I finally arrived to Taiwan! After a 10 hour flight from Seattle to Tokyo, 5.5 hour layover, and 3.5 hour flight to Taiwan, destination complete past midnight SE Asia time. I was exhausted but restless, I was up and ready to roll at 7 the next morning so decided to go out for a "WOG". The roads and traffic were so bad, it was impossible to run, for every step I ran I had to stop and walk two...wogging, not as fun as running but funner then walking.
One of the first things I have to say I agree with is true, Taiwanese folks do stare at Americans and the kids love to talk to us! As I ran down the sidewalk, the kids smiled and waved as their parents urged them to say "Hi" and "hello!" to practice their English. After my morning workout, I headed out to Taipei which is the biggest city in Taiwan (I was put in Tao yuan my first couple nights.)
The transportation system here is amazing and easy to use. Basically, you catch a train to the Taipei mainstation and use the "MRT" to get around. Its a colored coded system where you can purchase a card or token to get around. As soon as I got into Taipei, and Taiwanese man spent an hour showing me how to use the system and even graciously lead me to my first destination-Longshan temple. The Longshan temple is one of the biggest and most amazing temples here, you can find Taiwanese here praying 24-7. I bought some flowers to layout on tables that are set up in front of the buddha's. Many people bring food, flowers, and gifts to layout.
After the temple, I went to the 2-28 peace park and memorial where I found another young lad to show me around. The park is surrounded by trees and small shrines and prayer spots. The park represents a memory of a massacre that began in Feb 28, 1947. The center of the park has a huge sculpture surrounded by three cubes turned on their corners.
I love it! I spent alot of time my first day here just looking at the temples but made sure to end the day at the Shllin night market. This market is one of the biggest street markets in Taiwan, and starts after dark. Unlike America, many Taiwanese go out to the markets (not bars) to hang with their friends and kill time. You can buy almost anything here, including dogs!
I have to admit having my cliff bars saved me. There are so many different types of food here..and its really hard to tell what is what. I have tried alot of the pastry items and cakes, but other then that I have been living off my bars. I am hoping that when I get to the camp I will learn more how to order food. Alot of the places here dont have pictures, and the ones that do still, its hard to tell what it is!
Last night my roommate showed up! She is also teaching at the camp, but a different location. The company who were are working for must own several different English Camps throughout Taiwan. We spent the night together roaming around the city we are staying in. She just fly here from the Philipines and had been teaching in Hong Kong and China. We both have the same work schedule, so we work about 4 days on, then have several off, then 4 days back on before we leave.
Today I am going to the orientation, I will write more later!
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