Scroll Painting at Snake Alley Night Market

Tonight we got a scroll with all of our names on it. Guess we'll have to come back and get another one if we have another kid. By the way, they really do have snakes at Snake Alley and if you're really brave, you can even eat one. (Guess what's been added to Rob's list)


This guy was really fast. From start to finish it took about two minutes - I have the video to prove it!

Tuesday, June 17

Today was the day - Gotcha Day! We woke up around 6:00am and went down to eat breakfast at 7:30am. Mr. Yeh and his son came to pick us up at 8:00am and after I double checked my bag for paperwork, camcorder and camera we were off. About two hours later we got out at TWCA (Taiwan Womens and Childrens Association) - they are the organization our adoption agency works with. After a few minutes there, we got back in the van and headed out to meet Myah. Less than ten minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot and walked around back to the apartment where Myah has been living for the last six months. We went around a large bush and there she was! Waiting just for us! Her foster mother had her all dressed up for us in one of the outfits we had sent a few months ago. You could tell that Myah was very well taken care of and a very loved little girl. After about ten minutes of looking at her and talking with her, I finally got to hold her. She just looked at me like 'who in the world are you lady?' - if you've watched any of her update videos, you can imagine the eyebrows that went with it. After about five minutes of getting to know her, Rob came over and joined us (he had been video taping). We were able to ask the foster mother many questions about Myah and she told us a little bit about her life at their house. When we got ready to leave the foster mom had tears in her eyes and so did I. How I admire the foster moms who are able to give so much time and love to these babies knowing that they will be leaving soon. During the two hour ride home Myah took a nap, drank a bottle and got to watch us eat turkey and rice. Mr. Yeh took us to a place that serves turkey and rice year round because, as he said, today was a day of Thanksgiving.

After we got back to Taipei, Mr. Yeh showed us where the Snake Alley night market and the Memorial Hall were, then stopped by Longshan Temple (Taipei's largest temple) so we could mark another thing off our 'to do' list. After that we headed back to the hotel where Myah and Rob slept and I uploaded pictures and videos. That night we found some good places to eat at a nearby shopping mall food court (not like what you're thinking of in the US). After that, we called it a night and got things ready for Myah's visa appointment the next day.

Longshan Temple in Taipei

Our driver, Mr. Yeh and his son.

Full Belly, Happy Baby

She already has Daddy wrapped around her finger!  He gave Myah her first bottle, just like he did with Caleb.  This has been a Father's Day he will never forget.  (Me either!)

GOTCHA!

 It has been a wonderful 'Gotcha Day' so far.  Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts - we will post the details later.  Right now Myah is taking a nap and Rob and I are pretty tired too.  We will post more this evening.  God is good!

Monday, June 16

Today I took Rob out for his Father's Day present -  a day at the hot springs of Beitou.  Try and top that!  lol  We left the hotel around 11am and drove to the town of Beitou.  Unfortunately, the Hot Springs Museum was closed on Mondays, but we decided to hike the area instead.  We hiked way, way up into the mountains (in a thunderstorm) and saw the actual hot springs in nature.  It was unreal - there was steam just pouring out of the ground and the water was green.  Since these are sulfur springs, the air stank like rotten eggs but you go used to it pretty quickly.  After hiking a bit more we turned around and headed back to the public bathing area.  There were six different pools that we could go in - four different temperatures of hot and two of cold.  The hottest pool of water was 42 C (108 F) and was scalding.  The pools were terraced in stone above one another so the water would pour down a waterfall into the next spring, thus cooling it by several degrees.  We started out in the middle pool, then took the plunge (I plunged - Rob stuck in his toe) into the cold pool.  After that it was off to the HOT pool - ladies, never, ever shave your legs the morning before you go into a hot spring - it felt like millions of tiny needles stabbing my legs all at once.  This wasn't from the heat, but from the minerals in the water.  OUCH!  After spending an hour going back and forth between the different pools (I finally convinced Rob that the cold pools feel good) we got out and walked to downtown Beitou where we ate lunch (at 3pm) at a McDonalds.  Everything was in Chinese (no english here) so it was fun to order our meals.  I got a Rice Burger - it's basically a hamburger topped with cabbage in a spicy red sauce inside a bun made of rice.  How I wish I could post the picture!  It was actually very good and I have a feeling I will be trying another one before we leave Taiwan.

After we ate we hopped on the subway and headed to the Shilin Night Market.  It was nice (and very rainy) but I liked the night market we went to the other night better.  I did however, find an outfit for Myah to wear when we take pictures at The Grand Hotel tomorrow after 'gotcha'.  It is an adorable pink silk asian looking outfit.  I also found SQUEEKY SHOES - those of you who know what these are understand that they are not the easiest thing to find.  Basically, it sounds like you're squeeking a dog toy everytime the child takes a step.  Cute now, but will probably end up driving me crazy when she is actually old enough to wear them.

After about two hours at Shilin, we took the subway back to the hotel and while walking back to the hotel, saw a guy taking his dog (a golden retriever) for a ride on his scooter!  Again, wishing I could post my pictures.  Anyway, we were glad to be back at the hotel.  We were soaking wet, had blisters on our feet from walking in the rain so much and ready to just kick back and relax - we watched CSI in Chinese.  We estimate that we probably walked about 15 miles today!

Sunday, June 15

Hospital where Myah was born

Huwei Town, Yunlin County

Main temple in Huwei

Taiwanese puppets - made in Huwei

This morning we were picked up by our driver, Mr. Yeh and his son, and drove to Myah's home town of Huwei Town, Yunlin County, a little over two and a half hours southwest of Taipei.  We were very fortunate to be able to drive by the hospital where she was born.  We never would have guessed it was a hospital - buildings are set up so differently here than in the US.  After seeing her hospital, we stopped at a baby store across the street called 'Love World'.  We imagine this is where we would have come to buy her something special if we had been here when she was born.  We picked out a soft rattle, a pink stuffed ladybug and a little zipper pull that I will put on her diaper bag when we get home.

After the hospital, we drove around the city and Mr. Yeh took us to see the town's main temple.  We don't believe in ancestor worship, but we still admire and appreciate the intricate work that is on the temples.  It is amazing and mind-boggeling to think of all this being carved and painted by hand.

Huwei Town has a large candy factory and is also well know for it's ice cream (which we gladly tasted - Myah needs to know these important facts when she grows up).  Huwei is also home to Taiwan's puppet factory.  We're not talking about your typical American hand puppets - we're talking about beautifully hand crafted dolls with intricately stitched outfits.  Puppet shows are a huge part of Taiwanese culture and it was really neat to go through the factory/museum where the puppets are made.  It's founder was born in 1901 and lived to be 107 years old.  We were fortunate enough to be able to buy Myah a puppet so she will always have a special piece of her home town's heritage.

On the way back from Yunlin County our driver took us to Taiwan's largest Buddha statue.  It was huge and the temple behind it was beautiful to look at.  The statue overlooked the entire city below.  I can't remember the name of the city, but it went on and on for as far as the eye could see.

Once we got back to Taipei we visited Taipei 101 - the world's 2nd tallest building and ate dinner at Chili's.  I will never complain about the prices of Chili's back in the U.S. - our hamburger cost $10!  Sodas were $4 and tortilla chips w/salsa cost $8.  Needless to say, we split a hamburger and drank the bottled water we had in our backpack.

Rob's Not Approved List

These items all belong to 'Rob's Not Approved List'.  Don't you wish you could have some?  By the way, it all smells as good as it looks.  Yummy!

Saturday, June 14

We really got around Taipei today!  I don't think we'll have any trouble sleeping tonight.  lol  We woke up at 6:30am, got ready and had breakfast then went out and walked around for almost 2 hours.  At 11:00am we met our friend Kerry and she taught us how to use the subway.  We ended up at the Jade and Flower Markets where they have the most beautiful jade and gorgeous flowers.  After spending a couple of hours there, she took us to a dumpling restaurant and we all split several dishes.  We tried Hot & Sour Soup, Beef dumplings, Vegetable dumplings, Egg Soup, Dan-dan noodles, Tofu Wonton Soup and then we had Seven Treasure Sweet Rice for dessert - it was all delicious.  

After lunch we went back and finished the Flower and Jade Markets then got on the subway and set out for Danshui, which is in the north western part of Taiwan.  We went to our first night market there and saw lots of stuff not on the 'Rob approved list'.  I am very proud of him - he tried way more stuff than I ever thought he would.  Here is a list of all the different things we tried - breads, pastries, cookies, dried peaches, dried salted shrimp, sesame sauce on sprouts, wasabi peas, ice cream and a whole bunch more stuff that I couldn't figure out.  The grand finale: STINKY TOFU (fermented grilled tofu on a stick topped with fermented cabbage).  Why did I do it?  Because it is the one thing that I have heard lots of people talk about but haven't found anyone who has actually tried it.  So I did - and I ate four bites and Rob actually ate one too!  Will I try it again?  Will I crave it when we get back to the states?  NO - but it feels good to have tried it. 

We also took a boat ride to a different night market and I got a really painful ten minute shoulder massage for about $3.  It hurt like crazy, but my shoulders sure feel lots better.  After several hours in Danshui, we headed back to downtown Taipei and then on to our hotel.  It is now 11pm and we are going to get some sleep.  We have another busy day tomorrow when we travel to Myah's birth town to see where she was born.  Enjoy the pictures!

OneStar Hotel - Chang-An

We are staying at the OneStar Hotel in Taiwan. It is very nice and they have a small but interesting breakfast bar. This morning we had fried eggs, sausages, ham, rice and toast. There are also a lot of items on the 'Non-Rob Approved List' - we couldn't figure out what most of it was so we just stuck with what we knew. We also had very yummy espresso - Rob had three cups so he is wired and ready to go. We met a guy from Australia at breakfast so it was nice to have someone to chat with.

We found this sign very interesting. It definitely lets you know what to do if there is an emergency in the elevator - even if you don't read Chinese. Our favorite one is in the lower left hand corner. Enjoy!


We are off to the Jade and Flower Markets today with our new friend Kerry. One of my co-workers in Atlanta grew-up in Taiwan and he gave us the contact info for his brother and one of his high school classmates who speaks English. Kerry and Toby (his brother) picked us up at the airport last night and we are so grateful for them. They have been so very kind and generous with us and it is a privilege to get to know them. Thanks Jacob!

We Made It!

We are in Taiwan!  Our flight was 14 hours long and delayed by 1.5 hours, but we made it.  Our flight was very nice and the food was excellent - Rob had chicken for dinner and then an omelet for breakfast - I had pork loin and rice for dinner and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Each meal was served with an appetizer, main course, side dish, dessert and drink.  The flight attendants were very attentive and would bring you drinks whenever you asked.  We got free headphones, movies, sleep masks and slippers!  Right now it is a little after midnight in Taipei and we are going to try to get some sleep.  We are planning on sightseeing tomorrow and going to the Jade and Flower Market in the early afternoon and the Shilin Night Market in the evening. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes - they are greatly appreciated.