Hello

Hello everyone!

Sorry we have been MIA for the past few days. This has been an extremely hectic week! But, finally, we are back in Taipei and can relax. School starts next Monday, and orientation in this Tuesday. They will show us around the school, and area nearby.

Thursday night we had to fly to Hong Kong to work out some visa issues. According to my interaction with other students, this same thing happens quite often. However, I am happy we were able to visit Hong Kong, as Travis has never been there before. We got to meet Vickey, the sister of Liching's friend back in Dallas. It was great to spend time with her, and she let us stay at her place for two nights. We had some great dim sum, and on Friday night went up to Victoria peak to take pictures of the city at night with another of Liching's friends, from college. Travis got some great pics!

Saturday was the 60th anniversary of Liching's parents. The entire family met up at a restaurant across from her brother's place, and we ate a seven course dinner. I took pictures of everything. It was so delicious! I really enjoyed the family interaction. Everyone wanted to be there, and got along great. It is so nice to see such a happy group of people. They were very glad to have us there as well, and even included us in a family photo. I also appreciate the fact that you can use your fingers to eat everything, even at a nice restaurant. Sometimes, it is just easier that way, and they get that. Nice restaurants here are nothing like in the US. They look fancy, but you can use the same etiquette you would at an average  eating joint. That and  everyone shares all of the dishes (traditional Chinese style) so you can eat tons of things at once. Nothing new to me, I'm always in China town in Dallas anyway, so it feels just right!

Had some pork dumplings, pig ears, and fish cakes for dinner. Even though the area we live in has a tiny night market (compared to the huge ones closer to downtown) they have a great selection. They are open until at least twelve, selling all sorts of snacks, veggies, meats, etc. So, if we need a midnight snack, it is just a minute away!

Apparently there was an earthquake at five this morning 42 miles off the coast of Yilan, where we were just a few days ago. The magnitude was 6.5, however, we were too tired to wake up like everyone else. I looked into it, and Taiwan seems to have earthquakes on occasion, but they are minor are almost never cause any damage. Much more likely to get eaten by a tornado back in Dallas!

Recovering from non-stop activity from the last week. Photos soon.