Just a Lazy Weekend

After a busy week at school and staring down the throat of another busy week, Brittany and I spent a relaxing weekend in Yilan. We had originally planned to visit Taipei with Mary and Paige this weekend, but Mary got sick on Saturday morning so we changed our plans, and I am quite glad that we did!

I actually started Saturday with a normal week-day wake up time, as I have been asked to teach three classes in December for a gifted student program at one of the local junior high schools in Luodong, and I was asked to attend the orientation class this Saturday as well. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to sit in a meeting where people speak only in Chinese, but after a few minutes we actually moved with the students to another classroom and Jamie, the other ETA, and I led an icebreaker with the students. All have very good English, and though most were very shy, I am excited to be working with them in a few months!

In the afternoon after our Taipei plans were cancelled, Britt and I decided to explore the greater Yilan County area. We hopped on our scooters and set out to find the ocean. I can't really explain the peacefulness of riding through the countryside, passing rice paddies and temples, palm trees and fish farms. I had an idea of where to turn to reach the ocean, but as we turned up a tiny side road, little did I expect that it would literally put us on the other side of a sand dune right next to an incredible, practically empty beach.

We were two of maybe ten people total within our sight range, and though the day was chilly and a mist hung over the mountains to the south, it was beautiful. The sand here is made from volcanic rock, so it is a very dark gray/black. In the distance we could see Turtle Island and some fishing boats, but the beauty of this beach was more in its isolation. We walked along the edge of the water following two other sets of footprints (a man and a dog) and picked up shells. Britt and I also used the huge canvas of untouched sand to practice our Chinese characters and write messages to the world. (To the left is me with my Chinese name, 費杰蘭 or Fèi Jié Lán.)

We left the beach and stopped for a little bit along the Dongshan River to watch the fisherman. Fish were jumping out of the water, and one man, in particular, hauled up three fish in the fifteen minutes we sat and watched. Fishing is a large industry here, as Yilan County is particularly well known for its seafood, but these seemed to be recreational fisherman.

When we got back to Yilan, Britt and I went for dinner at Pasta Kitchen, before heading out to go dress shopping. All Fulbright Scholars in Taiwan have been invited to a reception with President Ma on Friday to celebrate Double Ten Day (a Taiwanese holiday). Britt definitely needed to find a dress and though the dress I brought was wearable for the event, I was also looking for something a little nicer.

Most of the shops that we looked in were very (surprisingly) expensive. There would be a nice dress or two in the bunch, but for the cost, it just wasn't worth it. (I saw a handbag in one store that I thought my mom would like, so I turned over the price tag and the bag, which was leather but nothing special, cost 17,800 NT or about 600 USD. That is nearly half of my monthly salary!)

Adam joined us after dinner with his host family and the three of us hit up the night market. Our goal of finding dresses gradually slipped further away (Britt had found a few that would work and were within her price range and I was set to just wear the dress I brought to Taiwan), though we did find other exciting purchases like cheap earrings (I got 3 pairs -- dangling red buttons, hand mirrors, and black and white girl's heads -- for $100 NT or about a dollar apiece).

As we were about to start heading back to our scooters, I suggested we duck into one last dress
store. It had some odd dresses on the mannequins, but as we started to look around inside, the selection was great! As I was picking out dresses for Brittany to try on, the store owner informed us that most dresses were on sale and calculated a few prices quickly for us. A 4000 NT dress which had previously been out of price range was less than 2000 NT. Even more impressive, though, was that there was a wide array of sizes. I normally have to be rather discerning here to find clothing that fits appropriately, because though I average a medium size in the US, in Taiwan clothing is so much smaller. I actually found a beautiful plum colored dress with rouching at the bust and an interesting, open back. Not only was it in a US medium that fit really well, but it was also one of the cheaper dresses in the store! Britt found a black dress with silver sequins -- we will definitely be two of the most stylish girls at this reception!

Now it is a beautiful Sunday at noon, so we are going to head to the park across the street to do some Chinese homework and studying. I stand by my message in the picture above: "I <3 Taiwan!"