Tai Shinu Grand Hotel Changhua

... only 'Moon' lake. The Japanese colonists then built the Moon lake into a reservoir for electricity generation and drained the Sun lake part in order to resettle the people there after losing their farm land to the reservoir. The owners of the home stay let us walk on the ground of a grass field, which is still floating on water - it feels like walking on a pudding ( am sure you have all tried ...

... have stuck to fried rice, dumplings, and veggies. The school provides lunch for us everyday. Some days the food is a little scary but you can always count of having rice. Each day for lunch we get 2 hours. It is a nice break in the day but it makes it very hard to come back to work after relaxing for 2 hours. It isn't like the lunch break from student teaching where you ate your food in 15 mins! We also went to a night market last night where I was able to ...

... and I was in charge of keeping us dry. This feat was not easily attained and I was repeatedly yelled at for drops I had failed to catch, I continually got the cold shoulder, as they say, because I was sacrificing arms and limbs and my left shoulder was drenched to maintain a healthy, smiling and dry, Tania. My meager attempt to keep her dry failed and I wondered how these Taiwanese became so well versed in this art of the ...

Just this past week, it was reported that there was a relatively severe earthquake that occurred off the coast of Taiwan and that there may be a chance of a tsunami striking the island. Thankfully, the earthquake did not cause any damage to the island and no effects were felt in my city. Thank you to everyone who e-mailed with concerns about my safety, but rest assured, there is nothing to be worried about. The city ...

... five stories to an unknown outcome that would probably entail a lot of pain. The guides got us all to huddle up and listen attentively as they explained the proper procedure for putting on the "safety harness." About half way through their explanation, I began to realize that the safety harness that would be preventing us from falling five stories to an uncertain outcome was nothing more than a rope that was to be wrapped around our ...

... Our windows get pelted with rain and the wind rattles our apartment door. I guess the only thing I can compare it to would be a Wisconsin thunderstorm (at its peak, with lots of rain and no lightning or thunder) for about six continuous hours. Hence why our last typhoon dropped nearly 40 inches of rain on Taichung. We have a hole in the roof of our canopy that covers one of our balconies containing our washer and dryer. Last night, Joe and I ...

... morning we woke up and enjoyed a delicious McDonalds breakfast. Although back home I am not a huge fan of the Mac-Attack in the early morning hours, breakfast food here in Taiwan is nothing like it is in the states. They serve more lunch-oriented food like chicken sandwiches. So a good Egg McMuffin was a welcome sight after over a month's worth of limited breakfast choices. After our bags were packed and bellies were full, we hit the road and visited the town of ...

... they clearly show that they are happy just to be in school. Andy, a short and pudgy little fella, randomly stood up during our phonics pre-test and did a dance right next to his desk. I asked him why he was dancing, and he simply pointed at his test and said, "This one right, Teacher Scot!" and gave me a huge smile. I laughed out loud and asked him to sit still so that the other students are not disturbed. After lunch, I was called into our ...

... is here studying water quality) on the back of his scooter. As we came upon a very sharp turn, I noticed that Joel was beginning to lose control of his scooter. He and Ashley ended up driving the scooter straight into a five-foot deep sewage ditch. When they fell into the ditch, his hand never left the gas, and they continued to drive another ten feet into a concrete wall. It was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. I immediately ...

... and drinks for free. Ian got a pair of shin guards for soccer and Mel got a handmade crocheted tocque. We landed in Taipei on Christmas eve, and then took a bus to the city where Ian's friend Chris is teaching English. The bus ride showed us much lush tropical greenery and the temperature was 23 degrees celsius. Chris met us at the bus station and we took a cab that followed him on his scooter. We stayed at his cousin Kevin's house. Kevin and his wife ...