Some people enjoyed my first posting of pictures from my trip to Lan Yu (Orchid Island) in 2008, so here are some more. I didn't want to put lots of pictures of my friends and fellow camp volunteers who I went there with without their permission (Several were girls and we were all pretty 'campy' by this point; I don't want to get killed when I go back to Taiwan...), but there are some of the camp kids and even a couple of skinny me from being in Taiwan 9 months already. (One side benefit of working in Taiwan.. I lose weight without trying. Living in 90% humidity has benefits...)
I think I'll try to do at least one pic post a month from now on. Since pictures can communicate more than words, it's another way to help you all experience a taste of Taiwan. (Speaking of which.. maybe the next picture post will be about food!) Enjoy~
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| This formation is called Two Lions, if I remember correctly. See why? |
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They could call this Goat Island too..
Not as pretty sounding as Orchid Island, but I saw no orchids and hundreds of goats... |
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| Looking East toward "The West"... it's all Pacific until Hawaii |
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This could have spiritual significance but to me it looked like
someone left behind their fly-fishing pole |
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| There are a lot of churches on Orchid Island,though most of them are not what you'd call evangelical... |
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| Some areas are getting more touristy... |
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| Island kids, who came to our one-day VBS event with songs and games. |
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| Some ring tossing... |
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I was a hit with the local kids, who had probably occasionally seen
but never gotten to interact with a foreigner before. |
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The kids were fascinated by my nose (it's pointy!) and stubble,
both of which are seemingly in short supply on Orchid Island.
Two of the kids, a brother and sister, especially befriended me.
There was a moving event as our team was leaving, when the little girl asked
tearfully in Mandarin if I was ever coming back to visit them again.
They're teenagers by now, I wonder if they remember our visit?
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Cute and friendly pot-bellied pig who loved attention
as much as any dog I've met |
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| Good times... |
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ReplyDeleteNot sure why ^that guy deleted his comment, but it was about the sad fact that the native people on Orchid Island are largely dependent on government subsidies. While there, I was told these subsidies stop if they begin to earn an income, which discourages people from working or being prosperous. This has a very negative effect on the culture there as a whole.
ReplyDeleteSweet pictures. It's always fun to see how children react to foreigners.
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