abby's final entries

4/17 Our Final Day.

The last day of the trip was a free day. We were able to sleep in an extra hour and meet for breakfast at 9:30am. We spent the rest of the morning packing and getting everything prepared for a flight home. At about noon, some Rotarians had volunteered to pick us up for lunch. We kept it light and headed to a local place for some beef noodle soup. Next they wanted to show us a museum/temple nearby. The museum had a number of authentic Chinese relics of furniture. I was happy because I was able to snap a number of photos of pieces I liked.

We had asked earlier in the week how/where we might be able to find the brush paintings we had seen to buy. One of the Rotarians, Montessori, had a connection to an incredibly famous artist in Taiwan. We met him in his studio. He showed us some of his books of published art, and around the studio. Then he began to paint. Brush paintings don’t take a long time to complete. He made 5 unique and beautiful paintings during our visit as a gift to each of us. I was so amazed to watch him in action. It was truly one of the highlights from the trip.

A couple of team members were hoping to find a few more souvenirs before heading home, so the Rotarians took us to the community center where they had some more authentic items for sale. I had finished looking around the shop and walked into a gallery along with Rotarian Lesley.

In the Gallery, they had a much different style of brush painting display. As it turned out it was a show of one famous Chinese painter, who happened to be in the gallery signing books. I explained to Lesley that I thought his work was beautiful and it was exactly the style I had been looking for to buy. We were the only two in the gallery besides the artist so we went over to introduce ourselves. Lesley explained about why (the red-head) was in Taiwan and we complemented him on his work. He had a few practice brush paintings lying on the side of his table and Lesley was asking if he would sell any.

He was asking me (through Lesley’s translation) what I thought one of his paintings would be worth. Having no clue, he went on to tell us that in china he was ranked in the top 5 of artists, and that one of his small pieces of art would sell for at least 20000 NT about $660 US. It was clear that I would not be able to purchase any of his work, but he said because I was a visitor to his country he wanted to give me a special rate of 2000NT ($60) I explained with Lesley’s help that although I would love to get one I was nearly out of money since we would be heading back to the US the next day. I emptied out my wallet to show him small amount of money I had left. Only 200NT and some change (about $7 US). He laughed and told me that he wanted to make me something special for my small pittance.

He began to paint a beautiful character and signed it. It was amazing how quickly he was able to create his work. Once he finished, he told me that the character meant sincerity and that it was from his heart. We took a number of photos together. I was so honored to have something so special to remember my Taiwan trip. Just as we were finishing Pam and some of the other Rotarians came into the Gallery. The timing was perfect because we were able to have him make the entire team some artwork to take home. It was such a special experience I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my last day in Taiwan.

We headed back home for some final packing and were picked up for dinner and a send off party at about 7pm. The send off party was incredibly fun. We may have had a long trip, but no one seemed tired that evening. We headed for the popular KTV experience. KTV stands for Karaoke Television, and I wouldn’t have wanted to go out any other way. We had a private party room with food and drinks. We spent the night enjoying our friends for one last great evening. We danced and sang. I actually discovered I enjoy a little bit of karaoke and sang a lot more songs than I would have expected. Likely because we were with such good company, any fear of the spotlight vanished and we all just had fun!

After all of our good byes, it was time for a short sleep. We had to rise early to go to the airport - 3am! After a great trip we began our 23hour journey back to NC!


I think Phil Morris explained it best when he went on his friendship exchange to Taiwan “It was the hardest but most wonderful experience of my life”

This trip was such a wonderful opportunity. I really felt the generosity of the Taiwan people, I loved learning about the culture, seeing a bit about how my profession is handled in a different country and enjoyed making so many friends. As I have explained in all of my passages about all the events we experienced, I am sure it’s easy to see how busy we were. And despite having moments of exhaustion, I know will think back about the trip fondly and remember all the great things I learned and what an incredible and wonderful experience I had.


4-16-08 The team had another wonderful breakfast with Chris. The Rotarians picked us up, and we headed first to the International rice noodles factory. We toured the factory and learned a bit about how the noodles are made. PP Jason (the GSE in bound coordinator) and his wife Alice joined us for the visit. We also were joined by a new group of Rotarians with Allen and Nicole, both members of the Rotary e-club, as the main translators. Hsinchu is quite famous for these noodles. This particular factory is located near the coast. During the drying process, the noodles are actually set outside to dry in the wind and soak in some of the natural salts in the air.

We made a brief stop at the coastline. The coast here is also not fit for any swimming. We couldn’t really see the ocean because there was a great expanse of wetland due to low tide. We then went further down the coast to a clock tower with a great view from the top. The air was nice in the clock tower. While I took a nice rest, Denise and Kim got a brief Kung Fu lesson from Rotarian Frankie, the president of the E-club. It was a pretty entertaining sight to see.

After the Coast it was time for lunch. One of the other Rotarians with us owned a famous meatball shop. Hsinchu most famous dish is Rice noodles with pork meatballs. This was a DIY Meatball shop. They had the pork ready to be balled, and they showed us all the proper technique. I will not claim that any of us were successful in making a proper meatball, but after they fried and seasoned them, they tasted great.

As the trip was coming to a close, the hosts all new we might be up for a bit of relaxing. The treated the team to an Asian body and foot massage. Although, it was a bit rougher than any massage I had had in the US, I actually enjoyed getting all the kinks worked out. I felt like I could stand a bit straighter after it was all over.

It was dusk and we took a nice walk on the old streets of Hsinchu City. We walked to the old gate of the city. A couple hundred years ago there were four main gates to the city. Now only one is still intact. It was a large structure/ archway. The city uses the space now for community and music events.

We finish the evening out with dinner head for home.

4-15-08
Our first stop was to a bamboo factory. I loved this visit. We walked through the factory where they showed us how they color, prepare and weave bamboo blinds. In the showroom/gift shop they had a great number of bamboo souvenirs. I really enjoyed looking through the different object and purchased a few. The highlight was a gift from Jerry; He was so generous to give me a bamboo-covered notebook. I really think it’s a beautiful book that I know I will use a lot. I had Jerry sign the back so I know I will remember my trip every time and meeting him I put it to use!

Next, the group took us to a furniture store. The store made solid wood, artistic/yet functional, one-of-a-kind pieces. I really loved this tour. The owner’s family has been in the business for 3 generations. All of his brothers helped produce art and furniture to sell. I was also able to tour the shop where they made all the furniture. They had 20 employees that produced each of the unique pieces. I really enjoyed seeing this sort of small wood shop in action. It was the first visit where I could see the tools and the handwork that goes into creating such a unique piece.

After the shop, we headed for a restaurant one the Rotarian’s owned for lunch. This restaurant also had a tea museum. We went through a quick tour. We had seen a few tea museums at this point, however this one differed in the end. In order to make some of the fruit infused tea, we were shown how they pack the tea in this special fruit similar to a grapefruit. They would then pack it tight and dry it. They will keep the tea packed tight in this fruit for a couple of years collecting flavor before they use it for tea making.

Next, the convoy headed to a construction site of the biggest Buddha I have ever seen. The Buddha was built and they were working on the building construction of the temple and a large monastery for the local sect of Taoism. We were in a beautiful area of the mountains, and we took a short trip to a café where we were able to relax and be more social with our hosts. We had tea and coffee on lovely porch overlooking a lake. It was quite beautiful.

After the time of rest, we headed to dinner back in the city. We had our meal at Rotarian Oil’s family restaurant. The Rotarians that came to join us were quite lively. It had been a long day, but I had fun with all the new people we had met. Rotarian David had such a great time in the day that he wanted to introduce us to his club members who were having a dinner at a nearby restaurant. We stopped in for a quick visit, and headed on home for some much needed rest.

4-14-08 Our Last Week
We would stay in Hsinchu City for the rest of the trip, but we switched homes to phase 2. The whole team stayed together in a Dorm Style house near the large Science Park. These were new/vacant Dorms that would be soon rented out to employees of the Park. Rotarian Eric and his wife Chris owned the house, and Chris was so kind and generous to take care of the team in any way we needed.

We began the day with breakfast at Chris’s house, just a few blocks away. Then we headed to the Science Park for a tour. They took us to one of the main buildings in the park and shared a presentation of information about the area. The Science Park is quite huge and is very important to Taiwan. I can’t remember the exact figure, but I was impressed with the percent the park contributed to the Nation’s GDP and employing nearly 150,000 people.

Next we headed to the district court house of Hsinchu. We met with a number of lawyers and judges who explained a bit about how the justice system works in Taiwan. There was a bit of a language barrier so we were unable to ask any in depth questions, but one of the main points I noted was the lack of jury by the people. Instead, depending on the severity of the case, there would be either one or three judges that would make the ruling.

For lunch we met Rotarian Foodie (named for her love of food) who had selected Friday’s for lunch. It was so odd to be eating American style food. Although it was wonderful for a bit of a tastes we recognize, I realized how much heavier American food is, and could hardly eat my meal! We finished off with a huge brownie Sundae. I needed a walk after that meal! Fortunately, the next place we visited was the Hsinchu Glass festival. We were able to walk around and tour many different buildings filled with glass arts.

For dinner we ate at another of Foodie’s favorite restaurants – Italian. It was quite delicious, and the company was great. I sat near Rotarian Jerry whose team would be taking around the following day. I enjoyed myself but by the end of the meal I got so full I actually missed the lighter Asian food!

4/12-13/08 District Conference -

The 3500 District conference is quite the event. I was amazed with how many of the families and friends we had met a long our journey attended the conference. I believe they told us over 3000 Rotarians were there. It was held in a large convention/sports center. There was a large stage on the front third of the floor level. The days were filled with many speeches and awards given to all the different clubs in the district. On the first night the real entertainment began in the evening. Nearly all the rotary clubs had prepared dances and songs to share. Group after group of rotary women and spouses came out to share what they had been preparing for weeks. The costumes were so elaborate, and I was amazed to see all the different styles and genres of dance they incorporated. After the main entertainment, we passed to the opposite side of the stage to join one of the biggest dinners I have ever been to. They had taken the remainder 2/3 of the facility to use as a dining room. Like the rest of the evening, the entertainment didn’t stop at dinnertime. The dinner began with all the servers wheeling out the food onto the stage. They presented the meal like a show; it reminded me a bit of the spectacle made at the beginning of the Food Network television show – The Iron Chef – complete with confetti fireworks! What a remarkable event!

The second day of the conference our team gave a presentation about our trip and district. We concluded the presentation with the song that the Roteract club had taught us the week prior. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it, especially the song!

After the presentation, some of the Rotary wives had invited us to participate in traditional tea ceremony and tea tasting. Archi’s wife (who had taken us to Taipei 101) – Betty, prepared the tea for us. She taught us all about the different types of tea and how to prepare, and savor a proper cup of Chinese tea. Betty was so kind and answered any question we had. She also was thoughtful in preparing an English version of the tea making process for each of us to take home. I know it will come in handy because I have picked up several bags of tea during my stay.

The conference was a lot of fun, filled with many chances to see our old friend, make even more new ones, and share stories of our journey. I was happy we had a chance to pass a long a few thank-you gifts to those who had made special impact on us.

4-11-08 Friday. Today was a day I had been looking forward to. We each had the chance to split off and spend an entire day learning more about our vocations. I was able to visit another furniture factory. I learned that the type of furniture I design (mass-produced wood furniture) is no longer produced in Taiwan. Instead, I was taken to a plant where they produce laminated office/storage/and kitchen furniture. I still found it quite interesting. I was able to see all the different hardware used in making ready-to assemble furniture. Also, they had a number of creative storage solutions I think might inspire some of my future work. Next we toured their showroom to see what the finished product looked like, and I was able to meet the designer of the collection. I was quite happy that we had time after the factory visit to see a few furniture shops. They took me to one that was quite large. It was filled with modern and contemporary furniture. There were so many styles and ideas I hadn’t seen before first-hand, so it was an exceptional opportunity to do some research!

At about 6:00 we all met back for dinner. This night was quite special as it was the day before the District conference. We were invited to join the Rotary President’s Dinner. I got in first and was immediately greeted by so many of the wonderful friends we had met earlier in our trip. It was so wonderful to reunite with everyone. I was actually surprised to realize how many friends we had made along the way. I felt quite popular having a kinship with so many people in all the different clubs.

The dinner was a lot of fun; the team had the chance to go around to each of the tables to toast all of our friends. It was wonderful to see them again.

Later that evening we met our new host family. Denise and I were with Mathew and his wife. Their family owned a building for a home. All of Mathew’s family could stay in one place, but each family member would still have their own space to raise their families. Denise and I were able to stay in one of the unoccupied living spaces. We stayed in this home during the entirety of the district conference.

4-10-08 The next morning I was picked up and met the team for the day’s adventure. The morning was incredibly special. We were all taken to Tou Feng Elementary school to see a performance by the band students. They were going to play some traditional Chinese music. The children were incredible. Many used string instruments I was unfamiliar with, but they gave a wonderful sound. I was also quite impressed with the fact that none had any sheet music. They played four relatively long and intricate songs all by memory! It was such a unique event. We learned that the band had won the second prize in the National Taiwan Competition. It was easy to see that they were an extremely talented group.

After a long farewell and photos with the students, it was time to head to our next destination, the famous Lion Head Mountain. When we arrived, we came to temple quite different than the other temples we had visited during our trip. We had to climb and weave through man made and natural caves to get to the main part of the temple. This area had 3 different temples for the different sects of the budhism, and also had a lodging area for people and monks to stay. We had to hike part of the mountain to get to each of the different temples. Next, we had a delicious vegetarian lunch back in main temple area. After, we had a bit of time to rest at a café on the mountain’s side. Next, the group headed further into the mountains to a local textile mill. Here they make their own string by weaving plant fibers and dye by hand. The owner showed us how to weave by hand using an old fashioned loom. Since we had been to a number of textile facilities on the trip, I found it quite interesting to see the weaving done by hand. She worked slowly enough for us all to see how the process is done, and I feel like I now understand how the same process worked in the large manufacturing facilities.

After the textile visit, we made one more stop to see Rotarian Johnny’s red brick houses. He was the designer and owner of these villa type vacation homes. The night ended with dinner. We ended a bit earlier and I was able to get to bed a bit earlier for some much needed rest.

4-9-08 we started off by visiting one of the largest denim manufacturers in the world. The factory was incredibly huge! It was quite interesting to see such a large operation in progress compared to many of the smaller textile facilities we had seen along the way. We had lunch with the owner of the company and headed to another factory visit in the afternoon. The afternoon factory was the Porite powder forging plant. Porite is also a grand operation with plants all around the world including the US. They make many of the parts used in everyday equipment. We were all impressed with the market shares each of the day’s factories had worldwide. After the factories, for a change of pace, and a bit of time to relax Rotary member, Milk, took us to his dairy farm. Dairy’s are a bit of a rarity on the island. I assume this is because of space, but we learned that the government would provide tax breaks if the Dairy would also function as a tourist attraction. The Dairy had a large dining facility where we were able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee (with fresh cream) along with a variety of dairy snacks! We then took a small tour of the facility. After passing many of the cows, we saw a large slide made of putting green grass. There were a few high school aged kids whisking down the hill on sleds. It looked like it would be a lot of fun, so we asked to join. Most of the team had their chance to go sliding.

After the Dairy it was time to head to a rotary meeting for dinner and a presentation. After the meeting they dropped us each off with out new host family. I stayed with a lovely couple. They didn’t speak a lot of English, but I was able to get by. They were quite interested to see photos from the US, and I was able to see many of their family and Taiwan.