Rachteach22

Finally the end of my time in Taiwan has come. Thinking back to some of the rough parts of the year I never thought I could make it to this day. I am so happy and excited to be going home, but I am sad to leave this place I called home for the past year. There have been ups and downs and good and bad. I hope to block out the bad and only remember the good of the island known as Formosa. This place has offered me endless travel opportunities each weekend and there are new things to discover around every corner. There is no way you can know what Taiwan is until you have spent some significant time here, learning and discovering. When people first arrive most only spend time in the ... read more

Last weekend I was in Hualien. Hualien is on the East coast of Taiwan. Words alone cannot describe how beautiful and amazing it was. I am now kicking myself for now going there. The west is good to travel and see alot of places and history of Taiwan but the East cannot compare with the scenery. I now understand why they dont have cable, dont spend hours on the computer and they ride thier bikes. Hualien is good for so many things. The air is crisp and clean, the mountains and Pacific Ocean, and natural beauty. There are so many things to do here, it would be hard to get bored on the weekends. If I ever come back to Taiwan, I will live here without a doubt. Mary and I spent the weekend hanging ... read more

Continuing about some of my experiences here, it has been a humbling year. I have read alot of articles about young college graduates going out into the world as cocky know it alls. They think they have learned everything and this is something I read again and again. Websites telling you graduates in interviews to try and admit they have alot still to learn. Well lets be serious, there is no way you can ever possibly know everything. I will be the first to admit I still have so much to learn, and I can spend the rest of my life learning and I will barely scratch the surface. Two of my favorite Chinese sentences are, " Wo bu ge dao and ting bu dong." Meaning "I dont know and I dont understand." I dont ... read more

This weekend I was up in the mountains. Friday night Muoy and I headed to Puli, which is the geographical center of Taiwan, to spend the weekend hiking, paragliding and whatever else came our way. There is a hostel run by foreigners and they also take the guests river hiking, paragliding, kayaking and whatever else they choose to do. Yuri picked us up at the bus stop and we went to the hostel. I felt right at home when we got there. There is a bar and cafe downstairs and about 6 beds upstairs and Yuri lives on the 3rd floor. We had a great time hanging out on Friday and just talking. Saturday we headed out in the morning for a river hike. I wasnt sure what to expect but we certainly were not ... read more

A baseball game Taiwanese style. What can I say, I love baseball. Or a more appropriate sentence should be, I love baseball players. That’s more like it. Everyone knows this and I’m not ashamed to admit I go to baseball game solely for the enjoyment of cute boys in tight pants. So needless to say I was pumped for the Taiwanese baseball game. We were not sure what to expect when we arrived at the stadium. First of all we parked our scooter a mere 50m from the entrance. That would never happen back home. Secondly there was a beautiful gate as the entry. Just adding to its Taiwanese appeal. We checked out the vendors selling the normal baseballish things. Noise makers, key chains, phone charms, shirts, fans and what not. We wandered around looking ... read more