Typhoon Soulik

Last night, the widely anticipated typhoon struck the island of Taiwan.

 

Yesterday, after getting checked into our rooms at Sitou, we all made a mad dash to the convenience store not too far from where we were staying. We pretty much ransacked the store, stocking up on chips, cookies, pudding, and instant noodles. It seemed like we were preparing for the worst (if we ran out of food). Some of the guys came to the cashier with a whole basket full of food, which probably would only last them a day knowing them.

(our room's snack stash)

 

 So this morning, we woke up to a large amount of rain, and some strong wind outside our window. Breakfast was served at 8 am, but we quickly realized that the power was out! The food is served in the basement, so we ate in the dark, with limited sight from the couple of mini flashlights people brought. We were pretty much on lockdown; no one was allowed to go outside until the storm passed (which was late at night).  At breakfast Jack informed us of the situation, which is a huge tree fell last night, which crushed the electricity pole. This tree is also blocking the road out of here: no one in, no one out. We were told that we were actually the only ‘tourists’ that were in the Sitou Park, but at breakfast there was a huge group of people eating at the other tables… it turns out that these people are actually stuck here!

The rest of the day, we pretty much had free time because we we’re supposed to be outside the whole day, exploring the forests.  So we had some very intense game of cards (bridge and Egyptian ratslap) for a couple of hours, along with some karaoke echoing through the empty halls. (People here really really like karaoke).  Jimmy was especially into the ratslap game because he was quick, and his huge hands gave him a definite advantage! Even a mini game of baseball was played in the small hallway. It felt pretty much like what we would be doing in a snow storm back home. People were certainly stir crazy; the first time our group was confined to a small area... no big open mountain to view.

After our lunch, we had to get into our groups to discuss possible topics we would like to research. My super awesome group consists of Jimmy, Kim, Jiling, and Richard. We actually had a lot good ideas floating around, and going into project proposal time (consulting the professors) we had narrowed it down to 6 different possible research projects. We finally decided on studying the wind resistance of various plant species.  After 3 hours of debating and brainstorming, we all had a very very long nap haha. It turned out that everyone eventually left, except me and Richard, so we both woke up around 5:30/6, just in time for dinner haha. My first typhoon experience was definitely memorable, full of weirdness and off the wall games. Now the storm has passed, and we are ready to start our experiment!

 

(making a human sushi roll with the blankets)

(just goofing around, wasting time, sorry Ben for waking you up)

木 (wood)

We have been visiting places where we can see natural resources in their natural state. Now, the past couple of days we are visiting factories and centers where we see how those natural resources become processed and manufactured! It is one aspect of my major that I haven’t really studied, so I was interested to see how these raw materials are being constructed into things that people need/use every day.

So after the tomato harvesting activity on Tuesday, we left Meifeng Farm and traveled to lower elevation to check into the Shueili Wood Utilization Center. This place had the factory just a walk away from the building we would be staying for two days. When we came to the building with our entire luggage, an energetic black dog came to us as if to say ‘welcome!’ He was so adorable, leaning against our legs to get a pet from us. We learned later that his name was Happy, which suited him so well!  Our dinner got many surprised gasps because we had nuggets and French fries for a portion of the dishes, which was so different from the traditional Taiwanese dishes we have been having for every meal, every day. We had one more activity planned this day, and it was making a Rubin Lock. After sanding each piece, then coating it with a sealant, we were frantically practicing putting together the complicated puzzle. Everyone was trying to beat their best time because we were going to have a competition. Vico and I won, and got a baseball bat? Haha, my initial thought was “cool”, but right after I was like “how am I going to fit it in my suitcase?”

the rubin lock all put together!

 

The next morning was wholly dedicated to a DIY project! The previous years students made a whole bench! But based on the fact that many of them couldn’t transport it back to their home, our project this year was to make a tissue box. It took me back to my middle school woodshop class in 7^th grade, ohhhh Mr. Kuhn, I wonder if he is his still kooky self. Sanding took the longest time, then a primer coat was sprayed and left to dry as we all had our lunch break. I accidently got some glue on the sides of my box, so when I primed it, and eventually painted it, there are some blotch spots, oh well, it gives it character :) I like all of these DIY stuff; more things to bring back to the States!  

After we all finished our boxes, we all got to go on a tour of the wood factory. We got to see the wood's different stages, as it becomes various usable products. A humungo saw easily sliced through the logs as it they were butter. It was pretty cool, but a little scary because wood chips were flying everywhere. I was  really surprised that all of the workers weren't wearing any safety goggles! Some were even wearing flipflops around these big dangerous machines. I guess safety regulations aren't as strict as they are in the States. We watched master cut and carve my baseball bat out of a block of wood! It was pretty neat to see the process of actually making it. The master carpenter also demonstrated how to sharpen one of the huge belt saws. After he showed off his "saw bending and twisting" skills haha.

Sanding away!

 

The machine that sharpens the saw, sparks!

And finally, making the baseball bat! 

Hehuanshan!

Today was by far one of my favorite days here at the program! We had to get up really early today, so that we could be up on the trial’s head around 8 or so. It was so weird to be wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt; I am so used to wearing tank tops and shorts almost everyday here in Taiwan! But the higher elevation was causing the drastic temperature difference. I loved it. I was starting to miss the cold weather, which is weird because in the Indiana winter I would be saying the opposite!

 We had Dr. Chung and Dr. Tsai (with his wife) who came along for our hike! I love having them with us because they are so knowledgeable about the different plant and insect species, which makes the hike not just an exercise but an educational lesson as well. The previous day Dr. Chung gave us a lecture about all the alpine vegetation and flora (flowers). How many of them are very colorful and bright, because of the high competition for the limited amount of pollinators around. So when all the flowers are blooming, it made the mountain side so pretty for pictures!

 

(Picture on the right: Ruby, Chen Hao, and I stopping on the side of the trail for a break!)
(Picture above: a group of us about halfway up, enjoying the view)

The thinner air made walking on the incline so hard. It was funny because you could tell when everybody was starting to get tired... the conversations were getting smaller and quieter haha. Although the trail wasn't completely rural (an easy paved road), it was still a good workout walking up the mountain because of the incline.
We took many stops along the way, mainly to take pictures! This group is great, they try and capture every single moment of this trip haha. The beautiful mountain backdrop was perfect for our famous jump shot pictures (accredited to Ben).

Another picture at a break spot! Just displaying the scenic view!

This picture (above) is when I went off the paved road a little bit. I noticed that there were a lot of narrow, small, dirt trails that followed the mountain's ridges. So I waked down the trail a little bit, and plopped myself down onto the grass to enjoy the scenery. I sat there quietly, for a good while, just me and nature. It was so peaceful, perfect for just soaking in God's creation. Psalm 65: 6,8 "the one who by his strength established the mountains... so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe." Maybe being higher in elevation, and closer to the clouds, but I definitely feel closer to God whenever I'm in the mountains! I was so happy to fit in a moment to talk with Him.  

 

Picture above: finally made it! 3416 meters about sea level and an absolutely stunning area!

We finally all made it to the top! 3416 meters! I don't think I have ever been this high before! So a new record for me! The tallest mountain in Taiwan is Yushan Mtn (Jade Mtn), which is 3952 meters high. This was actually not too far from where we were, so it was cool to say we were really close! Being this high at Hehuan, I had this new energy within me, and I wanted to just keep going and hiking all day long! It was only a couple hours shy of lunch time, but we had other things to do after we were done hiking.

 

We all hoped on the bus and traveled a short distance to another hiking trail (the bus ride was a quick breather!). This trail had way more people, and a lot steeper than our early morning's hike. A lot of our group wasn't really getting a move on, so Ben and I just pulled from the pack and started up the mountain. He is crazy; jumping and almost sprinting up the steps/rocks at some points. This trail was very narrow, only wide enough for maybe 2 people standing next to one another. Also, there were variations of steps and natural rock/terrain... but some of the man-made steps were for giants, I swear! I already have long legs to begin with, but these ones I had to make a huge effort to lug my foot higher than my waist, to be able to land it on the next step (maybe because at times I ventured a little bit off the main trail; that is why the steps were not as "friendly" to me haha). But Ben and I were the first people of our group to reach the peak, followed by Baker, and it was so nice to catch our breath, and take some pictures before the rest caught up. This peak was 3237 meters above sea level, so a little less than our first one, but still so unique!  The weather now was more foggy than in the morning, so the sun wasn't as prominent. This made it a little eerie to climb the mountain and look out onto a mist, which blanketed many of the other mountain peaks. I saw some beautiful vibrant flowers on the way up as well. The flowers seemed to pop even more against the almost subdued greyish-green mountain color (due to the lack of direct sunlight). 

 

at Mt. Shihmen edge!

 

This picture on the left is of a little mirror pond that I spotted on the way down. I didn't even notice it as we were making our ascent, mainly because I was focusing on keeping up with speedy Ben. But it was nestled down a couple yards away from the main trail. Tall bushes and shrubs surrounded the pond, and I was just curious of what it would look like up close. So I took a detour to a smaller trail (more rugged) to go down the mountain further. At one point I had to slide on my bum because the ground was too steep! But I made it down, and stood at the water's edge, camera ready. I loved how the clouds were captured on the water's surface as a reflection. There were a couple of little fishes and water skimmers at the edge, which I thought were lucky to live here, so secluded from the outside world of city life! It was very peaceful down at the pond; I just took a moment to quietly appreciate this experience, away from the noise and chatter.

 

  

 

 Last picture to this very long post... a perfect "picture in a picture".

Lyuchui Trail

Another hiking day! And another day of wearing those funky helmets! (Actually the helmets aren't too bad, just they get hot after a while). But this time, the caves we went in were only accessible for hikers, so no car lights to help guide your path! I didn't bring a flashlight with me on this trip so I huddled around some group members in order to see...at least where I was stepping. Many times it was hard for my eyes to adjust, so I would be just walking completely blind. Weird feeling for sure!

About halfway through we came upon a long swinging bridge that crossed over a beautiful gorge. there was a sign that said it could only hold 10 people and their weight, so initially a lot of people were even scared to cross it! But it was so fun! Of course many of us tested out the bridge, and made the bridge swing and bounce a little bit. But it was absolutely beautiful! There were two waterfalls behind the bridge one closer, and the other up higher on the mountainside. On the way back over the bridge, I was Jenny's personal stress ball, as she held on for dear life onto my arm.

 At the end of the trail, around 2 km, we came upon the Cave of Water Curtain (水簾洞). There was a small cave opening where a small pool of water seemed to come spewing out of the cave's mouth. I was so excited to go in! Many of us were unprepared for the water so we had to take our shoes off (and I guess shirts for Richard) to get into the cave. I didn't want to bring my camera (afraid of it getting wet) so, sorry I didn't take pictures, which now I'm regretting because it was so unique inside! The water was freezing (well compared to the outside temperature), but we braved the cold water and our limited sight, and headed inside. It was initially really dark, but after a few minutes by eyes adjusted and I could finally see the awesomeness inside! The Water Curtain cave did not disappoint. Sure enough, water was exploding all around us, coming from the walls an ceiling! It was so fun to stand beneath the water columns, coming from who knows where, and just feel the water's weight on your shoulders. I was all drenched when I came back out of the cave! Haha, but we had fun taking photos and playing with the 'waterfalls' inside (btw Randy, if you are reading this, post those pics!!:) )

Throughout the trail, we saw a lot of people walking their small dogs. Here in Taiwan, owners don't really use leashes all that often, but surprisingly the dogs are all really well behaved! I don't know what the dogs are drinking here, but we need to send it to the States (especially for my dogs.. those rascals, but I miss them:) ) Jess and I are naturally really fast walkers so we pulled from the pack, and chatted about our involvement with Navs back home, and just other stories. It was fun chattin' but we both realized that either of us didn't have any flashlight, so our trips through the various tunnel caves were very spooky. Both of us couldn't see anything (without the flashlight aid from our other friends) so we were literally walking in darkest. Kinda fun though..

After our outdoorsy fun, we needed to head up the mountain to reach where we were staying for the night. It was a really long bus journey as we drove up the steep ascent, with the windy, twisty roads (some felt a little nauseous...). But we made a quick pit stop to Bilu Sacred Tree. Eventually we drove higher and higher until we got to Hehuanshan Station, then to our final destination: Meifeng Farm (which was located at around 2700 meters above sea level).

 

We are having to get up early tomorrow, so I'm going to sign off a little early!

into the caves we go!

we found some bats!

on the bridge, I didn't notice that there were actually 2 waterfalls until after I looked through my pictures haha

Steven has graciously offered to carry all of our helmets the rest of the way back

Taroko!

Outdoorsy day today! Absolutely love these days, when we can explore Taiwan's unique landscape, scenes you can't really see anywhere else. So today we spent the day in Taroko National Park!

 

After a quick video introduction to the national park, we headed out for Shakadang Trail. The trail was super cool! It followed the river, which had a very strong looking current that smashed into all of the big boulders/rock formations, making the water so dynamic!  I had to watch my head though, curse my tallness... because the trail kind of cut into the side of the cliff, so the top of the rocks were directly overhead. I think they made the height of the rock ceiling specifically for people who live here; I tower over a lot of people wherever we go. Haha I kind of poke my head out of the crowds when we are walking around the street :) But anyways we came to a spot where it was easier to climb down to the water's edge. The water is so crystal clear, very light/robin's egg blue.  We weren't technically allowed to go into the water... but breaking the rules with Jack's (our program coordinator) permission, I guess was alright! Everyone took off their sneakers and dipped their toes and feet into the current. Many boulders lined the water's edge so many of us tried climbing them  The water was cold at first!, but soooo nice! We were all in our regular clothes (swimsuits weren't allowed in the park, to discourage swimming haha), but Jessica and Me desperately wanted to dunk our heads into the water and actually swim! So we fell back into the water and more people joined in; including Kim, Randy and Kylee! We swam (actually crawled in the shallow water) up a little ways so then we could plop down in the water and let the current take us down the river to our group's "camp".  Jessica and I actually tried the 'flip your hair' approach in order to get a funky picture. It was so chill by the water's edge, I keep forgetting this is me earning college credits, but I'm sure once our small group project/research time comes along it will be more serious.

 

Our next adventure was to travel to the Swallow Grotto and Nine Turn Trails (still in Taroko Park). For this trail, we all needed to wear helmets, just incase of falling rocks. We ventured into many tunnels, but the tunnels weren't very secluded and all "nature" because there was a road that cut through the tunnel as well, so the occasional car went by. But throughout the tunnel, there were many cut outs, where we could see the outside, which looked out onto literally a vertical cliff which had many holes and nooks on the side. Because it was raining the creatures that usually are active and inhabit these were no where to be seen, but Jack said that the swallow birds usually are seen swooping all around here. It was neat to explore these areas, and see the shear cliffs and mountain formations, pictures you absolutely don't see in Indiana! 

 

At the end of the day we finally checked into our home for the night, the Tienhsiang Youth Center. What was really cool was that once we set all our luggage down in our rooms and looked outside for the view, two little monkeys were playing in the trees right outside our window! They were just enjoying the little drizzle, and jumping from branch to branch.

 

The trail was right along the edge; made for some awesome pictures

Me and Kevin enjoying the water!

I just loved the unique rocks that were throughout the area!

 

 

The rest of the pics are from the Swallow Grotto and Nine Turn Trails!

The cliffs were sooooooo steep!

 

Kim and I showing off the fashionable helmets. Poor Hulda whose helmet fell over the cliff when she bent over the railing to look...

蘭花 (orchids!)

Orchids are so beautiful. Period. I was amazed at how many different species and types there were! We went to King Car Orchid Park today for a guided tour and lunch. This company makes coffee, whisky, and orchids?! Such a weird combination, but it works! It was so neat to walk around their greenhouses and look at their progress. It was interesting to notice that some orchids actually like the cooler temperatures (I felt it as we walked into a cooler greenhouse), which was surprising because I thought that orchids liked only tropical warm weather. But it turns out, there are some species that are specifically bred to withstand the cooler temps, mainly for customers who like to put these orchids in their air-conditioned workspaces and offices. We had lunch at a offsite café that this company owns. It was so cute, with the Victorian architecture exterior. We got to try their famous coffee! (mine was iced-coffee!) I think a lot of people didn't like the taste as much, because it was very strong, but I drank every last drop; the needed caffeine for the busy busy day/week. 

 

We did a lot of driving and sitting in the bus today, which was actually nice to chat with some people and catch up on some much needed sleep. But we made some cool pit stops along the way! Our first one was just to stretch our legs, and of course take some more pictures. It was a bridge that went over a busy harbor. It was really really windy though! I was laughing too much at Baker, who brought his umbrella with him. The umbrella was crumbling underneath the harsh wind, almost enough to snap the wires. Also, it would invert as a huge gust of wind swept under.. I don't know why I thought it was so funny. Maybe lack of sleep.

 

Our bus took a windy road that was on the very edge of the cliffs that had the whole Pacific Ocean in our left windows. We were all on the edge of our seats to try and see the ocean and amazingly steep cliffs that seemed to just drop straight into the water. But another stop of ours was at Cingshui Cliff beach area. We made our way down the trail to the water front. The sand was grey/blackish! Many rocks matched with the rocky cliff landscape. We took many jumping pictures and some didn't move away from the waves, so some of us went back to the bus wet.

 

 

 

Just a few of the various types of orchids this place grows! So many different types!!!

 A quick pit-stop at a bridge that overlooked a harbor! (right) Kim recreating a scene from Titanic...

 

All of these pictures are from Cingshui Cliff! It was very cloudy, but still gorgeous!

Gold, Jifun, Lanterns (program's first day out of Taipei)

Our first day outside of NTU! Packing 2 weeks worth of stuff in only 2 backpacks was a real challenge. Both backpacks were stuffed to the brim, and zipping them up was a hassle. But eventually it all fit, and I was ready for the bus the next morning.

The first stop on our trip was at the Gold Ecological Park, which was an area that was famous for all of the mining practices back in the day. It kind of reminded me of the gold mining touristy parks in California, but there was none of the ‘old west’ vibe. We took a walk through the old mining tunnel, and had to first wear these funny looking blue paper hats, which eventually made sense: lining for the helmets. But the tunnel was short, but the temperature was so cool, it was a nice break from the heat. The panning for gold was a little kid-ish, but we got to take home a small souvenir, of gold sand, which is always a plus!

It was getting closer to lunch time so we jumped back onto the bus and drove a little ways up higher in the mountains to a famous village named Jiufen. This place is known for all of the food stalls and long steep staircases that have shops still going up on either side. The roads go up and down and up and down, also being very narrow, made walking through this market very unique (and tiresome).  I tried so many different types of food here! One of my favorite was this crepe that had ice-cream (again) with fresh peanut shavings (you could see the huge block of peanut brittle on the tables where they shaved it!) finally with some herbs inside the wrap. Also we hunted down the oldest and most famous restaurant in Jiufen, which served this cup with different taro balls over shaved ice. Delicious! Our eating area had a 180 degree view of the mountain side and valley, which was enjoyed as we quickly ate this refreshing dish. I absolutely loved the different stalls here! My favorite was this calligraphy brush one! Me and Jessica wanted desperately a brush and ink/paper to bring back (ever since our first calligraphy class this past week!). So the lady was so helpful pointing out which brush was good quality and such. We both picked the same one, and what was even cooler was that the lady wrote our Chinese names on the side! Can't wait to show everyone back home! I think this was my favorite purchase of the whole trip, so unique and resembles a lot of my experiences here. In addition, she put in recyclable paper that you can use water on the brush instead of ink, and it turns your stokes dark blue (and eventually evaporates so you can use the paper over and over again!). I loved this!! I thought it was appropriate to have the recyclable paper because of our environmental sci background :) hehe! Our group ended our time in Jiufen by going to a traditional tea house! I've never been in one before, and I haven't seen one in the States, so I was pumped. We all sat around a circle table and our waitress brought out two different types of teas and performed specific steps to create the tea. So unique and special!

At the end of the day, as dusk was approaching, our bus pulled at the base of a hill, which led to our home for the night. Lugging all our luggage to the top was, again, a good workout! Haha. But at the top was a wooden open area hostel! I’ve never been in a hostel before, and it was so unique! At the first floor, there were many tables (where we have dinner/breakfast) and then you head up the stairs to a “living room.” You place your shoes in this room before heading to a banister which wrapped around the walls, which lead to various rooms. It was cool to look down onto the main entrance. Many of the girls (including me) got to stay in a large Japanese influenced room, equipped with the sliding doors, wooden floor, and white beds that were placed on the ground. Dinner was served, and then free time in Shifen! Shifen is a town that was known to have started the floating lanterns, and sure enough when pulling up to the hostel, we saw a couple of these big lanterns floating up in the sky. So of course I wanted to try it!!! It was on my bucket list to do this, and it so happened to be right outside of where we were staying! So four of us shared one lantern, so each of us got to decorate a side; calligraphy brushes and ink were provided. The thing is to write your wish and then send the lantern up into the air. I wrote “to see the world…” on one of the sides, and later on Kylee added to it and wrote some adjectives of what we would like to see the world one day... So it then read like this: "to see the world... united, safe, sustainable..." I loved our collaboration on this, it made it even more memorable.

 

that's one big block of gold!

getting ready to pan for some gold sand!

into the mining tunnel...

cultural street of Jiufen

calligraphy brush shop

 

 

Taro Balls on top of shaved ice! YUMMY!

 

at the tea house!

 

the girls room!

 



the perfect shot to finish the night!