Today was a hot one here in Hua-lien. The temperature was in the low 90's, but according to weather.com, it felt like it was 104. There is a nice, occasional breeze, that when combined with sweat, definitely decreases your body temperature by a few degrees. Sounds nice doesn't it?!?
Today was Nick's first day in the lab here at Dung Hwa University with Professor Wen Ping Peng. He is going to be helping them put together a new instrument in the lab. He is hoping for good results from his time here!
I ran outside on the track here at the university. It is absolutely beautiful with mountain views in every direction. Although the heat definitely slowed me down, I was thankful to be outside and enjoying the clean, fresh air. The air pollution in Taipei was terrible! Nick and I went to lunch alone, and were forced to order from a menu with no English or pictures. Thankgoodness the guy working the counter recognized chicken and rice. The food was ok, and the price was great - less than $6.00 for both of us.
Ok, now for the best story of the day. The guy Nick is working with asked him to play basketball after work. I rode my bike to the university and had planned on watching, and maybe doing some shooting around. So I asked the guy if girls play basketball here in Taiwan. His response was, "girls can play volleyball" and even better was that he said it with such seriousness. If we had been in the USA, I would have quickly informed him that girls are quite capable of playing basketball. I think I could've taken him 1 on 1, even if I haven't touched a ball in forever! In addition to this guy's comment, I was informed by two other people that basketball is a "man's sport". Evidentally, girls play volleyball here because it is pretty much a no contact sport. I should get them some tapes of girls' basketball games :)
For dinner, we rode the scooter into town (which is over 20 minutes) in search of a restaurant with some American food. We found a steakhouse that had a salad bar and ice cream for dessert. It was good, I had a piece of chicken and some noodles. Nick had a steak, but had to have it sent back for some more cookin' because it was rather pink. All in all, we had a nice meal, and I could say that I was rather "satisifed".
I am quite proud of my husband and his adventerous spirit. I never would have thought that he would get on a scooter, much less drive one. I have to say that I feel that we have embraced the Taiwanses culture quite nicely, and the scooter is the pinnacle of this.
Sorry, but we didn't take any pictures today. I will post some other random pictures on here. Enjoy! The top pic is of the place where we're staying. The one on the right is our lunch on Saturday, and the bottom is "how many people can you fit on a scooter?".
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