Chinese New Year Vacation Day One

Our Chinese New Year started out with the kids in our school putting on a super cute program. There was a lot of dancing, including a traditional dragon dance! It was a great way to say goodbye to the school for a few days to go and explore more of the island.

That night before packing for our early morning train ride, we had our own Chinese New Year feast! As you can see from the picture it was pretty amazing- and it tasted even better than it looked:)

After our almost five hour train ride up and around to the east coast of the island, we stowed our luggage at the hostel and took off to rent scooters. Going down the highway was one of the most gorgeous rides I have ever been on. I got pretty good at the scooter driving, and enjoyed a lot of beautiful scenery. We kept going until daylight was gone, and on the way back I was able to see the waves continue crashing onto the shore. Almost everywhere we went was deserted, and we fell in love with the quiet power of the ocean.

As we got closer to the town we came upon a Buddist Temple, very much decorated for the New Year. We pulled up to take a look, and the only person we saw was a Buddist Nun who invited us to join them for Chinese New Year dinner! It is crazy to me how willing everyone is to share here, the culture is a great example to me. Everyday I meet people who literally will drop all they are doing to serve others.
I have to admit that isn't the first time I have been offered food in a temple, even with the language barrier they find ways to give. This meal was huge of course, being the New Year dinner. Luckily Buddists are also vegetarians, and we didn't have to worry too much about what we were eating:)