Final Day!

July 23- Today was the last day of the program. It was really a bittersweet moment finally getting through the research project. We had been working on it a lot in the past few weeks, but it solidified the fact we would be leaving Taiwan soon. I wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone in the program. All the professors and speakers did such a good job and I have learned so much in this past month. The speakers were extremely knowledgeable and I can only hope to be able to have as much interest as they do in there chosen fields of study. I wanted to thank Jack and TAs for coming a long with us and putting up with our sometimes ridiculous antics. It can be hard trying to move around 16 students around the country and I have to give you guys a lot of credit. Finally I wanted to say thanks to all of my fellow students. We really had some amazing times throughout the trip and some memories I hope to never forget. The NTU students really helped getting around Taipei and helping in language barrier situations. Overall, I hope to be able to meet up with people in the program again somewhere down the road. I wish everyone the best and it's sad to say this is my final blog! I will miss Taiwan and hope to come back soon!

The Zoo!

July 22- The major outing for today was heading to the Taipei Zoo! The heat cut short our time there, but our "backstage tour" was pretty neat in itself. We finally got to see some of the live poisonous snakes, including the 100 pace snake. I also got to hold one of the snakes, nonpoisonous of course. My favorite part of the zoo was seeing the tigers. There eyes are so piercing and you can see how much power they possess.

We headed back to campus after the zoo and had a bit of project work. We're almost done with everything now so just got tie up a few loose ends tomorrow before the presentation. We headed to KTV for a bit at the end of the night. I wish they had more KTV's in the US. One more day left tomorrow. Still cannot believe it.

Last Lectures

July 21^st- The rest of the time here will be a little more lax than the past few weeks have been. We finished up our last two lectures today and will have a bit more free time to explore Taipei before leaving. I really enjoyed both of the lectures today. One was on the Aborigine people of Taiwan. The lecturer was really knowledgeable and I especially liked hearing about the dynamic between keeping native cultural identity as society advances. Overall, the US could take a few tips from the Taiwan government. The native people here assimilate better into modern society and create a good dynamic between keeping the culture alive without shutting themselves off from the modern world. A lot of the Native Americans in the US have issues coming into the modern world and by shutting themselves out, they don’t allow for any advancement of there society.

The second lecture of the day dealt with food security, economic development and environment. Food scarcity is definitely a big problem for many countries. I think that this really needs to be addressed more and I think that Taiwan has a lot better agriculture techniques as compared to the US. One thing I’ve really enjoyed seeing in Taiwan is the closeness you are to the food you eat. In the US the amount of prepackaged food is disgusting. I really hate looking at labels of food and only being able to understand what half of the ingredients of the food is. By keeping food closer to the farmer, you allow for higher quality food in my opinion. The US is so focused on production; I think we are really killing ourselves. It’s so disappointing to hear about food scarcity and then compare that to the obesity in the US. There is some sort of balance that the Taiwan people seem to have that the US is missing.

As you can see above, I did really enjoy the lectures today. I can’t believe the program is wrapping up in two days! I must stop thinking about it!

Traveling

July 20^th-We made our trip back to Taipei today. This was probably the longest time we have driven straight without stopping, but I got the opportunity to take a nice nap on the bus. We made two stops today; one at the earthquake museum, and a biodiversity center. The earthquake museum was a really interesting place. They museum was centered on an old junior high school that had suffered terrible damage from the 921 earthquake. The strength of natural disasters is overwhelming. The old track had been partially uplifted during the earthquake and the many of the buildings had collapsed. In the museum we got to experience a simulated earthquake. It didn’t really seem too terrible but I think that was because I knew I wasn’t in any danger.

After the earthquake museum we went to the Agricultural Research Institute. Our time there consisted of a lot of discussion about GMO’s. This is one of the current issues that I have been really interested in lately. It was interesting comparing the US to Taiwanese outlook on the GMO future. The Taiwanese people seem a lot more conservative when it comes to GE food. I really enjoyed taking the tour around the facility and seeing a lot of the research that they perform.

The rest of the day we spent driving back to Taipei. My face definitely lit up once we got into the city. I feel a connection to Taipei and I’m definitely going to miss it here.

Last Day in Xitou!

July 19th- Today is the last day in Xitou! We worked more seriously on the project today. I got a good amount of the paper done. We tried to get a bit of analysis out of the way by talking to some of the people who work at the plantation. What they did tell us was kind of dissappointing. It seems that the soil doesn't affect the plants as much as we had thought. I think another one of the big issues is the complexity of soil. It is pretty difficult to make decisive conclusions about the plant soil relationship. Soil conditions can be within a certain range and still allow for good plant growth. I guess we will have to see what happens when we test the pH back at NTU. 

I'm excited to go back to Taipei. I have always grown up around big cities and I enjoy living in a more chaotic atmosphere I suppose. I'm really happy we had the opportunity to go to Xitou though. I definitely cannot see that type of plant life anywhere in the US.

Exploring Xitou

July 18- The focus of today was on our project. Because we had finished all of sampling the day before, my group and I had a little more free time than some of the others had. In the morning I spent some time hiking around the park. I walked over to some of the major landmarks of Xitou. I stopped by the sky walk, giant tree, and the rainbow bridge. The sky walk was a really cool area that allowed you to walk eye level with the towering trees. I was disappointed by the short length of the sky walk but still thought the view down to the winding trails was great.

I met up with a few of the other students at the sky walk and headed with them over to Giant Tree. I didn’t stay at the Giant Tree too long before heading over to the Rainbow Bridge. I loved the walk up the Rainbow Bridge Trail. It was narrow and wound through the trees and over small streams. The trees parted at the bridge to larger flowing river. Of course, I had to spend a few minutes taking it all in. This included snapping a few photos. Afterwards, I descended back to the dorm for lunch.

During the afternoon I went over to the Monster Village for my third time. I tried the apple bananas they were selling at a stand there. I really enjoyed the taste, but I think I may have enjoyed the color more. The taste really wasn’t to far from a normal banana. I also bought some breads at a store in the village. Brooke and I waited in line for probably about a half hour before getting to the front of the line. It was worth it though and I enjoyed everything I purchased.

Later on in the night, I spent some time discussing the project with the group. Tomorrow will be a bit busier. We are hoping to get as much done as possible so that we will have some free time once we are back in Xitou. 

Project Work

July 17-We started off the day with two different lectures. The first one dealt with statistics. It was very useful to help get an idea of the best way to analyze the data for our project. Our group was also able to find ways to decrease extra variables when we collect our soil samples. Our second lecture dealt with soil biodiversity. This lecture was pretty interesting and also related a lot to our project. I have never taken a soils class previously. There is a lot more to soil than meets the eye and the amount of living things within soil is quite amazing. I have been interested in organic farming for a while and it was interesting to hear a bit about DNA hybridization. We had a bit of time after the lecture to full proof our data collection technique. The soil lecturer helped a lot with this.

After lunch our group went out into Xitou to collect our data. We walked to four different areas (Cedar Forest, Ginkgo Plantation, Coniferous Plantation, and Bamboo Plantation). Each area had individual characteristics and I’m interested how our laboratory soil analysis at NTU will turn out. I’m probably going to write up most of the data we collected tonight. It’s quite a short time for a research project so I’m going to take full advantage of the time we have.  Having the internet back at NTU will give us a better ability to analyze data.

I ended the day at a Japanese style market right outside the gates. Me and Tian-Lin trekked out there tonight. I love the atmosphere in the market and I will be heading back there before we go back to Xitou. They had some really interesting apple bananas. The vendor explained that although the bananas were shaped normally the red color distinguished them. Apparently the flavor is a mixture between both fruits. I’ll definitely be purchasing those pretty soon to try out.

Well going to get to bed early tonight. I think I’m going to do some hiking around Xitou tomorrow in between data analysis. Seems like I still have a lot to explore before we leave!

Projects and Trails

July 16^th- We woke up in our cabins today and began our trek to Giant Tree. The walk back from the observatory was pretty mild with lots of scenic views. There were birds surrounding the trail and we got to see many during the hike. We passed by giant rock, which showed another piece of the destruction left by the 921 earthquake. The rock looked like it had been sheared off and moved face down a few feet below. It’s quite amazing to see the strength of natural disasters.

We finished our rock at Giant Tree that seemed like a common tourist spot in Xitou. The tree showed a lot of wear. It was explained to me that the huge crack splitting the center of the trunk was due to a lighting strike. Although the tree itself was dead, there were still living branches that seemed to be acting like ivy as it wrapped around some of the trunk. It was pretty cool to see.

Later in the day, we went to the classroom to present the proposal for our research project. My group consists of Hoong-Yee, Em, Brooke , and I. We decided to focus our research in Xitou and relate soil and vegetation in various areas of the park. I’m exited to get into the park tomorrow and start taking some samples. This project doesn’t really fall into things I have learned previously but relates to what our lectures have been about this month.

Last thing we did today was watch a movie. It talked about the fauna and flora in the higher mountain areas of Taiwan. A lot of the plants and birds we have seen. It was a really well produced movie and I could see why it cost 2 mill. NT to make.

Birds and Astronomy

July 15th- Today was the first full day in Xitou. I wanted to start this post with a quick side note from my usual lecture and tour focus. I would like to quickly touch on the breakfast buffets in Taiwan. They are FANTASTIC! At a typical US breakfast buffet you would be lucky to get fruit and sometimes even hot food. The buffet here covers almost half of the room and has everything! It goes from eggs and steam buns, to chicken nuggets and fries, to cake and watermelon. I really could rave forever. 

Let me focus back on the major happenings of the day. We got an introduction presentation about Xitou and then were given a bit of time to explore the area. Chris and I went to the shopping areas right outside Xitou's limits. There was a really cute Japanese style market where I will definitely be frequenting throughout our time here.

We had three more lectures today. The first two dealt with birds and techniques of bird data collection. Both of the lectures were pretty interesting. I especially enjoyed hearing about the data collection techniques. There seems to be easy to have errors in bird population collection. The lecturer explained that the error is overcome by looking more at trends than anything else. That makes sense to me. Our lecture of the night was from a really knowledgeable man who worked at a National Museum in Taiwan. His lecture dealt with astronomy. He seemed to know everything about everything. It was a great lecture and it was nice finishing it off at the observatory later that night. 

At the observatory we weren't able to see any stars due to the cloud coverage. The lecturer made up for that though and we had some great views from the cabins we stayed at.

Tea, Tea, Tea

July 14th- Woke up at the Pheonix Tea Plantation this morning. We got a tour of the facility, which contained a lot of great views. It's interesting to see the step-like set up they use for growing the tea. There is definitely a lot of work that goes into making tea. I guess it is an "art" as one of the lecturers had said earlier. After our tour we got the chance to try some tea and learn the correct technique of pouring tea.
After lunch, we went to a really interesting place called Bamboola Taiwan. The presenter there was probably one of the most interesting people I have ever met. I don't know how to explain his personality but he had this aura that displayed an inner calmness and also strength. There were many items there called "puzzle boxes" that had secret ways of opening the boxes. I was only able to open the easier ones and if I could open them it would be a great safe to have. This was one of my favorite trip stops. I will definitely be going back there.
Before heading to Xitou for the night, we stopped at the Lugu Farmer's Association. While there, we did some tea tasting. The people there ran us through the tea evaluation process. I really enjoyed the 4th and 5th of the five teas. There was no clear cut winner after our whole group voted. All of the teas had such different flavors, which may explain the close results.
I'm really happy to finally be Xitou! We will begin our projects pretty soon but still have a few days to explore before then.

Endemic Species Museum!

July 13th- Final stretch before Xitou! We left the Wood Utilization and Product Exhibition Center and headed to the Endemic Species Research Institute. We spent most of the day here listening to a few lectures and taking a tour around the facility. We were able to go into one of the rooms there that held a lot of wildlife native to Taiwan. There were tons of birds surrounding the outer edges of the room. The really interesting specimens were on the inside of the movable drawers where there was a few clouded leopards. It was amazing seeing them and it is unfortunate that they are probably extinct. We also got to go to the animal hospital at the center. We saw some more rare species including the serpent eagle, and some raptors. The serpent eagle was so calm in person and it was nice to see that they were able to give that one a more natural habitat. Hopefully some of the other birds out there in the future will get a more natural home.

We later on had a lecture about bats. This lecture was pretty different from others we have had. There are apparently 35 species of bats in Taiwan. At the end of the lecture the lecturer even brought out a small native bat for us to see. This was the first time I have been able to hold and touch a bat. The wings are so fragile form what I would imagine. It is funny because I would compare the webbing to a frogs feet. They have such an interesting body structure.

We stopped at an old temple for a bit and then headed to the Tea Plantation. Once the fog cleared from the balcony of our hotel you could look down and see and expanse of lights from the county below. I love this area and really have to travel back here if I get the opportunity. We got to celebrate Ashley's birthday tonight! She's so sweet and I'm glad to see she had a good time on her birthday!

Central Taiwan

July 12th- The day went pretty fast. Started out the day at an aboriginal museum that explained a bit about their culture and major products. They had mostly plum related items and we saw the wine casks where the rice wine ferments. All of this was new to me and I had to pick up a few items at the gift shop.

We then went to an aborigine village. The people were so hospitable and made us a full lunch, which has been one of the best so far. The fish was awesome and I saw the first real sausage that wasn't a hot dog. It seems that everyone here think there one in the same. It's kind of humorous. Anyway, after lunch we headed back to our dorms and then got a tour of the wood refining area at the dorm we are staying at. It's really shocking to see the ease in which they are able to create usable wood. Later in tonight we saw a video that showed how lumber is produced in tree farms. This was on a much larger scale and more machine dependent. They ran through rows of trees like it was nothing at all.

Finally, we also got to make a bench today. The laser inscription was a really great touch and enjoyed personalizing my bench with the tiles as well. I'm going to have to get another suitcase for all of these souvenirs I've been accumulating.

July 11th- We had a nice calmer day. We started a little bit later today at 8 and then learned a little bit about the agriculture of the aboriginal people. It was interesting relating area, and outer influence to the crop choices. It definitely has a great effect on what the aborigines choose to grow.

I really enjoyed participating in the tomato harvest today. It was a nice break from the lecture setting and I can never say no to any fresh vegetables or fruit. I stuffed my container to maximum compacity and expect on eating most of it. The same tomatoes we got during lunch were really fantastic.

We drove for a few hours after the tomato picking and have stopped in Shueli Wood Utilization and Product Exhibition Center for the next two nights. The area is owned by NTU and is focused on the development of forestry worldwide. We toured the museum and it was really interesting seeing the variety in their. The building had a variety of furniture and sculptures created there, and the whole entire building was also made in wood. I'm interested to see more of the manufacturing processes tomorrow.

July 10th- Happy Picking Flowers Day! Was woken up to the alarm a bit too early it seemed like today but that seems to be when the most birds are out. We did catch a good amount of birds, so overall was worth the early morning call.

We then had an introduction lecture to the farm and went over to where they dry flowers. I will definitely be trying that when I get home. We saw some of the areas where they cultivate flowers and fruit. The variety of colors and types of flowers was really amazing and so beautiful.

The afternoon was the real highlight of the day. We got a more interactive experience by creating our own flower bouquet and beet picking. I think my favorite part of the day was picking the beet and then trying the blended beet and fruit juice. I don't know if I would add this to my daily regimen but the drink was good, although rather pulpy. 

To finish off the day was a tea culture lecture. The taste tests provided a nice break in the lecture and it was interesting hearing about the mix of chemistry and art in the tea making process. After a month here I may be pushed out of my Starbucks rut. So far the tea I've had has been good and probably healthier than my sugar-laden frappuccino. Well, we'll see; anyway, overall was a really busy but probably one of the most interesting days here.

Mountains and Hiking

July 8- More driving than anything else. We had to get on smaller buses today to get through the small roads up into the mountains. I could definitely see why with the hairpin turns and mostly one lane roads. Slept a lot but while awake the views were amazing. We stopped at a beautiful coffee house in the mountains and got to relax while looking at the scenery. Just beautiful. The weather is so much milder which is nice.
We went through a nice hike this morning and went and climbed up to a temple that was on the mountain. It was a long climb to the top of the temple but definitely worth it. The breeze and view was awesome from the top of this one tower.

July 9- Today involved a lot of hiking. Very exhausting but got some great pictures and great views. We woke up this morning around 4 and watched the sunrise as climbing up to the top of a mountain on one trail. Then we had two more smaller trails in the morning. The second was rockier and the third went through some of the trees and saw a few laughing thrush there. There is so many diverse plants and animals everywhere you look and the view of mountains covered in clouds. I need to remember to shut out my laziness because I'm never going to be able to see these types of views in the US. My favorite plant I saw today was a type of fake orchid. I can't remember the name but was a sharp white contrast to the greenery in the forest of our third trail. My favorite flower had to be the edelweiss we saw on our first trail in the morning. I had flashbacks of my mother who used to sing it to me when I was young and that with the background of sunrise across cloud peaked mountains was amazing.
After our hiking, everyone was dead beat. We did a DIY with bandanna making. Mine turned into a collage of one of the flowers in a green, purple, and peach color. Was a nice break from the hiking and a great souvenir to take home with me. Planning on watching a movie and probably sleeping for the rest of the night. Gotta be bright and bushy-eyed for the 6 am start tomorrow!

Busing Down the Coast

Today was an early start as we continued down the east coast. The geography was mainly the same as yesterday but we got the opportunity to venture further into the mountains today. We hiked along a trail that bordered a river cutting through high lush mountains. It was nice having a little cooler weather today although still got a bit burned. The best part of the day was traveling down and swimming in the river. The water is so blue and was surrounded by rocks all around. 

We had a few more stops along the way to see some of the more famous areas around the road. We finally got to the hotel and had a lecture tonight talking a bit about some of the plant species will be seeing in the next few weeks. It was funny seeing how similar some of the plant species are to the ones in the US. I'm excited to see a few of the endemic species we saw in the slides tonight.

Not sure how the wifi or my laptop battery will be holding up for the next few days but hopefully will be able to continue to update daily. Be blogging soon!

Starting our Road Trip!

Today we got on the bus and began heading down the east coast. We first stopped at an orchid farm and had a lecture there. We walked around the greenhouses and saw all of the flowers that were being grown. Although some of the plants weren't in the best shape, they are supposedly easy to grow. This maybe more practical for my apartment then. After lunch we headed along the eastern coast.

The drive is amazing. Although I spent some time asleep, every time I opened my eyes I was amazed at the plunging cliffs into blue water. This cannot even compare to the mucky brown water of Houston gulf. We got the chance to stop and walk down to the beach at Cinghishui Cliff. I don't think words or pictures can do it justice. The beach extended far along the coast and behind consisted of cliffs and then lush mountain ranges covered in clouds. I could of sat there for hours
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After a few more hours of driving we finally arrived at our location for the night. Dinner was great and we headed to yet again another night market. Taiwan seems to never sleep. I'm still also trying to figure out how they don't seem to gain weight with food literally at every corner. I'm excited to continue our drive tomorrow and see how this area compares to Taipei.

Taiwanese Culture

June 30- We focused in on the fishing industry in Taiwan and experienced both the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology and then went to the coast for the first time. The museum was a great background but the coast gave a great opportunity to really experience the marine life in Taiwan. We saw mostly crabs, sponges, barnacles, and starfish. The starfish were the most interesting sea life in my opinion to see. After our trip to the coast we headed back to NTU and had a calligraphy lesson. The instructor was so talented. I, on the other hand, am not very talented in calligraphy. It was still fun though. 

July 1- In the morning we had lecture that was an overview on the history of Taiwan. There is a definite mixing of cultures due to the variety of countries that have claimed Taiwan as a territory. I can see how that applies today in the food, language, and religion. We then headed to a Guandu Nature Park. We saw rice patties, which I had never seen before. It was also interesting seeing how this marsh provided a place for natural water purification. It seemed like a good alternative to just water purification plants. Last stop of the day was Fort San Domingo in the Danshui area. The grounds of the Fort were really beautiful and we even saw the first tennis court of Taiwan! I've never played tennis on grass. Too bad it wasn't still working or I may have had to test it out. We went to Danshui old street for dinner which was really good. I ate some bird eggs and tofu in a red sauce. Both were fantastic. It was cool getting a look at some of the traditional items they had in the shops there. Much different from the other night markets we have gone to so far.

July 2- The major events of the day were going to the Yingge Ceramics Museum and the Sanshia Master Temple. I think the Ceramics Museum has been my favorite place so far. We were able to see the process used to bake and glaze clay. I'm still regretting not getting any souvenirs because there were a lot of beautiful pieces there with ornate designs. I will just have to rely on the two cups I made there which will hopefully hold through the firing and glazing process. 

After the ceramics museum we went to see the artwork of Li Mei-Shu including the biggest piece he worked on during his life, the Sanshia Master Temple. The temple was so ornate and beautiful. Each small part has a meaning behind it. Quite amazing. 

We also went frog watching, and I got to hold a tree frog! There is a big range in textures of the frogs and toads. We got to see I think about 5 different types of toads/frogs. I think we saw more snails than anything else which are apparently taking over Taiwan.

July 3- My birthday! Was pretty lazy during the day and got to wake up a little later than usual. We went to Taipei 101 for the second time. This time got to walk through a little bit more and spent most of the time at Mitsikoshi, a Japenese department store. It was huge and maybe a little more expensive than I was used to from spending so much time at night markets. At the night we got to celebrate my birthday, which was really fun! Tiring but overall a great time. 

July 4- Independence day! Forgot to bring the sparklers with me and am missing the fireworks of home. Still keeping busy though. Wasn't feeling too well today but seeing the rocks at Yeliu Geology park was really amazing. The erosion is so different than something I've ever seen. It's interesting comparing this coast to the other one we went to. This area was a lot different than the Intertidal Zone. We afterwards went to the Fisheries Research Institute. Although we have seen a lot of unique fish species at the previous fishery, this was much different. I got to see how Taiwan is able to use fish as a good industry. The most interesting part was definitely seeing how fish is used in unique ways. This included even ice cream, which I'm not so sure if I would try but the lecturer made it seem like it was okay. 

July 5- Today our first stop was the National Palace Museum. You could probably spend a week going through all of the parts of the museum so we were given a general overview of the Museum. I finally saw the Jade Cabbage I had been hearing about since the beginning of the program. I didn't really understand the appeal until seeing it in person. That and the pork seemed like one of the biggest draws to the museum. I enjoyed the comment from our guide who said that she believed the reason the pork piece was so popular because Taiwanese love to eat. I think I could concur with statement seeing that I've been eating every two hours since I've arrived here. Not being negative though. I'm the one getting caught by the scents coming from all the stores. The food has been amazing.

After our lunch break we headed over to the ShuenYi Aboriginal Cultural Center. The culture of the indigenous people is very different from what Taipei is today. They are much more influenced by islands around them it seems than from Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch people. I think we will see more of the indigenous culture once we head out on our trip to the more mountainous areas of Taiwan. I thought it was really interesting seeing the pots created by the indigenous people. The technique seemed much more difficult than what is used traditionally for ceramics. 

We later saw Transformers and then headed to Shihlin Night Market. Finally got my first taste of stinky tofu which the spicy broth seemed to mask its taste. I would eat it again though. This market is supposedly the most famous and was the most crowded market we went to. Definitely worth the trip to see the fried chicken that was bigger than your head. Also tried some waffle sort of treats. One was in the shape of a pig. From what I've learned so far the pig is supposed to bring prosperity so hopefully it will give me good luck :). If not it still tasted pretty good. Heading out to the mountains tomorrow. Not sure how much internet service I will be getting but will keep up with days in a diary I have and then transfer it here! Tata for now.

Street Markets and Daily Adventures

Finally have gotten some sleep and got some spare time to update! Still one day behind but let me catch up on everything. So yesterday we had a few lectures, some museum tours, and then got some sushi and headed off to the nearby night market.

The lectures we had yesterday I found really interesting. Most of the subjects I have not dealt with in my major so all of this is new information to me. I think the most interesting topic we learned about dealt with the research dealing with energy generation from an underwater turbine. This was a technology I had not even thought of but in actuality it makes a lot of sense. It is a known fact that our earth is covered more by water then land and it would make sense to take advantage of this and use it for alternative energy. The project proposed seemed like a bit of a rough draft though and the design seems like it would have a lot of possible dangers associated with it. I will be really interested to see if this type of energy actually goes into use in the future.

The museums we went to at the university were also pretty interesting. The variety of plants and bugs that are able to survive on one small island is quite amazing and I definitely saw the application of this today on our trip to the national park. Although the stench was a little overwhelming, I liked being able to go through the drawers of insects and see the variety we talked about in lecture.

Last thing for the day was another night market and a trip to sushi. Let me first off say that if I could have one food every day for the rest of my life it would definitely be sushi. I really cannot get enough of it and the place we went to was great. All the tables surrounded a conveyor belt to pick up small dishes and eat whatever looked good to you. I was able to try a lot of new kinds of sushi and was not disappointed. Then we headed over to the night market which has definitely been my favorite shopping locale so far. Good variety, good price; not sure what could make it much better than that. Hopefully will be able to go back there again.

Onto today! Started of at Yanmingshan National Park. I think I have found a whole new appreciation for nature today. Maybe it's an engineering thing, but I usually think that practicality rules over beauty. While I do love music and like to go to art museums, I have not been the biggest fan of nature watching, going to zoos, etc. I can understand the passion in which the professors of this university find in nature. Walking even through one park today, the variety of plants, insects, and geography is something I have never experienced. I felt like a kid in a toystore needing to touch and analyze everything within reach. It was really beautiful. We also went to a bath house later which was also pretty neat. Got to finish my last Chinese class tonight. Wo ai Taiwan.

Past Two Days!

Been a busy past few days and definitely feeling the effects from my sleep deprivation. Overall, it's been worth it though and would always take a few days of adventure over sleeping. Haven't posted for two days so first let's start with Monday. Think I will talk about today tomorrow. Must get some rest and address this sleep deprivation:

Major events- Lectures, Tours, Scavenger Hunt, Karaoke, Foodfoodfood, and Chinese Class!

I'm finding the food here absolutely wonderful. A lot of new flavors and varieties of food. Tried beef noodles at the place William recommended and I definitely won't be surprised if I find myself back there before I leave :/

Karaoke downtown last night was awesome! It was an entire hotel just filled with rooms for singing. Nothing like I've ever seen before. Got to practice the song we learned in Chinese class so me and Thomas can perform again. I have decided to make a constant effort to add Chinese into daily vocabulary so hopefully I can be able to be proficient before I leave. Is definitely necessary so I can start doing some bartering in the "Ye Shi."

Going to catch up on everything tomorrow! Gnight for now!

First Day!

So we just finished our first complete day in Taipei! We went and visited a museum as well as the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial. It was really amazing seeing the ornate architecture at the memorial. The statue of him is huge and had an interesting shadow. It allowed him to look to both sides at the same time.

I also went to my first night market. It was definitely an experience different to something I've ever seen before. All the shops were so diverse. I think my most adventurous foods tasted had to be the pig's blood cake and the snake soup. Don't think I'll be having the pig's blood again but the eel was a bit more managable. Think my favorite food was the lychee fruit. So sweet. Will definitely be trying that again.

Well I guess that's it for now. Met a lot of great people so far and excited for tomorrow!

Christine

Intros

Hey Guys!


My name is Christine and I'm going to be a senior at the University of Illinois. My major is General Engineering. I'm extremely excited for the trip and can't wait to meet everyone! At the airport right now with Brooke and Matt waiting for our flight to Tokyo. Long trip and can't be wait to be there already. See you all soon!