VALERIE’S PERSPECTIVE
As many of you know, I LOVE meeting new people, so this is the perfect place for me to be! Just now, as I was waiting to cross the street on my way back to the Taipei Arena from lunch, I met a group of Kenyans on the corner. I struck up a conversation with the physical therapist of the group since he was hearing, and I learned about his team of 16 runners. One young lady, Carol, was especially full of smiles as I met her and asked when she would be running so that I could watch her. We exchanged e-mails, smiles, and even a little sign language! Yes, that’s right! Along with Chinese, I’m trying to pick up sign language too!

This morning, I accompanied Jennifer to the arena and decided to hang out at Starbuck's located inside while she was in training. For about an hour, I was quite by myself since Starbuck's wasn't yet open. Then someone tapped me on my shoulder. I thought, "Who in the world knows me here???" It was two voluteers (Mee and Diane) whom I'd met on Friday at the opening ceremony practice. Mee is from Malaysia and Diane from the Philippines. However, Mee currently lives in Australia so she's got the Aussie accent! We talked over an hour, and then a group of Deaf started showing up. Soon we discovered they were all part of the media team. They all tried to converse with me by reading lips, speaking, signing. It was really A LOT of fun to try to join in their conversations...just basic things...where are you from, what are you doing here??? This is where I picked up some new sign language. I can now say I'm from Houston, Texas, for example! Three of the guys are from Austin, Texas! Close to home, comparatively!

So what have we been doing here so far these 7 days? Jennifer and I have been so fortunate to have my friend Rebecca (a native Taiwanese) show us around the city and help us experience all the cultural musts of Taipei. I met Rebecca (Yueh Lan Cheng) in 1994 when we both attended East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. Rebecca transferred after two years, but our friendship continued. She moved back to Taiwan in 2000, and we kept up mostly though e-mail, and more recently through Skype. In May, she called me to invite me to come to Taipei in September for the Deaflympics, but I doubted seriously that I’d be able to come. After all, I’m a teacher, and teachers are working in September. However, the very next week, I called Jennifer and after about 10 minutes she said, “Well, I have some big news! I’m going to Taiwan in September!” My mouth dropped open. Wow! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That’s when I decided I wanted to go, but it wasn’t until August 10th that I officially resigned from my job at Conroe High School and bought a ticket Taipei.

We’ve visited Rebecca’s brother’s family in Hsinchu Science Park near the coast, Chiang Ki Shek’s Memorial Hall, the botanical gardens, the Museum of History; we’ve sampled TONS of Taiwanese food; we’ve witnessed the festivities of Ghost Month (a month in which many believe the door to the spirit world is open and the spirits move about looking for companionship). There are parades, food offerings to ancestors and gods, etc.

If any of you want a more detailed account of my experience here, I can e-mail you parts of my travel journal. Just ask!