It's really interesting that people we've met have some similar questions for us that we would like to share here !! we are trying hard to make the answer as accurate as possible, but it's just based on our current limited knowledge !! lol ~ here we go ! You betchA !!
Q-1. Did you guys know each other before you came to on this GSE trip ?No. After we knew we were chosen for this team last November, we contacted each other through internet only. Lateron, we started to meet each other and gather together for various events, such as Rotary club supper, preparation for our presentation...etc. So our friendship started with being teammates, then develped to be good friends... till now, WE ARE FAMILY !!!
Q0. Where is Taiwan ?
Taiwan is an
island located in
East Asia off the coast of Mainland China, southwest of the main islands of Japan but directly west of the end of Japan's
Ryukyu Islands, and north-northwest of the
Philippines. It is bound to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the
South China Sea and the
Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the
East China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89 miles) wide and consists of steep mountains covered by
tropical and
subtropical vegetation. (source: Wikipedia)
Q1. What's the relationship between Taiwan and Mainland China?Taiwan is an independent country. We DO NOT belong to Mainland China ! We elect our own president and we have our own flag ! We are TAIWANESE !!!
Q2. What's your demographics?
Area: 34,507 km
2 (13,323.2 sq mi)
Population:23,036,087 (2008)
Density:668/km
2
Q3. What's the weather like in Taiwan ?
it's wet and hot and sticky in summer as we sweat a lot !
The temperature then is about 90 degree F, while in winter it's about 41 degree F. Thus, we LOVE snow ! because we don't have it in Taiwan !
Q4. Why do you still live with your parents ?
People in Taiwan usually move out when they get married unless they study or work far from home. And... we are all SINGLE, that's why !!
Q5. What are the religions in Taiwan ?
A wide diversity of
religions can be found on
Taiwan, due to its multicultural history, and religious freedom written in the
constitution of the Republic of China.
Buddhism- 35%
Taoism - 33 %
Christian - 4%
Q6. What's the average age to get married ?
Well, we don't know, our average age is 27.5 and none of us is married yet !!
Q7. Did you like the food in US ?
Should we tell the truth !?
alright, here are our favorite so far : Quesadillas & salsa sauce @Zorbas, peanut butter and jelly sandwich @Kesley's, hot brownie/cobbler with vanilla ice cream @everywhere, buffalo stew @Drayton, fried Walleyes @Detroit lakes & Toasted Frog in Grand Forks.
Q8. What's the difference between Chinese and Mandarin ?
Chinese is a
language family consisting of
languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees.
Spoken Chinese is distinguished by its high level of internal diversity, although all spoken varieties of Chinese are
tonal and
analytic. There are between seven and thirteen main regional groups of Chinese (depending on classification scheme), of which the most spoken, by far, is
Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by
Wu (90 million),
Min (70 million) and
Cantonese (70 million)
Q9. Is Taiwan same as Thailand ?
NO!!! it's 2 different countries ! please refer to the world map !
Q10. How long does it take to fly from Taiwan to Minot, ND?
Were it a direct flight, we would say... 17 hours.
However, we took 4 planes for this trip, and it took us 26 hours in total (including waiting time) to get there. Here's what happened:
Taipei -> Tokyo - 3 hours
Tokyo -> Los angelos -10 hours + 2 hours waiting
LA ->Minneapolis - 3.5 hours + 6 hour waiting
Minneapolis -> Minot - 1.5 hour
As we know, there was a serious flood in North Dakota in April 2009, especially in Fargo area. During that time, the residents built up walls of sandbags to prevent the water from flooding their own premises. By the time we reached Grand Forks, the river has already gone down, and the residents were cleaning up their yards. One big issue then was the sand bags used to build up the protective walls. Here we go~ our host father i
n Grands Forks, Dave, was moving out the sandbags from his backyard, that is what we call "sandbagging" ! Ting and I were inspired by the spirit of serving the community of the rotary club, so we volunteered to help sanbagging and play catch with Duffy. (Actually, it was because Kathy, our host mother, said : work hard to get your dinner !!). Our effort did pay back ! we had our best steak ever ! ( Grilled by our great chef Dave !)
When we saw "highway cleanup" on our itinerary, we didn't expected something like "cleaning up the highway" ! We thought it was a special name for something like "riding on the highway for many hours". But we were wrong ! we actually felt very happy to participate in this highway cleanup activity held by the Detroit lakes Rotary club !
