Mid-terms are over and I think I did ok. Because it was mid-terms week we didn’t have any class and my last test was Thursday morning. So with the help of our friend Sandy, Emily and I booked plane tickets to go to Kinmen where Megan is for the weekend and more to the point Thanksgiving.
We arrived before dinner Thursday evening. Megan’s team (a bunch of girls) had cooked an incredibly authentic Thanksgiving feast complete with Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes’n gravy, and even pies! They had invited some Taiwanese friends as well and together we gave thanks and gorged ourselves on good ol’ fashion American food! It was wonderful to be with my sister for Thanksgiving.
I stayed in Kinmen through Sunday evening and Emily is still there and will return Tuesday evening. We had a wonderful time going around the island showing Emily the sights. Kinmen is a beautiful place and even though Taiwanese people think its a boring place I love it.
We climed the mountain and were high enough to see both sides of the island at the same time. We also went to my favorite beef noodles place from my trip last Christmas in Sanwei where they make their own noodles that are very thick and extremely tasty. We also went out to eat at a hot pot place with some of Megan’s friends. Hot pot is where they give you a bunch of raw ingredients and you cook it in your own little pot of hot chicken broth at your table. It was really good. We also went to church on little Kinmen and then afterwards were toured around little Kinmen by some more of Megan’s friends. Among other things we toured a few historical army bases there and went from one to the other by a tunnel made by the army. We also saw Xiamen, China through a telescope so close that we could watch cars on the streets and see people on the beeches. Where the telescope was was 6000km away from mainland China. Emily accurately commented that she felt like she was spying! We were able to see the sign, written in Chinese, on Xiamen’s beech that says ‘two governments, one country’ referring to Taiwan and China that is especially directed for people looking through the telescopes on little Kinmen.
Thanksgivnig weekend was wonderful! I came back on a flight last night and by the time I got to our home here in Gueishan after a flight, two taxi rides, and a train, I was so excited to sleep in my own bed……I’m becoming my father!
Today I woke up with the same headache I went to sleep with and after some debate with myself I decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to go to school today. I slept in and spent the day studying and relaxing. Its been raining all day and the word on the street is that there is another typhoon heading our way. Hopefully Emily will be able to come home ok but if not we shouldn’t have too much of a problem since her classes don’t resume until next week.
One thing that has been happening lately is homesickness. Emily and I are both feeling the desire to be at home with the people we love and around all things familiar. I’ve also been feeling extremely guilty about not having our thank you cards finished and mailed from our wedding. From both of us to all of you THANK YOU so much! We’re still trying to get them finished and mailed but I want to at least get that out there offically without any further delay.
Hey You Guys! It sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving. That’s great. Mom and Dad and I drove up to MI to spend Thanksgiving with James and Margot and Jason, Justin, and Joel. As always Margot was totally organized and had a wonderful dinner planned for us. It snowed a little. Just enough to look pretty and not enough to make traveling difficult. We spent some quality time visiting and getting caught up with everyone. We found out Chris is coming home for Christmas which will be really great. We all missed him and Emily at Thanksgiving dinner. Jason is working now at a temporary store in the mall selling country gifts – carved animals, warm hats and mittend, old wooden sleds, and any thing country gift wise. He says it pays better than his old job and when the store is quiethe can study and do homework. Malcome’s son (name?) gave the sermon Sunday and did a good job. He talked some about the difficulties of some of the students at the Wales Bible College and it was very emotional because many of them must risk their lives and that of their families in order to practice their religion. It put alot of things into perspective for all of us. Anyway, it sounds as if you are doing OK with school. Michael, I’m always so tickeled when you comment on when you discover yourself acting like your Dad. It’s an eye opener – Hun! Well, I know how it feels to be homesick, and I wish I had some smart advice for how to deal with it but I don’t. Hopefully it will get better soon. Know that we are all praying for God to make you feel at home in Him – werever you are. All my love – Aunt Winnie
We missed you for thanksgiving too. Mom and Dad went to MN so we actually missed out on most of the action as well but we did get together on Sunday evening and hang out a little. I don’t know what your phone situation is like but you should give me a call or maybe we could skype.