On the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, we decided to take our kids out of school a little early…well, we didn’t have them go to school at all. Instead, we packed up their bags, loaded up the minivan and headed off to the Airport. We had a suitcase full of food for Madeline (Peanut Butter and Jelly), and a suitcase full of American stuff for the American Missionaries. Suitcases in tow, we boarded a flight for San Francisco and soon found ourselves delayed and waiting in the Airport due to the fires in California shutting down all but one runway. Eventually, we were allowed to take off and we headed West. As we flew over Northern California, the devastation from the fires was staggering, as was the thick campfire like smoke that filled the air. The visibility at the airport was horrible and it was hard to imagine how they were letting any flights land or take off at all. Once in the airport, we had less than an hour to catch our flight to Taiwan. The stroller was late to get off the plane, so we sent everyone ahead and Mike waited, and waited, and waited for the stroller and then ran to the International Terminal and made it just in time to board the plane. Madeline did well during the flight (with her improvised lay flat bed). The only bad part was the guy behind us who kept his light on the entire flight and kept her from being able to go to sleep easily. Otherwise, the 14 hour direct flight from San Francisco to Taipei was pretty uneventful overall.
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, we dropped a day and went from Friday Afternoon to Saturday night. As night deepened over Taiwan, our plane descended down to the airport and our bedraggled family wound their way into the arrival hall. Fortunately, they allow families to cut to the head of the line and we were quickly whisked ahead of the first class folks and through passport control. We were happy to have all of our bags make the connection in San Francisco and arrive in Taiwan. Soon, we had our bags and we headed out through customs into the arrival hall where Wenho (Grandpa Al) was waiting with his USMA hat, umbrella, and a friendly smile. It was great to see him and the kids ran out and gave him a big hug. We walked outside and Sara’s hair had already started to curl and Madeline’s hair was so curly that it was practically up above her head. The only disappointing thing about our arrival was that no one drank the asparagus juice for only 25 NTD in the vending machine….what a shame. Our Jinlong bus arrived and it looked like it fell out of the 1980s from a Southern Baptist Choir Convention. It was excellent. We loaded up and headed out into the rain and traffic. It took about 45 minutes to get from the airport to our apartment near Dongmen station. We got dropped off next to the 7-11 which was right below our apartment on the 10th floor. WenHo had brought us some bananas, eggs, papaya, bread, Frosted Flakes, and milk and helped us get all our stuff upstairs. We were all pretty tired, but Mike and the boys headed off into the night to get some treats from the convenience stores (seaweed potato chips and grape soda of course). The kids explored their new rooms with all their nooks and crannies and everyone marveled that toilet paper came in a little plastic bag instead of on a roll. From there, we were pretty tired so everyone went to bed on the hardest beds ever made.
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, we dropped a day and went from Friday Afternoon to Saturday night. As night deepened over Taiwan, our plane descended down to the airport and our bedraggled family wound their way into the arrival hall. Fortunately, they allow families to cut to the head of the line and we were quickly whisked ahead of the first class folks and through passport control. We were happy to have all of our bags make the connection in San Francisco and arrive in Taiwan. Soon, we had our bags and we headed out through customs into the arrival hall where Wenho (Grandpa Al) was waiting with his USMA hat, umbrella, and a friendly smile. It was great to see him and the kids ran out and gave him a big hug. We walked outside and Sara’s hair had already started to curl and Madeline’s hair was so curly that it was practically up above her head. The only disappointing thing about our arrival was that no one drank the asparagus juice for only 25 NTD in the vending machine….what a shame. Our Jinlong bus arrived and it looked like it fell out of the 1980s from a Southern Baptist Choir Convention. It was excellent. We loaded up and headed out into the rain and traffic. It took about 45 minutes to get from the airport to our apartment near Dongmen station. We got dropped off next to the 7-11 which was right below our apartment on the 10th floor. WenHo had brought us some bananas, eggs, papaya, bread, Frosted Flakes, and milk and helped us get all our stuff upstairs. We were all pretty tired, but Mike and the boys headed off into the night to get some treats from the convenience stores (seaweed potato chips and grape soda of course). The kids explored their new rooms with all their nooks and crannies and everyone marveled that toilet paper came in a little plastic bag instead of on a roll. From there, we were pretty tired so everyone went to bed on the hardest beds ever made.
