Our Last Weeks!
Trip Start
Mar 31, 2008
1
9
Trip End
May 29, 2008
Tucheng, Taiwan
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tue 5-13 the Chen's invited us over for tea and snacks. It was pretty funny getting lost on the way there, the cab driver probably thought we were nuts, but Chen dixiong saved us by coming out to the road to meet us and walk us back to his house thank goodness!
Tea was super fun and so interesting. We learned that when you can see the last two leaves attached to the stalk along with the baby leaf at the tip of the stalk, that means the leaves are not old. This is the best kind of tea - not bitter. It's referred to as 'liang ye, yi xin'. Liang means two, ye means leaf and xin means heart. So two leaves and one heart (baby leaf at tip of stalk) equels good, young tea - cool! The snacks where of couse delicious (we had some of the best watermelon that night) and we drank tea until we thought we would float away - it was wonderful.
We also got to meet the Chen's youngest daughter who is a teacher and very sweet. She told us all about Alishan mountain and showed us pictures of its famous sunsets, railway and cherry blossoms. It was too far away for us to visit on this trip but next time for sure. The photos where breathtaking and we're sure they don't do justice to the beauty of the place.
Wed 5-14 Rui Jin had some friends come to visit for the weekend. You have to see the pictures of their 17 month old little girl - too cute! They live very close to Kending and invited us to go on vacation with them there but we just didn't have enough time this time around. Such a sweet couple.
That evening Anita went in evening service and on a study with Liang jiemei. The students father is an accomplished artist and thuroughly enjoyed showing the girls his art and awards. Such beautiful paintings of horses, mountains and amazing flowers that Anita had never seen before.
Fri 5-16 Anita and Eric both went on studys in the evening. Anita's was at a local restaurant on the second floor (that is so common). The student had a lot of questions for Anita about coming into the truth, challenges and studying Chinese to name a few. It was so nice for Anita to get to know the friends a bit better and so encouraging to hear how they overcome great challenges inorder to study the bible, attend meetings and have a meaningful share in the preaching work.
Eric had a good time with Jing dixiong on his study too. He even got to ride around on the scooter for a while. With two grown men on it, that scooter got a workout!
Sat 5-17 we went out in service in the morning with our umbrellas in hand to protect us from the heat. Well, at least Anita used an umbrella, Eric used sunscreen. Either way, it was a hot morning!
After service we headed up to Yang Ming Shan (YangMing Mountain) to see the calla lillies that it is famous for. Once we got there we could see why. The hillsides were covered with blossoms! Old mansions, ponds and greenhouses completed the picturesque view. We even saw a steaming geyser on the side of a mountain! It was wonderful, relaxing and beautiful. We would have stayed longer but the light was fading and we still had sights to see.
It was off to Rui Jin's old college next, to take in the view and have a walk down memory lane. The view was fenominal! You could see for miles and it wasn't even a very clear day! As the sunlight began to fade and the lights of Tai Pei began to come on the view got even better. So breathtaking.
After taking in the view for a while we headed down the hill a bit to a famous restaurant called The Top. The name is well suited because you really do feel like you are on top of the world when you are there. The view is about the same as at the college - amazing! The ambiance of the restaurant was like something out of a movie. Flowing sheer fabrics, white canvas tents, a pond and lounge chairs give it the feel of a private estate. Even the trees have been perfectly lighted. Not that we were surprised. We figured it was a pretty special place when we went to put our name on the list and found out that it was going to be a two hour wait! It was well worth it, for sure. The wait just gave us more time to take in the view from other places around the mountain and chat with our new friends a bit more. The food was wonderful! They even had a menu in English so we new what we were ordering - ha! After dinner we took a walk down some stone steps, past a little stream flowing throught the restaurant and on to a patio with lounge chairs and a pond with a fountain in it. Sitting in the lounge chairs, relaxing after a good meal was (as they say) just what the doctor ordered. By that time it was very dark so the lights from the city were even more spectacular than earlier in the evening. It was truly a site to behold. Such a fun night! As was evidenced by the fact that we all fell asleep on the way home.
Sun 5-18 Anita went to Dong jiemei's house to sit in on her study with her 17 year old daughter Yin Jun. It was so encouraging to see a mother take such a special interest in her daughter by really reasoning with her from the scriptures and giving her heartfelt encouragement and comendation - such a joy to see. Anita also enjoyed the homemade cheesecake that Dong jiemei made too - yum!
That afternoon was the zone visit that our congregation was invited to. It was so wonderful! There were about 9200 in attendence. 5200 at the autitorium and the rest where there through video feed. The talks were about remainig focused and progressing in our service to Jehovah. There was one talk in English that talked about the importance of education and making the best choices for your future and, most importantly, your relationship with Jehovah. It was so special to be there! We loved every second.
We knew we would run into our friends from the English congregation there and that was fun too. There was a couple there that are friends with our friend Marc that we've told you about. They know him from Bellingham and recognized us from his pictures and what he had told them about us. They have been in Taiwan for over 2 years now and the congregation that they attend has recently split. The main focus now though, is a new group that is starting in a neighboring area where there is no congregation yet. What a privilege to be there from the beginning to see such amazing growth! It was such an encouragement to us to see a couple about the same age as ourselves making real changes and having such a full share in Jehovah's service. It was really fun to meet them.
Guess who else we met that day? Terry Miller! Some of you know that he was our good friend John's roommate when they were both attending MTS. We had heard so much about him and from what he told us he had heard a lot about us too. It was such a pleasure meeting him and chatting for a few minutes. We couldn't talk long though because we both had to meet our rides to head on home. Such a funny and kind brother!
After we got home we had a special treat for dinner. Rui Jin and her friends brought back Beijing duck and spicy roasted duck with hot peppers and veggies. The Beijing duck is thinly slicedcomes with extremely thin rice crepes, green onions and a sause that we think is plum sause. To eat it you take a couple slices of duck and dip it in the sauce. Next you place your pieces of duck on the crepe with a couple pieces of green onion. Then you just wrap it all up and eat up! YUM! It was so delicious. For dessert we had yellow watermelon that was sweeter than any watermelon of any color that we have ever had. So, so juicy and good. The perfect end to a spicy meal.
Tues 5-20 we took our teacher out to dinner so say thank you for all her kindness and help. We wanted to take her to that Indian food restaurant that we went to with Marc but once we finally found it, it was closed! Bummer! So, since we were in Guting we went to Cafe Bastille and had a delicious dinner of red curry chicken and rice with pork. Our teacher liked the ambiance at the Cafe too so we weren't too sad that we didn't get to eat Indian food. At least now she knows where it is and she said she would check it out some other time.
Comments
Nice!
You have made so many great friends on your trip. Keep it up!
Louise Brown
TravelPod Community Manager