My Summer in Hualien

Beginning in 2016, I acted on an urge to learn Chinese. As a high school teacher I have break from June to August so my plan was to study Chinese each day for the 9 months of the school year and then I would test out my skills in the field. I had originally planned on living in mainland China for the Summer but because of the need for a Visa and some research online I was convinced to start with what one blogger called "China lite", the Mandarin-speaking Taiwan.

I have particularly enjoyed some of the less-urban areas when I've stayed a while in foreign countries, so I looked at a map and found a place relatively far from the capital and industrial regions of the country called "Hualien". I did some research and decided I would call Hualien my home for those few months.

That decision led me to have one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences of my life including meeting some of the most amazing people I've ever met and being able to call them friends.

The following images and captions are not in chronological order.

For the entire duration of my trip I stayed at a delightful bed and breakfast hosted by my good friend Sean Chen, pictured here with me when I tried dumplings for the first time.

I had never before met Sean, but I'd read about his hosting service online and he was highly recommended by everyone who knew him. I contacted him after I saw he had a piano in his house in one of the photos. He said I could play the piano whenever I wanted during my stay! I decided I'd stay at his place. ;)

Music turned out to be one of the ways through which I was able to really connect with Sean. I was surprised at his depth of knowledge and appreciation for music. We rocked out to classic greats like Hall and Oates more than a couple times in the car together.

I don't think I can adequately describe how excellent a host Sean turned out to be. He is very personable, relatable, and genuinely interested in just about everything. We often talked for hours. We played ping-pong together, we ate snails together (only because I wanted to try them), he took me to some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and so much more than I can share in a summary like this.

Here are Sean's three adorable girls. They spoke English quite well but were also very helpful to me whenever I wanted to practice Mandarin.

They accompanied us on some of our adventures and were very fun to talk to. One of my fun memories with them is doing some simple magic tricks on the long car ride back from Hehuanshan. I even taught them how to make a coin go directly through their hands ;)

Snails! I think I must have eaten about 50 of them. Not bad!

Goose blood cake! Also not bad

My favorite food in Taiwan might seem funny to some people but I can't deny how good this is! It's called Coffin Bread. It's a thick fried bread slice with a trap door cut out so it can be stuffed with various meats and vegetables. I could eat this every day. And while I was there I almost did ;)

A couple days at the majestic Hehuanshan. I got super sunburnt the first day so a kind friend of Sean's that worked at the retreat where we were staying gave me a long-sleeved shirt (he even let me keep it!). I also bought a hat at the gift shop to keep my face from getting more burnt.

Here are some of the enchanting views and landscapes Sean was able to show me:

There is a beautiful park on the seaside of Hualien. It includes a sand volleyball court, a skate park, and a wide open field where I played ultimate Frisbee with the local LDS missionaries as part of their daily morning exercise.

This is the most beautiful night market I've been to (I think it's called Dongdamen). It is incredibly clean and well put together. I tried so many different types of foods here that I don't even remember the names of, but they were excellent.

My favorite refreshment in the whole wide world is Passion fruit Bubble Tea with Aloe (it doesn't actually contain tea). Here I am sharing it with some friends. They came from America to teach English just before I left and I wanted to make sure they knew what amazing things Taiwan had to offer. (You may also notice the coffin bread in my hand).

I was able to meet several people around my age through the local LDS church group and we spent several fun evenings together. The two American women were in Hualien teaching English and happened to also be members of the LDS church.

Contact: Paul Soderquist paulsoderquist3@gmail.com

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