if we have any readers left....

I apologize again for my sporadic blogging! You've probably given up on us by now but if not, thanks for checking in. We are getting quite settled into Taipei and have met some really wonderful people here.
Tonight I went out to dinner with my co-workers to a hot pot restaurant. Hot pot is basically a big pot of broth cooking in the middle of the table, and you order different vegetables, meats, tofu, seafood etc etc and cook it in the broth. Normally i'm not much of a fan but this restaurant was quite good. AND they had unlimited Hagen Daz ice cream for dessert!
Sue and Micah (Alan's Mom and Sister) came last week to visit. They stayed in a hotel on the National Taipei University's campus because my very helpful and generous friend Olivia (who goes to school there) offered to book us a room. You can only book a room if you are a student and the place is much cheaper than a regular hotel. Sue and Micah's visit seemed to be doomed from the beginning with finding out before they even boarded the airplane that they weren't going to be able to go on the second portion of their trip to China because they didn't get a visa. So after canceling their trip and loosing hundreds, probably thousands of dollars, they had to book a new flight home from Taipei. Right after booking that flight they hear word that Alan's grandmother, Nana, is doing poorly so they had to buy yet another ticket home the next morning to be with her. On top of that, we were planning on going to the beach in Kenting but the trains were all sold out so we had to cancel that portion of the trip as well. Ugh! International travel is amazing but can be the most frustrating thing as well.
It is good that they got home because several days later Nana passed peacefully in her sleep. RIP Nana...you taught me how to play Mah Jong, brought some New York to the South, and were a loving- and loved woman. We will miss you dearly.