March
22nd, 2014
I was too lazy
to get up for the Sun Moon Lake trip that I had scheduled for today, but after
a relaxed morning I decided to fulfill a different goal and visit the 921
Earthquake Museum, commemorating the earthquake that occurred in Taichung County
on the morning of September 21st, 1999.
This involved two buses—one to
the train station, and one to the museum. The bus to the station was fine, but
the bus part of the train station is a MESS. However, it is easy to navigate if
you are willing to ask questions in order to ensure that you are in the correct
location and on the bus you need. I got on the wrong bus but quickly figured
out that it was a mistake, and the bus driver pointed me to the bus “terminal”
that I was supposed use. I saw the bus I needed pass me by, but another came
ten minutes later. It turns out I had negative money on my bus card, so I paid
for a ticket instead, which was great because that way I knew to ask for one
for the return trip. This meant I could avoid being my usual bumbling self for
a change!
It’s possible
the bus driver was repeating all of the stops for my benefit, and later in the
ride two middle school-aged boys came onto the bus and one of them (Gary) said
hello, introduced himself, then proceeded to turn around after every stop, give
me a huge smile, and repeat the names for me in English. We spoke a mix of
Mandarin and English to each other, and it was fun. He and his friend seemed
excited to see me and to speak with me. I wish I had the spunk in middle school
to get on a bus and talk to foreign strangers. At one point the boys turned
around and said “91”, and I had *no* idea why. It turned out they were saying “921”,
which was the name of my stop (and the bus' last stop)!
The museum
itself was interesting—it had a lot of pictures of the havoc the 921 earthquake
wreaked on Taiwan, which ranged from raising tea fields two meters higher in
certain points, to destroying bridges, to creating waterfalls. There were also
some interactive parts, including multiple earthquake simulators, one where you
jump to register magnitude, and another where you set up a small village in mud
(the four year old in me LOVED that one) then turn a crank and raze it to the
ground, along with a few more. The dork/child in me decided that I needed to
use the stamps provided in each building of the museum to stamp the map I was
given at the beginning, which led to a few giggles with the museum’s staff.
One of the best
parts was the location of the museum. It is housed in a former junior high
school which was decimated by the 921 earthquake, and is situated in the
mountains. Although it was a cool and cloudy day, the weather was perfect. I
ate lunch outside after going through the museum, and then headed home.
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