Always an Adventure...

We enjoyed a day at Hualian Ocean Park with Amy and her kids. Zak and Joey hit it off right away. We watched some shows and went on rides. The only bad thing was that it was pretty cold and windy. I even went on some rides! Crazy, you think? Perhaps. But it was fun. Mom came on the merry-go-round with me. Actually the hardest part was getting on and off the rides! Once I was strapped in, no problem! Zak loved the roller coaster. Lots of photo opportunities there. Statues just before going into the aquarium. They had dolphin, sea lion, and dance shows, all of which were fantastic! My favorite was the dolphins. I'm amazed at what they can get those animals to do!

I've been to Canada and back! Had some interesting times as I slowly weaned myself off crutches and renewed my appreciation for cold weather.... Actually, it was only cold for the first couple of days, then it was quite nice. I got over my fear of walking on ice and did some shopping. I went to the airport on Saturday to fly back to Taiwan and was informed that my flight actually wasn't until SUNDAY. Don't know how I missed that, but felt pretty foolish! I got an extra day with my family and on Sunday night began my uneventful trip back to Taiwan. Now I'm just here cleaning up my apartment (I never thought I'd be excited about being able to actually sweep my own floor!) and getting organized for next semesters classes, which for me, will begin on Monday. Now back to regularly scheduled programming as we continue with the Oke's trip to Taiwan!

H eaded to our hotel once we got to Hualian, the beautiful Parkview. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone! Not too expensive and nice service, rooms, breakfast, grounds... U npacked a little then headed to the beach - Ci xing tan, where we got a nice view of the ocean before it started to get dark A riel and Richard joined us and we went to a night market for dinner, had an interesting variety of food, including instant noodles, oyster omelettes, and bbq kebabs L ovely Taroko was our first stop the next day where we took pictures and my family did some little hikes, had a picnic lunch at the top I ncidentally , at the place where I broke my leg... A fter we came back down we went to the pine garden and the stone market before calling it a night N ext day we went to the Ocean Park where we met some new friends... The view from our hotel window, the beautiful grounds and swimming pool which was closed for winter. The view at Ci Xing Tan beach. Just before heading to the night

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Yilan and my family was able to see where I work and live, as well as meeting many, many people. First stop was a church activity where a calligraphy master was creating spring couplets for people. It's tradition during Chinese New Year to put a spring couplet (a poem consisting of two lines, written vertically in Chinese script - two banners is one poem) on your door as a blessing for your household. Since my family members don't have Chinese names, we transcribed the sounds, and they were then written into poems. So here are couplets for my family Tai-Rei (Terry), Xue-Lun (Sharon), Xia-Lu-Di (Charlotte), Sha-La (Sarah), Ri-Ke (Zeke) and Zha-Ke (Zak). After that we went for dinner with most of the students in my Wednesday night class, and Zak made a friend: 6 year old Ben, son of Dr. Chen. His English was quite good, and after eating the two of them took off to play outside. We had a nice traditional Taiwanese dinner. My parents tried almost e

Sorry if you've been checking my blog a lot (Carol) and waiting for more pics and stories. I guess I'll start after the Zoo. We went to Taipei 101, so we could see the city from its highest vantage point. Zak had told me he was scared of heights, and that the 101 building was the one place he DIDN'T want to go...but we figured he'd get over his fear, and we were right. We took the elevator up to the observatory, and I got to relax a bit while my family did the audio tour. I've been up there a few times, so I didn't need to do it. I rested my tired feet, then bought Zak a t-shirt as his birthday gift. Finally, dad, Zak, and I decided to pay the extra $100 (about 3.oo Canadian) to go to the outdoor observatory. I got "special access" because of my crutches, and got to take an elevator up instead of the stairs. Then we made our way around the windy deck of the 91st floor. It was really neat to be so far up and to have a clear view unimpeded by the glass.

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Time to start the difficult task of blogging two weeks of a packed schedule and a good time. My family (Mom, Dad, and Zak) arrived in the Taipei airport around 6am, and we headed to the hotel I'd chosen. After an interesting breakfast (brave Zak decided to try the Chinese breakfast, only to find that congee with vegetables and tofu was a little too strange for a first meal in Taiwan), and getting settled we headed out to the CKS Memorial hall by MRT. I'd tried the MRT the night before and was sure I could do it without dying or getting slammed in the door or losing a crutch down the gap between the platform, but I still wasn't too sure about escalators. Though I did master them later in the day. The memorial hall is flanked by two other buildings, all in traditional Chinese style. We had fun wandering through the gardens, snapping pictures, and my dad and Zak even raced to the top of the stairs at the monument. Mom and I stayed at the bottom. I'd had more than enough st

It is now February 9, and we're on our way to Taipei to take the plane TOMORROW. Just two more days of Taiwan fun, and then we'll be in chilly Canada. I'll be in Canada from Feb 10-25, and there will be lots of time to update and post pictures then! I saw the doctor yesterday and got the ok to walk around my house without crutches. When I go out I still need to use them for safety. The doctor said be careful getting on and off planes etc. advice which came a little late...but that's a whole other story..... As you can see we've been having a good time and meeting tons of people. We just came back from our week in Hualian/Yuli/Kenting and I think my family feels a little overwhelmed at how much we've done in such a short time, not to mention how many people we've met. But I think they really understand now why I love the people here so much, because they have been amazing, and generous to the point of discomfort, haha. More from the other side of the Pacific