"She" pronounced sheh means snake

Monday May 31st
Today was our last day in Hong Kong :( It has been fun... but I think I like Taiwan better. The people are nicer and its just different from a big city. Today we (Rainy, Christina Bohn, Katelyn and I) woke up early and went on a beautiful hike (aka nature walk) by one of the host families apartment buildings. It was just this paved pathway with a few hiking trails off to the side. We heard bullfrogs croaking, crickets chirping, and birds singing. We also were able to see some huge fish (almost as long as  my leg!) and a few turtles swimming in the reservoir that we walked by. I enjoyed it very much! After the hike, we went to Central Station and met the rest of our group to eat lunch, then went shopping at Stanley Market. This is a major tourist shopping place and they had a bunch of fun stuff to look at. We then went back to the Mansion because it started raining and decided to go Kayaking. Now that was fun! We went Kayaking on the beach that is like 20 feet away from the house. Rainy, Christina Hunter and I were the only ones who wanted to go out because it was still raining. I have gone canoeing a few times and kayaking once before in my life, but Rainy and Christina hadn't. Christina didn't want to go in one by herself, but I used my skills of persuasion to convince her that it wasn't difficult and that she should go in one herself :) We kayaked to the beach that was just across the way but decided to not get out becuase of all of the rocks. On the way back, I was getting way ahead (my kayak was inflated more so I could get around a lot faster) so I stopped and waited for them. Christina had the idea of having Rainy and herself hold onto my boat while I paddle them back to the beach. I ex-nayed that idea and instead had them come on either side of me, I grab onto their kayaks, and they each paddle a side. Like I said... my powers of persuasion are great ;P  I then began to yell out "Together" and they would yell "Heave/Ho" everytime they paddled. It was really silly but really fun. We also sang Disney songs such as "Just around the River Bend". Afterwards, we went to the harbor and traveled on a ferry across the harbor and watched the famous light show.

A trail off of the pathway that we took

Walking in the Rain

The light show across the harbor

Look! It's the building that Batman jumped off of... so awesome!

Look again! You can buy umbrellas in a vending machine... even more awesome!

Tuesday June 1st
Today we woke up really early and left for the airport. It was kind of an adventure once we got back into Taiwan. We have not been to Taipei yet and have no idea where we are going. We bought some bus tickets and then took two buses to the Taipei Backpackers Hostel. On one of the buses, Tara and I were standing by the luggage to make sure it didn't fall. However, this was a bad spot to stand because our professor (Kris) told us once that we were at the right bus stop and Tara and I started taking all of our luggage out and then the bus driver told us this wasnt the right stop. Kris then said it was the next stop. so when we stopped at the next location, Tara and I started to unload the luggage again... bad idea. The bus driver waved to us to say that it wasn't the right stop. We then decided to wait until the bus driver signaled to us that it was the right location, which just happened to be the next stop :) I am just so thankful that all of those bags were so heavy so that I could get my workout in for the day ;) The hostel that we are staying at is nicer than the one in Haulien, except its a little more cramped in the rooms and the wireless internet doesn't always work. Luckily its working now!

We are back in Taiwan and cannot wait to have some of our favorite foods again!

The Hostel where we stayed

The squished room

After we got settled into our new living quarters, we headed out to the Huaxi Night Market aka the Snake Night Market :) I have been wanting to eat snake for quite some time now and I was ready for the opportunity. It took us a little while, but we eventually found it. The first restaurant we came across had a huge white and yellow snake and a few other smaller snakes inside of a cage. We started taking some pictures, but then got in trouble for it. We found another snake restaurant and there were 2 dead snakes hanging by their heads in the front of the restaurant. The man asked us if we would like some snake soup or barbecued snake and  agreed to the BBQ snake. While we were waiting, the owner brought out a couple of his snakes and was messing with them and getting them to hiss and strike... kind of fun, yet scary to watch. The owner brought out the BBQ'd snake and there was hardly anything to bit into. We ended up picking off what little meat there was with our fingers. But let me tell you... It tasted soooo good. I really enjoyed it and it was like a dream come true for me.  A few of the other girls didn't agree... but at least that allowed me to eat more :P We shopped around the night market and went and got some mysterious baked goods from Cafe 85 Degrees Celsius. Man its good to be back in Taiwan! I am so glad that we are able to end our trip in Taiwan instead of Hong Kong because there is such a difference between the two places. The atmosphere in Taiwan is just better and so much more inviting.

The Night Market

Mmmm... dried squid and fish... at least I think they are dried

Kaa... the big yellow snake

Rainy and I becoming close friends with the snake

The snakes that will be eaten for dinner

...and the snake that will eat you for dinner (its on top of the cage)

Yum!

Gathered around our small portion of snake... this stuff is really expensive, even in Taiwan

Me, relishing the delicious snake

Oh, today was also kind of fun for me because while everyone was taking a nap after the long trip, I organized our little outing to the snake market and found where we were supposed to go and what kind of transportation we were supposed to take. Our teacher Kris gets kind of stressed out when she has too much on her plate so I decided to take the reigns on this one. I say it was fun for me because I love organizing stuff like that... wish I could have done it more often this trip. Maybe there might have been less stress on behalf of our professor. :)