Chinatrust Hotel Kaohsiung

Yesterday we woke up and went to a little place that made western-style breakfast sandwiches. They were fairly good and incredibly cheap. After that we went to the zoo and saw a crocodile that recently bit off it's care takers' arm. We also went to an incredible little area called Lotus Pond that has a number of pagodas and temples. While we were there we happened to witness a ceremony for the 10/10 celebrations. It consisted of lots of money burning, music, dancing, people ...

... Yifa lectured us (previously after class, all the girls were pulled aside and targeted specifically for the same reason) about how everyone is getting sick. The staff's message was pretty much 'suck it up,' as if people were just skipping activities when they really didn't need to, whereas Yifa asked why we think everyone' getting sick. People are complaining about not enough free time, not enough sleep, low salt/blood sugar- big ...

Greetings. <br>[this entry is practically empty]<br><br>Typhoon is rumored to have passed by, but the trees are still in a frenzy. Taiqi inside, fruit and a bit of asparagus for breakfast. Tooke a secret pathway back to the dorm (MaJuYuan, literally Pilgram's lodge) because of the rain, but it was a bit disappointing. Kira (roommate) is ringing the Dharma bell today. Had temperature check for swine flu. Typed blog entries ...

... homma, pääruoaksi pastaa ja pizzaa, päälle vielä kunnon juomat ja todella hyvää ja halpaa oli. Yhteishinnaksi tuli nimittäin joku 10 euroa, että ei paha! Näkymät ravintolasta oli hienot, mutta suoraan johonkin isoon risteykseen, jossa ajeli valtavasti skoottereita ja ehdin juuri sanoa, että kuinkahan kauan menee ennen kuin tulee kolari kun jo rysähti! Mieletön mälli, prätkät tuusannuuskana, ihmisiä makaa keskellä tietä ja verta lentää kuin härän ...

... funny. Did I say something wrong? Irene explains that its not supposed to taste good, they just want me to taste the difference between the beans. Oh. It still tasted good to me. What do I know? We order some coffee to be roasted and kafe jojo orders us some too, which is really nice. If the Taiwanese know you likes something, they will buy it for you so you will enjoy your stay. They are really, really hospitable. <br><br>We leave the coffee shop ...

... no comparison. There are people and large fresh flower arrangements everywhere, the kind that bring to mind a wedding or a funeral. Patrick tells us that there are over 900 people registered for this conference. There are so many people who wanted to speak that there are 5 concurrent speaking sessions in which presenters are limited to 12 minutes talking and 3 minutes of questions. There are over 500 posters spread among 4 sessions in 2 days. The amount of student ...

... is also a common weekend market, so it was bustling with people. Shuying was hot and tired so she opted to sit on a bench in a nearby park while Patrick and Alan took us to see the fort. Before entering the fort itself, we walked through the grounds of a traditional Taiwanese temple, and the starting point of the market place. There were people selling food everywhere. Ted was more interested in seeing the marketplace than the fort so he and Alan split off on their own while Patrick ...

... oder jenem in einem der zig Restaurants hier essen gehe. Besonders Freitags treffen wir FSJler uns um das bekannte Amuesemant zu geneissen, das es bei uns auch gibt, wie Kino, Cafes, Bars und Disko. Nachdem die Geschaefte hier so lange offen haben, gehen sehr viele taiwanesische Jugendliche abends noch schoppen, und danach auch was trinken oder Karaoke singen (was wir aber nicht sonderlich moegen). Jedoch ausschliesslich ...

... einfach so und einfach sehr freundlich. Oder ein Paerchen, dass mich im Auto mitgenommen hat, als es keine Shuttlebus mehr gab und das ohne dass ich den Daumen rausgehalten haette, sonder einfach weil ich schnellen Schrittes die Landstrasse entlangegangen bin. Diese und viele ander grosse und kleine Erfahrungen habe ich hier oft gemacht und das hat das Leben hier viel einfacher gestaltet und es war immer eine wunderschoene ...

... has to be my own home. I'm really thankful though that Sara let me stay that long anyways and I really hope that everything is fine now. 30.7.07 My last two days in Kaohsiung I spent with Boyd, who let me borrow his scooter for the past week. It's really a lot of fun driving around on a scooter. It feels like being part of a massive city gang. He showed me around town and we had some really good and deep conversations, thanks for that and for everything else.