abby's diary 2

I am getting behind on so many days because we have been going non stop, but here is another recap of how our trip is going.
I hope you enjoy - Abby

4. Day 2 of action began with a trip to one of the privately owned hospital in Tau Yuan city. This was Sam’s vocational visit, however I was quite interested due to my recent hospital experiences in America last year. The healthcare system is completely different in Taiwan compared to the US. They have National healthcare, and all(as far as I am aware) the hospitals4. Day 2 of action began with a trip to one of the privately owned hospital. This was Sam’s vocational visit, however I was quite interested due to my recent hospital experiences in America last year. The healthcare system is completely different in Taiwan compared to the US. They have National healthcare, and all the hospitals(as far as I am aware) are privately owned. They make most of their profit by offering many elective healthcare options, spa, medical tourism, and VIP service for those patients wanting a more elevated living situation during their hospital stay. It seems to be a system with definite benefits, although as any system I am sure there are flaws. Sam got to come away with some new ideas; I hope they will help him in his hospital administration at Wake.

Next, we had lunch one of the Rotary meetings and gave a presentation. we were then off to a furniture factory after lunch. My vocational visit was nice, the company produced office furniture. We got to tour the facility and although unfortunately the type of processing there would not likely be the same used to produce the furniture I design. I still feel like I came away learning more about how furniture moves down the line. It was also great to see some of the CNC machines in action because previously, I had only seen the machines in books. Overall, I would say it was beneficial.

I will explain the next part of the trip by first letting you know about a couple of the Rotarians that have taken the time to show us around. AG Steel, and AG Just have been with us nearly every day and night. AG Steel is one of the group’s most loved Rotarians, He is an older fellow that really doesn’t speak English, but is so incredibly sweet. Despite the language barrier, we can usually tell what he is trying to say through his smile and body language. I think the group would agree that we all think of him as our Taiwanese Grandfather. His Partner in Crime is AG Just. He too is another grandfather of Taiwan. I really feel so lucky to have had them both there to share each day. They always put a smiles on our faces. Especially when it comes to socializing… As I mentioned in my previous post, "Ho Talla!" was the phrase Kim confused with "cheers" the first evening, when it really means "Bottoms up". It has been the running joke to yell "Ho Talla!" whenever they come by.

After the Furniture factory we got to take a trip to AG Steel’s Mattress factory. I have never seen how a mattress is actually made, but it was incredibly interesting. This was also beneficial to me because I have been interested how products are manufactured. He owns 2 different factories, one to make the Mattress, and one to make the coil centers. It was easy to see that he enjoyed showing us what he did, and took a lot of pride in his business. It was a great experience. Plus, he also had an adjacent furniture showroom. I came across several new design ideas I hope to implement when I get back to work. PP Steel then took us to a restaurant he owns, well known for their fish dishes. It was such a fun dinner. AG Steel, and AG Just were showing us quite the good time, and many friends stopped by to have to share in the fun.

After dinner, the groups headed back to their various home stays. I had one more night with the livelier couple. Instead of heading back to home to go to bed, I met some of their girl friends, and they took me to the Tau Yaun Night market. The two girls were a lot of fun and it was nice to have some professional haggler’s with me. They helped me talk down the price for anything I was interested in. By midnight I was home, and stayed up a while longer chatting with my host family. It may have been a couple of busy days, and late nights, but it was quite a good time and I am so happy I got to experience it all!