I like Taipei.

The temple! For some reason, before I came here, I did not connect the fact that there was a temple in Taiwan. I figured the closest was in Hong Kong, meaning I couldn't go to the temple for over 6 months. But of course, I am again mistaken and there is one a mere 2 1/2 hour trip away. AND, it is beautiful. So they only have two times that you can do baptisms every week...saturday at 10 am and 1 pm. Let's just say it is a teeeeeeeeeeny tiny temple. We went with our branch and took a sweet bus up there. A few of us girls went and did baptisms while the rest either went around the city or went to the other part of the temple.

That is where the adventure started. The changing room/shower/bathroom was the size of a mouse hole. With 6 people there, it was overcrowded. We only had one place to change, so it took us awhile to get everyone in and changed. The font is 1/3 the size of a normal font and I was afraid I would hit my head because I'm too tall! haha. We sit about 3 feet from the font so everyone is nice and close...which I like. The confirmations were all in chinese and I could barely hear if they were saying my name. The faces on those getting baptized were so beautiful. For most of them, it was probably their first or second time going to the temple and they all looked so nervous. I realize more now how much I take the temple for granted. Everytime someone got out of the font, they would mop up the water with this little sponge mop. haha. If they didn't, the place would have flooded because it was so small.

We ended up not taking any pictures before because we just wanted to get into the temple, which sadly was a bad idea. We left the temple and it was raining SO hard. The kind of hard where you do not stay dry after 1 second in the rain. We ran hugging each other under umbrellas to the stake center trying to wait out the rain. We then ran across the street to this tiny tiny tiny shop that shouldn't have fit all 6 of us. The rain never stopped and so we decided to head out to find food while the rest of the people finished up at the temple.

Don't worry, the day gets better. We finally found a place to eat and one of the roommates wanted to go to 7-11 to get a poncho. I dropped her off to the 7-11 that was right next to the restaurant (which we found out later was not a 7-11). After about ten min she hadn't shown up to the restaurant. She couldn't be found in the store which I thought was 7-11 or the real 7 that was next door to that. We all figured she went to meet up with the bus. So, we headed back in the pouring rain and met up with everyone else. Except she was nowhere to be found. We all got in the bus and waited as one person ran to the restuarant to see if they could find her. He came back with nothing. So then the senior missionary and branch president left (still pouring) to try and find her. By now it had been an hour and they couldn't find her. So, all 12 or so of us split up and searched everywhere possible. We found lots of missionaries around the temple, policemen, a couple people got a taxi to search, but still nothing...over 2 hours later. I, of course, am the biggest worrier on the planet. seriously, it's horrible. I probably thought up the most horrible things that could have happened. We thought she might have just gone to our next destination, Taipei 101, but she ended up not being there either. Since it was almost 4 hours later and she had not been found, they called our apt. She had just gotten home...She couldn't find us and didn't see us in the restaurant so she took a train back. I am definitely just glad nothing that I thought up in my brain happened! Either way, it was funny (in the end), and I was still wet, 6 hours later.

Taipei 101, if you didn't know is the tallest building in the world!!!! Don't worry, I had no clue until someone told me while I was there. Kind of pathetic. There is a building in Dubai that is taller, but it is not yet finished, so it doesn't count! Let's just say, pictures were not the easiest thing to take because of the height. Because it was raining, we didn't go to the top...but, I definitely will before I go.

Here is the temple, via the internet because if you didn't read anything above, it was pouring rain.

Here is my image, much worse...but, I'm sure you get the idea.

Here is me hiding under an awning- sadly this is the only picture I have with the temple. I'm not too worried since I'll go a few more times.

This is a nice little close up of my face and a sign. We didn't have much room to work with under the little awning thing.

Here is the little store. haha. It was so tiny.

Don't I look so sweet?? haha, I take too many pictures that look like this. I'm probably the only one who thinks it is funny. Except for Jen most likely.

Here is the little restaurant we ate at, soaking wet. They probably had to mop the whole place after we left.
Here is me and 1/4 of Taipei 101. I might have gotten on the ground to take a picture of my friend and the men standing around me were laughing at me. Don't they know the value of a good picture?? C'mon.
The whole building! (It's not really sideways like that).
I took a quick stop in NYC.

Here is the whole thing again, except for it's night (in case you didn't notice).