Dinner Time!

The night life in Taiwan is totally different from back in America. There are so many things to do. Last night Laura and I were sitting around, not knowing what to do with our time and suddenly the phone rings. It was our host brother/father (confusing I know) Andrew. He wanted to know if we were interested in going to IKEA (or as they pronounce it... EKEA) and then go get some dinner. Let me tell you a secret... it is hard to talk on the phone with someone that does not know English as well as we do, but we love them and know it is probably just as hard to talk to us in English. To make a long phone conversation short, we said yes, called Molly to invite her to come along, and eagerly began to wait for Andrew to come and pick us up.

The first half of our grand adventure that night consisted of going to IKEA and looking at all the great stuff that we could not buy. If you have never been to an IKEA you are missing out. We spent a long time walking around and dreaming dreams of houses we may buy some day and rooms we could 'IKEA'fy. After we dreamed these dreams for awhile, Andrew told us we should maybe get to the restaurant, in case it was closing any time soon. The adventure was beginning to reach its climatic moment. The place we went to eat was like nothing I have ever experienced. It was an all you can eat buffet (very American you may think) where you cook your own food at the table you sit.

The first step in the process is going to a buffet of raw fish, crab, vegetables, and many surprises. After filling up your plate you return to your table and toss it all into a pot of boiling water in front of you. I was quite embarrassed to find out I was cooking my food wrong when Andrew instructed me that I was putting everything in the pot in the incorrect order... but in the end my food still tasted great. There were so many new things we discovered that night. First, soy sauce and garlic mixed together is probably what God dips his food in. Second, chopsticks work muscles that we Americans never use (my hand and forearm were cramping all Sunday morning and Laura's hand was tender in every spot that the sticks touched). Finally, I discovered that boiled squid is really good. If any of you are in Taiwan or somewhere where you can try it, DO IT! It feels like you are chewing rubber and make sure you get the ink pocket out first or your mouth with turn black.

By the end of the night it was way past Molly and Laura's bedtime, and they were "acting drunk" says Essence. It was a night to be remembered.

Well, there is some more of our grand adventures. Please keep praying for us and go here http://picasaweb.google.com/LauraRCarpenter to see some of our pictures we have taken so far.