Last Full Weekend in Taiwan

Daily Happenings

Friday 1/10/2014- Friday was the day we travelled to the East Coast of Taiwan. The East coast is known for its mining and cement industries. It is also known for its relatively dense population of aboriginal people. After our morning Chinese classes, everyone grabbed a $3 lunch box from a "hole in the wall" (by American standards) duck restaurant. The boxes always include rice, roast duck and or pork, two types of greens, tofu, and an egg if you're lucky. A healthy dose of duck drippings are then poured over everything for additional flavor.

At 1 o'clock we boarded the same bus as the weekend prior to travel to the city of Yilan. The drive was only 1 hour luckily. Our first stop was at an orchid nursery. It was a gorgeous site, and I couldn't help to think about how much my gardener of a mother would love it. 

 After our quick visit, we drove out to where we were to stay for the night. We ventured out into the deep country. The country turned agricultural very quickly. In all honesty, I became quite nervous as we started up a windy dirt road in to the mountains to our "farm" where we'd stay the night. I had thoughts of a grimy wooden building where we'd have to build our own beds out of moss. The houses up the lane were littered with all sorts of trash, thrown out furniture, and mangy dogs. All of us students shot each other worried looks. Then suddenly, after a sharp turn the light appeared as this beautiful compound came into sight. It reminded me of the outdoors camps my school would send me to in middle school.

The scenery was absolutely surreal which can be seen in the photos. A very friendly guide gave us an expansive tour of the property. Site included a cocoon nursery, rice patties, pens for goats and pigs, chickens and ducks running everywhere, and an amazing kumquat orchard. We were given time to eat as many kumquats as our hearts desired. I easily ate $40 worth of kumquats, and stuffed my jacket pockets with whatever I couldn't fit in my mouth. They were leagues better than the ones I've had in America. Afterwards, we each got to design a shirt using painted leaves as stamps.

We had hot pot for dinner and then made paper lanterns to burn later that night. After completing our paper lanterns from following broken Chinese instructions, we were treated to a martial arts performance performed by local young boys. We sent off our lanterns and got a good night's sleep! Unfortunately the strong wind and rain caused our lantern to burn mid-flight. It was quite depressing considering we wrote our wishes for the New Year on the lantern… 2014 may be rough now. 

Saturday 1/11/2014-  7:30am wake up call! A quick shower and breakfast and we were out! I've gotten very good at packing quickly. I sometimes feel like a nomad here. We started the day off going to a museum that illustrated the history of the East Coast and explained the landscape a bit more. It was a beautiful museum, and I loved learned about the indigenous people.

I at first thought the museum had fallen on its side. This is the actual design!

After our museum visit we drove to a whiskey distillery. I had known very little about scotch or whiskey because my dad only drinks beer and the occasional gin and tonic. I was surprised to find out that the process was very similar to brewing beer, but involved more distilling. This was also the first time I've ever sampled hard alcohol before lunch. It was an interesting experience. For lunch we stopped at a local lazy susan style restaurant before our drive to Hualian. My favorite dishes were the whole baby squid, and a sea grape and tropical fruit salad topped with a creamy wasabi dressing. It was a deliciously light combination.

 What followed next was the highlight of the weekend for me. It was a 3 hour drive that carved the jagged mountains of Taiwan. The whole drive was spent with marble and granite mountains immediately on one side of the bus, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. It was easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. HOWEVER! The whole bus ride raised my blood pressure to crazy levels. We were in a huge coach bus going easily 45 mph at times around tights turns with just inches and no guard rail separate us from a deadly tumble into the ocean. We made it luckily..

We also stopped at a beach to check out the Pacific ocean. The beach essentially consisted of no sand. Only a combination of granite, jade, marble, and limestone rocks. It may sound mystical, but it's the truth. I made sure to pick up a rock or two for those in my life who enjoy rocks. 

The evening died down with a show put on by descendants of aboriginals, more hot pot for dinner, a sweet tofu dessert from across the street of our hotel, and sleep.

Sunday January 12- 6:30 wake up!!! Absolutely unbearable. I feel like I haven't slept a full 8 hours here yet. After breakfast in the hotel we hopped on the bus for more driving! We stopped buy a Buddhist compound that was a lot more simple than the one we visited the weekend prior. This area had a University, a Temple, and a hospital. This branch of Buddhism is called Tzu Chi. It is run by a woman and has a much more humble approach. As we saw, its main concerns are education, health, and worship. I loved the ideas projected from this branch of Buddhism. 

 The rest of the day was a tad bit of a disappointment to be honest. We were going to walk through trails in the mountain, but couldn't because of rock slides. We did manage to eat a delicious seafood lunch that featured crabs, squid, fish, sea cucumber, abalone clam, pork, and shrimp. We then drove several more hours north of Taipei to learn about the mining industry. We stopped by a mountain town that was flooded with tourists from Japan. It was also heavily raining. To my disappointment we didn't go to a mine or really learn anything about the industry. Most of the day was just sight seeing from the bus.


Cultural Comparison- Driving here is scary. I have witnessed two accidents here, both involving mopeds. However this weekend really scared me. There are very little guard rails, people don't really follow a speed limit, passing is common, and you rarely ever see traffic police. I believe this is because there is a strong emphasis here on personal responsibility. You clean up your own trash, you don't rely on government built trash cans. You carry your trash, and throw it away at home. Here if you drive like a maniac, falling off a cliff with be your punishment and it won't always be the government's fault if you do. America is so petrified of liability so we rely on the government to provide as much cushion against it. Here if you mess up, you face the consequences instead of seeking compensation. I can almost draw a comparison to the mindset of Buddhism. In Buddhism, one finds inspiration to be moral within themselves. They want to better for their own good instead of pleasing God. I find this sort of self responsibility refreshing here. After all, a lawsuit can only satisfy one so much.


A true gentleman makes demands upon himself but not upon others.
Confucius

Future Expectations- Tomorrow we are going to a Chinese Opera! I can't wait to see it. I saw a performance in China, and am looking forward to observing any differences. I also hope to get all of my souvenir shopping out of the way!