Week 11 29th March -4th April

Personal and Cultural Development

This has been an amazing week full of travel and new adventures everyday. We have two weeks off for Easter and have decided to spend 12 days in Taiwan. There are four of us going so we've had many planning meetings to book hostels and decide on the route, also to make sure that we make it to every ones' top sightseeing destinations. We started in Taipei, the capital city and I was struck by how many scooters there were. So many that it was sometimes hard to find a space at the curb to cross with enough room.

Anyone who has been to Hong Kong will know that there is a British feel about it. In comparison Taiwan has an American feel. While you find cricket pitches in Hong Kong, Taiwan in contrast has Baseball stadiums, even in the sleepy towns. Obama English schools could be spotted and signs used American English.

Shopping is amazing in Taiwan. Of course there is a big black market in Taiwan. I've been informed that the Taiwanese working in the factories will hide away some items from each batch. This then supplements their low pay when they sell on to the market vendors where many locals and tourists come for a bargain. One of the most exciting stores that Michaela and I found was a Beatrix Potter store.

The Taiwanese are also very proud of their food and beautiful Buddist temples.

Professional Development

While in Taipei, we visited the National Palace museum. We hiked for about two hours looking for it, only to realise when we got to the bottom again and a taxi ride later we had been climbing the wrong hill. We were fortunate to be just in time for an English guided tour however. Our guide was very enthusiastic and proud of the collection the museum had. Her enthusiasm meant we forgot how tired we were from trying to find the place. She was very knowledgeable and even managed to interest us in 'chicken dishes'. She possessed a lot of the skills of a good teacher should have.

We also went camping in the National Park, and it was interesting to notice tags on the trees for identification purposes. We were also able to do a some bird watching in this park. The worst part of camping in Taipei National Park was

when we were hiking to our campsite after dinner in town, we spotted a snake. It wasn't the best thing to notice before spending a night out in the great outdoors but we survived and had a lot of fun.

As a Geography student it was very exciting to be able to visit the Sulphur Mountains in the National Park.

We all look very happy but it was very smelly with all that sulphur being released from the hill side through air holes.

We travelled from Taipei to Hsinchu and one of the highlights there was visiting the Japanese style buildings and learning about the occupation period. When the Japanese first invaded Taiwan and took over, the people were treated more like slaves but by the end of the occupation period it has been noted that the two got on more amicably. This good relationship seems to have lasted and Japanese influences are seen, even celebrated around Taiwan.