the typhoon

Yes, I said typhoon. Now this may not be as ironic to everyone but, we are from Florida. It is not as big a deal as I might have imagined though. At first, I thought it was a joke when Jackie posted to me about it because we have not been able to find any mention of it on the computer. They have now posted signs in the lobby. It is supposed to hit way south of us but, still a typhoon is still not what I wanted. We are hoping to go to the zoo today. So, I am praying that it clears up just a little. Also, we are hoping that AIT is open today so, that we can get Katie and Dawson's Visas. We had also planned to see Snake Alley. I guess we will just have to see. We are feeling a little more rested here. I am not sure what kind of night Janel had though as I have not gotten a report yet.

Dawson is doing much better though. He is active but, is generous too. He loves to share. We have bought some movies and have been watching them at night. All of the kids have been watching them. My kids may all come home speaking Mandarin. I still have no clue but, not speaking English here has not been an issue.

What is an issue is the desserts and food in general. I have never seen so many desserts or pastry shops in my life. Though I have read the reviews I would have to disagree with them because most of what I have eaten (as far as desserts go) have been really good. No, we have to discuss the other food seriously. I think I could write a couple more episodes to the Bizarre Foods of Taiwan show that was just on. Lets start with my fried octopus balls. Let us just say that it was interesting. Yes, I ate octopus balls which in itself was not the interesting part. What was is the fact that the little shavings looking stuff on top moved (see picture.) Lets just say that the food has been on of the most entertaining parts of our trips. By the way, DON"T EAT STUFF THAT MOVES WHEN YOU COME TO TAIWAN! We will leave it at that.

Another issue is how busy everyone is. Oh my goodness, there are not words to describe. I am not sure of the sense of that is exaggerated by the fact of how many people are here but, I am a small town girl and I think that I would like to keep it that way. It has been an amazing trip and I have found the people in Taiwan to be very warm and friendly. Taxi's are another issue and I am thinking I much prefer the fact that I can transport my children around in my suburban. It is not to say that the drivers have not been nice but they can almost make you dizzy at times. One of ours even had a tv in the front of his taxi, even the kids did not think that was a good idea.

Back to the food. I know, food again. It really gets me how cheap it is to eat at the night markets or even the malls but, the hotel is entirely different circumstance. For convience we have eaten at the buffet a couple of times and any money we saved was spent there. If I lived here there would be no need to eat at the hotel because there are so many choices.

I hope I have given everyone a sense of our trip. I have always enjoyed reading other blog's and I hope my family has gotten a good idea of what is going on with us. It has truly been a trip of a lifetime.