In 2005, on my trip to Taiwan, was a girl named Megan. Though we were on a team together, we did not really get to know one another too well at the time. Both of us returned to Taiwan in '06 & were then roommates. Sharing the same room, we spent much time together & became close friends. Megan lived in Columbia, MO & unfortunately (well, sad for those of us here that miss her) recently moved to Memphis, TN. I decided to go spend a weekend with Megan before she left & I had the time of my life. I venture to say, it was probably one of the greatest times I've had since I left Taiwan last summer. Continually asking me what I wanted to do & receiving no answers, Megan took me to the Columbia Mall. She thought of something that I would greatly appreciate & she was right, I certainly did. Before we arrived, she told me we would stop at this place that had milk tea. What is milk tea you may ask? Well, it's a concotion we had in Taiwan. I was looking forward to that but it all became much more exciting when we actually arrived at the place, I looked at the menu & saw....slushies...Passion Fruit slushies. I know, you're thinking this is no big deal. If you would have been in Taiwan, you would grasp the meaning of this. The slushies there are like no other. We would go 3-4 times a day to buy them & once back in America, our thoughts would wander back to them & long for the taste of one (they still do). I wondered how close it would be to the real deal. Though I like milk tea, I do not like it nearly as much as the slushies. I ordered my slushie, they handed it to me & it was all over. One sip & I felt like I was standing right there back in Taiwan. Identical!! What made this even better were the girls working at the place. They are from Taiwan. Megan would go there fairly frequently (when she got bored) so she'd developed a friendship with them & they were quite excited to see her & to meet me (especially when she shared with them that I too, had been to Taiwan). After visiting with them for a while, one of the girls introduced us to her sister, Amy, who was sitting there writing a paper on her laptop. Amy is in the states visiting until the end of August & will then return to Taiwan to teach at Meinung Middle School--the same school in which we taught! Meinung is a very small town in Taiwan--most of the people I've met from Taiwan are unfamiliar with it. Yet, there we were with 3 people who all knew Meinung. Megan & I laughed & talked with Amy for at least a 1/2 hour if not longer. I was able to take Megan's picture with the workers & then Amy & I had a picture taken together. She was eager to get her camera out so she'd have a copy of she & I as well. I left there on cloud nine. Questioning what to do, Megan had the perfect idea in mind when she took me in there. Continuing with our reminiscing theme, she then took me to the Hong Kong Market. As we were walking in, Megan was discussing how it stunk. However, that stinch reminded us both of a place oh so dear to our hearts, Taiwan. We roamed around for a bit looking at many of the things that we saw in the stores in Taiwan. I was delighted to find Apple Cider Soda which we drank quite a bit while in Taiwan. I didn't have to give it much consideration--I bought a 6 pack to bring home with me. One of the reasons Megan goes there is because it's covered with Asian people. We both love to be near the Asian culture.As Megan said, "This is like our Taiwan." We figured that since we weren't able to go there this year, that was as close as we could get to experiencing it all again. After church on that Sunday, we had lunch at a Mongolian Barbecue...had us some Chinese food. We shared our memories about Taiwan food...we miss the dirty, fried rice stand. No, seriously..we do. The place may have been filthy but I've never had fried rice that taste that good. Nothing in America thus far can compete with it. Upon leaving Megan's, I asked for directions back to the mall. She laughed when I told her I was going back to the drink stand. I know, it sounds crazy but once you've tried one...you can't get enough. I went back & the girls were oh so happy to see me again. We talked briefly. They guessed that I wanted the same thing I had before--the Passion Fruit Slushie. They were correct. They informed me of a closer location to St. Louis & though I'll go there sometime, I assured them that I would come visit them again. They said, "Cause we from Taiwan?!" I replied with, "Yes, because you are from Taiwan & we are friends now." They gave me an extra drink at no charge for the road as well. Megan & I got both of their e-mail addresses as well as & I hope to keep in contact with them. All of that only makes me wish to be in Taiwan again. Perhaps…someday. As for now, I’m headed to Jeff City for the weekend & visiting Columbia is a must--Lollicup, here we come!
