Instead of staff workshop last week, the teachers and I went on a field trip with one class of Grade 4 students around Zuo Ying's historical sites.  It is currently the 2008 Kaohsiung Zuoying Wannian Folklore Festival, so students who attend schools in the Zuo Ying District are now taking guided tours and visiting all the historically preserved architecture in Zuo Ying because there are lots of them around Zuo Ying.  So, we saw lots of old architectural styles and old temples. 

(This is a historically preserved house, which shows a traditional architectural style known as Sanheyuan (三合院).  There would be three sides and a big front yard.)

(The largest temple in Zuo Ying.)

I learned that the reason why there are so many temples around the area where I teach is because Zuo Ying used to be the equivalent of the "wild west" when Taiwan was developing and lots of inauspicious events occurred.  Therefore, temples were built - lots of them - In order to console and comfort the people living in Zuo Ying at that time. 

During the tour, I even had the opportunity to try something called Lingjiao (菱角), a water chestnut, for the very first time.  The nut has the coolest shell that I had ever seen.  It's like a bull's horns.  Before Zuo Ying became modernized, it used to be famous for Lingjiao, now its Lingjiao comes from Tainan, south of Taiwan. 

Halfway into the tour, the teachers and I decided that's we've seen enough history of Zuo Ying and decided to have an afternoon snack instead.  They treated me to some small delicacies that I've never had and even some that I've been avoiding, like stinky tofu.  It turns out that I don't like it and, contrary to popular opinion, you can taste the stink.  Besides stinky tofu, everything else tasted great!  I especially liked the pig's blood (which tastes much better and looks a lot more appetizing than it actually sounds).

For more pictures from this event, please click here.