Thanksgiving in Taiwan.

One of my most favorite holidays...Thanksgiving. I love this holiday and love spending it with family. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family to share it with. This year, since we are out of the country, I was a little nervous about how it would turn out with no family here and not being in America, but it was wonderful. I will remember this Thanksgiving forever.
Since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Taiwan, I thought it would be fun to share it with my English class. So for lunch, we went to Outback steakhouse for some food. Although it was not turkey and mashed potatoes it still felt like a holiday because we went around the circle and shared what we were thankful for. It felt warm and joyful during that lunch. I was grateful I could go out and spend the holiday with people like family here. They really have become my second family. I am so grateful to all of them for everything they do for me. It has been a journey trying to feel comfortable here and if it were not for the employees that work with Lloyd, I know it would be a struggle for me here. They are always asking how I am doing and if I need anything. They take me out to explore new things and places and I love spending my time with them. Wether it is out to eat or shopping, I enjoy learning new things. I am so grateful I have had the experiences that I have had and for the upcoming ones. It has been a total adventure for Lloyd and I living in Taiwan. We have both learned so much already and love the people here so much. They are amazing people and are beautiful inside and out.

Happy Thanksgiving at Outback!

Lloyd usually works late, so I asked if he could get off a little bit earlier on Thanksgiving since he had to work. (What?? Yeah I know, lame!) But here they don't celebrate it so everyone works and goes to school; same goes for Christmas. It is not a holiday they recognize here so everyone works and goes to school still. So sad to me, but we will be home for Christmas this year, so that will be nice. Anyways back to Thanksgiving dinner... I asked Lloyd to get off by 6 pm. He is a good husband and got off at 6 so we could go eat some REAL Thanksgiving dinner. We had heard about an American restaurant that serves a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving night here. So we made reservations and ate a real turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, carrots, cranberry sauce, rolls, ham, and a cheesecake. Although we did not have a pie to finish it off, the cheesecake did it justice for this year! It felt good to be eating that food, even though it was not near as good as my moms Thanksgiving dinner. It was fun to go out and not have to prepare anything, but to eat real Thanksgiving food. Thank you "Early Bird Diner" for a fantastic dinner.

our Thanksgiving dinner

Love this handsome man.

Man, I am one lucky gal.

SO... Thanksgiving was a success, plus we had another homemade Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and Sunday with the branch. That was even more excellent because it was all homemade from our branch members and missionaries. Mmmmmm!! Hope everyone had a happy happy Thanksgiving! Looking forward to Christmas!!

"Good Day" and "Hot Pot"

GOOD DAY!
The Assistant Elders took us to a Mexican restaurant called "Good Day". It certainly was a good day. We were able to go with the Elders and our friends Alex and Jill. They are both amazing people. Good Days food was so great and I certainly enjoyed their burritos. It tasted a bit like home. Their chips and salsa were heavenly and we will be going back very soon. Alex and Jill both work with Lloyd here in Taiwan. They are both so nice and such great friends. Jill always takes me around and makes me feel like a friend. She has introduced me to such great Chinese food. The Elders are the assistants and so they are in our English branch. Elder "Lin" (Lin we call him because his name is super long and I can't pronounce it) and Elder Wong are so awesome. Elder Lin is from Thailand and is such a positive person. He goes home in December. Elder Wong is from Singapore and is also so amazing. He goes home in 3 months. They both have perfect English and I would have guessed they were from America. Elder Wong has never been to America, but they both will be attending Brigham Young University when they go home. We sure love hanging out with these amazing people.

Elder Lin, Elder Wong, Lloyd, Gingerbread man, Jill, Myself, Alex

Me, Jill and Alex

Oh those missionaries :)

 

Gingerbread man? I don't know why he is at this Mexican Restaurant :)

HOT POT!
First off I am so happy to say that right now I am teaching 3 English classes. They are all employees of Lloyd's company. Teaching those classes are the highlight of my week. They are the greatest people on earth and make me smile every time I see them. Actually they do the teaching. Each week they come prepared to share something on a topic we chose. They talk in front of the whole class in English. I am SO proud of them. They do such an amazing job.
One of my classes decided they wanted to do "hot pot" for class. So they all came over to my apartment and we made some dinner. Hot Pot is very famous here in Taiwan. It is where you can boil meat, fish, shrimp, noodles, eggs, vegetables, etc in a big pot that's boiling. Once it is done everyone takes a bowl and eats it and then they boil more food and you eat the next round. It was so fun to have everyone over and to eat hot pot. It was really good actually. They had me try fish, shrimp, eggs, different meats, and different vegetables that I have never had. Those that know me, know I do not like seafood, but in this case I really did like everything that I ate. It was delicious. I can't wait for next "hot pot" night.

The amazing chefs

HOT POT

Love these people

My awesome English class!

I am so grateful I get to spend a couple days a week with these amazing people. They teach me a lot and I have a lot of fun. Like I said, it is the highlight of my week. They are all so nice and genuine. I never thought I would be falling in love with this place. It is amazing.

Missionaries Missionaries Missionaries

We have had the best time with the missionaries here in Taiwan. They are all so amazing and so fun. They have truly helped me feel at home and made me realize I can do things that I never thought I could. It has been so fun helping them teach investigators and helping them find investigators.
We have different sets of missionaries who we just love and adore. Right now we are in the mission presidents branch along with the assistant missionaries. Their names are Elder Lin and Elder Wong. They are so amazing and have the best attitudes. We have taught a lesson with them and enjoyed their sweet testimonies.
We had another set of Elders at our house for dinner this past Sunday. They are amazing as well. They work so hard and were able to give Lloyd a blessing when he was feeling pretty sick. Elder Christianson and Elder Brown. They are so good together. They ran into a couple that lives in our apartment building and we have an appointment set up with them now for this week. It has been so exciting. They bring the Spirit into our apartment everytime.

Sister Wadsworth and Sister Johnston

Sister Bell and her companion

Sister Bell and I outside of Costco

The Sister missionaries are darling. They are right outside our area, but we are still able to meet with them and chat with them. They live close to the Costco that is here in Taichung. So we get to take them with us on their p-day so they can go in and shop. Today was one of those days. I had two sets of sister missionaries with me. Can I just say they are the coolest. I love being around their happy faces. They are so happy and positive. We shopped for them for about an hour and ate down in the Costco food place. It was so great and I am so happy that I get to spend some time with them. One of the sisters is from Park City, Utah and attended Utah State University. She is darling and I feel like we are a lot alike and we get along great.
I think it would be incredibly hard to serve a mission. I am grateful I have the opportunity to be here in Taiwan with them and learn from them. They have taught me so much about this life here on earth. I am SO grateful for them. I feel like I can make it here just because of the gospel. I don't know how I would be doing this without the gospel.
I am also so grateful for my cute brother Kevin for serving a mission right now in Ukraine. Being here has shown me how tough a mission can be and it gives me so much more respect for my little brother and I am so grateful for his hard work.
SO- Missionaries are the BEST!

Taiwan adventures

These past couple of weeks have been super busy, but so much fun. We moved into our apartment, explored the Night Markets, taught with the Missionaries, attended the Taipei Temple, shopped at the new Ikea and much more. Taiwan is an awesome country. I am realizing more and more how beautiful it really is and how many amazing things there are here. I am finally settling in and making this place like home. We moved into our apartment which has made things A LOT better for me. I was able to decorate the house and make it feel like home.

The night market was so much fun. I would go every week if I could, but my husband doesn't love the idea of me spending so much money there! I have been to night markets before but none have been this nice. I really enjoyed it and the food there. We had these amazing corn dogs, tortillas, and great dessert. The stores there were pretty nice and even had air conditioning! Although I am sure the stuff there is pretty cheap, I have enjoyed the two pairs of shoes I bought for under $12 together. I will be back for sure.

We went to the grand opening of Ikea-LOVE IT Watching the BYU game!  Moving into the apartment was so good for us. We now have a place to call home. My favorite thing about being here is that Lloyd's office is right across the street. It is so nice to know where he is and if I need anything he's right across the street! Our apartment has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Lloyd and I have never had 2 bathrooms before so that has been nice. :) Our kitchen is quite small, but they aren't huge into kitchens over here. We have no oven or dishwasher, just a fridge and stove top! It has been weird adjusting, but makes me so grateful for what we have back home! We decided to get some folding bikes to get around. They have been so much fun to ride. They are cute folding bikes and light so we can carry them around. They have already been so helpful to us. We rode them to Costco and that was much cheaper than taking a taxi. We are excited to ride them more and take them to the beach with us! We went to the grand opening of IKEA this past week and got some things for our apartment! It was super busy since it was the first day opened, but it was worth the wait in line! I love Ikea and it gave us some good things for our new place!  Lloyd has our TV set up so that we can stream football games. It is a good thing too because he LOVES his BYU team and couldn't be more excited for the games each week. Again, SO happy that we are in our apartment!

We attended the Taipei, Taiwan Temple about a week ago. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I love the Temple and it was so beautiful inside and out. It was so peaceful and I loved all the workers. They are so nice and loving. Lloyd ran into his old mission companion who was working in the Temple. That was so fun for us to see him.
This past Saturday and Sunday night we were able to teach with the missionaries. Saturday night was with a lady who is from the Caribbean. She attends school and works here. She has a baptism date set and is amazing. On Sunday night we met with another lady who is investigating the church. She works with Lloyd and is such a great lady. It was so neat to meet with them along with the missionaries and see how the lessons go. It was a good experience for me! We absolutely adore the missionaries here! They are AMAZING. They are so good to us and are always so happy. We love the Missionaries!

One Week Down

Well this has been one of the longest weeks I have ever had. I feel like I have been in Taiwan for a month now, but it has only been a week. At least I can say that I have improved since the first day I got here. 

We found a place where you can get buffalo wings! Lloyd was in heaven. They were surprisingly some of the best we have ever had. Who knew they would have great wings here? They also had the best sweet potato fries that I have ever had. I think this will be one of our favorite places to eat. 

We found COSTCO! Best day of my life. It felt a little like home to me. Of course it is not going to be like in America, but we found a lot of the same things. They have their cheese, milk, chips and salsa, muffins, bagels, apple streusel, and more! I couldn't have been happier. There was a lot more seafood and different meats and many different kinds of foods, but I did find a lot that I love and that is going to save me. I think the strangest thing I found in Costco was the "black" chicken. I have no idea what it is or why it is black, but I definitely will never buy it. I thought it was very interesting and had to snap a picture. As soon as we move into our apartment (hopefully this weekend) then we are going on a big Costco spree. I am so excited to be able to buy the food I like and start making meals! Thank goodness for Costco.

I must say, for only being here a week, we have had a blast. It has rained so much and I have enjoyed it a lot. I love the rain and never felt like we had enough of it in Utah. Well for only being here a week, it has rained a ton. I believe it has rained every single day. We have sunshine in the morning, but it always seems to end up raining. I experienced my first typhoon. That was an adventure- I don't think it hit as hard as the other big cities, but it did rain harder than I have ever seen and it was crazy windy. Our hotel windows were shaking. It was fun to be in it and be safe! 

On Saturday night, we went bowling! It was so needed to go out and do something fun. The couples whose spot we are taking are so awesome. They have been so nice to show us around and take us to fun places and restaurants. It has been good for me to see that Taiwan is a normal place, just different than in America. I have already learned so much and am so excited to see more. I have to say that the Chinese culture seems to have an act for bowling. They all seemed to be amazing at bowling. I was so excited because I am pretty sure I bowled the best I ever have. I ended up with a 125 and usually I can't even get close to 100. Maybe it was those around me rubbing off on me! We will be back to that place for sure.

Mango Ice is the best creation. I thought shaved ice in Utah was the best until I tried this. The ice has milk in it so its really creamy and the mangos are amazing. They really are the best here. I have heard from Lloyd all these years that the fruit and mangos are the best in Taiwan and I now believe it. If you ever come to Taiwan, this is an absolute must to try. 

Last but not least, Hot Pot. This place was very interesting. Our branch president and wife invited a few of us newbies from the branch to try Hot Pot. You get to create your own meal. They have a bunch of frozen meat, fish, duck blood (yes this is really there), corn, noodles, vegetables and more on trays and you get to pick out what you want to put in your broth they give you. Then you boil it in front of you until you think it is done and you eat it. It was very interesting, I must say that night I enjoyed the company more than the food. :) A new family from Lehi just moved here about a month ago so we got to meet them that night. I am glad they are here, they will be good company! 

One Day At A Time

As a lot of people know, being in a different culture takes some time getting used to. I have had a hard time getting along with the food here so I was extremely grateful when one of the managers working here with Lloyd took us to an "Italian" restaurant last night. I ordered a pizza and it tasted so good. Lloyd ordered a pasta, I am not sure if we liked that one! It was very different and to be honest it didn't really look like pasta. We ordered a lot of food because both Lloyd and I were starving since I think we haven't eaten a whole lot since we got here. As for drinks, they have the most amazing fruit drinks here. They put lots of real, fresh fruit in the drinks and it is delightful. Lloyd ordered his usual "diet coke". He feels at home when he has one of those.      

                         

Last night was my first taxi cab ride. Not my first one in Taiwan, but my first one ever. I have never driven in a taxi before, so they had me sit up front with the driver. I was a little nervous because here, they drive in front of others all the time, they hardly ever wait for people to cross the street and it is just much crazier here than in Utah. I had to keep closing my eyes thinking we were going to crash. I have to say though, for my first time it was pretty good.

Lloyds office

Today, I was able to go into the office with Lloyd. They wanted me to meet everyone in the office and get to know them. First off I have to mention again that it is SO hot and humid here. We walked from our hotel to the office which is about a 25 minute walk and when we got there, I really felt like I just took a shower. My hair fluffed up and I was not looking so good! I felt embarrassed when I walked into the office because of how sweaty I was. People kept saying "Oh very hot here!" Everyone in this office is super nice and friendly. I felt welcomed immediately. I am so grateful for my husband who gets to work for a great company with great employees. I am excited to get to know them better. It is so weird for me to be in an atmosphere that there is only Chinese being spoken. I cannot understand a word. I have never been anywhere where it is ALL Chinese. I am now just getting used to hearing it, I just wish I knew it so I could communicate.  
                           

             

On our way into the office, we stopped by a Temple. It was so pretty and I can't wait to see more. Taiwan is so beautiful and has very nice looking Temples. They have these statue type things all over the place. It is really cool and fun to find them. I can't wait to go explore more.  


                                                               

The above building is the apartment we will be moving into. When we move into our apartment, we will be across the street from Lloyd's office. I am so happy about that. That will be so nice to be able to walk right across the street.

no ice :(

Today we ate at Outback steakhouse for lunch. It is on the first floor of Lloyds office building. Can I just say how amazing it was. They had salad with ranch! I love ranch and was so excited to eat it. I am not a fan of seafood or any fish, but for some reason, some strange reason I wanted to order fish and chips. Lloyd was confused because he took me to Outback to get something that I was used to eating. I absolutely loved the fish and chips. I am so glad I tried it because now I can order them and know I like it. They also never put ice in the drinks. That is hard for me because I love ice. So the water is always warm. The service here is so awesome. They are so fast and there is always someone checking up on you. I never had an empty drink. They are so nice and welcoming. 

Fish and Chips

                                                                                                                                                 

As for right now, I feel a little bit more comfortable being out and about.  I don't worry about people staring at us anymore :) I am looking forward to some more interesting things coming our way.