Honour your mom

Today we visited a museum that displays the art works of Juming. He was a sculptor and did amazing things with his artwork. He also payed respect to his mother with many of his carvings. It seems so suiting that tomorrow I will attend a Buddhist ceremony to honour their deceased mother and father. Five brothers have gathered from around the world here this weekend to attend the temple and this ceremony. They shared with me tonight a bottle of 63 year old cognac saved for such an occasion. I was very touched that they would share this with me, a perfect stranger from the other side of the world and so tomorrow will go and pay homage to my own mother that has been gone over 15 years. One of my team members is having a tough time time holiday with the passing of her mother a few short years ago and with a few tears in my eyes I admitted it doesn't get any easier as time passes to get over the ones you love. This one goes out to you Ash, god bless your mom.

In the city of Keelung

Yesterday we arrived in Keelung and we were immediately greeted by our new Rotarian hosts. It's always a warm welcome, they make us feel right at home.

Keelung is situated in the northern part of Taiwan and the harbour faces the Pacific Ocean. This area is also known for its fresh seafood - YUM!

After a morning of travel, we relaxed at 'Jackies' a quaint bakery/coffee shop downtown. This shop is owned by Jack, who is also a Rotarian. We were all treated to delicious cappuccinos and ice cream. ~ thanks Jack!

We then went to the 50th anniversary Charter Ceremony of Keelung South RC. They had special guests from Japan and Korea RC. There was dancing, singing, and stage acts. Dinner was a 10 course meal- nothing out of the ordinary. It was quite the celebration!

Today we went to the Juming Museum. Large sculptures and wood carvings were displayed throughout. The artist, Ju Ming's primary influence was his mother, family and life at home. It was a great tour today.

Tomorrow we are lighting the sky lanterns. Stay tuned....

Happy 50th

The team has moved onto Keelung, the third largest busiest port in the world. I must say that the 5 of us have really grown very close and feel like life long friends. We are there for each other and have each other backs. After the great farewell party last night with probably the best drinker I have ever met (did I mention she is 72), she is kind of the favourite mother in law everyone ever had but can drink scotch, wine and beer like a tornado. However the day started with a trip to the Formosa Plastic Group museum where they honour the founder and his mother. He started out very poor but went on to be one of the richest men in the country but always gave back to the community. We them moved to a new development called the TPark where they are building a new development that will specialize in mobile phone R & D technology only. The building are all being built green with green roofs, living walls and rain water collections systems. Very cool stuff, our host Vivian was an excellent host.
Today, Good Friday we move to Keelung and did a presentation at a Rotary club then relaxed at a members famous coffee and bake shop, Jackie's. Then this evening we went to a Rotary clus 50th anniversary party. There were clubs represented form 5 countries and we did our best to represent Canada. I;m beat and heading to bed.
Cheers

Another adventure!

Its unbelievable that it is already day 10. Time is flying by so quickly. Yesterday, we switched things up a bit and went cycling through the Da-Han River Constructed Wetlands. A little bit if exercise and education all at the same time. We learned that the area was once a very toxic site and now is a habitat for wildlife. This wetland is also a great water filtration system for the city. The same day we toured Lin Family Mansion & Garden. The grounds are full of lovely gardens and ponds. The interior grounds were very luxurious with waterfalls, caves and courtyards. This kept the women's curiosity from exploring the outside world as the women were not to leave the premises. After we toured the mansion, I was told many people have seen ghosts in this area... Hmmm...

After some great sightseeing and learning more about the Taiwanese culture we were invited to the Formosa Plastics Group Museum. Our team was impressed by the numerous products they manufacture, the economic boost created by FPG and diversified development. One of the pictures below exhibits a glass floor with a model of the factories below. It truly seems like anything is possible in Taiwan.

This afternoon our team presented at the PanChiao Rotary Club meeting. We had a great lunch and lots of laughter.

A wonderful whirlwind of a week!!

I appreciate everyone's efforts to keep the blog up to date as we have been experiencing New Taipei City and Taipei. I was having some technical difficulties but now that they are straightened out, I thought I would give a little update of my first week in Taiwan :)

So far, my vocational visits have included: 1) trip to Shu-Lin recycling centre, 2) TzuChi Nei-Hu recycling centre, 3) a trip to the Bali incineration plant (also called the Taipei university of tech Eco building), and the 4) TzuChi hospital. Not to mention all of the amazing activities we have participated in as a team which include: the presidential hall, taipei 101, SanXia ancestral temple, old street in SanXia, the Da-Han river constructed wetland, etc.... And all of the amazing rotary gatherings!!

I have found that everywhere I have visited has provided me with further insight into how the Taiwanese respect the need to consider each other and the environment into decision making and development processes. For example, to offset the negative opinions and emotions regarding the Bali Incineration Plant, the developer included the local community in the process from the very start. They have done local clean ups of the community, environmental restoration work, and have even built a recreation centre there. Very impressive! That's just one example!!

I have found the Taiwanese to be very kind and dedicated. The organization that I have been so lucky to be learning about, TzuChi, could not operate without the hardwork of volunteers. When I visited the TzuChi recycling centre, the facility was fully functioning because of them with about 40 volunteers (based on my estimation) present that day! Not to mention my host families who have been sooo thoughtful an generous making sure I have everything I need and taking me where I need to go everyday!

I can not even count the number of new friends I have made in just 7 days. I am so blessed to be here in Taiwan surrounded by such great people! The people we meet have been so warm and accepting and the team is really getting to know each other... We even have some nice nicknames picked out for each of us! Of course we miss everyone at home but you can all rest assured that we are in good hands :)

Bye for now! Zaijian!

Laura

The team is safe and sound here in Taiwan

There was an earthquake here but very small in the area we are at right now. It was larger in an area south of us. When it happened we were out riding bicycles at an man made wetlands. We never felt it but were informed by our hosts.
The bike ride was very nice and it felt good t do some exercise. We take some time to have a little fun on a bicycle built for two. There are 3 man made wetlands at present but they are constructing more of these to help with the very strained water system and the stress that the largely populated area puts on the water system. After yet another amazing lunch where we were afforded the time of an impromptu Mandarin lessons from our great hosts. We are all hoping to be able to put a few sentences together at the end of the trip. The team then moved onto the Lin family gardens. This very old established family had famous courtyard homes built here back in the 1700's. The family has moved on and donated the amazing compound to the city to open up the public for tours.

Lots to celebrate

Today the team split up and attended vocational visits. Not exactly sure where everyone was but we met up at a charter night celebrating the start of a new Rotary club here in New Taipei City. The feeling in the air was electric. We did our best to represent Canada and district 7010 and when around to all 42 tables and did a cheers while having a drink at each one. The team were again called to the stage to sing a song where we did our best to sing "Mrs Robinson". I was fortunate enough to meet and have my picture taken with Rotary International president (2014-15) Gary Haung here from Taiwan.

Time is flying by

It has been a busy couple of days where we did a visit to a 300 year old temple and saw "old street" where they have merchants and vendors. The team were served an awesome vegetarian lunch and learned how to properly make tea. There we also meet with the outgoing GSE team that will be heading to district 7010 on April 7th. We also visited the ceramic museum then took a trip to the ceramic district where we got to make a bowl or vase. They took us to a nice restaurant for a farewell dinner where we we presented with some very nice gifts.

Monday we transferred to our new hosts in New Taipei City.We took a tour of the new city hall. We then had an 11 course lunch that was amazing. Met a woman rotary president who is 84. Tour of Panshin bank and then a tour of Mega city mall. For dinner we had some awesome dim sum at a famous restaurant.