Today four of us took an hour long train northeast to Keelung (pronounced JEE-lung), and then a quick bus to a nearby fishing village that Kojo was considering for a future field study location. I think the Zhengbin port must be known for its colorful storefronts because the shore was littered with instagram boyfriends dutifully…

All of the adults celebrated tonight, each in their own way. Some went out for drinks, some got massages (a woman stood on their back for an hour) and some simply slept! I ended up in a Cuban-themed cocktail bar, run by Japanese ex-pats. We had a ton of fun laughing with a really drunk…

As we prepared to leave JieShou school to head to the river run, the kids tried to burn off the nervousness by arm wrestling each other. Now off to the river. We weren’t prepared for the scale of this event. Hundreds of kids, a dozen police, large stage with concert speakers and dance videos playing….

Today was the day that the students visit JieShou Junior High and meet their homestay partners for the first time in person. The school generously sent a bus to pick us all up. They sang karaoke along the way. As we pulled up to the school a crowd waved signs greeting the students. The principal…

Today was our turn to visit Maokong gondola and tea plantations. After riding the subway to Maokong, we boarded a “crystal” gondola (glass floor) for a 4km ride up into the mountains. The ride was almost 30 minutes long. Morning clouds limited our view a bit but that would change once we were on the…