臺北！
First, I want to thank my NSLI-Y classmates and teachers for sending me all the pictures they took. Most of the pictures in this post are not mine.
This week we traveled to Taipei. We took the bullet train to Taipei on Thursday morning. Once we arrived in Taipei, we dropped our luggage off at our hostel. Then we went to Tamkang University. After eating lunch, we met with a group of students studying to become teachers. We answered their questions about the education system in America. Then, we had the chance to see the naval museum at the University.
Tamkang University
In the evening, we had free time. I went to the first cat café in the world with Alisa, Katie, Kate, Scotty and Brandon.
Cat Café
After the cat café, we went to Shilin Night Market. This night market is my favorite one that I have been to so far in Taiwan. It was very large and well priced. There was lots of great food as well!
On Friday morning, we went to the National Palace Museum in Taipei. This museum had thousands of artifacts from China. The two most famous pieces at this museum are a piece of jade that looks like a cabbage and a piece of stone that looks like a piece of meat. I learned so much and had the chance to see amazing works of art!
National Palace Museum
In the afternoon, we explored Damshui, the area where our hostel was located. We saw an old fort and customs office.
Damshui
After this, we took the ferry to Bali. There, we rode bicycles for a little over an hour. The weather was beautiful and the path was right along the water facing the downtown area of Taipei so we had an amazing view!
Biking at Bali
In the evening, I went to an American restaurant called The Diner with Scotty, Tyler and Lina. The food was almost exactly the same as American diner food. I split chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausage, fries and a pastrami sandwich with Lina. It tasted so good! Plus, they had a Chicago poster on the wall behind me.
The Diner
On Saturday morning, we moved to a new hotel in downtown Taipei. Then, we drove to Yehliu Geopark. Although the weather wasn’t the best (it was in the mid 50s and pouring rain), I enjoyed Yehliu very much! The ocean was beautiful and the rock formations were incredible.
Yehliu Geopark
After the park, we went to Jiufen. Jiufen is an old mining town in the mountains. There, we ate lunch and did some shopping. The town was beautiful!
Jiufen
Next, we went to Shifen Old Street to release lanterns. We each wrote out our wishes on one of the sides of a lantern. Then we stood on the train tracks and let the lantern fly up into the sky. These train tracks are still in use, in fact two trains came through in the short time we were there!
Lanterns at Shifen
After Shifen, we drove back to the city. In the evening, I went to Mass at the Basilica in Taipei. Then, I went to a night market to eat dinner. I next walked to Ximending, a shopping district in Taipei.
On Sunday morning, Kate, Lina and I went to Bopiliao, a street that dates back to the Qing Dynasty. When we arrived, we watched the filming of a period drama TV show. Bopiliao has been beautifully restored! I really enjoyed walking around the area. I was able to learn a lot about what the history of Taiwan.
Bopiliao
After Bopiliao, we went to see the Nishi Honganji Relics. Before, there used to be a temple at this site. This temple was built by the Japanese, later used as a military base and eventually burnt down. Today, you can see some of the remains from the temple.
Nishi Honganji Relics
After this, we went to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. This memorial was built in memory of Chiang Kai-Shek who led the Chinese Nationalist Party to Taiwan after their defeat by the Communist Party. The memorial was gorgeous!
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
Next we grabbed lunch. We passed by the Presidential Palace!
Lunch and the Palace
After grabbing lunch, I went to Taipei First Girls High School. I met with the girls on the FRC team there. I talked them through the theory of using a PID controller and wrote an example controller for them. I faced a double language barrier because they code in C++, a language I have never previously used. I am not sure how helpful I was, but I really enjoyed this opportunity! It felt like home to be in a room with tons of robots discussing code again!
Visiting the FRC Team
After meeting with the team, I went back to the hotel to meet up with everyone else. We took the bullet train back home. I arrived back in Kaohsiung very tired but very happy. This trip to Taipei certainly was incredible!