Congratulations to my amazing husband!!

First off, we have BIG news! A few months ago, Nick was nominated by his professor, Dr. Cooks, for the 2008-2009 Merck Graduate Fellowship in Analytical and Physical Chemistry. This fellowship is given to one outstanding graduate student at each of several top graduate analytical chemistry program around the nation. Tonight, we found out that Nick has been selected as Purdue's recipient! I am soooo proud of him! Needless to say, we are very excited!! This will be a wonderful addition to his resume.

Ok, now for our "Taiwan" news. It was another hot, sunny day here in Hualien. Something finally happened this morning that we have been expecting - we (well, more like I) locked ourselves out of the room. I had just gotten back from my jog and ran out to put some laundry in the washer. Normally, it is almost impossible to lock yourself out, because the lock automatically unlocks itself when you open the door handle from the inside. However, if you don't turn it the entire way around, it stays locked. I guess I didn't turn it enough, because when I came back the door was locked. I had no idea what to do! I knocked on our neighbors' doors but no one was home. So I rode the bike to Wen Ping's lab on campus to tell Nick what had happened. I was soooo embarrassed! Not only did I lock us out, but I was still in my sweaty workout clothes. Luckily, Wen Ping was able to contact the landlord and he came and unlocked the door. He even invited us over to his pond to fish. How nice?!?

Tonight, we went out to dinner with everyone from Wen Ping's lab. We had a wonderful time. Wen Ping's wife and children came along too. His children are just too cute, and his wife is very sweet. The restaurant had "hot pots", which I have previously described as being similiar to fondue. Tonight's food was much better than my previous experience. We enjoyed a wide variety of meat and vegetables and some "sweet" soup for dessert.





Nick and I both have learned an amazing lesson from the people that we've met here in Taiwan. Acts of kindness and generosity go a long way and are very much appreciated. We have been very blessed by many people during our journey. We are both thankful and at times embarressed, by our how nice everyone has been to us.


Tomorrow is a big day for us, I get to start packing to come home and it marks the one week countdown. Can't wait to see everyone!!!