I decided this morning to be adventerous. I get up about 6 am each day (that's as long as the Melatonin will keep me asleep), and I didn't have to meet with Calie until 4:50 pm. That's a long day in a hotel room, so I took out my Taiwan guide book and found that there is a very old town not far from here and a huge waterfall. Well, I love waterfalls, so I went and asked how to get there. They told me to take a taxi, but I knew a 40 min. ride in a taxi wasn't going to be cheap. I told them I wanted to take the bus. They gave me directions, but said to get to the waterfall I'd have to change buses in Dasi (the old city) and to be careful, because there was only one bus back at 1:00 pm to Dasi from the waterfall.
OK, well, I did fine getting Dasi, which there are a bunch of photos I'll post, but after finding the bus station to Xiao Wulia, I chickend out. A nice young guy (possibly the only English speaking person in Dasi) walked me to the bus station, and asked about getting back, and again, he warned me not to miss the bus back, because there are no taxis and no hotels for you to stay in there. It's very remote. He asked me what I was doing in Dasi without being able to speak Mandarin. I just told him we Americans are a little crazy sometimes. He thought that was very funny, but shook his head in agreement. I didn't want to miss my meeting with Calie, so I decided not to risk missing the bus! I got on the bus back to Taoyuan. :)
Tonight's visit went very well, again. I brought her KFC, which she ate half of, and said she wanted to share the rest with her roomates. They LOVED the dried Cherries I brought with me from Traverse City the day before! She said they all thought they were candy.
I also decided to tell her about her new American name to see if she was excepting of it. It took her a couple of tries to say "Calie", but she said she liked it with a big smile on her face. Whew! I was wondering what we were going to do if she didn't. She also tried to say "DeMann", but that one was tough for her. That's going to take some practice!
Enjoy the photos! Taiwan doesn't have any FDA, so you'll get a kick out of the raw meat hanging outside in the heat!
Nice pics. Funny about you chickening out but with the repeated messages about being careful only one bus back would've done it for me too! Don't want to miss out on those precious moments with Calie right now. I'm so glad she likes her american name. Are you going to put her taiwanese name as her middle? You know how I feel about that, but hey who am I??? lol.
ReplyDeleteMatt wants to know if Calie is aware that she has cousins here, mainly Jake and him!lol [He is sitting next to me while I"m reading...]
Such a precious, precious time with her! Enjoy every minute of it. It will be tough leaving there I think for you, without her! I will be sure to pray for you. When are you leaving? I know you are there a week but didn't know the exact date.
Love you and so excited to be able to share in this journey...thanks for the posts!
Hi Mindee:
DeleteI leave here at midnight on Monday, which is noon your time. I then fly back to LA and I'm staying the night there and then my flight leaves LA at 6:00 am. So, I'll be back home about 4:30 pm to GR.
Tell Matt I sent Calie a photo of your family already, but I will tell her more about him and Jake. You know, Matt and her birthdays are only 10 days apart. :)
I try and not think about leaving her here. That is going to be the hardest part of this whole trip! It's so great to go there and see her running down the hill to hug me every day. I basically get tears in my eyes everytime I look at her. She so beautiful. She and Lily are going to have a ball being sisters!
BTW - Yes, her middle name will be Yun-Qing her Taiwanese first name. I can't break tradition, ya know ;) I tried telling her that, but she didn't get it, because we only had the bad handheld translator, and they don't have middle names here. So, I think that went totally over her head.
Thanks for the prayers!! I can feel them!
Love the pictures! I grew up in Southeast Asia, so it looks familiar, but a whole lot cleaner than the markets I frequented. I am so looking forward to going! I think it will feel like I'm back "home."
ReplyDeleteBrenda