As the sun was waking up here in Taipei, Chad and I crawled out of bed and stumbled across the hall to our friends' apartment. From the moment they welcomed Chad and Elena into their home and invited them to dinner and breakfast and lunch and dinner again on their first few days here, while the big typhoon hit Taipei last summer, they have been like family to us. We have celebrated the birth of their daughter, hung out and shared adventures. This morning, they loaded 15 suitcases, an oversize stroller and their family into a van that took them away from Taipei forever. We couldn't let them go without one last hug.
I came home from work and walked past their apartment. It no longer has the colorful drawing that their girls made, taped to the door. I didn't hear any squeals of delight coming from within. It's empty and sad.
After dinner, Chad and I headed over to a nearby apartment and unpacked a welcome kit. I made the beds, Chad got the kitchen ready. We put a few items for breakfast in the refrigerator and a basket of fruit on the counter. Tomorrow a new family will be arriving at post. This is life in the State Department. Hellos and Goodbyes.
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