Today was our day to go to the American Institute to get Ben's paperwork processed and get the Visa we need to come home. We arrived at 7:45 as appointed and bypassed the huge lines of Tawainese applying for US Visa's. Once upstairs, we went to one line, waited for another line , reviewed the paperwork, went downstairs to pay the fees , then back upstairs to be interviewed. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it?? Imagine if you' re Ben and don't speak English and no electronic toys are allowed.
Well, he was a trooper and waited through the the 2.5 hours like a pro. Have to say we're pretty lucky to have met a great family from the Maryland who were there with their 5 kids and helped keep Ben amused.
Unfortunately, we won't get his Visa til Monday so we 'll have some more time to explore Taipei.
After the trip to the Visa office , we went to Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world at the beginning of the 21st century and celebrated by buying more toys and chicken nuggets. Five year olds know how to live!
Zach is doing better, antibiotics work. For all you Health Net folks, the ER visit, minor surgery and Meds cost about $50 US dollars.
Anyhow, life is exciting and challenging. Ben is doing great and Zach is thrilled to have a brother. As we suspected, the boys are communicating pretty well and fights are at a minimum. Those days won't last.
Sorry there aren't pix but Julie's computer is dead so we're using the Hotel computer and can't down load. We'll put some up when we're home next week.
Til tomorrow, have a great one and thanks for all your support!
George, Julie, Zach, Ben and Mary in Taipei, Ellie, Painter and Stan in Lafayette
Well, he was a trooper and waited through the the 2.5 hours like a pro. Have to say we're pretty lucky to have met a great family from the Maryland who were there with their 5 kids and helped keep Ben amused.
Unfortunately, we won't get his Visa til Monday so we 'll have some more time to explore Taipei.
After the trip to the Visa office , we went to Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world at the beginning of the 21st century and celebrated by buying more toys and chicken nuggets. Five year olds know how to live!
Zach is doing better, antibiotics work. For all you Health Net folks, the ER visit, minor surgery and Meds cost about $50 US dollars.
Anyhow, life is exciting and challenging. Ben is doing great and Zach is thrilled to have a brother. As we suspected, the boys are communicating pretty well and fights are at a minimum. Those days won't last.
Sorry there aren't pix but Julie's computer is dead so we're using the Hotel computer and can't down load. We'll put some up when we're home next week.
Til tomorrow, have a great one and thanks for all your support!
George, Julie, Zach, Ben and Mary in Taipei, Ellie, Painter and Stan in Lafayette
Great to hear that things are going well- looking forward to more pics and stories when you get back to Oakland!
ReplyDeleteJulie, George, Zach and Ben!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see you all when you return. I'm so glad that your initial meeting went well and that Ben was excited about your arrival. I'm impressed you could keep two 5 year olds occupied in that adult environment for 2 1/2 hours. Have a safe journey home, we can't wait to meet Ben. Hugs, kisses and an "alleluia."
Nancy