TAIWAN ISSUES in ACTION Session Minutes for 26 May 2012
Venue: Christine Hsu's house
Time: 13:30-16:00
Present: Christine, Yvonne, Rosie, Robin, Annie, Phoebe, Lynn
Icebreaker by Christine:
How did you celebrate Mother's Day?
We all celebrated in different ways. Christine mentioned a recent news article that had surveyed Taiwanese mothers and what they most appreciated receiving on Mother's Day. The answer? Money! Rosie did give her mother money this year, because she'd seen this news on TV, and noticed her mother's face brighten up when she heard that news.
Session Topic: Yvonne's Trip to Iran
Yvonne showed us many of her wonderful photos from her recent 12-day trip to Iran with one friend. They travelled independently. We asked lots of questions, and were left with these impressions:
I think we all have misunderstanding about Iran. It was really interesting to hear the true condition there. Thanks for sharing this experience! ~Annie
It's always fun to learn from other people's experiences and I think it's interesting to know what Iran is about. But maybe it's because I have been to Egypt so I don't feel so impressed by the things in Iran. The only thing I was really surprised about was the traveling expenses (500 USD for 2 weeks? that's insane!) I think Yvonne and her friend (2 women) were pretty brave to travel in a country like Iran's level of living. For me I try to balance the expenses and uncertainties when I travel to less-developed countries with Emma (my girlfriend), and I probably wouldn't save so much money or travel to towns that not so many tourists go to since it might be really dangerous. These are just my thoughts.
~Robin
Out of stereotype – gunfire and terrorists everywhere, violent Muslims, dirty and poor environment-- It’s not at all! Female tourists/foreigners can visit there freely in safety. Persian culture and architecture very well preserved. People look very friendly. Surprising!! Impressive!!
~Christine
Yvonne really is inspiring the way she went out of her comfort zone to travel in Iran. So interesting that so many of us have the completely wrong idea about the country. Who would imagine that local people there would be so friendly to tourists? It really shows that we have to be careful about images we get of people and places from the media. Thank you, Yvonne!
~Lynn
~Christine
Yvonne really is inspiring the way she went out of her comfort zone to travel in Iran. So interesting that so many of us have the completely wrong idea about the country. Who would imagine that local people there would be so friendly to tourists? It really shows that we have to be careful about images we get of people and places from the media. Thank you, Yvonne!
~Lynn
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