John and I have been talking about going to Taiwan together for the last 10 years. Finally we booked the tickets and made it happen. We went for five days and celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. Emma would tell you it was the worst week of her life. She got the flu and tonsillitis the first day of final exams — missing three days of school. The day John and I left Emma was feeling much better, but had six finals to make up. Plus she had a very busy weekend, so decided to just stay home by herself so she could catch up. James, Eliza and Tessa stayed with the Johnsons.
Taiwan was so much fun! We were able to really get around and see so many things. We landed Thursday night, checked into the hotel and made it to the temple with 20 minutes to spare. When we entered the temple John immediately saw two men that he knew from his mission. We ate the most delicious thick noodles and vegetables on the street that night. John loved introducing me to the local breakfast foods “danbing,” “shaobing youtiao,” and “doujiang,” which he ate almost every morning on his mission. We toured around Taipei all day Friday seeing the national museum, Taipei 101 building, and the Chiang Kai Shek memorial. Friday night we took a two hour train south to Taichung (John’s mission) and stayed the next two nights at the Chen’s (a family that John helped convert). Brother Chen was just put in as the 2nd counselor in the temple presidency. On Saturday they took us to Sun-Moon Lake where we hiked and took a cable car up the mountain. That night John and I went to a night market, walked to the mission home and ate mango bing (shaved ice). Sunday we went to church with the Chens. She had tears in her eyes as they dropped us off at the train station to head back to Taipei. On Monday, Arnie Chen (a mission friend) and his wife took us around all day--last stop was Costco before heading to the airport. Fun memories! We can’t wait to go again and take the kids with us!
