Day 6

Day 6

Today was yet one more wonderful day in probably my best vacation ever. It wasn't the most eventful, but it was certainly a great opportunity to meet a new friend and reconnect with an old friend. Of course, I had to be a little bit productive this morning to eliminate some stress when I get back, so I read an article for a paper I have to write. However, I made a nice relaxing morning of it all and

then met my coworker's friend (and now mine) Cherry to go to a place called XeiBeiTou. This was a great little find. It's a natural hotsprings where the Japanese built a public bath house during the era when they were in control of the island. The bath house is no longer in operation because it had fallen int

o many years of neglect, but they have refurbished the bath house and made it into a wonderful place to visit and learn about this era.

Another interesting fact about XeiBeiTou is that it is the home to many different movies because of the natural beauty of the area and for other reasons. The region was at one time called the Hollywood of Taiwan

(or something like that). Anyway, I really enjoyed taking pictures in the museum and of the spring water that flows down the stream by it.

After XeiBeiTou, we went to Danshui to visit Tam Kang University (TKU) main campus where one of my former students Albee is attending graduate school This is not the campus our students from TKU come from, but it was accessible to me today via public transportation, so I went and got a mini-tour of the campus. It was very pretty, even though the weather was not so great today. Anyway, I found plenty of items to take pictures of, and it was great to see Albee again after 2 years.

For dinner, I met with another former student, Phoebe, who is the person who found my hotel options for me. We had a great dinner, and I even tried the oysters and frog. I don't normally like oysters, but these weren't bad, and frog really does taste like chicken...amazing, eh? After dinner, Phoebe drove me around town where it hit me that driving here is really a LOT different from any city in the U.S. First of all, there are very few real rules for driving...it's basically a free-for-all. Secondly, the lines don't mean ANYTHING...no one drives between the line. Third, when a police car has its lights on, it is not because they are chasing someone...maybe it's just to make their presence known...lol Fourth, those darn scooters are a bit of a nuisance...haha.

Well, that's about it for tonight...I'm really tired and plan to go to sleep very soon. I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation. Regardless of who we are and what we've been through, there is a lot to be thankful for. Take the time to let your family and friends know just how much you love them. Life is short and needs to be lived with a heart full of care and concern for others and not so seriously that we forget how to have fun. I'm not a trekky (Star Trek) by any means, but a phrase from the show comes to mind..."Live long and prosper." I think the prosper part has nothing to do with money...we are rich when we have amazing friends and the opportunity to experience the world around us new every day.

Take care everyone.

David