Final Days

Peking Duck Restaurant

Getting a Taiwanese massage.  I have bruises on my back.

Gondola ride in Mao-Kong

Excited to see all of you but not ready to leave Taiwan.  I love you and have missed you greatly.
Kar

Here, There, and Everywhere

Culture class- Chinese opera face painting

A man had tons of stray dogs in Ximending that he was trying
to find homes for.  It was amazing.

Jiufen

Treasure Hill- An area that was to be torn down til artists took
it over.

Giant fortune cookies

Waiting to see famous dancers perform at Chiang Kai-Shek
Memorial Hall.  The dance was beautiful.

They made us do relaxing exercises before the performance.

I love you,
Kar

3 Day Trip to the East

Chi-lan

Wu-ling in Hsueh-pa National Park

Chiang Kai-Shek (past president) and his wife.

Eating shrimp heads... a bit spiky.

The view from our B&B in the mountains!

Tea farm

Taroko Gorge

Carp Pond

Pedal boats

Aboriginal's giving us a taste of their music!

The three day trip on the East side of the island was a blast!  We got to hike through Chi-lan and Wu-ling in the mountains!  We were able to try many different aboriginal foods, one meal included rice that you eat with your hands.

On the second day we visited a tea farm and the owner took us down into fields.  The tea grows on the side of the mountains and it was a very steep descent!  The tea in the mountains is considered to be the best in Taiwan because of it's high altitude and great weather conditions.  After venturing through the fields, the owner served us his tea as we enjoyed the cool mountain air.  We also visited a large bridge built over the Taroko Gorge.  During the construction of the bridge, many men died so the statue above was donated to protect them and after it's placement no more men died.  The temple in the picture below it is a memorial to all of the men that died.

The last day was spent at Carp pond we rode pedal boats all morning.  Sadly we weren't able to swim because of the ponds piranha infested waters...  After, we had a large traditional aboriginal lunch and made aboriginal good luck charms.  Then, the women began playing the drums and singing, thus dancing ensued!  It was so much fun and the music was gorgeous.

It feels good to be back to my Taipei home, although now I've got to get back into the groove of school...

I love you guys!

Kar

Temple Travels with Hsiu-Li

Chop carving our Chinese zodiac signs out of marble!

Didn't ask for it, but our teacher basically did mine...

Practicing painting

The finished result, a fan!  Mine's a bit light,
but oh well.

At the KTV (Karaoke) with our Taiwan buddies.

At a Confucian temple with Hsiu-Li.

Shrine to Confucius

Crazy detail on the roof of the shrine!

Buddhist temple

Buddhist temple

The god of sea travelers

The gods of opera and music

你好！Yesterday we got to carve our Chinese zodiac signs out of marble, to be used at stamps.  It was very tedious work and made my hands cramp up, but totally worth it!  We also got to paint fans which was a ton of fun, but extremely difficult.

After that, we met up with our Taiwan buddies, Hsiu-Li couldn't make it, and headed to the KTV, which is a huge building filled with Karaoke rooms.  You and your group get your own personal room with couches, tables, bathroom, and of course a tv and karaoke machine.  The KTV also has a buffet which was delicious!

Today I met up with Hsiu-Li after class and she took me to a Confucian temple, but it's more like a shrine to Confucius.  In the place of gods and alters there were names.  The center shrine/building held Confucius' name and the surrounding rooms were home to all of his disciples.  Hsiu-Li arranged a tour guide for us which made it a lot more interesting.  He was clad in traditional dress and all!

Across from the Confucian temple there was a Buddhist Temple so we headed there.  It was the most gorgeous temple I've seen here.  It was so detailed with paintings, dragons, birds, fish, ponds, sculptures, it was beautiful.

Tomorrow we leave for our three day hiking trip in the mountains bright and early at 7 AM!  Here is the e-mail my professor sent us describing what our trip will be like:

"We will head directly for our first destination, Chi-lan, in the mountains overlooking I-lan, where we will take a short hike and have lunch.  From there, we will head toward Wu-ling, a high-altitude agricultural and recreational area in the Hsueh-pa National Park.

The next day, we will drive through the central mountain range, and connect with the Central Cross Island Highway, and first go to Tien-hsiang, at the head of Taroko Gorge.  The Taroko Gorge is a beautiful canyon carved out of marble cliffs.  We will slowly make our way down the gorge to the city of Hua-lien, which is the only deep-water port on the east side of the island.  You will be free to browse the famous street-food of the Hua-lien night market.  Be sure to try the taro cakes and yam cakes.

On the third day, we will stay in lower land, going to Carp Pond.  It is more fun than it sounds.  You will be able to ride bicycles or row boats.  Lunch will be aboriginal style, with fish (carp) and shrimp.  There will be some aboriginal activities in the afternoon.  We will take the train back to Taipei, and will get to try a famous train bento (meal box) on the way."

I'm very excited!  I hope you have an eventful weekend as well!

I miss you and love you very much,

Kar

Return to Longshan

Longshan Temple

Gorgeous dress I bought today!

Today as a class we visited Longshan Temple, the temple that Hsiu-Li took me to visit.  It was a lot more interesting today though, because my professor went into greater detail about each of the gods.  Not only was it more educational, but also the temple was filled with people worshiping!  They were all chanting/singing the same song.  The song was an entire booklet long and they went through the entire thing!  It was beautiful.

Not much else interesting has happened so here are some pictures of foods I've eaten recently:

Tofu

Pig's Ear

Beef Noodles

Korean

Vegan Buffet

Fried Tofu

Seafood Chicken Rice Soup

I miss you all!  And love you A LOT!

Kar