About 4 days or so ago, my illness flared up again. I started coughing with major sinus congestion. I have been laid up at my brother’s house. My new sister-in-law thought I was having an asthma attack, as my wheezing returned to life with a vengeance. I am planning to go to the doctor, although I don’t have insurance. I never fell under the Obamacare mandate because I live abroad so much. No, I will have to pay out of pocket, as I have been too cheap to have gone before.
Leaving Taiwan was in some ways a great thing, yet in others terrible. I made many great friends at the Taipei Ward – Bishop Weddle and his family, Bros. Frost, Sevey, Linton, Pendleton & their families. the ladies and gentlemen of the single adults. Jean-Francois & Vivian Morin and the Sheffers in particular. Love those guys. Except when Jamison Sheffer brings up football…dude doesn’t know what he is talking about. I will also miss the senior missionary couples who took me under their wing, in particular the Funks and the Browns. All great people, far too many to name here. <3 I also got to spend more time with my meimei (little sister), Masako, as she arrived in Taiwan in February for work. I loved spending time with her.
I met a lot of wonderful people and yet it feels like a great waste as well. I spent so much time being ill that I was not able to accomplish the purpose of my time in that beautiful country. I was too sick to study or work, so I saw my savings draining away to the point that I knew I had to go back to work. I did not get to spend time visiting the island and getting to know the people as I wanted. I spent most of my time lying in bed, hoping that my illness would pass. I have weak lungs and Taipei’s combination of wet & cold winters conspired to bring me low. I became ill around the beginning of December, with what I thought was the flu, something that should have dissipated after a week or two. Unfortunately, it proved more tenacious and stayed with me for over five months. Like a idiot, I avoided going to the doctor (medical care is cheaper in Asia) because I don’t like going to the doctor. It flared up repeatedly and still to this day lays me low.
Yes, leaving Taiwan has caused me to fill emotionally split. I have not felt such homesickness before, except for my first time abroad. Without my work or studies to occupy my time, I came near to climbing the walls of my tiny bedroom. Yet, I enjoyed the little moments spent with friends or teaching a class at church. I am split, true, but am really happy to go home.