Tainan

This past weekend, we took a trip to Tainan, the city just north of Koahsiung, to see a few of the sites there. We went with a couple of friends from here in Taiwan so we had some direction.  We went to some old military sites, where I got to shoot off a canon (pictures below), and some Buddhist temples that were both lovely and ornate. Rob really enjoyed learning about the religion in Taiwan, which is very unique, combining several different ideals and religions into one. 

The day was really fun with all of our exploring, but it was super hot even for here. I was feeling really worn out when we stopped to get a drink. There are drink places all over here but the place that we stopped at was only serving winter melon juice. It is sort of a belief that the winter melon juice cools down your body better than anything else. I was ready to drink anything at this point, but I did not expect it to be such a treat. It tastes exactly like drinking caramel. I was shocked it was so good. If you ever get a chance to try some winter melon juice take it!

 This is the god of education so of course we had to get a picture of Rob with him. This picture makes me laugh because there is actually a man standing behind Rob. He wouldn't move so I just took the photo. Can you see him at all? I swear he is there. 

The picture on the right is me with the traditionally dressed soldiers before I shot the canon. They asked for a volunteer from the audience and of course I was the most enthusiastic volunteer. As you can see I look massive compared to these men. Above is the little spark that is supposed to be the big canon. Below, my goofy grin.

I just thought this was the cutest little Chinese face! This is Faustina and we met here through some of the other teachers. She has been great to Rob and I. 

This was our first trip taking the train and it was really exciting for me. This particular
station is pretty famous for this lovely ceiling art.