Martyr's Shrine

Our weekend in Taipei and Hualien was awesome, but this memory in particular I think deserves its own post.  It was a pretty special experience, and I hope you'll see why soon!


Traveling with a military man (our instructor) gives you some peculiar experiences, especially when it comes to a selection of tourist sites.  When we arrived at The Martyr's Shrine - a shrine dedicated to fallen Taiwanese soldiers - I wasn't surprised that Jim seemed very excited.  I realized why pretty fast!  In part, it's because of these guys, who are essentially the Taiwanese equivalent of the guards at Buckingham Palace.  We had the opportunity to watch their changing of the guard ceremony, which was performed without a single mistake.

 

I'm pretty sure this bro-hah did not blink once. 

This is the inside of this beautiful place! 

As if the sight of this shrine, set just at the base of the stunning Taiwanese mountains and dedicated to war heroes, wasn't enough to get me a little choked up, My lovely friend Jane explained to me the significance of this shrine to our field trip. 

When I initially found out that this room (see picture above) contained plaques dedicated to individuals who died for their country, I assumed that they contained only names of soldiers.  I was wrong.  Somewhere in this midst of Mandarin characters is a plaque dedicated to the Taiwanese Physicians and Nurses who died trying to save their patients during the SARS epidemic in Asia.  Being a nursing student, I got pretty emotional after hearing that.  What an amazing way to memorialize the sacrifice of those healthcare providers; by placing their names in a shrine that honors people who made the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed.


Good side-trip choice, Jim! 


And, it didn't hurt my sense of adopted Taiwanese pride either. :)

Be still my beating heart!

It's BABIES!! 


Taiwan has one thing in excess that I have determined I need desperately.  


Taiwanese. Children.  




I've justified this need with several stereotypes that I will now explain...


First:  Asian children are supposed to be smart, right?  I need a genius child, since they obviously won't be inheriting it from me.    


Second:  Ever heard of Jeremy Lin?  He's Taiwanese.  And heaven knows we need some massive Asian influence on BYU's basketball team.  


Third:  LOOK AT THESE PICTURES! 

Can I have one?  Please? 

The End of an Era

Okay, so it wasn't the end of an era exactly, but it sure felt like it.  Wednesday was my last day with my friends in the best hospital ward I've ever been on.  It was not the happiest of days for me.  The good news is, I've finally discovered a legitimate use for facebook, as I am now friends with almost every individual you'll see in these pictures. :)

Our cute nurses!  The one on the far right is Marion, my home-health nurse.  She says she's like my Asian mother - which, hallelujah, makes me part Asian!  In any case, she certainly reminds me of my mother; incredible and caring and pure awesome!  Joy (next to Jessica) took the majority of these pictures, and was sweet enough to translate for us poor white girls.  (Thanks, Joy!)  Tiffany is the one next to me, and she was almost as zealous about all of these pictures as I was! They are all so awesome! 

And this is Ivy.  I couldn't find her my last day on the unit, but I finally got a picture with her!  Isn't she a doll? 

Because I didn't introduce you to him earlier, this is Dr. Chen;  the best doctor I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with.  He taught me so much about how to form a therapeutic relationship with patients!  I definitely won't be forgetting his lessons in  healthcare ethics any time soon. 

Our AMAZING charge nurse, who choreographed our complicated dance through the hospice ward.  From meeting with a Buddhist nun to traveling around the city with home health nurses, she set it up!  She was awesome.  

Our cute clinical psychologist!  Her Mandarin name literally translates to "Forty", but she told me to call her Ling. :)

Jasmine!  She was so sweet:  I would imagine she took hours out of her extremely busy day to translate for us.  She's amazing! 

Again, with all my good friends. 

Okay, so maybe not everything Dr. Chen taught me directly related to patient care.  He also taught me that Asian doctors have some pretty sweet Lady Gaga moves! 

 And then know the rock on symbol... And can sing Hotel California by The Eagles. 

Bet you didn't know that, did you?

Thumbs up and peace: classic. :)

The way this hospice ward interacts is unreal.  They kept saying they were family, and they sure act like it!  I felt so privileged to be an honorary member, even if it was only for two weeks. 
My gosh, I love these people! 

 

This picture is probably my favorite.  I think it embodies how much fun Jessica and I had on this unit.  It was an absolute blast. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the little chunk of paradise I've discovered in the last two weeks.  It was a joy to be on the Chi-An unit.  Thanks to all who made my time there incredible!

Chinese Medicine

That's right, individuals to whom I am now writing, I have OFFICIALLY been the recipient of traditional Eastern medicine.  It was awesome!  Here are some pictures, for the brave of heart who don't mind seeing some very large (for lack of a better word) hickeys.

Up first is cupping!  I don't remember the Mandarin term for it, but it uses suction to treat some Qi disorders.  If the hickey become a deep purple (like a massive bruise), it means you need to rest.  I had Taiwanese doctors and nurses coming up to be all day telling me I needed more sleep!

 

 

This was a few hours after we did the cupping.  My neck is the one with the orange lanyard and the bruise that looks like I was in a to-the-death tennis match. 

 

And of course, the infamous acupuncture!  The needle didn't hurt at all, but when the resident doctor began twisting it around, muscle spasms shot up and down my leg.  It was so strange!  We had one girl in our group that hasn't had sensation in part of her leg since she was a young teenager, but she could feel the acupuncture!  It was definitely an eye-opening experience! 

Great day for the Taiwan-obsessed nursing student. :)

"Whelp, there goes the neighborhood!"

And right back to Anping we go! 


In case you don't remember, Anping is where my lovely little Nurse Marion (I think that's my new nickname for her) took me to see the temple of Mazu, which I have since discovered is the oldest temple to that deity on this island.  I was so absorbed in the beautiful temple, I guess I never really took the time to notice what was behind it!  So, here's a little history lesson for you:


Way back in the day when China was still too busy being seclusive to notice little Taiwan, individuals with sizable investments in the international trade department started seeing some real possibilities for Taiwan.  (This is where you're going to want to locate a map)  You see, Taiwan has a pretty prime location;  it has the ability to serve as a perfect trade center for all of Pacific Asia, just across the Taiwan Straight from China.   (See first Taiwan post for more info)  To the Dutch East India Trading Company, looking at Taiwan was like looking at a large green island - and I'm not talking about the foliage.  So, they did what Europeans seem to be best at:  Came and took the darn thing over!  They also built a fort.  Fort Zeelandia, to be exact.  Lovely name, no?

Not bad, eh?  Very pretty, and against the swords, spears, and primitive guns of the native Taiwanese, invincible.


Or at least, that's what they thought.  They had never heard of this guy.

Koxinga is his English name.  This guy was a real beast.  Maybe one of the original beasts.  Over here, he's regarded as a national hero and sometimes a god, and you'll see why in a minute.  You see, this guy was a king.  A pirate king.  Some estimates say that pirate king Koxinga had over 3000 ships at his command.  Quite a formidable enemy, and for a while, China was really bugged by this guy.  But lo and behold, along comes a war.  Big war.  War that would eventually end legendary Ming Dynasty.  As the aforementioned Ming Dynasty is trying to get some rebels in the north under control, they start noticing that the Dutch are really profiting from their little island!  (China has, for some weird reason, always thought of Taiwan as theirs.  I would go into the politics on this, but I'll spare you.  It's a mess.)  This, along with the pirate king, is really buggin.  So someone comes up with a genius plan:  Why not kill two birds with one stone?  In return for some super high-ranking title in the Ming government, hire the pirate king to get rid of the dutch!  Perfect!  Brilliant!  And it was. 


So this pirate king, now a Ming loyalist, does exactly what he was commissioned to do;  He rocks that fort. 


This is part of the wall that Koxinga literally tore down

Even with their inferior weapons and positions, the Chinese fought with such ferocity - inspired by a ferocious leader - that the Dutch forces eventually crumbled (despite a very heroic and moving effort on their part). 


And voilà!  Ming dynasty problem solved!  Wrong.  Sadly, Koxinga didn't get to enjoy his new government position for very long, as the Ming dynasty fell shortly after his Taiwanese victory.  So, Koxinga settled for the next best thing and made himself king of Taiwan, since he apparently loved the whole king title.  Taiwan served as a Ming loyalist hide out for many years afterwards, and prospered quite a bit under Koxinga's direction.  


Here are some awesome pics of the fort and our time in Anping!  Enjoy! 

The lion with a sword in it's mouth is considered a warrior status symbol in Taiwan.  Sooooo cool!