Tarokyo Gorge and Hualian

This week I took my third Chinese language exam (marking the halfway point of the second textbook) and completed the analytical writing section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). My internet at home is currently not working, so I am at a Starbucks near National Taiwan University catching up on some long overdue blogging.

Through the running club I mentioned previously, I became friends with a girl from friend from Canada, Caroline, who is also a member of a mountain hiking club called 523 Mountain Club. The pronunciation of the numbers "5-2-3" in Chinese (五二三）sound like the phrase "I love mountains" (我爱山)- even though the characters do not look the least bit similar. Last month Caroline invited me to join the club on a weekend trip to Taroko Gorge which is on the west coast of Taiwan. The gorge is part of one of Taiwan's seven national parks, and the scenery is breathtaking. In addition to visiting the gorge we were also lucky enough to see the annual water festival, which included a spectacular performance of several aboriginal dances followed by a firework finale. The trip was great fun, and I was especially grateful for the opportunity to make friends with several Taipei residents, including several international students who are also here studying Chinese.
As fate would have it, I ended up taking a second trip to Hualian for a long weekend with the Everwell Rotary Club just two weeks ago. This time we traveled by bus rather than train. Although it took a bit longer the bus was very comfortable and was even equipped for karaoke performances! Several members of the Everwell Rotary Club and their family members went on the trip, and it was a great opportunity to get to know them better.

The first day of our trip we were the honored guests at the annual harvest festival of four local aboriginal tribes. When we arrived we were invited to make a grand entrance to the ceremonies by doing a dance through the center of the grounds. We followed some of the men of the tribe who led the procession carrying one of the Rotarians, Grady, on top of a fake log. During the ceremony, the Everwell Rotary Club presented each of the tribe elders with $1000 NTD. The club also donated $10,000 NTD to help improve educational facilities for the children of the community. This presentation was followed by several dances. We joined in some of the dances, undoubtedly much to the amusement of the locals. That evening we had a huge feast with the tribes that reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner in the U.S. The food included everything from barbecued beef and seaweed to grilled pumpkin and sweet potatoes. We all went back to the hotel that night stuffed and content.

The next day, after a delicious lakeside lunch and quick stop at a papaya milk stand, we drove to Hualian Port, where we took a boat into the ocean to look for dolphins. This endeavor can be hit or miss. One of the Rotarians told me that once he was one a boat for five hours and did not see a single dolphin. That day luck seemed to be on our side, because we saw several groups of dolphins! Later in our hotel we had a joint Rotary meeting with the Hualian Club, followed by dinner. President House and the other Hualian Rotarians were wonderful hosts, and we had a fun evening with them.

On our way home the next day we stopped at two wineries and a greenhouse/water garden. At the greenhouse, in true Martha Stewart fashion, we each made our own mini aquarium out of a glass soy milk bottle. I took great care to give my three little ghost shrimp the cleanest water, the tastiest seaweed, and most decorative seashells. However, they unfortunately only lived for two days. I think my apartment became too hot during the day (last week the heat index was 44C). At the Rotary meeting last week I learned that I definitely was not the only person who failed to keep my shrimp alive, which made me feel a little less guilty.
I am grateful to President Blue, all of the other Everwell Rotarians, and their families for a memorable weekend. I am also especially thankful to Miss Wu (吳小姐) for all of her effort in organizing the trip. It is definitely a weekend I will never forget!

Rotary Week (catching up-part 1)

Over the past few weeks I have traveled to several places in Taiwan and met many wonderful people. However, I have not been diligent in updating my blog, so this afternoon I have decided to catch up on my blogging.

The week of July 19th I was fully immersed in the culture of Taiwan Rotary. The day after my first Rotary meeting (which I already described) I was invited to visit the Lily Rotary, an all female club in Taipei. I went with my friend BainBain who gave a speech over lunch about Rotary's Youth Exchange Program. At the meeting there was another student visiting from the Netherlands, and two students from Taipei which the club was sponsoring to participate in a youth exchange to the United States. We were all given a few minutes to introduce ourselves. My introduction was mainly in English, but I said a couple sentences in Chinese to demonstrate what I had learned so far. The women were friendly and clearly believe in the value of creating opportunities for students to engage in cultural exchange.

First picture: me introducing myself to the club; second picture: President Alice presenting me with the club flag and postcards displaying artwork made by local children; third picture: BainBain giving a speech about the Rotary Youth Exchange Program; fourth picture: Lily Rotary group picture.

The Saturday following my first two Rotary meetings in Taipei, I was invited by my host club to attend a family outing. I had the opportunity to meet the wives of several of the Rotarians and some of their children. I was especially grateful to make friends with a young man named Steven, who is the son of one of the Rotarians and who speaks English very well. We took a tour bus a little over an hour outside of the city to visit a music store which is known for producing hand-crafted pianos. In addition to learning how a piano is made, we also each assembled and played our very own harmonicas. We sounded quite awful at first, but by the end of the morning a few of the Rotarians had the hang of it. We also had the opportunity to create some unique sounds in an area that was set up to resemble the set of the Broadway show Stomp. Through this experience I learned that the members of my host club are all kids at heart (as you can see in the pictures below).

First picture: We were all a little confused about how to assemble the harmonicas; second : Uncle S. Jung with his daughter (notice the tiny chairs we were sitting in!); third: Stomp symphony, making beautiful music with buckets, pots, and pans!; fourth: Uncle Danny and Steve rock out; fifth: Group picture at the music store.

After our musical performance we ate lunch at the Lakeside Cafe. The restaurant overlooks a huge lake surrounded by beautiful mountain, and the scenery was breathtaking. After lunch we walked down one of the oldest roads in the area, which is now preserved as a hiking trail. It was built by locals at the beginning of the Japanese invasion as a road for the Taiwanese warriors to travel. Unfortunately, I did not wear my walking shoes that day and at the beginning of the hike my cheap sandals, which I bought from Target, broke! President Blue (our club president) kindly walked to a nearby roadside stand and asked if they sold any shoes. From the looks of the little shop I was convinced they were going to say no, but to my amazement the owner dug under the counter and presented a small box with about five pairs of blue and white plastic sandals! I found a pair that fit, and President Blue insisted on buying them for me. It turns out that this particular type of sandal, which is known in Taiwan as 白色蓝色拖鞋 (white and blue slipper), is a famous symbol of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). So my new shoes became a running joke for the rest of the day, and I told President Blue that I will keep them to remember the trip.

First and second pictures: View from the Lakeside Cafe; third: Uncle Danny's wife, Alice, and President Blue on the hiking trail; fourth: Stopping for fruit on the hiking trail; fifth: group picture on bridge crossing the Dahan River; sixth: Old market in Dashi; seventh: Uncle Danny displaying a delicious summer dessert with peanuts, tofu, and shaved ice.

We ended our day with a delicious Chinese dinner at a nearby restaurant where I tried many new foods. I enjoyed the fish and vegetables, but I decided I could go without eating chicken feet ever again. After the meal, we sang karaoke at the restaurant and even on the bus ride home. I tried to convince them that I am not a good singer, but they insisted I join in. I sang My girl with a Rotarian named Danny and a couple other English songs with Steven. It was fun to listen to them sing Taiwanese songs. They challenged me to learn and perform one Chinese song before I go home. IPP (Immediate Past President-this is his Rotary title) Resin has recently sent me a Youtube video of 20 Chinese songs to help me learn. I am thinking this performance will be very, very interesting!
The day after the trip I volunteered at a local dog rescue shelter with several members of the Taipei Rotaract Club. Rotaract is program that connects high school and college students to Rotary, and this club seems to be quite active. We walked the dogs and then helped brush and weigh them. I walked a lively dog named Dr. Snowball, who seemed to be the star of the shelter. The owner later told me that he is referred to as "Dr." because whenever they received a dog that is temperamental, she puts it in the a pen with Dr. Snowball and its behavior improves. She said she believes Dr. Snowball counsel the dogs. After observing the behavior of animals at home, I think this seems like reasonable explanation.

First picture: Dr. Snowball; second: Taipei Rotaract volunteers; third: Dr. Snowball catching a treat.The final picture is of my very fashionable new white and blue slippers which will always remind me of my amazing weekend with Taipei Rotarians!