Taiwan in a nutshell

If I could figure out how 2 weeks in Taiwan has gone by,
it would great!

Well where did I leave off. After my last post I went to pick Kaid up from school and well I kinda had no idea where I was suppose to go...oops. All the street names are the same and the objects or buildings I tried to remember, well I had a brain fart. Only 10 minutes late I did end up finding him...hehehe.

The first Saturday in Taiwan was unforgettable. We went hiking to this place called Monkey Mountain. It is a mountain in Kaohsiung where monkeys and stray dogs are everywhere. The vegetation is incredible, and the hike was was a nice go at your own pace along the wooden steps. Once we reached the top there was hot tea to drink. As we continued, Ed showed us an old gym on the Mtn. It was like taking a step into another life time. All the equipment was made of sticks, tires, or earth type materials. So of course we tried out a few contraptions, and had a little hula contest too.

The night had us at KTV. In Taiwan they don't just have karaoke machines at bars and everyone sings. It is like a hotel and they rent out rooms with individual machines, washrooms, and seating. There are no windows so it is easy to stroll out at lets say 5:30am and not know the difference. You could say we had some fun.

The next week, Kaid took me to a pier where we walked around a university, took pictures, and had some laughs. It was windy day so walking to the end of the pier wasn't really in the cards. I also discovered some Frisbee players one day at the culture center, so I joined in for a few backhands and impressed the ol' guys a little. They tried to talk to me but, I no speaka good chi-ha-neese! Sheh shen neee (thank you very). I also got to go to school with both Kaid and Charlene. It was special to see both of them and their teaching styles, and how each taught class after class of crazy kids. Apparently Charlene and I discovered we were best friends in a former lifetime too. Who would have known?! Sure will miss you babe! You too Kaid...don't want to leave you out.

Char and I even treated ourselves to a hair wash one day after visiting Lotus Lake with her tutors. It was the most intense hair wash and do of my life. After my 10 or so minute head massage/hair wash at the chair, we continued to the sink for another 10 min or so of 2 ppl working on my hair! Back to the chair and I had girls working on my hair and Char had 3 on hers. They aren't use to curls! It was awesome and cost nothing! I also was fortunate to watch a Christmas concert for a dance company. It had tap, musical bits, belly dancing, and a little salsa. Charlene had done belly dancing there and had a good friend who we went to watch. She was amazing, and it made me miss teaching my munchkins and dancing myself. Thank goodness for hopak on the ipod to cheer me up after the show!

Taiwan was the perfect start to my trip. Stinky tofu, crazy street dogs, scooters, getting so lost that all you can do is laugh, tea stands, strawberry milk, Ali McBeal, friendly people who really think you should be able to understand what they are saying, and amazing friends. If I didn't have so much else to discover I am sure I would still be there starting to settle into the black lung population of Kaohsiung.