Trip is coming to an end

Wow six months have almost past! It is so hard to believe that we will be headed back on Saturday! Most of the time it feels like we just got here but when we think about our friends and family back home, it does feel like six months. So here is a quick update as to what we have been up to lately.

Starting on Friday (5-24-13) we have had Finals. Friday was a speaking and reading test one on one with the teacher.

Saturday we went to the doctor to have a check up and get blood drawn (YIKES). We figured better and cheaper to do it here than back home, so hopefully everything checks out.

Sunday after the meeting Ashia and her family came down to Taichung to meet us and have lunch with us one last time before we go home. It was really nice we met them at a park in Taichung that we didn't know existed and from there we went to eat hot pot. It was neat to Pearson's friend went with us to lunch and Ashia witnessed to him several times.

After hot pot they went ahead to a tea room. We had been invited to a BBQ by a brother in our hall so although we were both stuffed we headed over there. We weren't sure what to expect and were a little worried since we really were not hungry, but in the end we are so glad we went! The BBQ was held at a sisters apartment building on the roof, it was the perfect time of day for it as well, where it was still light out but starting to cool down. The brothers and sisters made Korean style BBQ and it was delicious. But what we enjoyed even more was the association. After everyone had finished eating they gathered everyone together and said we are going to have some interviews. They asked all of the foreigners who will be leaving soon which there are about 6 of us about how we felt about Taiwan, what our plans were, our best memory of Taiwan. It was so nice and there were a few brothers there who would translate if you wanted to express yourself in English. I think the thing we will miss most about Taiwan is the new friends we have made while we have been here.

A sister acting like she was going to pinch Hannah's nose with tongs

Monday we took the written final and on Tuesday we had a presentation about our most memorable trip. The teacher was really nice and let Hannah and I do ours together.We introduced all the places we have been to in Taiwan, and also introduced our Hong Kong trip. We got to share pictures of our trip to bethal so it was a nice witness.  After everyone finished she gave us all a class photo we had taken the week before and a post card personally written to each student. It was a very nice end to our school experience in Taiwan.

After Class we meet some friends from the congregation for lunch at the same hot pot place. This week is so jam packed with trying to say good bye to everyone, getting things packed and settled.

We also went to Sun Moon Lake Yesterday, which was beautiful. We went with a brother currently serving in mainland China and biked about half way around the lake. It was exhausting, but totally worth it.


 Love Phil & Hannah

Weekend in Taipei Visiting Melanie

(Saturday & Sunday 5/18/2013)
Well after 5 and a half months we finally got a chance to visit Melanie. We've been looking forward to it for a long time. Once we arrived at the bus station we looked around and discovered a mall inside the bus station where we have been several times. It is a little sad how unobservant we are.
Once we met up with Melanie she took us to drop off our luggage at the hostel.

Then she took us to a really good middle eastern restaurant, and then on a short tour of part of her campus-it was huge!

There are an insane amount of bikes in Taipei. This shot doesn't even show half of the row in this one spot.

After that we went to a garden which was beautiful and we got to feed some fish and walk around.

Huge fish we think it was a Koi fish but I don't know if they can get that big?

After the park we went to the national palace museum

from there we went to the dan shui to catch the sunset and walk around the shops there.

For dinner we ate PIZZA! At a very neat wood fired pizza place that was super cheesy and yummy! 

Once back at the hostel we started to figure out was a hostel really was. (We had never stayed in one before.) In addition to it having a shared bathroom, towels are not provided. You can rent one but by the time we arrived there in the evening, the girl at the front desk was no longer there. Fortunately we had packed a dish towel with Hannah's hair straightener which helped us dry off. We should have listened to the hitch hikers guide and always have a towel with you when you travel.:)

The next morning we met up with Melanie and some sisters from her hall and went to the one of the English congregations in Taipei. So nice to understand and to be able to talk freely with out worrying about translation :). The congregation was rather small only about 30 publishers they were the result of a split about a year ago. They announced a new publisher while we were there, it is so cool to see how Jehovah's organization is growing. The Congregation was made up of mostly Philippinos, it was interesting that the Watchtower study conductor introduced the paragraphs to be read and called on people in Tagolog. Also at the end of the meeting he made an announcement that if anyone needed help going to the markets or anywhere to just let the brothers know. He did this because there had been a recent incident between Taiwan and the Philippines and some Taiwanese people were taking out their frustration on the Phillipinos  living in Taiwan. At the end of the announcement he pointed to the years text on the wall:

“Be courageous and strong. . . . Jehovah your God is with you.”—Josh. 1:9.

It is so wonderful to see our brothers taking such good care of one another such a contrast from the rest of this wicked world.

After talking with the friends for a while we went to lunch with Melanie at Sushi Express

After lunch we went to an old Taiwanese style mansion it was really interesting and cool to walk around.

Then we headed to the bus station said good bye to Melanie and got in line to buy our bus ticket back to Taichung. However apparently this was the weekend to visit Taipei from Taichung and the earliest avaliable ticket didn't leave for 2 hours so we went to the mall down stairs and enjoyed some dinner and a by one get one free at cold stone creamery :).

Sorry it has taken so long to post this it has been very busy lately!

Love Phil & Hannah

Vacation to Peng Hu (澎湖)

As we near the end of our adventure we have been trying to see as much of Taiwan as we can. On Thursday (5-12-13) afternoon we set off for Penghu! They are beautiful islands to the west of Taiwan. We met up with a group from our congregation to head to the Taichung airport. The hour long bus ride and checking in took much longer than the actual flight which was only about 30 min! We were a little alarmed when we small plane we were going to board. It was tiny! It was the first time we saw a plane with propellers in person. Here is a picture of the very small plane:

Once we landed someone from the travel agency picked us up and took us to the hotel where we met the Cai's and Jack (a brother who was in our congregation but is currently doing his alternative service in PengHu.) After dropping our things we went out to see some of the markets and eat dinner.

Our group at dinner

Hannah had Squid

After dinner we enjoyed a chocolate crepe and then Jack took us to the roof of his house for us to watch the fireworks festival. The Fireworks were above the famous Rainbow bridge and the 15 min show was spectacular!

The next day we took a boat that would takes us to other islands. The boat was neat, on the lower deck there were windows where we could see under the water. After some time looking around they took us to a dock where they had fishing paddle boats and oysters they caught, which you cook yourself. They also have sealed off sections where you can fish.

Out the window of the boat

Hannah and I in the paddle boat.

Fishing was interesting they had half of a fish tied on the end of the line no hook.

Brother Cai cooking oysters 

Yes they got me to try oyster (it was gross!)

They also had a puffer fish who made tours around the dock. He is alive and well! Hannah followed the man to make sure he put him back in the water. :)

   Once we returned we rented scooters and drove to the other side of the island where we took a boat and then scooters again to a beach.

The next day after sleeping in we went to another beach where we swam and played.

the Tiny speck in the mask is a jelly fish 

 Then we got to go snorkeling.

After we snorkeled in the first location for a while and got to feed the fish some bread we headed to another spot but the tide was too low to snorkel again. So we got to play in the water and see the interesting see creatures. We also got jump in off the small ledge in to the ocean.

After everyone got a turn jumping in they told us we were going to play a game called "Superman can't fly" they chose 4 people out of the group I was the last one chosen. Guess who I am in the video. :)

After we finished snorkeling we drove around the island to a few different beaches 

Then we visited a famous candy shop where we enjoyed some samples.

After we went for dinner it was interesting...

On Sunday we flew back to Taichung. With only 20 days to go we are excited and a little sad at the same time. We are Excited to go home to our friends and family and sad to leave our new friends and the beauty of Taiwan.

until next time.

Love Phil & Hannah