May 30th

I was off for my second presentation today. I caught an early train and went down to a university that is on the south eastern coast. The train ride was about an hour and a half long. This part of the island is known for its beauty, so I was looking forward to the time on the train to get there. I got to see the jungle covered mountains and lots of rice fields. It was also fun to see some of the smaller villages. Many of them are too small for wards or branches, so as missionaries we never got to go to them. 

The school treated me really well while I was there. One of the faculty members picked me up at the train station and took me to the university where I got to have lunch with several of the faculty in the department. For lunch it was bien dangs (or boxed lunches), which have never been my favorite. You could tell though that these were probably from one of the fanciest restaurants in the city. During the lunch they tried to talk me into coming back for another visit at the end of our time in Taiwan. I couldn’t quite understand it. They hadn’t seen my presentation or anything yet, but they were willing to pay a huge cost (plane tickets from Taipei if needed, several nights hotel stay, and a large speakers fee) to have me come back down. They wanted Rebecca and the children to come to and said they would take us all to the beach to play and to their hot air balloon festival that they have at that time of the year. They were really insistent and so polite and hospitable that I think we will probably do it. 

My presentation went well and I felt like I was really able to engage the students. Afterward they gave me a bag of gifts and all wanted pictures. Then a faculty member and a couple students toured me around the city. When they took me to the train station to drop me off, they all got out of the car to walk me to the gate. I felt bad and so I said I had to use the bathroom, thinking that they would say their goodbyes there at the car, but instead, they had one of the students walk me to the bathroom and wait for me to finish. Then they were all able to walk me to the gate together. They were all just so friendly and kind. Then I had the train ride back to Hualien. 

Rebecca mainly did activities inside with the kids during the day. They did go out to get some food and groceries and things like that, but they also listened to some audio books, played some games, and watched some movies and just relaxed. I think the children really needed the break.


The view out my train window on the way down.



A few of the attendees after my presentation.



The beach in Taitung. There were calmer waters here than in Hualien and the sun felt much more hot.