Day 7 Taipei

We spent today seeing the sights in Taipei and acting out on our frustrations. Joshua began the day a little sad, which is completely normal – and then like any other family he promptly passed on the sadness and frustration to everyone else. But also like any other family we hung in there together and by bedtime it was all hugs and smiles.

We started the day at Taipei 101 the tallest building in the world open to the public (soon to be passed by the tower in Dubai). Thanks to the wonders of technology we lost all of our pictures from there.

We left 101 and had a nice long talk (with some translation help – thanks Nick) about how misbehaving only means that we will no go have more fun. We will keep repeating the same message over and over because it is true – we are a forever family and nothing can change the love we have. After a little while, we went on to the martyr’s memorial and watched the changing of the guard. It was great to watch the precision and dedication of the soldier guards as they honor both civilians and soldiers who died in defense of Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan maintains much more of a sense of reverence about the memorial as opposed to America’s “tourist” mentality at our monuments.

Next we went to see the Grand Hotel, the first 5-star hotel built in Taiwan. It truly is “grand” and of course very expensive. Inside, we took a look around and learned how to play “rock, paper, scissors” going up a staircase – simple fun, but a big source of smiles.

After a quick trip through the Handicraft Promotion Hall, we went to dinner at another restaurant with no forks. It seems that we’re now a family fairly skilled with chopsticks. Jordan even sang the praises of a meal that did not consist of chicken nuggets but instead was made up of dumplings and noodles.

All in all, it was an interesting day filled with both tears and laughter. Pretty much as we expected – lots of work, but a lot of love too. It’s definitely worth it.