The first few days!

Now that I (mostly Johnathan M.) finally got the blog working, I can being to transcribe my experiences in Taiwan. I will go in order.

The traveling:
I arrived at the airport at a little after 5:00 am on December 27,2007 to begin my first study abroad trip. After successfully moving through check-in and security by 5:30, the group of 25 students and faculty waited until 8:00 am to board the plane. The flight to San Fransisco was uneventful. Several of the students and myself went to a Mexican restaurant to have some lunch before we left for Taipei. Mmmmm supreme quesadila at a supreme price! Then the fun began. The plane kept getting delayed because of "mechanical problems". The flight was scheduled to leave the gate around 2:00, but it actually left around 4:00. However the two hours we had to wait was not long enough for them to make sure the plane had water pressure! So we had to return to the gait again and another hour was lost. We took off over three hours late. The flight to Taipei was long; over 13 hours. It was cool because each seat had a video display and we could track our position with the map feature. After watching "The Bourne Ultimatum", I tried to sleep, but I did not have a place to rest my head, so it was difficult. At least I had some extra legroom because I somehow got economy plus seating! There was some turbulence, but only for a short while. Time passed and a last we arrived at around 11:00pm local time on 12-28. We had lost a day, but we would make it back on the return flight. We were greeted by a group of students from NCTU, National Chao Tung University, who escorted us back to the Guest house which would be our home for the next few days. I went to sleep around 2:00 am. After many hours of traveling, it was time to experience Taiwan!

Day 1: The Day of Temples
We awoke at 8:00 am the next day to begin day 1 of our two day tour of Taiwan. The first stop was the Hsinchu temple in Hsinchu city. We were lucky because it was the celebration of the god of the city. There were many people driving around the cities on scooters (lots of scooters) and cars. Food was everywhere! It combined with the smell of incense in the temple to give that part of the city a distinct smell. We toured the city in bus as well. We saw the Hsinchu Science Park, which we would see in greater detail on day three, and the remains of the city gate in Hsinchu. After seeing the temple in the main part of the city. We ate our first authentic meal in Taiwan. I learned quickly that the Taiwanese know how to eat. I also learned that Taiwanese have a strange fascination with Karaoke, Greg knows first hand of this. After we ate, and ate, and ate, the group journeyed to Lion's Head Mountain. It was the sight of many temples. We convinced our tour guide, Allan, to hike the complete circle on the mountain. We enjoyed many beautiful sights. After the mountain trip, we went to a tradition Hakka village. The Hakka our another group of people who call Taiwan home. We ate this green glob stuff, which was made from sticky rice and green tea. We also made grind green tea. The tea involved grind green tea leaves, sesame seeds, and peanuts into a fine paste, then mixing with with ginger juice soup and various beans and puffed rice. It took a lot of effort to make, but it was delicious! We then walked around the Hakka village and saw some old buildings that were built during the Japanese occupation period in Taiwan stretching from 1895-1945. We also saw another temple, which was built in the 1700's. We ate dinner at a tradition Hakka restaurant. The food was great and unique. I could only eat so much because I was still full from tea. After a long day of eating and walking, I returned to the guest house and was sleeping by 8:30 pm. What a great beginning to my trip!