(This post was written Sunday night)
Today Dr. McGorrin left and we were on our own! (Okay, not really.) We visited Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. We took an elevator to the top that took us to the 89th floor from the 5th in 37 seconds, traveling at a speed of up to 60 km per hour. Unfortunately a typhoon had settled to the east of Taiwan, bringing low clouds and light rain, so the visibility wasn't as good as we had hoped. Nonetheless the view was amazing. I'll post pictures soon but they don't do it justice. There were free information headsets available in many languages and we learned a lot, not only about the building and it's damper ball, but famous landmarks visible from the top. We went out to the 91st floor to the observation deck and were treated to the whistling, whipping wind. We got out there just in time, because after about 10 minutes it started to rain and the deck was closed. As we left we were ushered through an entire floor of gift shops selling fancy coral, jade, and gemstone jewelry, statues, and trinkets, not something that poor students could really afford! However, they also had gorgeous examples of traditional carving and other beautiful art It was like a mini museum! It seemed to take forever to leave because there was so much to look at!
Today was a fascinating lesson in communication. We spent the day with students from a different professor's lab than yesterday, one of the groups that we have come to know quite well during our stay. After a wonderful dumpling lunch and a visit to the top of 101, they had less specific plans to take us anywhere and wanted to make sure that we did everything that we wanted to do. Unfortunately with 6 people it made it kind of difficult to decide. The students didn't seem to understand that we just wanted to wander around and not see anything in particular, and we had trouble communicating it to them. We came to realize that this was not only an issue with our students but among themselves. They really are just like us! We developed some wonderful camaraderie with them and because of this we opened a line of communication to compare cultural differences. This was really the first time that they had felt comfortable enough with us to ask US questions. We talked about curfew, food, traditions, and games. We taught them about U.S laws and customs and were treated to the the same. None of this was done on a formal basis, it was simply from spending time together and asking lots of questions. I learned so much about their culture from their perspective and I wish that I had time to tell you more about it.
We ended up going to Elite bookstore, similar to a Borders or Barnes and Nobles in the United States (More like Powell's books if you're from Oregon). It was different though in that it didn't just sell books. Elite takes up 6 floors, and each floor is dedicated to a different service. The first had a coffee and flower shop, the second through the 3rd had books, but there were also areas that sold various household items, handmade gifts, food items, and other crafts. The 4th floor is dedicated to children and doesn't only have books, games and toys but also 5 or 6 DIY craft areas. These were quite popular and I saw children of all ages making dolls, painting pottery, crafting tile stepping stones and working with modeling clay. I was fascinated by this and wouldn't have minded doing some of them myself if we'd had more time! The fifth floor had more little shops (each with their own cash register) and the sixth had a few fancy restaurants. The set-up of many small (independent?) shops in one area seems to be very common in the areas that we visited. It makes for a nice variety and gives you plenty to look at!
One more day until we head home. I've been suffering from what I thought was bad allergies for a few days but it seems that it is developing into a cold. I hope that it waits to hit me hard until I get home!
Emily
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