Day 15: Last Day

Today is our last day in Taiwan and it is bittersweet--we are sad to say goodbye to Taiwan, but anticipate returning to our lives in the US. We started the day at 4:30 am to watch the sun rise over the Pacific. As Dr. Chen said, "You may forget a lot of moments in your life, but this one will stick with you for a while". He is right!

Next, a group of us headed to the Aquarium. It was the coolest aquarium I've ever been to. There were water tunnels that we walked through to look at fish and whales. Then we were able to see penguins and puffins. It was so fun! The nerd in all of us came out!

We then traveled back to Taipei so that we can fly out in the morning. We concluded the day by having dinner with two of our Taiwanese counterparts, Vivian and Kai. We went to a Shabu-shabu or hotpot place, which has become my favorite place.  It was so great to see Kai and Vivian again. 

Kai and Vivian at dinner

Yum!

Day 14

Today was a beach day! Finally! A lot of us swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time! The beach was beautiful!

Kim and Danielle

Tonight we went to a night market. This one seemed to be catering to the younger crowd. It was fun!

The Night Market

Fried Oreos...made us think of Maggie! 

Tomorrow we head back to Taipei before flying back to the US on Thursday. I can't believe our time here is coming to an end. I'm not ready to head home yet!

Day 13

Today we took a speed train from Taipei to Kaohsiung, which is in the southern portion of the country. It definitely seems hotter hearer!
Once we arrived we ate lunch at a hotpot place. I love these places! So good! After lunch we visited Kaohsiung Medical University. They told us about their public health program and gave us a brief tour of the library. I was surprised by the number of faculty they have with an MPH from Tulane.
We then concluded the day with dinner at Ray's parents house, who live about 30 minutes outside of Kaohsiung. His family owns a farm and a restaurant. The restaurant is very famous and people come from all around to eat there. They have a beautiful home and the food was delicious too!
After dinner we went up on a mountain to drink some tea. The place overlooked the city and was so cool!

Lunch at the hotpot place

An afternoon snack at KMU.

Ray with his mom, dad, Dr. Chen, and Dr. Seal

I don't have many pictures from today. Tomorrow we are all looking forward to spending the day at the beach!

Day 12

Today we left Taichung to head back to Taipei, leaving our Taiwanese friends behind. The China Medical University students came to say goodbye again this morning. It was so sad to say goodbye. It's amazing how close a group of people can get in only 12 days. I don't think there was a dry eye anywhere to be found. We hope to see our friends again some day! The Taiwanese students made a video for us to capture our time together and they did an awesome job. You can view it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DASWw5wijo

One last Starbucks trip with Kai

Everyone is packed and ready to go

Kim dreading carrying all of her luggage

The CMU students waving goodbye

Once we arrived back it Taipei, we spent the afternoon shopping and then some of us went to Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf, which is pretty much a boardwalk along the water with mountains in the background. We arrived in time to watch the sun set and it was breathtaking. I would have loved to spent a lot of time there. 

Cool dog posing!

They had a walking bridge that was really cool!

Watching the sunset

So Beautiful!

There were shops selling fresh seafood.

Kim and Maggie enjoying our evening

Day 11

We began the day by giving our presentations. I think all of the Taiwanese students were very nervous because they had to give their portion of the presentation in English. Everyone did a great job and I learned a lot.

Theresa and Betty giving their presentation about long term care

Maggie and Claire giving their presentation about mental health

Each of us received a certificate for completing the exchange student course through China Medical University. In the above picture, Kim receives her certificate from Dr. Chen. 

The China Medical University Students receiving their certificates.

After giving our presentation, some of the girls and I did some shopping. I bought two awesome pairs of shoes for about $20 US dollars. It was nice to have some free time to enjoy the city.  

Tonight we had to say goodbye to our Taiwanese counterparts. We have had to rely on them for so much over the past few weeks, that we have formed a close bond. It's sad to say goodbye, but we hope to see them again in the future. To celebrate the end of our class, we spent the night singing karaoke at the party palace. It's was a night of good fun and a great way to conclude our time together!

Kai and I; Kai is my Starbucks partner and a class clown!

Kim and her partner Carrie

Tomorrow we head back to Taipei, before we head to the southern part of the country for a beach vacation. No one can believe how fast time has passed!

Day 10

Today was a day devoted to research for our presentation, which are tomorrow. Most of us spent the day at China Medical University researching our topics and creating a powerpoint.

We started the day off right with Starbucks!

Researching

More researching

My partner, Doris. Pretty much sums up our day!

We can't believe that tomorrow is our last full day in Taichung before heading back to Taipei!

Day 9

We started the day with a visit to the Health Center of South-est-North Changhua City. A doctor from the  health center talked about some of the health promotion programs they have. They have a program for kindergardeners about how to wash their hands in an attempt to stop the spread of enterovirus. To prevent dengue fever they provide education on mosquito control. They also screen for HIV, HPV, TB, breast cancer, and other things.

Dr. Chen presented gifts to Dr. Lee, who talked to us about the health center

Next we visited a nursing home, where they gave us a tour of the facility. 

Dr. Chen translating as the lady from the nursing home tells us about the facility.

Finally, we visited a farm that is used to not only grow food, but also to teach school aged children about growing food, insects, frogs, and other things found in nature. We were able to take a tour of the garden.

Rice growing in the field

To welcome us at the farm, they set off fireworks They used flint, water, and fire to set them off. It made a super loud noise. 

Danielle adding flint to the bamboo.

Getting ready to set off the fireworks

Pretty flowers in the garden

More flowers

An orchard 

Doris and I in the garden

Iris has family that lives here and tonight they had us over for a feast. There was so much food and it was all very good. Here are some pictures from tonight:

Vivian, Iris, Danielle, Dr. Chen, and Alan

Alan, Danielle, and Angela

The feast!