Going home

11/21/2010

Clowning around on Saturday night

We had to get up very early Sunday morning to get to the airport with 2 hours to spare. We actually were there by 6:20 for our 8:50 plane. Susan was sleepy. I was surprised to see all the people who came to see us off. Besides Sylvia, Neil, Susan, and Mark, Aileen and Joyce and Ryan's parents (a student who had been at WTAMU) came. We had time for breakfast before the plane left. We had to go through security and immigration before we could leave. The trip to Tokyo took about 4 hours.
Sleeping beauty

The layover in Tokyo was about 5 hours, so we walked around the airport and looked in the shops. They really push duty-free liquor and jewelry. We didn't buy any. The flight on American took about 11.5 hours. There were crying babies nearby. We had 2 seats together; one on the aisle for Garrett and one by the window for me. There was not much to see outside.

In Dallas we really had to rush to go through customs, change the money, go through security twice and get to another terminal. Luckily there was a man in an electric cart to get us there in time. Dean and Doreen took us home, but Carl met us too.

Last day together

Today is our last full day in Taiwan. I love to be at the shore, so that was the plan of the day. We first stopped at a restaurant they like for a Japanese/Taiwanese fusion lunch. The place was in the country and had a great garden on the edge of a rice field. We had schnitzel with vegetables and soup with ears of corn. Ryan loved his corn on the cob. We also had Japanese quesadillas (figure that) and several other delicious dishes. We sat on low couches at a low table. Ryan and Neil were so comfortable they went to sleep after we ate. The waiters seemed in no hurry to get us out of there.

Ryan and Susan in the garden


View from the garden


Rice field


Bouganvilla in garden

We went to the western coast of Taiwan to see the beach. It was rather windy, but lots of people were out. The boardwalk had a fine view of the sea. We all enjoyed it. On a path below us families were pedaling carriages built on bicycles.


Bicycle carriages


The sea between Taiwan and China



Our last stop was at an entertainment beach. The dragon boat we took was not a good one--the tiller didn't work, so we had to be rescued off the rocks twice. We weren't the only ones. Susan played a game and got a bottle of bubbles; she and Ryan had a great time with them.


Paddle boats with dragon boat on right

Susan and Ryan and bubbles


We stopped for dinner in a sushi bar where the plates of sushi came by. You could pick up whatever you wanted. They charged by the number of plates we had in front of us. At the house Silvia brought out one of Susan's favorite fruits: a sugar apple.

Sugar apple

Susan read to me in Chinese and told me the story in English. Then she read to me in English. It is a wonder to hear her read. In Chinese she reads the phonetic symbols as fluently as she reads in English. The sound on the video isn't very good. We finished the evening with more Curious George. Ryan went to spend the night with his grandparents who had not seen him since Monday night, so that he wouldn't have to be awakened at 4 a.m. to go to the airport.