Made in Taiwan

Three of our four children were 'made in Taiwan' - well conceived at least! We lived in Taiwan from 1995 - 1998. Before leaving for Taiwan we had miscarried our first child right on 12 weeks leaving us devastated and sad. It took another 18months before I fell pregnant again so when I was 'with child' in Taiwan, was overjoyed! In Taiwan as with China, males are still highly prized over females, so when I went for the first scan, the obstetrician excitedly blurted out, it's a boy! Unlike our Aussie culture whereby the sonographer would ask if you wanted to know the gender of your child or not, in Taiwan they just tell you unless you tell them not too! 


Whilst in Taiwan there was a meningitis outbreak/epidemic. In 3 months, 74 children had died of the disease. During this time, the government & media were advising families with young children to stay indoors as much as possible, to avoid going to crowded places! A tall ask for a county that is one of the world's most densely populated, over 1300 people per square kilometer, land mass half the size of Tasmania with the population of Australia (21million) living there in only 1/3 of the country as the rest  inhabitable due to the mountainous terrain. 


We had the 2 boys at the time and I was pregnant with our 3rd. We tried as much as viable to stay indoors, not frequenting the local parks or shops with the boys, then aged Mr EQ, 2yrs and Deep Waters, only 9 months old. 


Finally after a 3month period, it was announced that the epidemic was under control and it was safe to return to normal activities. I still clearly & fondly remember the very first time taking the boys to the park. We were walking towards the park and Josiah yells out as he starts running towards other children in the park, "people, people, people'! It was then I realised he was a raging extrovert! 


My first born has a beautiful way with people, now 16yrs, he sincerely cares about his mates & loves meeting new people. At Christmas time we visited an elderly lady who we have 'adopted' as our surrogate Grandma, (because all out grandparents have died), we spent some time Christmas Eve with her, Mr EQ enjoyed conversation with her about this, that & the other. When we got in the car after the visit he commented, "that's seriously one nice lady right there'! 


Again my heart was strangely warmed within me, not too many 16yr old lads would enjoy sitting with a 'strange old lady' but he did. We then drove into the city to see the Christmas lights in the city. Driving home chatting in the car, each of my children said the best thing about Christmas Eve was visiting our newly 'adopted' Grandma & making her day! Not the lights, not the family outing, but her! Again my heart was warm within me.