Teacher’s Day and the Dragon Coastline

September 28^th is Teacher’s Day in Taiwan and China.  It is Confucius’ birthday.  James received this adorable homemade card from one of his favorite young students. I received this cute card and a tea from my manager. 

James said that Howard really does love him.  So sweet!

Jenny really is pretty darn cute especially to sign a card like that!

We decided to celebrate Teacher’s Day ourselves by heading to the northeast coast.  We woke up early on Saturday morning.  First, James drove the scooter to the bus stop and we caught a bus to Taipei.  Then, we took a train to Ruifen.  After that, we took another bus to Long Dong Park.  The travel time including transitions from one mode of transportation to the next (and of course buying coffee and sweet potatoes) was around 3.5 hours. Somehow this is way better and more relaxing than spending 3.5 hours in the car like we used to do in the States. Maybe it’s because the train has a bathroom and there are 7-11s every time you switch from one mode of transportation to the next! 

The area along this section of the northern part of the eastern coast is shaped like a dragon’s back with large rock formations.  (This is very close to Juifen, Teapot Mountain, and the Gold Ecological Park that we have visited before.) The area is famous for rock climbing, snorkeling, and scuba diving.  We walked along a path from the bus stop at Long Dong Park that led us to a scuba diving area after 2k.  The scenery was GORGEOUS!!!!! We continued past the massive amount of scuba divers to walk on a ton of rocks to the rock climbing area.  Walking along the rocks proved to be quite difficult after 30 minutes.  Every step is either a lunge, a large step up, a squat, a jump or something similar.  It felt like a never ending cross-fit workout!  We kept trudging along and passed this large group of snorkelers and swimmers.  A man was repetitively diving off one of the large rocks.  He really knew how to dive and do flips, etc.  He must be an Olympic diver J

A random but not rare siting of people celebrating near a temple that we encountered while on the bus.  Yes, those are small fireworks! 

Sigh...the east coast again.

The newest cross-fit workout craze - rock walking

The water really looks that blue, and the water is clear. 

Finally after about an hour of walking, we found the rock climbing section!  It was cool to watch all the rock climbers.  We ended up at a dead end for us inexperienced rock climbers.  I chose to walk out on a different long section of rock to try to see what was past the barrier.  James on the other hand decided he at least needed to pose for a picture!  This section was crazy! It was literally a vertically flat rock with two cracks – one for your hands and one for your feet.  The drop to the rocky water was probably around 40 feet. The section was about 10 feet long.  Umm…no thank you!

The classic Taiwanese pose for pictures. 

A man that was hanging out on the rocks brought his pet parrot along for the fun.  This is not the first pet parrot we have seen at parks, etc.  I personally always feel like the parrot is giving me a mean look so I keep my distance!

Rock climbers!

James pretending he is Tarzan.

Finally...a decent selfie photo!

Nonetheless, we enjoyed the incredible scenery.  We were thankful for the overcast weather to keep the temperatures down a bit while walking on rocks next to the ocean with zero cover!

After walking back to the scuba diving area, we continued on a trail to the Long Dong Four Seasons Bay.  We enjoyed these great views!

At the Four Seasons Bay we caught the bus back to Ruifen.  As to now be expected, we were on the same bus as before with the same driver and several of the same passengers J

After grabbing dinner at our token vegan buffet next to the Taipei Main Station and Bus Station, we headed home after a fulfilling and enjoyable day. 

These whales were at Four Seasons Bay.  The blue one says, "Marry me?" The pink one says, "Yes, I do."  

Here's a video that captures 360 degrees of the beautiful Long Dong Park.  It also includes some of snorkelers and swimmers.  At the end of the video, the diver man looks like he is preparing to jump.   http://youtu.be/hFm7Zqu1zT8

Here are a few other fun things of note:

We won 400NT in the receipt lottery!!!!!  That is equivalent to $13 USD.  Winning money is awesome no matter how much or how little! That’s definitely worth the effort of saving all of our receipts and checking the numbers for winners after each month.

The two winning receipts were in this lucky pile!

James’ school decided to put a picture of him next to his diploma at the entrance of his school.  They picked this picture from facebook without asking James if he had an opinion.  I took this picture of him last February at the start of a 50k trail race at Mt Cheaha in Alabama.  Maybe they wanted to surprise him with the picture! Please note the random crown sticker they added above his head.  That means he is the king of his school J They also did this nice write up about James.  If the TAs told him the truth, it says that Teacher James is funny, loves sports, loves hiking in the mountains and running marathons, and also loves children.  

Isn't he handsome?  I agree with everything the TAs said.  Except I know that some nights he comes home from work and does not love children :)

There is seriously seaweed in 50% of the foods here.  It’s in most soups at restaurants or dry packs of soup sold at the store.  It is randomly mixed with other vegetables.  It is used to wrap around rice sandwiches.  It is sold at the store to be eaten like crispy potato chips.  However, most of the seaweed is not “sugar coated” or like the seaweed salad sold at sushi restaurants.  I have gagged before from trying soups at restaurants.  I think they took it straight out of the ocean and threw it in a pot with some broth and cabbage.  I must admit over the past four months the taste of seaweed has grown much less repulsive.  I actually like the seaweed potato chips now! The same goes for tofu.  I find myself enjoying the vast variety of tofu more and more with time.

Rarely, do I see women in Hsinchu wearing high heels. Finally my style of all flats, sandals and flip flops fits in with everyone else! All of the teachers and TAs at my school wear flats to work.  If only my feet were a bit smaller, I would have quite the selection to choose from here.

Speaking of shoes, we have to wash our shoes here on a regular basis.  Literally, while running we sweat to the level that our shoes are soaked and squishy. Yes.  That is pretty disgusting and we do live on a tropical island.  In addition, our trail shoes get muddy on the trails.  Our road shoes can get very dirty on the roads here from the scooter exhaust on the roads.  Once again, gross!  Here's a display of our shoes drying on a raining day. 

We don't even recognize the looks or smells of the shoes after they have been washed!

October 10^th is Taiwan’s Birthday (like our July 4^th).  They have already started firework shows.  James and I enjoyed a show from our rooftop last night.  We could only see the top half of the fireworks because of a large hill separating us from the firework show but it was a good one.  James said that Taiwan/China is the birth place of fireworks and most fireworks are made in China.  He expects some good firework shows here!

As far as James and I go, we are doing well.  Teaching is becoming routine and much more enjoyable.  We are enjoying our weekend explorations and have lots of fun plans in October already.  The weather is teasing us with cool breezes but most days it is still just as hot and humid.  I know that fall is coming though! The dollar store next to our apartment has Halloween decorations and costumes for sale and the grocery store has a handful of overpriced pumpkins.  Perhaps soon, we will no longer need to buy coconut water in bulk. Occasionally, there are a few things to remind us of home. We love and miss everyone at home!