So, last week (Wednesday-Friday) I had the opportunity to go on the graduation trip with the 3rd year students. For the price of $100USD, I got 2 nights in resorts, transportation, and lots of opportunities for fun! Kenting is the southernmost point of Taiwan...and has TONS of beaches and ocean views! :)
We drove to Kenting in bits and pieces...it could be a long drive on its own! We stopped in Tainan to go to the privately owned Chi-Mei art museum. This museum has a ton of stuff and it is all so diverse - medival europe to ancient china/taiwan, rome, greece, impressionism, surrealism, and modern art too. They had crazy rules, though. You weren't allowed to wear sandals or anything that showed bare toes. Too bad nobody told me that and I was wearing my flip-flops...i just pulled my jeans down really far and walked in the middle of all the people. It worked, because I got to see all the art and such!
When we finally got to Kenting, the school officials made us line up on the beach and they were going to talk to us. Well, me (and the 2 other Americans) were really antsy and giddy...we wanted to touch the ocean as quickly as possible. So we dashed off from the group and raced to the ocean (in bare feet), touched the water, and raced back up hill. We didn't get in trouble, just a cold stare from one of the teachers. The dean, principal, and military officer all found it amusing! :) They made us play games on the beach for a bit, but when they finally cut us free, we took TONS of pictures. Out of the 3 day trip, I took 120 pictures in all. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It may be windy, but the water is so darn clear. And when it is a bit warmer (not 75 degrees F!) it would've been perfect for swimming in! We had to leave the beach, but I was one of the last ones to leave! Our resort for the night was "wild west" theme. It was hilarious to walk into the lobby and see the workers dressed in cowboy costumes square dancing to welcome our group.
Day 2 - we woke up at this resort and did a bunch of team activities...the team with the most points one food prizes! We ended up 3rd or 4th place, I think. My favorite activity was paintballing. I even convinced the dean to join us! But it was kinda a weird setup...we had a really small tennis court size enclosed area to use. And it wasn't very long either...but all of it was so much fun! The class I was with is so cool! After lunch, we left to go to Kenting! YAY! We went to a museum right by a nuclear power plant...I looked at some of the exhibits, but found that I was more of an exhibit than the museum...so I spent my time looking at the ocean instead! It is so cool to see mountains covered with tropical plants that run straight into the ocean! Pictures will never do it justice! After the nuclear power plant, we all went to Kenting National Park. I was kinda scared driving in these huge buses (we had 18 buses for 600 people) up this narrow winding road with drop-offs on both sides...but the Taiwanese are phenomenal drivers. We hiked through the park to certain points...and then came to an overlook of tropical foilage and the endless ocean. It was beautiful! For a moment, it reminded me of the over look at Grandview Park (in Peoria, IL!) because you had to walk up hill to get there, and you definitely don't expect to see it! The evening was spent shopping in Kenting...a very touristy thing to do. Full of tourists, as well.
Day 3 - I woke up at 4:50am to go to the beach and see the sunrise! The other 2 Americans and our teacher came too. It was so beautiful and peaceful and totally worth it! On the stairs down to the beach, there was a HUGE crab. I'm not even kidding - this crab was bigger than my head. I was scared, but walked quickly around it. It was living! And feasting on some dead organisms. I took plenty of pictures while wading in the clear water and enjoying the super soft sand. We spent the day driving away from the ocean and back to Taichung. We did stop at an amusement park, though. It was a ton of fun! Our first ride was called G5 - its a vertical drop...you go uphill and then are frozen to a spot for 3 seconds of a vertical drop. And its vertical! So vertical that I couldn't breathe to scream! :) You go underground then pop out and come to a fast stop. The other roller coaster we went on was the typical one - filled with loops and corkscrews. Tons of fun! But the lines were so long...and many people weren't accustomed to seeing foreigners!
Have a good weekend! I'm sticking around in Taichung but spending time with friends and catching up on some things I need to accomplish!
Lauren
