Zoo and Typhoon: Taiwan Week 2

SECOND WEEK IN TAIWAN!

 By: Daniel Villasenor

    My second week in Taiwan has been a great experience! Ranging from experiencing a typhoon to being able to visit and explore and visit the largest zoo in all of Asia, I have been able to enjoy Taipei each day I have been here. Earlier in the week, we received a warning that a massive typhoon was going to hit Taiwan. Being as I have never experience anything more than some heavy rain, I began to worry about what I was about to experience. 

    As I waited for the typhoon to hit, we were informed that our classes would need to be held online as we presented due to the heavy rain. As the day passed, we found out that Taipei just experienced an hour of heavy rain and really heavy wind. Once the rain passed, our group of friends decided to explore the Tamsui Fishermans Wharf. Sadly, my SD card got messed up and deleted most of my pictures, including the picture I took of the Danjiang Bridge, which is under construction and is set to be the longest single tower cable bridge. Luckily, I took pictures on my phone and got to capture one of the nicest sunsets I have ever seen in my life on the Love Bridge at the Wharf.

 

   For a class field trip, we got to explore the NCDR which is Taiwan's National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction. I learned about how Taiwan ensures the safety of natural disasters such as recent floods, landslides, and earthquakes. As an engineer, it was really interesting to learn about how Taiwan learns from past disasters to improve safety along with scientists directing natural disaster response instead of politicians.

   During the weekend, I was able to go to the Taipei Zoo along with rock climbing. Being able to see a panda for the first time was a great experience. The Taipei Zoo was huge and it took hours to explore even half of it. I wasn't able to explore all of it and see all of the animals I have never seen before. 

I have been having so much fun in Taiwan and am really looking forward to the next few weeks where I plan to visit even more places! I have really enjoyed my classes and being able to learn about different types of sensors. 

Best,

Daniel Villasenor