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Emily T. Murray

A Short Bio:

My name is Emily T. Murray, I am from America. I used to live in Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota. I graduated from Hamline University in 2000 with a triple B.A. in History, Religion and Asian Studies.

On February 14, 2001, I moved to Taiwan. There I was an English Teacher. I taught for many schools and at all levels from 2 year old babies to 60+ year old adults, from absolute beginner to almost native fluency. I have been studying Mandarin since 1999, and found that it was much easier to learn in Taiwan than it was in the States. I also finished an International Masters of Taiwan Studies (emphasis in Taiwan History) at National ChengChi University in January 2009. My thesis was titled: An Initial Description and Discussion of Place in the Historical Context of Global Monolithic Scuplture- As Seen From the Wind Lion Gods of Kinmen Island, Taiwan.

On February 12, 2009 I moved to Wellington, New Zealand to pursue a master's of Museum and Heritage Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. I don't know where life will take me after this, or even yet what else I'll be doing here.

My other hobbies include: reading; traveling; creating art; visiting museums; and going out to eat. I have been to: Canada, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and The Philippines. There are some things I don't like to do, too. I don't drink coffee or any alcohol. I don't smoke. I rarely watch TV or movies.

I am not married and I don't have any children. On Monday August 1st, 2005, 8:30a.m. I rescued, and thus became guardian and sole keeper of, an orange and white cat named Lester.

I joined TaRen Toastmasters club in Taipei, Taiwan in September of 2004 and am extremely active in that organization. It has become a very important part of my life, and I devote a lot of my "extra" time and energy to it. Since then I have also chartered and served as Charter President for the Irrationally Motivated Advanced Toastmasters Club in Taipei. I also have acheived the Distinguished Toastmaster rank (the highest possible level). For more information about my toastmasters involvement, please go to: Emily's Toastmasters Page .

My Charities:

My first charity is one that requires a long term commitment. You choose a child to sponsor, and you can pick by photo and by preference, boy girl, location and age, and sponsor them for US$22 a month until they turn 19. I sponsor a Guatemalan boy named Angel Sicaja, and an Honduran boy named Luis Diaz through Children International. This organization was founded in 1936 and is listed as one of the American Institute of Philanthropy's "Top Rated Charities." 80% of all donations go directly into helping the poverty stricken around the world. They help with basic housing, education and medical needs, as well as much more. The organization has the goal of helping needy children become healthy, self-reliant adults. And it's non-Christian.

Click here to help a child

My second charity is a short term one, you can make one donation, or two or one a year or whatever you want. I find that they make great gifts for people, because you donate an animal or a flock of bird or a beehive or whatever you feel is fitting to a needy person somewhere in the world. This gift is one that keeps on giving because the recipient then gives the offspring to other people in their community, so that they can help other people and sell some and eat some, so health and wealth both improve as well. With every 10 dollars you spend on donating an animal you get a free card, so for example if you buy a beehive at US$30 you can send a free card to 3 different people saying you donated it as a gift for them, or in their honor. Heifer.org has been around for a long time, since just after WWII and works all over the world. You may not choose which country you want to donate to, only which animal(s). You can see more details at my personal registry, and donate through it at: Emily's Share the Chance Page.

The third and final charity is recyclable. It funds micro-loans to those in poverty throughout the world, but you get your money back when the loan is paid back. You can give in increments of 25$ from as little as 25$ to as much as the entire loan...not more than 1,200$. Most people loan just a little, but if a lot of people work together, loaning a little, then the loans can be financed in whole. There is a description of the loanee and what they want to use the money for, how it will affect/effect their lives. IT also tells you the terms of the loan, and in what amount of time you can expect to be paid back. Then you can either refund the money to yourself through Paypal, or loan it out to someone else. Thus...it's recyclable. Go take a look at Kiva.

Some other stuff:

    My Top 6 Books, and why:
  1. Guns, Germs and Steel; by Jared Diamond-----I read this book early in my college life and it hit me over the head. I remember being stunned and amazed at how easily and almost obviously everything was tied together. His theories and explanations, while not necessarily correct, were well researched, well written, and simply though-provoking.
  2. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Textbook Got Wrong; by James W. Loewen----- I read this book during high school, when a person is still learning about life, and to be so bluntly told that not only are you not really learning anything, and often times what you learn is either horribly incomplete, or simply flat-out wrong was an eye-opening experience for a naive young person.
  3. Sex In History; by Reay Tannahill----- I believe this was the first "comprehensive" history of any subject that I read...Opened my eyes to a whole new genre of reading material, and definately heightened my love of things both historical and taboo.
  4. Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemakers War 1941-1945; by Leo Marks----- WWII history is not a field I usually read, but I'm quite glad I did this time as this book was intensely personal. The background and achievements of the British code breaking unit is fascinating, especially once you find out how far and how fast they had to go. This book also had the honor of introducing me to my favorite poem (generally I am not a fan of poetry, but here they explained the reasoning behind the poem and the feelings involved in it, so it stuck with me).
  5. Big Bang: Origin of the Universe; by Simon Singh----- I read this book over the 2006 Chinese New year vacation while on a beach in the Philippines. I was wowed by it because it did something I had thought was impossible: explained a very complicated scientific theorem in an engaging, humorous, understandable manner. Best of all, in my opinion, he went ALL the way back to pre-history and traced the historical routes, developments and major players in getting to the current idea. So, he brought the history into the science. And for people who might still find it intimidating, there are a lot of pictures.
  6. 1421: The Year China Discovered America; by Gavin Menzies----- I have issues with this book. I can see a lot of mistakes in it, but I also see a lot of good, new research. The reason why I decided to include it on my list is that he created quite a stir with this book. He approached the information from a new angle and with new interpretations and then created an international stir. Finally, no matter what criticisms were leveled at the author, he didn't back down.

My Most Useful Websites

Kiva: Micro-loans for those in need world wide
Children International...save a life!
A Little Taiwanese History
Toastmasters
Heifer.Org

Where I like to go

Email: alienz67@yahoo.com