I am sure that everyone is unaware that we have had real problems with securing solid internet connections. That is one explanation as to why there is not more on the blog! It is also an explanation as to why I have not posted any updates on our activities since March 19. We are now in Taoyuan and I have a good internet connection. So here is the update. On March 20, we visited the Charcoal Museum. Yes, Charcoal. It was very interesting. We saw an amazing charcoal xylophone, charcoal water purifiers, charcoal sculptures, and numerous items made from charcoal like clothes, shoes, shampoo, etc. The museum is owned by a local Rotarian and is also part of his hotel and restaurant. We ate lunch there. That afternoon, we visited the Ten Ren Tea Museum. Yes, Tea. It too was very interesting. I did not realize the amount of culture, labor, etc. that was involved with tea. We concluded that day with a visit to another temple and then dinner. On March 21, we all moved to Hsin Chu. Our first stop was the famous Jin-Yi Meatball Factory. We were told that these meatballs were famous in Hsin Chu, and are apparently marketed all over the world. Blythe has posted some pictures from the factory. We toured a temple and then had lunch. Fortunately, the lunch was a simple seafood soup. We then made our way in the afternoon to the Glass Art Museum. Since this was the year of the Tiger, we were able to see many glass sculptures of tigers. We visited the famous Hsin Chu Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) on Monday, March 22. They demonstrated many fascinating technologies and then provided lunch. The afternoon involved a visit to the Science Park Administration. We all had dinner with our host families that evening. We visited a famous noodle factory on March 23, along with about 400 elementary students. We got to make the same noodles as the school kids and took them home with us as well. The afternoon involved a ride along the 17 km coastal bike trail called the "Top 8 Seascapes of Hsin Chu City." With rented bikes, we and a group of Rotarians biked a round trip of about 26 km of the 34 km total possible bike trail. The evening of March 23 found us as the Ambassador Hotel in Hsin Chu for a regular Rotary Club Meeting and presentation. Again, I was very proud of my team and their presentations in Mandarin. The facilities were much better that evening, with an indoor presentation, podium and best of all, lighting, for the event.
March 24 found us separated on a “vocational day.” I had the good fortune of visiting a local law office and two separate courts. Each of the team will have to report separately on their adventures that day.
On March 25, we were taken to the region of the Hsin Chu County High Speed Rail Station. We first visited a building designed by a famous Japanese architect. The building was still under construction. We had a good view of the high speed rail station and its unique exterior architecture (designed by the same Japanese architect) from the outside despite bad weather. Following this visit, we made a brief stop at the station and then proceeded on to the Hsin Chu County Mayor’s office, where he made a special presentation for us and provided us gifts. Later that afternoon, we visited a Hakka temple called “Yi Min temple.” This was the first temple we saw that had no Buddhist or Taoist icons or gods inside. We continued our visit to the Hakka community, and saw where they made special rice balls and wide rice noodles and ate dinner at a Hakka restaurant. We ended up the evening at the one of the Chinese Rotary Club president’s home, where we helped him celebrate his birthday. Yes, in keeping with Chinese tradition, there was karaoke, and our whole team participated. I must say, for the crowd under 50, I saw some real entertainers in the group.
On March 26, we visited Chu Tung. We started the day visiting a lumber museum, as that region was famous for its timber. After lunch, we were offered the opportunity to visit a local Rotarian’s home, and take an “afternoon nap.” Some of us took them up on that offer. In the evening, we attended a Rotary Meeting in Chu Tung. Again, the team did a great job with their presentation. The Chu Tung and Hsin Chu County clubs were very kind and gracious.
I am going to take a break here from the chronology and just mention more about my team. They have done a great job in representation our district and Rotary International on this trip. They are learning new words and customs daily and despite some periodic problems with local scheduling and communications, they have been very flexible and quite professional. I am very proud to have them with me.
I will try to download some photos soon.
