Homestretch

I can't believe we're less then three weeks from heading home.  I'm definitely having some mixed feelings about this as Taichung has been our 'home' for the last eight months. For the most part I'm looking forward to going back to our own house, the space, the clean air, our friends, our church etc. etc. At the same time I'll miss my parents, the 'easy life' we have here (no rent/mortgage payments, free use of car, no cooking or doing dishes, etc.), and the new friends I feel like we've barely gotten to know.  My parents have been incredibly generous to us the last few months though I'm sure they've appreciated having the kids (and us?) around for such a long, extended trip.

We've been slowly packing our bags and prepping for the last two weeks by decluttering, giving away stuff, and putting things we don't need away. Tina, Seraphine, and I (Moses wasn't feeling well) had a 'goodbye/thank you' dinner with our pastor and family last week and I think we've got activities lined up for all the weekends and most weekdays we have left.  I'm sure it will be crazy as we get closer to the 21st though.

During this 'homestretch' I've been thinking of making lists of various things. Things I've liked here, things that surprised me about Taiwan, things I'm looking forward to doing when we get back to the States. So here are a few for thought:

Ten Foods I Really Enjoyed In Taiwan and Will Surely Miss

10. The stinky tofu place on Chung Hwa Rd. (of course!)

9. The 'Bei Fang' Jyau Tze (dumpling) stand on CH Rd.

8. The 'Da Lu' jyau tze stand's hot and sour soup

7. Mi Do Bing

6. The '50 Lan' milk tea w/ boba

5. The milk tea at the breakfast place

4. The Shau bing you tiau near Tze You Rd.

3. The Dou Hwa Sisters

2. The tonkatsu lunch in Park Lane

1. My favorite drink place - The Orange Factory

Five Things I WON'T Miss About Taiwan

5. The heat/humidity (especially recently)

4. Polluted air / smells (though, surprisingly, you do get used to it)

3. Noise pollution

2. Lack of parks, greenery where my parents live

1. Mosquitoes! 

More to come ...

Steve