Blogs from Taichung, Taiwan, Asia - page 8

First stop today was Wade’s elementary school. We were on a mission to find a childhood friend of his. She appeared in several old pictures he had, and he seemed to have a good recollection of her. The school was able to give us some addresses, but she wasn’t at any of them. After that we headed out to Sun Moon Lake, one of the most popular destinations in Taiwan. It’s home to the aboriginal Thao people, but these days all you see is busloads of tourists. The Lake gets it’s name from the two islands in the center of it—one round, one crescent-shaped (sun and moon). However, during the 1999 earthquake, the “moon” (Lalu Island) sunk. Our first stop at Sun Moon Lake was one of the most famous (and expensive) resorts in Taiwan ... read more

The Go Karts here are so much fun. Well, I have no previous experience to draw from but nonetheless, they are wicked. I started off pretty slow--getting used to the idea that I wasn't going to flip over. Then as I got comfortable, I went a bit faster. I dont' know how fast they went but the others said it was faster than regular ones they were used to. I still ended up last and with dirt all over the exposed parts of skin. I guess I did eat their dust. In the evening, we went to see Perfect Stranger at the movies--Gold Class style. Wow. I mean, 'WOW!'. It was such an amazing experience. Only 30 seats per theatre. All of which are huge lazy boy reclining chairs with a small table to share between ... read more

Woke up this morning at 7:41am again. I woke up at the exact same time yesterday too. Kind of weird. The sun is already so bright so I always think it's noon but it's far from it. Helped my sister clean her apartment. Sidenote: Her cat likes to eat plastic and then it has to be locked up because shortly after, he throws up. Why he likes to eat plastic? I have no idea. After helping Alice with a couple of short errands, we went to the bike shop where I ordered a new mountain bike. I'm just going to mail it home super slow so it'll get to Canada just as I return. It was the Giant Yukon AS840. She's a pretty one. Hm, I guess now I have to take up biking again. Again? ... read more

I have had lots of time today...obviously this is my third blog of the day. But I was reading thru my old blogs and it so funny to see how much I have changed and what my first impressions were of this place. Some of the impressions have changed while many have stayed the same. I find it humerous to see how enthusiastic I was a first, but I guess the novelty has to wear off at some point. I noticed I talked alot about boys in the beginning, and I realized I haven't mentioned anything in a while. Probably cause I am immune to the fact there are no decent guys here. I am past the point of caring now. They only thing on my mind is how the heck I am going to ... read more

I am here! What a plane ride! I mean plane rides. They were all on time and my luggage arrived safely. United Airlines I commend you (thus far). I essentially slept all the way to San Francisco. From San Francisco to Nagoya, I had an empty seat to my left and right so I was pretty comfortable. There were people at the ends though so laying down wasn't really an option. At Nagoya, the Japanese luggage handlers stood in single file to grab the bags! It was pretty amusing. Also amusing were the anime characters that accompanied written instructions. Here at my sisters I unpacked all my granola bars (etc) and took a shower. They have a funny Japanese shower. Difficult to explain by words and I'm too lazy to add a photo. Use your imagination ... read more