June 15 ... still!

OK, so we left the Tokyo airport at 21:30 (over 1.5 hours later than scheduled because of some potential hydraulic system problems) on June 15, and here we are arriving in Seattle at about 14:00 ... on June 15! Wow, it sure didn't feel like I had just gained 7 and a half hours!

Here is proof that I am in Seattle!
When I left Japan, the last person I saw that I knew was Yuri and the 1st people I saw that I knew when I arrived in Surrey was Conrad & Debbie - the homestay 'parents' of Yuri when she was here last year! So there are some more pictures I wish I had taken ... oh well, I think I had enough to choose from in the over 1700 pictures plus videos that I had taken on this trip! What an experience!

Thank you to all of you who have joined me on this trip ... yes, it was finished on June 15th, but even though the dates I posted were close to the time the events actually happened, the truth be told ... I am finally finishing them on 4 Aug ... 7 weeks after I arrived home from this 7 week trip! I don't know if that means anything, other than the fact that now I will start posting the events that have happened since my return in 'real time.'

And I encourage you to post some comments to this blog. Just don't ball me out for taking so long to complete it! ;)

June 15 - homeward bound ...

This is Yuri's apartment. Here is her living room, dining room, office and bedroom (oh, and the laundry 'room' is out on the patio - the washing machine is there and that's also where she hangs her clothes to dry).

Thank you for having me, Yuri! It was fun, but it was definitely too short of a visit! I don't know if you'll make it back to Canada before I come for another visit in Japan, but I trust that we will see each other in the near future again.
Ready to go ... again!
Getting ready to board the Shinkanzen - high speed train. This gets me to Tokyo, but I need to take another train to get me to the 'Tokyo' airport.
It sure doesn't seem like we're going over 250 km/hour!
The landscape in Japan is absolutely stunning!
I was on a train like the one on the left.

June 14 - Osaka Castle

I didn't try this ... I just wanted a picture.
On our way to Osaka Castle, we stopped at this food pavilion to find something for lunch. This salad is not something I wanted to try, but it certainly was worth taking a picture of!
Decisions, decisions - yes, Yuri is missing school again, but she asked a friend of hers to let the school know she wouldn't be there. They called her later on because her friend must have forgotten to tell them, so she let them know she was taking a friend around Osaka today.
Osaka Castle ...
The entrance to the Second Citadel. It guards the main gate into Osaka Castle.
This is the "well curbing of Ginmeisui Well."
It seems like it is drinkable water ... however, I had my water bottle with me, so I didn't try it from this well.
Views from the top of the castle tower ...


That boot ends up in many intriguing places! He he he.

This was such a funny picture. He was walking by very fast, but he was nice enough to wait for me to take a few pictures of him & his raincoat-wielding dog! So cute!
We got back to the train station where we met some people from Yuri's church by about 8pm. That's how we got a ride to the prayer meeting/Bible study, where the Murrayville boot made another appearance (after the meeting was finished, that is - this boot has manners, I must say)!

Junko, Kyoko were 2 of the lovely people I met tonight.
Pastor Andrew (left) and Pierre (who we got a ride with).
Yuri, Andrew, Pierre & Niko.
Niko took this picture for me.

June 13

Today I slept in while Yuri went to school (that way, I didn't cause her to skip 3.5 days in a row ... she didn't go to school when she met me at the airport and would have skipped today if I wanted to go somewhere with her). The night before I left Taiwan was not very productive when it came to sleep. I got to bed after midnight and was hoping I would be able to wake up at 4:30 to catch the 5:20 bus to the airport. Needless to say, I did not sleep much! So I slept in until after 11 this morning and then did some stuff on the computer. It was today that I read Jeremiah 10 and thought back to Elaine's & my time in ChiaYi ...

When Yuri came home, we walked down to the local 'mall' to have supper (Yuri doesn't cook at home very much ... they feed her well at the school & I think she eats out for supper or friends of hers come over & make supper at her place). On the way, we passed this rice paddy.
We shopped for a bit after supper (I found some souvenirs and we got some snacks for tonight). On the way home, we met this very friendly tiny frog, so we took turns taking pictures of it ...
Obviously, Yuri took this one ;) ha ha

June 12 - Final stop: Japan

This is the 4th airline I'm travelling with ... it was on this plane that I sat with a lady who had just visited Taiwan for the 1st time since she moved to Canada 10 years ago. She told me about a university in Taichung that may be an option for Elaine to study at full-time ... then it will only take 3 months to become fluent in Chinese.

Chiko was the first to see me at the airport. Yuri was also there (it was the first time they met. They had both been staying at Conrad & Debbie's place in BC for their homestay).

June 11 - In Taipei

I said goodbye to Elaine & Janice and took the high speed train from Kaoshiung to Taipei (this line opened for service in January). I met Kyle there, who is a friend of Elaine's - she met him the 1st time she was in Taiwan. He showed me around Taipei and helped me find my way to the hostel.

Here he is outside the Terracotta Soldiers display at a museum.


It was already dark by the time we got to Taipei 101 ... the tallest building in the world. There are some much better pictures of it on Elaine's blog. Go check it out.
The Murrayville boot is still traipsing along with me ...

Sunday June 10

Breakfast before church

An adorable girl in her mom's arms ... I just had to get a picture!
Getting ready for church ...
A Taiwanese church.
Fellowship over lunch after the service with the visiting pastor, one of the paritioners and Lucy Eastwood (at the end of the table. She is David's wife and she translated a lot of the bulletin for us so we could follow along in the service, which was in Chinese & Taiwanese).
You may notice that Elaine has already migrated away from us to get to know a Taiwanese family ... for those of you who know her, recognize this as something that is typical for her to do. She is definitely in the right area of the world! :)
After church, we visited this man's home (he's holding his grandson), which also housed a licensed Nike factory (as well as other brands, such as Reebok).
He employs 20 women to sew the clothes.

Back at the park ... here's that bridge in the daylight.
English church service in the evening.

June 9 - weekend in ChiaYi

Off we go on a bus to ChiaYi (and we didn't pay extra for this class bus ticket! Wow)!

The 4 people in the foreground, Elaine & I went from their church to ChiaYi this weekend.

This was a visioning trip for Elaine's church to learn more about the spiritual needs of the Taiwanese working class. When we arrived, we were taken to a place for lunch, dropped off our stuff at the church office where we would be staying for the weekend, then to the church to hear about how the working class people live & worship. Then we made it practical and visited the large Matzu temple just outside of ChiaYi. The OMF missionary who who was hosting us has lived here for about 10 years. He is very knowledgeable about the history and the people (and he speaks fluent Chinese, even though he's originally from England).
Here is one of the visiting gods being unloaded from a truck. Then there was a whole ceremony bringing the god down the long street toward the Matzu temple. This is how a 'smaller god' would approach the main 'bigger god' of the temple. There was lots of noise & pomp & circumstance.
"For the customs of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good." Jeremiah 10:3-5
Getting the firecrackers ready to 'announce' the arrival of the visiting god.
Perhaps he's sharing his experience as a bearer of the god with a friend on his cell phone?!?

They temple money that the people buy ...
... to burn to the gods.
The experience was very intriguing, but sad to see these people asking gods made of wood or stone for answers to life questions and burning incense & money as offerings to them.

Discussing our experience and praying for the Taiwanese working class ...
Enjoying dinner (hotpot & BBQ'ed lamb) at the night market with David Eastwood, the OMF missionary.
Squid-on-a-stick (left) and other delicacies, also on a stick ...
The park across the road from the church office. We had a time of sharing & singing under a gazebo here.