Farming in Taiwan - week 3

After some time working on the farm, we finally held the first of the four camps we're supposed to run for local children about organic farming. Fourteen kids showed up, and it was funny to hear why they came: almost every one of them told us that their parents made them come to the camp because they were spending too much time on the phones and computers, and they needed to get outside and appreciate nature more... something rather reminiscent of what parents like to say about kids in the US.  The camp was, well, interesting - which is to say that it was pretty disorganized.  All of the EPs at the farm had some miscommunication issues with the local LC, either during the course of applying for or preparing for this project, and these continued into the camp and made for some tense moments.  It was a little frustrating at first, but working with the kids themselves turned out to be fun, and we learned how to run the camp more effectively for the future dates.

After the camp ended, the farmer gave us all four days of free time before start work again, so we have been traveling around Taiwan.  First we went to Taichung.  Having been there before, I actually remembered how to get around and where to go to get food, and most importantly the way around the huge Fengjia night market.  It was fun to be there again with new people and to recognize the places and bus routes - I realized that I could actually feel comfortable in a place that used to be completely foreign to me, even somewhere where I didn't speak the language.

After Taichung, we went up to Taipei and started traveling down the east coast of Taiwan.  In Jiaoxi we stopped at a natural hot spring, before going down to Luodong and spending the night in a hostel there (and of course visiting the nearby night market).  The next day we travelled to Hualien, where we are currently staying, and as always went to the night market. I wish we had the equivalent of a night market in the US - I'm going to miss them a lot when I return home.  They're immensely fun, and I even get a chance to practice my terrible Chinese when I order food.

Today was our last full day before we have to return to the farm, so two other EPs and I went to Taroko National Park, a beautiful expanse of mountains, gorges, and forest that is only an hour bus ride from Hualien.  We hiked up a couple of trails and found some incredible views.  I'm going to miss this traveling when we all return to the farm.  The farming is fine, but traveling and seeing so many new places is really what I find exciting.  I'm hoping we'll get the opportunity to travel more, and that the future camps will be even better.