My Time in Taiwan

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2011-08-24T12:07:00.000+08:00

Open cracker jacks get a Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-12T12:00:00.000+08:00

I found this story here
US Pres. Obama won the 2009 Nobel peace prize. Many historians are critical of Pres. Obama’s award. He is too early in his presidency to receive such a prestigious award. Other US Presidential award winners had been at least in their second term as president before winning the award.
I was astounded when I heard that Pres. Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. My first thought when hearing this news was “why”. I agree with the historians interviewed for this article, because Pres. Obama has not even finished his first year as president and his foreign policy is still in its early stages, and not well defined as other presidents who have receive the award. After further thought, I still cannot believe that Pres. Obama has received the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Only two other sitting presidents, Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919, have been awarded the prestigious Peace Prize. Roosevelt was honored largely for brokering an agreement between Russia and China, and Wilson took the award for his role in ending World War I and creating the League of Nations. It's far too early to compare Obama to either of his predecessors, said Allan Lichtman, professor of history at American University.” This information is the most important when putting the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Pres. Obama into perspective.
It seems odd to me that Pres. Obama has received the Nobel Peace Prize as incentive to focus on foreign policy. The Nobel Prize has traditionally gone to people who have already accomplished extraordinary tasks. A scientist would not receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to encourage him to create cold fusion. Pres. Obama may live up to the award, but it is still too early to tell.

Moon bombs and sun chips

2009-10-12T11:59:00.001+08:00

I found this story here
NASA launched a satellite to the moon with the sole purpose of making the satellite crash into the moon. The point behind launching the satellite into the moon was to find water. The launch was successful and two new craters were added to the moon’s façade. The resultant dust cloud has culminated into 100 terabytes of data for NASA to filter through.
This is great. I am glad that NASA is pursuing more moon research. I think that this is a great direction for the space program. The article focuses more on the impact than what NASA plans to do, if it finds water, but I think it would be great if NASA would reestablish a presence on the moon.
Just the title of the article is intriguing. “NASA Moon Bomb Stirs Up Cloud” NASA has partnered with Google and Microsoft to record this occurrence. This is great for the entire world. As the moon is the closest celestial body to the Earth, it is important to learn more about it. I think that this is a great step forward to possibly colonizing the moon. If they find water, this will make that idea possible.
The idea of finding water on the moon is fantastic for all astronomers, and amateur astronomers, everywhere. Being able to go to Google and watch the impact is great, and the cooperation between Microsoft, Google, and NASA has made it possible for everyone to view the impact. I hope that scientists will be able to find water on the moon so that further progress toward the moon can be made.

What is it and how did it get there?

2009-10-09T07:58:00.001+08:00

I found this story here

Stonehenge is one of the world’s great mysteries. There are many theories behind why it was built and how it was built. This article explains a few of the theories behind Stonehenge and the myths that have grown around it.

I found this article to be extremely interesting. I think that all the different theories that have grown around Stonehenge to be fascinating. Before reading this article I had no idea that there were theories connecting Merlin and King Arthur’s court with Stonehenge.

“In the 12th Century, the legend of King Arthur wasn't completely regarded as fiction. In his account of Stonehenge, historian Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that troops tried to move the stones from Ireland to England in order to provide a monument for their war dead. When they couldn't, they enlisted the help of the wizard Merlin to transport the massive stones — some weighing as much as 50 tons — back to Britain before arranging them in the current configuration.” I thought that this story was very interesting. The article continues to explain other reasons, some being that Stonehenge was built to predict celestial events, such as solar eclipses.

My favorite theory is that space aliens built Stonehenge, because it seems even more farfetched than Merlin moving the stones by magic from mountains in Ireland. Though there were some more scientific explanations presented. Mostly, scientists believe that Stonehenge was built as a means to judge when the winter and summer solstices. It was also interested that Hawkins, had found 165 different celestial correlations between astrological phenomenon and different points on Stonehenge. Also, it is fascinating that Stonehenge has been around since 3000 BC, far before the Druids, the people that are usually connected to Stonehenge.

Blame it on Rio

2009-10-03T10:47:00.001+08:00

I found this story in the Guardian,

The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio De Janeiro. It will be the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that it will be held in South America. This article lists the competitors as Madrid, Spain; Tokyo, Japan; Rio de Janeiro; and Chicago, USA.

When I first saw that there was finally going to be an Olympics held in South America I was excited. It’s great that the world is expanding to include more less- developed nations. Though as I continued reading the article, I thought it was odd that Pres. Obama found it was worth his time to go to Copenhagen. It seems that when Chicago was eliminated in the first round, it was a great embarrassment to him, because he took such a personal interest in the project.

“It made for a dramatic denouement to a day that had begun with Obama making a late dash across the Atlantic to try to secure the Games for Chicago. In a slap in the face for the president, who had faced criticism from domestic political rivals for making the overnight trip to Copenhagen in order to spend just under five hours lobbying the IOC, the US city was eliminated in the first round of voting.” It was this paragraph that made me critical of our president’s actions. There are a lot of domestic issues that most people would think to be more important than where the 2016 Olympics will be.

I am still excited about the Olympics being in South America. I know that many people will be looking forward to the 2016 Olympic Games with bated-breath as always; especially, because of the drama involved in the location decision, which garnered such a dramatic move by Pres. Obama.

Anyone up for a Pint??

2009-09-15T02:16:00.002+08:00

I found this story at ABCNews.com. It is about Irish tourism.

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland was the most visited site in all of Ireland last year. It had more than one million visitors. The majority of visitors cited culture or history as their reason for visiting the Emerald Isle.

Bord Failte ( the Irish Tourist Board), estimates that cultural tourists spend nearly twice what an city-break tourist spends. Making the cultural tourism sector worth around two billion euros, for Ireland every year. They figure almost 3.4 million overseas visitors travel to Irish culture sites, every year.

Although I have yet to visit Ireland it is one of my top 3 places I plan to visit. The St James Gate Brewery is one of the attractions I plan on visiting. Guinness is one of the most successful beers in the world and is the best selling alcoholic beverage of all time in Ireland. Besides being a great drink Guinness is good for you, since it contains many of the same antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables.

Dalai Lama

2009-09-01T06:01:00.002+08:00

I found this story in the Irish Times. It is about the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Taiwan.

The Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan is to pray and help comfort fellow Buddhists, in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. The visit was arranged by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's political opponents, President Ma agreed to the visit after recent criticism of his government's slow reaction to the devastation caused by the storm.

Mainland China has not formally criticised President Ma, this may be a sign that China wants to keep the recent improved relations between them intact. President Ma since coming to Office last May has increased relations with China, going so far as to opening up direct flights between Taiwan and the mainland. Before Ma, a Taiwanese citizen had to get a connecting flight out of Hong Kong in order to visit the mainland, and Chinese citizens were not allowed to visit Taiwan.

While in Taiwan the Dalai Lama urged the Taiwanese to preserve the democracy they had achieved. I believe that the Dalai Lama's visit should be taken in the same vein as the Pope's visit to an area, just a Holy figure going to comfort his followers. I hope that President Ma's efforts in strengthening the ties with China will help establish Taiwan as it's own country. With continued success in binding the two countries together peacefully, I think that China will come to accept Taiwan as a neighbor and not an unruly province.

English 101

2009-08-23T10:12:00.002+08:00

I will be using my blog in my online course for English 101, but don't go away it may turn out to be quite entertaining.

My first news story

2009-08-23T10:11:00.002+08:00

I found my story at FOXNews.com. It is about a foreign dignitary's criticism of the actions of our countries former administration. A top general in the Chinese army is upset that the United States
has sold arms to the government of Taiwan.

China's position on Taiwan is that it is a rebel province, while I side with Taiwan. I believe that Taiwan is it's own independent country and should be recognized as such. General Chen is upset that the United States only comes to China when it needs something, and does what it wants at all other times. I would have to agree with the General on his view, when discussing our foreign policy. Our government rarely takes into view what affect it's policy will have on other cultures.

I reacted the way I did to the article due to my time spent overseas in Taiwan, and my growing understanding of Asian cultures. "Once the United State needs us to cooperate, they are good to us, they are friendly to us. Otherwise, they can do anything they want, even to offend the Chinese people. But I don't think that kind of cooperation can continue," Chen said. I hope that this statement will no longer be true, with our new administration. There are too many examples of this in the last eight years to count.

Taiwan is going to continue to be a hotbed of controversy until the United Nations accepts it's bid to join. We should openly support Taiwan, despite the political repercussions of doing so. Just think of what the world would be like today if the super powers of the 1700's, didn't support a fledgling country that broke away from Great Britain.

Sweet Home Missouri

2008-08-13T21:17:00.001+08:00

Well I am back in Missouri for now, working on getting my degree. I will be back to Taiwan someday, I love the people and the places too much not to return.

Rain rain go away

2008-05-31T12:47:00.002+08:00

I know I haven't been keeping this blog updated as I should, and I apologize for that. Lately when the weekend rolls around I am stuck in my apartment due to the incessant rainfall. I will try and be better at keeping you updated at what is going on. Yesterday I was invited by my 5th year students to have a lunch in appreciation for my excellent skills in teaching. It was a wonderful time, we went to a restaraunt named Rock, whose specialty is Hot Pot. Hot Pot is where you have a pot with broth and veggies and meat and it cooks up at your table. Your table also has little bbq grills on it so you cook your own food, while the Hot Pot is going. It was wonderful, lots of different types of meats and at the end the Hot Pot was spectacular, all the different flavors of the ingredients had merged to make one overwhelmingly wonderful taste. Now I am going to include a few pictures I took a couple weekends ago when I went to a the third largest temple in the world. It is a buddhist temple and I was there on Buddha's birthday ( whatever ) It is a huge celebration for the buddhist's and the temple was very cool. I hope you enjoy the few pics, I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

It's the Ice cream man..... well not really

2008-05-17T10:35:00.001+08:00

Here in Taiwan they have a very strange garbage system. They pick up your trash everyday here with a musical truck. I found this little video that shows a typical day at the garbage truck.

Driving Miss Daisy

2008-05-17T09:59:00.003+08:00

I haven't been that good lately at keeping this blog up to date, but I decided today I would share a little of what it is like to drive here. I ride a little 90cc scooter here, it is my main mode of transportation like the majority of the people here. I found this little video online that shares a glimpse into what it is like riding a scooter here. This video is pretty tame as to what it is really like riding here. Although it does share some good things like the red light running and weaving through cars. This is my daily life here, but don't be afraid I try to be as careful as possible, I haven't followed the red light running. I hope you enjoy the video and I will try to update more often. I miss you all and will talk to you soon...

My gift is my song and this ones for you....

2008-04-29T21:24:00.003+08:00

Well I spent the weekend pretty much doing nothing. Did laundry and watched some movies I had downloaded during the week. I watched "The Forbidden Kingdom" pretty good movie it had all the things I have come to love in a Jackie Chan film. I found a gym, well sort of it is a weight room and I am starting to go, trying to get back in to shape. Everything here has been good. Yesterday I got completely soaked, since I had to ride my scooter home in a downpour. I gotta tell you it is hard to see in the rain when you don't have a windshield, my sunglasses unfortunately didn't come with their own wipers. Well that's all for now, I miss you all and will talk to you soon. Oh and I wanted to especially congratulate Johnny's little Troopers they did their job and Arlie is totally preggers! I'm gonna be an Uncle..... How cool is that!

Bringing the Flavor of the West to the East

2008-04-11T23:34:00.000+08:00

Well I decided I would introduce my students to a good old American style BBQ. It was a little hard trying to find steaks, a couple of my students had to look around for a while but finally found a butcher. So we went to the butcher and got 1500NT worth of steaks, which of course my students said was too expensive, which gave us about 30 small steaks. Got some veggies, tea, soda, charcoal, and a couple grills. I had planned on having the BBQ at Swan Lake, but my students had a better location. We had the BBQ behind a 7-11 that was on the way to the Orchid show. It is a very nice picnic area with a covered area so we could stay out of the sun. The steaks were a big hit and about thirty of my students showed up. We had lots of fun eating and chatting away. After the BBQ, some of my students decided to go to the beach and invited me along. It was about a 30 minute ride to the beach but it was a lot of fun. The girls kept trying to splash me, and I would kick a wall of water at them and drench them. A couple of them were digging up little crabs from the beach and playing with them. I would include pictures, but I had too much to carry for the BBQ and couldn't bring my camera along. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

North vs South

2008-04-06T21:00:00.003+08:00

Well I just got back to Sinying after spending the last 6 days in Taipei. It rained most of my stay in Taipei, but it was a very nice trip. Jennifer (one of my students) was my tour guide for the entire trip, her wonderful family opened their home to me. I was treated as one of her family and loved it. Jennifer's Aunt is married to a Texan named Leroy, he was in Taipei on business so we met up with him on Friday, and ran around a while. Leroy was a great guy, he treated us to lunch at Jake's some pretty good Mexican food, with really good margarita's. After lunch we went to the American Club, very ritzy, with a well stocked bar that I took advantage of for a Bailey's and Coffee. Taipei is a really great city, but I prefer here in the south. Cheaper living without all the crowds, and mayhem. I travelled all over the Taipei area, and saw some cool things. Didn't take very many pictures due to the rain, but will post what I did take on my photobook, and put a link up in another post. Well that's enough for now, I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Into The Great Wide Open

2008-04-02T07:16:00.000+08:00

So my first morning in Taipei, I woke up at 5:30 because I went to bed around 11. After I took a shower and got dressed, Jennifer’s older Auntie, who is staying here until Tomb Cleaning Day, was awake and opened the security gate for me so I could take a walk. I walked down to the corner 7-11 for a Cafe Au Lait, which here in Taiwan I had to settle for cold (7-11 has no hot drinks, kind of strange). It is lightly raining on and off, so the streets are wet and early in the morning the city, at least in this area is just waking up. It was a very nice walk, I enjoyed it. I think we are going to the National Museum and some other places today. I will try and update tonight, if not it will be an early morning memory session. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

2008-04-01T22:14:00.001+08:00

Today I started my Spring Vacation trip to Taipei. I met Jennifer in front of the school at 3pm, well it was supposed to be 3, but she runs on Island-Time like everyone here. Jennifer’s Auntie took us to the Chiayi HSR (High Speed Rail) Station. There we had to exchange the tickets I had purchased online earlier in the week, because we changed stations and time. High speed rail travel is the way to go; we went from Chiayi to Taipei in an hour and 32 minutes. We paid about ten dollars extra to ride in the business class car, it only has two seats per row and they give you complimentary drinks. A very smooth and fast ride, everyone should try it at least once. We arrived in Taipei and took a taxi to Jennifer’s Grandmother’s house, where we will be staying. Jennifer’s Mother lives about ¼ mile away and she prepared a dinner for us. Jennifer’s family is so sweet, they are all afraid that I am not being taken care of well enough. Jennifer’s mother was making curry for dinner, and after about five minutes of them trying to get me to understand that she was making curry, I mentioned Thai curry. They had never tried curry with a coconut base, so Jennifer’s mom reached under the counter and pulled out a container of coconut milk and put it in the curry, it was a huge hit. I met Jennifer’s younger sister and her voice just busted me up, I had to constantly bite back laughter. She has the voice of an Anime girl when she isn’t getting her way, it slays me. After dinner we sat around and Jennifer caught up with her family. We headed back to her Grandmother’s where they were talking on Skype to Jennifer’s Auntie that lives in Texas. Her Auntie married an American 25 years ago, so after a while Jennifer dragged me in to talk with her auntie. I had a wonderful conversation with her Auntie for about an hour; well it was Jennifer, her Auntie and I talking. Her husband is in Taiwan right now, and will be taking us out for dinner Friday. Jennifer’s Auntie had a lot of good ideas of things to see while I am here. I am going to sign off now; I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

We all live in a Yellow Submarine.....

2008-03-30T18:03:00.002+08:00

Today I had the best sashimi, I have ever tasted in all my life. Probably because it was swimming in the ocean hours before it was put down in front of me. I spent the day in Budai, it has a very famous fish market, well known throughout Taiwan. I snapped some pictures of the fish market but I left my camera in my Scooter and I am too lazy to walk downstairs and get it. So I am posting a photo, from caveman_lee (go check out his photo's, he is pretty talented), that best represent the wonderful sashimi I ate. Not only did I have wonderful sashimi, I was treated to a 8 course meal by one of my students Aunt's. All super fresh seafood, sea bream, prawns, chow mein, chow fun, some kind of small fish that was heavenly and two different types of clams, one in a broth and one in a sauce, amazing food. Budai is about a half hour ride from my apartment. The seafood there is so cheap, Jennifer (my student) bought 6 tuna steaks to take home nice large cuts for 350nt, that's less than 12 dollars. There were so many types of sea life in the market, some fish I have never seen. The only problem is I have no idea what their English name is. Well I am going to end this post I am heading out to the night market for dinner. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

A Feast for the Senses

2008-03-24T19:51:00.002+08:00

I spent my Easter Sunday wandering around the streets of Kaohsiung. After a 1 1/2 train ride I arrived in Kaohsiung. The MRT Kaohsiung's new subway, is free to ride for the first month. It was insane how many people were taking advantage of their new public transportation. I got on the MRT and went to the shopping district, 3 stops away. There were their major department stores, each at least 10 stories high. I went in one store and browsed around for a while, until I made my way to the 14th floor. There I had lunch at a wonderful tea house, where I had some excellent Dim Sum. After a very filling lunch I made my way back to the MRT and travelled to the Love River, there I took a boat down the river to Kaohsiung harbor. I walked around the harbor for a bit and then grabbed a cab and went to Central Park. The shopping around Central Park is amazing, anyone that enjoys shopping would be in heaven. I snapped some pictures of the crowds shopping, I also took a picture of a stores sign, the store was named Marijuana. You have to realize in Taiwan there is no illegal drug culture, mainly due to the fact that they put drug traffickers to death. I also took a few pictures from the boat on Love River. I hope you all enjoy the pictures. The sights and sounds and smells of the shopping district all swirl together to make for a most enjoyable experience. I imagine Harajuku must be something close. Tweeter you would love the stores there, they have many shops from all around the world, and little boutique stores. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

A flower by any other name.....

2008-03-20T08:51:00.003+08:00

Let's see it has been a little while since I last updated. I went to an Orchid Show last Friday, because 2 of my students were working there. I got a few good macro shots of some Orchids, and I was introduced to the fact that there are hundreds of different species of Orchids. They also had some Bonzai s I will put a picture of my favorite. The two girls are my students Jen and Judy, Jen was my tour guide for the show. I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Just another day in Paradise

2008-03-13T18:56:00.002+08:00

So another week of school has gone past, had a lot of fun teaching. I have some pretty cool students, went to lunch with a group of them yesterday and then they invited me to the Yenshui night market. A lot of fun, even though after a while I began to feel like an ape in a zoo. People can't help but to stare when they see the giant white guy, it kinda cracks me up. Some of the girls from my class today wanted to have their picture taken with "Teacher". I only took one picture of the group, trying to maintain the teacher student relationship at least for a little while. I will include the pic of the girls, and some random shots on campus. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Swan Lake - SinYing City, Taiwan

2008-03-08T08:08:00.003+08:00

I had put up another slide show but it bogged the page down too much, so I am including a link to the next series of pictures. I took these at a local man made lake, it's about 5 miles from my apartment. I hope you enjoy the photo's, I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Swan Lake

Temple Time number 2

2008-03-07T22:15:00.002+08:00

Temple Time

2008-03-07T17:32:00.003+08:00

Ok the next three entries are going to be all pictures that I took today of two temples here in SinYing City.

Shake Rattle and Roll

2008-03-05T17:12:00.002+08:00

Well my slumber was disturbed last night by a 5.0 earthquake centered about 30 miles away. The shaking woke me up, but like every jaded Californian, I just laid there till it stopped and went back to sleep. I guess they don't happen all that often here because I heard people wandering around afterward. Well I am going to go and run down something for dinner, pictures will be posted sometime this weekend. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

An Apple for Teacher

2008-03-04T12:03:00.003+08:00

I am writing this blog to you all from my desk in my office at NJTC, cool huh? I am teaching 5 classes a week for two hours each class. I will be preparing the students here to pass the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). I purchased a scooter today a Yamaha 90 for 8000nt that comes out to about $250us, pretty cheap! Everything is going wonderful here, and now that I have transportation besides my two feet, I will be taking a lot more pictures to post for all of your eyes. Well it's lunch time here in Taiwan so I am going to sign off and go get some food. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Classes Begin

2008-03-03T14:12:00.003+08:00

Well I attended my first Mandarin class here today, and it was very laid back. I am in a class with 5 French and one Japanese student. We have class every Monday morning from 0810 - 1000, the class uses a textbook designed to teach Chinese students how to speak to tourists. Tourism is a major industry here in Taiwan. I was given my class schedule today and an Office of my very own, it's way cool. I teach Monday through Thursday so I have a three day weekend every week. The French guys are very cool, they invited me to join them on a trip to the coast this weekend, if they can wait until I finish teaching Thursday, I will probably join them. I was given the choice to teach two different curriculum's this morning and I need to go and read through both of them to see what will be better. But I think I will leave it up to my students, since they will have to purchase whatever book we use, and one of them is expensive here, like $30. I miss you all and will talk to you soon.

Meet the Neighbors

2008-02-27T07:06:00.002+08:00

I found the easiest way to meet most of my neighbors at one time last night, just go out for trash time. I posted earlier how they pick up trash like everyday here. Last night I heard the now familiar sound of the garbage trucks melody playing, so I rounded up my trash bag and headed downstairs. When I got downstairs I found that I was waiting along with around ten other people for the trashman. I don't know if I have said it before,but Taiwanese people are so nice. Everyone greeted me with a smile and a Ni Hao. I went for a four mile walk yesterday to scout out some places to take pictures this weekend, and to basically get to know my neighborhood. There are a couple of really cool looking temples that I will be posting pictures of this weekend. Well I have to go, much love to you all, and talk to you soon.

Quick Update

2008-02-26T06:44:00.002+08:00

Since some have asked I figured I would post on the food here. If you like Chinese food you will be in heaven. Yesterday I went for Chow Mein with beef, pork, shrimp, and squid. It cost me about $1.50 for a huge plate. Last night I walked a block from my apartment and got a bento box with bbq pork, duck, vegetables and rice. That plus my milk tea, total cost for dinner $2.10, talk about a deal. Food here is wonderful and it is so cheap, well I have to jump in the shower and start another day. Talk to you soon

More of the Lantern Festival

2008-02-25T07:31:00.001+08:00

Lantern Festival

2008-02-24T23:03:00.003+08:00

Ok for all of you wanting pictures, tonight I went to a Lantern Festival and took some so without anymore of my yammering. Blogspot was having major problems with me and the pictures so These are all I loaded. Hope you like them.

Rain Rain Go Away

2008-02-22T17:49:00.002+08:00

Well I don't have all that much to add for today due to the rain. I went for a walk this morning to get some breakfast and found a really cool Temple less than a block from my apartment. If the rain lets up I will get some pictures tomorrow. In addition to my taking a chinese class and teaching an english one, I was offered the opportunity to take a beginners french course, so I say what the heck let's go for it. I also found out I will be paid to teach the english course, how cool is that. Here is something really different; they pick up trash here everyday! They come by in this bright yellow garbage truck that blares ice cream truck music. I missed getting a picture of it today, but count on a picture of it tomorrow. Well this will be all for today's installment. Talk to you all soon. By the way here is my attempt at a panorama of the view from my window.

Yenshui Beehive Festival

2008-02-21T22:26:00.002+08:00

As the full moon rose above the small village of Yenshui, crowds of one hundred thousand plus swarmed the streets to celebrate the beehive festival. Walking through the streets pushing my way pass the throngs of people, sometimes barely visible due to the copious amounts of acrid smoke billowing from the fireworks. Explosions rock me from all sides as all types of fireworks are ignited, people are running to and fro trying to find a safe haven from the bottle rockets that zip into the crowd. This is one of the most insane and dangerous activities I have ever witnessed, yet it was so much fun. I had planned on sharing a lot of photographs of the festival, but I made the ultimate rookie photographer move, I forgot to load my memory card. I took it out of the camera last night in Kaohsiung to share the photos of my hotel room. All is not lost however due to the diligence of another foreigner here in Taiwan. Here is a link to some pretty cool photos of the festivities. Yenshui Feng Pao
On another note, the University threw a welcome dinner for me tonight, which was wonderful. I was seated at a table with only beautiful Taiwanese Girls. Can I get a woohooo? I am writing this to all of you from the desk in my new apartment in Sinying City. I got here today and found an apartment and moved in. I have to go to the government so I can open a bank account and get a cell phone out here. I will update that little piece of trivia when I get more information. I am currently dead tired, so I am going to end this diatribe and get some shuteye. Just to let everyone know I am 16 hours ahead of Missouri.

One Night in Kaohsiung

2008-02-21T00:06:00.002+08:00

Well my plane got in too late to make the night market, but here I am in my hotel and all I can say is wow. Here are some pictures of this splendid establishment. Imagine I had to fly half way around the world to find a shower taller than me. I will try and update with pictures from the beehive festival tomorrow.

I'll Fly Away

2008-02-19T23:43:00.002+08:00

So I bid a fond farewell to the grand old US of A as I embark upon my Asian Journey. I hope all of you wonderful readers are doing well. Someone do me a solid and check up on Katie and Jimmy, had a bad dream about the two of them, just wanna be sure they are alright. The next post you will read from me will be in Taiwan or maybe at the airport in Hong Kong if I have time. Keep me in your prayers and I will talk to you all soon.

California Luv

2008-02-18T01:10:00.002+08:00

Well and update I am sitting at my Mom's house in Hayward, I was able to run down Dr Fang Friday, he suggested 2 bottles of wine(1 is an unlucky number). I am going to Pier 39 in San Francisco today. Well I am going to get another cup of coffee, talk to you guys later.

Leaving Missouri

2008-02-17T00:24:00.002+08:00

So we are waiting for Allie to show up so we can head to the airport. Rapper is leaving to Sacramento to visit his cousin for a week, and I am off to Oakland to spend a few days with my Mom until Tuesday when I fly out to Kaohsiung. I will arrive Wednesday night at 10:30pm, I hope to make it to Liuho night market. So my next post should include some photos.

The Final Countdown

2008-02-15T01:56:00.002+08:00

Happy Valentines Day!
Well yesterday I drove up to Kansas City to get my Visa squared away. I also stopped by AAA and picked up an International Drivers Permit, I whole heartedly recommend this for anyone traveling abroad, a small $15 fee and you can drive legally in almost every country. Well thats all for today

Last days in Missouri

2008-02-13T02:17:00.000+08:00

Well it looks like the time for me to leave to Taiwan is rapidly approaching. I still need to get my Visa, thanks to a lack of funds for my passport, this is cutting it to the wire. I have my tickets, my passport will arrive today or tomorrow morning, then it is off to Kansas City to get the Visa. I am wondering if I should bring a gift for Mr. Su, he is my contact at NJIT and had graciously opened his home to me for the first few days of my arrival. I'm pretty sure a gift is warranted, just don't know what it should be. Hopefully I can run down Dr. Hou or Dr. Fang and get there opinion. Well there is not much left for me to write today. I will talk to you guys soon...