Angela In Asia

Back in the USA

2010-05-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting at the Detroit airport waiting for my final flight home. It's 3:00 pm and I've been awake for 22 hours. Beijing was AMAZING, but they wouldn't let me access Facebook or my Blog so I'll give the last update here.

Got into Beijing and found the most most beautiful, quiet airport with security guards on Segways. Going through customs was a breeze and then you open a door and thousands of people of standing behind a fence ready to greet you. I have no idea how I found Maggie, but there she was with my name on a plaque!

We took the subway to my hotel which was right next to The Forbidden City and across the street from Tienanmen Square. Then a quick drive by of thy Olympic village.

Then it was off to the Great Wall! I climbed about 317 steps (I video tape the last part as proof). It was soooooo amazing. Best part is the Pepsi waiting for me at the bottom! But here's my dilemma, The Great Wall has been #1 on my list of things to do for so long so now I have to find a new #1. Feel free to offer suggestions.

Then we went to the Summer Palace and off to a night market. I tried deep fried star fish (something I've wanted to try since I saw them during the Olympics -- I passed on the deep fried scorpions & snake).

Final Countdown

2010-05-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sitting in my hotel waiting to go to the airport. Can't believe my 30 days in Taiwan are over. Now it's off to China to see the Great Wall and back home to my bed.

I had a great couple of last days. My host family took me to one last library. This building is made entirely of recycled material, has solar panels and greenery on its roof,and uses nothing but collected rain water to run the bathrooms. We then went to the actual hot springs. The water was over 90 degrees Celsius. It was raining so the springs were really steamy.

Had a nice farewell party for Allen (almost didn't happen because none of our families wanted out to go out on our own). The last Rotary meeting was last night. I'm trying to condense my luggage because I'm only allowed 20 kg on my flight to China. My host family has graciously offered to ship some of my souvenirs home. I think I'll see how overweight I am when I get to the airport.

Meran & I ended out trip last night by taking MRT to a Reggae Jam at a club. Do you know that in Taiwan, if you don't use all the $$ on your MRT card, you can get a full refund? Here's another interesting fact: While I was sick 2 weeks ago I went to a doctor. I took a cab at the clinic, the doc saw me IMMEDIATELY, prescribed some medicine, filled the prescription himself, and 15 minutes later I was back in the cab on my way home AND it did not cost me one cent!!!!! Back home this same ordeal would have taken 4 hours out of my day and cost me at least $100 w/ the office visit and meds!!

Stay tuned for updates & pix from China.

Barbie Museum

2010-05-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I went to a Barbie museum today -- best visit of the trip. We weren't allowed to take pix, but I broke away from the group & took a ton!

Also went to the Taiwan Traffic Control Bureau -- very ironic b/c there is NO CONTROL over the traffic in Taiwan. I haven't written about the insane driving b/c no words or pictures do it justice. We actually had a really neat time at the facility.

Then we went to, what they call, The Welfare Building, but it was really a home and work site for people with a disability. Parents bring their children here to learn or even to live and adults can come here and get jobs. We made pineapple cake -- a very popular job for the adults (they had to throw away our cakes b/c they weren't good enough).

At dinner tonight we insisted that all the GSE members (USA & Japan) sit together. Not only did we get boiled chicken again but this time it still had its head and feet on. One more 12 course dinner to go....

Back in Taipei

2010-05-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

We're back in Taipei for the conclusion of the trip. I'm staying with Gordon & his family. He has 3 sons and one is named PJ. Wednesday we went to a Tea Museum and had tea ice cream. It was actually very good. Then we went to a temple being built. The best part was watching the men & women carving the detail work. These people were in a hot warehouse bent over blocks of wood carving intricate detail -- no way would I want that job. Then we went to an archeology museum. Allen, Meran and I went through the museum very quickly & went out and rented bikes.

Gong Show

2010-05-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Today I visited the Yilan Public Library. The mayor of Yilan was there to greet me. I also got a library card. It is my first Asian Library Card and I was the first America to get a Library Card at this Library.

After our visit they took me to an orchid nursery. These orchids in the greenhouse were so beautiful and really cheap! For lunch I had marshmallows dipped in chocolate on a stick -- proving my theory that anything deep friend and/or on a stick is delicious!

Tonight we had our farewell dinner in Yilan and we got engraved GONGS!!! I cannot wait for Patrick & Joey to see my gong!

Back to Taipei in the morning -- our last host families!

Free Day

2010-05-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Oh the joy of a free day. Woke up at 8 am and Skyped Cathy & Betty -- congrats to Betty on her pending grandmotherhood!!!! Went back to bed for a little while and then headed out with Meran & Allen. We had McDonalds for lunch -- double cheeseburger, mcnuggets, fries, Coke, mcflurry! Went shopping at a mall and found Witness T-shirts we don't have in Cleveland -- can't wait to wear them on the night we win the CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Allen and I walked to Pizza Hut for dinner. Brought back the pizza and watched a movie while we ate -- almost felt like we were back in college.

We're in the home stretch now. Only 6 more nights!!

Go Cavs

2010-05-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

8 am and I'm finally watching the Cavs live - this is the 1st time since I've been here!

Last night a group of 16 year olds gave a short concert in my hotel. There were 5 violins and 1 cello (one of the violins was the daughter of the hotel owner). I have never heard anything so wonderful. I would have paid good money back home to hear the same concert. After the concert several additional students in the audience got up and played solos on the violins or piano -- no warm up, they just got up and played. One of them played Madame Butterfly on the piano -- CRAZY!!

After all the music they were so excited to speak English with me. What a fun night!

Free day tomorrow - I plan on doing laundry!

Yilan, Taiwan

2010-05-01T03:18:00.000-07:00

We've moved again. This time to Yilan (pronounced i-lan). This was my week to luck out. I have been put up in a luxury B&B for the entire 5 nights. My room has its own deck and a loft with two additional beds and another TV. The best part is that the group meets at the hotel every morning so I can sleep in a few extra minutes.

Before we left Keelung we went to the Juming Museum. This museum features life size rock sculptures. It was very nice to roam the grounds of the museum without a tour guide. The scenery was so beautifully and our hour & a half went too fast.

Upon arriving in Yilan, we were taken to the National Center for Traditional Arts. This place is like Colonial Williamsburg. There were several recreated historical streets with authentic (and expensive) vendors. I was chosen to participate in a traditional dance (I kinda stand out in a crowd here). Meran and I drove to the Center with a woman named Juliet. When we pulled out of the hotel all the other cars turned left and Juliet turned right and said, "I go my own way." Well her way was not the right way. Meran & I actually fell asleep & when I woke up Juliet was driving the wrong way down a one way street! She got off that road and pulled over to ask for directions. She pulled to the side of the road and in one motion pulled the parking break and jammed the car in park all while we were still moving. Riding w/ Juliet was one of the most fun things I've done in a long time. When her cell phone rang (it was the rest of the group looking for us) she completely stopped her car right in the road to answer it. I really hope she made it home ok!

Last night Dave, Allen and I were taken to a large tent with many tables set up under it for dinner. It seemed the whole neighborhood had turned out. Again, we got the 12 course meal. As we ate local politicians came around to pass out their literature and toast us. We were under the impression that they were celebrating something, but it turns it, that's just a Friday night for them. The sense of community here is unique and foreign to me.

Today we went hiking on the LinMei Shipan Trail. Before we started the hike we got the most wonderful treat. This guy had very thin pancakes in which he put shaved peanuts, three scoops of vanilla ice cream, and parsley. Then he wrapped it and gave it to us. Yummmmmmmmmy! The hike was beautiful. Since it is Saturday there were many families on the train. This little old lady with a cane was kicking our butts on the trail. It seems everywhere we go the Taiwanese are enjoying the site with all generations of their family present.

Too Much Food

2010-04-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

So I woke up still full from last night's dinner. Went downstairs for breakfast and here's what we had:

Salad
Potato Salad
Fried Egg
4 Slices of Bacon
2 Slices of Ham
Spaghetti
Broccoli and Carrots
5 Types of Bread
Fruit
Coffee
Tea
Juice

I know they mean well, but I seriously cannot eat anymore food. The worst part is that I know in 3 hours I will be served another 12 course lunch.....

Welfare Party Tonight

2010-04-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Keelung and our host family told us that we would have a Welfare Party (she meant Farewell Party). Went to 2 libraries yesterday - National Taiwan University Library & Keelung Public Library. Had a really good time, but again had way too much food. My stomach was a little unhappy last night. At least my cold is getting better.

Keelong

2010-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Just made it to Keelong (see the previous post about the landslide). Allen, Dave and I are staying w/ Concrete. Allen & Dave have a 3rd floor apartment to themselves and I am sharing the 2nd floor apartment w/ Concrete's daughter, Susan. We are calling it the party house!

Off to lunch!

Did Not Feel The Earthquake

2010-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently there was a large earthquake off the coast of Taiwan today, but have no fear we did not even feel it. There was a large mudslide yesterday, but we were not near it. Check out this photo. This highway connects Taipei to Keelong (we left for Keelong this morning) so our trip took a lot longer than it should have.

KFC = The Secret to My Happiness

2010-04-26T01:41:00.001-07:00

Why did it take me so long to figure this out? You all know I prefer Pepsi to Coke & when I travel oversees it is so hard to find Pepsi. KFC & Pizza Hut are owned by Pepsi Co. and thus, serve Pepsi! I found a KFC last night and stood in a long line to order a large Pepsi. They guy asked if I preferred a bottle and voile, I am happy!!!

Spent my day of in bed trying to get over this cold. I finally emerged at 3 pm and took the subway to the Shinlin Night Market. My host mother's niece, Carrie joined me and took me up to the Yangming Mountain to see Taipei from above. It was so beautiful, but none of my pix turned out.

Today we toured another Temple in Sanchong and checked into a hotel for the night. Allen has already seen 2 roaches, so we're trying to stay positive. We were treated to a movie after lunch. We got to see Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carell (and Mark Wahlberg). What a great movie. It was so nice to sit in a movie theater! Tonight I'm off to the Shin Beitou Hot Springs.

Tomorrow we're off to Keelong, Taiwan. It's a port city north of Taipei.

Tapei 2.0

2010-04-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

Back in Taipei. Here's the rundown:

Went to the Sanchong City Library. This was such a fun experience. You can not imagine how many people were in this library. In the children's room (which to Rotary paid for) their were parents sitting on the floor playing games and reading with their children. The upstairs study room used to be a basketball court and just about every study carrel was full. They gave each member of the GSE team a goody bag.

Yesterday we went to the National Palace Museum. Our tour guide was very vocal in her political views throughout the tour. For those who don't know, the NPM holds all the Chinese treasures. During the Chinese Civil War these treasures were shipped to Taiwan for safe keeping and just never returned. Up until 2 years ago the Taiwanese government forbid any Chinese citizen from visiting the NPM. Our tour guide is still very upset with the decision to all Chinese visitors. According to her, "before the museum was quiet and people could walk around and look at everything, but now more than 2700 loud Chinese visit the museum each day." She led us around the "unpopulated" areas in 2 hours - I can't image how much we missed.

The best part of the NPM was being able to access the wifi in order to watch the in-game tracker of the Cavs game. With 38 seconds to go the Cavs were down by 8 and almost came back. The Taiwanese watching with us were amazed at how exciting the last 38 second of the game were and a bit confused why it took 15 minutes to play 38 seconds of basketball -- that's why we love the game.

Then we walked the Damsui Old Street and Waterfront. It was a great walk that reminded me of San Francisco. We took a ferry across the Damsui River and went back to our host families

Meran & I headed to a hot springs with her host sister Josephine and her friend Sophia. We were a bit disappointed because we wanted to go the natural outdoor springs, but they took us to a boutique hotel with a room full of hot tubs. We're going to try and go to one of the outdoor hot springs on Monday.

Today we are at the Annual Rotary District Conference at the Grand Hotel Taipei. There are over 2000 Rotarians here. The GSE teams were introduced earlier this morning and now we're hanging out until dinner. While we were sitting in the great hall Meran & I were reading books because we cannot understand anything being said. She was reading a book about the Dali Lama and making marks all in the book. I was keeping an eye on what she was underlining because it was more interesting than the Picture of Dorian Gray when she leans over and says, "It's a library book. I'm just going to buy them a new copy when I get home." WHAT??????? She's sitting there defacing library property and telling me about it. Apparently she didn't have time to go buy a copy so she just decided to take notes in the library copy. What do I do? I tell her to tell the library she left the book in Taipei so they can buy their own edition -- can't believe I contributed to this delinquency.

Best news yet -- TOMORROW IS A TOTAL FREE DAY!!! I am so sick I plan on spending the whole day in bed (hopefully I can get up & watch the Cavs in the morning). I'll have the computer on so if anyone is around and wants to talk, just Skype me (angelabaldree).

Goodbye Hualien

2010-04-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

Have to admit I am not sad to be leaving Haulien. This has been a tough week for me: I caught a nasty cold, the humidity is over 70% (you all know what my hair does in 15% humidity), and I got bit by the family dog. Yesterday we got on a bus for 4 hours and drove to Taitung to see a group of house Rotary contributed money to. The houses had been destroyed in last year's typhoon and were close to being rebuilt. We looked at 3-4 of these houses and got back on the bus for the 4 hour ride home. Tiatung is south of Hualien and on the coast so we asked to stop at a beach. We stopped at a beautiful spot but it was not a beach as we know it. The coast was made up of large rocks which made it impossible to get into the water (in Taiwan, everyone is terrified of swimming in the ocean, so you have this beautiful island with hundreds of miles of coastline and two public beaches on the entire island). We stopped for lunch and had the usual 12 course meal and 3 hours later we stopped for dinner and another 12 course meal. Needless to say everyone was a little grumpy. I left my camera in my room, so I'll have to share photos from other team members once we get back to Taipei.

Off to catch the train. Yay.....

As If

2010-04-20T06:35:00.001-07:00

Taiwanese men do not think American woman can drink shots of whiskey -- Meran & I proved them wrong!!

Librarians Are Everywhere

2010-04-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

So, Rosy (Allen's host father who owns a marble company & was supposed to be my host father [I'll tell that story later]) took me to 2 libraries today. First we went to the Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau Library. This is a public library. In Hualien, public libraries are not open on Monday's. They are open until 9pm Tues - Fri and 5pm Sat - Sun. Rosy got the librarian to open the library to me for a tour today. However, I got the impression she wasn't too happy about it after she found out I was not a public librarian. I got a pretty good tour though. The most interesting thing was to see their cataloging system (One of the pix on this post is the sign explaining). After a quick tour she took me next door to a marble museum (since I was a "special librarian" I would probably like the museum better). The museum was nice, but the best part was running into another woman touring the museum who is a retired librarian. She was so happy to see other fellow librarians and insisted on taking a group picture (also attached).

Then we went to the National Dong Hwa University Library. This librarian was falling all over herself to show me everything. She was so excited that I was from Ohio because she uses OCLC and knew where Ohio was. BTW - the Asian Manager at OCLC is Taiwanese. She was complaining about the amount she pays OCLC each year and Rosy asked if I could get her a deal! She was so very excited to show me the US Law section since I was a Law Librarian.

Rosy then took me to lunch. We had soupy noodles again and this time I did not splash the soup all over me. Everyone is complimenting me on my chopstix skills! After lunch we all met up again and had an audience with the Mayor of Hualien (see pix).

Dave & I decided to have an adventure together. His host father "Land" dropped us off near his office and we wandered the streets of Haulien on our own for 2 hours. I had some chocolate cake from a street vendor, we stopped at McDonalds for fries and coffee (normally I wouldn't do this, but we REALLY needed a western snack), and I actually found a pair of shoes. Those of you who travel with me know how my feet swell on vakay, well this trip is no exception. I found a pair of shoes similar to Birkenstock's - they're called Arriba and they were $15 US and they are like walking on air. We told Land we would be back at his office at 6pm. Well, we walked so far, we got lost. But let me tell you, this was the best adventure I've been on so far. Dave and I both used the Mandarin CD's in the car before we came here. We stopped several friendly people on the street, used our Chinese, and found our way back at 5:58pm!

People on the street here are so friendly, but they really do stare at us. Yesterday at the National Park a couple of people insisted on taking pictures with us. I've noticed when they say, "hello" they are almost embarrassed. Today several people said hello and then giggle when we answer. I always answer and sometimes they'll show off even more English. (As I'm writing this there is car outside my window with a woman broadcasting some kind of announcement - I sure hope it's not a tsunami warning.)

Until tomorrow....

Please Inform Me BEFORE I Put It In My Mouth What I Am Eating

2010-04-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Is it really too much to ask? Someone at my table last night served me some meat that had been boiling in broth. It looked a lot like chicken with the skin on, but after I had put the 1st piece in my mouth he said, "That's stomach." Don't ask whose stomach because I didn't. Luckily it was so well boiled it really didn't have a flavor. If ever you're out to dinner with someone not familiar with our foods, please let them know they're eating a fat juicy steak before they put it in their mouth!

We spent the day in Taroko National Park. This park has some of the largest mountains I've ever seen -- and they're solid granite. I don't think I was able to capture the top of any one mountain in any of the pix. All I could think about was pretty the granite would look in my kitchen.

When we got to the hotel on the beach, Yuanyeh, we had to take our shoes off and put them in cubies (I know you can't read the Yuanyeh web site, but the pix are amazing). This morning after I got dressed I realized I was missing my comfy walking shoes. I had taken a card from the hotel, so my host father called, but no shoes. We called Meran's host mother and found out Meran had left two pairs of shoes in the cubies. We called Kristie and Thank God she saw them and took them with her. This could have been really bad, because there are NO shoes in Taiwan that would fit my ginormous feet!

Off to some library tomorrow. Not sure which one, but it should be fun.

Hualien, Taiwan

2010-04-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hello from Hualien, Taiwan. This is their resort town southeast of Taipei. We took a train here yesterday and stayed at a hotel on the beach. I am now with my new host family. Not sure if I wrote this earlier, but the men in Rotary go by their occupation, not their names. So, my last host father was called "Winsome" b/c that was the name of his company. This week I am with Dentist. Dentist's wife is Mary and his daughter Linda is actually a law librarian. I only met her briefly b/c she works in Taipei.

Our schedule this week is very unclear so I will try to give updates when I can.

Best Breakfast EVER

2010-04-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

So here was my breakfast today

1. Fried dough (like an elephant ear)
2. Drop an egg and some green onions in the center of the dough and keep frying
3. Put on my plate and top with soy sauce
4. Can of Pepsi

I may never leave here......

OMG!!!!

2010-04-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today Allen and I were separated from the rest of the group for our vocational visits. In the morning we went to the National Library for me, of course. Unfortunately we were not allow to bring cameras in during our tour. This building is 7 stories and is open and airy. On the first floor was a display of their topic of the month. In Taiwan, April is "Children Should Respect Their Parents & Elders Month." I'm not joking, the entire display was books on teaching children how to respect their elders and why it is so important!!

On the 4th floor which is the "heart" of the building, is the Rare Books Room. In the US, Rare Books include original copies of Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, etc. The display in the room was on medical books. They were handwritten or block written texts on treating medical aliments. Most of the book was written in black ink but there were several red notations -- these were the notes in the margin editing the original text. These books did not come from the 1800's; they did not come from 1600's, they did not come from 1000's! Most of the books were 2000 years old and one of them was 2500 years old!!!!!

In the afternoon we toured two construction sites for Allen. The first is still a very new multi-bock project which will include housing, shopping, industry and even a new public library. We were shown the three models of the apartments available for purchase. They are selling these units with the slogan of "California Living."

The second place we visited were two towers scheduled to be completed by October -- one a financial building and the other residential. We were able to go to the top of the financial tower and see two apartments, but nothing was finished as it is an active construction site.

Last night was such a fun night with my host family. We exchanged gifts and shared family photos. This is so much better than staying in a hotel.

Party Like It's 1999

2010-04-13T14:59:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long delay, I did not have access to the internet all day Tuesday. Let me give you the latest:

Monday morning we went to the Presidential Building. We toured the building and heard all about the building before and after the US bombed it in WWII. Here's an interesting fact, apparently it's only 1999 here in Taiwan. It has something to do with the year when the Japanese took over the island. Personally I like it because that means I'm only 27!

We then went to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial for lunch. His hall is similar to the Lincoln Memorial. At 1:00 exactly we were treated to the changing of the guard.

We then went to Taipei 101. We took the world's fastest elevator to the 89th floor -- it took 37 seconds. We spend a lot of time wandering around the observation deck.

Monday night I finally met my host family -- August, Linda, Brandon, Kevin, and Lei Lee. They live in the most beautiful 3 story ultra modern apartment I've ever seen. Upon arriving at their house I was treated to a steak and salmon dinner followed by a 2 hour massage. They have a masseuse come to their house every Monday night and give each member of their family (including 3 year old Lei) a 2 hour massage.

Tuesday Linda took me with her as she took Brandon to school. His school is located in the mountains. There is a courtyard surrounded by the classrooms and library. Above the classrooms is the playground and below is the parking lot. Students arrive at 7:50 and are expected to spend 20 minutes cleaning the campus! Every student has a broom or a mop and they are outside raking up leaves and mopping the walkways. All the while, there is beautiful music streaming through speakers and in the background is the sound of waterfalls and a water fountain in the courtyard. I cannot image a student not wanting to learn at this school. Every student I passed said "hello" to me.

We then met the group at the Li Mei-shu Memorial Art Gallery. He was a famous Taiwanese artist who designed the SanXia Temple. He son was our tour guide. A lot of his paintings were of his children and one of the most famous was of his teenage daughter. She is now in her 80's and was there. She posed with us in front of her painting.

We were then off to the town of Yingge which is known for its ceramics. We had the most delicious lunch and then went to the ceramics museum. We were each given lump of clay and able to use the pottery wheel to make a bowl.

OK-you're up to date now. Off to get ready for my trip to the National Library!

At the Tattoo Parlor Until 2am

2010-04-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Not for me, though. Meran, Kristie and I headed to a tattoo parlor last night so Meran could get a tat. We didn't leave until 2 am and the tat isn't even finished. Fascinating to watch!

We had our welcome banquet last night. I met my host family and am very excited to "move into their house" today. We had a 10 course meal which included, raw fish slices, orange fish eggs, octopus, pork ribs, chicken broth, and a roll filled with onions. Everyone told me my chopstix skills are good? Huh???? Then we had to karaoke -- You Are My Sunshine & My Girl -- have a feeling we'll be doing those numbers frequently!

Off to the President of Taiwan's Office today - he was supposed to be there to meet us, but we heard last night he won't be there. Then it's off to Taipei 101.

Day One

2010-04-11T01:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I realized the one thing I forgot to bring with me (I always forget one thing) was the charger for my camera. Meran, Dave & I went looking for one at an electronics store close to our hotel, but they didn't have one. Meran told me about a gi-normous electronics store somewhere in Taipei - Guanghua Market. I found the store in my travel guide. So off I went. I hailed a cab with my travel guide, purse, and camera. Fifteen minutes later I was in the mecca of electronics. Luckily there was an information booth at the entrance. They took me right to the stall I need to go and with some interesting communication skills I got my charger. Went back outside and hailed another cab and now I'm back at the hotel.

I got my first glimpse of Taipei 101 which is now the 2nd highest building in the world. According to our itinerary, we'll be touring Taipei 101 tomorrow, so watch for pictures!

Had soup for lunch - I "ate" it with chopstix! That was comical.

Was sitting at my computer when the room started to shake. I got pretty dizzy,so I googled and sure enough it was an earthquake - read here.

We're Here

2010-04-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yay! We've made it. Here's our group being welcomed at the airport and here's me in my hotel. Off to shower and bed. More tomorrow!

At the CLE

2010-04-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to the CLEVE! We've got an hour delay, but that's okay because we were supposed to have a 5 hour delay in Detroit.

Got the Itinerary

2010-04-06T09:06:00.001-07:00

We're 3 days from leaving and just got the itinerary. Here's where I'll be:

April 11-15 Sanxia Township, Taipei County
April 16-21 Hualien City, Hualien County
April 22-26 Wugu Township, Taipei County
April 27-29 Keelung City, Taipei County
April 30-May 4 Yilan City, Yilan County
May 5-9 Xinzhung City, Taipi County

You can locate these cities on googlemaps.com

16 DAYS

2010-03-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Only 16 days to go!

Thanks to Morley Library, Lubrizol, The Lake County Visitors Bureau, and Dolly Nasca for their support of my trip. Each contributed to the "goodie bags" I will present to my host families.

I've been trying to prepay bills for the months of April & May. My bank, National City, will officially become PNC on April 9 - the day I leave. All my account numbers, including my debit card, will change that morning. Hopefully I have it all straightened out and the bank won't foreclose on my house while I'm away! A big shout out to Sprint & the YMCA for putting my status on hold so I don't have to pay for their service while I'm gone. It's nice to see businesses being accommodating.

Rainy & 61 degrees in Taipei today - sounds like Cleveland.

Official Photograph

2010-03-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

We got our Rotary jackets last night and were able to take our official group photograph. From left to right: Kristie, Meran, Allen, Angela, and our leader Dave.

We also got our flight schedule. We leave CLE at 10:30 am, flying through Detroit and Tokyo, and arriving in Taipei at 10:00 pm the next day - 23 1/2 hours after we leave CLE!

Oh, ask me if I'm worried about the 6.4 earthquake that rocked Taiwan this morning????

Beijing Bound

2010-03-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I just finished my visa application to enter China - my first communist country. Anyway here's my completed application before I FedEx it off to NYC. I should get my new visa back in a week or two (let's hope my enclosed passport makes it back, too). In case you're keeping track at home it costs $200 just to enter China. Oh, and while in Beijing I'll be staying at the Days Inn Forbidden City. Thanks Uncle Mike for putting me in touch with a travel agent to help with all these arrangements!

Happy 5th Anniversary Charles & Camilla

2010-03-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

While the traditional 5th anniversary gift is wood, I'll be celebrating Charles and Camilla's special day aboard a jumbo jet en route to Taipei. I originally anticipated leaving CLE on April 10 but just found out I'll be leaving on April 9, now. Yes, the Prince and his bride (is she a Princess?) were finally married on April 9, 2005. I guess it's a good thing I was not looking forward to this particular day, because in actuality won't be spending much time IN ths day. Once I clear Alaska on my flight on April 9, it will magically become April 10. But boy, do I hope May 11 is a good day because that will be my never-ending 20 hour day!

What's All the Skype?

2010-02-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

So I got my new netbook and registered with Skype today. If anyone is looking for me my Skype user name is angelabaldree. Since I will be missing seven important birthdays (Tylor, Peep, Tim, Mary-Jo, Joey, Cathy, and Stephanie) I hope to use this awesome tool to send birthday wishes. I took the netbook to Morley Library after work and while I was sitting in the quiet reference area, Cathy Skyped me. The entire area was alerted to her "Can you hear me? Can you see me?" Pretty funny considering we're both librarians and I'm a trustee for Morley Library.

Got my Mandarin CD's while I was at the library. This is going to be tough! I have always said it should be illegal for Northeast Ohioans to speak French -- well I may have to extend that to Chinese, too.