day 6

we woke up early and my aunt and uncle on my dad's side came to take us to Puli, four hours away from Banciao. i slept most of the time (on the way there).

We stopped at a monastary/temple on the way there that was really beautiful. The weather was great, sunny and warm, so we took off our jackets while we wandered around. The gardens there were amazing, with lots of miniature bonsai trees, and we also saw lots of statues including a huge golden "happy buddha." We wanted to take a picture of it, but there was a nun that stopped us. It's difficult to tell whether the people there are nuns or monks, because they all have shaved heads and wear the same black robes.

One nun showed us around a bit and was quite helpful as her English was fairly good. She guided us through a Buddhist prayer as well, where we each lit a candle and repeated words about helping all beings, and then we each were supposed to make a wish. Although I felt a bit like a fraud, it was still interesting.

after a bit of confusion, we went to the buddhist art exhibition where a german guy gave us an informational tour in english. when we saw him we were like "deutsch!" so he asked if he could talk in german. umm.. no. it was really interesting though. for example, the lions in chinese culture always look really weird b/c artists back then didn't know how lions look, so they borrowed from other animals like frogs or dogs.. hence their strange appearance. also, we learned different hand gestures such as "passing on the teaching" and "no fear." now, kari and i can greet you in buddhist gestures when we see you next. mine will be "no fear" because you won't recognize how fat i've become.

Then Steph's aunt and uncle took us to Sun Moon Lake at sunset. It's really famous in Taiwan, a very touristy spot because the water is bright turquoise. It's also surrounded by mountains, and was quite beautiful. We took a walk along the shore until it got dark and chilly, and then headed to the bed and breakfast in the mountains where we stayed the night.

It's the cutest place. Steph and I got our own room that has the most amazing view of the mountains and is decorated all in pink and white and that has a connecting bathroom. There was no tub for the shower, which threw me. At Steph's grandparents' apartment there's no curtain, and you're supposed to get water on the floor, but I've been really careful when showering there because it just feels wrong to get water on the floor. So not having anything at all at Puli was a bit strange.

We were supposed to drink tea with the owners of the bed and breakfast that night, but Steph fell asleep straight away. Oops. I took a shower, and didn't realize until later that since it was one of the first times I washed my hair since dying it, I got brown dye on my shirt. Yuck. But oh well.

Steph is MIA right now because she's talking to her cousins but she'll write more of the next posts.