Taiwan: First Impressions

I probably walked enough miles today to burn off all the calories I gained over the summer. My favourite thing to do ever in a new place is to lose myself in the city. With a scribbled map in hand … enough to get me to the train station so I could find my way home I walked aimlessly around Dan Shui. It’s actually a cool city. And coffee drinkers have no fear … coffee shops galore including 2 Starbucks within a mile or so. And yes the coffee tastes exactly as it does at home. I also managed to find a massage place and then find an even cheaper one, many many temples, a castle and a market full of so many different foods that I’m pretty sure it’ll take me all year to try them all.


There’s something about walking though a market place that’s beautiful. I think it’s all the people, bustling about, the noise, the smells and sounds. On either side of me the crowds weave in and out while vendors announce their products. I don’t think I knew what anything was. Ok, I can pick out bubble tea and well .. that’s about it. The people here are beautiful. I walked into a store and everyone takes off their shoes before you go in. Granted it’s a shoe store but there’s something so peaceful about it. Like, take off your shoes, come in relax, stay a while. There were machines selling soft ice cream cones of every flavour for like 30 cents and obviously any kid eating it had it all over their face. Fried squid on a skewer, and don’t think calamari, think the whole squid, … like meat on a stick and you know how I love that.

On the waterfront there are people writing your name in Chinese calligraphy, portrait painters, 2 men dressed like monks singing and carnival games. It’s all pretty amazing. I wish I had a camera but there’ll be more time.

There are old temples that look like what you’re thinking when I say temple. Chinese style roofs, and gaudy deco. Red, gold, buddhas and other idols .. or are they all called buddhas? I have yet to find out. Incense burning. And then there are simple storefronts with small shines inside. What struck me though was that when you walk in a touristy church you have to buy or ‘donate’ to get a candle to burn. In every temple I walked into I could have taken a hand full of incense sticks or fake paper money for free. No I didn’t burn any but I sure wanted to. This month is ghost month and people spend much of their time trying to appease their ancestors. I need to find out more about it.

I’ve almost conquered jet lag … hooray for melatonin but I’m off to bed. Tomorrow I’m gonna go out to dinner with the SBS. They seem like a fun bunch.

LOVE STARVED

When we stepped out of the vans, all we could see was a blur of movement as some 20 children rushed at us, throwing themselves into our arms only to push off and lunge at the next nearest body until, after finally hugging every single person, they found one to attach themselves to for the remainder of the time. Barrio Marisol is a poor and severely marginalized community built up by the government in a earthquake-collapsed valley in the otherwise rich northern part of Armenia. Ruth, the creator and sole fulltime worker of the children's program, explained to us that by the age of 9, over 70% of these children who live with other siblings or grandparents, often abandoned by mother and father, will have lost their virginity to a family member. Some of the older ones may have gone to school but have since then dropped out to work so that they can help take care of younger brothers and sisters and most will never leave this barrio, turning instead to violence, prostitution, and drug dealing to make ends meet.

Diego sat beside me both days with a pad and pencil asking me how to say different words and phrases in English. As I would write it down for him and repeat the word slowly he would chime, in between trying hard to pronounce the words correctly, that he wanted to learn English so that one day he could get a good job. We were only there for 2 days but hopefully we were at least able to remind these kids that they are worth loving!

Old Friends, New Adventure and Michelle's Spectacular Tour of Colombian Food

Nothing says cultural experience like local street food. So I asked one of the Colombians to take us on a little tour. Meat on a stick, empanadas, little yummy cheesy bread balls, coffee milkshakes ... and I’m happy to say that none of us felt sick afterwards. Part of this tour included taking 2 of my teammates, Terri and Jackie, with me to see the family that I stayed with 4 years ago during. There we had the best homemade coconut ice cream in the world, flake pastry cones filled with arequipe (caramel spread) and “arepa con todo” which is like a thick corn tortilla with butter, meat and cheese. Needless to say, I’ll be hitting the gym now that I'm home. See the family was wonderful. It was great to be able to chat more clearly having a lot more language under my belt. The girls, Yuri and Jenny, who were 13 and 14 back then are now out of school with jobs and boyfriends and even the pastor I worked with is getting married soon. Honestly, just to see them again made the whole trip worthwhile.

It was also great to make some new friends. We were blessed to have a wonderful lady, Liliana, who helped us with meals. I'm pretty sure she wins the award for most servant hearted person in the world. We also had a bunch of youth stay with us at the farm on and off and the best part was that they were able to come to many of our work times. A large majority of our goal is not to go and work alone, but to equip others to work with us. It amazing watching the mentality of the Latin church shift from inside it's 4 walls to the people around them. Sandra and Margarita, 2 girls who bunked with us are 2 who have begun to understand this very concept. I had a long conversation with Sandra where she talked to me about her passion to meet the needs of the people around her. She is currently studying social work at university and working to see how she can practically apply her education and beliefs in her city. That's incredible.