Retirement?

Today I have been in Taiwan for 3 weeks! At 2 weeks it still felt a bit like vacation…at 3 it feels more like retirement. Retirement is great by the way ^_^ Since Taipei our time has mostly been devoted to family. The 7th was Chinese New Year and it was my first time to be here for that. I even got to burn paper money for Ryan's ancestors to have! Most of the family has been back in Pingtung since last week and won’t be going back to work for a few more days. Which means more time for games! Mostly card games but also Mahjong! It has helped me to learn the first 10 number characters and the directions.

The most notable thing recently is we rented motorized bicycles and followed the coast line. Stopped at a coffee shop by the shore and ordered $3.00 iced coffees thinking they’d be reasonably sized yet received pitcher sized glasses. Now that’s what I call a bargain! Food here is extremely cheap (it’s cheaper to eat out than to cook at home) so I shouldn’t have been surprised. We also went to a cat cafe! It is a regular cafe that the owners just keep their cats at so you don’t pay by the hour like other cat cafes. There is also only about 6 cats total where as other cat cafes have 15–20 that they receive from shelters to help with adoptions. I was just happy to see some happy & cared for cats. There are many stray cats here =( People do not generally like pets and even if they do most do not let them inside. Dogs are usually chained outside or in the garage area. And the only person in the family who has a cat is one of the cousins girlfriend. SO! Not a lot of animal interaction for me here which has been difficult.

Anyway, Ryan’s mom is returning to the states in 4 days which means we will be completely on our own for communicating. Ordering food will most likely come down to pointing. Wo yao…..(point). At least I know how to order bubble tea! School doesn’t start for another 10 days so we’ll probably make a few day trips to Kaohsiung & Tainan. Japan is almost completely planned out and all reservations booked! Traveling is good.