April 19, 2015

Taiwan Memories

As a Rotarian and the 2015 Team Leader, I (Barry) would like to offer my perspective on our incredible GSE Trip in Taiwan.

First and foremost, I expected to be treated well by fellow Rotarians, because that has always been my experience wherever I have travelled and met fellow Rotarians. However, the Rotarians in Taiwan treated every one of us in the most gracious and respectful manner, as well as in a lavish lifestyle. The food was outstanding and more than plentiful, and our host families provided us with wonderful accommodations as well as warm and lasting friendships. We found the Rotarians’ treatment a reflection of the warmth and welcoming nature of the Taiwanese people. I frequently said that we have been treated like royalty but, more importantly, welcomed like family.


As a Rotarian, I was impressed by so many examples of Rotarians going over and above any reasonable expectation. One such example was the Tzsheng Ren-Ai Center in Changhua, an orphanage that started in 1948 by a family who already had ten children of their own but who realized the need to help the children of families whose fathers had been “drafted” by the Japanese during their rule of Taiwan. One by one, these children were brought into their home until the family was able to obtain a separate home for these orphans. Ultimately, they expanded their services to include people with many different disabilities to provide a home as well as necessary services and rehabilitation therapy. The eldest son of this family, Martin Yen, a CPA, was one of our leaders for the day and a Rotarian who continues to support this home.

Another example was one of our hosts, Propeller, who owned a resort in the mountains where we stayed for two days. Propeller was born into a poor family but aspired to achieve a college education which was beyond the reach of his family’s finances. He was able to obtain both a Rotary scholarship as well as one from a university in Japan to study naval hull design. After working for others for several years, Propeller started an outboard motor propeller manufacturing business, now one of the premier manufacturers of propellers - worldwide. Propeller remembered his humble beginnings and those who helped him achieve his education and subsequent financial success. This year, he became an Arch Klumph Society member for donating $250,000 to the Rotary Foundation.  He has also donated more than $2 million to his Japanese alma mater, which named one of their buildings in his honor.


D3640 GSE Team Leader Jim, Barry, and Propeller in front of the Happy Buddha in Puli

We also met a man named Chocolate, who owns Feeling 18, a chocolate manufacturer in Puli. After sampling some of his chocolates, we took a tour of the factory, which is kept at a constant 18 degrees Celsius - the ideal temperature for chocolate. I noticed a sign over an office which read, “Feeling 18 Foundation”.  I asked what the nature of the Foundation was and learned that, historically, the children of Puli had a rather low ranking in their ability to read.  Chocolate decided to provide some incentive for them by rewarding  them with one of his outstanding chocolates for each book they read and turned in a book report resulting in Puli’s students now ranking #2 in all of Taiwan in their reading abilities. How fabulous!

I expected to return and remember many of the beautiful museum and business tours and the gorgeous natural beauty of the island, all of which I will.  However, my overriding memory will be the warmth and grace of the Taiwanese people and culture.  In all my life, I’ve never been more honored to be a member of this international brotherhood of service we call Rotary.

With deep gratitude,
Barry Gainer
District 6980 GSE Team Leader

April 11, 2015

The Final Countdown

Here we are at the final countdown of our last days in Taiwan, and once again, I (Hailey) am offering only a glimpse into our GSE experience. In the coming months, each one of us will present our thoughts and reflections on Taiwan, Rotary, GSE, etc. But before we do that, let's enjoy the highlights of our final week in Taiwan!


DAY 21 - TUESDAY, APRIL 7
We walked along the Shihgang Dam and witnessed the destruction caused by the 9.21 Earthquake to a former section of the superstructure. Again, we found ourselves standing in front of another example of how that natural event crippled much of the country.


The physical landscape of Taiwan is often shaped by earthquakes, but now the land is parched and suffering from the worst drought in over 70 years. The riverbeds are dry and the reservoirs are low. Taiwan and its people are almost in a water crisis. Let us hope that merciful rains fall across this country soon.

DAY 22 - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
After a delightful tour around the Taichung City Seaport Art Center, we left a green footprint in Taiwan - like all good Rotarian and American ambassadors should do! At the Taichung Metropolitan Park, we each planted our own cherry tree! What a great way to commemorate our time in Taiwan :)


DAY 23 - THURSDAY, APRIL 9
Part of this relaxing day was spent visiting Tung's Taichung Metro Harbor Hospital and dining at their rotating cafe on the 25th floor. In the afternoon, we were blown away by the Gaomei Wetlands and the awesome wind turbines - literally!


While we have absolutely loved our many host families over the past month, we were given a sweet gift for our last nights in the Taichung District: a three night stay in the "Yung Shin Resort." Although the "resort" is really a training center for the Yung Shin Pharmaceutical Corporation and has only a handful of rooms, we loved having this beautiful building - which sits atop a hill overlooking the coastal city of Dajia - all to ourselves. For the first time in a month, Barry, Fabio, Kyle, Natalie and I were able to hang out together after early dinners. In our little "resort," we had time to enjoy the view, partake in some refreshments, share great conversations and reflections, listen to music and even dance a little! Thanks to Medichem, Paper, and Tony, who gave and organized such a great gift, this enchanting place of rest and refuge!

DAY 24 - FRIDAY, APRIL 10
Our final night in the Taichung District ended with a visit to Flying Cow Ranch where we attended our last Rotary meeting - with 17 different clubs!


It was a farewell party to remember for many reasons. I mean, who doesn't want to feed goats while dressed in your finest? Give one final presentation? Or sing karaoke between bites?



DAY 25 - SATURDAY, APRIL 11
We packed all our gifts and personal belongings in more suitcases than we came to Taiwan with, and we departed for an afternoon visit to Taipei. We toured the famous and crowded National Palace Museum, home to the largest collection of Chinese art in the entire world.


Our very last tour of our trip was an excursion to the top of Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world and now ranked 4th. Unfortunately, Taiwan was getting some of that much needed rain on this day, and we were denied clear views of the tower and the city. It is just one more reason to draw us back to this country in the near future!


DAY 26 - SUNDAY, APRIL 12
Today is the day we said "zài jiàn" (goodbye), and it came swiftly and suddenly. Barry, Kyle, and Natalie begin their return to the USA today.  The GSE Team from Taiwan is traveling with them, as they embark on their own GSE journey to Central Florida.  You can follow their experience on their Facebook page.


Fabio and I have two more weeks in Asia, having extended our stays to enjoy some time with our significants others on this continent. I will be sharing many more stories of my time in Taiwan, Thailand, and Cambodia on my own website, Global Heartbeat. Our team will continue to share our reflections on Reporting for Rotary in the coming months. Thanks for joining us on this incredible experience!

再见

April 9, 2015

Springing into April

This first week of April has sprung us into the final stages of our GSE experience. As you can expect, it has been full of new experiences and great people. Here’s a recap!

DAY 15 - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
The first day of the month really set the tone for this leg of our journey: it was restful and fun! While Barry, Kyle, and Fabio were on a real estate tour, Nat and I were treated by an adorable Rotarian couple to a “top secret” excursion - a quick ride on the state-of-the-art High Speed Rail to Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan!



DAY 16 - THURSDAY, APRIL 2
We visited our second Taiwanese university, Providence University, which was founded by American nuns at the beginning of the 20th century to educate women and raise their social status. It has been a co-ed institution for less than 20 years.



After lunch at none other than TGI Fridays, the afternoon highlight was a visit to Novatec Wheels US, a company that produces and assembles bicycle parts. We even got to test a few of the electric bikes out, where Fabio was literally wheeling and dealing...




DAY 17 - FRIDAY, APRIL 3
We were all touched by our visit to the Changhua Tz-sh Children's Home, a home for people with special needs and orphans. We met some of the residents and played games with them!



DAY 18 - SATURDAY, APRIL 4
The weekend marked our first experience of “free time” since we arrived on this Asian island. We spent the morning and the early afternoon in the home of a Rotarian before transferring to a hotel in the Fengyuan District. That night was the first night we were truly on our own, and to us, it was a true gift. Natalie, Fabio, Kyle and I went out to central Taichung City and devoured our delicious Italian meal. (We've had a lot of great Chinese food, but by this point in time, we were in serious need of victuals from some other country, because... well, you know, we're Americans.)



DAY 19 - SUNDAY, APRIL 5
We celebrated Easter by enjoying a day to ourselves in the big city of Taichung - after sleeping in for the first time in weeks! Our team went out to lunch and enjoyed some delicious hamburgers, fries and Cokes, because... we're still Americans. Barry, Kyle, Natalie and I attended an Easter service at a small international church - Grace Church - in the afternoon.



DAY 20 - MONDAY, APRIL 6
Our last week in Taiwan began with an exciting adventure - biking along the Dongfeng Bikeway! We were all delighted to get out and enjoy the scenery of the Taiwan countryside, and we had a great time with a fun bunch of Rotarians from Fengyuan!



In the evening, we participated in the most eventful Rotary meeting to date, which ended with an hour of karaoke. While Barry does have the best singing voice of the group, Natalie and I may have stolen the show with our performance of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space. Just sayin’...

Our story isn't over, but we have only a little time left in Taiwan. Stay tuned to learn about the final days of our GSE experience visiting District 3460.

April 3, 2015

The Highlight Reel


As Natalie hinted at in our last team post, our GSE itinerary has kept us quite busy, making it difficult to find time to write a little bit about our experiences in Taiwan. I (Hailey) have a bit of free time and want to offer to our readers "The Highlight Reel" of the past two weeks - leaving space for more commentary later!

Ready? Here we go!

DAY 7 - TUESDAY, MARCH 24
The highlight of another day in Nantou County had to had to be our afternoon in Xitou Forest.


Xitou Nature Education Area, also known as Xitou Forest Recreation Area, is one of Taiwan’s most noted attractions in Nantou County along with Sun Moon Lake and Cingjing Farm. Located in Nantou Lugu Town, Xitou Nature Education Area (Xitou Forest Recreation Area) has an altitude of 1,150 meters with an area of 2,500 hectares, comprised of an experimental forest of the National Taiwan University (NTU), and diverse varieties of plants include red Chinese cypresses, ginkgo trees and cypress. It is also an excellent place for bird-watching as more than 7,000 bird species have been spotted in the area. With the average temperature about 16.6 degrees Celsius, it is a popular summer resort in Taiwan. 
 Source. 

The day ended with a formal Rotary meeting with the RC of Nan Kang, where we gave our presentation and exchanged banners.


DAY 8 - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25
At the Taiwan Historical Cultural Museum, we learned more about the folk history of Taiwan and observed every day artifacts from the last 300 years of Taiwan’s history.


Later that afternoon, Barry and Kyle picked up some custom-designed kicks from Dr. Air himself, the man behind the air cushions in your Nikes.

DAY 9 - THURSDAY, MARCH 26
At 1:47am on September 21, 1999, a massive earthquake struck the central region of Taiwan. More than two thousand people lost their lives that night, as many buildings collapsed completely. The following aftershocks continued to ripple through the country for days following the initial blow. It was a horrific disaster that affected much of the country, and especially Nantou County and Taichung County.


We were given a tour of the 9.21 Earthquake Memorial Museum, which was a former high school that the government persevered in its ruined state to showcase the awful damage and to use as an educational center. At one point during our visit, we sat in a mock classroom while a simulator rocked the room so we could feel what it would have been like to experience this catastrophic geological event.



In addition to that memorable tour, our lunch hour was special because we attended our first lunch Rotary meeting since arriving in Taiwan. Also, the Club meets in English, so we could understand all of the meeting! This began the start of our time in different sectors of the enormous and diverse Taichung City.


DAY 10 - FRIDAY, MARCH 27
Unfortunately, due to rain in the forecast, our plans to go hiking in the mountains were canceled. Instead, we visited the family factories of a couple of Rotarians, and we learned a little bit about their businesses.



That evening was the kick off to the District Conference, and we attended a formal banquet honoring the RI Representative Gregg E. Podd and his wife Pam, who were visiting from the USA.


DAY 11 - SATURDAY, MARCH 28
The 37th Annual Conference of Rotary International District 3460 may be the most elaborate and entertaining District Conference on the entire planet! More than 4,000 Rotarians attended the conference and scores of artists and guests performed between ceremonies. Barry is going to share more about the experience in a post-to-come. However, I will go ahead and share with you that we ended up on stage - and on the local news!


DAY 12 - SUNDAY, MARCH 29
Team Leader Barry got up on the big stage to give a presentation on District 6980. He did a great job representing the Rotary Clubs of Central Florida!


After spending over 9 hours in the conference on Saturday, we were grateful to be excused from the auditorium shortly after Barry presented. We then spent the rest of the day with several members of the Taiwan GSE Team - touring local markets of Taichung, eating street food, and even doing some shopping! They are a great bunch, and we can't wait to show them Central Florida!


Barry, Fabio, and Magic
Sharon, Yvonne, Hailey and Natalie


DAY 13 - MONDAY, MARCH 30
One cool thing we did on Monday was visit Easen Hardware Corporation. You can read more about their business on their website.



Another very special part of this day was spent in the home of Lee Ku-Mo, a famous Taiwanese calligraphy and artist. He welcomed our party with Chinese tea and hand-signed books of his artwork.

Finally, I got pretty excited to eat shark fin soup at dinner that night. Would you give it a try?



DAY 14 - TUESDAY, MARCH 31
We enjoyed the day with a club full of Rotarians all in their 30s and visiting some of famous landmarks of "New Taichung City" - like the City Government Building and the National Opera House.



And that's a wrap for March! Stayed tuned for more insights and updates.