Museum Day

Today I spent my day getting more cultured. I woke up and did my workout, showered, and then Amy picked me up at 9:30 am so that we could spend the morning together. The first place that we went to was the Stone Sculpture Museum. There was an exhibition on Rose Stone, which is a marble with pink tones in it that can only be found in Hualien. Most of the stones looked like they had been painted on, but none of them had, they had only been polished. It was pretty cool.

After we finished at the Rose Stone Exhibition Hall we went to another building at the Hualien County Culture Bureau to visit the art gallery. We met a nice couple there. The woman was really friendly and told us lots about a number of different art works. Problem was, she didn't speak English and Amy wasn't translating. So I did a lot of standing around while Amy learned a lot about several art works. The lady and her husband really were nice, and I don't regret meeting them, so don't think that I'm being negative. As we were walking around, there was an earthquake. I heard later that it was only was a magnitude of 1, but it felt stronger then that. We kept walking around and we felt 2 aftershocks while we were there. Downstairs there was traditional Chinese paintings done on silk, and calligraphy, and the rotating exhibit which was on shells this time. Upstairs there was African art because several years ago, there were ambassadors sent from Taiwan to Africa to help teach the Africans how to farm so that they could be more self sufficient. There were also some stone exhibits. We weren't able to go into the aboriginal art exhibit room because it was lunch time and they kicked us out. We hadn't even realized what time it was.

We left the museum and decided to go and get lunch. Lunch was a little on the pricey side. Amy and I both agreed that the food was okay, but that we'd had better. But the company was good, and that's like half of the meal :o) While eating, Amy decided that we should go check out an exhibit on Japanese Kimonos. I was game. We hopped on her scooter and drove. When we pulled up I told her that I knew the place we were at. She had taken me to the Japanese Hostel. The art that they display there changes constantly, so it's okay that it was my third visit there. The Kimonos were pretty, and I learned that there are two types of Japanese wrap dresses. The Kimono has several layers, then there is another one that is only a single layer and they wear it to certain festivals. If you are married, your sleeves are shorter, and if you are single, your sleeves are longer.

As we were leaving the Japanese Hostel, Amy asked if I wanted to go to the Japanese Temple. I told her that I was just there last Wednesday. She couldn't believe it. I told her that last time I went I was too scared to take pictures because I didn't know if it was appropriate, so I would love to go back and take some pictures. I was actually the one to get us there. Amy only knew that it was in Ji-An, I had to direct her where to go. I did get some pictures this time, and I know that it was okay, because there were lots of other people there this time, and they were all snapping pictures. Before walking into the actual temple area, I guess that you're supposed to wash your hands in a fountain at the front. June and I didn't do that last time, but Amy pointed it out to me today and so I washed my hands at the fountain.

After the Japanese Temple I decided that it was time for me to be back so that I could get things more organized for Hong Kong. I forgot to put my load of laundry in before going out with Amy, and even when I got back I forgot to put it in. And since we don't have a dryer, I haven't been able to finish packing. At the moment I've got two shirts and a towel hanging in front of two different fans. I hope they'll be dry soon so that I can put my pants up to dry in front of the fan. Those are the only things I have left to pack. Well, besides my tooth brush, contact solution, hair brush, and deodorant which will have to be packed in the morning. Looking at it all, I could fit it all into my backpack, but there are several reasons why I decided not to take it all in one bag. Reason one, my contact solution is not in a tiny bottle that is carry-on approved and so I would have to check my only bag, bad idea. Reason two, if I buy anything in Hong Kong, one bad would no longer suffice. Okay, maybe there aren't several reasons why I decided against taking one bag, there are just a couple reasons.

Alright, I'm going to go check my clothes. I will not be writing for 4 days. I'm sorry, but I hope to have some good stories when I get back to Hualien.