You should have seen it

We had a great time at Liu Lake. It was really big and beautiful. The mountains looked just like Hawaii and it was perfect weather. We rented a swan paddle boat and had a lot of fun!

This is how they roll

So we were driving to the Liu lake and saw this. I thought it was awesome. A few things about driving in Taiwan:

*left turns-first comes first serve, you get in the intersection and go fast

* yellow lights- a go for anyone

* ambulance/police car- lights or siren you keep on going

* helmets- a must, fastening it is up to you

* scooter- lowest on the chain, but can get around anything at anytime. Usually fits 4-5

* Honking- just to let people know you will NOT be stopping as you run the red light

Saving Grace

We made it! COSTCO!!! We took a trip to Taipei ( 4 hour train ride) and the MRT a taxi and a little walk but we made it. Walking into COSTCO was like walking into America ( aside from the hundreds of Taiwanese people) We bought some muffins, bagels, cream cheese, snack pack cheese sticks, and chips. We couldn't buy anything that needed to be frozen but it was amazing. Three stories full of good 'ol American food. We spent quite some time in there and really enjoyed it. We even got a Chinese COSTCO bag for $1.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a happy Thanksgiving here in Taiwan. We celebrated with a nice hot pot dinner and Mai Dang Lao's ( Mc Donald's) sundae! Here are some things we are thankful for: ( in no order)
Carpet, Forks, Knives, Spoons, Toilets ( the kind you can sit on) grocery stores, hot showers, clean room (no living and growing mold!), cars, cell phones, traffic enforcement, police officers that do their jobs, washing machines, clothes dryers, ovens, heaters, skype, Target stores, wood and bricks, non-title ceilings, Mexican food, American food, American Chinese food, sewer systems, not living next to a chicken coop, watching corn and rice grow (its amazing) Clean air, real apartments, common language, the hills on the Internet, not living on a roof, not living in a storage container, a church that is the same in every country, dan bings, mango bing sha, egg holds the rice, noodles, Top Bakery- having a VIP card to Top, $100 kuai sales, cute Taiwanese shoes and shirts and jackets- shopping in Taiwan, onion oil biscuits, shaved noodles, ice monster, $6 U.S. antibiotics, free hotel pens, fruit- apple pears, kiwi, my favorite Japanese fruit, mango, dragon fruit, COSTCO ( yep in Taiwan) We are grateful for the experiences and adventures we have had here in Taiwan. Up until this week we were planning on staying but we are excited to come home for awhile. We will be back in a few years!!

Three Hour Drive

We drive down the coast to make it to the bridge! It was a beautiful drive ( minus the bugs and butterflies in your face). We pounded the wind and made it to the bridge in three hours. We stopped at the Tropic of Cancer and checked that out. Only to walk across it and back before we had to face the drive again! I saw the bridge when we first got here and wanted to go. It was a really fun trip and ride, but man were we tired when we got home and had to go to the Halloween parade!

Halloween

Taiwan does not celebrate Halloween, unless there are some Americans. All the schools that have English get dressed up and have a parade downtown. Our lesson was on making a witches brew with noodles as brains. We went all out and the kids were terrified, we even made one student cry! The parade was fun and everyone loved to scream at us! After we went to a movie with some friends and Caleb got a few weird looks!!

Ken Ding

We had a really fun time in Ken Ding. The water was amazing and we had a great time snorkeling until we saw a five foot sea snake and I had enough! So we played in the water like the Taiwanese... hence the inter tube. We went on a water banana, water tube and water taco with our friends earlier and that was a lot of fun too!

Natural Gas

This is Ken Ding at the National Park. The ground is filled with natural gas and the fires burn all the time. We cooked an egg and watched some fireworks. Most of the flames were blue but came out yellow in this picture.

Painters

We painted our living area. It was really "fun" sanding off the dead bugs and mold! The green our boss chose ended up looking ok, especially if you are a really old. ( it reminds everyone of a grandma's house) Caleb did all the hard work but it looks tons better now!!

Some train ride

This is after a 3 hour train ride with no seats! We sat on the steps next to the door! Just look at all those people who got off the train!!!

SHHHH!! We found the LOST hour!

So we were walking along the streets of Taipei, making fun of the shirts and signs that have English letters but not necessarily English words. Then we found this pool hall. And we thought there was only 24 HOURS a day!

National Palace Museum

This is at the National Palace Museum. It was really big and had a lot of plates and bowls. All of the things inside were what the people brought over when the fled from China. It was really neat to see some many parts of history that were so old. The most famous art piece is a rock that looks like a piece of bacon. It really does look like a slice of bacon! Outside the museum was a really beautiful park and this is where we took the picture.

Night Market

This is at the Shurlin night market. It is the most famous night market and has thousands of people. This is just one little alley but it is blocks wide and long. We had a lot of fun here. The vendors that sell out of trunks and such are illegal so every so often someone will just start to pack up and run and all the other vendors do it within seconds! It is so exciting to see them escape the cops!

Park

This is outside a building for the workers to break or meditate.

Tzu Chi

This is the Tzu Chi Buddhist Temple. It has a really pretty walk way and garden all around it. Inside it's like a museum where you can walk around and read about their goals and mission and all the work they have done all over the world. It was really neat. Caleb and I got our very own VIP tour, we walked all around in any room we liked!

In case you wondered

Hot Pots

Proof, Mom! I am eating just fine! Here we are at the Hot Pots. And yes that is meat! Pork and I ate it all! They have hot pots in the states but you boil the water and cook your food to your liking. It is really good!

Our Jungle

This is up the mountains right behind our house. We hiked up for hours and found some really cool waterfalls, with the help of an old man and woman who climbed up the rocks like they were half their age... they had to keep stopping just so we could keep up with them. We went swimming ( in the freezing cold fresh water) and listened to the monkeys talk. This is a path that leads to nothing! It has been taken over by the plants and you can't walk too far. It is really beautiful and has some really pretty trees and plants!

Japanese Bunkers

Here is one of the hundreds of Japanese bunkers. They are all over the island. This picture is taken at Seven Star Beach. It was really pretty and we had a fun day exploring and finding new things.

Holiday KTV

This is us at the Holiday KTV- Karaoke TV! You pay for a day and get your own private room, with a wrap around couch, all you can eat buffet including ice cream. And you get to sing your heart out! Caleb and I had a really great time!! As my dear sister mentioned, we prefer to NOT update our blog until we are satisfied with enough comments. We love the comments and really enjoy reading them, especially when there is more than one! So please feel free to leave a comment or two. We are running the half- marathon tomrrow so wish us luck! We will have a ton of pictures to update so keep checking!