Hotel Confucius Inn Tainan

Melinda and I checked into our hotel about 9:30 pm. Our hotel is small, but modern in many ways. It has an elevator, though it doesn't fit more than 2 people if you have luggage. And, in order to access it from the lobby you must walk up about 9 steps. Melinda's room is on the 5th floor and mine is on the 3rd floor. I thought we were 2 floors apart until we got into the elevator and I noticed there wasn't a 4th floor. Evidently in Asian culture, the pronunciation of the number 4 is very close...

I slept like a rock last night. I don't think I even rolled over I was so tired. Surprisingly, I woke up before my 8am alarm went off. I got dressed and headed downstairs to breakfast, picking up the newspaper attached to my door. It was in English, what a pleasant surprise! I was so starving I thought I would eat anything. Breakfast was not quite what I expected, but wasn't bad either. Just different. There were many choices, with a variety of western and eastern foods served buffet style. I...

Tuesday started out early for me. I think I'm not quite over my jet lag. I woke up around 6:30 am before the alarm went off. Breakfast was tastier this morning as the egg selection was omlette florentine. Yum! We meet Alan and Patrick in the lobby of the hotel at 8:30a as we were going to the THL to have project discussions with Dr Wu. There was considerably more traffic this morning than we had seen before, mostly because we left during rush hour. I am still amazed at how they manage to driv...

Today was a much needed rest day, though it really wasn't that restful. All that was scheduled for today was some touring around Tainan City. Alan and Patrick picked us up at 9am and we set off to see the sights. Our first stop was the Eternal Fortress near old Anping. Even though it is Sunday morning, there were an impressive amount of people out and about. Storefronts were open and people were busy taking care of business. And boy is it going to be a scorcher today. The sun is out and it mu...

It's Monday morning and I don't feel like I've had a very restful weekend. Seven days of trying to keep up with Dr Wu is wearing me out. At 8:30a, Alan and Patrick arrive and we pile into the van. We need to drive by NCKU and pick up Dr Wu at his office before heading off on our fieldtrip. We are headed to the southern coastal plain of Taiwan to view an area of land subsidence. We traveled by interstate to Pingtung County, and I am impressed by the highway system of Taiwan. For the most part,...

I got up with the alarm today, though I am feeling more rested after my early evening. Patrick arrived to pick us up promptly at 8:30a, and surprise, surprise, I was late. Today is our presentation day at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan. It is a very short ride to the university, and even with my tardiness, we arrived with time to spare. Inside, we are shown to a theater style classroom with a large screen and a podium on one end. By the time Dr Wu gives his introductory talk, th...

Today was the first day of the 2008 Geological Society of Taiwan Annual Congress. Patrick and Alan picked us up at the hotel at 8:30a, and we made the very short trip to National Cheng Kung University. Two weeks before leaving for Taiwan, I attended the Southeast Geologic Society of America meeting in Charlotte, so I am anxious to compare our geologic meetings to those in Taiwan. Upon entering the hall to pick up our registration packets, it becomes obvious that there is no comparison. There ...

Dr Wu came to pick up Melinda and me at 7:45a because we wanted to see Alan give his presentation this morning at 8:45. Patrick and David drove Ted and Shuying to Kaoshung early this morning for their 8am flight. When we arrived the lobby area was not full and there weren't many people. Dr Wu apologized for leaving us, and off he went to do what we imagine to be very important things. We found seats in the back of the lecture hall and waited for the talks to begin. I sat and caught up on my b...