Another week...

Well another week has come and gone and I will be coming back to the U.S. of A. in exactly one more week. I had originally planned on blogging more regularly than I have been, but it just seems I can't find the time and why spend all my time half way across the world sitting on my computer, plus my sleep is much more valuable to me.

Monday morning was full of home visits with Fenny and Dr. Lee. In the afternoon we took a tour of the Labor and Delivery unit. You could just feel the excitement being on that floor; it may have been the pink walls with painted hearts, or the periodic cries of tiny Asian babies, but I absolutely loved it. It was interesting to learn that the practice and process of labor and delivery were strikingly similar to in the United States. The major difference was the fact that 90% of births were natural, only 10% of women got epidurals. Interestingly enough, the doctor informed us that the women cry and scream, no differently than in the U.S. Nonetheless, my hopes for a natural childbirth were renewed. It was fun to see a different area of the hospital and I was proud to make it out of there without snatching any of those precious babies, because I was definitely tempted! ;) Katelyn and I were in charge of family home evening on Monday, so we had a nice thought and followed it up with tsua bing! Always a delicious refreshment choice!

On Tuesday the hospital had a huge buffet luncheon for our going away party. The food was amazing and it was fun to visit with the ICU and community nurses as well as the doctors and head of the nursing department. Later that afternoon we took a tour of the hospice unit at the hospital and the department gave us darling doctor bears...definitely my favorite souvenir. I love it! The Taiwanese people never cease to amaze me! Tuesday night we planned a girls' night with two of our best friends in Tainan. We told Jane and Ya Ling the we were meeting at 7:30 for a girls' night and naturally they came all dressed up for a night out on the town. We failed to explain that our idea of a girls' night was to stay in...and do girly like things. We felt bad that the night we had planned probably seemed so lame, but in the end I think they really enjoyed it. We did face masks, makeup and of course...ate sweet potato chips, Oreos, and fruit. It ended up being a really fun night and a good way to say our goodbyes to these wonderful friends that helped us so much while we were in Tainan. Of course we couldn't get away with doing anything for Jane without a gift in return...she brought each of the girls in my room beautiful hair clips. What an amazing girl! She has been such a good example of generosity and love and truly has inspired all of us to be better.

Wednesday was our last day in Taiwan and was full of festivities. Fenny took Katelyn, Sophia and I to the Anping Treehouse. On the way we mentioned that we wanted to get some flowers for Jane, so of course she went out of her way to contact the family of one of her patient's who owned a flower shop. It worked out perfectly and Jane was thrilled :) The Anping Treehouse is adjacent to the old Tait & Co. Merchant House and served as a salt warehouse. It was amazing to see how the pagoda trees had grown in and around the building! The merchant house has been turned into a small wax museum that goes through some of the history of Taiwan, so that was fun...I do love me some good wax statues! We rushed back to the hospital to make it just in time for our press conference at 10am. The news stations and reporters were all there to talk to us about out experience in Taiwan and at Chi Mei Hospital. For some reason they wanted to interview the youngest member of the group, so of course I got interrogated by a few reporters and once they found out I was getting married at 20 yrs. old they thought I was crazy. I have gotten that a lot here though, so that was nothing new...I am over it ;) After the press conference the reporters wanted tons of pictures, so by the time we made it out it was time to eat! Oh wait..that seems to be all the time here! The nurses had football sized mangoes and I think by the time they were gone, I had probably eaten a whole one by myself...they were incredible. We had lunch with the community nurses and basically laughed with them for over an hour straight before we went home to pack. Those nurses are hilarious and I know I will miss them a lot, but I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with them, learn from them, and feel of their goodness.

We spent Wednesday night with Kyle and Davit, the guys who took us to Kenting. We had a late picnic in the courtyard outside of our apartment with Pizza Hut (Davit's favorite) and of course more mangoes! We played on the top floor of our building for the rest of the night. Kris and I dominated at a game of pool, we attempted to play around the world ping pong, and Katelyn and I practiced our dart throwing and Foosball skills. It was a fun night and we were happy we were able to see Davit and Kyle one last time.

Thursday we left for Hong Kong! Once we got to the Taipei airport we were told that we couldn't check any bags for our flight...there was quite the outbreak of panic as we all stood there with 2 suitcases each, plus our backpacks, and purses. I wasn't sure how exactly I was going to pack everything from the suitcase I was planning on taking into my backpack. I refused to believe this rumor, so a few of us went to investigate, luckily discovering that we could check as many bags as we wanted...not sure where that falsity came from! We ended up each leaving one suitcase locked up in the airport, so we wouldn't have to drag it all over Hong Kong, but it ended up working perfectly. We arrived in Hong Kong around 5pm where we met the mother of one of Kris' students Katie Hillum. We were originally going to stay with her, but she happens to have guests this week, so being the wonderful person she is...she found other ward members for all of us to stay with. Katelyn and I are on our own staying with Brother and Sister Sanders and their son Jared at Parkview. They are incredible people and we have loved spending time with them. We have the most amazing view out of our window!! We can see all of Hong Kong..it is spectacular! It has been so fun to just be traveling with Katelyn. We have to travel about 30min. to an hour to get to the houses that the other students and Kris are staying at, so it is always an adventure to get anywhere, but we are loving it! Hong Kong is like nothing I could have ever imagined. The city is clean and beautiful and there are mountainish hills everywhere! It is lush and green and wonderful!

On Friday morning we met all the other girls at the Hong Kong Temple to do baptisms for the dead. The temple was absolutely beautiful and it was wonderful to be in the temple and feel the spirit so strong. After the temple we headed to a shopping district, had lunch, and...did some shopping! We made our way to the Lyes' house where Kris and three student are staying. It just happens to be one of the largest homes in Hong Kong. It is five stories, a glass elevator (yes, I did feel like I was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), probably 10 staff between the guards, cook, drivers, etc., a vanishing edge pool, pretty much everything you could imagine. Oh and it is right on the beach of Repulse Bay. I would never ever want to live there, but it is pretty crazy! The daughter Yvonne that lives there took us downtown for some Thai curry that was amazing! There is about every type of food here that you could ever imagine! A few people were going to go up Victoria's Peak afterward, but Katelyn and I figured we had a better view from our bedroom window, so we got some ice cream, called it a night, and went home to visit with the Sanders.

This morning Katelyn and I made the MTR trip to Lantau Island to see Big Buddha, the largest Buddha in the world! We met everyone else there and took the cable cars over the ocean and two mountains to the base of Buddha. We hiked up many many stairs and could eventually see big Buddha through the clouds. We spent some time walking around the Buddha before it started to rain. I was prepared with my poncho, so I busted it out and being the nice friend that I am, allowed Katelyn to get in it with me...ha ha, how curious. It was a really nice outing though!

From 3-7 this afternoon we attended the branch closing social with the Sanders at the Lyes' house. It was an incredible barbecue, complimented with amazing salads and fruit. I totally splurged and realized how much I miss homemade, American food....the chocolate chip cookies were particularly delectable! Tomorrow there is a special conference at the church from 3-5pm with Elder Oaks! We totally lucked out! I am so looking forward to it.

I am having an incredible trip, but am looking forward to coming home, working, and spending time with family...and of course Tyson. I am continually amazed by the love and hospitality extended to us by everyone we come in contact with. I am so grateful for the universality of the gospel, the goodness of God's children, and the freedoms and lifestyle we enjoy in America. We are so incredibly blessed.