First Full Day

We had our first full day with Mae. She clearly likes her mother better than me. Sara tries to reassure me that it's just because her dark hair makes her look more like the Taiwanese caregivers at the orphanage. It was the first opportunity we've had to walk around Taipei and just get a feel for it. Mae weighs more than we thought she would, so we decided to spend the dough to buy a stroller, even if we have to leave it here. That made a huge difference. She loves it.

It has been a little rainy, but we've really enjoyed it. The temperature has been a pleasant 790 to 75 degrees with the humidity quite bareable.

We went to the American Institute of Taiwan to get her visa application completed. We met some other adoptive families who are going through a different agency. It was nice to meet them and share war stories. We also went to a couple of big stores, and otherwise, just relaxed and enjoyed the day. Last night we went to dinner with two other adoptive families and Sally, the local coordinator who accompanied us to the orphanage and coordinated our travel to and from Tainan. A truly great person who has made this trip very enjoyable.

The restaurant was exceptional. Very good food. I decided to slighly branch out of my comfort zone and ate frog legs. They were good. Probably better than a chicken leg or wing. More tender. The restaurant spiced them up a bit. I was pleased. We've otherwise stuck to noodles and rice with chicken or the American favorites (Subway, MacDonalds). Our problem is that, to get the real local food, you need to be able to read Chinese. The little "hole in the wall" places to eat can't tell you in English what they are serving, and it isn't something you can figure out by site. I'm not afraid to eat something new or strange, I just want to enter that deal with full disclosure.

More later.