October 12, 2015 - Taiwan Has Beautiful Sights to See

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a whole lot of fun and full of adventures. We got a chance to go visit this place called Ba Gua Shan (Octagon Mountain.) It has one of the many giant Buddha statues on top of it and it is a really beautiful place.

I learned a lesson while we hiked up this mountain. There is a path you are supposed to walk up to get to the top of the mountain, it is covered in pointed rocks. The Chinese say if it doesn't hurt when you walk on it (without shoes) you are healthy. We decided we were going to walk it up to the top. The pain was only really bad when I focused on all the things troubling me under my feet. If we are willing to walk the hard path in life and focus on what is ahead instead of what pains us we will be able to receive so much. 

• Did you decide what you are going to dress up as for Halloween? 

I didn't get to dress up because they needed someone to be dressed as missionaries and we were so busy so we volunteered to do it:(

• Were you able to take any pix of you in your apartment? 

No but I have a lot of pictures this week.

• What is your favorite food there? 

Taiwan has three food groups 1. dumplings 2. rice 3. noodles. 

My favorite food is probably all the different types of dumplings.

• Where is the computer that you use for writing us? Are you at the church or somewhere like Starbucks Internet cafe and coffee bar ;-) 

The computer I am writing you from is in this NASTY internet cafe where everyone smells like drugs and worse;) they are all over Taiwan they are called Wangke

• Can you tell us something from each of your 5 senses?

- How does it smell there? 

It depends if you are on a road with stinky tofu that is what it smells like. If it rains it smells so good...like rain. most of the time it smells warm and green.

-What is a sound you hear there that we don't hear here? 

Garbage trucks!!! They all play the same two songs all day everyday and they blast them so that you know they are coming so you can throw your stuff on them as they slowly roll along. mostly they play Fur Elise and this random beep bop song ;)

-Tell us about something bad you've tasted. 

coagulated pigs blood and rice mixed into a bar that looks like a brownie:p

-Tell us about the things you see. It has to be so different from South Jordan. Almost everything is different here.

-Have you touched anything interesting? I walked on a painful pathway. Check out the pictures to see what I mean.

•Do they give you a lesson plan for your English classes or do you just wing it each week? 

We have a textbook and we also kind of just wing it. We try and make it fun and help them talk in English

• Since you're teaching the advanced English class, have you taught any of your students a tongue twister? Like, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?" 

I will definitely give it a shot! there are chinese tongue twisters that make english ones seem like child's play. I will show when we skype on christmas.

• Is there someone who is investigating the church that we can pray for? We are already praying for Peter and Kelly. 

Pray for Chris from mainland china I will also explain some more in my group email.

• Did you enjoy conference? 

Loved it. That talk on mothers by Jeffrey R. Holland was great. I cried :) 

• Can you please send us a new scripture to ponderize? 

2 nephi 4:28

• Do you need anything from us? 

No thank you though:)

I love you all,

Elder Erwin