Long time, no see!

Hi everybody!

I realize I talk to a lot of people on a semi-regular basis, but you still dont get to see or hear all that much about whats going on with us! Well, Tasha and Jeff visited us in early January and we had a lot of fun. We spent some time in Hualien and Taipei, and they spent some time here in Changhua while Matt and I worked. Well, my Mom and Pat are visiting right now! I am quite bored while everyone else is sleeping, and since I was uploading some pictures I figured I would share them with all of you. If you have not seen the pictures from Tasha and Jeffs visit, I may post a few on here if I have the motivation.



So one of my favorite parts of Taiwan is the night markets. I absolutely love them. Especially the ones up in Taipei or in the big cities. Changhuas is nice, and the food is good, but it doesnt have that amazing energy that big cities just pulse with. There is so much great food, fun games, little shops and trinkets, and people everywhere! Lots of noise, crowds, and there is truly something for everyone. Well, with Tasha and Jeff we were able to go to both Shilin and Huasi Night Market up in Taipei. We played games, did pretty poorly for the most part, although I did win a stuffed animal thing from those claw machines you drop some coins in. Also, the fruit here is beautiful and delicious! There are a lot of fruit stands at Shilin. I love how many colors they are. I really want to try the purple dragon fruit. I guess there is two varieties, and we have only ever tried the whitish one. To me they seem kiwi-ish, one white and one purple, both with black seeds.

Well, we haven't been up to anything too exciting recently. We have to save a lot of money to spend on those pesky little, or not so little, college loans. However, we have two days coming up soon and although we havent finalized any plans we are hoping to do something exciting! You will know when we do! The weather has been getting really gorgeous lately. It still gets pretty chilly most nights, but some days have been getting close to 80. Its been just fabulous. Matt and I have been trying to get out for walks to enjoy this. One day recently we wandered up to Bagua to get some sun, and see all the hawkers selling their stuff. Cant say for certain, but it looked like one lady had ostrich eggs! They were huge!



Mom and Pat have been here since Saturday evening. We all got back to the hotel, and went for a short walk. We happened to stumble upon the Banciao Night Market, which was a lot better than we could have hoped for. We were just out to stretch our legs before turning in (and Matt and I were starving). I had a tasty pork chop (my first that I have knowingly eaten since arriving here), Matt had a steak, and Mom and Pat enjoyed some very Taiwanese noodles with sprouts.

The next day we exhausted ourselves trying to fit in as much of Taipei as we could. We went to 2/28 Peace Park, which was quite cool. There were a whole bunch of people doing martial arts in the park, which was super neat to see. Pat would know more about it than I would, but even I could appreciate and differentiate different styles. Cool swords stuff, tai-chi, Pat said some kung-fu style, and various other stuff probably.

Then we were off to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, where there was some sort of event happening. There were a ton of people there, and I dont even know how to begin to describe it. It was pretty neat though.

We decided to do the Maokong Gondola next, which was definately worth it. We didnt know what we were doing though, so ended up getting in the line/queue for the gondola with the crystal glass floor. It was absolutely amazing, but it took a lot longer, and Im torn on if it was worth it. We did get a gondola cart to ourselves, it didnt cost anymore, but we had to wait in line for a long time! I think on a weekday it wouldnt be such a hassle, but weekends in general in Taipei are a pain in the butt. Oh well, like I said, I am torn on if it was worth it. Doing the gondola is of course worth it, but Im not sure the glass floored one is. It was absolutely beautiful. The ride was amazing, and not very scary even though that type of stuff normally scares me stupid. Once we got up to the top it was even more spectacular. The view was amazing. It was a hazy day, so you could see the mountains off in the distance poking out from clouds. Then the top of Taipei 101 standing among the clouds. It was like something out of a fairy tale. I truly loved it. I cant wait to go back. The view was one of the prettiest I have seen. We ordered a locally grown tea, from in those very mountains, and some lunch. Ate it right there on the deck with the amazing view. (I know I keep mentioning it, but I just cant help myself.) We tried a new food! Pat has been great in just how adventurous he is with food, and so we tried turtle dove! It was actually great. Moist and delicious. Matt was the only one though who actually ate the head, but we all enjoyed the rest of it. We headed back down the mountain, on the normal carriage of the gondola this time.



Then off we went to Taipei 101! We had hoped to make it before dusk originally, but that just did not happen. It is not nearly as cool in the night time, although it does light up prettily. You just cant tell what anything is from that far up, it just looks like pretty lights everywhere. Oh well, now we know. After that we had been out and about for around 11 hours, and were pretty tired. Headed back to the hotel, and stayed in the rest of the night. I think Matt and I had overly optimistic ideas of what you could all do in Taipei in a day, so we missed out on some of our favorites. We are now back in Changhua, but will be off on more exciting pursuits this weekend! I promise I will try to write again soon!