鹿港 Lugang

Rewind to June 2008. Tammy and I got subs for our Tuesday classes and spent a delightful rainy day in the nearby city of 鹿港 (Lugang). We purchased traditional hand-painted lanterns and fans, and enjoyed the charms of this old Taiwanese city. We were walking out of a store when we saw a cute couple walking down the street, hand in hand. They looked back at us and asked, "Where are you from?" (in English). We began talking, and they asked where we were going. We told them we were going to visit an old well that was featured in our guide book. So they said, "Oh, we know where it is...we'll show you." We just began chatting, and they took us to the well. After learning about the well and taking a couple of pictures, they asked, "Where do you want to go now?" They offered to show us more of their city, an invitation we gladly accepted. After showing us around some more, they asked, "Are you hungry?" We told them we were, and they told us they wanted to show us their favorite noodle place.

at the noodle restaurant

After treating us to lunch (can you say generous?!), they said, "Sorry, but we need to go. We need to pick our kids up from school. But...do you want to come home with us?" Tammy and I exchanged a "Why not?" glance and replied with an enthusiastic, "Sure!" So we got to go to their home, meet their cute kids, and eat dinner with their family...it was incredible.


A day we would never forget. Tammy and I had to get home, and as if they hadn't already shown us enough kindness, they took us to the train station, helped us buy our tickets, reviewed with us how to take the train (they told us, "Okay, you're in car three. So you count the cars...one, two, three. One, two three. You are in car three." They were too adorable.), and waited with us to make sure we got on the correct train. :)

About a month later, Tammy and I were devastated to leave behind the amazing experiences we had shared in Taiwan. We didn't know for sure that either of us would return to visit our friends in Taiwan (though we hoped with all our hearts that we would), and we certainly didn't dare hope that we could do so together.

Fast forward to June 2010...dreams come true! :)

We were able to visit 鹿港 (Lugang) together and see our family.

We ate lunch at the same noodle restaurant.

We found the picture that the restaurant owner had taken of us two years previous.

Jane took us to meet her calligraphy teacher, and showed us what she'd been learning.

They took us to a cool glass restaurant, where we saw all sorts of glass sculptures:

Tammy and I took pics of each other through this
awesome, huge kaleidoscope with a mirror inside.

And so we enjoyed a delightful day with our Taiwanese family. A dream come true! :)