This was our first whole day in Taipei. Jet-lagged, my body woke up, on it's own at around 7:30. First time that has happened in a long time. We ate breakfast at the Jiantan Youth Center, the food isn't as bad as I thought it would be, and since it is a major international city it has more than just oriental food available. It's much like the US in the sense that if you want italian food, you can find it; if you want TGIF you can find it. I like trying the local taiwanese food, but having the option to eat american food is nice. Anyway, after breakfast a few of us decided to take a walk around the surrounding areas before we had to leave for a meeting. We found a hiking trail that went into the Jiantan Park. As we climbed, I made small conversation with those around me, finding out why my peers came on the trip.
Most were intere
sted in international politics
and international culture, but some just wanted to get out of Sherman. At one stop on the hiking trail we found a temple that seemed very
traditional at first, but at closer examination, we found a woman singing karaoke. In Taiwan karaoke is a popular pastime for people of all ages, and there are entire establishments devoted to karaoke services. I added a picture of the woman. She was really nice.
We made our way down the mountain, and and we hopped on the MRT (train system) and shuttled over to Soochow University. We ate a delicious lunch with the students and staff, and had a Q&A session with them. Some of the profe
ssors that we talked to are some of the most respected intellectuals in the country and one of them,
a professor of political science, is a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential election. We discussed the political atmosphere in Taiwan.
I learned that there are two main political parties, with little to no third party politics. The two political parties are the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The two parties are split along the single issue of national identity in relation to China. The DPP wants complete sovereignty and recognition from the international community. The KMT is more geared toward being united with china in the same way Scotland is untied with England. They are both their own country, but the United Kingdom binds them together.
We met some really nice students at Soochow and talked with them about the differences in student life here and in the states. It turns out that they take around 10 classes and meet in each class once a week or so, as compared to my semester schedule of 4 classes 2-3 times a week. All the people I have met here are all very polite and willing to help. It is from these people, and my classmates whom know mandarin chinese, that I have learned a few key phrases for getting around Taipei. Hopefully i can try and use the little chinese I learned more and more.
After our meeting we went on some sight seeing adventures, and ended up at an all you can eat mongolian BBQ joint that I will be visiting again! It was really good food at affordable prices. I'll write more on the prices of things later.
Then we went to Longshan temple, which is the center for Buddhist religious life in taipei. We talked about some of the religious customs, and we browsed Buddhist literature. It was strange standing in a place that symbolized such a different set of beliefs than my own.
It has only been two days, but I am starting to get a feel for the culture, but the contstant going and doing is wearing on my body. I dragged myself into bed at the end of the day, with sore feet and a sore back, a good nights rest is exactly what I needed.
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