Another Recap

Happy March! I’ve been here for one month; it’s crazy to think about that. I love it in Taiwan; it is beautiful here. You have the oceans, mountains, and forests all in one place! It has also been great serving the residents at Bethesda and becoming friends with them.

I’ve had some time to myself, but I’m super busy with working, choir practices, drama practice, and watching dance practice, as well as hanging out with Kajsa and others, which leaves hardly any time to find spare time. I do still enjoy finding time to read, watch shows, shop, work on my blog, and text my friends, family, and coworkers. :)

It’s been another busy week here at Bethesda. Here’s another recap of the last few weeks starting on February 25th:

Tuesday: Esther and Tian took us to a really cute coffee/book shop. We heard there are so many here, so Kajsa had been wanting to go to one, and we were finally able to!

Kind of hidden in a back alley, but super nice!

We both got brown sugar lattes, which were delicious :)

This picture turned out very nice, I like how it worked.

Wednesday: I didn’t feel 100% but did not think much about it and continued on with my day as normal. At lunch I felt extremely tired and cold, so after choir practice I rested. I went up to the third floor, but I didn’t stay very long. Instead I came home, had a shower, took an Advil, and vacuumed. At bedtime, despite taking melatonin to help me sleep, I was up every two hours with aching pain and being cold, then hot, then cold again. I had a very unrestful night.

Thursday: Mirjam told me I could take the day off, and because of my terrible night, I took that opportunity to rest. I was able to sleep longer in the morning, and although I felt quite good during the day, I still rested, watched some shows, and worked on my blog. Kajsa had to go to work by herself. She told me she did pretty well without me to translate and that she used motions, gestures, and sounds to communicate. In the evening I was able to go to the team meeting, so that was nice, especially since Mirjam got me orange juice with jelly boba!

My view of Kajsa on the 3rd floor from ground level.

Friday: Thankfully I just had a 24-hour bug, so I was feeling good on this day. It was some sort of special holiday here in Taiwan, and many of the Bethesda residents went home to their families for the weekend. We were invited to the wedding of the daughter of one of the women who does laundry here. The bride is also the sister of one of the male teachers. The ceremony was at 9:30 am, so we left here at 8:30 because people in Bethesda like to be early. The drive there was so pretty! The weather was the best it’s been since our arrival; the sun was shining, and the sky was so blue. To get to the hotel the wedding was held at, we had to drive up skinny mountain roads, which reminded me of going to Jasper. The hotel was the grandest I’d ever seen! It looked like a castle from the outside, and the inside was beautifully decorated. The ceremony was relatively small, but it was very nice. There was singing, prayers, exchanging of vows, thank you’s to the parents, and many pictures with the bride and groom. We had a bit of time before the reception, so Tian, Kajsa, Esther, and I went exploring. We went outside and walked through the beautiful grounds. There was one spot where we could see an endless view of the ocean down below, and there was greenery all around us, so we got some nice pictures! The reception was nothing like I’ve ever experienced at a wedding. The family rented the hotel’s huge hall, and unlike the ceremony, there were so many people. For the reception, there were 15 dishes; most of them were seafood, as it is the most expensive meat. The dishes were okay, but some of them I didn’t try as they looked too exotic. During the whole reception, there was a whole lot of singing; everyone sang. The fathers of the bride and groom, their friends, the pastor, siblings, and even the bride and groom themselves. The music was nice, and I like the fact there was a lot of singing; however, it would have been more enjoyable if the noise wasn’t so loud. They had the mic turned up to a deafening sound at times, and I felt like my whole body was vibrating. All in all, it was a nice wedding, though, and probably the fanciest I have been to or will ever attend. Also that day Mirjam planned a movie night with all of us girls. We watched a romcom called “A Ticket to Paradise.” It was pretty good, lighthearted, and funny. Kajsa and I stayed for another movie after that, this time we watched a more serious movie; “October Baby.”

The sky was blue and the sun was shining :)

Everyone from Bethesda with the bride and groom.

The view was so pretty from here.

The menu with all 15 dishes!

The dishes we started with.

Reminds me of my days in Hawaii!

Girls movie night :)

Saturday: Kajsa and I slept in, which was refreshing. We dropped Tian and Esther off at the train station because they were going to SuAo, as Esther had a half marathon she was running the next morning. Kajsa and I went shopping with Mirjam, so that was fun! We were able to get a few things. The best one was a Taiwan sweater. I had bought one in the wrong size when we had initially come here, and when I went to go get a different one, they said they had no more. Kajsa also wanted to get her sisters matching ones, and she needed one more, but since they had none, she couldn’t. She was pretty disappointed about that, but when we went this time, Kajsa found 2 more! They were the last ones and the exact size we needed! One for me and one for her sister. After our shopping, Kajsa and I also got pedicures! We had both wanted one, so when Mirjam dropped us off to look around town, we took the opportunity! We got our typical colours; I got sparkly blue/grey, and Kajsa got sparkly pink. After that we got bubble tea, of course. When we were all finished with our errands, Mirjam took us to the ocean at a nice beach near Bethesda.

Twins.

“Best friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.”

One of our favourite pictures together!

Sunday: In order to reach SuAo in time for us to cheer for Esther at the end of her run, we had to leave Hualien at 6am. It was pretty hard to get up that early in the morning, and for some reason I woke up at 5am. It was a nice road trip to be sure; the scenery was beautiful, and since it was a clear day, we were able to see the mountains and ocean clearly. We were able to listen to some great podcasts together: Heart and Home and Compelled. We got to SuAo just in time to see Esther finish her race and were able to congratulate her! It was quite the accomplishment, something I could not imagine doing myself lol. Especially since the run was up a bridge and through the mountains! We were able to have a delicious Chinese breakfast before we headed home. At 12am the day before, Mirjam drove to the train station to pick up three more guests from Germany—Tian’s pastor and his wife, as well as her friend. When we got back to Hualien, we went out for hot pot with them. It was super fancy and absolutely delicious!

Half a marathon completed!

We stopped at another beautiful view of the ocean!

Delicious.

Monday: Back to work. Bakery from 9 to 11:30. Rather than eating lunch with the 4th floor, we went out for lunch at a dumpling restaurant. Kajsa loves dumplings and has wanted to try a place that just sells them, so because it was her last week, the girls took us to a place for lunch. From 3-7 we were on the 3rd floor. At 7:30, Esther led another workout, so I attended that because I know it’s good for my body. 2 more guests arrived, friends of the pastor and his wife.

Dumplings!

Tuesday: Bakery from 9 to 11:30. During our break, Kajsa and I were craving a chocolate sweet treat, so we walked to the nearest bakery to buy some cake. After that I worked on my blog and Kajsa had a nap. We did nails again on the 3rd floor. I had drama practice at 7; it was a lot of fun, as always! We are almost done learning the 16 parts for the Easter play, and then we can perform it in front of a live audience. :)

A scene from our play, I’m sure you can tell what it is.

Wednesday: Kajsa’s last working day. I had a choir practice in the afternoon. I’m happy at how much of the song I know by heart, especially considering I don’t know how to read the Mandarin (Tian put ping ying on all the words so I knew how to pronounce each one) or understand what it means haha! I’ve listened to it so many times and hear it on the 3rd floor a lot too, since both teachers are learning it as well. Memorizing is definitely through repetition, whether by listening or saying it over and over. In honour of Kajsa’s last day, we had a special dinner of pizza and fried chicken from Pizza Hut. After devotions, Mirjam unexpectedly announced to the whole group that it was Kajsa’s last day here at Bethesda and called her to the front… Immediately Kajsa started crying. It was an emotional moment for her and for many of the residents there, who have grown to love her. The time was too short, she felt, and she hoped to one day be back. We were able to take some photos to capture the moment, though. After devotions, we went to the night market one last time with Kajsa.

The first taste of Western food that I’ve had since coming here!

Our sweet group of residents and teachers on the 3rd floor. We love them dearly :)

Last night market visit for Kajsa.

Thursday: It was weird going to the bakery by myself, knowing it was only day 1 of many trips down there. While I was working, Kajsa was busy in the missionary house packing, organizing, cleaning, washing, vacuuming, etc. She even dragged my heavy mattress from our shared room back to the room I’d be sleeping in when she was gone! This was Kajsa’s last day here at Bethesda and in Taiwan. Mirjam would be driving her to Taipei at 5 pm, and I came along to see her off. The day felt long as we waited in dread for the time to come, thankful there were things we could attend to keep us otherwise occupied. We went to watch the dance practice as well as hear the residents choir practice. The trip to Taoyuan was about 3 hours; it was uneventful. The husband of one of the guests came on our trip as a driver, and he ended up driving there and back as it was a long journey and late into the night. The last goodbye was hard; I don’t let my emotions show, but I did feel teary as I hugged Kajsa one last time before going through security. We arrived back in Bethesda at 12:30 am.

Kajsa’s goodbyes to the director and principal of Bethesda.

At the Taoyuan airport.

Until next time,

Soli Deo Gloria!

Hosanna