Visiting Taipei

Yesterday we visited Taipei City. It was a great trip. We started off that the Martyr's Shrine and watched the changing of the guards there. The shrine is in memorial to all the soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for Taiwan. Every hour the guards at the front gates and at the shrine go through a ceremonial changing of the guards. They have done this for so many years that that metal piece on the bottom of their boots has discolored the stone on the ground. You can look down and see the exact path every soldier takes on the hour through the shrine and it's perfectly straight. These are guards are much like the guards at Buckingham palace. They must look straight ahead and give no reaction to the tourists taking their picture. There were a lot of Japanese tourists at this shrine. You'll see below some pictures of the shrine and the changing of the guards.


We visited Taiwan Storyland and Taipei 101 while we were there. Below are some pictures from our trip. Including pictures of Taipei 101 in the day and at night all lit up. It's the tallest building in Taiwan.

I've Arrived!

I arrived in Taiwan late Sunday evening. What an experience!

The flight alone was something totally new to me. We flew China Airlines in. It's the government owned airline for Taiwan. I had read that it was the less expensive and lower rated airline of the two Taiwanese airlines (the other is Eva Air) so I wasn't expecting much more than an I do on a domestic flight. I was wrong. I felt like I was in first class. Everyone got headsets for the movie (free...got that U.S. airlines). The service was impeccable and the meals were delicious. If that was economy class, I can only imagine what first class was like.

As we got off the plane, we quickly realized who the teachers were. We met up with a group from Michigan (first teaching job for both) and a group from Indiana. There was also a girl from Iowa who taught here last year.

We made it through customs easily. Who wouldn't at 10:30 p.m.?

The picked us up at the airport and ushered us to our dorms. The dorms are just like those in America. We're staying at the National Academy for Educational Research. It where they bring the top teachers in the country to train and we've been told they include us in that group of top teachers. I think many of us feel that may be an honor we don't deserve. However most teachers I know, feel they're just doing what they love and could always be better.

Our chaperones are fantastic. Leah, affectionately called Mama Leah, is the main chaperone. She actually went to Ohio State for her masters. It really is a small world. We also have Derek, Charles, and Michael who are all English teachers. There are four young men who are doing their substitute military service in the schools as English teachers. They're all Taiwanese who grew up in other countries. They're a great bunch of guys.

We are busy with lots of classes about the culture and teaching here but they've also offered us Tai Chi which was very fun. Of course, there are lots of differences but I'm finding we have a great deal in common too. I'll keep you posted about those things as I get settled in my schools city next week.

I do have some pictures of my room and Karaoke night that I will post soon. So far, I'm enjoying my adventure and am excited to be able to share with you.

This is it!

I'm sitting in a hotel room listening to my dad snore. We had a good night out. He took me to dinner and then we met up with my friends. It felt like any other Friday night out. However, in a few short hours I'll be boarding the plan to start this adventure. I don't think it will be real until then.

I'm a ball of emotions and I feel like I'm all over the place. I don't know where this adventure will take me but I'm sure it's going to be amazing.

I'll post as soon as I can once I get there. I can't wait to start documenting this amazing journey.