Master Goat!

Just about every night we ride our bikes into town to have dinner. We rode by a trash truck , it is neat how they do their trash here. They drive by and the truck plays this happy music that sounds like an ice-cream truck. When you hear the music you know it is time to run out and give the garbage men your trash.

So we found this little restaurant that serves guotie, they are really good; they are kind of like long crispy dumplings. For both us to eat and get full it only cost us maybe 2 or 3 dollars all together. That is how we can afford to eat out every night. These are my favorite treats though; I like them nice and crispy.

           Last week Bryce had a neat experinece with missionaries, "Last week I was privileged to work with the missionaries here serving in Xin Feng. They called me up the night before and asked if I would “Pei Ke” which means to assist them in a lesson. I was super happy they called and was excited to do missionary work again in my old mission. The next day at 7:30pm I met them at the McDonald’s. Every American knows where the McDonald’s is located and so it seemed the natural location to meet up at! After that we traveled down the road a ways to the location we were to meet the investigator. They had just contacted him on Monday and it was Wednesday night. As a missionary I experienced many times what was about to happen next. Our investigator “Fang-ed our Ge Zi.” Fang Ge Zi means to be stood up. He never showed and I got to know Elder Terry and Elder Hancock a little better. Elder Terry served in my old area of Miao Li. It was cool for him to catch me up on what has been happening in that area. While we were standing there chatting, a less active member rode up on his scooter and asked why the missionaries hadn’t called him! He then proceeded to give us a referral and asked us to follow him to his friends newly opened tea and coffee shop. We walked over there and got to know his friend. His friend had really good English because he had just moved back from South Africa. He gave us some herbal tea to drink and I was waiting for the missionaries to start teaching something to him. I kept waiting and waiting and they didn’t say anything! So being the Taizhong missionary that I was I proceeded to talk about the church and our special message to the world. All the while I was waiting for the missionaries to say something! They never chimed in and I was so disappointed. I couldn’t believe it. I think I served in a very special mission at a very special time. I have never met missionaries like that of the Taizhong mission at the time I served. I am so grateful for my mission experience and all it taught me. I guess it shows that missionary is so different all over the world. I would be willing to go with the missionaries again because I loved the excitement that I got while sharing the gospel again."- Bryce Larson

Another night we were craving American food so we headed to McDonald’s, it was raining so I had to wear a poncho, not too flattering but it keeps me dry. The McDonald’s was so nice inside; we went to the upstairs to find seating, which I was very impressed. So when you throw away your trash you have to separate everything, such as recycles, food, paper, nasty non-recyclable, shoes, babies, metal. I can’t keep everything straight. Maybe by the time I leave I will know how to throw away my trash.

The confusing trash cans ( see all the choices)

 So Saturday we decided to take a trip to Bryce’s old area and visit the mission home. Before we got on the train we decided to get a little snack for the trip. There is a little place on the corner that Bryce and I have had  before. This time I wanted to try something new. I decided to get a potato cake, I felt safe with that and it ended up being so delicious , it taste just like a breakfast hash brown but with more seasoning. Here is the menu you can see why I am weary. Notice the “pig blood cake”

                                            

 

There were not enough seats for everyone on the train

The weather down south was perfect. The sun was shining and we didn't need our big coats. It was a perfect day to travel.

They made a poster of Bryce to welcome him back ! jk

These are really little pancake like cakes with filling inside, Bryce calls the hockey pucks,yummm.

The sun was going down so we decided to hurry to the park and look around it was so pretty I was amazed at the trees and the waterfalls. There were so many places to sit and relax in the park. The trees are so cool they grow these moss- like branches that hang down. I got Bryce to swing on a branch, this stuff is so beautiful, I have taken lots of pictures of the trees but they might get kinda boring to others. Oh, and there was this massive goat structure in the front of the park, it was so cool. MASTER GOAT!!!

Oh and you can’t forget about your random couple making out in the park, it is not a true park unless you have that. (awkward)

                                    

This  is a pathway where people come to relax. What you do is take off your shoes and walk on this pebbly path with your bare feet. It is known to have a calming effect.

Bryce swinging on the branches (not moss)

Funny thing about this park is that, it is known for the gays and hookers that  hang out here. 

Bryce is taking horseback riding lessons while we are here.

OK this is sideways but this is so cool it is a tree trunk. Crazy, i cant even explain it, it is so cool.

 I mentioned this in a previous blog, but people wear face mask here, this is a little side shop where you can buy different colors and designs for your face mask.

When I was tempted by this little treat, I thought it  was a baked good but it ended up being a ball of pumpkin pie with cream inside. It was pretty good, but i will never buy it again. I felt deceived.

There is this place called “Modern Toilet” it is a restaurant where you sit on toilets and your food is served in little toilet shaped dishes. There are toilets and little terds painted on the walls and our table was a sink with a piece of glass on top. It was a fun experience. The only hard part was not talking about bathroom experiences while Bryce was trying to eat. All I could think about was going to the bathroom.

We had a money scare though, we realized we didn’t have enough money for the bill so Bryce went out in the sea of people and searched for an ATM. He came back and he said the bank put a block on his account because he went out of the country. Luckily he had another card and we were able to pay for the meal. Things get crazy and unpredictable but everything is working out perfectly here. I know we are being watched out by Heavenly Father everyday.

 
 

PUPPIES!!!PUPPIES!!

Show Bryce how awful I would look like with lighter hair. So cute! 

Puppy shops!!!!!

He loves me. PUPPIES!!

So we got a scooter and went exploring Sunday after church, and we found some cool looking tombs.  These tombs are everywhere, some are bigger than others. Some tombs you can see from the road and others are hidden and buried in the trees and bushes.

Bryce was determined to find the beach!

My mom asked me to get her a rock from Taiwan so I was determined to find a special rock for her.
This past week was full of adventure, everything is so new and exciting to me. My Chinese is not progressing like I hoped it would be but I am enjoying my experience here in Taiwan.