Well good day to you!

So today is Thursday, already so close to the weekend and already so many plans!!
It feels as though I just got back from trippin' around central Taiwan and off I go again! Tomorrow I leave for southern Taiwan with some friends and I think I get to go diving which I am totally stoked on! However there is a psychontic typhoon who is not taking it's appropriate med's just off the coast, and no one seems to really know where this thing is going. All I know Is I hope that it does not come my way, it would highly inconvenient my plans and this does not please me! I will tell you all about the trip Monday tho so for now grab a cup of tea, have a seat, and lets talk briefly about my last few days shall we?

So Wednesday I had planed to go to the zoo, it is something I have been trying to do for awhile now but keep ending up with other plans. Just before I was about to leave my friend recommended I go to Yang ming national park instead. Being that it is a beautiful day, and with the potential of days of rain courtesy of the typhoon, I feel this is probably the best plan. I looked up my route, grabbed my camera, and off I went. Wow what a journey I didn't think I was ever going to get there but eventually the bus was headed up a mountain and I figured I must be in the right direction!

I arrived! I get off the bus and realize I should have brought a jacket as it seemed a little chilly and for the sake of our friendship I will not try to guesstimate the temperature. I have of course, horrible yet expensive food, grab myself a bottle of water and hit the path. All is going well its a nice hike there are amazing butterflies everywhere, and I am talking those huge ones that look like they have 4 wings and big tails ya you know the type! The view was unbelievable as I stood high above Taipei, and plants and tree's were so green! I must interrupt here briefly and explain quickly that I have also decided the next country I visit will be FLAT!! All is going well I come across some bubbling brooks and trickling water falls and I am in total awe, so of course when i see the sign telling me about the large waterfalls I have to go...RIGHT?!?

After a short hike and a few paths later I come to the falls and wow, check the pictures! Now of course I see a path of uneven, un-level, mossy stairs to the left and I am not sure why but I always feel the hardest path is often the most rewarding. I look at the easy path with the sun and concrete, than the shadowed path with the overgrown tree's and moss, than the easy path, than the stairs. Next thing I know I am looking down at the easy path from way above thinking 'damn it next time I go easy'. I climb and climb and there not normal stairs, some are skinny, some are like 1 foot and a half high, and some are 6 inches so its constantly different with each breathless step. Finally arrive at a bridge with seats looking directly at the falls and it was totally worth it! I must laugh too cus on the other side of the bridge is what appears to be an 'easy path' but whatev I like a challenge.

Now I sit here for awhile just watching and listening to the power of water as it crashes against the rocks, bubbling up to find its way to the next cliff until it reaches the bottom of the mountain and this my friends is gorgeous. After a rest full of energy and determination I go back to the hard side where I am actually sure no-one ever takes as there seems to be pretty non-disturbed growth over the stone 'stairs'. I think it can only get better so I continue up the mountain with my new found energy.

I kept climbing and being teased as there would be a hundred steps and looked like it would plateau so I would go, turn around the corner and see another hundred stairs with what appeared to be a plateau. I continued doing this for some time while mother nature laughed at me and my determination to get to the top. With burning quads and total un-sureties of how much further this could go on for I decided to throw in the towel and admit defeat and head back down. Now of course I ended up taking other paths and found myself about 45 mins from the bus loop, walking along a mountain road thinking if I headed this direction it would take me back, eventually it did. I saw some really cool views from this road and some neat abandoned cement building/stand like things on the side of the road.
I arrived back at the loop just as the bus was loading so I managed to get on for the ride. This driver was crazy! rippin' down the mountain curves like some type of luge track, has he forgotten he is loaded with people and not driving a go-cart?? I gota say years of skate boarding probably made the trip a little easier as it was like ridin a over sized board really fast! Was actually pretty fun haha just wish the guy who kept bumpin me had the same skillz. I arrived home around 7 and another person in the dorm told me about buffet style food about 2 blocks from here so I decided to go try it out and had fried chicken!! Never has fried bird tasted soooo good!!!! Went to 7-11 for a peach ice cream bar for desert and was amused as the girl there finally spoke to me in English saying 'thank you'. It was so cute to watch her giggle and go totally red as she tried to speak, I replied in Chinese and headed home for dinner.

Today was a very long day at the hospital, I had class in the morning and than was with the doctor with about 40 patients all afternoon. I really learned alot in lectures today, was awesome, all things I already know but a totally different way on looking at things. I am really looking forward to further lectures!!

We saw some interesting things today and I will just mention a couple. This guy we were treating for mania took along time though, pushing us back meaning we didn't finish till about 6:30. Manic guy was alright at first but as time went on you saw more and more how crazy he really was. I also had a client today that had no Humerous, wow that was bizarre. I palpated the area first to experience the feeling, and than they took her arm and bent it all around like rubber person. This was a tad creepy but I managed to keep my composure. All in all it was a good day, I headed to that buffet again for food as it is kind of the best I have found around here, tomorrow I may get a little more adventurous with the whole fishes but we will see, I feel I have been pretty bold with my tastes so far.

Well I most likely will not be updating this again until Monday as I am going to southern Taiwan tomorrow. I really hope the typhoon skips us and I am able to go diving, if so I will buy a underwater camera so I can share those pictures as well. I am not sure how this will work tho as even while writing this the wind is howling eerily through my window and I can hear the rain pouring outside. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Hope all is well, and I miss you guys back home like mad!!
Oh and of course can't forget 'things that make you go hmmm':

'Everyone can think of the one thing that would make life better for them.
But people are not so quick to answer the second question:
'What are you doing to make that change come true'

Don't just think but ACT.....

Sorry Steve I think my grammar has gone to the shit's again, It has never been a strong point of mine.......not like I need it over here anyways :)
That's why there's editors!! However people leave me a comment, if my writing is hard to follow I will take more time on editing and forming it into a more suitable format, I tend to just type as I think so things aren't portrayed in the most readable sentences...

And Holly this isn't a punish Chris type challenge it's supposed to be interesting not find the grossest thing there is!!! With that being said I am pretty sure that is a different Country as I have not seen anything to this description. Not sure if I can do the stinky tofu, the smell alone makes me actually have to hold my breathe in fear of vomiting all over the street, I will try though...

Chris