Typhoon Fanapi

Last weekend we weathered our first typhoon. The storm was scheduled to hit the island early Sunday morning, so on Saturday we headed to the beach to check out the waves. Unfortunately, no swimming was allowed due to the strong currents. Many surfers were waiting patiently with hopes that the beach patrol would leave so they could catch some waves. Others took advantage of the strong winds and flew colorful kites.


Since we couldn't swim, we went for a walk and then settled at a little beach front cafe. With cold drinks in hand, we wrote in our journals, read our books, and studied Chinese.


After that, we headed back to the Fishermen's Wharf to explore. Squid on a stick, candied fruit, fresh lobster, and other seaside wares were in abundance.





We stopped to listen to some traditional Taiwanese musicians, too.



Early Sunday morning, Typhoon Fanapi hit Taipei. Wind speeds were reported at 195 km/hour. It wasn't as bad as we anticipated, though I definitely had trouble sleeping with all the noise of the rain and wind. Several times I was awakened by the sound of breaking glass or by dust/tile particles falling from our shifting ceiling.

By Sunday, the worst was over, but church and Chinese class were still cancelled due to high winds and hard rain. We spent the day relaxing in our flat.