tainanWe are off on a mini-vacation.  We are going to Tainan, a city in the south, to stay in a big hotel for three days.  Tainan is supposed to be a very traditional place, with lots of old temples, narrow streets, and the best food in Taiwan.  Foreigners, we are told, like Tainan a lot.  Amazingly, we’ve never been.

Only Yrsa and Rima are coming with us.  Saga and Beata went with my friend professor Ted and his Master’s students on a hike to the center of Taiwan.  This is where the high mountains are.  Hard to believe for such a small island, but Taiwan has 100 peaks over 3000 meters.  A very upbeat Saga called me yesterday from somewhere way above the clouds.  They are staying in a hostel, playing cards and making friends.  It was only 11 degrees she said.  I’m glad the two older girls get to do something different.  They are fed up sitting at home hearing their parents talk about nutrition and treatment options.

We didn’t have a proper family vacation this year.  I and Yrsa went to Beijing at the end of June — foolishly postponing a doctor’s visit by two weeks — but the others stayed at home.  The original idea was that we should go to visit our American family.  It’s been six years — a long time, especially in the life of a four-year old like Rima.  Then of course my cancer intervened.  Now a mini-vacation is about all we can manage.

We are taking the high-speed train down to Tainan, and I’m planning to remain in air-conditioned locations.  Everyone says Tainan is very hot this time of year.

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