We're home

We got home at 9 pm local time. It's been 30 hours since we left our hotel ad 24 hours in transit. We are all exhausted and my eyes look like someone punched me. Anna did very well. Ryan was excited to see us and has done very well with sister.

I'll post more when we get some rest.

Arriving at Reno.

On our way home

I'm just checking out of the hotel and bringing gifts to "The Girls." I don't want to see the hotel bill, especially Taiwanese money. It's 33 times the US dollar so it always looks like a lot. We are doing fairly well with luggage. We have only 1 more small bag than we came with, but everything is stuffed to the gills; we're definitely going to use the bellboy. I'm not sure if Mr. Yeh's associate will be here today, but I really hope so he can help with the luggage. Anna is in a very good mood right now, and I have some great photos.

Wish us luck. We should be home by 9 pm Tuesday, which doesn't sound too bad to me as it is only 6 hours in Taiwan time. I don't even want to think about the actual travel time. Hopefully, Anna will sleep for much of the flight to LA.

Sunday at the North East Coast

Temple at Keelung

Anna in her stroller (Ralph got attacked by an elderly woman who thought he was letting Anna suffocate)

Bridge at Fisherman's Wharf (Taiwan has some of the most beautiful bridges)



Ralph playing with the Gong at Keelung

We started the day at a little amusement park and a Buddhist Temple. We all got to ring the gong. I didn't do well, but I had slick shoes and was carrying Anna. Ralph got the biggest "gong." We walked to the top of a statue, thinking there must be something for all those stairs, but we were very disappointed to find only a small gold statue. It was not worth the six flights up submarine-type stairs with Anna on me.

We didn't get many pictures, but Ocean World is very small. They had a show with seals, high divers, and synchronized swimmers. They also had a small aquarium. It may have been very nice, but it wasn't very impressive after our usual San Diego and Monetary.

We went to a beach with some unusual rock formations. One is called "Queens Head". It was very beautiful but was so hot it was miserable.

After a very long and winding drive, we went to Fisherman's Wharf, the big white bridge. There, we discovered that Anna loves old-fashioned donuts. She ate one herself.

Poor kid probably thinks we have been starving her. We were told she only eats formula and applesauce. She likes her bottles in the morning and evening but not during the day, and she hates applesauce. We now discovered she likes ice cream, donuts, these flaky churros, and bananas. We are such bad parents!

The funniest thing was at the aquarium. I was holding Anna on a corner and this old guy and his son came around and must have seen me. He looked like a stereotypical old Asian master, bent over with a cane and a Fu Manchu mustache. He came around as my back was to him, looked at Anna, looked at me, and looked at me. He gave me this confused look, shook his head and walked away.

Last full day in Taiwan

Street market in Jiufen

Taipei 101 (Tallest building in the world)

Temple on the North Coast







Water barricades

We took a drive to the North West coast. It was very beautiful and looked like I imagined England would. Since it was Monday here, there were not as many people. We then went to a traditional town built in the mountains. Mostly we shopped and ate there. We were the only Americans we saw at the marketplace. As usual, we had many stares, and a group of teens had to touch and play with Anna. I guess this will prepare us for the attention we will receive at home. We returned to the hotel early since Dena and her family are leaving tonight.

We will spend tomorrow packing and finishing shopping. We don't leave the hotel until 3 pm. Our flight is at 6:30 and we arrive in LA 3 hours before we left.

Today is the first day where I'm homesick and ready to be home. The sad thing is now we are over the jet lag. But 10 days living in a hotel has become old.

I'm borrowing a laptop and have to give it back.

Street outside of Taipei



Yep, that is squid on a stick

Wulai Falls

Anna's first taste of ice cream



""World's best beer." After a bazillion stairs carrying a baby in 70% humidity, I agree!

What a busy day. We are so tired. We visited Wu Lai Falls and the village today. It is an aboriginal village. We saw a 1-hour show, something like the Polynesian Cultural Center. The first thing that struck me was how much influence they must have had on Hawaii. The show told the tribe's story but was very modern with the lights and sound. We all went up on stage and Matt and I were pulled forward for part of the marriage ceremony. We thought we might be marrying each other, but we are now married into the tribe. That explains the Asian kids, huh?

We had a traditional lunch of multiple dishes, including fish with their heads still on. Mr. Yeh was great again and held Anna while we ate. The waitresses kept coming up and taking her from him. Taiwan is so baby crazy. Even older businessmen come up to the babies.

We took a gondola ride to the top of the falls and, from there, 251 steps to the bottom of the "amusement" park. It's not much of a thrill park, just a few kiddie rides. We walked around and found the "Fresh Beer." I usually don't like beer, but after climbing 350-400 steps with Anna, it tasted really good and cold. The server thinks we are all crazy taking pictures of the sign, "World's best beer," and "suckers," aka straws.

Another street market on the way home. This time, squid on a stick, more steamed buns with meat on the inside, and grilled rice cake on a stick with chocolate and strawberry sauce.

It's amazing how much Anna has blossomed. She will go willingly to anyone and sleep in Mr. Yeh's arms for several hours, but no one else gets the smiles and laughs. She clearly now wants "Mommy". Her new game this afternoon was looking at me, and when I made a kissing noise, she would lean forward and give me a "kiss" and then start laughing. They were really open-mouth slobbers, but we both had fun.

When she first came to us, she just looked at us and gave a few half smiles. Now, it's all giggles and full smiles. She is so much more animated and open. She is very happy and fusses only when wet or hungry. She is totally spoiled and wants to be held by me all the time. She refused most of her bottles today but stuffed herself with the steamed bread. She would pull my hand towards her to get the next piece. I think "real" food is what she has either been having or wants to have.

Tomorrow, we're off to the north coast of Taiwan, and we'll go shopping at the Jade Market in the evening. Only 2 more full days and we head home. Can't wait to see Ryan!

Tea Museum and food street market

Ralph, Anna and I visited a National Park today. It looked very beautiful, but it was raining and blowing so hard I didn't leave the car. Anna had a "fussy" morning for her. Usually, she only fusses when she is wet or hungry or not with one of us. She started crying and wouldn't stop for almost an hour until she fell asleep. We think it was all from her stomach problems. Hopefully, she is better now.

She is very well-natured and very inquisitive. She loves people and looking around at everything. We can't go anywhere without people stopping us to look at her. Anna is grabbing everything within reach. Of course, she tries to put everything in her mouth. She has gotten more used to us and is getting us trained. She is hopelessly spoiled and always wants to be held or with us. She smiles and laughs most of the time. She has learned that if we say "One, Two, ...Three," something fun will happen. She starts bouncing up and down on two. She likes Peek-a-Boo. She is very good at getting where she wants to go on the floor and bed so we have to be very careful with her. She will be our climber. Other parents might not notice, but she uses both sides of her body very well.

The agency said she liked formula and some applesauce. She hates the applesauce but wants to eat everything. We gave her some bananas this morning, and she loved it. She was trying to lunge after it. We will try mashing up some in rice cereal and see what she thinks. For comfort, she likes to suck her thumb, usually her right. We were happy at first she didn't use a pacifier, but now, when she is upset, we don't have anything to give her.

Since Anna was fussy, Ralph stayed with her at the hotel while I went to the tea museum. Very interesting. I had no idea how much work went into making tea leaves. Afterward, we went to a food street market and grilled tofu on a stick. They had stall after stall of bakeries and goodie stands. We tasted at most of them and bought stuff to bring home. We still haven't tried the stinky tofu and don't think we will after today. I decided it smelled like a cross between a rotten dumpster and dog poopoo.

We will hang out for a few hours and then go to a street market.

Got the Visa!

Daddy and Anna


Bridge at the Chaing Kai-shek Memorial (Now the Museum of National Democracy, apparently CKS has lost some of his status)



Taipei 101



View from Taipei 101



Sushi platter in the food court at Taipei 101, you can get anything here!

We walked into the consulate, up the window, and they handed us the visa. The visa means Anna is cleared to enter the US. Funny, this is the one time I got teary with the process. After India, we were concerned about getting the visa. They told us we would still have to apply for a US passport but her social security number should be issued.

This afternoon, we went to Taipei 101. We ate sushi and teppanyaki in the food court. Many shops were Western, Nine West, Esprit, and Mont Blanc. We took the elevator to the observatory, 88 flights up. It took a total of 37 seconds. Quicker than you can call our hotel elevator. We had to pop our ears several times in the first elevator while descending. The view from the top was probably as good as you ever get; it is still overcast and smog, but we could see fairly far. They have a huge stabilizing ball at the top that looks like a gold bee hive suspended on a rope. It's for earthquakes and typhoons to move to balance the building. It will move up to 1 meter. I'm glad it didn't happen while we were there.

We went back to the CHK memorial today, inside, and looked at the displays. They are renaming it the Democracy Memorial. We then walked around the park and fed Anna. We were supposed to go to the Handicraft market but Anna was fussy and we returned to the hotel. Let's just say she is having tummy problems and will get some medication soon if she doesn't get relief.

I'm not sure what we are doing this evening, but the "Girls," as I now think of them in the Rosewood Club, gave me a map of the local area with stores and restaurants. We might go to the "Really Good Seafood". Tomorrow, we are going to a park in the morning, then to Pinling, an area famous for its tea, to see where they grow and go tea tasting. Tara, I bet you're jealous!

Last thought: if we got a lot of stares before, we really do now. Part is there are so few babies in Taiwan. Mostly, it's these 5 really white people with little Taiwanese babies. Some people just stare, but many either make faces or, wave at Anna or touch her. The hotel staff who have gotten to know us are all excited. One of the "Girls" ran up to us in the lobby when she saw we had Anna with her. She was upset she hadn't seen her before, admonishing Ralph for not coming to happy hour before.

Taiwan Culture

Here are some interesting things we have seen or learned about. Some is just general interest, probably due to all those years of education, and much is due to trying to understand Anna's birth mother's situation. Dena and their family had their Gotcha Day yesterday. From what Dena said in the few minutes we had to talk, Tessa, her daughter, comes from a lower working-class family. Her birth mother was younger than ours by several years. The birth family had visited the baby several times and was very concerned that Tessa was going to a good home. They wanted to make sure she would be well cared for and asked that they bring her back to Taiwan.

It has been bothering me that Dena met the entire birth family and we were not even given a picture. The agency only said that mom is 19 and in college and the family wants her to "move on". We didn't think to ask at the time if the family had visited, but TWCA gave the strong impression that the birth mom and her family had nothing to do with Anna. In all honesty, I don't believe they will even pick up the gifts and letters we left for her. So, being me, I have been trying to understand the circumstances of where Anna came from.

YuanYuan was so kind to answer all my questions about education and family life in Taiwan. I hadn't mentioned it earlier, but she was trained as a teacher and went into journalism. She was the foreign correspondent for a Taiwan station and lived in Germany and San Francisco for several years. She was then a newscaster here and then went into executive management. She was very knowledgeable on many topics.

YuanYuan said many people attend college and graduate school and have higher degrees. Students must attend high school, have several hours of tutoring after school, and pass a standard test to get into college. Sciences are encouraged. She said the birth mom would have had to take a year off school while she was pregnant but that she could restart after Anna was born.

YuanYuan said the cost of living has become very high here. Annual income, she guessed, is $15,000 here and $30,000 in the US. Housing is costly. Many families do not cook at all as it is less expensive to eat out. Most couples both work full-time outside the home. Taiwan now has a 5-day work week, down from 6, but I know the girls at our "members-only club" at the hotel work 6 days a week. Many young families choose not to have children due to the costs. That is very hard to understand to me, given in the Asian culture, family is everything.

Unwed pregnancy and motherhood are still socially unacceptable in Taiwan. Many people we have spoken to said adoption is not frequent here. When it does occur, it is usually from a family member or kept a secret. It sounds like the US in the 1950s. Adoption is also an expensive and difficult court process. We heard of 1 very well-off family who couldn't have a child. They adopted their brother's baby, but it was a long, drawn-out process.

YuanYuan's impression is that Anna is from a professional family as they were able to afford the tutoring to get into college. She said their birth mother must be very brave and motivated to have gotten where she is. Her thought is that the birth family is protecting their daughter and her future and they will put this behind them and move on. The one thing I get teary about is when I think that family is so important in Taiwan and that Anna's family has most likely not seen her as part of that family and has had nothing to do with her.

On the positive side, that makes us realize how much better Anna's life will be with us. She has so many family and friends waiting to meet her and she will have so many opportunities she would never have here.

On the lighter side, here is another observation or two.

Traffic: I was incorrect on my first post about scooters and helmets. It must have been a weekend thing where people were not wearing helmets. I have only seen 1 person since without one. Many people do wear surgical-type masks. We think this is for the pollution. While there is smog and pollution, it is not as bad as we were expecting. It still appears the white lines on the road are fashion statements at worst and general guidelines at the most. I have most often sat in the middle of the van and am often directly over the white line for much of the trip. At stoplights, all the cars squeeze in as close as they can. So many times, we thought, "They'll never make it," but they always do. At lights, even the "yellow line" is a general guideline. People frequently cross over it to get to the stop light. While the cars are jockeying for position, the scooters somehow eek around and get to the front of the line, in front of where you are supposed to stop. When the light changes, the scooters go first, followed by the cars. You have to be careful crossing the street. The "little green man" at the lights that tells you to walk is also apparently a general guideline. While driving, people change lanes without notice. It is up to the others to avoid you. We have often crossed several lanes of traffic for a right-hand turn. All that being said, we have seen only 1 person driving like a maniac. People are very respectful in their chaos and we haven't heard any horns, yelling or interesting gestures. It is all very polite.

I went to the bakery to buy Dena and her family a cake yesterday. I found a perfect chocolate and cherry cake with baby feet on top. I hope they enjoyed it; they deserved it after a long day. It was a several-block walk to find the bakery. While traffic is always stressful, I felt safe walking around town. In Taipei itself, we don't get as many blatant stares. At least in this area, I feel very comfortable walking alone. Even if we go back to the Jade Market in the evening, I would feel safe. There are not as nice areas, but I feel much better here than I do any day in LA or San Francisco.

We're off to AIT now for Anna's visa. They said they would call if there was a problem so we hope things are OK. After that, it's just a few days of touring, then home!

More photos of second day with Anna

Everyone is tired!



Anna in her crib



Anna and Yuan-Yuan (sounds almost like Yu-Wen)


Chaing Kai-shek Memorial Hall

I have to return to the room and check on Anna; she should wake soon. We should pick up her visa today and then off for more local sightseeing and the handicraft market. I'll post more about the rest of yesterday, but we spent the evening with a patient's family member, YuanYuan and Paul. They were so gracious. I was excited to see how "real Taiwanese" live. I'm still wondering about it. Let's say the driver and Lexus picked us up at the hotel and when we arrived at their complex and the guarded gates opened up it was like seeing Atlantis for the first time. Gotta run.

We've had Anna now 24 hours

Anna is so happy and healthy. She has been laughing and smiling like crazy. She loves to rough house with Daddy. She has been eating well but won't take the US bottles. Dena is picking me up a few more today when she is in Taichung. She has been scooting backward, rolling, and pushing herself where she wants to go. She is amazingly mobile and is trying to get up to crawl. She pulls everything down within reach and is very inquisitive. What she really wants to do is walk.

Anna goes down for naps easily. She likes to suck her thumb. She was a little fussy at bedtime last night and ended up sleeping between us for most of the night. Tonight, we will try the crib beside the bed. She's up taking a little nap right now.

We met with AIT today, which is basically the American Consulate. It took about an hour. The officer who did our "interview" was very pleasant. He said this is the best part of his job. He is expecting a daughter this year. Of the 10 pounds of paperwork we brought, they asked for exactly zero. They said we could pick up Anna's visa after 11:30 tomorrow if all goes well. We didn't know that with her visa type, she will be a US citizen the instant we touch down in LA. We can get her a US passport right away.

At noon, a family member of one of Ralph's patients is meeting us at the hotel and taking us to the most famous dumpling restaurant we were at the other day. They know the owner and so we will get right in. She is going to show us around Taipei. Her husband would like to meet us so we are going to dinner or their house. She was so nice to talk to, and I forgot to post yesterday; she had an orchid and a small teddy bear waiting for us when we returned to the hotel.

More first day photos

Celebrating with the Steiner Family



Mommy feeding Anna the first time



Daddy does the first diaper change!

The drive back to Taiwan (no, they don't use car seats!)

Sorry, the camera battery died.

Gotcha Day!

Anna and her foster mother



Anna and Mommy for the first time



Anna and daddy

We just returned from Taichung, about 2.5 hours from our hotel. The day so far seems like a whirl. We met Mr. Yeh at 8:10 and arrived at TWCA at 10:30. We received Anna's schedule. Samantha, the social worker for TWCA, took us to the foster mother's house and place of business, just a few blocks away. She was waiting outside with Anna watching for us. Anna was dressed in pink leggings, shoes, a onsie, and a long sweater. The sweater and shoes were the first outfit I bought her from Baby Gap. The shoes were a little small, but the sweater still fit. We haven't changed her clothing yet, but 3-6 months' clothes will work.

She is just as beautiful in person as in the photos. She was smiling at her foster mother. She stared at us, a little unsure, but came to me almost instantly. It was so amazing to finally hold her after just having pictures for 7 months. At first, she just studied my face. She went to Ralph just as quickly as to me and studied him also. Within a few minutes, she warmed up. She especially liked Daddy, and he had her laughing. We played with her at the foster home for about 20 minutes. At one point, the foster mother held her, and she leaned for Ralph to take her instead.

We could tell the foster mom sincerely cared for Anna and that Anna loved her. She has been very well cared for. When we left the foster home, Anna easily went with us. The foster mother and Samantha said she is a very happy and social baby but takes a while to warm up to new environments. There was another baby in the home who we did not see, and the foster mother said Anna would go over to the other baby and comfort it.

We then went to the baby store where we bought formula and rice cereal for Anna and to donate to the agency, applesauce and rice crackers, diapers and a stroller. It was back to the TWCA for a short visit. We dropped off the gifts, received Anna's possessions, and signed only one piece of paper saying we picked her up and when we were leaving. TWCA has a wall where families write messages, so we got to write on the wall in permanent ink, something I would discipline Ryan over. Anna appears very healthy but has a little cold and folliculitis, so we were given medications for this.

We were told that usually people receive a photo of the birth mother, but Anna's birth mother was "very young," 19, and her family wants to protect her privacy. They want her to "move on with life" and "put this behind her." We are very sorry we did not get to meet her or at least have a picture, but we must respect the families' wishes. We give regular updates to TWCA, so maybe her birth mother will contact them at a later point in time.

We left Taichung by noon and drove strait back to the hotel with only 1 stop at a rest stop. Their rest stops have food booths and are very nice. It was hectic, and apparently, they did not have many Americans there. I received some very blatant stares.

We got back to the hotel at about 2:30, and Daddy independently changed Anna's first diaper, and I fed Anna her first bottle. I left her playing with Daddy to come and post a few photos. We will try to write more and add photos and videos later today or tomorrow.

Pictures from the foster home