Now officially YT, PhD

Yep, it is official -- I am now married to a doctor. YT formally graduated yesterday, and was 'hooded' by her advisor in front of hundreds of people (video below). He nearly knocked her cap off in the process, and incited worried cries from the audience, but otherwise all went well. It looks worse than it actually felt, according to YT. There are also various posed photos posted here for your viewing pleasure, or general curiosity.

I, as you may know, was unfortunately not able to be there, since my classes et al. don't finish until the end of May. I told her she can skip my (hopeful) graduation in return some day, but she said she has no desire for revenge. Yes, she's a wonderful wife. Her parents also were not able to attend as well, since they're travelling soon to China on a company trip. I showed them the video just after it was posted, though, and I must say, Dad looked extremely proud (Mom was watching while on the phone with YT). I'm sure they wished they could have been there, too.

But lest you may fear that YT's triumphant exit from student life occurred with family in full abstentia, my parents and brother were in attendance. My folks even braved the long 5-hour drive just to be there. It's a comforting feeling to realize that in-laws are definite family, and YT & I are both thankful for that. It's seems like another example that we just decided to switch families for a little while. Still, it will be nice to get back to being a 'regular' married couple again. Just a few more weeks.


Anyway, just a quick post, and a hearty congratulations. Way to go Dr. YT! I will dutifully resist the Dr. Honey or Dr. Sweetie jokes.
(You're welcome.)

BB

Parting -- Redux

So, after a period of about three months, YT's extended visit in Taiwan has come to an end. My parents-in-law and I saw YT off at the airport this morning. I must say it does feel a little strange to say goodbye to her, then ride in the car with her parents back to Taibei without her. It just doesn't seem right. It's not natural, really, living with your in-laws while your spouse is somewhere else. It's like some strange vortex dragged YT off to the US and left me behind at her home, or by some bizarre case of mistaken identity we were switched at the airport. "Hey, you're not our daughter!" "Nope, I'm the long lost son you thought you never had, Ma & Pa!"

But to be honest, strange as it is, the parting doesn't seem so bad this time. I'm not going to say it's because it's happened before, been there done that, and we're used to it. It's not really something I want to be used to. The main difference this time is that I will be going back in about five weeks, which ought to go quickly (I think). It's also a set period, while last time we didn't know in advance how long it would be. Five weeks is a paltry sum compared to, as it turned out, four months.

It's also possible, of course, that the five weeks could drag on. I've enjoyed things here, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to know YT's family and cultural background on a much deeper level. I'm very thankful for this opportunity. It's like 19 years of annual 2-week visits crammed into one experience, and I get to know my neices and nephews while they are still young and impressionable. I think it will make all subsequent visits much more meaningful. Plus, I have my own references and memories when YT talks about her family or childhood. But, I'm ready to be back in the states. I've been here almost 8 months by now, but I've never really settled down 'roots' of my own. I've just been borrowing YT's. I'm looking forward to being back where things feel less... temporary. But hopefully it won't be much of a wait.

In the meantime, I'll still be scrounging around for the remaining participants needed for my data collection, and finishing the last month of my Chinese classes. And, of course, though hopefully only sporadically, I'll also be wishing I were someplace else.

Patiently yours, BB

Weekend Excursions

Well, it has been a while since I've written, and I'm sorry about that. But, I do have a good excuse. I've been busy. We've been busy. The last four or so weekends in a row, YT&I have been away (together) for one reason or another. First we went on an excursion with the family to MiaoLi (close to TaiZhong) and stayed in a B&B, the next weekend to Tainan, then after that to HuaLien with a friend of YT's and her husband, then next was camping in HsinZhu with the family again. Finally, this weekend, I have a bit of time to collect some thoughts, and write a post and upload some photos (though not necessarily in that order).

I could describe these experiences in wordy detail, but I think it's best to let the pictures do the talking. I don't think I can get more than 1000 words out of my fingers right now anyway, and you might not want a long exegisis to begin with. The photos have been hand-picked and arranged in a photo-album sort of arrangment, with captions (except for, as of yet, most of the HuaLien trip) to delight you all (maybe). There are also links to short snippets of video from the camping trip posted as well. In case you're wondering whether it's worth your while to view the pics, here is a brief sampling of what you might miss if you don't make the click. The servers are standing by now.

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Who is that person standing in the background on those rocks, you might be asking, and why are bystanders watching while Brian grimmaces and holds up a big wooden stick with goo at the end? Just click on and find out. You won't be disappointed. Or, at least if you are, I probably won't find out. Here are photos the of our time in HuaLien and from camping in HsinZhu.

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In case you're wondering about the B&B trip with the family, it was actually supposed to be the camping trip, but due to rain the camping didn't actually happen. We didn't take too many pics that weekend for some reason. Perhaps because the events seemed engineered primarily to entertain the kids. We picked strawberries, for instance, and we went to a DIY place to paint wooden figurines. YT painted a wooden cat, which was fun. I supervised and offered constructive (I hope) direction. He is named Oliver.

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The day after, we went to a very swanky coffeeshop in the area that had a great view of the surrounding hillside. They grow and roast their own coffee beans there, too. It was really a beautiful place, and I enjoyed sitting and reading my book while the others chatted and the kids played outside, or inside, or probably, both. I don't know, I was reading my book. We also went to a place where you can, potentially, make your own pottery stuff, but they weren't offering that option that day. It did have a really nice cafe and art museum, and the whole place had a great design. It seems like Taiwan has a lot of places like this if you know where to look. Very chique, very artsy, and very nice, and often not overly-traversed (though it depends on the season or day of the week).

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So, there you have my excuse for not writing that much recently, but I hope the pictures make up for it.

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Yours, BB&YT