I LOVE the beach. The past couple days were awesome! After spending quite some time on buses and the bullet train, we arrived in Kenting and immediately geared up for our water activities. The water was a little chilly so we put on wet suits and then enjoyed a little snorkeling. This was my first time ever being in the Pacific! We then got on a boat that looked like it would fall apart any second. This ratty old boat tugged a banana boat behind it and we took turns taking rides. This was also my first time riding a banana boat and it was a blast! The driver showed no mercy and he intentionally flipped us all over a few times.
We stayed in a really neat beach side motel that was set up like traditional Tiawanese housing. There were different buildings all facing each other, and an outdoor common area in the middle. The motel was walking distance from the downtown area so we were able to finally experience a little Taiwan night life. A great time was had by all! We drug ourselves out of bed real early the next morning so that we could enjoy a couple hours laying on the beach before leaving town. It was so relaxing to lay around and catch a few rays.
Also on our little excursion we visited Taiwan's National Sports Training Center and the main stadium for the 2009 World Games. The Training Center is funded by the government and athletes are invited to come stay there. There were dorms, a dining hall, and lecture rooms, just like a normal school. And then there were many different gyms, fields, weight rooms, and training areas. We went at the perfect time because the place was real busy with athletes preparing for the upcoming World Games. While we were touring the area and watching practices, we ran into some Olympic medalists... pretty cool! We also visited the sports science department as well as the training room. The areas were small and there were only 6 certified trainers on staff who saw about 200 patients per day!
Today we had some free time to work on our paper and study for our test. We also had another clinical rotation and this time I was assigned to Judo. I spent the first hour in the training room helping prep athletes for practice and the last two hours were spent at practice.
I can't believe we only have a few days left... time has flown!!
