Christmas Adventures

Here are some pictures from our Christmas adventures.

A lot of snow!

We went on a walk in the snow.

We made some delicious Chili!

It's A White Christmas!

First Snow

It finally snowed here in Kansas City. I always love the first snow of every season!

New Blog Layout!

That's right everyone. We have changed our blog layout. I hope you like it!

Sorry we have not been blogging a lot. We will try and share what is going on in our lives a little more as the year goes on.

Love you all!

KC Vlog 1

Kansas Symphony In The Park

We heard on the radio about "music in the park". The Kansas City Symphony was playing in the park. It was some good times and good music.

Our Kansas Home

We have posted some pictures of our new home. If you would like to see them just go to http://picasaweb.google.com/LauraRCarpenter/KansasApartment#

Driving To Kansas

Our Last Taiwanese Blog

It is hard to believe that it is our last day in Taiwan. This year has gone so fast. It feels just it was just yesterday that we were telling people about our adventure we were preparing for to Taiwan. To celebrate our last Taiwanese Blog, we thought we would make a Top 10 list of the most memorable things. This is not a serious list. This is the funny list. Unfortunately, each story would take a long time to tell. So, we are just providing the list. If you would like to hear a specific story from this list, ask us to tell you the next time you see us.

Top 10 Most Memorial Things

10. Long live the 80's!

9. "You married? So young!!!!....... Do you have baby?"

8. Taiwan's one traffic rule: Don't get hit by a bus/don't die.

7. City-wide Practice of... "China is invading!!!"

6. Company Mascots (Please ask to see our debit cards)

5. Random conversations with strangers.

4. Medical advice from strangers (after a physical examination in Starbucks)

3. The Opera Tennis Player

2. Communication issues.... (the purchasing of a mahjong set)

and our most memorable thing is...... (imagine a drum roll)

1. The MOS Burger Stare Down!

Thank you for praying for us this year. We have been truly blessed this year, and please continue to follow us, on our blog, as we begin the next chapter of our lives.

Laura Is Famous!!!!

We are sorry, but apparently Laura's fame needs to be kept secret in Taiwan.

We will be getting a dvd of the Joy English commercial, that Laura is in, later. At that time we will put the video back on our blog for people to enjoy.

Sorry.

Vlog Vacation!

Things We've Been Doing

Our wonderful host family took us to a fun city called Ying-Ge. While there, we were able to eat some amazing food. Including (as pictured) our delicious pouch of green stuff with a huge oyster in the middle, fresh and fried cut up mushrooms, cooked robin eggs, graded taro, and some sour/bitter plum juice. Talk about a feast. This place is well known for its history in pottery. There were many shops set up to let visitors make their own potter or just buy it. Laura and Essence felt that it was the perfect day to make something.

Just like riding a bike. Laura was the master of the wheel. They were able to make two pieces, and any day now we should get them in the mail, glazed and ready to use. They both had a lot of fun making their creations. The owner of the shop was talking to someone about Laura, while she worked, but we don't know Chinese so we can only hope that it was good. The rest of the day was great. We were able to walk around and see some amazing pottery. We finished the trip off with a good meal then headed home.

It is not often that we both get a whole day off together. So when those kind of days come around, we make the most of them. This was one of the most beautiful Saturdays we have had in Taiwan. Zach decided to take Laura on a date. We got some lunch and ate it in the park. Then we relaxed for a little while as we walked through the park. Then we were able to do something we had wanted to do for a long time.

We went on a bike ride along the river by our apartment. After picking out the two most perfect bikes from the rental shop, we began to follow the skinny bike path, along with a dozen other Taiwanese people. It was a very warm day but it was great to be out and enjoying the weather. Our wonderful date ended with a stop by the Apple store and some delicious Cold Stone. What a perfect Saturday.

If you have missed some of our adventures or want to see more of our pictures go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/LauraRCarpenter/Taiwan#

Shrimp Fishing

That's right, you read it correctly, Shrimp Fishing. This is by far one of the most unique Taiwanese experiences we have had. Zach's language exchange partner introduced it to us, and took us so we could experience it for ourselves. You may think that you can only fish in the ocean or a lake, but Taiwan goes against that stereotype. It is pretty much a small room, with a three foot deep swimming pool, which is taking up most of the area. You pay by the hour and the owner provides you with a miniature poll and mini-shrimp for bait (which is a little cannibalistic if you ask me). You bait up on two small hooks. Then you throw it in, watch the small bobber in the water, and wait for it to bob. Yong-Da showed us the secret techniques to catching the big ones. Once you see the bobber start to move, you know there is a big shrimp eating the little shrimp on your hook. You may think, "SET THE HOOK!!!" but you must wait and let the shrimp eat.

Once you have waited a significant time (30 secs), you pull it up and swing it out of the pool, so it cannot fall back in the water. This is when our nice friend Yong-Da proceeded to grab the shrimp and take out the hook. This was so nice of him, because these shrimp have killer claws of death and destruction. In our pictures on Picasa, you can see the bright blue death claws. Some shrimp fishers immediately rip off the claws, but Yond-Da doesn't like to hurt them (until later when we eat them). After two hours of fishing, we caught a whopping 15 shrimp. "What do you do with them now?", you may ask.

Now we are responsible for cleaning, de-clawing, and skewering each shrimp. You then HEAVILY salt them, and place them on a grill. After flipping for about five minutes, it is eatin time. The Taiwanese really like to eat the shrimp's brains, Yong-Da told us. We both tried them, decided they tasted like burnt peanuts and avoided them the rest of the time. It was an amazing experience that everyone should have.

Also, you can see more of the picture from shrimp fishing and our other adventures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/LauraRCarpenter/Taiwan#

Vlog Number...?

Just for Ryann!