The Earth is a Quaking

On Saturday, I officially survived my first earthquake. I was teaching a class, when all of a sudden there was a rumble and the floor started moving. It lasted less than 30 seconds, and afterwards you could feel the building sway for a long time. It felt like I was on a boat, rocking back and forth. All the students looked pretty freaked out, as this is the biggest quake that has happened in a while. Apparently earthquakes happen almost every day here, but usually they are so small that you can't feel them. But this bad boy was a 6.4 on the Richter scale, so there was no ignoring it. The center was in Hualien which is on the east coast.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/12/19/taiwan-earthquake.html

After the quake, I went out with all the people who live in the dorms for a goodbye dinner for one of the teachers. This is the first time I have traveled in a pack of foreigners here, and it was quite a production explaining to three taxi drivers where we wanted to go. We ended up at a restaurant called 'Papa's Secret Lover'. When you walk in the downstairs it looks like an abandoned antique shop with random dusty furniture scattered around. I'm not really sure how someone found this place originally, because looking at it you would never guess there is a restaurant upstairs. The upstairs was no less strange, with dusty photographs all over the walls. Most of them seemed pretty authentic, and I think I even saw a portrait of Chang Kai Shek. And in the middle of all of this was a portrait of Elvis. We ordered family style, and the food was surprisingly delicious: salty pork with a vinegar sauce, fried tofu, kungpow chicken, beef with peppers.

In other news, the weather here has dropped to a freezing 50 degrees, and although it is nothing compared to the blizzard at home, with a lack on indoor heat it feels so much worse. I have been going to the pool more often, where along with lap pools there is an amazing pool full of seats with different massaging jets. They have different temperature hot tubs, a steam room, a sauna, pretty much everything you can dream of. Mostly it appears to be a social spot for the retired, but for me it is an escape from the cold. I will probably end up buying a space heater for my room, since I am currently walking around wearing three shirts at all times.