The Final D3490 Inbound Activity, and Other Notable Events

This week has contained several events which I have deemed worthy of sharing with you.
The first is that I moved from my third host family back to my first. This occurred on Wednesday, and was a relatively quick affair, conducted entirely by the ladies of each family. I haven't decided yet whether I should bother unpacking... it seems almost a waste of time to do so, since I have less than 3 weeks to live here... This is because on June 29th, my entire American family (blood family, that is - my 'other sister' Michelle will not be joining us) will be arriving in Taipei! We'll travel around the island together until the 10th, (my wonderful host mother, Maggie, has been very helpful in creating a schedule for this) and then we will all return to New Mexico and continue preparing for Celia's exchange.
I shared this news with my host Rotary club at our meeting on Friday, and it was very well-received. A few club members have already stated their intentions to treat us all to dinner. This creates a different sort of 'problem' - we will only be in Hualien for 3 days! Somebody is going to be disappointed... Perhaps quite a few people!
Here's a fun tidbit for you all: the sun rises around 5 AM here, and sets about 12-13 hours later. So it was, indeed, bright and early when I boarded the train to Taipei at 6:20 AM on Saturday morning for the final D3490 YEP Inbound Activity. This took place in Shulin, at a place called Dann Farm. Dann Farm provides job opportunities for people with disabilities and provided us, the YEP students, with DIY opportunities. We transformed plain, colorless soaps into heart inside a heart, scented, colored soaps (using dyes, scents, and molds). Then we made wooden door-plaques or number plates; mine has a crazy owl and the Chinese character for strength, 力. We also received certificates for our exchange, as well as a rather expensive pottery mug with swans painted on it. I said goodbye to the other exchange students, understanding that I will not be seeing some of them for a couple of weeks, some for some time, and some others ever again.
Taken all together, it's quite a lot to handle. My emotions are going haywire... I'm heartbroken that I will be leaving Taiwan and all my Taiwanese friends; excited to see my family and introduce them to my other families, amazing friends, and breathtaking sights that Taiwan has to offer; awed that I have had this amazing opportunity and determined not to waste my remaining time in this, my second home; proud beyond measure of and thrilled for Celia, whose exchange will be, I'm sure, as incredible as she is; and yet somewhat sad that I'll have such a short time to spend with her before she rushes off to have her own adventures. Yet, overall, I am excited. Excited for myself for everything that I'll get to do in the next few months. Excited for my family to get to see how I've been living. Excited for my sister to go on her exchange. Excited for my brother to go to college. Excited! ^_^