abby's diary

10. 4-01-08 we were switching houses in the morning, so we packed up and made the bag switch. The next group was a lot of fun. The club’s current president brought his son’s girlfriend, Chandra, a long for the trip. She is at one of the universities studying Education and English. She spoke English quite well and was a wonderful interpreter for the day. We started the day by heading to Yuan Ze University. UNCG (Denise works as the Assistant Director of the Exchange program at UNCG) has a partnership with this school. We were to meet with the President of the school and take a tour. The campus was nice. It was a smaller school so it didn’t take too long to trek the campus. Which was a good thing because it had been raining for the last few days and we were all tired of being wet!

After a few more activities, we headed to dinner with the new club. It was great to meet the new group we would be staying with for a while, and I had a lot of fun talking with Chandra as we were close to the same age.

After dinner I got to meet the host family I would spend the next week with. I welcomed the idea of getting to stay in one home without having to move!

Archi and Maggie are such a sweet couple. They don’t speak a lot of English so it has been a bit more difficult for communication, but they are so wonderful, and we can usually figure out what we are trying to say! They have three wonderful and lively children. They were a lot of fun when I arrived. The oldest son has been learning English is school, so his mother was trying to get him to talk to me a bit. After a bit of chatting (or at least trying to) it was time for bed. The highlight was that I had Internet access in the bedroom. It has been great to get to keep the blogs updated regularly. I know most of the other team members have been unable to get online.

abby's diary

9. 3-30-08 We started our day in Tau Yuan County with a wonderful (and huge) breakfast cooked by Francis. She brought over dish after dish of traditional Chinese breakfast food to Balloon’s house. We headed to the Chang Kai Shek memorial museum for a short amount of time. We learned that he was the leader of Taiwan for quite sometime and implemented a lot of the infrastructure his son took over leadership after his death.

Next we went to the Dasi Town Hall. Dasi is a sister city of Kernersville NC. We came as representatives for Kernersville for a small presentation and gift exchange. Each of the GSE team members was presented with a hand painted toy top. Dasi is known for this toy. It was defiantly a very special present. We then headed to lunch with the mayor and some other representatives from Dasi. In the afternoon, we toured a historical home that has been surprisingly well maintained throughout the years. It is a traditional Chinese residence. I recently re-read the book The Good Earth and I fell like the house we toured was similar to what I had read about. It was great to get to put a mental image to the novel I loved.

We then traveled to an orchid garden. The flowers were so beautiful. The group had a wonderful time learning about the different flowers, and taking many photographs.

We headed to dinner and then back home for some sleep.

Kim's Note

Da Ja How from Taiwan,

This has been the most incredible journey! I have been amazed by all of the beauty (the landscape, the arictecture, the ceramics, and the history). The food is new and flavorful. I didn't quite understand what Vivian and Ping meant by how good it would be (now I know). Although we have kept a tight schedule, everyday is filled with new and wonderful things. However, I have been most affected by the warmth and kindness of the people of Taiwan. I look forward to the rest of the journey.

Until then, Kim

Kim's Note

Da Ja How from Taiwan,

abby's diary

7. 3-29-08, the group headed to the Lai Lai goose factory in the morning. Here they are most known for making goose down goods. We got to tour the factory, and see all the processes for the mass production of these types of goods. Then for lunch we headed to a restaurant known for cooking goose. I have never tried goose before. The restaurant didn’t have to look of a place that could make such wonderful food, but looks can be deceiving it was definitely delicious. One of my favorite meals to date. We visited a second textile factory after lunch. Here they made more micro fiber fabrics. It was interesting to see all the processes in weaving and the technique/machinery used to create the fuzzy part of fleece type fabrics. We were quite close to the coast and a fishery port, so the group took a side trip to see the sites. We climbed a large pedestrian bridge where we could see most of the port. The beach looked different than the beaches I am used to. Our hosts told us that more traditional types of beaches are located on the southern parts of Taiwan. The port also had a fist market. We all tried many random fish snacks. Some of the snacks we tried were wonderful, and other (namely the fish ball) left us making some not so good faces. It was a surprise each time we ate, because most of us had no clue what we were trying.

That evening we went to a different club’s anniversary party. They were celebrating their first year as a club. It was a smaller affair than the previous night’s anniversary. However, one of the highlights happened when all of the women in the club came out in beautiful authentic Chinese dresses. All were different, bright silks and each dress had a different design. They all came out in a line and worked their way around the different tables singing songs. It the was a very lovely presentation.

I made it home, and had one last night to share with Amy and her family. We exchanged gifts, and took many photos. I really enjoyed staying with them; it was hard to say good-bye despite only spending three nights with them!



8. We were changing homes again in the morning, so we all had to pack up our gear to move. After the bag switch we headed for our free day. Some of the members of the Northwest rotary club (the younger club) had volunteered to take us into the city of Taipei to see the sites. Coming into Taipei was exciting. The city has some similarities to a US city, although at the same time it is very different. It is hard to describe, but it was a great experience to drive around. First, we headed to the Chinese Palace Museum. It is one of the most famous sites to see in Taiwan, holding many of the art works/ artifacts from Mainland China. One of the rotary members, Kevin, was able to be our guide. He told us about many of the famous items in the museum. Some of the most note worthy were: a cabbage carved from jade, with a type of grasshopper on its leaves, there was also a natural piece of stone (I believe a brown jade) that looked just like a piece of meat, We saw a small gallery with traditional Chinese furniture from the Ming Dynasty, and we then toured an area of Ivory carvings. Some of the Ivory was so intricately cut that the museum provided a magnifying glass to see all the great detail. It is impossible to imagine that these items were made by hand, and also that they were made so long ago! I doubt that there would be anyone alive today with the skill to create such fine work.

After the museum, we headed to Taipei 101 currently the tallest building in the world. The lower floors have shopping. It had many of the hi-end stores we recognized in the US, such as Prada, Hermes, Polo, and many more special designer clothing stores I had never heard of. After a bit of touring, we took the fastest elevator in the world to the top of Taipei 101. It made it up 86 floors in less than 30 seconds! It was so fast it made all of our ears pop. The top of Taipei 101 is very impressive. It was a little foggy the day we went, but we were still able to see quite far. An audio guide gave us some insight to some of the buildings and areas of interest in view. The tour also included a part into the core of the building where you can see the world’s largest wind damper. This wind damper and center core are supposed to keep the building from falling over incase of extreme high winds.

The final part of the evening was incredible. Archi, one of the Rotarians of district 3500, treated us to a fine meal at the Panorama Restaurant 85th floor of Taipei 101. We had a private room with an incredible view of the city. There was a pretty large group with us there. Most of the Rotarians from earlier in the day and a number of friends we had met earlier in the week came to celebrate. The dinner was wonderful. The food was absolutely amazing, and we all had such a wonderful time. Archi and his wife, along with Paper and his wife, told us many stories of Chinese traditions and fun stories from their past. The young group kept us all entertained with jokes and we learned more about Taiwan’s younger generation. It was truly a wonderful evening that I am sure I will always remember.

The evening was over, and we met up with a van to take us to our new home stays in Tau Yuan County. Although the night’s darkness kept us from seeing too much during our drive, it was obvious that were no longer in a large city. Rotarian Balloon hosted us when we arrived for some tea, and then we split off to our various home stays shortly after. Pam and I both stayed with his neighbor, Francis. She was incredibly sweet, but she did not speak a lot of English, so communication was not too easy, however she had gone out of her way to make us feel comfortable. It was a quant little house, but very clean and tidy. It was nice to get to go to bed a little earlier than usual.

Abby's Diary 4

6. The next day (3-28-08 – Friday) we headed by tour bus to the largest company in Taiwan known as Formosa Plastics. We toured a museum about the company. As it turns out, Formosa Plastics is one of the major driving forces in the Taiwan economy. They have made a variety of products throughout the years. Now, one of the largest areas of export would be the chips and inner workings for the popular LCD TVs and other new electronics.

We had a nice lunch and then headed to the Linkou Brewery where we learned about how Taiwanese wine was mad. At the end of the tour and we got a chance to taste a little bit of their product. It is a different taste than the wine I am used to drinking in America because the base is Rice wine mixed with grape juice instead of entirely of grapes.

In the evening, we went to one of the club’s 32nd anniversary dinner. It was quite the party. A good number of the Rotarians we had spent time with earlier in the week were there, so it was wonderful to get to see them again and say hello. After dinner, Karaoke was started. I have found that the Taiwanese are very into singing. The District Governor of D3500 convinced us (after a good bit of coaxing) to go up and sing. We had a few extra vocalists join in, and by the end I am sure everyone was having a good time. It was the end of the night and time to head to our various home stays.

I spent the remainder of the evening chatting with Amy’s family and finally getting a chance to catch up on some e-mail to friends and family back in the states.

abby's diary 3

one more post before I go to bed!

5. We met the next day with a new Group of Rotarians. They had a wonderful day planned for us. We toured the area of Yingge known for its ceramics. I have always had a passion for art, especially ceramics, so I was very excited for the day. First, off to tour an Art ceramic factory. They explained to us what the techniques were needed to create all the different colors of glazes, and the special method used to create the beautiful Chinese ancient ceramic pieces. The tour concluded with a visit to the shop where the artist were hand painting their wares. The precision and skill needed to complete these works of art is hard to comprehend. It was wonderful to see it first hand.

We then headed to the Yingge Ceramics Museum; the tour went through some basic intro to pottery and techniques, as well as, a history to the ceramics specific to the area. Just after the tour, outside the museum, is when my camera was either lost/stolen. We had headed to the next place, went to take a photo right away and it was gone. The Rotarians were so wonderful about it all. They immediately took me back to the museum to look and again after lunch when we thought we might have figured out where it could have fallen. No luck :-( The saddest part was that I hadn’t had time to upload my photos from the previous days. I am sure in the end; with all of my teammates photos I will be able to make up for most photos I have lost.

Back to a brighter note, the lunch restaurant was lovely. Because it was located on the streets of all the ceramic markets, all the dishes and wall art were unique and beautiful. It made for wonderful ambience. Later, we got to take a tour of a local elementary school. Most of the children were just getting out for recess, and had no inhibitions to coming by and saying Hello to us. I guess it is not every day that a group of 5 Americans walk by their classrooms. The principle showed gave us a tour of the school and in one of their English classes. The teacher was very animated, and the children were all engaged in learning more about the English language. This visit definitely cheered me up after my camera loss.

Next, we visited a few of the ceramic shops, and then we got to try to make some pottery ourselves! One of the shops had a functioning art studio in the back. We all grabbed and apron, and each of us got to make a few pieces of pottery on the ceramic wheel. I was delighted because I have had some experience in ceramics. The rest of the team was eager to learn. I was able to help translate some of the instructor’s directions, and by the end of the session the group had a number of good pieces. We all decided to have some mandarin characters etched into our wares as mementos for our trip. It will take a bit of time for firing and completion of our works of art. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

The final part of the night was dinner with the North West club of TauYuan. This club happens to have the youngest members per capita in the district. I believe they said the average age was 32 yrs. Many have traveled to the United States for school or fun. We spent much of the dinner trading stories of travel and experiences. They held their Rotary meeting after the meal, which gave us another opportunity to give our presentation. We spent the majority of the time remaining answering questions many of the members had.

The night was coming to a close and it was time to go home with our new host families. Each team member would stay three evenings with their family. Amy was my hostess. She works as a VP of a furniture manufacturing facility located in China. I enjoyed hearing about her experiences, and learned that she had come to High Point NC a few years back for market. She had a daughter still living at home just a year younger than I, and two sons away at school. We had quite a good time talking and exchanging facts about our countries. Fortunately, Amy and her daughter spoke English well, so communication was easy.

This trip is so amazing. I feel like I am learning so much more about the culture by staying with all the different families. The exchange of knowledge, and the new friends I am making on this trip, I am sure will benefit me in the future.

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!

Thanks, PDG Archi

On behalf of the GSE Team from 7690, Thank you Archi for a wonderful dinner and fellowship last night. We ate at Panorama 85, at the top of Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world. The view was incredible of Taipei City and the surrounding area. We had great food and enjoyed the company of our Taiwanese friends from Taoyuan Northwest Rotary Club. We will post pictures soon. Thank you again to all of our Taiwanese friends who have made our journey thus far a great experience.

Abby, Pam, Sam, Kim and Denise

Pictures

I am attempting to post a couple of pictures from our time in Pinglin (tea country). We had the fish at lunch (very tasty) and we're toasting the chef at dinner.