TravelStream™ news feed for member ylavent on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ylavent en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:54:10 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ylavent/1/1215448680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ylavent/1/1215448680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ylavent/1/1215448680/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:54:10 -0400 My Journey in Taiwan

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Tainan, Taiwan

Okay so since I have blogged in a while this is just a hodgepodge of pictures from different events. Dr. Miau is a professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department that I work with here. We celebrated his birthday about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I have included the pictures from that. Apparently its traditional that you get red boiled eggs when you have a birthday... who knew:). The dinner was great as it was lots of seafood and I love seafood. They have a lot of round table restaurants here where the food is placed in the middle and you can spin the table around when you see something you want to eat. The birthday cake was so delicious that I wish I could have shared it with you all, but I am sure you will all find comfort in the fact that I enjoyed on your behalf,lol.

Also as many of you know in addition to my research I also teach in the Foreign Language department, its called English Corner. I have also included a couple of pictures of me and my class, etc. I really enjoy participating in this experience and have learned a lot from the students as well. The students are so eager to learn but its like pulling teeth to get them to answer questions. Many of them speak English very well but are not confident in their abilities and are afraid of making mistakes.I definitely would consider coming back to Taiwan for a year or two to teach at one of the university's. The cost of living here is wonderful and besides the summer weather I think I would do fine.

One weekend a group of us went to KTV which is a karaoke bar, but unlike in the states you only sing to your group. I really their style of doing karaoke. You get a private room that has couches and tables and couple of flat screen tv screens. Their is also a buffet included on the outside that has very delicious foods and drinks. Their are waiters that come to your room to take your orders for alcoholic beverages. We sang alot of songs and yes I did participate! I cant remember all the songs that I did but I remember there was some TLC, Natalie Cole, and Maroon 5. They had a lot more American songs that I thought they would. We all sounded a hot mess which made it even more fun. The KTV place looked like a luxury hotel or something, I tried to take some pictures of the lobby decor.. very nice.

We took a trip one weekend to the Kaohsiung which a city just south of Tainan. They were recently hit pretty hard by the typhoons since they are a port city. The day trip was really nice and we visited the British Consulate that occupied the city years ago. The views were absolutely amazing from just about every part of the pier and consulate.Their was a man playing a flute type instrument as you walked up the steps to the consulate..so many steps, and he played the entire time we were their nonstop! Really soothing music. We watched the sun set from the consulate and as you can see from the pictures it was amazing. It went down so quickly that if you were to blink you would have missed it. You will also see some pictures of my adoring fans....just look at the pictures. I think I will miss my celebrity status here a little:) We also went to the famous Liuho Night Market in Kaohsiung for dinner and just to see the sights. I had some crab legs, Mei fun noodles, and another oyster omelet for delicious!!! As with any night market there are always sights to see and there was no shortage of that here. There was also a restaurant that sold snake and snake poison..apparently the venom works much like Viagra. To take a quote from Night at the Museum... "Moving on!" Next we went to Love River, at night it is bright with lights and colors. You can also take a ferry ride around it but unfortunately we ran out of time:(.

Last week Sara's parents and aunt came to visit here and we all went to dinner together at a traditional Hot Pot restaurant which is actually next door to where we live. The owner's who are sisters are very sweet and you can see them and some their family in the pictures. The Kim Chee hot spot was my favorite!

I also added some pictures from one of my dinner with my friends Mindy and Minlu. There are students in the Institute of Education and have been helping me with my research. We went to a Japanese restaurant as the food was great especially the Sashimi( raw fish) I love it, especially the blue tuna.
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Tainan, Taiwan

A couple of weeks ago I visited Kenting beach and national park which is in the most southern tip of Taiwan. To say I had a great time would truly be an understatement. A friend of mine who went to Virginia Tech last year and took some classes with me invited me and planned the trip, her name is Tess. I invited Sara and Tess's friend Renee also came too. We had an amazing time and go to tour most of the historical sites in Kenting.

I thought it was hot here in Tainan, but Kenting is a whole other kind of heat. I mean I probably applied sunscreen every hour because you could tell the sun was piercing your skin, and the the sunblock quickly became kind of useless. Needless to say I have a wonderful summer tan, lol. In spite of the heat, the beauty of the coastal area of Kenting was undeniable. We took a train from Tainan to Kaoshaung and then took a personal taxi van the rest of the 2 hours to Kenting. The driver was really nice and we took a few pitstops on the way there. I was glad because at one of the stops I was able to buy a much needed sun hat, that you will see in ALOT of the pictures. The hat, by far is one of the best purchases I have made since I have been here. While at the rest stop we took time to walk around a bit and take several pictures. While exiting the restroom I was approached by a group of young asian women and asked to pose for a picture with them. Yeah once again my divine color has elevated me to celebrity status here in Taiwan, lol.... I take it all in stride and they were very friendly.

After leaving the rest stop we got back on the road head to our final destination. Although I slept most of the way there I occasionally opened my eyes to gaze upon the beautiful scenery through the van windows. Once we arrived in Kenting we were scheduled to start our first bus tour, it was like 4pm or so. The bus station was very small and reminded me of a old southern bus station from the 1960's movie. We first went to HengChun which was the original gate to the city, yEast Gate of HengchunzThough better known for its year-round tropical warmth, Hengchun is also steeped in history. The four gates of the old town wall have endured the decades and today open a window to the past. Perhaps the best preserved of the four is the East Gate, the top level of which offers a sweeping view of the town. The 2nd floor of the gate was destroyed but the bottom half has been pretty well preserved.

Next we headed to a beautiful temple,(Fuan Temple) Located in Checheng Township, Fuan Temple is Taiwan's largest temple dedicated to the Earth God. The statue of the principle deity is clothed in a dragon robe presented by the Cing emperor during the Guangsyu reign period. Another notable feature of the temple is the oblation furnace, which automatically whisks stacks of offering money into the flames through thermal convection. The temple was absolutely gorgeous, I continue to be amazed by the shear uniqueness, style, and detail of the architecture of these temples. As usual their were a lot of people their praying and giving offerings to the gods. This temple if I remember correctly had 6 temple gods, you can see most of them in my pictures. People also go to the temples to help them make life decisions. They have these 2 wooden blocks that they toss up in the air and let fall on the ground . If one block is facing up and the other facing down then the answer to the question you asked is Yes. If they are both facing down the answer is no and if they are both facing up , the answer is " I dont know". I think you have to do it three times in row or get yes three times in order to move on. I think if its a major life decision then you have to get "yes" seven times in a row or something like that.

After leaving the temple we still had some time on our hands so we walked over to the market behind the temple. Boiled eggs in all different kinds of flavors are really popular here, so while ate the market I tried the salty egg.... it was um salty and not my type of taste. They also had curry boiled eggs and a black egg that no one could really explain to me what it was. Also I gathered that in Kenting they produce a lot of onions of all different varieties. So you can get them really cheap here.. white, purple, etc all kinds of onions. Next we headed to the Hot Springs where we changed into our swimwear and relaxed for the next 3 hours.

The hot springs,(Sichong River Hot Springs) The Sichong River was first developed as a hot spring destination during the late 19th century and today it is considered o­ne of the best spring areas in Taiwan. The high quality carbonic acid spring water is rich in minerals said to improve blood circulation and relieve stiff muscles. Can I just say that I fell in love with the hot springs and could have sat in them all night long. Its funny my favorite springs out of all of them was the "icy" springs. This spring was needless to say extremely cold in temperature and not many people were in it. It was weird though after you submerged your body in the springs water and got over freezing your body actually begin to feel warm, I stayed in this one for a while. The were also springs that had medicine in them for things like backache, skin problems, headaches, etc. Once you arrive at the springs you have to take a shower to cleanse yourself and then you are welcome to head to the natural waters. I tried all of the springs and I found the one that had live fish in it quite amusing. You can see the pictures of the fish attacking our feet, but really they were harmless just tickled. The Hot springs sit in the midst of the mountains and I cant find the words to describe how beautiful the scene was there particularly when the sunset.

Once we showered and got dressed we went to the hotel where the springs was located and had dinner. A traditional kind of food here is Hot pots, I think I discussed this in a previous blog, but its basically vegetables and meat and you cook it in your own individual fire pot. It was delicious and very healthy, there are all different kinds of hot pots. After dinner we headed to where would be staying for the next couple of nights. Renee's dad who is a firefighter had some friends in Kenting who let us stay in the guest rooms at the firehouse in Kenting. Yes thats right in addition to a great weekend I also go to stay in a Firehouse! It was very exciting, I felt like a little kid,lol. The rooms were very nice and the beds to my surprise were extremely soft and comfortable. I was exhausted and went fast to sleep that night.

The next morning Renee's dad's friend( who escorted us most of the weekend) took us to breakfast and then to meet the tour bus at Kenting National park. The first place we went on the tour this time was a place where natural fire comes out of the ground.Chuhuo ("Emitting Fire"), situated in Kenting National Park about 100 meters from the Hengchun East Gate, earns its name from the natural gas that leaks from numerous fissures in the mudstone ground here. When lit, the gas jets alight into dancing tongues of flame. Even though we had a lot of rain the previous week we could still see the flames and enjoy the view.

Next we headed to a part of the island that had a historic bridge that people used to use to travel from one part of the island to the other. The view from the bridge was amazing and we also walked across the bridge and obviously its still very sturdy! Then we headed to Longpan Scenic Area which is located o­n the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County at the 40.5km point o­n the Eluanbi-Jialeshuei Highway. The raised limestone tablelands here have highly developed limestone karst formations, including collapsed cliffs, pits and caves. The grassland landscape, swept by the northeasterly winds, presents another unique attraction and, due to the lack of lighting pollution, a popular stargazing spot as well. The view of the ocean and the Taiwan coastline was truly a thing of beauty, as you can see from the pictures. I cant say enough about this tropical paradise, so excuse me if I elaborate a little much on the beauty of this island. Our next stop on the tour was Eluanbi which is a plateau at the southernmost end of the Central Range. The 21-meter-high Eluanbi Lighthouse is o­ne of the most impressive lighthouses in Taiwan. Known as the "East Asian Light, " it is a historic preservation site. Eluanbi Park spreads out over a coral and limestone terrain rich in unusual formations, caves, and animal and plant life. As we walked up the path to view the lighthouse, which was a long path uphill in horrible heat by the way, there was several jewelry vendors selling some very nice pieces. I actually bought a pretty magnetic bracelet/necklace. The lighthouse is actually still in use today. The gift shop was also nice, in retrospect I wish I had spent more time there.

We then saw some of the island more famous rock formations, like the one that is famous because it closely resembles our former President Richard Nixon.. and it really does look like him. After lunch we headed to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.It is divided into three theme areas: Water of Taiwan, Coral Kingdom Pavilion, and Waters of the World, each with a variety of interesting and informative displays. One of the coolest things at the aquarium were the penguins, they were adorable. Towards the end of the tour we visited on of our final stops which was Guanshan, or Gaoshanyan, is a coral tableland about four kilometers from Syunguangzuei. Rising 152 meters above sea level, it offers a panoramic view of the Dapingding Tableland and fishing villages to the north; and Longluantan, Nanwan and Eluanbi to the east. This is also the best place to watch the sunset in Kenting National Park. There also was another temple on the top of Guanshun but you couldn't actually go inside. At the top there were also vendors selling food, like sausages and eggs. Its funny because there were two different kinds of sausage on the grill, brown and white.. well what they do is put the brown colored sausage inside the white sausage when you buy it so it looks like its actually inside a bun.

As you past the temple at Guanshan there is a rock formation that looks just like a turtle. Apparently people place notes on the nose, etc of the turtle and make wishes of love to come true. I was amazed how much it really looked like a turtle down to the greenery growing on the top of the "shell". It was later in the evening and this had been a very tiring day so I was glad that we were now off to dinner, at a seafood restaurant. We met up with Renee's dad friend and his family for dinner and had a wonderful time. The were very gracious host to us the entire weekend. The littlest of their children was so shy but by the end of the night I had him wrapped around my finger, he was so adorable, all of the children were... very beautiful family with hearts to match. We had lots of fresh seafood, sashimi, and Taiwan beer. I am not a fan of any beer but I did try it, it kinda tasted like a corona. While we were there we met several of Taiwan senators and took pictures with them as you can see. Dinner was great and then we headed to the Renee's dad's friend( cant remember his name, shameful I know) home. His wife prepared all kinds of fresh fruit for us to snack on in addition to hot tea. We also had frozen peanuts which I enjoyed, they are just frozen peanuts in their shell. We sat and talked for a while and then went to one of the local night markets. We didn't stay at the market long, I think we were all exhausted from the day. We headed back to the firehouse and passed out for the night.

The next day we did water activities, what are water activities you say? Well you actually get to choose which activities you wanted to participate in . I choose snorkeling, jet skis,jet tubing, and banana boat. The snorkeling was very enjoyable and it was so interesting to explore the coral reef there with all the exotic fish and plants. Now for anybody that knows me knows I like adventure like the next person but even for me being out in the middle of the ocean on that jet ski scared me! I think what freaked me out the most was that the guide kept reiterating that if I fall off the ski "to let go and he would come back and get me"... well this wasn't exactly music to my ears, lol. I think I held that man so tight I probably cracked a couple of his lungs, but I didnt fall off. I didn't fall off the tube either, this is where they drag you at high speeds across the ocean while you sit in an inner tube and brace yourself. I may have had some bruises on my hand at the end but know that I DID NOT FALL OFF. I really did enjoy all the water activities, the water was very warm except in a couple of areas. Unfortunately because we were out in the ocean we couldn't take any good pictures, so you gotta take my word for it.

Okay well that is it for this addition of my blog. All in all it was a great trip and I would love to go back before I leave Taiwan.

Tachien, everyone!
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Tainan, Taiwan

This particular blog has a lot of pictures of food that I have been trying. The past couple of days have been really interesting. I celebrated my birthday, went to 2 different night markets, rode on the back of a scooter, and rode my bike around the city!

I have went to a couple of department stores here and they are very nice. The Far Eastern department store has about 8 or 9 floors and an international grocery store on the bottom floor. In the department stores that seem to take alot of pride in their appearance and the appearance of the stores. On the floor with cosmetics and perfumes the people who work there stand faithfully by the counter and greet you as you walk by,.... in some instances they bow. They all had on black suits and maybe a colorful scarf or pendant.

One thing I really love about Taiwan is the fruit...it has some of the freshest fruit I have ever tasted. I really love watermelon, and I have to say I have not been disappointed with the selection of red or yellow watermelon that they have here. The most popular fruits here are watermelon, mango, dragon fruit, papaya, and apples.

We went to the night markets here on Thursday and Friday night. The night markets here are definitely something you have to experience if visiting Taiwan. At the markets they have all different kinds of foods in addition to vendors selling everything from purses, jewelry, shoes, and clothes. Typically you can find things much cheaper than at the department stores. Its like a festival, similar to a state fair or 2nd Street Festival ( for those of you from Richmond) but very very crowded. For those of you who like your personal space, like me, it takes some getting used to. Lets see what did I try, I sampled some very tasty spicy mushrooms, snail, spicy "fish" eggs, pigs intestines or "chitin's"( they taste very much like "American" chitin's), oyster omelet, papaya corn, ice cream that is wrapped in a dough like covering with shaved peanuts and a sauce,and all other kinds of different foods and plenty of fresh fruit. We sampled a lot of stuff so its hard to remember, but I did try to take lots of pictures of the foods they were selling.

At the night market on Thursday I had a little old Asian man, who had to be in his late 80's following me around the market. He spoke and said "Ni Hao" which is hello in Chinese, and smiled really big. So of course I spoke back and from that point on the simply followed me around to every shop I went to smiling and staring at me. Finally I was able to get away from him in the crowd of people, even though when I looked back I saw that he was looking for me. He seemed completely harmless but I didn't have clue to say to him and it got weird to have someone staring at you nonstop! Overall I really enjoyed the night markets, they have them every night of the week at different locations.

I almost forgot how I got to the night market, well I had my first encounter with riding on a scooter since I have been here. Let me say that I am not a person who enjoys going fast on bikes, so most of the time I had my eyes closed. It really wasn't that bad but the weaving in and out of traffic and near hits and misses really tore my nerves up, lol. After the night market on Thursday a group of us went to this bar/lounge which was really nice and had some food and drinks. Before we went to the lounge we passed by an artist gallery and we met on the artist and as a group tried to figure out what some of the paintings were. We all said what we thought it is was and had some brief discussion on it. What was interesting is that when the artist cut the lights off the pictures took on another mood. In the back of the gallery which was located in an alleyway close to a very old temple had very big snails in it, hence the picture warning of us them,lol. The bar we went to which was called Eros bar and lounge was further down this alley and I would have never thought that anything nice was in this shady looking part of an alley, lol.

Joyce, who is one of our graduate student host and some of her friends joined us. We ended having a really nice time. Troy who is a ballroom dancer showed us some of his moves and believe it or not I ended up teaching them how to "step". Thats right Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc doing big thangs in Taiwan, dont be surprised if I charter a chapter over here, LOL. I was surprised that they picked it up so easy, Troy said that he had seen the movie " Stomp the Yard" and was fascinated with that style of dancing. All in all we had a great time and when I got home I was exhausted. While we were out there was a temple celebration that we caught the end of, there were fireworks and lots of people celebrating on the the temple gods.

So on Wednesday I celebrated my birthday with a massage, lunch at one of my favorite places and dinner at this elegant restaurant called The Corner. Of the course the massage as usual was wonderful, this time took a picture with my masseuse, Pe-Lou, who is originally from a city about 2 hours from Tainan. I also did a little shopping and bought some wonderful perfume, that smells heavenly. I really enjoyed my birthday and the only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my family and friends around, but how many people can say that celebrated their birthday in Asia! I really have to thank God daily for this opportunity.

I finally got up the nerve to ride my bide around the city the other day. I wasn't as nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Mind you I haven't rode a bike in like 15 years or more, but its true you never forgot. I managed not to get hit by any cars or scooter which was good. I found that if you just go when all the other scooter go then you will be fine. I am trying to bike in the morning or later in the afternoon when its not as hot. Biking during the day is simply too exhausting, I just opt for walking or a cab if I have to be somewhere in the middle of the day. Cab are not expensive here at all, like $3 for most place that I want to go. Tipping or not tipping is another thing I had to get used to here. It is not custom here to tip at restaurants, etc, people don't do it nor do they expect it. Unlike in the U. S the waiters here make more money in their salary which is why I guess tipping isn't custom here, that goes for taxis too. The only time you may be expected to tip is at the hotels if a bellhop carries your bags to your room. In fact I ordered a pizza from Pizza hut the other day and I tried to tip the delivery guy and he wouldn't take it!!! But you cant say the same in America,lol, I didn't know how to react:)

On the campus of National Cheng Kung University which is where I am conducting my research this summer that have an amazingly beautiful campus. On on of their campuses they have a tree that is huge and lots of students hang out under it and hold celebrations near it. Across the street from it is Cheng Kung Lake which a beautifully calming place. In the lake are hundreds of turtles that populate it and apparently a popular place for dogs to hang out. Next weekend I am going to Kenting beach, which from the pictures I have seen is amazing. So be on the lookout for lots of pics from that. I hope everyone is doing well, and see you next time.
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Tainan, Taiwan

Lets see what have I been up to. Well since my last blog I got a massage at a spa pretty close to where I live. I was really good. I had to tell the lady to ease up on the pressure as she has the strongest hands I have ever felt. However when she lowered the pressure it by far was the best massage I have ever had. I am going back next week to treat myself for my birthday! What was interesting here is that you have to take a shower before and after your massage, actually makes sense when you think about it. They also sit down and have tea with you after, however because of the language barrier our conversation was limited. She was ,like most people here, absolutely fascinated by my hair, lol.

I have been to several different shopping centers here and most of the department stores have at least 6 to 7 floors. Prices here are generally cheaper than in the U.S but it really depends on where you shop. The major department stores are just as high if not higher than in the U.S. They have a place here called Carrefour which is similar to a SuperWalmart/Costco, I mean they sell EVERYTHING. I would like to go back during the week when it a little less crowded though. I have been unlucky when it comes to shoe shopping **sigh** apparently if you wear anything larger than a size 9 you are out of luck when it comes to buying shoes here. Its really unfortunate because they have some of the cutest shoes I have ever seen.

Okay so I found some Crunch and Munch at the grocery store tonight, lets just say I am a happy camper:) The more I am here the more I realize that getting up early is kind of pointless here. Nothing here really opens until 11am or for the majority of stores around 3 or 4pm. It weird we went walking around today for lunch at about 1:30 and everything is closed. Of course the McDonald's is open, but who wants to eat there all the time? Most of the restaurants are open 11-2 and 5-9 but I've found that they pretty much open when they feel like it, and close like that as well.

So I found a shower rod and curtain that I "jimmy rigged" in my bathroom, it actually looks really good and I no longer have to get my entire bathroom wet when I take a shower. I also found a bed mattress so now my bed is a lot softer, Thank God! I have seen a couple of what I think of Christian churches around and I think I will explore them a little more and visit. Well its Memorial Day weekend there and I do miss being around my family and cooking out, etc. Of course here its not celebrated but thats okay, I am going to have a hamburger tomorrow in my own private celebration. I think next weekend I will take the high speed rail to some of temples that are a little further out.
They have the lottery here which is interesting because they have the regular lottery and the sports lottery. Not really sure on the details of the sports lottery, but its probably just what it sounds like. As I discover more American cuisine here I found there is a Subway here, but its almost in another city. I ate at my favorite Taiwan restaurant buffet again tonight, I love this place. They have a spicy fried crab dish that I love! I also found a quaint little Korean restaurant that I like alot as well. My favorite drink here is bubble tea, more specifically almond bubble tea. This is milk tea with tapioca balls at the bottom. I probably drink this 2 or 3 times a day. There are it seems like hundreds of tea shops and juice bars on the street, you cant take 5 steps without seeing one. Some are better than others. They also have a lot of beautiful bakeries here, and the goodies that they have are so elaborate and tasty, which is why I a joining the campus gym tomorrow. I mean I dont understand how people here eat soooooooooooooo much and stay soooooooo tiny, lol. They probably sweat it off, cause the heat between 10-4 is simply exhausting, thats probably why no one is open during that time now that I think about it.

Okay thats all for now, I have more pictures that I will try to upload later tonight or tomorrow, so if there are not on here now just check back later. Tootles:)
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Tainan, Taiwan

So today I went out just exploring around the area I live in. Its a pretty congested area with lots of stores, markets, etc. Of course again there is a 7 eleven on every corner, literally you cant turn a corner without seeing one. Since so many of you asked me if there were really 7-11's I took some pictures for you. I also just found out they have a TGI Fridays here in Tainan, I think they are kind of popular here. My walk was nice, as usual I feel like a rockstar because everyone stares at me,lol. I think this is the closest most of them have been to a beautiful black princess, thats all.

Sara found this beautiful Taiwan temple a block over from where we live just accidentally. It was absolutely gorgeous and the art is just amazing. Yesterday we had two interesting meals. For lunch we went to a place down the street from where we live. We had a rough time ordering and it was quite an experience trying to communicate with the waitress but alas we ordered something. There was a pot in the middle of the table that was heated up and then all the raw food was placed on our table. The pot was then filled with tea and you put the food in and cook it. We had pork and beef slices, tomato's, cabbage, and a whole host of other things that I could not readily identify. There was some different kinds of fish and shrimp( heads on). It actually was pretty good, I just kind of stayed away from the stuff I didn't recognize or looked scary. I had an ice cream cone for dessert and they also gave us what is called a dessert soup. It was very tasty, it was different kinds of lentils served cold in a broth like substance. I have a picture of that also, kind of hard to describe. I didn't take other pics of the lunch cause I kind of forgot but I did take picture of dinner, spicy beef soupy noodles anyone????

Okay so I like spicy food, or I though I did until I ordered the above. I thought it would just be beef and noodles maybe some vegetables. The dish was literally burning the roof of my mouth, lol. In addition I saw 2 chunks in y bowl, a white one and brown one. After some questions to the hostess we discovered the white chunk was tofu, and the brown chunk.....are you ready???? It was congealed duck blood, yes you read correctly and you can take a look at that tasty morsel in my pics. I was so glad I had not bit into that just yet. Over the meal was good just way to spicy for me to continue, less spice next time for sure.

After dinner we went to a cafe across the street from our apartments. A very nice hang out and comfortable environment, its called Tomodachi's. Well I got a piece of cake, a mix between angel food cake and cheesecake, very good. Well while we are sitting there this older Taiwanese man comes up and starts talking to us, which was fine. Then out of nowhere he hands us what looks like potpourri meshed together, and tells us to eat it and how good it taste. So of course I am like NO THANK YOU, but he is constantly persisting and then because I wouldn't take it he put it on my cake plate. He wasn't mean , actually he was smiling and laughing the whole time. Finally after several no's and serious looks he realized we were not eating anything. First of all he was not going to have me dazed and confused in the streets of Taiwan. Mama aint raise no fool, LOL.

Okay I am getting tired so I am about to head to bed, see you next entry.
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Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan

Okay so this is like my 5th day is Taiwan. So far I have visited a Buddhist Temple, spent time getting familiar with Tainan, and met professors at National Cheng Kung University.

The first couple of days were very exhausting. The flight from Chicago to Tokyo was almost 15 hours. I was going stir crazy around hour 6, lol. But the flight overall was uneventful and nice. They fed us alot which I didnt expect. Once we arrived in Tapei we took a taxi ride to the Gloria Prince Hotel to stay overnight. The hotel was very nice and they kindly upgraded us to a suite. Now the beds in Taiwan are not soft, so if you are used to a fluffy bed, then get over it!
The next morning we took a flight from Tapei to Kaoshung. One of the graduate students from the University picked us up with her parents and took us to Tainan, where I am currently. They are very sweet and also took us to the temples and showed us around a little.

The first two days we stayed at the guest house on the campus , which is next door to the university presidents home. Oh yeah when I say "we" I am referring to the other graduate student with me, Sara. The guest house was a nice accommodation.

We went to eat a Korean style restaurant for lunch the other day and had "hot pots" which were very tasty. I think its going to take some time for me to get used to the food though, some I have liked and some not so much. Most restaurants serve beef, pork, and lamb in the city area. In the department store food courts there is more seafood dishes and on the outskirts of Tainan.

Everyone here drives a scooter( young ,old,business people, etc), there are literally thousands of them on the road and its a art not to get hit by one. The driving here is really crazy so pray for me. There are several English channels here which is nice. I watched Scrubs, My wife and kids, and some other movies.

I haven't really been shopping yet so I am really looking forward to that. They have a lot of merchants and stores, and we are going to the mall next week and to dinner for my birthday.

Okay that's it for now.......I hope this meets my sisters standards since she encouraged me to write this blog:)

I am headed to lunch as its Tuesday 12:40pm.
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