Window on China Third grade Field Trip
I got the priviledge of accompanying the 14 classes of third graders on their field trip. Seeing the 14 charter buses as I rode up to my school that morning made me realize field trips were maybe done a bit different here. All the classes came down to the basketball courts to line up and prepare for the day. Leading the group was a bunch of adults with yellow shirts - to my surprise, the school actually hires a tour company to take the kids on the field trips. The teachers get a bag with treats and a newspaper for the ride, and enjoy tea and fellowship upon arriving. I decided it'd be way more fun to experience the field trip with the kids instead...that made for an exciting day. Window on China is a park that has minature creations of the most popular sights throughout Asia. Once walking through the park, seeing the sights...we took a train to the other side of the park which is an amusement park for kids. After being dragged from ride to ride, hearing "hello teacher mandy" constantly from everywhere, and given candy galore...I was ready for lunch with the teachers:) It really was an enjoyable day though, so fun to hang with the kids outside of the classroom. Pretty sure I was the only American in the entire park among about 4 different schools and other tourist groups - the stares never ended.

Proud Scooter Owner!
The biking days finally came to an end. It was good exercise, but really...it's a whole new world being able to drive places without arriving in a complete sweat. Also getting to see places that were unknown of before the scooter has been refreshing. I bought the 125 cc, green Kymco scooter October 4th...yet, it's just as exciting as the first day each time I ride it. Some of my favorite places to scooter to are, Nanlioa (the harbor), 18 Peak mountain (great running trails overlooking the city), Hillcrest (resort in the hills with an outdoor pool), and Windance (Southeast Asia's largest mall). The traffic is a bit crazy, well, let me be honest - it's completely crazy, so a prayer is needed each time I get on the bike. So far so good though!:)

Taiwan has beautiful beaches??
October 10th is the country's birthday, therefore...no school! We made the most of this long weekend by traveling to the southern tip of Taiwan to a city called Kenting. It was a 5 hour bus ride followed by a 2 hour taxi ride, worth every minute of it. Once there, we met some other friends from Hsinchu for one day, then our teammate Kevin from Taichung for the remainder of the weekend. After being in Hsinchu where the smog is great and the blue water is unheard of, Kenting made Taiwan feel like a whole new island. The coast line was aboslutely beautiful, covered in sandy beaches and carribean colored water. We were able to scooter up the east caost some as well. We look forward to making the trip more often!