Wow, 好久不見!
I've missed you guys and sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I've am usually so busy and this week and weekend have been no exception.
So first things first, I had the opportunity to go to the National Palace Museum, but unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures within, but I will you a few bits and pieces about some of the things that I saw. There were many pieces of different pieces of artwork, works written by Chinese emperors, and so much more. From these famous pieces of calligraphy to even more breathtaking paintings of mountains. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Chinese paintings of mountains are a particular favorite. The museum is massive and I spent a few hours there making sure that I got a good look at just about everything that I could. There inside the museum is this famous piece called the Jadeite Cabbage. It is a very famous excellent piece of jade work that had been on tour in Japan, but had returned a few days earlier, so I was fortunate enough to be able to see this wonderful piece of work.I would just like to give a thank you to my friend Larry answering a ridiculous amount of questions regarding much of what I saw.
Now for this weekend, my flat mates and I went to Wushi beach, which is a black sand beach. It was my first time going to such a beach and it was really nice. Unfortunately we went during the weekend do there were tons of people. You are probably wondering what was so special about a trip to the beach, well for me it was my first time attempting to surf. According to sources this is a great beach for beginning surfers and there were a ton of them out there including us. I am not sure if the purpose was learning how to surf or how to avoid other people. There was a lot of people falling off boards to avoid people, people running into people and over them as well. However the entire experience was extremely fun and worth the trip. I will certainly try to get back to catch a few more waves.
The food that I got to try while at the beach was awesome as well. I got to taste quite a few delicious dishes that I have no idea what exactly many of them were but they tatsted delicious and there were many things to choose from. The first seafood restaurant that we ate at served about 12 dishes, but in reverse order from usual, so dessert and main courses were served early and then sides and appetizers later. The second restaurant that we went to before leaving though got the order right, so more food was eaten.
Well today I have a typhoon day so that is why I have the time to be able to check back in with all of you. It s my first typhoon here in Taiwan and it thankfully doesn't seem to be too bad, but since classes are cancelled I can get a little rest today. Anyway I will put more of the pictures that I have taken up as well. Until next time be well everyone.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Guandu and Week Two
Okay everyone I know that it has been awhile and you all probably know how much I miss you all. Anyway, I have definitely slowed my happy whirlwind roller coaster adventure time down quite a bit now that classes have started and I find myself poring over books, flashcards and listening to recordings for hours leaves me with very little time for fun. However, I forgot to post this last event. My friend here Larry, invited me to go last Sunday to Guandu Temple. We were there for an entire day, so when I got back I didn't have the energy to do a post about it.
Anyway, the temple is amazing. Not only is it a very large, old and prestigious temple. It is very unique in that it houses many different deities, many of which I found very interesting. I mean there were people who came to pray to the deity of examinations and I can tell you that that one was very popular. The main deity was locate din the center of the temple and was a protector of fisherman and the seas. It made sense given that historically the area was a very important fishing area. Other deities that I encountered was the one for medicine, which I could very much understand given the many ailments that are about nowadays.
The most astounding thing to me about this temple was the architecture and design. I uploaded some pictures of the place, but I don't think that they will do justice. Everywhere throughout the temple were exquisite and complex handcrafted designs. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Every single wall, frame and pillar seemed to be adorned with master craftsmanship. i cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to handle that work or even how long it probably took. All I can say is that if you are coming to Taipei I highly recommend seeing this temple. It is a little out of the way and there wasn't much in the area besides the temple, but I can most assuredly say the place had quite a bit of character.
I also got the chance to do some real bike riding as well. Though I can't say that it was a good thing. For those of you that know me I am old and fat so it was tough. But my friend and I had the chance to ride along the river and admire the scenery.
My second week of classes went a lot better than the first week, but I can feel my Chinese skills improving. The first week I did feel confident enough to have full conversations in Chinese for fear of quickly getting out of me vocabulary depth, but now if its something I don't know then I ask and keep going. It has been a lot of fun here and it hardly feels like I have been here a month already. Time flies and I am just hoping that I can do a little bit more exploring while I am here.
Anyway, the temple is amazing. Not only is it a very large, old and prestigious temple. It is very unique in that it houses many different deities, many of which I found very interesting. I mean there were people who came to pray to the deity of examinations and I can tell you that that one was very popular. The main deity was locate din the center of the temple and was a protector of fisherman and the seas. It made sense given that historically the area was a very important fishing area. Other deities that I encountered was the one for medicine, which I could very much understand given the many ailments that are about nowadays.
The most astounding thing to me about this temple was the architecture and design. I uploaded some pictures of the place, but I don't think that they will do justice. Everywhere throughout the temple were exquisite and complex handcrafted designs. When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Every single wall, frame and pillar seemed to be adorned with master craftsmanship. i cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to handle that work or even how long it probably took. All I can say is that if you are coming to Taipei I highly recommend seeing this temple. It is a little out of the way and there wasn't much in the area besides the temple, but I can most assuredly say the place had quite a bit of character.
I also got the chance to do some real bike riding as well. Though I can't say that it was a good thing. For those of you that know me I am old and fat so it was tough. But my friend and I had the chance to ride along the river and admire the scenery.
My second week of classes went a lot better than the first week, but I can feel my Chinese skills improving. The first week I did feel confident enough to have full conversations in Chinese for fear of quickly getting out of me vocabulary depth, but now if its something I don't know then I ask and keep going. It has been a lot of fun here and it hardly feels like I have been here a month already. Time flies and I am just hoping that I can do a little bit more exploring while I am here.
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