Annabelle at Esther K.'s Wedding

At Esther K.'s wedding, we had the privilege of sitting next to Annabelle and the Leonards. She kept us rather entertained throughout the service.


Don't even think about taking my picture!


Aren't I just adorable? (And Daddy wishes I could just sit still so he can enjoy this wedding service)



And it was indeed a very nice, nice, nice... and long service. :)


Congratulations Esther and Tony! You guys are finally married. :)

Super Marco, Miss Advanced and Others

Thanks to our super soundman, Marco Chuang for these pictures from a day of life at ORTV.


"Super Marco" and Liz pose for the camera.


Liz looks happy as she poses for "Super Marco".


Liz helps Rebecca review and practice another Advanced article.


"Super Marco" catches Lisa and Beth as they get on the elevator. And we catch a glimpse of him in the mirror.


It was a marathon week for "Miss Advanced" in the studio, but you'd never know from her happy face. So, just how many recordings did you have this week, Naomi?


I've got it easy compared to "Miss Advanced".


The view from "Super Marco's" office. The red light is on, "Studio Classroom is on the air!" Phil and Naomi listen as Troy gets wound up.

Friday Night Bible Study Activity

For this English activity, Vance and I (Phil) asked students to come up on stage and guess the words on screen while others in the audience tried to act them out. We called it "Revers-charades" (since typically it's the group doing the guessing).

One popular category was "Animals", but there could be no talking or noises made. (Sorry folks, no growling, grunting, barking or bird calls) With the word "horse", it was funny to look out and see many people pretending to ride one. And with "kangaroo", the guess was "rabbit" until people got their "pouches" in place, ha, ha.

Shi-Chien University (實踐大學 )Class

Here are some students from my (Phil's) Fall class at Shi-Chien University (just across the street from ORTV). In the front row and second from the left is Ambreen. If you look up close, you'll see that she's obviously not Chinese. She grew up in Taiwan, but her parents are from India and Burma (Myanmar). The funny gal in the middle (with the pink hat) is "Mitch" (yes, a boy's name) from Pingtung (屏東). I think it should be an interesting semester. :)

Steve's Waterfall (From Below)

Steve's favorite waterfall in Neihu has two cascades that come together at the bottom and then shoot outwards off the rock.

Usually we go hang out at the "swimming hole" located above it, but this time we had to check out the pool and spray from below.


Yeah, baby! After getting rained on earlier, who cares if we get wet now.


After enjoying the spray from below, Steve boosts me (Phil) up to the next level to take a look. Thanks for the helping hands, Steve!

More Good English Vocabulary

In a flashback to Yehliu, we see that there's more than one way to spell this word for the day. I can just hear Andrea teaching this one: "Now students, repeat after me... EF-FLO-RES-CENCE". (photo courtesy of Gollum)

Studio Classroom Restaurant Visit

Jason Huang gets the "Unsung Heroes Award" for the day. It's not easy being a soundman when you have to hold a long heavy microphone over the table without banging the ceiling or getting it into the picture. Liz seems to appreciate his effort. Next to Liz are Vance and Lisa.


A delicious Chinese seafood feast. Makes me wish I could participate in these restaurant tapings more often.

Lisa, I think you should write more Studio Classroom Food articles. :)


The day's shooting is done. After filling his belly with good food, Vance settles down for a nap.

Another Yehliu (a.k.a. "Middle Earth") Excursion

"My precious, my precious..." Daniel does a great Gollum impersonation on the rocks of Yehliu.


Climbing near the all-seeing eye of Sauron. (photo courtesy of Gollum)


Marth the MIG (pilot) Man takes his cool helmet on the road. Nobody even tried to touch him.


Lisa "The BENQ Woman" displays her colors proudly. Peter must be very happy.


Don't try this at home. The idiot is me (Phil) springing from "Jump-Off Rock". In case you're wondering, we snorkeled and scoped out the area below before jumping. I appreciated having cheerleaders (and "nurses" if necessary) like Lisa and Beth below. (photo courtesy of Gollum)


Steve follows with an aerial ballet before plunging into the water. (photo courtesy of Gollum)

Paul shows a nice form on his jump. From the side, it looks like he's walking on water or surfing without a board. Having a view up close (cleft in the rock on the right side of the picture), I think I'm in a good position to give him a "10" on style points. (photo courtesy of Gollum)

Andrea inspects and gives it a good look before deciding to save the jumping for next time when Let's Talk In English brings along the TV cameras. Andrea, 加油! (photo courtesy of Gollum)

The "Middle Earth" crew (Liz, Beth, Gollum, Joyce, Lisa, Paul, Phil, Andrea, Gareth and Steve) pose for a group shot before heading back to Taipei. (photo courtesy of Gollum)