We headed out to Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation. We met up with exchange students from Denmark, Russia, France and Canada who joined us for this visit. After meditation, another tea ceremony was demonstrated to us as the guests of honour. We were then coaxed to give a presentation in Mandarin, which was an interesting experience. The devotion and dedication of the volunteers was demonstrated, with the amazing charity work conducted around the world being shown in a documentary. This group is able to get help into disaster areas usually within 24 hours. They then stay for extended lengths of time, rebuilding and stabilising whole communities.
After leaving the foundation, we were provided with a much needed break back at our accommodation. After a rest for 10 minutes, the GSE experienced rolled on.
We then headed to Formosa Petrochemicals, which was an amazing experience. To put the site in perspective, it covers 8km by 4km. The site had been filled (previously water/ocean) with the site being reclaimed at a rate of 2ha a day. The company now produces 12% of Taiwan's GDP. Products produced include petrol, poly carbonates, kevlar, carbon fibre etc.
After attending a temple and a nearby a park being redeveloped by Rotary, we arrived at Mai Lin Rotary Club.
We gave a informal presentation as there was no computer, with the presentation being well recieved. A few of the questions to Karalyn were a bit confusing and included "Can you only have one wife in Australia", "How much does a work visa cost" and further questions surrounding Australia's immigration policy. We were then given beauty products (body wash, shampoo), only to find out that these had been made out the gall bladder of a pig, a number of you out there may wish to read their product labels more carefully in future. The lucky door prize at the Alumni Dinner should be interesting.
Another sleep in with an 8:30 start.
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