The Newest Adventure

Well, I must admit it has been awhile since I have blogged, but with our new adventure I will be much better at this!

Taiwan...Who would have ever thought we would be living in Taiwan? Especially me. Never in a million years. This is the craziest thing that I have ever done.

First picture after the long plane ride. Hint the tired look
                                          

We arrived in Taiwan on Saturday evening about 10 o clock (Taiwan time). The day was stressful, exciting, tiring, but most of all emotional. Saying goodbye to family is never easy, especially when you know you are not coming back next week. It was fun to have family at the airport to see us take off. I am extremely grateful for family today. We had a flight that was delayed which made the other flight hard to catch, but we finally made it on the plane to Taiwan. I was not able to sit by my husband due to problems we had with our flights. It was a long 13 hour flight by myself! I was so happy to be off the plane and finally be in Taiwan. Our luggage was lost so we didn't get it until Sunday afternoon. We were so excited to see our luggage :).

View from our hotel

The smells here are very different... But I know it takes time to get used to everything. My cute husband Lloyd took me out this beautiful Sunday morning for a walk. I have never felt so hot in my life! It is so humid here and I still don't know how I am going to do this! I never thought I could smell 10 different things in just a few seconds. It could take awhile to get used to these smells!
Anyways, we walked down our street for awhile and looked around. There are 7 elevens everywhere. It is nice to see them, but they are so different to me than in America. My main problem is I don't know what anything is. Everything is in Chinese characters. I hardly ever see any English. Uh oh... I guess it is time to learn some Chinese.
When we came back to our hotel, (we don't move into our apartment for another week or so, so hotel home it is) I never knew I could feel like I just jumped into a swimming pool after walking outside. I felt so drenched from being outside, it is so weird! I hope I get used to this humid hot weather. Good thing I brought lots of shorts.

 
We have already been to McDonalds- not shocking for those of you who know me well. I don't really do good at first with new foods. It is hard for me to adjust fast, so it will take some time to learn to love the food here because so far I have spit out everything Lloyd has had me try! Whoops!

Lloyd and all the scooters

The traffic here is pretty crazy. There are SO many scooters. I think most people drive scooters. When I have watched them drive, I am so tense because I feel like there are going to be so many accidents, but  I guess they know what they are doing because  I haven't seen an accident yet. I don't think we will buy a scooter because it is so crazy here, but I do think we will end up buying us some bikes. I will feel much safer on those.

I have never lived outside of the United States before, not even out of Utah, so this is so different to me. I have never been somewhere where I don't see other Americans. I know some are here, but I haven't seen them yet! It is so different walking down the street and everyone looks at you. I feel so off because I am a blonde American and I think I really stand out with the blonde hair. I wonder what everyone is thinking when they look at us. I can't believe I am living here. I feel like I will be coming home next week, but I am not. I am scared when my husband goes to work tomorrow because I am not mentally prepared to go out on my own yet. I mean we have only been here for 24 hours. So I am going to be really bored :).
I love when Lloyd speaks Chinese! Everyone is so shocked and they think it is so awesome. I love it because I know we will be okay and understand no matter what as long as I am with him. I am so grateful he learned Chinese and took the time to study it because it is making a huge difference to me. I am so grateful he served a mission and I know he was supposed to go to Taiwan- He has such a love for these people. I am excited to be here, even though I am nervous as can be. I am excited to learn new things and see the beauty here in Taiwan. This is a crazy exciting adventure and a good experience for me. I know it will strengthen me in my life. I am excited to get to know people and grow to love them too! I already think they are so wonderful. Everyone that we have talked to are so nice and genuine.
I look forward to doing new things and learning to love it here. I can't wait for the day I say I am sad to leave. I know it will all work out. I am so happy I have the gospel in my life. That is a main reason why I know I can do this. My Heavenly Father knows me and knows my concerns and I know he will help me. I am excited to go to our ward next week and meet everyone. For now, I am just happy that we are here safe and looking forward to this week. I am excited to blog so I can write the things down that I don't ever want to forget and tell of my experiences so that one day my kids will know that their parents are crazy, but hopefully fun :)! Heres to two years of new adventures!!

Walking down the street

Taiwan