day 106_bittersweet New Year's Eve

Friday was hard, because I knew it was my last full day with my husband for awhile. By the time I picked him up from the hotel (my husband and my sister's boyfriend went into hiding for our all-girls slumber party...) it was already maybe 11 o'clock?

My sister and her boy-o headed to back to Oklahoma, leaving the hubby and I to each other for the rest of my time in the States. By this last day, I was becoming pretty exhausted. I never switched to OK/TX time - which, in retrospect, was certainly to my advantage - and it left me tired at all of the wrong times... especially on a day when I had things to finish before my looming departure!

The last full day was as expected, packing, prepping to leave, and finishing a few last minute errands... and it was New Year's Eve! Truth be told I fell asleep... but I'm looking forward to a great new year.

And while I was sleeping (or technically 14 hours before that) Taiwan was ringing in the new year with the annual TAIPEI 101 fireworks celebration!

Each year TAIPEI 101 hosts the biggest firework display in the city, which is highly anticipated by all - I can't even tell you how many people told me about the upcoming fireworks, and when the big day arrived, I wasn't in Taipei to see it! But if you would like to watch, the show is of course recorded on You Tube for the whole wide world to see (it is pretty impressive):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV0xjxYnouw&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_stronger_r2-2r-1-HM

Not only did Taiwan celebrate the beginning of 2011, but actually Taiwan keeps it's own calendar based on when the R.O.C. was founded and 2011 is especially important because it is the 100th year of the R.O.C. Yes, this actually means that when I date government forms or similar here in Taiwan, I have to write the month, the date, and the year is "100"...

***Happy 2011 to everyone!***

Happy 100 to Taiwan!