family of five.

I still remember the very first night we landed in Taipei, walking up to our dingy little apartment with a rickshaw full of trash out front, thinking "this can't be it, this can't be it." But gradually, that tiny space became home, and we grew to love it.  Like so many things in life, we began to look beneath the surface, to pay attention to the larger context--in this case, our amazing neighborhood right in the heart of Taipei--and a growing sense of familiarity fostered comfort, not contempt, and a sense of place took hold.

So many of you have seen photos on Facebook throughout our time in Taiwan, so it feels redundant share our experience there chronologically in pictures. Instead, I'll just post some of my favorite moments...the kind of moments that make me realize the love that we have for each other as family.

Just arrived in Taipei!

Our first night market!

En route to the mid-year Fulbright Conference

Protesting Trump's innauguration in front of the American Institute of Taiwan

Chinese New Year celebration!

Beach near Xincheng

Tarok Gorge

At the Taipei Zoo

Shoabing in our tiny apartment

Milkshakes at Oldies!

Sun Moon Lake

Rain storm near Hualien

Kenting, near the southernmost part of the island.

One final shaobing for breakfast the day we left.

Looking at these pictures, it feels like 2017 has actually been two separate years, so different, and seemingly disconnected, so I'll give updates for Part I and Part II of 2017.

Part I: Taiwan

Though I'd been on sabbatical in the fall of 2016, I found myself so professionally relaxed in the spring semester of 2017. I don't know how else to say it. I was away from the drama of higher education in America--no department meetings, no committees, no political squabbles about tenure and promotion. Though I know these things exist in Taiwan, as a Fulbright Scholar, I was buffered from them. All I had to do was co-teach my two classes, one undergraduate and one graduate AT course, maintain four office hours a week, and attend Fulbright conferences and seminars periodically. This gave me so much time to spend with Billy and the kids to really soak in the culture of Taiwan, and also enjoy visits from friends and family (you know who you are!). :)

Of course, I'm bad at not being "busy," so I wrote a blog, and continued my ongoing research and writing projects as a Research Scientist with the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center. I taught an online class for TXST to make some additional money. I created a mental health training for the Student Conservation Association and was asked to be a part of their Advisory Board. I also took an online course to become a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, an important area of professional growth for me. Probably my favorite additional "thing" that I did, however, was to facilitate adventure therapy trainings all over the island of Taiwan. Traveling and meeting the AAEE TAPG (Asia Association for Experiential Education Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group) folks throughout Taiwan was so inspiring. I also got to know many of the eco-therapy professionals with Taiwan's Society of Wilderness, and got to lead a Mindfulness in Nature retreat for helping professionals, filled with yoga, awe walks, horticultural therapy, art and mindfulness. It was such a powerful experience and it scratched my practitioner itch.

When I wasn't working, I was doing hot yoga, hiking, attending the Taipei Feminist Book Club, going to protest marches with Indivisible Taiwan, and traveling and exploring all of the beauty Taiwan has to offer! Starting in February, Billy and I also began taking Chinese classes every Monday and Wednesday morning...our ritual included taking bus #220 uptown to drop the kids off at school, heading to Lutetia's for the best pastries and lattes in the universe, and then walking to the ex-pat community center for class with Gloria, followed by a stroll through the market in Shihdong, and then green curry chicken for lunch at a little Malaysian restaurant. These experiences gave me so much JOY, and helped me achieve work/life balance for one of the first times ever!

A fresh coconut after a perfect day of tree climbing and body surfing! 

Billy's time in Taiwan (based on the miracle of receiving paid developmental leave from his school district), involved working remotely for his school district helping to create an implementation plan for the new AVID program at his school. He had weekly online meetings with a representative from the district, and he created structures and processes for helping to close the achievement gap at his high school. This gave him time to meet with local classroom and experiential educators to observe and learn about Taiwanese approaches to education. He also enjoyed long trail runs and ultimate frisbee, and was even asked to coach a local team, giving him a wonderful way to interact with the locals and practice his Chinese!

Squid on a stick

Taiwan Ultimate Team

Mahalia finished 9th grade at the Taipei American School. After crying the entire flight to Taiwan (that's 15+ hours for those of you counting), she jumped in bravely to her new world at TAS, taking all AP and pre-AP courses, and getting involved in the student led and choreographed dance team competition (a big deal in Taiwan!). She went to practices and rehearsals after school and on weekends, and stayed up well past midnight every night doing hours of homework. She made friends almost immediately, and loved the international environment of her school. Though at times it was hard for her being the only non-Asian girl in her friend group, she relished the experience and cultural immersion. Mahalia struggled the most being away from her friends in America, and she got the first B's on her report card ever in her life. I'm still not sure she'll ever forgive me for either of those things, but she has a newfound confidence and worldliness that only leaving the country can provide.  My most special moment with Mahalia was meeting up with a local group of feminists from all over the world to knit pink pussy hats and then march in the Taipei Women's March in solidarity with women's marches all over the world. If the future really is female, I know Mahalia will be at the center of that change.

At the Taipei Women's March

Will also attended TAS, and also had an ungodly amount of homework (my biggest problem with the school!). However, Will found his groove playing basketball and getting involved with some other after school activities, like rock climbing and the coding club. Despite not needing a foreign language credit at his Texas public middle school, Will opted to take Chinese at TAS, diving in head first to learning how to pronounce the four tones and even write basic characters. He was definitely the best Chinese speaker in our family, and usually ordered for us whenever we got shaobing at our local soy milk breakfast shop.

Hooping' it up at Daan Park

Wendell had the most adventures in Taiwan of all Norton children because she did not start at her new school until after the end of Chinese New Year. This gave her time to explore Taipei with mom and dad. She found her favorite places, like her magic tree at Daan Park or the fish ponds at Sun Yat Sen's guest house. The thing about Wendell is that she can pretty much find magic anywhere, which made her the perfect companion for getting to know Taipei. Many of you followed along with her weekly blog, so you got to see Taiwan through her loving and wondrous eyes. Though immersed in Mandarin at her local public school, Wendell made friendships that transcended language and cultural barriers, and she maintained her joie de vivre throughout it all.

Enjoying Taiwan's black sand beaches!

In love with Taiwan <3 td="">

While we were away, Gadie and ChaCha held down the fort in Kyle. We found a roommate for Gadie so she'd have help around the house and wouldn't be there all alone. Gadie continued her part-time work as a personal assistant for a family friend. She also rolled up her sleeves in the face of Trump's inauguration and became a raging activist (many of you have seen her ALL CAPS posts on FB). She and her boyfriend, Dwight, attended rallies, marches, protests, and went head to head with the new powers that be. We didn't fully realize how radical she'd become until we were about to come home and were told that she had our American flag hanging upside down in protest. Yikes--maybe not the best symbol in our little neighborhood where everyone who walks by says, "Hey, isn't that Mr. Norton's house?" ;)

On her way to the Impeach Trump rally! (We righted the flag!)

Part II: Back to Texas (Re-Entry)

On June 30, we packed our bags, cleaned out our tiny apartment and said goodbye to Taiwan. This moment, which we knew would someday come, was so surreal. It was a smack in the face about the absurdity of time...how days and weeks can drag on and on, but how in the end, life is a careening series of brilliant moments that go by in a flash. And so it was over. I was a Fulbright Scholar, and we had lived in Asia for six months. And now it was done.

When we landed in Texas, my mom picked us up at the airport and we headed straight for HopDoddy, our favorite burger joint. The taste of good 'ol American food was a comforting and welcome homecoming. Walking into our giant house felt extravagant, each kid amazed that they had their own rooms and their own stuff back. Gradually, we began reconnecting with our Texas community of friends and family, and it was lovely to come home to a life we love.

Summer rolled on with visits to the pool, the creek, camping trips with the kids, a road trip to Indiana and Chicago to visit my dad and his wife and reunite with friends, and eventually back to work and school...just like that.

Book club at the creek!

Mother/son camping trip: Caving adventure!

Playing in the creek!

Our first mother/daughter camping trip!

With Granddad and Elizabeth at Cafe Patachou

After a summer of readjusting to life back in the States, I went back to my position as an Associate Professor of social work at Texas State University. Unfortunately, I came back to a work environment that felt unsafe and unfamiliar on both micro and macro levels. On a micro level, we got a new director, new policies and procedures, and new hierarchies. Being gone for a year made me a stranger in my own department, and I felt more disconnected than ever. I was also back to a 3-3 teaching load, committee work, and new preps, with an ever-growing pressure to publish or perish, and write and receive external grants in order to continue to advance my career. These micro level stressors collided with a macro level climate of hate on my campus, which is toxic to say the least. Ever since Trump's election, the alt-right is trying to sow dissension from the outside, and TXST is as divided as the country. I have literally had classes interrupted by bomb threats and active shooter threats, and though both were unfounded, in the wake of some of the deadliest mass shootings in US history, these experiences have profoundly impacted the learning environment.

However, my students were professional bright spots for me, always asking the right questions, struggling to find meaning, but never losing hope. My AEE/TAPG family also carried me through my transition back home. They are the brightest, most creative, compassionate people in the world, and inspire me to work hard to make the world a better place, but still take care of myself. This year my AEE peers awarded me the AEE Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award, a true honor.

Dorking out during the eclipse!

Taking a break to cool my feet in the Pedernales River. Reminded me of dipping my feet in the cool rivers in Taiwan. 

My Adventure Therapy students!

Billy also came back to major changes in his job. It seems that not everyone was happy about his leave, so instead of being given the AVID position, which he worked to create, or even another teaching position in the English department, he was reassigned to a new position teaching Read 180, a remedial reading class for a variety of marginalized students, including special education and ELL students. Though he is in a new position, Billy has brought the same social justice lens of compassion for these students as he brings to everything he does in education. He is reaching back in his toolkit to use many behavior management tools he employed when working in alternative schools or with Outward Bound. He also continues to trail run, coach ultimate, birdwatch and find solace in literature.

I am literature.

With his trail running pals! 

Hays Ultimate Tournament

Mahalia was happy to be home with friends and family, but she also felt the angst of coming back to a country that is so sick. Being back in her rather provincial Texas public high school has made her long for her group of friends back in Taiwan. But it's also propelled her into action. She joined the Women's Studies Club and the Nature Club, and is constantly speaking up when she hears ignorant comments made. Though critical of her surroundings, she also jumped right back in to her life as a high school sophomore, running cross-country, and being a dance captain for the school play. She continues to take all AP and pre-AP courses, crushed the PSAT and is already getting letters and emails from colleges all over the country. She's dating and will be driving soon, so, yeah, pray for us. ;)

After her cross-country meet with her biggest fan!

We got to meet Hillary Clinton!

Will jumped back in to his life full force. He ran cross-country and, despite breaking his wrist, made the 7th grade basketball A-team. He is academically driven, like his big sister, taking STEM and pre-AP courses, and is even on the UIL Math Club, to which I think "this is not my child." :) Will just turned 13 and has a good group of friends to spend his time with. They are still interested in riding their bikes to Sonic and grabbing a pick up game of hoops on the playground, but I see the shift towards texting and girls, so maybe divert some of your prayers in this direction too.

7th grade cross-country meet

Rocking the pink cast! 

Barton Bobcats!

Wendell started second grade and found herself a bit behind in reading and math, having basically missed the entire second half of first grade.  However, Wendell handles bumps in the road fairly well, preferring to immerse herself in birds and nature, rather than worry and strife. With the help of Harry Potter and Billy, she is catching up just fine. She joined Girl Scouts and enjoys time with her friends doing fun projects and community service. Wendell's heart is huge and even though she is only seven, her capacity to respond to the suffering in the world is profound. When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico, she had a lemonade stand to raise money for our family and others living there. Things like this give me hope.

My littlest Girl Scout!

Viva Puerto Rico!

This is 2nd grade! :) 

Gadie has continued her activism and is glad to have us all home...for the most part! ha! We certainly add a lot of chaos to her life, but I think she missed us. She turned 70 this fall and we had a big party for her! In February, she and I are heading to Italy to visit one of her best friends! This amazing gift was made possible by so many of you who generously donated to offset the costs of our plane tickets! :)

On her way to an Indivisible Austin rally.

Gadie's 70th Birthday Party!

Everybody needs a Gadie!

2017 also brought lots of celebration. Will and I visited Washington, DC and got to see my Aunt Cathy. We all traveled back to Indiana for my cousin Abigail's wedding, a beautiful affair that was a family reunion of sorts. Billy and I went to NYC to celebrate Billy's Aunt Mary's 80th, and Billy traveled back to NYC to run a 1/2 marathon with his mom and sisters. Titi Tara and Uncle Matt came to Texas for Thanksgiving! We had our first real snowfall in Texas, and we got to spend a wonderful Christmas with my dad and the Lynn's in Indianapolis, and then celebrate again with my mom and Aunt Jenn here in Texas! 

Aunt Cathy! 

Abigail and Brian's wedding: Lynn Family Reunion

Aunt Mary's 80th Rooftop Birthday Party!

Running a 1/2 marathon with Abuelita!

Hiking at Pedernales State Park

Texas snowfall: Pure joy!

Lynn Family Christmas

Belated Texas Christmas

In the face of some of friends' and family members' health challenges, as well as the loss of several dear friends this year, we don't take these times for granted at all. Being together is a gift. It is a refuge from the sorrows of the world, but it is not a hiding place. Rather, our connections with each other help us gain strength to be in the world...to endure, to create, to solve problems, to help others, and even to thrive. 

Thank you for being a refuge in our lives. Thank you for helping us find hope. Thank you for sharing your pain with us and reminding us that we are not alone in our vulnerability.  In 2018, we pray for you a prayer of St. Teresa of Avila: "May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us." 

With love, 

Christine, Billy, Mahalia, Will and Wendell Jane Norton

6118 Negley blanketed in snow!

And love from ChaCha, the big black dog!

On the 4th of July--too hot!