Debbie and Virgil in Taiwan

I miss Mom and Dad already. It was a wonderful week but it went far too quickly for my taste. Everything went exactly as planned, some things better than I ever could have expected, and we all had a great time.

I took my parents to Taroko Gorge, the number one spot to see in Taiwan for good reason, for the first half of the week. After a few days there, we headed down to Kenting which is the "beach scene" of Taiwan. We were successful in driving a car cross-country to get to our first destination and made our way to the opposite end of the island by the high speed rail.

We saw breathtaking views around almost every corner and I, myself, am now convinced that Taiwan is the most beautiful country on Earth after this trip. We ate awesome Asian food and sat on beaches that had some of the bluest water I've ever seen. Virgil drove not one, not two, but several different scooters on the streets of Taiwan and Debbie was a trooper riding on the back of my scooter all week.

The Taiwanese people were gracious hosts and Virgil took advantage of making friends with a few braves ones that wanted to practice their English. In Kenting we ran into a few different groups of school children who absolutely loved us. One school group shouted "Welcome to Taiwan!" in unison to us across a ravine. Another group of high school girls stopped us on the street and took lots of pictures with us (I'm pretty sure it's because we were such an attractive trio of white folks!).

Looking back at our week together, I can't imagine a better Spring Break vacation. Not only did I get to see probably the most beautiful places on the island that I hadn't gone to before, but I got to spend an entire week with two of the most important people in the world to me. Being away from home for so long (7 months+ now) sort of made me forget how much I love and enjoy being around my family.

At the end of our week together, the inevitable had to happen however. Saying goodbye to Mom and Dad at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning was harder than I expected. I cried when I hugged them when I left Minnesota in August, but I was also going off to a great adventure awaiting me which made it easier. A few days ago when their flight was scheduled to leave Taipei International Airport at 9:45 a.m., I cried again when I hugged them goodbye; it was much more difficult than in August. I walked upstairs to a quiet bedroom, alone. Minutes before it was occupied with two people whom I love more than words can express and they were in a car heading to an airplane that would take them very far away from me again.

This weekend I have been slowly cleaning and straightening my apartment again, effectively erasing any evidence of them being here. It's been really hard for me because no one is waking me up in the morning anymore and greeting me with a smile. At night, the room I'm sleeping in is silent, absent are the snores I had become accustomed to during our week together. It's just me again.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm VERY excited to teach tomorrow again just to see my kids! I need them to keep me company for two more months and then I'll be on my way home. It will go quickly, I know that, this weekend has just been a little long and a little lonely. Tomorrow is a new day though and I'm sure there will be some sort of Asian adventure awaiting me!