Kaohsiung Reflections of Day 1

Waking up on the other side of the world...after an amazing sleep with Celine Dion in the background. Who knew Eric's mom (Echo...Ec ho ho ho) was such a big fan or maybe it was her way of welcoming 2 Canadians into her home. I feel like we both have a second mom away from home. Echo has left fresh cold and hot water jugs by our bed and new toothbrushes by the sink...our Taiwnese homestay has definitely welcomed us as part of their "new" extended family.

Sylvia and I are roomies for 2 weeks...a sweet arangement has already been struck on who prefers an evening vs. morning "shower" kind of person. I'm going to keep you guessing on that one! Our day today started with a short walking venture to catch the MRT...about a 10 min walk to catch the train to meet the rest of the group for lunch. Our first purchase was our train ticket...so I thought? After inserting 25twd you recieve a blue coin (about the size of a quarter) out of the machine. This coin is used as a scanner device to get you through the eletronic gate. We had to take two train lines to get to our lunch destination...after we finished our second train ride the coin was them dropped into a slot and accepted as payment for our bodies to proceed throught the final electronic gate. It was an environmental highlight for me b/c there was no paper trail and the coins get reused by other future passenger trips.

This day was filled with so many other highlights...but as I type these words I feel my eyes wanting to shut and catch some well deserved zzzz's from all the walking we did today! So I will mention them quickly so I don't forget so I can share them for future storytelling sessions!

-Meeting "Toad" and others
-Vegetarian all you can eat buffet (strawberry sushi, bamboo, fresh fruit, cones)
-Bubbletea ($1.50 ea and way better than Van!)
-Experimenting with nightmarket food & games
-VAT Refund
-Crazy Taiwanese taxi driver's u turn
-Escalator divison line on stairs (no excuses!)
-All purpose lane (pedestrains/bikes/mo-peds/dogs)...waiting for bus
-Sylvia's bargaining skills
-Emily and Hailey keeping food down today :)
-Speaking in English with locals and learning short Mandarin terms
-Firecrackers (morning/evening so far...not here during day to verify that one yet!)
-Lotus Pond...views, temples, markets, & group pics
-Picture of Sylvia passed out beside me with her journal pen in one hand (got her finally...nope my arm hit the side table as I went to get the camera....she woke up...drool shot opportunity gone!) GOOD NIGHT!