Arriving in Taiwan

Day 1

After 26 hours in the air and a 5 hour layover in Singapore, I was ready to land in Taiwan at 5:30 pm Monday evening. I had gotten a bit sick from turbulence and just overall motion sickness, but the warm welcome I received as I exited the gate was just wonderful and overwhelming. I spotted Jack, PP Fortune, and Uncle Camera (who I'd known from my bike camp two years ago) all there to welcome me along with my first host family, my counselor Shirley, the president of my club Uncle Jason, my third host father Sunny, and a couple of more people. I could not have received a warmer welcome. :D

Straight from the airport, Uncle Camera drove Jack (past exchange student to Texas who I had met 2 years ago), Julie (host sister), and I to his house to pick up his wife so that we could go to a welcome party and goodbye party. The welcome party was for my arrival in Taiwan, and the goodbye party for Julie, who is going to France as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. It was a wonderful dinner. My stomach could only handle a little bit of food, but it was very delicious. I met my 2nd host family and returned to their house for the night. Because of a death in the first host family, they need a couple of weeks to prepare for the funeral so I will move again in two weeks to my first host family.

However, my second host family is very nice and consists of a mom, a dad, and a little sister or "mei mei" named Claire. She is very chatty and talks to me as if I understood Mandarin. I appreciate it though. She's not letting me have it easy so I've been forced to really listen and try to discern the sounds that come out of her mouth........... so far nothing makes sense at all. I do know that she's asking a lot of questions and I'm just not getting it.

Anyway, the first night was a wonderful start to what I know to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. :D