I've discovered ?Podcast? over the internet around July 2005, and soon become a regular listener to Daily Source Code, podcast411, 5 Minutes with Wichita, Digital Flotsam, Catholic Insider... and I started observing its development ever since.One day I watched a foreigner being interviewed by a television news reporter while exiting customs in CKS Airport; she said she couldn?t find any tourism information about Taiwan in all of the traveling agencies in her country. That?s when I came up with the idea of doing this podcast, but I was so overwhelmed by work, not much progress was made.Until a trip to Beijing, I came home more motivated. Due to the growing popularity of China, people have the drive to visit the country, learn Chinese, or even make a little cash there; Taiwan became the second choice in contrast. After my trip in Beijing, I still feel that there is much to be admired about Taiwan. I have no intention to market, compete, or make any kind of a comparison; every location has its own uniqueness. I?m just eager for the opportunity to introduce this interesting island, especially from a foreigner's perspective.I have asked my friends Henry, Sophie, and Jessica that are fluent in English for assistance. They were generous enough to contribute their time. And I like to thank Mansa specially for triggering the whole idea. I hope more people will participate! (11/27/05)2005?7?????????Podcast??????????????????????Daily Source Code, podcast411, 5 Minutes with Wichita, Digital Flotsam, Catholic Insider????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????"What's up in Taiwan"?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Henry?Sophie?Jessica??????????????Mansa????????????????????????????????(11/27/05) Download this promo

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Filed Under: Expat.Download this interview!It?s Chinese New Year again! And here is Terry Hornsby to help you celebrate this important holiday for the second time. We shameless present the prequel of ?Kung Hsi Fa Tsai? (May prosperity be with you) to you, also a very special announcement?Rate Episode #064:***** **** *** ** *   

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Filed Under: Video Game, Women, Learning Chinese.Download this interview!?Male Bonding? is the topic of this week, and it could exist no matter what country or culture you?re from. Travis and Vega have been friends for years, and they are honestly two of the nicest guys to hang out with, very well mannered and incredibly easy going. Just when you think that there is too much testosterone when two guys are running this podcast, it gets worst in this interview.Rate Episode #063:***** **** *** ** *   

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Filed Under: Central Taiwan, Girls Talk.Download this interview!Many of the foreigners in Taiwan prefer to stay in the big cities when they visit Taiwan, but there are exceptions. Catherine is a young lady from Florida; she actually asked the school she works for to send her to somewhere remote in Taiwan, brave girl. Her meeting with her Taiwanese friend Miranda was like destiny, they became real close friends and taught English and shared their lives together. Catherine will leave the island very soon and move on to her next destination, but we are sure that their friendship will not fade no matter where their futures might take them.Rate Episode #062:***** **** *** ** *   

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Filed Under: Sailing, Learning English.Download this interview!Like many of our loyal listeners, Feelin has set up a link in her personal blog to our podcast. We tracked back as always and noticed that she has a great spirit for adventure. Feelin enjoys sailing with her foreigner friend Chris, who introduced her to the sport. We wanted to interview Chris immediately and thought this would be a great chance to talk about friendships between locals with our guests to the island. After the interview, we truly understood why certain things between people have absolutely no boundaries.Rate Episode #061:***** **** *** ** *   

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Filed Under: Metrosexual, Shopping Spots for Men.Download this interview!Here is the second half of our interview with David, along with some links that he has sent us. Both of them are interviews he did with Taipei Times (a local English Newspaper). Check them out if you are interested.A mind for brain researchLocal brews go head-to-headDavid has also done a television commercial for a Taiwanese car rental company, he has sent the file to us as well. Due to the enormous size of it, we have selected an image for your viewing pleasure. Some people have expressed to us that David shows some resemblance to actor Mel Gibson, he's a good looking guys in our book regardless what or who he looks like. Rate Episode #060:***** **** *** ** *   ?????David???????David??????????????Taipei Times???????????????David?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????David???Mel Gibson????????????

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Filed Under: Brain Research, Diving and Surfing.Download this interview!David is originally from Denmark and has been working and living in Taiwan for the last 5 years. He accepted our invitation and arranged a lovely little tour of his operations in the hospital. We had the privilege of examining equipments that are worth millions and millions, and after his introductions, we were thrilled to find the advancements of brain research here on our island. Most of the people of Taiwan are probably not aware that we are rank very high on the charts globally in this area.David's leisure activities are diving and parties. Looking good is also very important for our well-groomed guest this week. We are very happy and fortunate to meet such stylish and outgoing new friend. Rate Episode #059:***** **** *** ** *   David?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????David???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: How to Promo Taiwan.Download this interview!This week?s episode is a continuation of our interview with Elias. It is quite a thrilling experience talking with an enthusiastic entrepreneur, and Elisa shared his thoughts about Taiwan without holding anything back. Especially when he spoke about promoting Taiwan to the foreigners from all over the world, also helping the foreigners adapt, especially those whom have made Taiwan their new residency. There is a lot of space for improvements when it comes to our government and he would encourage the foreign friends here to participate so their opinions and feelings can be regarded seriously and taken care of effectively, another main objective for our show ever since we started a year ago. We would like our listeners out there to help us promote ?What?s up in Taiwan?, so more people can be heard through our program. We also welcome any letters of comments and suggestions as well as voice mail, so we can always be bettering this little podcast.Rate Episode #058:***** **** *** ** *   ?????Elias????????????????????????????Elias?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Elias??????????????????????????????????????????Elias????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Enspyre, Business.Download this interview!Elias Ek is originally from Sweden, he has traveled and resided in many countries such as the US and Japan, that is until he met his Taiwanese wife and moved here. The Taiwanese entrepreneurial spirit went very well with Elias personality; he generated a passion for new businesses and ideas. He felt that starting a personal business is rarely welcomed and encouraged as much in his mother country. Elias and his wife founded ?Enspyre? 4 years ago. His wife passed away from a sudden heart attack on the way of meeting a client a little while back. Still, Elias didn?t pack up and leave this island; he is still working very hard on this project that he and his darling wife started. We hope the very best of things for Elias and ?Enspyre? in this New Year!Rate Episode #057:***** **** *** ** *   ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Travel Recommendation.Download this interview!The show for this week is a special report of Orchid Island(A.K.A. Lanyu), Father Barry was gracious enough to share his memory of the island with us. He thinks of the island as the most beautiful spot on the planet. Around 35 years ago, Father Barry serviced on the island for a year and fell in love with the location. He wrote the book "Song of Orchid Island" as a tribute.We would also like to pay our tribute to Lanyu. If you have photos of the island, please sent them to us and make this special report that much more. Sent them to whatsupintaiwan@gmail.com(Picture of Fr. Barry and the children in Orchid Island way back when)Buy "Song of Orchid Island"Amazon.com or Taubooks TaiwanRate Episode #056:***** **** *** ** *   ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????35???????????????????????????????????????"Song of Orchid Island"??????????????????????????????????????????????????whatsupintaiwan@gmail.com

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Filed Under: Christmas, Chingchuan, Aborigines.Download this interview!It?s Christmas time again; this is the second Christmas since we started this podcast. What can we say? Time flies when you?re having fun! Last year, we had Father Jerry on our show for Christmas, and it was truly the greatest Christmas gift, also the 1st time we felt that we were on the right track.Father Jerry mentioned his brother Barry on the show and we had decided that for this year, we?ll have Father Barry celebrating Christmas with us. Little did we know that it took over 2 hours of driving into the mountain of Ju-Don to meet him in person, and worth every second, not to mention the beautiful scenery along the way. We got to interview Father Barry Martinson S. J., both Martinson brothers have dedicated their lives to servicing Taiwan for over 35 years, Thank you both so very much and Merry Christmas!We couldn't stay for lunch with Father Barry, this is the persimmon he gave us for our trip. One of the many delicious fruits of Taiwan.Rate Episode #055:***** **** *** ** *   ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????35???????????????????????

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Filed Under: Learning Chinese, Lu-Wei, Matzu.Download this interview!Tony Masalonis if from The U.S. and currently working in Taiwan as an aviation safety consultant. He is very serious about studying Chinese during his leisure hours and gave us a very detailed explanation of his Chinese name during the interview. He enjoys Taiwan very much and shared his love for lu-wei ( a Taiwanese dish with meat or fowl stewed with soy sauce and strained before serving) and the Kinmen and Matsu Islands.This interview was conducted in terminal 2 of Song-Shan Airport, a place where even many locals are unaware of its existence. Mr. Masalonis gave us a brief introduction of the history and background of the building.Tony(his web site) also writes as a hobby. The following is a sample of his work which he tries to capture the harmony of nature and urban intenseness that is Taipei and Taiwan."The Wind partners with streetlights to light green leaves into sparkle.But the bus?s bright green numbers outshine it all.Despite a high pitched dog, and subdued traffic humThere?s a relative stillness, peaceful waitingBack at eye level the haggard hookers hello-hello aggressivelyAt clearly Asiafied foreigners with faces creased from sorrow and joy of adapting, of being adopted, of wincing quizically, mouths curled garishly from pronouncing x and qpupils dilated from gazing at followed stars, moons and bus-lit trees ?perhaps irreparably but if it?s reparable why gaze?"Rate Episode #054:***** **** *** ** * Tony ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Tony???????????????????????????Tony??????????????????????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Puppet Theatre, Museum.Download this interview!Robin Erik Ruizendaal is the Administrator of the Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum; he has been living in Taiwan for the last 13 years. Dr. Ruizendaal earned a Ph.D. in Chinese studies from Leiden University in the Netherlands over 20 years ago, and he has been doing research on puppet theaters ever since, including extensive fieldwork in China and South-East Asia. He is also the Administrator as well as the Artistic Director of the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company and Museum. He has written and directed quite a number of plays for both actors and puppets. His plays have been performed in over 20 countries. In November 2005, the TTT Puppet Center moved to a permanent residence generously donated by Mrs. Lin, the widow of late Mr. Lin Liu-Hsin. In return for such generosity, the Center changed its name to Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum.The Museum is located on Xi-Ning North Road, Dadaocheng, one of the oldest districts of Taipei and just a few steps from the Danshui Pier off historical Dihua Street. There are over 7,000 puppets in their collection, and there are over 300 performances each year. The show being presented this particular month is "The Child in the Elevator" about time travel; please check it out if you can. Last but not least, we would like to show our appreciation for Caroline Gluck for her introduction to Robin so we may complete this Interview. Caroline Is a journalist with BBC. Although she has declined our Invitation as a guest for a future episode, we are still hoping she might change her mind. Rate Episode #053:***** **** *** ** *   ???????????????????????????????????????????????????13?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????2005?11??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Caroline Gluck??????????????????Caroline?BBC???????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Henry.Download this interview!Happy Birthday "What's up in Taiwan"!Rate Episode #052:***** **** *** ** *   ????????

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Filed Under: Women in the Workplace, Approaching Western Women.Download this interview!We are unmasking the lovely Rebecca out of her scuba gear this week, and sharing her with the rest of the world. She doesn?t denied the fact of being a feminist, also stated that she would much rather be developing her business career rather than cooking in the kitchen. She believes that everyone has their special field of expertise, nobody should be limited the traditional portrayal by the society. We dedicate this show to the men of Taiwan.PS. Our gratitude to Mr. Daniel Wallace, thanks again for introducing us to such a great interviewee. We like to encourage all of our listeners to suggest excellent potential guestsfor our show, we will do our very best to invite them.Our friend Sven Hoppenhoft from Germany did 9 episodes of sound-seeing of Taiwan with interesting photos. You can check them out at ReisecastRate Episode #051:***** **** *** ** *   ?????????Rebecca???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????... ???????????????ps, ?? Daniel ???????????????????????????????????????????? Sven Hoppenhöft ?????9??????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Lawyer, The Art of War, Scuba Diving.Download this interview!Rebecca is originally from London; currently the legal representative of a Japanese company that is distributing parts to the new Taiwan High Speed Rail, which is being constructed right now. She has been living in Taipei for 2 years; her status is single and unable to speak much Chinese. This is how she introduced herself in her e-mail to us after agreeing to do the interview. We were really anxious to meet her in person.Rebecca is extremely ambitious about her career; she accepted this job due to the uprising of China. She wanted to better her understandings of eastern and western law through this experience. She shared many of her observations during the interview.Scuba diving at Green Island is the event that Rebecca enjoys doing at the moment. She also recommended Jioufen as the starting point for understanding the traditional scenery of Taiwan.Rate Episode #050:***** **** *** ** *   Rebecca?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????email??????????????????Rebecca?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Rebecca???????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: Differences, Tourism for Our Friends.Download this interview!This week is the second part of our interview with Jamali and Jeana, we asked the lovely couple to introduce their beautiful island. Jamali sent us some special music that we will be playing in the background, see if you can feel the vibes of the Caribbean.Link to Raffles Resort Canouan Island.PS, This interview was held on a windy afternoon, the sound quality was barely managable. We appologize to those whe actually cares (/K0?.Rate Episode #049:***** **** *** ** *   ?????Jamali?Jeana???????????????????????????????Jamali??Email????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Filed Under: First Impression, Eslite Bookstore, Earthquake.Download this interview!Jeana came to Taiwan 2 years ago to attend undergraduate school. In order for her boyfriend Jamali to learn more about Taiwan, she started researching for information about Taiwan over the internet. In Jamali's opinion, his favorite program which can really give you a real honest image of the island is the one you are listening to now.A little over a month ago, Jamali came to Taiwan as well. He contacted us by e-mail and accepted our invitation for an interview. He is also the first guest we have had from the Caribbean.Taiwan only has diplomatic relations with 24 countries in the world; St. Vincent is one of them. October 27th marked the 27th birthday of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Rate Episode #048:***** **** *** ** *   Jeana????????????????????? Jamali ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Jamali????????Email??????????????????????????????????????????24??????????????10?27?????????????????27???????

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Filed Under: Family Issues, Senior Friendly.Download this interview!One of our listeners, a student at Yang Ming University invited Henry to be a judge in the Toastmaster English Speech Competition. There, we met Linda who was one of the other judges and asked her to be in our show.Linda has been in Taiwan for 25 years now, volunteering for many non-profit organizations. Currently, she works in The Garden of Hope Foundation which is working to end sexual abuse and domestic violence. We did the interview in her house, the same place that housed the many abused girls she helped to rescue.We pay our respects to Linda for her devotion to Taiwan.Rate Episode #047:***** **** *** ** *   Henry????What's up in Taiwan???????????????Tom??????Toastmaster????????????????????????Linda?????????????????Linda????25??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Linda?????????

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Filed Under: Love Story, Sababa Pita, Neon.Download this interview!Tomer(front) is originally from Israel, worked as a chef in New York and fell in love with his current wife Jun(back) from Malaysia during their time there. After a trip together in Asia, Tomer returned to New York while Jun went and visited her relatives back home. When Jun attempted to return to New York to meet with Tomer, her visa was denied by the U.S. customs. Also because of Tomer's nationality, he is unable to enter Malaysia. Due to all of these unpredicted elements, they decided to meet in Taiwan.This meant that they had to start everything from scratch, and brand new way of life had to emerge. They supported each other faithfully, and after 5 years of hard work and adjusting to the lifestyles In Taiwan, Tomer is now a co-owner of Sababa Pita Bar, and formed the rock band "Neon" with his wife Jun as the lead singer. They are also the proud parents of their beautiful baby girl named Mika.Neon's first album will be released by January 2007, produced by one of the most well-known musicians in Taiwan, Mr. Bobby Chen. Sababa Pita Bar might have just opened very recently, but there are already people saying great things about it on their personal blogs. Sababa Pita Bar (Photos by Orange)Rate Episode #046:***** **** *** ** *   Tomer??????????????????????????Jun??????????????????Tomer?????Jun?????????Jun??????Tomer?????????????Jun???????Tomer????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Tomer???????Sababa Pita Bar??Jun???????Neon??????????Mika?Neon??2007?1???????????Sababa Pita Bar????????????????????

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Filed Under: Self-evaluation.Download this episode!Double 10th Day is our nation's birthday, happy birthday to everyone.Music "Meeting Spring Wind" performed by Miss Cincin LeePhoto by Jesús Sandoval"???" ?????????????????Jesús Sandoval

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