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!
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