Last Blog from Taiwan

It's amazing what a difference a week makes. Tonight as we walked back to the hotel, I felt like I could stay here even longer. A week ago, when I walked the same street, I was absolutely terrified! The first time I stepped on the busy streets of Taipei on Tuesday, I wanted to run home! It was so scary, and the culture shock was overwhelming. I was wondering how in the world to communicate, what in the world I was going to eat, and honestly wanted to catch the first flight back to the U.S. While I still haven't gotten used to everyone staring at me, every other part of Taiwan has grown on us both. This is an amazing city with wonderful and kind people who have been so good to us. It is a place that Greg and I look very much forward to visiting frequently in the coming years. It's amazing that in such a big city, we've always felt extremely safe. To end our time here, I wanted to share a few more random things that we've noticed during our time here.

I saw rice for the first time tonight. Most people here eat noodles. You can't walk into a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. without getting rice, so I found this fascinating. We still didn't see an egg roll! The food here is incredibly cheap! Once we were comfortable enough after a couple of days to actually go into restaurants and try to order, we ate some really great food. We soon learned that most people do speak a little English and like Jodie, our cooking instructor told us, "If you want to spend money to eat, they'll find a way to handle you!" The one thing that has cracked us up is that you have to ask for a check, they won't bring it to you. There is absolutely no rush placed upon you here, and while it is a huge, busy city, at the same time people here are very relaxed and easy going. While everything is cheaper here, Starbucks is still the same price, and just like in the U.S., they are on every corner! Another interesting food fact, in U.S. the McDonald's have hot apple pies, here they are hot pineapple pies and they are quite delicious! There is also very rarely ice served in drinks. There are a ton of food options here, and you cannot even walk down a street without seeing several restaurants and many food vendors. Sometimes, some of the sights and especially the smells have gotten to me.

There are many, many people who live here in the city of Taipei! The people are not at all what I expected. They love to "bop around" and shop and eat, and even at 9 p.m. on a Sunday night, the streets and subways are packed. They all have little dogs that they dress up in outfits. They wear a lot of American clothing, and sometimes clothing with hilarious English translations. The children are extremely well-behaved, never loud or causing a scene. The people are also quiet and calm and things are very peaceful, despite the fact it's a large city.

There's probably more to say, but I'll let Greg finish it out. Overall, we really have loved this country, and though we are so eager to get home to see Connor, we are excited about returning, and seeing even more of the country. Hopefully on the next visit, we'll be able to bring a new member of the Adkins family home with us. As we were leaving the orphanage yesterday, Sister Rosa said to us, "I don't know how to say it in English, but in Chinese it means, more than destiny, more than fate." I think Greg and I both know in our hearts that it means whatever plan is laid for us by our God, who we will continue to be faithful to, despite how hard the wait is, and despite how much we want to control things. He is in control, and He knows our Claire.

Please pray for safe travel as we travel home tomorrow. Thanks for following us on this adventure.