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On Saturday, Lawrance prepared breakfast for me and mom. He made sweet potato “xi fan” (porridge) and fried eggs.
Taiwanese people eat pickled things with their xi fan. Here are some of the pickled things Lawrance likes on his xi fan.
I was thinking about these photos tonight as I drove home, and I realized I’d not posted them yet the blog. So . . . here is my lovely husband all dressed up in Texas two years ago.
Our dear neighbors and friends, Jerry and Lin, hosted Lawrance while he was in Texas before we got married. Jerry is the one responsible for dressing up Lawrance. Thanks, Jerry!! Lawrance and I got new glasses over CNY. This is the first time since junior high that Law hasn’t had frame-less/rimless glasses. Of course I’m kinda partial, but I like them! :)  my handsome hubby makes my heart swoon :D
Sunday night Lawrance and I went on a picnic with Gilby. We went to a park near my home right at sunset. He found a place to eat, and we sat there for a long time. Eating and talking. Gilby was getting anxious, so we stood up and got him to some grass. Finally, he (Lawrance, not Gilby) asked if I’d like to walk along side the river that runs into the harbor. When he first suggested this park earlier in the week I actually thought that this would be a good time to hold hands. And, I’d even thought about telling him that he didn’t have to “trick me” into holding hands (like his brother had suggested); all he had to do was ask for my hand, and I would give it to him, but that I’d wait till he was ready . . . he would have to be the one to initiate. I’d even practiced this little speech in my head. So . . .we walk. I make sure that my hand next to him is free (leash in other hand, purse on other shoulder). We walked this way all the way to the end. For, oh, about 30 minutes. He kept taking his hand in and out of his pocket as we walked. When we turned around at the end I thought “ok, I’m ready to give my speech now.” I didn’t want to pressure him; I just wanted him to know it was ok with me–hoping to take away some of the pressure. So, we reach the end, and as I’m switching purse and leash (to once again make sure the hand next to his is empty), I look down and he offers me his hand. Before I took it, I looked at him to double check if it was ok. He just smiled, and I took it. I can’t tell you how sweet it was. So gentle of him to do it this way. I told him I was about ready to tell him he could have it if only he’d ask for it. He told me that he’d been thinking and thinking about how to do it and when to do it and where to do it. He wanted it to be just right. Well, if I do say so myself, he did a good job of making it “just right.” Later, as the evening came to an end. He told me, “today is a big day.” And, I was like “really? why?” And he said, “because today is the first day I held your hand.” It was so sweet. He is so sweet. So . . . a month and a half into dating, and he finally holds my hand. Although not easy, it was worth waiting for.
Hi, this is Lawrance Wu, the other owner of this blog. I wanna say hi to every one here. Sorry for being so late to say hello. Well….my sweet wife, Amanda is going to America. I am a little bit sad (well….sad a lot in fact), but I am also happy that she can have time with her family, enjoy her favorite Mexican food…etc. OK….I wanna say…………..Amanda, I LOVE YOU and I’LL MISS YOU here……….. Even though I’ve let my blog slip majorly in the past few weeks and months, I couldn’t let my blogaversary and annual tradition of choosing one photo per month slip past. This will be my fifth year to do this:
I think I took less photos in all of 2009 than I did in many of the months of 2008. Kinda makes me a little sad, and makes me want to resolve to take more photos in 2010. Anywho, not analyzing anything right now, which I am OH so tempted to do. Let me get right to the point . . . below you find a month by month look at our 2009 using only one photo per month. January: We celebrate our first Chinese New Year together in Meinong February: New Life Bilingual Church in Kaohsiung starts meeting March: We marry again . . . well, ok, we celebrate our marriage covenant in Taiwan with our Taiwanese friends and family April: I have my first birthday as a wife (aka, I turn 31) May: Some of our friends marry . . . and Lawrance is the MC at their wedding banquet June: We start our summer Sunday afternoon tradition of eating ice after church
July: We go on several dates during the summer . . . Thai food, the beach and more
August: We celebrate our first anniversary in Kenting September: Sadly Wu Mama is diagnosed with liver cancer October: Lawrance is a clown (well, maybe he always is one, but at least he LOOKED like one this time) November: I start studying Chinese again (This is my awesome Chinese teacher) December: Law’s parents help us to decorate our tree . . . a Wu family first!
One thing we did was seek to spend time with others and not just always alone. For example, on our second date, I met his mother, and on our third date we had dinner and played games with Corrina’s girls while Corrina and her husband were out on a date. Lawrance also was really good about sharing very early on with me the things from his past or that he believed strongly in that he thought I might not be able to accept. After telling me these things, he always ask “can you accept that?” His thinking was that it would be much easier to end the relationship at the beginning than hide things from each other only to exchange hearts and then later break them. He is so wise. Many of our dates took place either in coffee shops or outside. Tainan has great public parks, so there was no shortage of great places for us to spend time together. We started with a standing Sunday evening date, then added Saturday evenings. Later we added Thursday mornings for breakfast–a time set aside for either reading Scripture together or discussing the book Sacred Marriage together (excellent book by the way). Eventually we also began spending Tuesday evenings together too. We did a LOT of talking. It was great! Another aspect of our “courtship” time is that we agreed on some pretty strict physical boundaries. Since I’ve never been kissed at all, Lawrance decided that our first kiss would be on our wedding day. He also set the physical boundary line at holding hands. He also waited nearly two months to hold my hand for the first time. It was a momentous occasion. :) Another thing I’ve enjoyed about our relationship is that after a few dates, Lawrance started ending many of our times together–either in person or on the phone–in prayer. Lawrance has done an excellent job as the leader of our relationship making sure that Christ is front and center at all times. What a blessing!! And, one more thing we were blessed to be able to worship and serve together. During our time of dating we were able to share Christ with students together. And we also attended church together as well as a special Campus Crusade for Christ weekend conference. What a blessing! I don’t remember when exactly, but I remember where . . . I was on the elevator in my apartment complex riding up to the seventh floor. I looked into the mirror in the elevator, and I knew I loved this man. I knew that if he were to tell me he loved me I’d be able to echo. I knew that if he were to ask me to marry him I’d say yes. I was totally excited by how kind God had been to me. Our four months of dating (pre-engagement) were a blast! We had so much fun learning about each other and having fun together. We laughed a lot. We talked a lot. And, yes, we (ok mostly me) cried a few times together too. :) They were a wonderful time of drawing closer together emotionally and spiritually. God was graciously beginning to knit our hearts and lives together.
I asked Corrina if there were any good places where Amanda and I could have our first MEETING (I thought our meeting at Starbucks for coffee was “just a meeting” and not a date at that time). We just said hi and then it became “Lawrance’s Talk Time.” I talked non-stop, and I don’t remember every thing I talked about, but I do know I was trying to make her have no interest in me. I told her my past romances and what the girl looks like, my plans in the future, and my core values about love. She just listened to me with patience. While I was telling her my core values about love, something good happened as she told me “I don’t think dating is just for fun either!” That made me feel she was a very interesting girl. Moreover, after sharing with her, I felt very relaxed and happy (I was no longer upset about the thing that had happened at church that morning). Well, I don’t know why I would think about her frequently after the meeting and look forward to seeing her again, but I did!! That’s crazy! I never thought love comes so fast…….
He laid out everything he thought I need to know in order for me to not want to “go out with him.” He told me all the stories of his previous dates/girlfriends, “rules” and ideas he had for dating, and what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. I felt like instead of trying to impress me, he was trying to get me to reject him. But instead of repulsing me, he was making me fall more in love with him. I appreciated his honesty and integrity, and I agreed with him on SO many fronts. Essentially, I couldn’t believe men like him still existed.
I felt great peace–I knew it was the right decision. And great sadness at the same time–I truly longed to be married. I needed to talk to someone, so who better than my neighbor and dear friend Corrina. I went over to her home and spilled many tears. As I left, I told her, “if you know anyone Corrina, please don’t hesitate to introduce us.” I was kinda hoping she still remember that she thought Lawrance and I would make a good match, but at this point I was open to anyone. She told me I needed to attend a big church where there were more single guys and that she would also tell another Christian teacher to keep his eyes open for me.
From Lawrance’s View: The day of my last final of the fall semester was a Tuesday. And, after taking my last final, I felt such release and was looking forward to my winter During the lunch, we talked and laughed happily; however, at the end of the meeting, she asked me if there are some men around thirty years old at my church. I told her no right away. Few minutes later, Corrina asked me how old I was (I’m 28/29 in Taiwanese culture), and then she just laughed—“Ok, then you are the one! Hallelujah!” I immediately felt something was wrong and exclaimed “WHAT?” I was shocked that she wanted to match me with a girl because, honestly, I had been guarding my heart from falling love with someone because I knew my future was to work with Campus Crusade for Christ. I needed to find someone who had the same 3Ms (Master, Mission, and Match) as me. Corrina told me “Just trust me. I wouldn’t do something bad to you!” “If you don’t tell me who is she, I won’t let you go!” I said. Corrina told me the girl was a very good Christian, was at my school and that she was very virtuous and intelligent! Moreover, she told me that I’d met this girl before. I was racking my brain thinking of girls I knew, but my searching was in vain, then Corrina said a name that extremely shocked me—”Amanda.” I told Corrina “NO WAY! That is impossible because she is an American white lady. Most importantly, she is a TEACHER!” Corrina tried many ways to persuade me into trying to date Amanda. She almost BEGGED me to just have a cup of coffee with Amanda. Well, I thought that since Corrina has always treated me so great that I would feel guilty if I still said no to her, so I told her “Ok, I will try once! Just once, ok?!” And it was so . . . Thank God I said YES to Corrina that time!! He is an awesome GOD, isn’t He?! From Amanda’s View: She asked about “the break up.” After I finished telling her she said, “are you ready for another one?” I was like “WHAT!?!?!” :) But, she began to describe this guy she had had lunch with that afternoon. And, I knew exactly who it was. I just knew that she had to mean Lawrance. So, of course I said “yes” even before she told me who she was talking about. She told me later that when I had left her apartment on Monday evening she was so heartbroken for me. She wanted to help but didn’t know how. She spent much of the night praying for me and asking God for wisdom in helping her to help me. She claims not to remember telling me earlier that she thought about me and Lawrance making a good couple. She says it wasn’t till the end of the lunch on Tuesday that she suddenly thought about the two of us together. Regardless, I’m glad God used her to bring the two of us together. God is so kind.
{Update: Friends and family in America have been confused by this test . . . so let me explain real quick. In Taiwan, many people want foreign friends simply to practice English–not because they really care about the “foreign friend.” So, I was “testing” this guy to see (a) did he care about me as a person or as a way to study and (b) did he care more about practicing English or relationships (remember, the other guy with us spoke no English).} He showed me and Gilby around campus, pointing out all kinds of things about the school. Then we sat in a dorm lobby, and he shared his heart with me telling me his desire to share the gospel with Taiwanese college students. He was asking me to help out with the campus’ Christian club, but I was hearing the heart of a man whose heart was so like mine own. So, I began watching Lawrance . . . to see what kind of man he really was. I liked what I saw.
I remember I shared a lot of things about Christians at STU and tried to invite her to join the Christian fellowship on campus. I don’t remember how long I talked with her. I guess it might have been around 30 minutes, crazy huh!? Well . . . at that time I did not think there was any possibility between Amanda and I. Only Heaven knew we would become a couple and would eventually become husband and wife!
Unfortunately lack of energy is a vicious cycle–no energy to cook good stuff = eating out; eating out = not always eating the best foods; not eating healthy = no energy. So, during the midterm week, when I wasn't grading tests or catching up on laundry. I searched for some recipes to turn into the 30 meals project that My requirements were that the recipes:
Finding meals that meet all four requirements was no small task! Although Lawrance is generally easy going and not too picky about food, finding things we both love to eat often has proved to be a challenge. So, my first recipe test was something I found at Cooking During Stolen Moments: Apricot Chicken. It was SO easy and best of all packed full of flavor!! I kinda went a bit overboard using freshly cracked black pepper and might have used extra garlic–so our's was not only tangy, but spicy too–she does say to season to taste. :) This is probably the least low-carb recipe I collected since it uses apricot jam, but it is definitely something I'll be making again before too long. Side-note to anyone in Taiwan wanting to give this a try: I used half of a jar of Carrefour brand apricot jam (french name on bottle) to cover 6 chicken breast quarters. like grandfather,
like husband . . . or something like that. :)
I love my two clowns!! Besides sharing a similar costume idea, my two clowns both LOVE children and are also both great big kids at heart!! Gotta love my clowns!! We found out this week that Lawrance's mom has stage 3 liver cancer. We've been told to expect her time left on earth to not be very long.
We would very much appreciate prayers for the Wu family right now. The one praise this week has been that Wu MaMa accepted Christ as her savior on Wednesday. After Lawrance shared his testimony, a dear Christian friend invited Wu MaMa to believe and she did. Father is merciful to the end. I am so thankful for his patience and mercy!! Praise Him! So, in the midst of a heartbreaking situation there is hope. Right now, I will just leave it at this . . . we thank you for going to the Father on our behalf. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (Psalm 121) Years ago . . . maybe about 8 . . . Lawrance was a new Christian. He attended a "One Day Taiwan" conference. When scanning in photos a while back for our wedding montage, I saw this photo from that conference.
And, after looking at the younger version of Lawrance, looked back a few rows and saw a red head that I recognized! Someone I knew from college was in Lawrance's photo! I even emailed her (ok, facebooked her) and asked if it really was her. In fact, several people from my college in America were at the same conference in Taiwan that Lawrance was at. It's a small world. To celebrate our first year of marriage, Lawrance and I went to Kenting for three days. We had a great time just being together, relaxing, and being in a beautiful place!! As for "anniversary traditions," we've decided to read our vows to each other each year and to write and then read a card to each other each year. We'd also like to make it a tradition to just get away for at least one day to be together alone. This time, Lawrance choose for us to read our vows and cards to each other on the beach. We got there a bit late (after sunset) so we used his cell phone as our flashlight to read to each other on the darkened beach. It was really sweet.  {we first took a tourism train–to kaohsiung–huge seats} ~*~*~*~*~*~
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~*~*~*~*~*~ We did go to the beach twice . . . but those photos are on Law's cell phone. And, even though we used 50 SPF, we both still got sunburned. :( I love you Lawrance!! I thank God daily for making you my husband. What a privilege to walk life next to you, with you. What great joy is mine . . . all because God is kind and gave me to you and you to me. Happy 1st Anniversary, LaoGong!! I am SO excited by what a good friend handed to me last night!! She passed on to me a CD of videos from our Taiwanese wedding! Here is the first thing I saw . . . Lawrance singing to me a song entitled "Vows" after we had exchanged our vows. I got giddy just listening to it last night!! My Groom Sings To Me from amanda wu on Vimeo. I LOVE listening to him sing . . . and I often ask him to sing me to sleep. I am blessed! One of our favorite restaurants is called DuDu Cafe. It is a family style restaurant that serves food that is most similar to Chinese dishes you might find in the States.
Now do you see why we like it? DELICIOUS!!! Today is Father's Day in Taiwan. Here's why:
Actually, many people here are surprised to hear that Father's Day in America is not August 8th but rather in June. Today is also the 2nd typhoon day in a row. Typhoon 莫拉克 has been perhaps the biggest typhoon I've ever experienced. Officially 6 have died and over 20,000 have been evacuated. We've had heavy rain and wind for two days in a row now. It was dumping 3-6 feet of rain per hour. And, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, "the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 144kph." Signs, plants, and mopeds have been down all over our city, streetlights aren't working, tree limbs are in the streets, and intersections are flooded. We took Lawrance's parents out to lunch despite the typhoon, but other than that, we've been locked inside. So, I'd like to let Lawrance introduce his parents to you. So, please meet my in-laws:
Sunday, after worshiping the most high God and fellowshiping with our church family, Lawrance and I took a three hour nap. I guess we were tired. :) When we woke up, Lawrance asked if he could invite me to the beach. I said, "Yes!! Let's go now, before the sunsets!!" We got there and were actually surprised to see so many people there! Last time we were there it was during the school year, and we were the only ones there. :) This beach is only about 8 minutes from our house . . . we should go there more often. And it's cool because the sand is black. So, here we are last spring and this summer . . . then just dating and now married 11 months . . .
God is kind! :) I am so thankful to my very generous AbBa Fu (Daddy God) who has given me such a kind, considerate, patient husband who cherishes me, protects me, meets my needs, and invites me to go with him to the beach!! :) I learned something very important about the Chinese language within the last two weeks. It actually shocked me to learn something so important this late in the game. How I missed it all these years, I do not know. Here is what I learned: In Chinese, when you want to show respect, you use the third person and avoid personal pronouns such as "you" and "me."
This concept is covered in Intro to Chinese 101. Nothing surprising there. But, it wasn't until I've overheard my husband on the phone many times recently talking to his boss–a manager. Unlike other conversations, I heard no "you." I only heard her title "manager." So, for example instead of "I got your message," he'd say "I got the manager's message" and instead of "thank you, manager" it is "thanks, manager." Bells were ringing all over in my head . . . connections being made left and right. I was totally "getting" many aspects of culture (that I thought I knew) at a whole new deeper level. It was a great feeling. Addressing someone by their title ALL the time and avoiding using even the polite "ning" form of you, is how you show respect. GOT IT!! After making this connection last week, I asked my husband about it . . .and then I asked him about his prayers. When he prays in Chinese he NEVER uses the first person. So, instead of "I want to thank you for my wife" the prayer is "Child thanks God for the wife given to Child." And instead of "Please help me to . . . ," it is "please help Child to . . . "
So, my exciting linguistic cultural breakthrough led to something even more exciting and meaningful . . . a special reminder about prayer. I couldn't stop thinking about the implications of calling myself "child" in prayer. Amazing how something that native English speakers use to be proud and arrogant–speaking of themselves in the third person–is used to show humility and respect by native Chinese speakers. So, I now know that avoiding "you" in Chinese and replacing it with the person's title is a great sign of respect, but avoiding "me" and replacing it with a word that describes my relationship with the person is an even greater sign of respect. And, as I often say in class, "interesting, huh?"
After we got the new camera, we, unfortunately and fortunately, learned that our older camera wasn't as broken as we thought. (Unfortunately since we didn't "need" to buy a new camera, and fortunately because now we each have our own camera.) At first we thought it was just the perpetually shaking shutter, which rendered the camera useless even with power. And, then since "fully charged" batteries were not able to power up the camera for more than five seconds, we assumed that it was dead for sure. When we got the battery charger for the new camera, we noticed our older camera batteries fit inside, so we charged our old batteries in the new charger. We discovered that the perpetual shaking of the shutter stopped once the batteries were charged with our new charger. So, it wasn't our camera that was broken. And it wasn't our batteries that were bad. So, it must have been our older battery charger, right? But, the sad thing is . . . the charger wasn't broken either. The charger was just dusty, so the connection was bad. So, I got a new camera all because we have lots of dust in Taiwan. So . . . the moral of the story is if you think you have a bad camera or bad batteries, make sure the charger is clean before you reach your final verdict on the state of your camera. :) Anywho, here are some of the photos we've taken with our new camera:
{our Sunday ritual of "ice"} ~*~*~
{cutest bug zapper ever} ~*~*~
{one of Law's fav snacks–dried tofu–kinda like "tofu jerky"}
{where I teach English on Fridays–at a livestock research institute}
{buying a train ticket} As Mrs. Happy Housewife guessed from some great observation . . he was waiting for a hair cut!! Here is the ticket that the machine gave us . . . the store is called “Just Cut House” because all they do is cut hair–no washing, no styling, noting else but cutting.
And here is a before and after. :)
As Lisa mentioned, it is really simple–at first she trimmed him up, but then I told him just go for it and get it buzzed all over. It’s perfect for summer time. :) And do you know what!! My man has curly hair too!! Granted not nearly as tight a curl as mine, but there is some definite curl going on there. Too cute!!
Everyone keeps asking me what I'm doing for my summer break. I reply "just being a housewife." Without exception every Taiwanese friend, student, and stranger I've had this conversation with then expresses their sympathies for me, trying to cheer me up. What they don't realize is that I need no cheering up. I am SO looking forward to the month of July where I get to be a full time housewife for the first time in my life. I've already enjoyed these past two weeks of laundry and washing dishes . . . it's so much easier and more enjoyable when I can do it during my day as time allows and as my work for the day rather than as a chore I must squeeze in before going to work. They don't get it. I don't know. Maybe you won't either . . . maybe you think, "silly girl, wait to you've done ten (twenty, thirty) years of your man's dirty laundry–then we'll talk about the 'joy' you have then."
Depending on the situation and/or depth of the relationship, I will remind them that not too long ago I was living alone all day everyday. Now, I have someone to anticipate coming home to me. Now, I get to eagerly wait for him to call me and return back to me. It's WAY better than living alone 24/7. And, crazy as it may sound, it is way more fun to clear the table, change the sheets, dust the furniture, or what-have-you when I know I am blessing someone else. When it was just me living here . . . OH it was SO miserable "keeping house." I hated it with a passion. I secretly wondered if I'd even make a good wife. My married friends were able to manage their households of 3 or 4 or 5 . . . . and me? well, I was struggling with my little household of 1. :( I know I wouldn't score perfectly in housekeeping 101 (I thank God my hubby is so patient and understanding), but I do know (again, crazy as it may sound) keeping house is a lot more fun and rewarding and joyful when I'm not the only one making the messes. ;) So, yes, I totally look forward to a "boring" summer of being a stay-at-home wife. I'll be honest: it almost feels as if I get to "play" at being a house keeping wife. And, actually, it feels like I'm getting to live my dream. For the latter half of my 20's I dreamed about being married . . . I longed to have someone's socks to wash and underwear to fold. Speaking of . . . I think there's a basket a clean laundry awaiting me in the other room right now as I speak! Sunday evening at about 9 pm, after visiting with Law's parents, we stopped by the grocery store for some milk and chocolate ice cream (basic necessities, you know). After walking into the grocery store, Law saw this and just had to stop and get in line. He put 100 NT (about 3 US dollars) into the machine and it gave him a ticket with a number. So, can you guess what he prepaid for? Why is he waiting in line?
By the way, the red light means wait time will be 15 min, yellow means wait time will be between 5-10 minutes, and green light means no wait necessay. I think we waited about 3-5 minutes . . . not too bad for a Sunday night! :) |
Hi! We are Lawrance and Amanda Wu. We live in Taiwan--a little tea leaf shaped island in Asia. Amanda is from Texas and Lawrance from Tainan. We met, fell in love and married in 2008. We both teach English and both love to tell others about Jesus. We also both really enjoy laughing, and we both just happen to enjoy "ching cha," a type of fabulous green tea. Thanks for stopping by our blog. Wuhoo!                      
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From Lawrance’s View:
From Amanda’s View:
