Monday - with more rain

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. The peak shopping time for ties, power tools, anything from Sears or Home Depot. Father's Day in Taiwan is actually in August - so I was unable to find any Father's Day cards to send out. Probably find a bunch in another month though.

The big experience of this past weekend (other than the standard daily rain.... storming right now) was finding a new church here in Taipei. Check out: http://www.slpcenglish.org/ for details but it was a very comfortable Presbyterian Church that was in all English. It was probably 50% Taiwanese, 50% Western (I have stopped assuming that white people are American and I call them "Western" for simplicity and preventing me from being wrong). During the message, I realized that I have the advantage of growing up in a Christian Family - and we can probably trace our Christianity in our family as far back as we have records. Some of the people I was celebrating with are 1st Generation Christians - growing up in Buddhist homes/families. I found that kind of fascinating. They have a handbell choir every week, and sing English hyms and prayers. Very friendly group that was excited to meet me. Only bad part is that the English service is Sunday afternoons. They have 5 different language services, with Mandarin being the largest - so can't expect any special favors just for me! There were probably 40-50 people in the congregation.

But the most important thing I did this past weekend.... FOUND MEXICAN FOOD!!!! By US standards, I have VERY poor Spanish speaking abilities. But in Taiwan when I can order "cerveza" and say "gracias" or "de nada" when my burrito/beans/rice is delivered to the table, everyone here thinks I am quite fluent in Spanish. Let me tell you - the Taiwanese have difficulty rolling their "r" and getting the accent just right;) There could be a career here for someone willing to teach them Spanish. Not a lot of Spanish immigrants in Taiwan though, not sure there's really the need outside of being able to order Mexican food.

I caught up on some Wii playing. I found an Indiana Jones Mii character for my nephew (already sent to you Jeremy) that was kind of close. I did find the Mii Characters.com page that is worth looking around for a while. Make sure you look at the Miis from The Office.... the Dwight one is HILLARIOUS!!! I really enjoy how many people take the time to show that the minimal controls are actually ok in creating some very close resemblances of famous people. I like it because it gives you step by step instructions on how to create these characters yourself!!!

At the end of next week, it will be the beginning of"Return to the US" week! I have written the US Federal Government and they agreed to give everyone a day off from work while I'm home - plus most towns will be required to shoot fireworks off in my honor. Some even have parades! So while you're enjoying the "BigShow Returns to the US" festivities, drink a nice cold beer for me. The 4th day of the 7th month is what they gave me as my best option so I took it. ENJOY!!