Last Day of Work and Relaxing

Wow.  Cheesy to say it, but time went by really really fast.  Yesterday was already my last day at work.  Nothing too special, finished up my translations (I was working on translating an interview/new article on Lu Laoshi - the executive director of Begonia foundation - and another spreadsheet.  We had a wonderful lunch, and then, at 7pm, we went out to dinner!


We went to a fantastic vegetarian restaurant (one of my coworkers is vegan) that mimics meat dishes, but instead uses vegan substitutes.  Within our main courses we at "sashimi" (some kind of root vegetable gelatin), "black pepper pork medallions" (??? don't know what vegetable this was...), "deep fried fish" (??? again didn't know), ginger and mushroom aged soup, fried taro and something cubes in papaya, actual vegetables imitating vegetables, and tea!  Although I've eaten at a restaurant similar to this one in Beijing, and am still surprised that a lot of vegetarians will come here to eat.  In the states, I've never met anyone (who is vegan) who wants to eat this kind of fake "meat" --- because they oppose eating things with the cooked form of animals in any way, shape or form -- that's a good part of the reason they became vegetarian in the first place!
 Quite a few buddhist monks and youth like this type of restaurants -- it offers something unusual and tasty.

This weekend I'll be writing postcards, updating this blog, heading out to Longshan Temple, and Beitou (where all the hot springs are!).  And packing. : (

I thought I'd be doing more things in taiwan or that it would feel as comfortable as Beijing.  Now that I am close to leaving, I wish I traveled more in the area, and went down to the southern tip.  But more about that later......

(From left: Yu-san, Xiao Jin, Me, Lu Laoshi (CEO), Xiao Hui)