Taiwan - Chenjean's Village, Valley Panorama

This 3-shot panorama is posted as a conclusion to the series on the little village where Chenjean grew up.  It was taken next to the gazebo right where the winding mountain road levels off and opens up to reveal the town.  The extent to which the betel nut trees have taken over is evident here, but other than that the view is the same as what Chenjean would have seen fifty years ago as a child.  Being a sentimentalist, to me it's amazing that we have been staying in the same house, walking the same streets, and going to the same places that she did back in the day.  But though Chenjean was destined for high education and faraway lands, many of her peers are still around; the few remaining neighbors are the same, and sometimes on the bus going to the market Chenjean would point to someone she knew as a child.

We've been trying to get her father to move away from here and live in either Chiayi, Taipei or even the U.S. to be close to us.  Over the years he has steadfastly refused all of our entreaties - home is home.  However, since he is advanced in years (89 as of this writing) the inevitable day when he has no choice will not be long in coming.  And when that does happen I will miss the enchantment of this little spot on earth, this place on the other side of the world that nurtured the girl that would one day be my wife.