Royal Lees Kaohsiung

... on it. What I will say is that I'm glad that it's over, and I'll not likely be entering into that kind of situation ever again.

So, in accordance with Woodenfish tradition, the evening of our last day of meditation retreat involves a pilgrimage. This involves making the trek to the "Great Buddha Land" shrine, about a mile away from our dorm (starting point). But, this is not just any trek. Our movement must be three steps, prostration, three steps, prostration, etc ...

... Whateverrrr.

Sitting meditation: terrible. Learned a new method, counting breaths. I couldn't get past 7 without moving on to some other thought.

FGS TV station: why did we go? It was a cool space, very photogenic (with I could share), but ultimately pointless. The monastery has its own TV show... more propaganda. However, I did appreciate the time spent in air conditioning.

Afterward, went to change for community service. Had to wear ...

... towering gold buddha, da4fo2cheng2 "Great Buddha Land" (literally big Buddha city), surrounded by thousands and rows of smaller buddhas and bodhisattvas, which reminded me of sharks teeths (rows). From this Buddha's platform, we could see out to the city lights.
After finding our room assignments, dropping our luggage, putting on uniforms, we were instructed to meet downstairs for dinner. Served buffet style, our meal consisted of vaiour ...

... then head back for more ice cream. This time we share green mango. This is tasty as well. Off to the dome of light.

The dome of light is the largest piece of glass artwork in the world – so I am told. It tells the story of the 4 elements – wind, rain, fire, and water. Its cool. So we snap a couple of pictures and head off to see Irene's High School. It is the number 1 high school in the city, all girls because it’s ...

... Pass the beer! The rest of the meal includes seafood noodles, lamb hotpot, lamb rice, and another lamb dish. It was tasty and I don't really like lamb. After dinner we head to Irene's uncle JoJo's house for coffee. Jojo is a coffee fanatic and he "cooks" coffee 3 or 4 different ways. French press, drip brew, café au lait, etc.. He also makes a cappuccino. Its all excellent. My mandarin is improving - I can now say ...

... man das im praktischen Unterricht so gut wie gar nicht, ausser dass die Direktorin bei grossen Veranstaltungen ein kleines Gebet spricht. Die Organisation steht letztlich aber fuer jederman offen. In meinem Pojekt ist auch der zentrale Sitz der Sozialarbeit, wobei der Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit darin liegt, Kindern aus schwierigen und sozial schwachen Familien Hilfestellung zu geben. Ich selbst habe mit diesem Bereich nichts zu tun ...

... for the kids, clothing, leather goods, CDs, and shoes just to name a few. Patrick did a great job of keeping us together and interpreting when we needed a question answered. Melinda said she was hungry for cotton candy and Ted swore he smelled it, but we never did find any. Before we knew it we were out of our self-alotted time and we needed to return to the van to meet Shuying and Alan. We drove back to the hotel, said good bye to Alan and Patrick, and agreed to meet them tomorrow morning at 8:30p.

... Vokabel darunt**) und eine menge Spiele. Mit den Flashcards w**den neue Wo**t** vorgestellt und x-mal wied**holt, jedoch auf spiel**ische Weise, z.B. mit **raten, od** ganz schnell zeigen. Bei den Spielen handelt es sich groesstenteils um Belohnunsspiele, womit die Schuel** belohnt w**den, wenn sie eine Frage richtig beantwortet haben od** eine Satz gesagt haben. Das reicht von Ball w**fen ueb** Luftballonspiel, Huepfspiele ueb ...

... haben etliche Bekannte und Freunde gefunden, machen Sport od** Musik und sind **folgreich in eine ganz and**e Kultur eingetaucht. Als dann uns** Kopft in d** Mittagshitze richtig zu rauchen anfing, haben wir uns bei einem Bad in dem kuehlen Gebirgsbach **frischt. Und zur Fei** des Tages gab es am Abend Barbecue, wobei wir die Wu**stchen auf einem heissen Stein gegrillt haben. Dazu haben wir einen besond**en Reiswein (XiaoMiJiu) d ...

... an addictive clinging, an extremely needy condition that can turn into its opposite at the flick of a switch. After the initial euphoria has passed, many "love"relationships actually oscillate between "love" and hate, attraction and attack. Real love doesn't make you suffer." 25 "Buddha says that pain or suffering arises through desire or craving. All cravings are [your] mind seeking [for] salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute ...