Taipei, Taiwan - Day 4 & 5

Lots of Pictures today. Here is a picture of "Teddy Bear", who was going for a walk with his owner. The next picture is of a tree that was uprooted during Sunday's Typhoon.

The car was used by President Chiang Kai-shek's Limo when he was president of Taiwan. The big ball is called a Damper Baby. It is the weight that hangs in the middle of the Taipei 101 building.


It has been a very crazy couple of days. Yesterday, we toured Taipei 101. This is the tallest building in the world. After the tour of the building, we toured Taipei. Several of the places we visited included the Chiang Kai-shek memorial building, a famous temple and the old town market. At the market we saw several items including fish, snake, turtles, videos and several other fun items.


The building is of the Chiang Kai-shek memorial building. The picture if of Ronald Reagan and Chiang Kai-shek.

Today, we kicked off the morning with breakfast and a meeting with several people that we have worked with before at the American Institute of Trade (AIT). During the meeting, we felt a minor earthquake! After meeting with the U.S. officials, we went to a top 10 lunch resturant where we ate pork and shrimp dumplings (very good). We then went to a supermarket where there were lots of different fruits and vegetables. one of my favorite fruits that we have tried is Dragon Fruit. It looks like a white kiwifruit. After our tour of the supermarkets, we came back to the hotel.


Pictures of Frogs and snakes that we saw at the super markets.

Tomorrow, I will be giving a presentation to over 20 representatives. We are going to update them of California apples and then have a chance to answer their questions. We will then pack our suitcases, have dinner and then catch a late airplane ride back to the U.S.

See you tomorrow (Friday),

God Bless,

Ottster

Taipei, Taiwan - Day 3

These are pictures of the streets of Taipei. As you can see, there are lots of scooters and yes...they have McDonald's!

Today, we had the opportunity to meet with a couple of companies who buy apples from California. After the meetings, we toured a company that receives California apples. After the tour, we had dinner at a fish restaurant.

Today, Taiwan is celebrating its National Day (like Fourth of July for the U.S.). We will be touring the city today (everything is closed). One of the places we will be touring is the Taipei 101. This is the tallest building in the world. We are planning to have lunch there and maybe go to the top (101 stories).

Until tomorrow,

God Bless,

Ottster

P.S. Pray for Grandma Trish!

Taipei, Taiwan - Day 1 & 2

This is a picture of the plane we rode on to Taiwan. This is a very big plane and has two stories (see the windows on the top and bottom?)

I arrived into Taipei, Taiwan today (Monday at 7:30 pm). We were suppose to leave for Taiwan on Sunday at 1:00am, however, due to a typhoon, the flight did not leave until 2:30 pm. After a 13 hour uneventful flight, we touched down. At 8:00 pm, it was 84 degrees and a few sprinkles. In short, hot and humid. Tomorrow, we begin our meetings. Will keep you posted,

God Bless,

Ottster


(Picture of "Doc" and Dad waiting in the airport)

San Quentin Days 1&2

Hey There Munchkin:

We are in a lot of meetings today and have met some very interesting people. The bad news we haven't gone out anywhere so our only pictures are of the Koi fish that are in the pond inside our hotel (no buildings). The fish are about 2 feet long - Grandma will show you how big that is. We have a long day today and will be home tonight. I hope you are treating grandma well and give moose a hug for us.

CHILE - Day 4&5

This is a picture of where I sat for the meeting. Each country had their own flag, name plate and a translator so we could understand the other countries.

Yesterday was a full day of meetings. After the meetings, we had dinner where we sang songs and danced. Let's just say...every country has a song that brings out the "best" in them.

I am currently getting ready to get on a bus to head back to where we will catch our airplane. I will be leaving this evening and will be back in Fresno tomorrow afternoon.

Have a good day at school and tell Mom and Moose, I will be home soon!

God Bless,

Ottster

CHILE - Day 3

The first two pictures were taken in the meseum. The one on the left is a picture of one of several cars. It is a famous Chilian race car driver's ride and raced at the Indy 500. The next picture is a dinosaur bone (actually this is its head). The last two pictures were taken at the hotel where we rode horses. The first picture is of my horse. The second is the cowboy that taught us how to ride and lead us up into the mountains and around the lake.


It was a blast today. After Breakfast, the world kiwifruit delegation met and begun giving its country reports. After a full morning and half of the afternoon, several discussions focused on how we could work together to move more kiwifruit in the world.

After the meeting, our group toured a meseum next to the hotel. There was an incredible amount of artificats, including: fossils, dinosaur bones, old guns, gold, silver, treasure chests, indian cloths, cars, trains, farm equipment and the actual Chile constitution.


After the tour, we loaded up on a bus and went to a house that has been converted into a hotel. The house was originally built in the early 1600s, before the U.S. was even a colony. I met a real cowboy and rode for the first time a horse. We took a ride on a horse up the mountain and around a lake. After we returned to the stables, we were entertained by several dancers. The dancers showed us the "napkin dance", and it is a very traditional dance in Chile. After the dancing and singing, we had dinner, boarded the bus and then returned to the hotel.

Tomorrow will be another busy day of meetings, followed by our farewell dinner. On Tuesday, we will board the bus and visit some growing areas before traveling to the airport to come home.

It has been a great trip thus far, however, I am looking forward in coming home soon. Congratulate mom for her win in football! Also, give Jordan a big hug and tell him to be good in school tomorrow, and have fun in dance!

God Bless,

Ottster

CHILE - Day 2

Pictures of our train. The third picture is of the "killer watch dog" I met, we was very friendly and reminded me a lot of Dub! The last picture is of the horses that pulled our buggy!


Another busy day...but lots of fun! We began with a bus ride to Santa Cruz. After reaching the city we took a steam engine train and toured the country side. On the train, they sang music, served cheese and wine. After we finished the train tour, we went to a winery. This is a big place where they grow grapes and then make the grapes into wine. We got to tour the vineyard by horse and buggy. After the tour, the tour guide placed us into four groups where we made our own wine. It was France, Italy, New Zealand and the U.S. as different teams. You will be pleased to know that we took second and barley lost to the New Zealand team. Oh Well, next year!
After our wine making, we had dinner on top of the hill, where we learned lots about the first indians of Chile. This included learning about Easter Island, several other tribes and finally a chance to look through several telescopes at the stars. We concluded the evening with a dinner at the top of the mountain on top of nearly 2,000 acres of vines.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We begin our two day meeting sessions and will work together with the other countries to understand the global kiwi industry.

Congratulations on your big win and your goal! You did a great job...keep up the great work! Also, tell Moose he did good too at his game.

Give mom a big hug...until tomorrow,

God Bless,

Ottster!