EARTHQUAKE!!!

I hope you shouted the title of this post with urgency and dread inside your head. We survived our first earthquake this week. It was small and we both missed it, we were both standing up/walking and apparently you had to be resting to feel it. The best part about the earthquake was after when every single teacher came out of their rooms to see if they were imagining things. Every white person in the building needed validation that there was an earthquake while every Taiwanese person went on, business as usual. "Yeah.. that was an earthquake....so?"

On our Sunday off, we decided to go to a nearby town called Yingge. It is known for its pottery and the pottery making you could do there. David, Rick, and I set off for the train station in downtown Taoyuan and we decided to walk. It took about 45 minutes but we got to stop at a beautiful temple on the way and finally we met up with Monica at the station. Getting to Yingge was very easy and a short trip and the great thing about Taiwan is that there are always people willing to help you. If you ask for help and they don't speak English, you can bet that they will find you someone who can. 

It was just our luck that right after getting off the train, there was an English speaking woman with a map who helped us out tremendously. We followed her directions and we were there. I have never seen so much pottery in one place, it was really cool. And after trying to make my own bowl and cup, I have a new respect for the crazy stuff people can do with clay. My bowl and cup ended up being pretty boring and simple and that was WITH the help of an expert. Every time she would walk away from me, I would somehow manage to change what she was trying to help me do. Rick made one bowl that he loved and then wanted to make a plate that had a lip and he had it perfect but he ended up losing it when he tried to work with it some more. He ended up with a plate/bowl that he wasn't really happy with but it was fun nonetheless.

For all four of us to each make and decorate two pieces of pottery, it cost about $70 CAD. And it was so much fun. That $70 includes the store we made it at mailing us our pieces because they have to cook it, I guess. Then we ventured on to eat and leave. While I have been trying some new food in Taiwan, once I find something I like, I notice that I try to stick with it. I bought dumplings and these desserts that I like. I also ended up buying a watch that I love for about $6 (Rick also bought a watch). It turns out it doesn't help keep the flow going smoothly while teaching if we have to keep checking our cellphones.

Until next time!

- Melissa