Cu Kaohsiung

... three meals today.<br><br>After breakfast, I felt a bit uneasy so I took a brief nap. Then, the roommates and I headed to the gift shop right outside the temple gates so I could pick up some last minute souvineers (excited?). We made it back in time to change for lunch, though I only ate rice and soup. We had assumed that there would be no walking meditation since it's a free day- on the contrary, we took FOUR laps ...

... our way around many locked gates. First we visited the place with pigs and birds, took many pictures. It's funny because as we arrived, I called out to see if anyone was working there. We heard singing, and assumed someone was there, so we kept calling out only to hear 'ni hao' over and over- why? Turns out, they play a recording on loop so the birds can speak phrases such as 'omitofo,' 'ohaiyo' (japanese), and 'shifu' (monk/nun). Then we went to the larger, rougher ...

... First, we settled into our designated line positions, organized by gender and height. We then learned standing meditation- feet several inches apart, 2 lines facing each other, good posture and eyes down at the feet of the person across from you. Basic greeting is "omituofo" meaning Amitaba bodhisattva in chinese (see wikipedia if confused). The basic non-verbal greeting to anyone at the monastery is ...

... We tried the rice burgers &#8211; which was the first one of those I ever had. It was decent but not great. Fits the bill if you have to have a burger that is not Burger King or McDonalds. We headed out to the shopping district in the afternoon which was similar to Soho in NYC. This is where most of the teenagers and college kids shop. It was an interesting maze of shops and you can definitely get ...

... go figure... Here is how it works. You order small plates to go with the main hot pot that is set in the middle of the table. The small plates go on the lazy susan and you spin it around and pick what you like. Everyone shares. Its cool! We order some bean curd, dumplings, more dumplings, pig's ear, bamboo, and a bunch of other things I am not sure what they are. Yes, I did have pig's ear. Its interesting, but not ...

... man ate very much of the contents of his lunch box. The rest of our talks go well, and we actually finish on time. There were many fewer questions than we answered in Taipei, which certainly helped our time schedule. Nearly all the questions were from professors, and it appeared that the student were too shy to ask questions, or maybe thought they would embarrass themselves. Either way, I have no doubt that when questions were asked by the audience ...

... in. The pasta descriptions were like "spaghetti with milk and chicken" or "spaghetti with pork". Shuying talked Patrick into taking her in the back to see the kitchen and off they went. Melinda and I noticed a table near by us had a basket of what looked like french fries. Ok, at least we have a fall back choice. Patrick and Shuying returned about 5 mins later saying that the milk sauce for the chicken is really butter, and that there is definitely not a spaghetti marinara. There ...

... nicht nur ein Geruecht ist, denn dafuer habe ich mich auch extreme frueh aus dem Bettchen gezwungen. Das Ritual als solches war aber auf jeden Fall sehr sehenswert und hat einen in eine andere Zeit, in das klassische China zuruckversetzt. Zu guter Letzt gibt es dann auch immer mehr Christen hier. Vor allem in meinem Projekt natuerlich, aber ich habe z.B. auch eine sehr streng katholische Pfarrersfamilie kennen gelernt und immer wieder trifft man Leute ...

Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Fa Cai!!! Hier ist's schon wieder so weit, Neujah ist dah!!! Das chinesische Neujahr ist hier wohl das wichtigste Fest im Jahr. Wir haben hier sechs Tage frei und heute ist der Neujahrsabend. Gestern und vorgestern war die Vorfreude aber schon deutlich zu spueren. Alle waren viel entspannter und freundlicher, niemand wollte mehr richtig arbeiten, und man plauderte viel und alles war geumeutlich und happy. Ein paar Geschaefte ...

... Drog**ien und Elektrogeschaefte; daneben gibts all**lei Klamottenlaeden, etliche Banken, Buchlaeden, etc. und Strassenhaendl** mit Obst. Und dieses Obst ist so unv**gleichlich mit allem was ich bish** kennen gel**nt habe. Einfach reif, saftig, suss und schmackhaft und zwar die ganze Bandbreite von Banane, ueb** Ananas, Mango, Orangen, Kokosnuesse, Melonen, eine Art Litschi bis hin zu ein** stacheligen Frucht, die wie Muenst**kaese riecht, sich auch so ...