Rain, Temples and Humidity

Saturday:

So, no night market yesterday as a result of frequent torrential downpours of short duration. Oh well, I still got to ride on a motorscooter (but this time to Ja-Le-Fu, Carrefour = the French version of Wal-mart that seems to be ubiquitous in Asia). My friend D picked me up at my dorm on her motorscooter and we went to her family's house. They took me along to go shopping. It was quite an adventure. Their household consists of her mother, eldest sister, twin sister, twin sister's husband, twin sister's child, eldest sister's 2 children, other sister living in Taipei's daughter, one more child whose origins I am unsure of, and a cousin from Indonesia. Most of us got into their car (tight squeeze, no kidding) and drove to the Carrefour. It was very crowded and crazy but fun all the same. We went back to their house and a few of us went out to dinner. D's twin sister's husband's brother owns a very unique Egyptian restaurant here, complete with belly dancers and pictures of Florence, Italy on the walls. :) It was fun and our rice was served in carefully crafted pyramids. My camera died, or otherwise I definitely would have posted a photo of that.


Sunday

Today, I was not sure what I was going to do other than maybe wander around Changhua by myself and explore. However, when I was eating my morning mango over the sink, I struck up a conversation with another girl who was getting her breakfast. She invited me to go out with her and a couple of friends to Lu Kang, a town full of ancient temples and houses. I happily accepted and we ended up meeting her boyfriend there, who is a native of the place and gave us a very nice tour. I wish I could describe to you exactly how hot and humid it is here; those of you who have been to Alabama (or live there now) probably have some idea what I'm talking about. As soon as I step out of the house, I start sweating buckets.

Afterwards, we went to a unique cafe made of an out-of-commission bus on the hills overlooking the city and I drank fresh watermelon juice, which is a popular drink here. The weather had turned a little cooler and more humid (I didn't think it was possible); we saw a storm rolling in from the distance. The rain hit us a few minutes later.

The final stop of the evening was at a Belgian cafe that served waffles, Chimay, fries and sandwiches. They had a better selection of Belgian beer than we do in Alabama. RV would have been impressed.

Overall, a much more exciting day than I had anticipated.

This coming week, I am still on the Hospice Ward.

Short update and catch-up on photos

Friday, I went with the head of the Family Medicine department and a nurse to do the Hospice home care rounds. We saw two elderly cancer patients, both of whom lived at home with their families and seemed well taken care of. Doctors in Taiwan still do home visits for many patients and it was interesting to see the procedure. The environment seemed friendlier vis-a-vis a clinical visit, which I think must definitely make it easier on the patients.


Here are a few other photos from last week:

My dad and RV during our bike ride through Kaoshiung:



The train station for the high speed train that took us from Kaoshiung to Taipei in 1.5 hours (verses the 8 hours it used to take my dad when he was a child).

This is a normal train station (not the high speed one) that you usually take between cities:

Here are some photos from THIS week:

This is the hospital at which I work:

Here is my dormitory; it's made for 4 but so far I am the only one. You have to bring your own "mattress," which is essentially about an inch and half of padding topped by bamboo slats that you can buy at the local store. I'm getting used to it. :)

This is the view from my room:

The most famous site to see in Changhua is definitely the Great Buddha, which is a huge statue of Buddha atop a hill in the middle of the city. Surrounding the Buddha is a very peaceful park with temples and coi ponds.

I wish you all a pleasant weekend. I'm going to Changhua's largest night market tonight with a friend I met this past week; she's picking me up on her motor scooter. Should be fun!

Photos from the first week in Taiwan

Hello everyone!

Here are some photos from the week of travel I spent with my dad and RV in Taiwan.

While we were in Kaoshiung, we stayed in a really nice apartment that belongs to a family friend .

We spent a really nice day riding bicycles along the "Love River" in Kaoshiung. It was hot and humid, but then it started raining a little bit and it was really refreshing. We biked to my dad's old medical school and saw the dormitory where he and my mother met: Luke Hall.

After that, we biked to a ferry that took us to another island, where RV ate stinky tofu (which he didn't like, despite the fact that they say "smells bad tastes goooood"). Then he ate squid on a stick, which he did really like. We biked to the ocean and watched it for awhile before returning back to the apartment.

The next day, we took the train to Tai-Dong, where my dad's cousin lives. But more on that later.

Arrived in Changhua City Taiwan

My father and RV just dropped me off in Changhua City, Taiwan after a weeklong whirlwind tour of the island, visiting relatives and seeing the sites. I will be living in a dormitory a short bus ride away from the hospital. It is full of other people doing clerkships at Changhua Chistian Hospital (CCH) as well.

The dormitory was quiet bare when we arrived, so Dad helped me go out and purchase a mattress, bed linens, toilet paper, every little and large necessary item. Now I'm all settled in and looking forward to my orientation tomorrow. I have forgotten a good deal of Chinese from when I was living in Beijing, so it's a little intimidating. Everyone speaks very quickly, mixes in Taiwanese and then looks at me expectantly. Hahaha.

The neighborhood I am living in is much like other parts of Taiwan. Lots of apartment buildings, narrow streets, small shops, cars parked randomly on the side of the road, motor scooters, etc. I like how busy it is and how much is going on ("hen re nao").

I'll try to upload some photos tomorrow from our trip of last week.