Time has been flying by.  Another week has come and gone, and with it a great many memories.  This week we had the opportunity of meeting the BYU modern dance team, Kinnect, who came to Taiwan to participate in an international dance conference in Taipei.  It turns out Clinton, a former teacher, is also a former member of Kinnect, and he invited them to come perform at the school in Kaohsiung.  As a way of thanking them for their performance, Steve Yang, our department director and BYU graduate, took the dancers on a tour of Kenting National Park, and we were invited to tag along since Steve knew we probably didn't have much else occupying our schedule.

Kenting is famous for its beaches, but in particular the rocky coral beaches which adorn most of the southern coastline.  The park is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan, and during the summer months it is packed with travelers from all over the globe.  The small sandy beach we stopped at was packed with people swimming, sunbathing, and playing games.  It was a party.  In addition to the national park, there is a touristy town in Kenting that, at night, turns into a bustling market with small shops and food stands lining about a 3/4 mile long stretch of highway.  We stopped at about eight different food stands, sampling a wide array of goodies ranging from deep fried milk to barbecued corn on the cob to dancing shaved ice (which was fantastic).  During the day we jumped from one scenic vista to another and soaked in the sun and beautiful surroundings (fortunately we remembered to wear sunscreen and didn't fry ourselves).  Overall it was a week of great fun, great food, and new friends.

 The first beach we stopped at was a little rocky but really fun to climb around. 

 This is Rob wandering and exploring. Sometimes I would turn around and not know where he went. 

 If you look really closely you can see some Taiwanese buffalo in the middle of the picture. 

 This is the beach right across from the hotel that we stayed at. The hotel had an indoor water park for anyone who didn't want to go in the sun. The water was only about three feet at the deepest point. 

 This is the night market street and the dancing shaved ice. There were 

tons of tourists there and lost of good stuff. 

 I had to laugh when I saw this picture because why would anyone take a picture so crooked? These are some of the dancers that we got to hang out with on the trip in front of a lighthouse. 

 This is our friend Karen, the BYU dance team director taking a photo of a pretty funny sign. 

It reads, "Notice: Dangerous coral reef area, please don' take risks to stay around!"

 A huge spider about as long as my hand. Definitely the 

biggest spider I've seen in nature. 

What a dashing young man!