2011 A Year in Review

The year 2010 has shaped up to be a momentous year. While there were many celebratory events throughout this year, the passing of Felicia’s mom in September was one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. After battling Diabetics for over forty years, strokes for ten and Leukemia for the past three years, Dr. Margaret C. Fung passed away peacefully in the evening of September 10th, 2010, surrounded by her family members. Apart from being a Mom and a Wife, Felicia’s Mom was a great friend to many and a pioneer in the field of Library Science. At her memorial service, she was decorated by President Ma Yin-Jou with both the flag of the KMT and the Republic of China flag. Her ashes now rest in peace in Seattle.

The year started with the conclusion of our family reunion in Taiwan where we traveled to Kenting and Tainan. New Year’s Eve was spent at our home where we caught a glimpse of the fireworks at Taipei 101 from our rooftop. For Spring Break, Nick took the plunge and went to Cambodia with the Taipei International Church Mission to help the local orphans for the week. He slept many nights under the sky on a thin mattress with only mosquitoes and a constant layer of sweat covering him. Matthew, on the other hand, went to Hokkaido, Japan to ski with his friend Luc, Felicia and Auntie Vivian Tsai. When everyone’s away, Peter took his parents who had visited us during the winter, back to Toronto. For the summer, we again traveled back to California. For a change, we made a side trip to Washington DC where we visited the sights and met up with many great friends. Another highlight of the summer was the Segway Tour of Oakland, Uncle Howard (Peter’s brother-in-law) arranged for the boys. Both boys also played tennis at Moraga and made the trip to Nike Tennis Camp in Santa Cruz. Amazingly, Nick won the Camper of the week award at the Nike Tennis Camp and the Camper of the Season Award at the Moraga Country Club for being the hardest worker and showing the most enthusiasm. We will be traveling to California again this winter to have our family reunion. As usual, we will have lots of food and hopefully some good weather so we can play some tennis and golf. The boys will want to go skiing with Uncle Howard in Tahoe. We have also planned an “I-Fly” trip for the boys, where they will “parachute indoor.”

Nick is now 15, tenth grader at TAS and already bigger than Peter in many ways. He is now the official DJ at Taipei American School. He works all of the Middle School dances as well as the two major fairs held by the PTA. He controlled lights and sounds for the various events that took place during the year including the Culture Convention. He has also been inducted into the Thespian Society as a freshman and was the Stage Manager for the Upper School production in the fall. His main interests remain in the back-stage though he did make a cameo appearance as a pigeon and a chicken in the Upper School production of Animal Farm. Using his argumentative skills to the max, Nick represented TAS as one of the participants in the Taiwan Model United Nation (TaiMUN) conference in Taichung this spring. He was the Junior Consolation Champion of the American Club Spring Tennis Tournament and almost made it on the TAS Varsity Tennis Team (last one to be cut). During the summer, Nick completed his long-time goal of riding his bicycle to Lafayette from Moraga.

Matthew who turned 13 in April is now an eighth grader at TAS. Following his brother’s footstep, Matthew was also named the recipient of the TAS Magic Award in the spring. He is still an avid tennis player; climb rocks (walls and a few outdoor natural rocks) as well as a wide variety of other activities. He participated in the TAS Middle School’s production of the “A Night in the Wax Museum” where he played a pirate. He was the runner up in main draw of junior division of the ACC Spring Tennis Tournament and came in third in the Moraga Country Club 15 and Under Tennis Tournament. Additionally, he was chosen to be TAS’s Eighth Grade Intramural Softball Team where they went 5-0 in the Middle School Softball Tournament and came in first. Matt played second base and made many put outs playing in that position.

Felicia has continued to serve on the TAS Board. Since hurting her shoulders almost 18 months ago, she has lay off tennis but has begun to visit the ACC gym for an occasional workout. Overall, she has begun to cope with the lost of her Mother.

Peter will turn 50 at the end of this year. He has continued to play tennis, doubles league on Thursday evenings and early Sunday morning tennis with a group of friends. He joins the ACC Tennis Committee in May and is now involved with improving the Club’s tennis program for everyone. Peter was also invited to join the Board of a soon-to-be-listed Taiwanese company this summer, pushing him to become a little bit more “productive” in his leisurely life. Additionally, he has taken over as the underground co-manager of the TAS Bookstore this fall, helping to reshape the Bookstore’s activities to promote children reading.

Apart from Peter’s 50th birthday, we also celebrated Felicia’s parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary and her Dad’s 80th birthday in May with over 100 of their friends. Peter’s Dad celebrated his 90th in November with Peter, his Mom, his two sisters and 30 of his parents’ friends in Toronto. The boys have continued to grow taller and stronger and we have continued to age. We will try to stay happy and healthy and continue to look for opportunities where we can be of assistance to others.

In closing, we like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. If we didn’t see you in 2010, we hope to catch up with you in 2011. Come and visit us in Taiwan during the school year or in California over the summer.