Staycie's Taiwan Journey: End of September/Beginning of October

The end of September, beginning of October has brought a lot of interesting news. Three typhoons were potentially heading straight for Taiwan, which was predicted to leave heavy damage to most areas. Some areas were still trying to rebuild after August's Typhoon Morakot, so the threat of three typhoons wasn't too welcome. Fortunately for Taiwan, all three typhoons changed paths, and Taiwan was only hit with heavy rains.

I was able to visit one of Taipei's tallest points, Yangmingshan. It gives you an amazing view of all Taipei, and we were able to see it at night. On Friday, Karin (one of the FETs in Taipei), invited me to help celebrate her birthday. A group of us went to a German restaurant and enjoyed lots of German food, an

d everyone indulged in a little dessert to help Karin celebrate.

Last weekend, I boarded a train to Hualien, where 3 other FETs are teaching. The train ride is amazing because to one side is mountains and to the other is the Pacific Ocean. At some points it looks as though the clouds, ocean, and mountains all blend in to one. U

nfortunately, it rained the entire weekend, but we FETs know how to have fun in any type of weather. We went to a mountainous area and then to a power plant for popsicles!

A mountain view in Hualien

On Sunday, the whole group went to see a movie, and then we got back on a train to Taipei. It was a great weekend, and so nice to see some friends.

Unfortunately, the week took a bit of a sour turn. On Tuesday, I broke my middle toe on my left foot. I was moving a kids' chair out of my way and kicked it with my foot

instead of moving it with my hands. I knew something was wrong instantly, but thought maybe I just bruised my foot badly. One of my Taiwanese co-teachers ac

companied me to the local clinic and I had x-rays taken and received a few days' worth of pain medication. I'll return on Monday to have another set of x-rays taken to make sure my toe is healing correctly.

The doctor said I will not be allowed to exercise for at least a month, so I will not be able to run the 5k race in November I had signed up for. I was able to find a friend to take my place and I know it will still be a lot of fun to watch the runners.