OCAC 26 Jul 2010 | Simon Chen

OCAC 26 Jul 2010 | Simon Chen

After hearing many things about Penghu from uncles and aunties before attending this trip, I was well warned about the weather, specifically the blaring sun, at this time of the year. Despite the thick layer of sticky sun-screen I put on on the day, I became more worried about the boat cruise over the Taiwan Strait because of the circulating horror stories of people throwing up from sea sick. But with many pills, the group got there without upsetting their stomachs.

When arrived we were shown through a series of displays showcasing the unique styles of fishing adopted by the Penghu-ians. Using stones stacked in a certain way to trap marine animals - SMART! They call it - 澎湖吉貝石滬. How come I never thought of that? It's so obvious ^^ ... But to be honest, when we first arrived at the island the combination of the video presentation and air-con (or AC, as some of you call it) really put me to sleep. It wasn't until we got out into the water that I finally woke up and became to appreciate the scenery that I was immersed in, quite literally. I walked on the mass plane of shallow waters, finding ever-so -wonderful marine wildlife - some beautiful while others quite the opposite (most of you would agree that I'm referring to the sea cucumbers that squirt out water when you squeeze them, ha funny stuff), and mesmerised by the technique adopted by the Penghu-ians to catch fishes with their nets, not to mention the colossal scale of the 石滬.

Climbing and walking on the 石滬 was quite a mission. But it was worth the effort after reaching the fish-trap point where many fishes were pulled out of the nets. Gotta loved the Puffer Fish! So all in all, great experience! And it also made me realised how brilliant our ancestors are at making such a simple act of gather food into a breathtaking piece of art.

Fritz's Group - 27th July 2010

Person A : Hi Five!

(Person B Reaches out his hand)

(Just as B is going to high-five Person A’s hand)

Person A : Squid! (and draws his hand back like a squid moving in the water)

(Made up by Eric and David)

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My day started at 12:00am.

I stood alone on the balcony and checked out the night scenery. It was spectacular! While watching the lights across the ocean, breezes caressed my cheeks. I felt refreshed. The wind kept blowing. I stood there, looking at tiny sparkles clumped together as if they’re scared to get lost or left behind.

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吉貝海灣、

馬公夜景、

放鬆心情、

順風而行。

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吉貝海灣、

星星月亮、

凝聽海浪、

無暇「抬槓」。

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吉貝海灣、

滿腦回憶、

遍地月光、

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我

不再哭泣。

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Oh and happy birthday to my brother, Bryan! He’s 15 now :o)

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Nostalgia

这几天我受到了 counselors 喜欢说的: feel.

There were two moments:

1st Learning a sequence of movements from a master of 詠春 (Wing Chun) was amazing. It reminded me of the days when I used to practice Taekwondo and later on Hapkido. Martial arts is really an art, it demands so much control over your own body plus the discipline. The beauty of the movements added to the physical conditioning that this kind of sport gives you makes me consider getting back in the tatami...

Interesting fact about 詠春, its popularity is growing more than ever. People are even flying to Hong Kong to learn from the masters. All due to recent movies released about Bruce Lee's master, Ip Man and Ip Man 2.

2nd As Tiffany said: "Nature always wins." Penghu has won a part of my heart. Walking for the first time between coral reef and catching sea creatures with my own bare hands is practically a miracle in our urbanized life.

Memories of my childhood flashes back... going to the beach with my family and friends... and just being mind blown on how marvelous nature is. I also feel like sharing part of a song that my friends from Shanghai and I enjoy singing:

Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
and I will open up my heart
and let the Healer set me free.
I'm happy to be in the truth,
and I will daily lift my hands:
for I will always sing of when
Your love came down.

I could sing of Your love forever.

Yeh!

p.s. - pictures coming up soon.

Culture everywhere ! (Tainan, with some days late)

We were at Tainan for 2 days, seeking for culture. The last day I went with Ji An (吉安) interviewing the director of an old style theater. A man really simple, who tries to share his passion for movies and for the old theaters. The way he talk about serving the customer first more than making great money, and the way he's doing everything according to that, is really touching.

Now let's play a little game. I found that sorting my photos of Tainan... try to find out where I took them ! ^^

1) A little step forward, a great step for civilization.

2) Keep the environment clean, raise the life quality

3) Small paper, great satisfaction.

ANSWERS in a few days ^^

Penghu (Connie from Hedy's group)

We’ve just gotten back to Taipei from two days in Penghu – at least in my opinion, one of the most interesting and memorable places so far on this trip. Although it rained hard on our second day here, I think the island had lots of new experiences to offer, particularly at the stone weir. Having never seen a fishnet in live action before, I enjoyed seeing the fishermen up close in their everyday activities and became able to appreciate their hard work and detailed knowledge of the waters. It was fun to wade through the waters and find different sea creatures. The barbeque was also a new experience in that we learned how to bbq different types of seafood (sometimes after making some embarrassing mistakes), plus most of it was quite delicious. By the end of our time in Penghu though, I was getting pretty tired of the unending amounts of seafood.

Another thing that struck me about Penghu was the scenery and atmosphere of the ocean at night (it wasn’t very pretty during the day due to the cloudy weather). My room happened to be right at a second-floor balcony, so I was able to enjoy the view and sounds of the ocean – one of the most peaceful sensations ever.

The second day was less exciting due to the unusual amount of pouring rain, but we were still able to visit a museum and a store of Penghu seafood specialties. Not as much fun, but still a good opportunity to learn more about the culture and products of Penghu.

Penghu Welcomes you

Row row, row your boat, gently down the ocean, eventually we will end up in Penghu. Today, we took a not so bouncy boat ride to Central Penghu for some delicious traditional cuisine in a very old fashioned house. One thing unique about Penghu would be the fact that all the street signs were shaped like dolphins.

After lunch, we had to take another 10 minute boat ride to get to our final destination, Jibei Island. When we arrived, we went straight to their local museum, which was conveniently located at the docks. The museum showcased their old fishing styles, stony fishery trap, and it also included much information about the different fishes that can be found deep under the ocean.

However, the highlight of the day would be when we got to walk in the ocean to go to the stony trap set up in the ocean. The walk to the trap was one heck of a task due to all the pointy corals on the ground; many of us got injured due to the corals and the slipperiness, but all in all, it was all worth it.

Peng Hu Day One

Today, we went to the islands of Peng Hu. We took a large boat to the main island and then proceeded to take a smaller faster boat to the island in which we were staying. Once we reached our destination, we quickly unpacked and visited the beach, and saw the rock fish traps. In fact, we got to participate in fishing. The following are some images from that beach.

Here is a video of the seafood dinner we had that night.

-James Hwang