Ready for the rest of my life

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

A walking tour

Dave and I went on a walking mission to find this tower and a jade market - we found neither but had a fantistic journey along the way. Like a line from one of my songs says - the destination is inconsequential, the journey holds the joy. We wandered into a traditional market with all sorts of wierd food and we bought a couple bags of treats, then we came across this amazing temple. In the temple this woman came to talk to us - likely to practice her english - she seemed to be saying that she had been to Canada or was going - I couldn't be sure. We ate at all sorts of local places and some time had no idea what we were going to get when we ordered it, but everything was good - even the street meat. We walked for 5 hours and my feet gave out 2 blocks from home and I had to limp the last stretch. We did stop in the Wufu market for a sandwich and a drink on the walk home and this cute little parade of kids in Halloween costumes came through and they all came up to us to give us their candy - I think they misunderstood what treat or treating is but it was so cute.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

A day at the beach


Well now I feel like I'm really on vacation - we spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach in the hazy late October sun. It was the perfect temperature and I have never swam in water so warm. But I got black sand stuck all over my body like a second skin and I can't seem to get it all off. We went for Indian food for supper - I've had Greek, Indian and Western so far but not to much of the Taiwanese food - it looks kinda scary but I will take the plunge soon enough.
Anyway - this is really just and excuse to post some more pictures.

Andrea, pasty pale Dave and I at the beach. The other pic is of a wedding photo shoot - they wear 4 - 7 different dresses in different colors for the wedding and before hand they wear rented outfits from the photographer and go around doing these elborate photo shoots.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Well I arrived without incident and am very impressed how well my memory serves me from the last time I was here. Andrea's friend Dave is also here visiting which is great cause I have a partner in crime. The two of us must have walked 20 km yesterday and saw a good chunk of the city. We grabbed some food and walked over to the gardens at the cultural center for a breakfast picnic then caught a cab to the science and technology museum (that’s a pic of me at the transportation exhibit). After that the two of us walked down to the Wufu market in search of chicken sandwiches and Halloween costumes. We were successful on our mission - but it wasn't the most creative costume I've ever had. After that I went with Angela to a Greek restaurant to have a fabulous dinner and watch her belly dance. We returned to the apartment for a little pre-party and went onto to a bar on the 15th floor of a sky rise building for a huge party. I think every foreigner in the city attended and I mingled with many and danced the night away. Clubs don't close until the costumers leave so we stayed until 5am. I made the mistake of having too many vodka and redbulls - I wasn't drunk but totally wired and could only sleep for 3 hours.
(the pic above is of the Museum and the one below is of my current roommates and our Halloween costumes - from left Andrea, Dave, me, and Angela).

Sunday, October 01, 2006

3 more weeks!

The count down calender is on the fridge, I'm starting to pack my bags, I have my visa, my shots and my passport - all that's left is getting my darn education out of the way.
In 30 minutes someone is coming to take my car away (yeah and booooooo!), so I now have all the money I will need for my trip.
Jen has showed me how to use this darn site so I can share all of my stories with my friends. Stayed tuned for my adventures in wonderland