At home!

Well, I'm at home :). Journey back was a very long one!!! Involved an 1 1/2 flight from Taipei to Hong Kong at 6.30am followed by a 2 hour wait in Hong Kong. After this I then borded a plane to London from Hong Kong which took 14 hours!!!! It felt very long and as it was a day flight I struggled to sleep so watched three films and lots of tv programmes, followed by listening to some music and reading my magazine. Eventually, we arrived at London Heathrow where we waited 4 hours before getting a plane back to Manchester. 24 hours later, I arrived in Manchester to be greeted by the family and Nathan with a bunch of flowers :). I was so pleased to be home but absolutly shattered!! Hence the reason I haven't managed to blog until now! I've had a fantastic trip with some fantastic memories that I'll remember for the rest of my life! Thanks for following me and giving me much encouragement throughout! Speak soon! Kathryn xxx

Day 9: My last day!

Well, its the final one! :( and :). I've got mixed feelings really, I'm sad because I've had a good time but happy cos I miss home, family an Nathan so so much! Today was very chilled out! Started with breakfast which was American, fried ham, pancakes and egg, yummy! :) We were then picked up at 10 and taken to an archeology museum which to be perfectly honest I found really boring and spent the whole time trying to find funny ways to place monkey in the photo with Paul (before we got told off! :p). Next we went to Danshui on a boat over the river where we saw flying fish :D which were very cool and fun to watch, tried to get a video but not sure if I'll be able to see anything! Once in the village we had a walk down but as it was throwing it down (because the typhoon is passing) we soon went into a cafe to have something to eat. Food was very yummy and was like salad and meat so was nice. We had a good chat when eating food which good company. After this we just strolled through the shops, called in at local exhibition about one of the first missionaries that came to Taiwan, George Mackay. I found it really moving in there and gave me lots to think about as far as this trip. I kind of walked for a bit then in silence thinking things over that have happened on this trip. We finally reached our destination of Carys's house absolutly soaking where we had coffee and cake before getting the metro back to Taipei main station. We then returned to the hotel where we packed up and had a small chat about our thoughts on the trip. I think we all feel so priviliged to have been given this opportunity and can't wait to share our experience with others when we get back home (although most people know through this blog!). Me and Angela popped out an ended up with Mc Donalds as didn't have a clue what anything else was lol and ate it in the hotel room and now I'm here blogging as usual and about to go to bed as have to be up at 3am :( for a very long journey home. I will write one more blog when I arrive back in England to let everyone know I'm home safe and then that will be it! :( xx

Day 8: Taipei

helllloooooo!! I'm so amazed at how many people are reading this blog, not that I'm complaining like! Well today started with a journey down to Taipei as this is where we are staying until we go home. The journey involved 1 1/2 hours on the High Speed Rail which went at 296 km/h. Was quite a nice journey but it was raining when we got to Taipei. We walked to the YMCA which is where we are staying for the next 2 nights. It is quite nice, smaller than the other place and not as grand but still pleasant. The bed doesn't feel very comfy but it will be alright for 1 1/2 nights (gotta be up at 3am on Saturday). Well when we got there we went for lunch with Ben & Stephen in the restaurant in the hotel which is an American diner so I had a rice omelette with a hamburger which was yummy but bizarre. After lunch we said goodbye to Ben & Stephen which was sad as they are the two who have looked after us the most but they had to get back because there has been an earthquake this morning in Chaiyi (where we were staying). After lunch we settled into the hotel for an hour before being picked up by the General Assembly where they took us for a tour of the city. They showed us the grand hotel on the tour which was pretty impressive and had some nice views. After our tour we went back to the General Assembly Offices where we met with the General Assembly Secretary who answered any questions about the Presbyterian Church as a whole and showed us a video on the general work they do. He was quite interesting but kind of difficult to listen to as he barely moved his lips when talking so meant that he mumbled a bit. However, his English was very good and definately better than my Taiwanese. After his talk, we met Caris and Paul so that was quite good talking to other English people!! We all chatted before walking to the restaurant which was a mixture of Taiwanese and Burmese and very nice indeed! Here I had quite a long conversation with Paul and a bit of a laugh about some of the things that have happened whilst we've been here so that was good! After dinner we got the MEtro back to the hotel and said goodbye for the night. Me and Angela then finished the night with a trip to buy a new hand luggage bag thats bigger as we have no room or weight to spare and a trip to Starbucks :) Am now in the hotel room after a lot of trouble with the internet chilling out after what seems like a busy day but actually we've not really done that much!! xx

Day 7: Returning to Chaiyi and Night Market

Well today was quite a quiet day to be honest!! It started with a lie in! Yay! 8.30 wake up call but then 2 hours to get ready :). Packed up as I was leaving the host families house today so therefore back to having internet at the hotel! We went to the church that Marion and Melanie had been staying at and had to wait an hour because everyone was late so I sat watching the old women play a game which seemed to be a mixture of boules and croquet, was good fun actually! Next, we went to lunch which was at a local coffee shop and I had a bacon butty :D was very excited and also very yummy! They then took us back to Chaiyi and later took us out for a light bite to eat of chicken and rice before returning us back to our hotel. We unpacked and chilled out for an hour before being picked up to go to the night market. This was loads of fun :). We walked around all the stalls taking in the sights, sounds and smells. Could even of bought Millie a scarf but decided she would probably just eat it anyway lol! We had sme fine noodles which were very tasty, but won't stand too close to anyone tomorrow as they were coated very heavily in garlic!! I bought a ourse and resisted the urge to buy a handbag and a pair of shoes! :) Think I did quite well considering. We are now back in the hotel but not for long as we leave for Taipei in the morning at 9.20 (2.20am for all you back in England) where we will check into a new hotel for 2 nights which I'm sure will have internet so will speak to you all again tomorrow!
P.S thank you for all your nice comments, have made this trip a lot easier when missing home. I hadn't realised so many people were reading but can't work out how to comment back! lol.

Day 6: All the Education

Again, apologies for this being late. This morning started with a quiet drive to meet the others as the family I’m staying with can’t really speak English! Here, we attended part of a bible group that was happening in the church where they spoke of the traditions about temples and clothing from Exodus. We weren’t able to stay for all of this because we had to drive to the Christian University where we were meeting the principle. He gave us a brief introduction to the ~University and its history before giving us a tour of the uni (starting to sound familiar?). After this we went for lunch, today I was given a special meat dish (yay!) whilst everyone else continued to eat crab, shark fin soup and full fish. The dinner was with the principle and deputy principle and an English teacher from the Christian High School we would be visiting after dinner. When we arrived we soon realised how large it was when they told us they had 5000 students there. Again we had a short introduction/history before being given a tour. Included in the tour was a tour of their museums that they have at the school – Presbytery Church & School, Taiwanese things, Fossils, Shells and butterflies. Amongst this tours we stopped off for the toilet where everyone forgot about me and so I ended up lost in the middle of the school(!). Luckily enough, I only had to wait 5/10 minutes before someone found me and took me back to the group. After the visit of the school we got back on the bus and returned to the church we started off at and were picked up by our host families. I was taken to a restaurant where I was promised no seafood however when I arrived only 1 dish did not contain seafood but it was nice so I ate the 1 dish. When we were at the restaurant, one of their friends was principle at an English school so he translated any questions that I needed answering and vice versa. This was really good getting to know their friends and family. Part way through the meal I was told that I would be attending a worship at their house where 20/30 people were waiting to meet me so I was quite nervous. When I arrived, all 25 people clapped as I entered the room :S. I later found out that this was a type of prayer group which travels round the homes of those involved giving a family blessing depending on who’s house they are at. I thought this was a really nice idea and maybe something that could be used in our churches. The pastor gave a short talk and then it was my turn, I was asked to talk about myself, family and my church before being asked questions- i felt like i was on a tv show! Everyone seemed to appreciate and enjoy what I said so it must of been the right thing. I’m currently in bed, quite cold as the air con is blaring out(!) but tired so am going to go to sleep.
One last thing; I had a conversation with Marion on the bus today which seemed to really speak to me. There have been times during my trip where I have questioned why I am here as I am really homesick but its made me think that maybe I’m here for a reason. Even if that is just to pass on the Taiwanese dream of becoming an independent country or purely just to build my own self esteem and confidence – i don’t know but surely I wouldn’t be put through this if there wasn’t a reason why. Anyway I guess I’ll find out eventually, miss everyone terribly! Home soon though :) x

Day 5: A trip to Tainan

Well, firstly I must apologise for the lack of blogging due to having no internet at the house where I have been staying for the past 2 nights so this is a catch up one! We started Monday with firstly driving down to Tainan where we firstly visited a theological college. Here we met the president of the college and she gave a talk about the history of the school and an introduction to what they do. We then went into the chapel where we heard the organ being played by one of the students studying a degree in Christian Music. This gave us time to reflect on our journey so far and I began to think more deeply about the disasters etc and what I could do about it when I get back to England. After this, we took a walk around there grounds before going next door to the Christian Newspaper offices. They also explained briefly the history of the newspaper and how they liked to involve evangelism within their publications. We were shown samples of the newspaper before being taken to their bookshop where we could purchase various gifts etc. Next was dinner time! We picked up an elder from the local church and went to the oldest street in Tainan where we ate (apparently) traditional Taiwanese food. I avoided all fish this time as every time I’ve eaten it, I have been ill! We all sat around on little chairs very close to the floor and I felt like I’d gone back to primary school! After dinner, the elder from the church took us on a history tour of Tainan as it is the oldest city in Taiwan still to be in good condition. It is where the country began. This was very interesting but also very hot as it reached around 32⁰c. We later went for iced coffee as we needed a chance to cool down. The next stop was at something known as “the old tree house”, this was a winding tree which forced itself around the house to make it look like a tree house(pictures on facebook are probably better to explain this!). It had been transformed so you could walk up into the trees and also across the pond, which was fascinating. Also with the tree house, was an exhibition on how Taiwan began with the trade and immigrants etc. We were soon rushed off to meet the president of the local Christian hospital and also some surgeons etc. When we arrived, again we were treated very fondly and we were given our own honory member seat badge. We heard the history of the hospital before being given a tour of the medical museum. Next, we were taken out to dinner by these medical experts in a very posh Japanese restaurant where we were in a private room being waited on by staff. Felt very humble to be there and wondered if they had the wrong person! Finally, we left the restaurant and went to a church where I was picked up by my host family. They are very friendly but don’t speak a lot of English which is interesting. Bed is very uncomfy so looking forward to going back to the hotel on Wednesday!!

Day 4: Treated like a queen.

Well, today started with church! We were greeted very warmly by everyone. Everyone wanted to practise their English and talk to us on our way in, we felt like we were famous! The service was lovely, it started with a praise bit done by the youth group with lots of action songs and then the service began. Although it was all in Taiwanese we were given an English bible and the words of the songs in English characters so we could try and vaguely follow. It was the junior churches anniversary today so the children sang a song during the service and a speech was given by the head of the junior church also. Angela did a speech about the North West Synod on behalf of me and her because I was too shy to do it but I was called up to the front anyway to be presented a gift of a few different things. After church, everyone wanted their photo taken with us and then we went back to the hotel to get changed. We were then picked up at 12.30 and taken to a coffee shop which was very European where I had an iced latte and half a toasted sandwich. This was quite nice, very relaxed and chilled out. After this we went to a railway which had a small steam engine that used to run up to the mountains but because of the typhoon damage it can only travel about 10 minutes so we took the short ride for the experience which was very pleasant. The couple that were looking after us, their father owned the company that had the railway, he was also in the property buisness. After the train ride we took a short drive around the town to look for a new camera for Angela and then headed to the couple's home. They told us it was their family home and in the suburbs but when we arrived we soon realised as we were driving up the private road to their home it was nothing like we were used to. When we arrived we parked up and got out. The house was beautiful! It had been designed by Mr Chen who owned the house and was made out of wooden logs. We walked past the servants quaters (!!!!) and the pool to the floor where we would all have a meal. there were two separate tables, one of which all the elders and us sat feeling like royalty whilst they all drank whisky (lots of it - 4 bottles!!) and I had water! The other table sat the women and children which showed you the formation of the church! We then ate a banquet of eel, crab, coccles, shrimps, pork and tuna although I only ate a small amount of pork and tuna as have not been feeling too well. Food was incredible however. It was soon apparent that this man was a millionaire. We were treated like royalty all night, being waited on. We then came back to the hotel as we had to pack up because off to Tainan in the morning so not sure if I'm going to be able to get internet where I am! If not, I will post on Wednesday! I can only hope that when the Taiwanese visitors come to Manchester they feel as welcomed as I do here! Missing home lots though! Hopefully talk tomorrow xx

Day 3: A quiet one

Well firstly I remembered my camera this morning woo! and managed to get some pictures off someone elses camera of yesterday so your able to see them. Also fixed all the other photos I put up there! This morning I got a lie in but an even longer one than I expected! I was supposed to be meeting in the lobby at 9.40 but woke up at 9.35! so had to just throw some clothes on and run out. We went to the presbyterian church offices where we were presented with a perspex plaque to remember our visit which was lovely but not really seen it properly yet as we were told they'll give us them properly on wednesday before we leave as we were going straight out afterwards. After this we were given a short presentation on the office and how they function and then given lots of details about the typhoon and how the churches dealt with it. The basic line of it was that they responded very quickly and before the Government! As no vehicles could pass, it was up to volunteers to walk the 8 hour round trip throught the water and mess to deliver food parcels to the victims. Once this was done we were taken to the poshest hotel in Chaiyi apparently! where there was an all you can eat buffet but as I hadn't been well in the night, I only sampled a few items although one of these did include Ostrich!! Following this we went back to the hotel where I was able to actually get myself ready this time!! We were then picked up by the Rev En-Shang Pann (who is the vicar for the church we are going to in the morning) and taken out for the afternoon. We went to Chaiyi tower which I guess is the equivalent to Blackpool tower where you can get a good view, there was a roof terrace with bars but no glass so the breeze came through. On here was a small water feature with some lovely artwork around and some swinging chairs! Once we came down from there we were taken through a botanical garden which was lovely and then on for tea. This was a giant selection of food however after not feeling so great I just had a duck pancake and a bowl of soup because I was so full from dinner! The restaurant we went to was gorgeous, it was on top of a giant pond with fish all around where the gaps of the building were and when I talked about the fish they gave me fish food to feed them with. I threw some in the water and all of them swarmed to get at it pushing some fish out of the water!!! I think there was around 100 fish approx. We later dropped off friends before going shopping for a top for Angela, she bought 3 in the end! Was nice though! Been quite a chilled out day, not too much thinking involoved!! Miss everyone lots though!! xx

Day 2: Lots to think about

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of pictures from today. This is becuase I left my memory card in the laptop after uploading them yesterday and so could not take any pictures. I will have some when I get back off someone elses camera but can't get them yet, will try though. Well today was very different. We started the morning with a long drive down to the areas where the typhoon have hit and destroyed. On the way I thought about what I may see when I got there, I mentally prepared myself for things around me being half up, rubble everywhere etc and as we approached it that is what I found. Some of the roads we drove down were half torn up, concrete had cracks in it and bridges were now missing and temporary ones in there place. It made you realise quite how cut in half the island must of been. As it is in the mountains of the island, there were lots of quite spectacular views, so occassionally we would stop so that there was an opportunity for us to take some photographs. Then we stopped an picked up a local pastor and continued on our journey. We stopped again for what I thought was a photo stop however when I climbed out of the car was very confused to just see a big empty space of rocks and rubble and then in amoungst the trees was a picture of a village with a river running past. It was only then that I realised that this rubble we were looking at was the village in the picture before the typhoon, I was gobsmacked and felt very embarassed almost to be there too late. There were lots of families who had lost their loved ones in the typhoon wearing orange (their mourning colour as ours is black) sitting on the rocks and looking around. It was very hard to believe that there was once what looked a very beautiful little village there and now there was nothing. We were told of how these families spent a month after the disaster lifting these rocks to try and find their loved ones. All of this was quite devostating to see and touched us all, we said a small prayer and then travelled back down the mountain. Part way down the mountain, the pastor we picked up took us to another place of devostation, his home and the retreat he had made for churches to visit. It was a centre that could hold between 60-70 people and was surrounded by orchards. It now consisted of water damage, mess and rubbish. He told the story of how he stood on the outdoor communal area seating and clinged to the pole as he prayed that God would help someone rescue his family. It was incridible to see how strong he was but he also saddened us with the news that he doesn't think he will be able to rebuild this community. After this we continued to drive, dropping the pastor back off and as we drove, I fell asleep. I awoke to find us outside our chosen destination for lunch, somewhere with loads of Taiwnese culture, Mc Donalds!!! After lunch, we went to the museum of Hakka culture which was good, looking at the tribes etc was nice things being written in English also! We then started to travel back where we stopped at a small village and went for some ice cream, I had a banana split which was gorgeous! :) That was about it really for today, I'm currently back at the hotel relaxing and possibly might go for a walk later down the street.
I guess today gave me a lot to think about from the pastor's positive outlook in life to how thankful we must be about everything! Speak tomorrow! x

Day 1 in Taiwan!

Well, had an early start this morning but managed, am still jetlagged however! We went down to breakfast at about 8am which was strange in itslef as for breakfast there was the option of chicken and noodles? :S but i chose for the scrambled egg concoxion and some peperoni looking stuff! was yummy though! Next we went round and met some people from the local church who would be travelling with us for the day. They were all very friendly and caring. From here we went to one of the local churches who spoke to us about their congregation etc and provided us with a book that they had printed for their 100th anniversary. They also provided us with a packet of sweets each aswell as fresh fruit whilst we were there. We then went onto another church which which similarly did the same thing. giving us presents of pens, tea and biscuits to take home with us. They then came with us for some lunch at a seafood restaurant which had all the live fish on display and therefore you could pick your fish and then eat it! Not my cup of tea! Food was quite yummy though, even tried sushi but didn't like it! Then for pudding we had a custard ball equivalent :D. We later went to a church by the sea and near all the fish farms. They did again a similar thing and presented us with a book each for their 50th anniversary. After this we were tol that we were going to go back to the hotel for a rest which we were all relieved at but actually we ended up at a fish market which was truly odd! I thought some of the fish in Tesco's were big!! We never ended up returning to the hotel to our disappointment, instead we went to the Moderator's church where we got a chance to properley speak to people and have our questions answered! We then went to yet another restaurant with a 13 course meal! Didnt eat very much though because I was so full from lunch and also didnt fancy eel or sushi!
Overall, it has been a lovely day! The people we spent the day with have been fantastic and its left me with a lot to think about! I found some of the things they said quite controversial such as there are more women in the church than men as is the same in England however all the decision making bodies are all male. Ben said that this is because they are very old fashioned but it is improving so i suppose that is the good thing. One of the main things that I have noticed within taiwan and the church is the amount of community outreach programmes that they run with societies is amazing! I have been left wondering what we could do more like that however i have decided it shouldn't be the couple fellowship (that only married coules can go to!) or the Psychological treatement for dropouts (which one of its main aims is to help high risk drop outs from single parent families and low income families!!!!). One way that they do these outreach programmes is by using other mestivals that they dont necessarily beleive and worship in such as the moon festival and use them as a way to reach out to society and get them involved.
Finally, I'm gonnas leave you with the main point that I feel I've been left with and that is that the people of Taiwan are very proud of their churches because of the minority of people (4%) bwing Christian yet use this as a good thing and embrace it and don't focus on numbers, this is where I think England differs as we constantly talk about the decline in numbers yet I don't think we ever really have a proper think about, ok well how can we improve this? Just a thought to ponder on...
And on that point I shall say good night! xx

Blonde in the East!

Well I'm here safely! I met Melanie, Angela and Marion at 11.30am at Manchester airport and we successfully checked in! We had a flight from manchester to London Heathrow where I fell in love with a Calvin Klein handbag in Harrods but as I couldn't afford the sale price of £175 I left it where it was! Then we flew from London to Hong Kong which was a bit of a hurendous journey as couldn't get to sleep or get comfy. Slept for about an hour in total which is why I'm sooo tired now! However, the three movies I watched on the flight helped me through my time on the plane. Watched the proposal, ghosts of girlfriends pasts and ice age: return of the dinosaurs! :D We also ate tea and breakfast on the plane, and as I was wandering around the plane not being able to sleep I happened to look out of the window and saw the desert underneath me which I have to say was a pretty amazing sight! Once arriving at Hong Kong we had a very quick change onto a plane to Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) which was ok, not too much to see as it was mostly just cloud but had a nice chat with Marion all the same and a cup of apple juice. When we arrived in Taipei I was pretty excited as we were about to meet Ben and Stephen who will be our hosts for the week! They put us onto a shuttle bus down to the High Speed Rail train where we boarded the train down to Chiayi which is where we're up to now. We drove to the hotel which is absolutely stunning (pictures to follow but too tired now!) and quickly dropped our bags off before going out again for some tea. When arriving at the restaurant we were asked to pick a type of meat and me not being so brave yet went for chicken! the waitresses later returned with firstly a bowl of salad, and then a tray with a burner with chicken in abowl on top and everything else you could possibly imagine, ranging from clams to unusual vegetables! Next to this was some rice, chives with chicken and egg, chinese leaf with spring onions and another dish which I can't describe! I was so full so was relieved to see just a small pot of tea brought out but then another glass of cold tea this time, rose flavoured. then to my disbelief they followed it with a COFFEE JELLY and fruit!!!! I was so stuffed by the time I left the restaurant, all I want to do is go to sleep! Also, whilst on the HSR we had a bruilliant conversation with Ben about him escaping from Taiwan as an adolescent after running away from the Government who were after him for having stuck up and published an article about the way they were treating the samll tribes! We also discussed about the typhoons and disaster areas in Taiwan that we will be visiting later this week but will explain about that latwer this week! So, so far so good, absolutly loving it, everything is very bizarre though, timers on the traffic lights, moped only lanes, driving on the right hand side but is still brill! Am very tired now, been up for 35 hours with only 1 broken hours sleep and its 10.30pm here so good night everyone! Speak tomorrow! x

The day before!

Well, I'm off tomorrow morning and am very excited! Got a long journey though and so will be shattered by the time I get there! Hope you all enjoy reading my blog and I will try and blog everyday! :)