July17-July20, PROJECT~!!!!!

It was raining nearly all the day, but the project did not stop. Our group seems to be one of the most hardworking one among the four groups. We were talking about the project all the time and even have no time to visit the skywalk in Sitou~!!!  There are four group members have four different academic background in our group. Mei is major in library information and Kohei’s major is civil engineering, Andrew is major in environmental science and mine is finance & accountancy. It seems that we have no advantage among those who have biology background, but I think we have our own advantages.  Such as Mei can do the research things which talking about the research methods and Andrew can help us editing since English is his mother tongue. What I can do is data collection and data analysis. Kohei is in charge of the mainly idea. The work is not easy but it worth it to work with brilliant peers.  I went to the monster village with others and it was really really amazing and fun.  I love the special seals and postcards there and bought a lot and sent to my friends everywhere all around the world. It was a great place to have fun.

The lectures related to the experimental design were really useful, and we learn a lot from them. It seems that our group spent too much time on our project that we have no time to hang out and have a lot at the scenery in Sitou, but we thing it is better to consider the project work seriously instead of playing everywhere. None of us are biology related major which means we should pay more attention and spend more on the project than others. It was tired and sometimes we even quarrel with each other because of different ideas, but I thing that’s exactly the charm of teamwork. Through discussion and quarreling, we got the topic and the experimental method, even the conclusion as well, and that’s what everyone really wants.

We visited the earthquake museum in the last day outside Taipei, I was young when the earthquake occurred, but I can clearly remember the shocked pictures from the news at that time. The nature is great and we should spare no effort to protect it instead of destroy. Finally we came back to NTU after a long trip,  we were so happy to be back to the “real” world.

The 21th day, long march in Taiwan~!

It was extremely cold in the wooden house last night and I woke up at around 4:00 this morning. But I waited to get up at about 7:00am.

The breakfast was light but enough, we all have strong emotion to finish the long march today. After our professors who taught us knowledge about bird watching, we didn't feel tired at all~!!!!! I bought a big corn after we arrieved the giant tree, then we went back to the youth center and have a sweet nap.

Then came the project discussion section, we were tired but exciting about telling everyone about our project. To realize our dream, we still have a lot of work to do.

The 20th day, new experience in wooden house~!

The breafast here in Sitou is much better than the perious ones, I had a big breafast today~!

We had lecures about the introduction of Sitou Experimental Forest and a simple guide tour of this amazing "campus " out the main campus of the National Taiwan University. It was such a great place not only for students from NTU to practice what they learn in the class, but also a wonderful place for the coming tourisms. The lecture about the birds in Taiwan and the interesting bird nest practice was attractive, and we all had a nice time.

What really new was the special experience in the wooden house. Though the weather tonight was not that kind of food for moon and star observation and it was really cold tonight, we still have a lot of fun together~! I did feel the interests of teamwork~!

The 19th Day~! July 14th, Brooke's birhday~!!!!!

After such a nice birthday memory of Ashley, we welcame Brooke's birthday today.

We had a lot of tea in the daytime and visited Phoenix Tea Plantation and Lugu Farmers' Association. As a Chinese, I really really love drinking tea. Usually during the school days I bring about at least 1kg tea to school every semester and finish it at the end of the school days. I love the feeling to have a cup of hot tea after dinner, it is pretty enjoyable. But our foreign friends may be not that kind of used to it, M even told me that she suffered a favor because of drinking too much tea~! It sounded interesting for our Asian people but maybe that was the fact.

We checked in Sitou experimental forest in the evening and I am happy to be the roomate of Mei and Christine.

Happy birthday~!

The 18th day, Happy birthday Ashley~!

We visied the Endemic Species Research Instiue and had two lectures today. The animal conservation center was really cool, which gave me a brand new version of the relationship of humanbeings and animals. The lectures and guide tours were interesting, too. The mini bat was sooooo cute and the guide were really nice.

We arrived at the tea garden in the evening and the weather was very forggy, which looked like a fairy world. It was Ashley's 21 birthday today and most of us were out and celebrated her birthday tonight.

Happy birthday to Ashley and those who will have birthday tomorrow~!

The 17th day, nice tribe visiting and bench making

Actually I thought a lot last night and the whole day today.

About each of my reactions yesterday and whether it is correct or not. I am the kind of people who may check every step occurred again and again after something happened. I have to say that I was not logical enough when was asked some previous things. Since we cannot agree with each other, maybe what I can do is just try to forget everything and learn from it, but he scar of it will be there forever and reminds me of this extremely bad experience in Taiwan.

Half of the trip already, I believe most of us have already feeled tired and exhausted, but we still have some more work to do in the following days.

Visited the wangxiang aboriginal tribe in the morning and the wine factory was really cute~! We tried some samples and experienced the special aboriginal dishes for lunch. The vegatables and pork were very good and we was told that the lady who served us at noon was the one who won 2nd place in the BBQ competition among the tribe.

Back to the wooden factory where we live, we began to make our own bench after walked aroung the factory. The bench looked pretty but it was not that kind of easy to make. I curved my name and the date today in the calendar of the Republic of China. It was special gift from shuili.

We have a mini match after the discovery video about the wooden world. Practice makes perfect, and this is what I should always remember.

The 16th day, rainy

I don' know what to write about the things happened today, I wished it would be as fine as usual, but it seems not.

Half hour's trip took us from MeiFeng Farm to Chunyang Subfarm, then the lecture began. Though not as interesting as usual, it was not that kind of bad. We tried the pepper the professor provided us, it was soooooooo spicy~! But tasted like lemon at first, and it existed in one of the dishes of lunch today.

The suddenly tain stoped us from harvesting tomatoes,nearly ten days' sunshine gave us enough reasons to leave our umbrellas inside of the luggage. Luckily the farm offered each of us a raincoat and enabled the activity to go on smoothly. The golden tomatos looked like yellow lanterns and we were allowed to fill one box each. Decision was always difficult but we have to. Finally nearly everyone got what him or her want and left for the next stop.

After more than two hours' drive, we arrived at the wooden factory.

Then came what I will never forget.

Maybe it was about the gap between different cultures, but the so-called "common words" still hurted me a lot. Though regarded it somthing meaningless and kind of shame when I was told feel free to ask anyone about the words, I did ask some local students about the words hurted me in the end, and the answer was different from the explanation. When was asked if I want to go back home now, I just said yes, definitely. It's hard to believe that those were the exactly words came from a senior clark who has already run this program successfully for 3 years, but it did happened. Especially at the moment when I suffered a cold and otitis media, in this brand new area, I missed my family and friends a lot. When stood at the flat between two floors with my luggage and endured the suddenly silence and the stares from the crowd, I just felt nothing can be more embarrassed than this moment during this trip. Maybe in some occasion it is nothing but a joke, but his expression at that moment and later when we talked with each other told me that was not something it was supposed to be. Till now, I still cannot totally accept the explanation I got, it was nearly a kind of offense, at least from my point of view.


Went to a hospital and got some medicine, I have to think about my health seriously. To Jack and Iris, thanks a lot for your help, without the affair before, never will I tell you about the problem of my ear, I swear.

I tried to tell my friends in the mainland how interesting this program is and show off the pictures and knowledge I get here through the SNS website everyday, and they admire me a lot. Unfortunately I have nothing to show today, or even have to hide my feelings instead. Hope all will be fine tomorrow, maybe what I suffered today was just the costs to choose the road not taken.

Wish all of us will have a happy ending two weeks later.

The 15th day, happy farmers' day~!

Three lectures today  but not boring, especially the last one at night, which talked about the tea culture in Taiwan was excellent. The professor served us three different kinds of tea as well, which let enable us have the chance to feel the real tea instead of just by imagination.

Except lectures, we have a lot of field trips and guide tours today. Because of the cold, I didn't join the bird watching in the morning, I was soooooo sorry for that. The visit to the Meifeng Farm was good, it was amazing that NTU's experimental farm can be such biodiversity. The "Happy Flower Picking" section was really really fun, we not only picked our own flowers but also used the beets we picked to make beet juice. Tasted not bad.

Those activities  reminded me the day when I asked my TA to wirte a recommendation for me, I told him that I want to be a famer here in the coming summer. Today, my "dream" came true~!

The 14th day

Got up at 3:45am and then headed to the peak of Hehuanshan Mountain.

Kind of sleepy but it seemed deserved，the scenery was fantastic~！！！ The picture was quite different when watching from the high spots. We took a lot of interesting pictures and walked along the road, I just found that hiking with friends in the morning was such a great experience, while we were walking we can talk with each other and even sing songs. I learnt some Taiwanese and it is very different from Mandarin，they introduced me a famous Taiwanese song which is about the daily life and memory of a couple when they are old. Really a meaningful song that expresses the special relationship between couples. I understood the culture here step by step, just like when I was fifteen and just started my high school life in Shanghai, at the age of 18 left Shanghai to Guangdong and finally made up my decision to study in the US, everytime when new life and challenge came, I have no choice but face by myself, luckily I survived and made their culture became part of my life.

Felt really bad today, most because of he blisters on my feet and the cold I got. Excerse is quite important, I totally understand.

The 13th day~Let's be the guest of the high mountains in Taiwan~!!!

I love to take long distance bus.

The reason isn't because then I can take a long nap like someone guessed, just because I can have an opportunity to have a glance of the scenery pass by while listening to some music I like.

I had a great chance today.

After the great hiking in Lyushui Trail we took a long bus tour to MeiFeng Farm, during the trip we had two stops. One of the stop was Bilu Scared Tree and the other was Hehuanshan Station. There was an interesting coffee shop which sold peach coffee and peach honey, the little boy who sold me drink was very cute, the little girl as well. It was amazing that the owner of the shop can speak fluent English and maybe that was one of the reason why nearly all of us bought something there.

We took several cool pictures in the second stop and the weather there was really comfortable. As a northern people I love the temperature a lot. The MeiFeng Farm was beautiful, I even think about living here forever, though it seems impossible.

We will have a really difficult hiking tomorrow which required to get up around 4:00am and keep hiking until 11:00am, wish everyone goodluck~!

Still have a bad headache, goodnight~!

The 12th day~~ One of the best experience in my life~~~!

After a big breakfast, we headed to Taroko National Park and started  our hiking in the Shakadang Trail. The weather was as hot as usual, or even much more hotter, since we had the emotion to find the "water", we walked like more than 4km along the trail until Jack caught up with us and told us that he hadn't walked such a long way in this trail. We cannot wait to jump into the clear water when permitted. It was a pity that I didn't went to swim with them but when I had a serious headache and my throat pained a lot at night, I suddenly found that maybe it was not a bad decision.

By the way, we had a quiz today, I did really bad, but it was all my fault since I didn't spend enough time on reviewing. Not because I have no biology background, it was just a kind of excuse of my bad performance. I think I learnt something from it.

It was the earliest day I slept since I came here. about 11:00pm, just because of the trend to get a cold.

The 11th day~Nanfangao&qingshui cliff~！

Time to leave Taipei for other places in Taiwan~!

We had a lecture about the orchid in Taiwan, the orchid here are very pretty. Orchid cultivated in Taiwan will export all over the world. We also visited the orchid garden to see the variety of orchid here. The weather was still very hot but not that kind of humid in Taipei.

We went to the seaside again this afternoon and it was really really good~! Maybe the best beach I have ever seen all my lift until now. I took a lot of interesting pictures there. During the trip, I talked to different people and we changed our thoughts of the same stuff, and this experience was very meaningful.

It was night market this night again, great food, nice people~!

We will have a quiz tomorrow, but I haven't do any review since now, good luck to everyone~!

The 9th Day~~Here came the sea~!!

Sooooooooooooooo hot today~!!!
Look at the photo in the middle which I took during the bus time, 36 degrees~!!!! My skin becomes darker and darker day after day~!
The rocks we saw this morning was really wonderful and precious, the Yeliu Geology Park is just like a fairy world~! We tried to reach the highest peak of the mountain and saw the tofu rock, except the bad weather, the scenery was perfect and I even don't want to leave~!
After a big seafood lunch we went to the Fisheries Research Institute and explore two museums there. I just have to say that the ocean is such a great world which we will always treasure.
We had DIY damplings class after we went back to NTU. I liked it very much and it was interesting.

The 10th day~Night market&The Palace Museum

Have been waiting for this moment for several days~!

Here we are~!

Since most of the place we visited today were not allowed to take photos, so I just have pictures around the night market time.

The Palace Museum was amazing, I have heard of something about it before I came but I was still shocked at the moment I saw the stuff in it. Though seemed fewer treasures than the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, but most of the stuff here have more qualities. Especially the jade cabbage  and the meat stone, two of the most famous treasures in the Palace Museum of Taiwan. The stones were smaller than what I thought but charming enough.

We went to the museum about the local people in Taiwan island this afternoon and had nice experience there, photos were not allowed but I can remember most of the things we visited today. After several days' work everyone felt tired, but this is our choice and we have to move on.

So came the last section today, the Shilin Night Market. Sooooo crowded here~!!!!! But it deserved~! There were so many people in front of the fried chicken steak store which I want to have a try and time was limited, so I have to give it up and choose another store. We walked around that area after have enough food, I didn't have much time to explore, it was really interesting place and we nearly can find anything we want~!

The 8th Day~Free day today~!!!!!!

It was sooooooooooooo exciting that we have no course today~!

I got up early but considered my watch to be Chicago Time and added one hour after that, so I though I was late for the meeting of the trip to Jiufen. But actually I was early~~! I have to go by myself. I watch the movie Transformers in the morning and did some shopping after that.

Then came the unforgettable part, the night club in Taipei.

I am a little allergic to alcohol and never deank before, but I heard the night club in Taipei for thousands of times, so to meet my curiosity I tried tonight.

Experience I will never forget.

The 7th Day~! fairy tale about ceramics & Sanshia Master Temple, the night watch of frog as well

As a traditional typical Chinese girl who have lived in the mainland for about 20 years, I've never paid attention to ceramics until we visited the Yingge Ceramics Museum today. It was amazed to see that "plain" pottery clay can be so colorful after the whole work. Maybe that's kind of ancient Chinese philosophy, only after tough environment can unbelievable changes happen to it and finally enable it to be what it supposes to be. In the DIY section I tried to use the clay to make a giraffe but finally it seened like a turtle~! Maybe the reason was because of its four strange legs~! I am waiting to see what it will be like after all the following proctures, wish it will not be to bad.

After a real big meal we went aheat to Li Mei-shu Memorial Galley. My respect to him and the knowledgeable people at that period increased since his younger son, out guide today as well talked about him and his work today. The most exciting thing here today was to see the ones who was drawn in the picture "walked" out and talked to us~!!! Though several tens' older, I still considered it one of the most unbelievable affairs I've ever met. My interest in architecture was recalled on seeing the Sanshia Master Temple designed by Li Mei-shu. The temple was not big but it was sooo attractive~! Just liked another gallery outside Li Mei-shu Memorial Gallery~! Though it was a pity to not hide the bumbs but the temple was good enough for future people tp pray and learn from him.

The most exciting but horrible thing as well today was the night watch of frog. I've never been to a nature park at night and try to find frogs before. I was so scary and even didn't dare to step on the stones since I had no flashlight. After a while things became a little better and I tried to persuaded myself to calm down and enjoy this course. Finally we found 7 kinds of frogs and went back to NTU safely. I think it was an experience I will never want to again but also one of the experience maybe I will never have any chance to do so.

The sixth day~Tired but exciting~!!!

It was such an exciting day~!

After the lecture in the morning about the Aborginal Culture in Taiwan, we went ahead to the Guandu National Park together. The park cost a lot to be builted and now it is one of the best wetland experimental park around Taiwan. The tour guide was really hardworking and tried to answer questions we asked as much as possible. Though there was some problem with the video, but the stuff there was really nice and gave each of us a brochure to fix.

We visited Fort San Domingo later and the architecture there was soooooo amazing and I really love it~! It reminded me of my old dream to do something about city planning or civil engineering. I just found that maybe I missed what I want at first but I still have interest on it, and that is enough.

Then came the most interesting and exciting part, the free tour of Danshui Old Street. It's hard to be hungry in Taiwan since it's food everywhere, Danshui Old Street was an example. Went after Jack, we tried lots of Taiwan snacks such as the iron eggs and the red bean cake. There were people everywhere on the street, food as well. I believe those showed the fantastic lives in Taiwan.

Our last stop was Taipei 101, the highest building in Taiwan. The business circle around the building was really big and rich, nearly all kinds of goods were sold there. Stood on the top flat of the building everything seemed to be tiny and the world suddenly turned extremely large. I bought some gifts for my friends and I am sure they will like them.