The West in the East

I woke up early to be the first at the buffet breakfast before 8 o'clock. It looked like all RD boys and staff were still in bed. They must have had a sound sleep last night. That's good, sound sleep, sound body, sound voice.

Number One J.S. showed up at the breakfast, followed by his roomate Number Two P. F. When Number Three M. S. walked in, I asked him why he wore a wedding ring on his ring finger. He told me he was an adherent to the Orthodox Catholic Church. His mother was from Russia and he visited Russia every year to see his relatives. And he spoke Russian fluently.

In no time, the buffet room was full of the RD members. Everybody seemed to be excited about a new happy day in Tainan. After a rich and versatile breakfast, everybody was recharged to venture to the old Anping Fort built by the Dutch in 1624.

The bicycle tour of the Anping Fort was sponsored by Tainan Southeast Rotary Club(D.3470). All RD members put on the RD in Taiwan 2011 T-shirts, hopped on their favorite bicycles, pedaled the bicycles in the old harbor town of Tainan city with big smiles on their faces. What could have been a better way to promote the RD Concert Tour in Taiwan 2011?

Our first stop was the Anping Tree House and the old Tait & Co. Merchant House. The Anping Tree House was originally the warehouse of Tait & Co. During the Japanese Occupation period, it was the warehouse of the Japan Salt Company. After the Second World War, the area was abandoned. The aerial roots and branches of banyan trees wrapped around the warehouse concrete wall for a half century and create a phenomenal feature of the tree house.

Just about the time we gathered to leave the tree house, a small incidence happened. S. S. had the Epistaxis (Nosebleed). The bleeding was profuse. Dr. Wang, Director of the Earth Choir, also a cardiologist, couldn’t solve the problem. Fortunately there was a Chinese doctor nearby. She pressed the tip of the pinky finger of the victim hard. To everybody’s surprise, the bleeding stopped immediately. It was quite possible that the change of the environment or the dry and cold air of air conditioner prompted S. S.'s nose more susceptible to bleeding.

After the tree house, we rode in the Lakeside Water Bird Park along the Yenshui River till SiCao Bridge to see the birds and the mangrove. The builder and the residents of the Egret Bay Mansion in the neighborhood invited us to enjoy their community chorus with snacks, tropical fruits, and cold drinks served.

The bird's-eye view of the mouth of Yenshui River merged with Chia-nan Irrigation Canal on the roof floor of the Egret Bay Mansion was magnificent. At the same time, S. S. had the second minor attack of the Epistaxis. I followed his instructions to press his pinky finger real hard till he stopped bleeding. The grandiose bike parade ended when we returned the bicycles to the Bike Rental Shop near the Anping Fort.

For lunch, we had a mammoth volume of German food, including ham & cheese sandwiches, French fries, assorted Wieners, pickled pork knuckles and all you can drink Karamalz at Julius Mannich Restaurant. Four persons were in a group sitting around a patio table with umbrella beneath the old banyan trees. What a splendid and joyful outdoor luncheon it was! Before dessert, we got a half hour free time to see the Anping Fort and Anping Matsu Temple. After the sweet and yummy ice cream dessert, we were ready for our second stop at Sheng-Kung Girls' High School.

On our way to Sheng-Kung Girls' High School, I grabbed the opportunity to ask three questions about the history of Dutch in Tainan and gave away three surprise gifts. The questions were about the year of 1624, 1662, and 1602.

Sheng Kung is a catholic school for girls. It started with an Elementary School by catholic priests and believers in Tien-jin in 1914. In 1934, the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (SMIC) began the management. Sheng Kung moved to Taiwan with the Nationalist Government in 1948, and re-opened the school in 1963. The present name of Sheng-Kung Girls' High School was registered in 1979.

The RD concert took place at the auditorium with the participants from the whole school of more than 1,000 junior and senior high school students and staff. Just think about the excitements of young girls meeting 60 German boys! Every girl had a camera in hand to search eagerly for the handsome boys in the choir.

The joint concert was a big success with the participation of Sheng Kung’s junior and senior girls' choruses in blue uniforms. After the concert, we were led to an activity room of Chinese Calligraphy. On top of each table, there was paper and ink, plus a blue paper bag of gift. At the back of the activity room, there was a long table full of colorful Easter eggs and pound cakes in the shape of lambs and watermelon plates.

Painting with a brush should be no strange for the RD members, but writing Chinese characters with a brush must be something new. Every German guest tried to copy the Chiense characters as elegantly as possible. On our way back to the Tayih Landis on Bus A, I asked the questions about the Chinese characters the RD boys learned in the calligraphy class. To my surprise, most kids could recognize the Chinese characters and made the correct strokes in the air. I was happy to give away more gifts as the incentives for their enthusiasm and eagerness in learning new things in Taiwan.

After the buffet dinner at the basement of the Hotel Tayih Landis, the RD had a joint charity concert with the Earth Choir from 8PM till 8:30PM. The hotel lobby was packed with more than 100 visitors, including a few new fans of the RD from Shing Kung Girls' High School. At the end of concert, the RD and the EC sang "Heidenröslein" and "Hue Gim Go", and won a big round of applause from the floor.

After the charity concert, a snack party was held for the RD and the EC. Every member was treated with a cup of tapioka fresh milk tea. No matter how much I praised the famous and popular Tapioka Milk Tea in Taiwan, it was not the cup of tea for the RD members. Love at the first sight seldom happens between men and the food.

While the big boys went to the Da-Dong Nightmarket, I stayed at the rehearsal room with three RD little boys to study the music notes and German lyrics. Everyone took turns teaching me German and explaining to me the story of the song. I felt very grateful to them. By then, I was told that the curfew at 10PM would be executed because of the coming first concert at Chia-yi Country Culture Center tomorrow evening.