Saturday, July 28, 2007
Too Busy to Leave Taipei
Seven thirty pm and I wasn't even packed yet. Still in a meeting with Teresa, and I smelled like sweat. The van arrived, and I just got out of the shower. Tossed all my belongings into the back of the van, and we were off.
Only when I thought I could relax, things got more complicated at the airport. Calvin didn't bring his 2nd passport. Calvin has dual citizenship; he is American and Taiwanese. In order for him to depart, he needed his Taiwanese passport. I got everyone checked in except Calvin. The lady from Singapore Airline told us that if we didn't have the passport in 45 mins, Calvin couldn't leave with us.
Fortunately, Michelle, Calvin's mom, drove like an ambulance on an emergency call, made it to the airport just minutes before. We passed thru R.O.C. immigrations without a hitch. At last, I got some peace and quiet on the plane. Paying the extra money for Singapore Airlines was right! There is more leg room, and the seats are more comfortable. Food there is better than other airlines, and there are more movie choices. Best of all, the flight attendants are prettier. Thank you Singapore Airlines, and I will be sure to join your Frequent Flyer Membership and Mile High Club.
The moment we stepped off the plane, things got hectic again. We had to go thru immigration three times because we had to fill out so many different forms. It was long and painful. It took us two hours before we got out the airport. Finally, we cleared customs and we pushed the heavy carts out of the gate. After a few minutes of seaching, we saw my brother, Brandon, and his father, Fred. We dumped the luggage in the two vehicles, and we left LAX. What a relief!
Before we went home, we went to In-N-Out for dinner. In-N-Out is a burger restaurant that I have been craving. This is one of the things I miss the most when I am away from California. This is easily one of the best burger franchises in the world. Jason, Brandon's older brother, met us at the restaurant and chatted with Calvin because he was here a few years ago. We ate our burgers and headed back to my mom's house.
The garage door opened, and we unloaded all the luggage. I assigned the girls one room, and I told Calvin and Jordan to stay in Brandon's room and Jacky and Joe to sleep in the master bedroom. Needless to say, we all had jetlag, so no one really fell asleep, except Calvin. In the middle of the night, Jordan started to cry so he came to lay down with Jacky and Joe in the master bedroom.
At 5 am, no one was sleeping except my brothers, so we got up and watched some cartoons. I took Jacky, Valerie, and Betty to buy breakfast because the little ones were too busy watching TV, and Calvin was still hibernating. We drove the car to the nearby supermarket which is about 45 minutes' walking distance. The day is beautiful as always in California. Skies were as clear and as blue as it could be, and you could smell a hint of pine trees in the air.
We walked around in Albertson's Supermarket for a while. We bought some donuts and cereal for breakfast and some groceries for lunch. We went back home and everyone had breakfast. After breakfast, we cleaned out my old room and we worked as a team. Everyone was really helpful. After two hours of work, everyone was hungry again. For lunch, I made salami sandwiches for everyone.
After lunch, we all went out for a swim. It was a great day to swim, not only it was a hot day, but the pool cleaner came in the morning and cleaned it. Everyone jumped into the pool and to my surprise, almost everyone could swim except for Betty. We played in the pool until we all got tired.
Only when I thought I could relax, things got more complicated at the airport. Calvin didn't bring his 2nd passport. Calvin has dual citizenship; he is American and Taiwanese. In order for him to depart, he needed his Taiwanese passport. I got everyone checked in except Calvin. The lady from Singapore Airline told us that if we didn't have the passport in 45 mins, Calvin couldn't leave with us.
Fortunately, Michelle, Calvin's mom, drove like an ambulance on an emergency call, made it to the airport just minutes before. We passed thru R.O.C. immigrations without a hitch. At last, I got some peace and quiet on the plane. Paying the extra money for Singapore Airlines was right! There is more leg room, and the seats are more comfortable. Food there is better than other airlines, and there are more movie choices. Best of all, the flight attendants are prettier. Thank you Singapore Airlines, and I will be sure to join your Frequent Flyer Membership and Mile High Club.
The moment we stepped off the plane, things got hectic again. We had to go thru immigration three times because we had to fill out so many different forms. It was long and painful. It took us two hours before we got out the airport. Finally, we cleared customs and we pushed the heavy carts out of the gate. After a few minutes of seaching, we saw my brother, Brandon, and his father, Fred. We dumped the luggage in the two vehicles, and we left LAX. What a relief!
Before we went home, we went to In-N-Out for dinner. In-N-Out is a burger restaurant that I have been craving. This is one of the things I miss the most when I am away from California. This is easily one of the best burger franchises in the world. Jason, Brandon's older brother, met us at the restaurant and chatted with Calvin because he was here a few years ago. We ate our burgers and headed back to my mom's house.
The garage door opened, and we unloaded all the luggage. I assigned the girls one room, and I told Calvin and Jordan to stay in Brandon's room and Jacky and Joe to sleep in the master bedroom. Needless to say, we all had jetlag, so no one really fell asleep, except Calvin. In the middle of the night, Jordan started to cry so he came to lay down with Jacky and Joe in the master bedroom.
At 5 am, no one was sleeping except my brothers, so we got up and watched some cartoons. I took Jacky, Valerie, and Betty to buy breakfast because the little ones were too busy watching TV, and Calvin was still hibernating. We drove the car to the nearby supermarket which is about 45 minutes' walking distance. The day is beautiful as always in California. Skies were as clear and as blue as it could be, and you could smell a hint of pine trees in the air.
We walked around in Albertson's Supermarket for a while. We bought some donuts and cereal for breakfast and some groceries for lunch. We went back home and everyone had breakfast. After breakfast, we cleaned out my old room and we worked as a team. Everyone was really helpful. After two hours of work, everyone was hungry again. For lunch, I made salami sandwiches for everyone.
After lunch, we all went out for a swim. It was a great day to swim, not only it was a hot day, but the pool cleaner came in the morning and cleaned it. Everyone jumped into the pool and to my surprise, almost everyone could swim except for Betty. We played in the pool until we all got tired.
Once we were out of the pool, everyone got dried and changed clothes. Kids passed out around 4 pm and slept til 9 pm. What a long siesta! Joe and Jordan woke up first, and I took them to buy Mexican food for dinner. We came back and woke everyone else up and ate our burritos and quesadillas. After dinner we watched a movie and we went out for a late stroll. It was a long walk but we had lot of fun even though it was midnight already. We came home and got ready for bed.
I had a lot fun with the kids but what a long long day. I wish Teacher Cheryl was here. I will try to keep this updated as often as I can. I hope I can also put up some pictures as well.
Teacher Paul
# posted by Tree House Academy @ 3:22 AM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]