Everyone is really paranoid about the H1N1 flu thing, so probably about 75% of people everywhere are wearing those surgical masks to protect themselves. At first it seemed really strange but now it just looks normal to me! Even my kids have to wear them, so it's hard to tell if some of them are talking. These masks are so common that they come in a variety of colors, patterns, sizes, and even materials - paper or fabric. People also wear them when they ride on their scooters because of the pollution. Another note on attire - in Western culture people usually want to be tan, whereas here they want to be as white as possible! So, many people use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun. On the scooters, they try to cover themselves up as much as possible so that they end up looking like they're on their way to rob a bank! They put on masks under their helmets and even little covers on their hands that look like oven mitts to keep the sun off their skin. Basically all that is left visible is their eyes... You also have to be careful when buying skin products, like face wash or cream, because sometimes they contain 'whitening elements'! I can only imagine what kind of chemicals might lurk in there.
I decided to take a scuba diving certification class since I am going to Bali, Indonesia over Christmas with my roommate, Kenzie. She is already certified and the diving there is supposed to be excellent, so I figured why not?! Two weekends ago I had the first part of the class, with 3 other students - one is another teacher I work with. Our instructor is a Canadian I met on one of the hash runs. Saturday was the classroom portion where we just reviewed the information from the 250+ page manual (although there were a lot of pictures) and took the written test. The next day we actually got to go underwater with all the equipment, in the pool! The air tank and all the other equipment is about 45 lbs, so out of the water it is very awkward and clumsy to get around. We went to a government (public) pool and practiced skills we had learned about in a shallowish pool, then went to the 5 meter pool to do the deeper things. It was really fun, but I started to get really cold even though I was wearing a wetsuit because we were in the water for about 6 hours, not moving very much. My lips matched the blue wetsuit I was wearing after about 2 hours, so I had to get out every so often to take a hot shower. My instructor made the comment - 'I wasn't cold until I looked at you!' Ha ha. Normally I will be ok, but this was a rental suit that wasn't quite thick or small enough. Some of the other things were too big as well, so for next week my instructor is going to find me kids sizes! Ha ha. Anyway, it was really neat to be able to breath underwater, although it was hard at first to trust because it goes against how you've always breathed before! Next weekend we are heading out to the North coast to make the 4 required ocean dives. Kenzie went to the same location a few weeks ago and said that both underwater and above water is gorgeous, so I'm excited!
This past weekend was a busy one! I hiked to a temple near my house (only about 30 minutes up the road) and looked around. There are tons of temples here in Taiwan (I've read that Taiwan has the highest temple-to-person ratio) but some are definitely bigger and more interesting than others. (Some look like little store fronts because they are on main roads in the city, between a convenience store and a bus stop...)
It was amazing because the temple is so elaborately decorated and there are so many people just hanging out there. It is a really peaceful place where some people are praying, and some are just sitting around chatting with friends. The whole place has a really unique smell (one that I like) because spirit money is always being burned, in little metal bins and a big special oven built especially for that purpose (as pictured). Spirit money is just a special paper printed to look like some kind of ancient money and people buy it, then burn it, to show respect to their ancestors and deceased relatives. This temple, Bishan Temple, is up on a hillside so there is a complete view of the city from there. I just love finding new things all the time that are so close - it is impossible to ever be bored here.As I mentioned before, Kenzie just bought a scooter last week so we have been driving to school on it. Back home it is just accepted that only one person will be on a scooter at a time, but here it is way more common to see at least 2!
And it is not uncommon to see a whole family - mom, dad, and 2 kids standing in the foot area...! Equally as strange (and common) is to see a dog or 2 riding in the foot area of the scooter - I guess they have better balance than dogs back home?! Kenzie and I decided to make the 45 minute drive north from the city to Yangmingshan National Park. It was just absolutely gorgeous! In some ways it felt like national park from back home because of the openness and abundance of hiking trails, but different in that there are not as many rules and there is no admission fee! We had bright sun and when we got into the park it felt like a completely different world even though you could see the entire city below. We did a 2 hour hike up to the highest peak (1120 meters) through bamboo and tall silver grass. There are also so many hot springs etc around here (actually in all of Taiwan) and here is no exception! 
From the trail head we could see a huge vent of steam coming out of the ground. Then on the way up there were also hot spots with steam and hot bubbling mud right beside the trail. Very cool! We have noticed another thing - there has been virtually no wildlife other than bugs and insects. Which reminds me: Taiwanese hold a special love for beetles. Kids love them and will pick them up and bring them for show-and-tell.
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