Out the door at 7:30am this morning, we piled on a crowded bus for a 45 minute ride to National Chengchi University, a public research university here in Taipei (enrollment 16k). They are currently building a subway stop there, but for now it’s bus-only. While on the bus I met a young woman from George…

Convenience stores, supermarkets, and roadside carts surround us at every turn with every possible kind of snack food. I could spend all day trying to decode what each of these flavors are. If you order beer at a restaurant you always get the same “Taiwan Beer” brand. It’s always served with really tiny cups (2oz?)….

After resting up, almost all of us took the subway over to Shilin Night Market. It’s one of the largest markets in Taipei. Shilin has multiple blocks of food vendors, in addition to clothings, toys, carnival games, and more. So many different choices. I had king crab with honey mustard, sausage, fried milk, and a…

It’s supposed to be a sunny 84° today, and we’re headed out early to Jiufen Old Street. It used to be a gold mining town and is now a winding street of restaurants and tourist shops. The hour-long ride to Jiufen was comfortable. They only allow as many passengers as seats on the bus. Stairs…

The kids have been sending me funny signs they have encountered around Taipei. Here are some of the best ones we’ve collected so far: During homestays a few groups went to a petting zoo. This looks normal: Oh wait, let’s zoom in on that building! What are they doing to the animals? Seen on the…

What a day! A little chaotic, fun, and exhausting 🙂 We all started out for the train station in the morning in one large group, but we were down a few chaperones, and tickets for the train were purchased for two different departure times. I had 8 kids in our train car, headed to Ruifang….