While the kids were in camp today we strolled the surrounding area near the apartment we’ll finally be moving into and wow, were we delighted with what we found. Just two minutes walk from our front door is a beautiful park in a pristine tropical setting.

There’s a rushing stream strewn with boulders and dappled with sunlight.

And next to the stream is a sign to say that drowning is prohibited.

We enjoyed a beautiful hiking trail that winds through tropical growths of bamboo and banyan trees and takes you to a basketball court, a playground and a small roller skating rink. Butterflies fluttered to and fro, lizards skittered in the undergrowth.

Frankly we were awestruck. How did we get so lucky? That Becky found a job in a country we’ve never been to and we chose an apartment on the edge of the city that happens to be right next to a park where we can walk our dogs, play with our kids and just enjoy the beauty of our tropical environment.

Of course there had to be at least one drawback…lightning.

We’ll post more about our new apartment and the neighborhood after we move in later this week. But this park was something we felt we had to share now.

Stay tuned…and don’t forget we love and miss you all.

 

 

Where do you go when it’s 91 degrees in the shade and 85% humidity? If you have any sense, you go to the nearest public pool. That’s what we did today and, although Griff & Bo may have complained during the entire 20 minute walk there – “I’m tired. I’m thirsty. When are we gonna get there?” – once we arrived they had a ball. The Tien Mu (our neighborhood in Taipei) is fairly impressive with both indoor and outdoor facilities. Outdoor is a very nice Olympic sized pool that runs from 4′ to 6.5′ deep.

Indoors there is a “Spa” area with lots of weird water features, like a cold immersion bath, lots of bubbling seats and nozzles plus a sauna and steam room.

Also indoors there is a 25 yard pool with a kiddie pool and slide on the other side.

And they sell hot dogs (no bun, just a dog on a stick), ice cream, soft drinks and lots of stuff I was culturally unable to identify. Another curious thing about Taiwan is everyone, I mean everyone – including bald guys like me – has to wear a swim cap. NO EXCEPTIONS! I even tried showing my freshly shaved scalp but no dice. But the boys and I did have a lot of fun fooling around and they enjoyed their ice creams almost as much as swimming with Dad.

Stay tuned for more adventures … like our visit to the Taipei Zoo to see REAL PANDAS. And remember we love and miss you all…

Contrary to what you might think, the G9 on top of the cake is not symbolic of the Group of 9 but rather symbolizes Griffin on his 9th birthday – the first family celebration in our new home of Taipei. He was very happy to be nine years old and even happier when I explained to him at 6 in the morning that if we were in Cleveland, he would still be eight.

We all dove into that cake and I must say it was quite delicious!

Of course Bodhi couldn’t wait to show us what the cake looks like when it’s in his mouth.

Griffin received three new additions to his already impressive Hero Factory squad here in Taipei.

Plus he has a new game on order for his Nintendo 3DS. Either they didn’t have it at the ToysRUs in Taipei or we just did a lousy job asking the guy who spoke no English but at least we were able to order it online. At any rate, little celebrations like these start to make our new country feel more like home. Stay tuned for more and don’t forget that we love and miss you all… –The Klars Afar

Howdy, Folks. Sorry for the lack of posts but we’ve been very busy, jet-lagged, suffering from heat exhaustion, and I have plenty of other excuses but I’m sure you’re not interested so let’s get right to it. After flying out of San Francisco on Monday morning at 1 AM, we arrived in Taipei at 6 AM Tuesday morning – flight was 13 hours or so (not sure because I was mostly sleeping, drooling and wallowing in bad movies).

Next stop was Baggage Claim where we found Jake and Scout safe and sound and extremely happy to see us again since this was the longest part of the trip.

We only had a few minutes to spend with them before they had to go to Quarantine (more on that later) so we had an emotional farewell again too soon. We were picked up by the head of HR of Taipei American School (TAS) and driven to our temporary apartment (which we’re still in today). It’s a nice place a few minutes walk from where we’ll eventually be living – home to an American family gone home for the Summer. They have two kids too so it’s perfectly equipped with toys and stuff to keep Griff & Bo happy.

The next day we went to  TAS for a tour and meeting with HR. What an impressive place – more like a college campus than a K-12 school.

We have also had a chance to see Jake & Scout in the Quarantine Facility. It’s located in central Taipei in a Veterinary Research Hospital on a University Campus.

The staff is very kind and caring and it was soooo reassuring to see how healthy and happy the dogs were.

The kids have started day camp at the school and they’re having a great time. They come home tired and hungry which is great for getting them to go to bed later Plus we have the daytime to attend to all the details of starting our life anew.

Most importantly for starting that life anew is (drumroll please) a visit to Ikea!

We’re all getting used to the food, the heat, the humidity and the joys of air conditioning. I’ll try to post more often and please let us know any questions you might have through the comments function of our blog.

We love and miss you all…

 

Our second day in San Francisco just happened to be Father’s Day, my second favorite day of the year next to Becky’s birthday.  It started early with Becky taking Jake & Scout for a walk while I entertained the boys once they woke up with a game I created called the Double Bed Jump. Here’s a 12-second snippet of how it worked.

Once she returned, it was my turn to hit the pavement for a nice long run along the bay. I enjoyed it immensely, especially the fresh air and scenery.

Then we took Jake, Scout, Griffin & Bo in a cab to the Millbrae BART station and caught a train (thrilling for 6-year old Bo but no big deal for worldly, nonchalant 8-year old Griff) to the Embarcadero stop and we walked to Fisherman’s Wharf. Bodhi wanted to see the sea lions, Griffin wanted to stop walking (claimed his legs hurt) and Becky just wanted some refreshment.

Griff got some shades and a new hat so he could be cool like Dad. I got a heartwarming moment with my first-born son.

It brought back a lot of memories to see The Rock again.

I haven’t been back there since I escaped in 1962 and I’m relieved that Griffin didn’t believe me when I told him my story.

Then it was back to the Hotel for dinner, adult beverages and relaxing video games.

Finally, we were off to the airport on the Hotel Shuttle with our 4 giant suitcases, two sons and two dogs in their carriers for a 1:40 AM flight to start our new life in another country halfway around the world.

It’s hard for anyone to fathom the endless details involved in moving two adults, two children and two Jack Russell Terriers halfway across the world, plus all the accouterments of an entire household accumulated over the last 20 years. What do you ship? What do you pack? What do you give away? What do you donate? And where do you start? Trust me when I say it was indeed a daunting task. My wife, who shouldered most of the responsibility since she is infinitely more detail-oriented than I am, would certainly agree. But without a doubt, the hardest part is leaving such great friends behind. We have been sooooo blessed to form relationships with fabulous people.  And leaving you all behind is definitely the most difficult aspect of our journey. Here are some photos of our various farewell gatherings…hope to see you all again soon – somewhere in this world of ours.

 

Here is a selfie of Clyde attempting to take a selfie that does not make his inordinately large head appear quite so huge.