Chicken Dinner! (NOT ZEHNDERS!)

Sunday afternoon chicken dinner, sounds familiar... here it is Taiwan-style!

Step 1: Pick your favorite bird.



Step 2: BBQ!

Step 3: Enjoy!

*Note: That's Eddie getting ready to tuck into a truly WHOLE chicken*

MOFA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

I never miss a chance to
dress up and skip class!!! :-)
(對不起老師！)

Tuesday was a very eventful day for Eddie. In the morning he (finally) found out that he was accepted to National Chen Chi University's Master's program (International Communications). He was especially happy because 1)all the hard work he put into preparing for the test/interview paid off, and 2) he can postpone his mandatory military service until he finishes his studies (and hopefully won't be assigned as a Marine!)

At MOFA awards ceremony

We're both very amazed at the amazing way our Lord has blessed us!
Who knows what He has in store for our futures!

Eddie with the head of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In addition to the scholarship awards ceremony, we got to watch performances by the newly appointed MOFA officers (basically junior diplomats). It was very unexpected and delightful! It's good to know that although these professionals have very serious , high-stress jobs, they also take time to relax and enjoy different cross-cultural activities. (Pictures and video at: http://picasaweb.google.com/cardinalchica/MOFAAwardCoda )

GuangDu Nature Park!

Taiwan's Mandarin Test of Proficiency (TOP) was on Saturday. So EVERYBODY had get up early on a beautiful Saturday morning and go take a standardized test. This time around, I elected to take the Basic Level Test. (I passed the beginner level last fall.) The test wasn't too hard, but everyone agreed that we all needed more time to finish the grammar and reading sections!

After the test, Eddie met me at the nearest MRT station and we walked to ShiDa night market to Mary Jane's pizza for lunch. I have been craving good pizza for a while now, so it was a delicious treat after a morning of critical thinking!!

Mary Jane's pizza
(The Greek: Feta Cheese, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Olives and Green Peppers: YUM!)

After lunch, I needed to get out of the city, so Eddie and I headed for Danshui with the intention of renting bikes and biking along the river. Instead, we ended up getting off the MRT at GuangDu Station and visiting the GuangDu Birdwatching Nature Park. There weren't many birds-- early spring and late fall are peak migration times-- but we still had an enjoyable walk in the sunshine.

Scenic pond in GuangDu Nature Park.

After our walk, it was time for me to head home and take a well-deserved nap!
Just another weekend in Taipei :-)

Sunny Day!

My 24th Birthday!!

This year I got to celebrate my birthday 4 times! Definitely a first for me! When I went home for a week in March, I had cake with my family at home. (Yum!) Annette gave me Starbucks* coffee beans and a grinder to take back to Taiwan with me-- so I should be all set with coffee for a few months!!
My birthday weekend arrived and Eddie did a really good job of surprising me! He took me to the Taipei flower market on Saturday afternoon. It was spectacular! I've never seen so many orchids in one place at once! Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me buy anything because I'll be moving to a new apartment in a few short months and it would be pointless to buy plants now!

Taipei Holiday Flower Market

That evening, I knew we were meeting some friends for dinner-- what I didn't know is that they had found a Spanish Tapas restaurant in Taipei!! It was delicious!! Really made me miss all the good food I got to eat everyday in Spain!! (Dr. Yien once told me you can find any kind of food in Taipei-- I'm starting to think he's right!) I thought the birthday celebrating was complete. But on Sunday, Eddie dragged me to the "middle of nowhere" in Taipei - a inconspicuous street and address- which just happened to be a dance studio. My birthday gift from him was a month of Salsa classes for the two of us! (We had our first lesson last week and it was a blast!)

Tapas (jamón serrano & queso)


My birthday cake (I LOVE the "??"s!)

As if that wasn't enough, my classmates surprised me with cake and 'champagne' (really lemon green tea) on Monday! We had a great time singing "Happy Birthday" in different languages!

Party with my classmates!

I'm really grateful for the thoughtfulness of all my friends here! I had a WONDERFUL birthday!

Green Island Spring Break Adventure!

Last week I had my first visit to a real tropical Island. Kay, Lorenzo, David, Eddie and I went to Green Island, about a 45 min. ferry ride from the south-east coast of Taiwan. We had a wonderful time exploring Taidong and Green Island.

We spend a day in Taidong County enjoying being in "country". Our hotel in Taidong included a hot spring/spa area. So we relaxed in the hot springs in the morning and again before bed. We visited a pre-history museum that introduced ancient archaeological sites in Taidong. We also visited Taiwan's most famous dairy farm-- it reminded me of spending summers in Wisconsin. :-) Finally, I got to eat yet another exotic fruit called a "shi jia" -- or Buddha's Head fruit-- I'd never seen anything like it before, but my translator says its English name is a "sugar apple"??!!??

(Picture compliments of Ian Maguire at http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_sw.htm)

The ferry ride to Green Island on Thursday was an adventure! There was strong wind, rain, and the sea was pretty choppy. Fortunately, we'd all taken motion sickness medicine, so we had fun getting wet and flying over the rolling waves! Thursday afternoon, I got to go snorkeling for the first time in my life, and it was incredible. Seeing the fish and coral reef was exactly like on the Discovery Channel only much better in person!! After snorkeling we relaxed in natural salt water hot springs while enjoying the beautiful scenery and listening to the pounding surf.

The last day of our vacation, we took our scooters and drove around the island, stopping to take pictures and enjoy scenic spots. Before long it was time to board the ferry and head back to Taiwan, then take the train to Taipei. It was an amazing trip that I'll never forget... and maybe someday I'll go back again!

Pictures of our trip are online at:

Green Island

Ming Chuan's 51st Anniversary!

Happy 51st Anniversary MCU!

This week was crazy! After a great week at home, I left Michigan on Monday afternoon. I arrived back in Taiwan late Tuesday night and had normal class on Wednesday... then on Thursday we had a "field trip!"

Thursday was Ming Chuan University's 51st Anniversary, so since no one else had to go to class- we decided to practice our Chinese in the "real world"-- A.K.A. attend MCU's birthday party!

Quen and I decided to embarass the tuxedo boys!

All of my classmates (minus the only boy Michael).
6 nationalities represented!!

And I can never make fun of Eddie for being a "cheerleader" again. (Well.... yes, I still can ;-) But it turns out that "cheerleading" in Chinese can also mean like a hip-hop dance squad/aerobatic team. Somewhat more "manly" than what I had pictured! Each of MCU's departments put together a different act for the annual cheerleading competition. I was really impressed by how creative their themes and costumes were! It's great to see that kind of school spirit!

Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵節快樂！

Falling just on the heels of Chinese New Year is the Lantern Festival.
One Saturday afternoon in between going to the park for some exercise and going to the grocery store, Eddie and I stumbled up this local exhibit for 元宵節！

Because it's the year of the rat, Mickey Mouse & friends are extra popular!

No resemblance there!?!?!