I ride my bike with no handle bars....no handle bars

Saturday February 23
We finally got to sleep in! I wanted to catch up on sleep after an exhausting week so I didn't set my alarm! The sun woke me up around 8am but thankfully I fell back asleep! I met Halani, Marlaina, and Kyliegh around 11am to walk to lunch! We got bubble tea (daily! It is sooo good here!) and went to our favorite Pho restaurant! I had chicken pho and fresh spring rolls! YUM.
After lunch, we headed to Danshui for a bike ride! Dr Tsai and other staff members of Cheng Hsin took us for a bike ride along the river and through the city! Half way through the bike ride we stopped at Dr Tsai house for a wonderful snack (more like meal!) and tea! The hospitality the people in Taiwan show is unbelievable! After a short break we continued on our bike ride! Although it was overcast the temperature was perfect for a bike ride and we were still able to see everything! The view was very different then the part of Taipei we normally were use to seeing! Riding our bikes along the water was beautiful! We dropped our bikes off at a bike rental location and took a ferry across the river to another part of the city. From there we took a speed boat to dinner! The place we had dinner was AMAZING. I can't even describe it in words so I will let the pictures tell for themselves. I had a delicious plate of chicken and BOMB ice tea! It was a long day full of activities but SO much fun! 

 We had to act out a scene from Titanic!

 The awesome bikers! So much fun!

 Hand stands!

 Delicious black ice tea with lots of fruit! YUM

Dogs everywhere....even at the dinner table!

 Where we ate dinner!

 

A bridge by where we ate dinner! 

 

A 'LOVE' sculpture on the other side of the bridge!  

How do you pray?

Friday February 22
We had our last and final day at ORTV. We started the morning off by educating the staff about proper ergonomics in the work place. We performed comical skit that taught the staff how to prevent injuries in the work place and stretches they can do while at their desk. We used simple English words and talked slowly. The professors warned us if they didn't laugh not to be offended because usually the audience doesn't laugh because they don't want to offend you. The staff members were very interactive and laughed, which helped us relax more!
Today my task was to help write some of the talk show recordings and to help record some! The point of the talk show is to reuse English words so students listening to the radio can hear the new words in a different context. At the beginning of the day we wrote the scripts and then ended the day by recording them! Marco (the producer) said, "You girls like Hollywood, stop work at hospital, come work at ORTV." He definitely boosted our confidence but we just laughed and said we would stick with nursing. The staff at ORTV were amazing and so much fun to work with!

 In the recording studio! The red light is on! Recording time!

Where it all happens! Marco is amazing at his job!

After ORTV we headed to "Friday Night Live" (FNL an event run by ORTV). FNL is a bible study in English. A couple hundred people normally turn out for the bible study and most are not Christian. Many people come to FNL to improve their English. FNL is for all ages and the environment is so positive and energetic. After a game and worship Halani, Kalie and I went to an "advanced" bible study of about 15 people. The bible study groups range from youth, newcomers, beginner English to advanced. Our bible study was all in English and we went through the story of Jonah and how we must be obedient to God. At the end of the study a lot of people had questions and were asking questions like, "How do we get to know God more" and "how can I be more obedient". When we were getting ready to leave Kalie, Halani and I talked to this young couple (23 and 21yrs old). Kalie asked if we could pray for them because the girls grandpa was sick and she is taking care of him. She asked us, "How do you pray?" I was taken back for a second because I assumed she had gone to the bible study before but it was only her second time. I told her there is no special way but I like to fold my hands and close my eyes and just talk to God. We were able to lay hands on her and pray for her and her grandpa. It was a touching experience and was so blessed to pray with her and her boyfriend. Due to our busy schedule we aren't able to go back to FNL but blessed by the friendships we made in one night! Thank you facebook! It was a long Friday and we didn't get home til 10:30pm but it was worth it!

Overseas Radio and Television

Today we got the opportunity to go to ORTV (overseas radio and television) and meet the director and founder of the organization. ORTV is a radio station, television channel, and magazine. The purpose of the company is to teach people English (not only in Taiwan but other Chinese natives all over the world). Doris Brougham (the founder) first came to Taiwan in the 1940's and started ORTV which is a faith based company. Christians from all over the world work at ORTV and it was a great experience to see how teaching English could be such a ministry. After a morning meeting with the whole studio (and a time of worship as a group) we got a tour of the facility and got to see different photo studios and recording studios. Sarah and I got pulled aside and were asked to join the radio to help discuss a three day topic on how America is trying to improve hospitals. The radio broadcast does not air until May so we were able to cut and start again if we messed up (helped us relax more knowing this!). It was a 3 piece segment each about 20-25 minutes. We talked through the article and were able to share our hospital experiences in America and Taiwan and talk through health care issues. The radio program is built off of the magazine. Readers (trying to learn English) read the article and then the radio hosts talk about the article and read through it. Sarah and I had to talk slow, enunciate words, and explain uncommon words if we used them.  It was definitely an unexpected experience but very fun! Never thought I would be on the radio in Taiwan broadcasting to people all over the world!

 Sarah in the recording studio!

Getting ready to record!

Bloody tourists....

I always wonder why in America the Asians are always in the way and don't know what they are doing...well it's because they don't know what they are doing. When I get back to Seattle I am going to have so much more grace for tourists because now I am that tourist who walks around like an idiot and always in the way. Saturday we went to the National Palace Museum. Personally I was exhausted from the week and thought the outside of the museum was a lot cooler then the inside. Some of the artifacts in the museum were cool but a lot were the same and it was SO crowded. So a lot of us quickly walked through it and enjoyed the sunshine outside and looking around at the cool buildings.

 

Halani and Kalie doing handstands! 

 Gorgeous view!

Lastly, we ended the day going to the jade market. I'm personally not a big fan of jade and all of the stuff was overpriced but I bought some beads with the girls to make bracelets. After a long day I wasn't in the mood for searching for different jewelry and being in a massive market with pretty much the same stuff. 

Sunday all we had to do was go to church (thankfully!). I needed a day to relax! So after church we went to McDonalds and got french fries and went to starbucks and got coffee (: Our little American treat! We went back to the dorms and watching A Walk to Remember and made our bracelets! 

Our bracelets we made! (photo compliments of Halani!)

One Week Down!

Friday February 15, 2013
Officially been in Taiwan one week! I was able to do hospital rotations on the psychiatric unit, medical ICU, emergency department, and cardiac unit! Was it everything I hoped and dreamed it would be? YES. My nurse in the MICU who I worked with was a great example of the type of nurse I want to be! She completed every task in a timely manner, provided amazing patient care, gave the best and most clean bed baths I have ever seen, and was very intelligent. She let me do most of the tasks and take the lead on various things. The ICU doctors was so kind and informed me of any "cool" tasks that needed to be done and explained different procedures and diagnoses to me. The doctor-nurse relationship is very different here then America. I'm not saying all the doctors in America are mean but almost every doctor here truly respects the nurses here and maintain a positive relationship with them. The ED was a fast paced environment where it was really cool to see how everyone works together and how smoothly things flow. A lot of young doctors and nurses worked in the ED so it was fun just talking about life, school, and work with them and hearing about the similarities and differences between the two countries. Lastly, the cardiac unit! My most favorite system of the body! There wasn't a dull moment on the cardiac unit! I wasn't assigned any patients but just floated with a nurse to help other nurses. At the beginning of the day we got a list of blood draws, IV's, foley's, ect of things the nurses needed done! It was a good learning opportunity and a great time to humble myself and learn how to use some of their different equipment and learn their techniques. It's only week one and I'm learning so much and loving the hospital here!

Some of our group! 

 Alice in the MICU (:

 Cardiac <3

Lastly Friday we ended the week off by touring Mackay Memorial Hospital. It was great to go tour a different hospital, especially a faith based hospital. A lot of their vision and mission is to provide holistic care and it meet the patients physical and spiritual needs. They gave us a tour of one of the pediatric floors and the NICU unit. The doctors and nurses went around and explained different diagnosis's and we got to see a lot of tiny CUTE little babies! Although it is sad the babies are in the NICU it made my heart full being around the babies! The Machay Hospital has four different campuses throughout Taiwan. They focus on the indigenous people of Taiwan and send missionaries to Thailand and other near by countries. The hospital is doing amazing things in Taiwan and in other countries! 

 "Christ is the cornerstone"

Great to see scripture throughout the hospital!

I'm sorry I don't speak Chinese....

Monday February 11, 2013
By the end of night I think all of my senses were overstimulated. It was my first day working at Cheng Hsin General Hospital in the psychiatric unit. Kristin and I were paired together and both didn't know what to expect and were nervous about the language barrier. Our preceptor turned out to speak pretty good English. It was a great refresher of all the different psychiatric diagnosis's and medications. 'Andrew' (our preceptor) was very intelligent and wracked our brains with questions and taught us a lot. I was very surprised how much English is in patients charts and written on the white boards. All medications, diagnosis's, and notes are in English. Most of the doctors and nurses can understand and write English really well but are shy speaking it. There were a few patients who spoke English and one patient spoke Spanish. I got to work on my nonverbal communication skills and do a lot of pointing and hand motions. There was one patient who was wearing a Disneyland sweatshirt and he kept coming up to us and telling us the letters on his sweatshirt and getting really excited because he could say the letters. It was really cute and cool to see the way we can connect with the patients even if it is just through a simple few letters on his sweatshirt.

 Messing with the restraints made from Germany!

Everyone wears masks everywhere you go!

Shortly after working at the hospital we met up with nurses from the nursing home and took the MRT to Shilin. We went to The Modern Toilet for dinner. For a bunch of nursing majors this restaurant was perfect. We all like a little bathroom humor. The tables were old bathtubs with a glass sheet over them and the chairs were toilets with different seat covers. Some dishes were served in small toilet bowls, drinks in urinals, dessert in a squatty potty, and other various bath utensils. After dinner we all split into groups with the different nurses and headed to the Shilin night market. The night market was PACKED with various tourist, locals, and other people. The streets and alleys were lined with store after store after store and different food stands. I was so full from dinner that I didn't want to try any of the food and was actually kind of scared to try some of the food. Kristin, Brittany and I tried a sweet potato fried with honey. It was very sticky but tasted good. A popular street food was 'stinky tofu'. Stinky tofu is an understatement of how the food smelled....it was NASTY. Apparently the tofu is actually really good but I couldn't get past the smell of the tofu. When I got home I googled stinky tofu and was thankful I didn't eat it. I recommend googling stinky tofu...very interesting! After shopping around for awhile we headed back to the hospital dorms!

 

 I of course chose the Zebra toilet!

 My chicken curry and black ice tea!

 

Martina's spaghetti! 

 Just drinkin from my urinal!

 Crowded market!

Sweet potato fried in honey!

Lets take the pig for a walk....

While in Taiwan we are attending The Taiwan International Church. The church is a 15 minute walk from where we are staying. The church uses the International School to hold services. The attendance was low because of Chinese New Years. It was fun meeting people from all over the world and learning about why they are in Taiwan. There was a little boy about 4 or 5 years old wearing a traditional Chinese outfit sitting behind us and said “Xin Dian kuai le! (Happy New Year in Mandarin!).” We thought it was the cutest thing and so we said it back: ““Xin Dian kuai le!” He promptly yelled at us for saying it wrong and taught us how to say it properly. I still don’t think I say it right but the little boy was so cute we just laughed.

We had an opportunity to go to an orchid display that night and walked to the MRT (Municipal Rapid Transit) and rode the MRT a few stops. The display was held in the grounds of a past Presidents. The area was massive and we got to explore all over and finally found the orchid display! They were STUNNING. Pictures cannot capture how beautiful they are! The ones in America do not compare! While we were there we saw a lady walking a pig (many people were taking a picture of her, so I don’t think it’s normal for Taiwanese people to walk their pig). It was a long day full of walking and we were all exhausted by the time we got to our rooms! We were all anxiously excited (but a little nervous about the language barrier) about working the hospital the next day!

Just taking her pig for a walk!