Mom's City Tour

So while I was in class today, spending the day getting to know my 12 students, Mom went on a tour of Taipei. The tour guide came by to pick her up at about 8:10am, and from there they went to a Buddhist temple that is housed in what used to be the Taipei City Hall. It's a very different place from the much older Longshan Tempe we went to yesterday. From there, it was off to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, where she was able to see the last part of the changing of the guard ceremony. She also said that the tour guide helpfully clarified that, while in mainland China you might hear that Chiang was a thief of imperial treasures, in fact he was a protector of them, not a thief. Next on the tour was the Martyrs' Shrine, where the dead from wars involving the Republic of China (ROC) are memorialized. A stop at a crafts center (with some high pressure sales folks), and then a brief visit to the National Palace Museum wrapped up the tour.
My class went well, and seems to be a good group of students. I am looking forward to working with them while I am here.
For dinner this evening, we thought we might look for something a little more Western -- we both had weird dreams last night after our local meal!  So we asked at the front desk for suggestions, and were told that there is a Subway, a McDonalds, a Hooters, and a TGI Friday's close by. We went for the last one, and had a nice meal that was pretty much like what we'd get at home.

Mom's deciding now what she'll do tomorrow, and we'll let everyone know what happens. We're having a great time, and continue to enjoy the time together, as much as we miss everyone. We can't wait to hear how Michael's Choir Camp concert today went!